ON IMPROVING AND STRENGTHENING ORGANIZATIONAL AND IDEOLOGICAL WORK OF THE PARTY (Excerpt) - ON STRENGTHENING THE STRUGGLE AGAINST REVISIONISM -KIM IL SUNG

ON IMPROVING AND  STRENGTHENING ORGANIZATIONAL AND IDEOLOGICAL WORK OF THE PARTY 
8 March 1962
 Everyone knows that the Moscow Declaration adopted at the Meeting of Representatives of the Communist and Workers' Parties in 1957 pointed out that modern revisionism is the main danger to the international communist movement.
Of late, revisionism has raised its head more overtly in. various fields and is having a serious disintegrating effect on the ranks of the international communist movement.
Revisionism has not been in existence for only a day or two. It has quite a long history. The entire course of the emergence and development of Marxist-Leninist ideas is a history of struggle against Right and “Left” opportunist trends of all descriptions, against revisionism and dogmatism.
Revisionism came into being after the death of Marx and  Engels, that is, between the late 19th century and the early 20th century, as an opportunist trend to revise the revolutionary essence of Marxism under the cloak of Marxism. As the struggle between the working class and the capitalist class became sharper with the advent of the imperialist stage of capitalism, the monopoly capitalists, intensifying the suppression of the revolutionary labour movement, pursued the policy of bribing the upper stratum of labour and using them as their agents with the aim of splitting the labour movement and disrupting it from within. Thus, the degenerates and renegades of the revolutionary movement, sold out to the imperialist bourgeoisie, revised · Marxism to please the capitalists. Hence, their opportunism came to be called revisionism.
The opportunist, revisionist trends in Europe were represented by the Bernstein school in Germany, the Millerand school in France, the Fabian Society in Britain, and the legal Marxists, economists and Mensheviks in Russia. Later, the parties of almost all countries under the Second International, except in Russia, slid into the slough of revisionism.
Only the Bolshevik Party led by Lenin put up an uncompromising struggle against all kinds of opportunist trends and upheld the revolutionary banner of Marxism to the end. At the time, the revisionists attacked Lenin as a dogmatist because of his refusal to revise Marxism.
Lenin's chief enemy in his struggle for the creation of a revolutionary Marxist party was economism, a Russian variety of international revisionism. From the very first day that economism emerged in Russia, Lenin conducted a relentless struggle against this revisionist trend. He thoroughly exposed the anti-Marxist essence of economism in a booklet A Protest by Russian Social-Democrats.
 Likewise, when the Party Programme and Rules were being adopted at the Second Congress of the Russian SocialDemocratic Labour Party in 1903, Lenin had to conduct a fierce y  struggle against the opportunists. The opportunists came out against the insertion of clauses concerning the dictatorship of the proletariat, the peasant question and the national question in the Party Programme. But, by virtue of Lenin's determined fight, the Party congress succeeded in crushing the opposition of the opportunist elements and in adopting the first Marxist programme of the revolutionary workers' party. 
The Mensheviks, who after 1903 formed an opportunist faction within the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party, degenerated into a group of Liquidationists who insisted upon the liquidation of the illegal party during the period of reaction following the failure of the first Russian revolution. When the First World War broke out, the parties of inany countries under the Second International denied the imperialist nature of the war, and called upon the workers of their countries to fight in “defence of their homeland”. Thus, the Second International opportunists completely surrendered to the imperialist bourgeoisie and overtly turned into socialchauvinists.
The Only the Bolshevik Party led by Lenin thoroughly exposed the imperialist nature of the war, opposed the workers of all countries killing one another in the interests of the imperialists, and launched the revolutionary slogan of converting the imperialist war into civil wars. Thus, under the leadership of the great Lenin, who upheld and further carried forward the banner of revolutionary Marxism, the October Socialist Revolution triumphed in Russia.
Today, the revolutionary forces throughout the world have grown incomparably strong. More than one-third of the world's population is building a new life of socialism. In Asia, Africa and Latin America, a powerful anti-imperialist national-liberation movement is under way; within the imperialist countries the working class is stepping up its struggle against the domination of monopoly capital. 
In these circumstances, the imperialists are becoming more and more frantic. While intensifying the plunder and suppression of their own peoples and the peoples of weak and small countries, they are making desperate efforts to bribe the icowards in the ranks of the labour movement who are flinching from the revolution and to use them as their agents for carrying out their imperialist policies. The modern revisionists, as well as such fellow's as Choe Chang Ik and Pak Chang Ok in our country, fall into this category. The modern revisionists deny the leadership of the Marxist-Leninist party and the dictatorship of the proletariat which constitute the general principles of the socialist revolution. They are maintaining that the aggressive nature of imperialism has changed and, therefore, socialism can get on well with imperialism; they are raving that the transition from capitalism to socialism can be realized peacefully through the parliamentary struggle. loto
The revisionists are making a noise about disarmament and calling for an abandonment of the anti-imperialist struggle. They say: if a war breaks out in this age of thermonuclear weapons it will certainly be a thermonuclear war, so what is the use of building communism after a ruination of the world and a destruction of all humanity? They spread the illusion that the imperialists might voluntarily disarm themselves without any struggle on our part. But can we ever imagine that the imperialists will lay down their arms of their own accord? It is quite incompatible with the nature of imperialism for it to give up its arms of its own free will.  Just as the old revisionists asserted that the doctrine of Marx was obsolete, so the modern revisionists contend that the theories of Lenin do not fit the changed new age.  As they are afraid of the revolution and do not want it, the revisionists are revising Marxism-Leninism and overhauling the theory of class struggle which is the cornerstone of that doctrine in order to please the capitalists. The sources of revisionism are acceptance of domestic bourgeois influence and surrender to external imperialist pressure. Both old revisionism and modern revisionism are one and the same in essence and in aims. Both deny the basic principles of Marxism and call for a renunciation of the revolutionary struggle on the pretext that times have changed. The revisionists' most absurd act at present is that they are sowing discord in the socialist camp, while doing all they can to curry favour and develop close ties with imperialism.  If the revisionists do not want to make a revolution, they are welcome to go their own way alone. But the danger lies in the fact that they are even opposed to other people making a revolution and go to the length of imposing revisionism upon others.it un In doing so, they call the revolutionary Marxist-Leninists who refuse to follow their revisionist line "dogmatists”, “nationalists", or “Stalinists”, rejecting them and trying to isolate them from the socialist camp. This is the modern revisionists' most absurd act and presents a serious danger to us. 
 Which path should we take, the path of revolutionary Marxism-Leninism or the path of revisionism under the baton of a certain person?  The Korean people's history of anti-imperialist struggle covers several decades now. If we take the anti-Japanese armed struggle as our starting point, it covers 30 years. Though we have been fighting against imperialism for over 30 years, we have not yet completed our revolution.
We have liberated only half of the country and one-third of its population. The Korean Communists, therefore, still have to continue the revolution and fulfil the tasks of driving out US imperialism and accomplishing the revolution for national liberation.
 How can we quit the struggle against imperialism when half of the country and two-thirds of its population still remain under imperialist oppression? How can wie join in prettifying the US imperialists when the US scoundrels are daily spilling our fellow countrymen's blood and humiliating our brothers and sisters? For us to give up the revolution and quit the anti-imperialist struggle means leaving south Korea to US imperialist aggression for ever and allowing the traitors to the nation to exploit and oppress the south Korean workers and peasants.
Let certain people renounce Marxism-Leninism and take the revisionist path, but we cannot allow ourselves to waver and compromise with imperialism. There is a revolutionary song which says: “Let cowards flinch and traitors sneer. We'll keep the Red Flag flying here.” This expresses our invariable determination. We must continue with the revolution and resolutely fight against imperialism to the end. Our task cannot be confined to the safeguarding of the revolutionary gains already attained in the northern half. We are duty bound to help our fellow countrymen in south Korea to accomplish the south Korean revolution and continue to fight until the day when socialism and communism will have been built in the whole of Korea. We can by no means rest content with the victory we have won in the northern half, nor should we relax in the least. We cannot degenerate into cowards who are afraid of shedding blood in the revolution and fear prison and the gallows. 
We must not forget even for a moment that the northern half is the base of the Korean revolution. We must firmly build up a mighty political, economic and military force in this revolutionary base and, relying on this base, must bring the Korean revolution to final completion. This is the duty of the Korean Communists. 
We must be prepared for the pressure that the revisionists  might bring to bear upon us in many ways. No matter how they may calumniate and slander us, we will brush them aside and uphold Marxism-Leninism to the last.
We will do everything in our power to support the anti imperialist national-liberation struggle of the oppressed peoples throughout the world and give active support to the revolutionary struggle of the working class in all countries against the domination of monopoly capital.
This line of ours is fundamentally opposed to revisionism. Because we are for the revolution and against imperialism, we have no alternative but to combat revisionism which is all agent of imperialism. The choice is between two roads: whether we firmly safeguard the banner of revolutionary Marxism Leninism against revisionism or degenerate into revisionists and yield to imperialism. We have no other way.
We must resolutely repudiate revisionism and continue our unyielding fight for the victory of the revolutionary cause.
Not only our Party but the Communist Parties of many Åsian countries subjected to imperialist encroachment are asserting that the revolution must be continued and a resolute struggle must be waged against revisionism.
As long as imperialism exists, there will be imperialist oppression; and as long as there is imperialist oppression, the people will struggle against it and revolution will break out. Only through their struggle and revolution can the people free themselves from the yoke of imperialist oppression and exploitation. The revolution calls for the firm safeguarding of Marxism-Leninism and the struggle against revisionism
The peoples of many countries in the world are still subjected to imperialist oppression and exploitation. Therefore, more and more people will make a revolution in the future. Whatever the revisionists may do in their attempt to paralyse the revolutionary consciousness of the masses and emasculate the revolutionary spirit of Marxism-Leninism, the revolutionary movement will continue and Marxism-Leninism will remain alive and triumph without fail. Just as the fall of capitalism and the victory of socialism are inevitable, so are the ruin of revisionism and the triumph of Marxism-Leninism.  In the whole Party, ideological work should be conducted thoroughly to oppose revisionism. While strengthening the Marxist-Leninist education of the Party members, the revisionist viewpoints and conceptions should be explained clearly to them, so that they will unerringly be able to tell right from wrong. It is very important here to make Lenin's attitude towards revisionism and how he criticized it known to the Party members. Ideological education has thus far been remiss in opposing revisionism. From now on, this work should be improved. 
 While waging the struggle against revisionism, we must fight against the Western way of life. Our struggle against the Western way of life is aimed at rejecting the American way of life, not everything Western. It can be said that revisionism is a first cousin to the Wesiern way of life. When revisionism comes in, the Western way of life comes along with it and vice versa.
O Now, concretely, what is the Western way of life? In music, for instance, it is represented by "jazz”, and in dance, by mambo (naked dance). When we speak of a Western lunatic or a frivolous and vain fellow, we refer to those who are infected with this Western way of life. National nihilists, flunkeyists, people who hate revolution and depraved persons readily accept the Western way of life. du We should prevent the infiltration of the Western way of life by strengthening Marxist-Leninist education, by establishing the Party ideological system, by stepping up education in the revolutionary traditions and by strengthening revolutionary order and discipline among the Party members and the working people. Party ideological work to repudiate revisionism
 and the Western way of life should be conducted energetically among the writers, artists and scientific workers in particular. Those who despise everything their own and worship everything foreign and those who lack the spirit of self-reliance are most susceptible to the Western way of life and revisionism.  Certain persons are denouncing self-reliance as nationalism. But how can it be nationalism? Self-reliance is the lofty revolutionary spirit of Communists. Why is it wrong to carry out revolution through one's own efforts and build socialism for oneself?
 It is impossible to make a revolution by depending on other countries. Dependence will lead to mistrust of one's own strength and also prevent efforts to make the best use of the domestic resources of one's own country. Self-reliance means building socialism and accomplishing the revolution on one's own by every means. This is the only way to be loyal to internationalism and contribute to the common cause of socialism.
We are not the people who reject foreign aid. We welcome the aid of the fraternal countries. Nobody will refuse to accept an offer of aid. But what should we do when nobody offers us aid? Even if nobody gives us aid, we must carry out the revolution and build socialism.
Comrades, formerly we had to buy grain from foreign countries every year. But, from this year on we need not do so because we had a good crop last year. What a good thing it is to harvest a good crop and lighten the burdens of our brother countries! I think this is real internationalism. How are we to interpret the mental attitude of those who do not give aid and at the same time slander self-reliance by calling it nationalism?
Even among our people there are also some who question self-reliance. Such people are found from time to time among the scientific workers. Having no faith in our own strength, these people think we cannot get along without aid from others. It is not true that we cannot live without aid. We can not only live as well as we wish even without aid, but also build socialism splendidly, and must certainly do so.
In order to instil the spirit of self-reliance in the Party members and the working people, we must continue to wage a vigorous struggle to reject flunkeyism and dogmatism and establish Juche, and, at the same time, must always educate them so that they will not become degenerate, but live frugally.
As for our Party's attitude towards the problem of unity in the international communist movement, we, of course, must always work for unity with the Soviet Union, China and the other socialist countries and for strengthening the unity of the socialist camp. 
But even though we work to cement unity with the fraternal countries, we can under no circumstances accept the demand to renounce the revolution and take to revisionism. We will support the fraternal.countries in whatever is right but will not follow them in whatever is wrong. This is our Party's attitude towards the problem of unity in the international communist movement which has been raised in connection with the struggle against modern revisionism. 
As regards revisionism, I think you will have an opportunity for a more profound study of it in the future. So, I will not speak of it any more today.
In conclusion, I once again emphasize that the whole Party, by strengthening its organizational and ideological work in accordance with the spirit of this plenary meeting, should strive to become a party which is militant and always dynamic, and to train our Party members to be indomitable revolutionary fighters capable of faithfully carrying out Party assignments under any difficult circumstances.