People's democratic dictatorship () is a phrase incorporated into the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the supreme law of the People's Republic of China. It was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982, with further revisions about every five years. It is the fou ...
.
The premise of the "People's democratic dictatorship" is that the
CCP and state represent and act on behalf of the people, but in the preservation of the
dictatorship of the proletariat, possess and may use powers against
reactionary
In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the '' status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abs ...
forces. Implicit in the concept of the people's democratic dictatorship is the notion that dictatorial control by the party is necessary to prevent the government from collapsing into a
"dictatorship of the bourgeoisie", a liberal democracy, which, it is feared, would mean politicians acting in the interest of the bourgeoisie. This would be in opposition to the socialist charter of the CCP.
The concept, and form of government, is similar to that of
people's democracy, which was implemented in a number of Central and Eastern European Communist-controlled states under the guidance of the
Soviet Union.
Origins
The concept of people's democratic dictatorship is rooted in the "new" type of democracy promoted by
Mao Zedong in
Yan'an during the
Chinese Civil War.
In a September 1948 report to the
Politburo, Mao called for establishing "a people's democratic dictatorship based on an alliance of workers and peasants under proletarian leadership."
According to Mao, this alliance "is not limited to workers and peasants, but is a people's democratic dictatorship that allows the participation of bourgeois democrats."
The term's best known usage occurred on June30, 1949, in commemoration of the 28th Anniversary of the founding of the
Chinese Communist Party. In his article,
On the People's Democratic Dictatorship
"On the People's Democratic Dictatorship" () is a speech which was written by Mao Zedong. It was presented to the public on 30 June 1949, twenty-eight years after the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This speech is part of the fourth ...
, Chairman Mao expounded his ideas about a People's Democratic Dictatorship as well as provided some rebuttals to criticism that he anticipated he would face.
Mao also referenced the concept of people's democratic dictatorship in his opening and closing speeches at the September 1949 first meeting of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...
(CPPC).
Political theory
At its founding the PRC took the form of a people's democratic dictatorship.
In a
Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...
political framework, revolutionary consciousness and revolutionary activity distinguish "the people" from counter-revolutionaries.
Within the PRC, the democracy includes united revolutionary classes and supportive political parties operating under the leadership of the Communist Party.
It could include workers, peasants, intellectuals,
petty bourgeoisie, and even national bourgeoisie who supported the revolutionary project.
With regard to the inclusion of members of the national bourgeoisie, Mao stated, "
order to counter the oppression of imperialism and improve its own underdeveloped economic status, China must use all the advantages of the national economy and the people's livelihood, not harmful urban and rural capitalist factors, to unite the national bourgeoisie and work together. Our current policy is to control capitalism, not to eliminate it."
"The people" thus encompasses the vast majority of the population.
They can and are encouraged to participate democratically.
Those regarded as counter-revolutionary are subject to the coercion implicit in the "dictatorship" until they are reformed.
Mao stated that in this early period after the revolution, the focus is on "democracy for the people and dictatorship over the reactionaries."
As historian Rebecca Karl summarizes:
People's democratic dictatorship is a method of
democratic centralism which depends on the
mass line
The mass line is the political, organizational and leadership method developed by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Chinese Communist Revolution. It refers to formulating policy based on theory, implementing it based pe ...
.
See also
*
Aggravation of class struggle under socialism
*
Dictatorship of the proletariat
*
Marxism
*
Marxism–Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and various ...
*
Maoism
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...
*
Politics of the People's Republic of China
The People's Republic of China is run by a single party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), headed by the CCP General Secretary who tends to be the paramount leader of China. China is among few contemporary party-led dictatorships to not hold ...
References
External links
On the People's Democratic Dictatorship
{{Maoism
Chinese words and phrases
Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party
Communist repression
Political repression in China
Mao Zedong
Dictatorship