FROM THE WALLS OF PEKING

...Only the militants grouped around the Tribune of the People (itself the product of a radical split within the Tribune of April S), Inquiries, and to a lesser extent members of the League of the Rights of Man express a strong anti-Marxism and a no less lively hostility to the rule of the single party...

...Another example: "Jiao Da" whose words we find on the Wall deserves the epithet of "amateur slave" if one concedes that he probably received no instructions from superiors—but what an idea to choose as his 'Jiao Da is the name of the character in The Dream of the Red Pavillion, the well-known 18th-century novel...

...Whether they are "consenting adults" or not, their job in life is to carry out the orders of their superiors, especially if there is a profit to be got from it...

...The mouthpieces of this faction, Pekin(g) Spring (an allusion to the Prague Spring) and Science, Democracy, Legality, are inspired by the spirit of the "official heroes" of April 5, victims of the 1976 repression, subsequently promoted—after the fall of the "Four"—to the Central Committee of the Young Communist League...

...Deng Xiaoping is taken to task, and so on...

...5 Man is eminently sociable since he nearly always lives in a given society, but: (A) Society is made up of different individuals and each individual, while remaining in touch with other people, maintains an independent existence in response to his/ her inherent characteristics...

...They have the courage to paste up the dazibao, the courage to read them, the courage to formulate all sorts of opinions on taboo subjects...

...But, whether because of prudence or conviction, a majority of the members of these groups still professes attachment to Marxism if not to the thought of Mao...

...Aren't you overcome with gratitude...

...I am not talking to the overlords or to their slaves of whatever kind...

...Totalitarianism and Democracy Dictators throughout history have availed themselves of all sorts of jargons and methods, but they are at one in preaching a single theme to their people: since men live in society, the interests of that society take precedence over all other interests...

...Democracy, instead, is built on the fusion of individualities...

...These groups demand respect for democratic rights guaranteed in the Chinese Constitution and specifically the rights of free speech, organization, and the right to strike...

...This radical position is scarcely held, we may imagine, by the majority of the dissident activists...

...Their ideology and their [social] morality has not yet been freed from the bonds of feudal society, hence could not adapt to the interplay of a developed capitalist society...

...They do not hesitate to convoke meetings for public discussion and take the floor in the name 287 of their newspaper or organization...

...Three distinct tendencies may be clearly perceived in the movement...

...Until now, all that this type of socialism proposes is a sort of idealistic incarnation of the democratic revolution...

...5A quotation from Lin Piao's introduction to Mao's Little Red Book...

...Here is an example: those who brandished cudgels in Tienanmen Square two years ago and who struck people with them in the name of the "government of the people" may be called professional slaves...

...The differences among the units at the base of the social structurei...

...Originally, the aim of socialism was to achieve—by the socialization of production and of life itself—the administration and use by the people of those means necessary for the survival of the human race, namely the means of production...

...The first group disregards the following point: all totalitarianisms use the ideal of a marvelous future to justify the tyranny they practice today...

...This "better future," which we all know so well by now, is none other than dictatorship and tyranny...

...According to the second definition, socialism is the corrupt expression of totalitarianism because all the extant socialisms are totalitarian...

...One of these is signed with the pseudonym "Jiao Da...

...that is why it is essentially a form of cooperation...

...Flanking this moderate tendency, seven groups and newspapers joined forces to present a united front after the repression that took place at the end of January 1979: the Society of Light, the Tribune of April 5, Today, Reference Bulletin of the Masses, the League of the Rights of Man, the Tribune of the People, and Inquiries...

...Socialism is, then, first of all the capacity to live "equally" as equals...

...However, it is widespread enough so that the author of The Fifth Modernization—who uses the pseudonym of Jin Sheng—far from being an isolated case, is recognized as one of the chief directors of the democratic movement...

...since, despite your efforts, present-day democracy can only meet your aspirations halfway, you must concentrate all your energies on the "struggle for a better future...

...The author, who uses the pseudonym of Jin Sheng, has also written a document on the political prison of Quincheng where, in the time of Mao, purged political prisoners were kept...

...In China today, the word "amateur" is fashionable: for the moment, then, let us call our detractor an "amateur slave...

...Their infection must be entirely attributed to Marx and his heirs...

...Since the interests of society are common to all, a central administration or government is essential...

...He is the old family retainer, viz, slave, of the Jia family...

...feudal socialism" as practiced by the Chinese Communists is likened to National Socialism...

...This worthy "scientific" effort must be attributed to Marx...

...they all try, through a philosophy generated by feudal society, to make us believe that a minority can guide and ensure the happiness of the majority...

...Two policemen in civilian dress were caught noting down the bicycle license numbers of those who had parked in front of the Wall...

...They use this "compensation" to lull man's yearning for a better life...

...A young activist protested this "violation of the Constitution," since the posting and reading of the Wall newspapers are specifically authorized, and was hauled off to the guardhouse...

...The more moderate go back to Cho(u) En Lai (En-lai), who initiated the program of the Four Modernizations, and his heir Deng Xiaoping (Hsiao P'ing), in whom they believe they see the heralds of a "communism with a human face...

...There are those who believe that one may pull the wool over the eyes of the naive by using old tricks...

...The Fifth Modernization turns the spotlight on the development of Chinese communism and goes on to a "defense and illustration" of Western democracy...

...That they may be mentioned today is considered largesse, a concession granted at the insistence 288 of the higher-ups...

...It's a little as if one offered a drawing of a hard roll to someone who is hungry: one satisfies the spirit of people's wishes in order to block, by the facts of power, their search for a better life...

...Such socialisms all depend on the insertion of feudal cultural traditions to resist the young growth of democratic culture...

...4 Mao published a program called Of Popular Democratic Dictatorship just before the Liberation...

...It so successfully aroused interest that it gave rise to a small multilithed paper, Inquiries, whose first issue was dated January 7, 1979 and reproduced the first two dazibao...

...The remaining introductory remarks are by CLAUDE WIDOR, taken from Esprit: Since November 1978, a real movement of political debate has taken place around the so-called Democratic Wall...

...Impossible...

...as present-day democracy cannot meet your aspirations to a better life, dictatorship must be called in to the aid of the majority...

...I believe neither of these definitions is entirely correct...

...Of course, "amateur slaves" are the exception...

...This opening gambit sounded many provocative notes: Mao is identified with Stalin and Hitler...

...To adhere to this idealism means, in fact, to support totalitarianism...

...This is one proof of the inclination of the socialist movement toward democracy...

...There is not a single exception, for these socialist societies are the 290 direct issue of the cream of feudal philosophy: classic German philosophy...

...If emotion does not bring tears to your eyes, watch out: someone may well be taking down the number of your bike license1 2 Our young people are not the "sick men of Asia...

...And since government by a minority or even by a single individual offers a maximum of centralization, dictatorship is the ideal form of government...

...C) Thus, we must recognize the fact that individuality and sociability are two great components of human nature, but it is individuality that comes first...

...These dazibao, or wall journals, have given rise to like-minded newspapers and the papers, in turn, have expressed the views of small groups whose influence is on the increase...

...In denouncing the shortcomings of democracy as it exists, this socialism gave an explanation and a promise: since democracy can only profit a minority, dictatorship is needed...

...Constituting the militant part of the movement for awhile, they often paid for their courage with long years of imprisonment...

...The dissidents themselves would be hard put to it to answer this question...

...The difference between democracy and totalitarianism cannot be reduced to the 289 difference between individuality and sociability: instead, they are two different ways of being in different societies...

...To unite the socialist movement to people's aspirations for a better life, to incorporate idealism with socialism, that was the channel borrowed by totalitarianism...

...Is it insane daring or a bet on the eventual development of the regime...

...They are wrong: the young are not naive...

...C.W...

...The characteristic of totalitarianism is suppression of individuality and that of democracy is the protection and the fusion of individualities...

...The English version is taken from a French translation from the Chinese, printed in Esprit, the independent left magazine that appears in Paris...

...The first part of The Fifth Modernization was put up on December 5, 1978 at the Tsidan (Xidan) crossroads in the center of Pekin (Peking), and the second part toward the end of December...

...No one can cite a totalitarian state that does not oppress the individual and, as a consequence, reduce its people to slavery...

...Translated from the French by FRANCES KEENE...

...But they had in common with the rest of humanity the desire for a better life...

...Those who subscribe to the second definition consider only the present state of the socialist countries as a basis for judgment of socialism in general, without analyzing the intrinsic meaning and the total range of development processes of socialism—this view is too narrow...

...But can they fail to tremble before us, the questioners [the inquirers]73 I'll say it out loud: I offer my ideas to all questioners, all inquirers...

...Socialism and Democracy There are now two definitions of the word "socialism": the first defines socialism as the most rational form of.society, a step toward communism, the ideal form of society...

...But so long as these tendencies will not have won out over the people's superstitions concerning their dictators, so long as they will not have effaced all idealistic camouflage to return to reality, they will not have found the strength to overthrow dictatorship once and for all...

...To put it differently, every individual must have the opportunity for equal enjoyment, as well as the duty and ability to make equal use of these means of production...

...It is the question all patriots must ask themselves who do not wish to see China dragging in the wake of other nations, eventually to disappear from the surface of the earth, all who do not wish to see our people suffer endless distress...

...Even if they are stripped of all the means essential for reflection, their hopes will not be snuffed out...

...that is why they turn ineluctibly toward totalitarianism...

...And that is also why the tyrant is at once North Star and Navigator who will save humanity and "whom China has finally produced after hundreds, nay, thousands of years...

...besides, socialism naturally tends toward democracy...

...They are far less concerned with the Preamble to this Constitution, which makes Marxism-Leninism the official ideology and the Communist party "the directorial nexus of the Chinese people...

...This ability may be developed only through living in a form of free organization of society: democratic government...

...One may understand those who are slaves because of self-interest, but that in our country—ruled by overlords identical with those we find in The Dream of the Red Pavillion—there are persons who are ready to play the role of "amateur slaves" proves one thing: it is not the influence of a few individuals that gives tyranny or dictatorship its rocklike solidity but the support it can count on from a powerful feudal society...

...Here the author refers to an incident that took place in front of the Democratic Wall in December 1978...

...How does it happen that every present-day "socialist" country is the direct descendent of the more retrograde feudal societies...

...3 An allusion to the journal Inquiries, in which this text was published...

...Sheng himself was arrested on March 29, 1979, in the suppression of the "excesses" of democracy...

...The Fifth Modernization Since the first part of The Fifth Modernization was pasted up on the Democratic Wall, we have seen some harsh comments appear on the subject...

...Moreover, once the dictators have achieved power, they suffer from recurrent attacks by these democratic trends...

...And, in fact, one can tell a professional from an amateur slave...

...Those most convinced of this are those most affected by the poison of propaganda...

...And no one can cite a democratic state that is not the fusion of the majority of its citizens and does not base its existence on the needs of individuals...

...That is why the social character of the individual derives from his individuality...

...Would you rather live slave or free...

...This form of socialism—totalitarianism—perfectly corresponded to the needs of people at that time...

...Following the track of this idealist socialism amounts, then, to supporting totalitarianism—[i.e.] fascism and dictatorship...

...B) The "social nature" of man is formed by the convergence of the points of view and interests held in common by these numerous different individuals...

...This is not a question to be taken lightly...

...Each and every government of fascist dictatorship that has risen to power by the socialist method has had perforce pitilessly to purge the democratic tendencies that have insinuated themselves into the socialist mind...

...What follows is an abridged translation of the second part...

...In the first part, the author proposed in a somewhat disorderly fashion a number of themes that he takes up methodically in the second and third parts...

...Of course, the authorities can stop the progress opened by the Democratic Wall...

...The situation in our country offers a grim picture: for some time now, we have been forbidden even to mention the Four Modernizations...

...e., the individuals—are at the root of the differences of the societies themselves...

...Like a whiplash, this has goaded them to search out the weak points in the established "Truth" and to seek a route that leads to a new life—democracy...

...Can the "Four Modernizations" [i.e., modernization of industry, agriculture, science, and the army] be achieved in a society ruled by overlords plus professional and amateur slaves...

...For the great majority of Chinese, this question is superfluous...

...the very existence of human society is conditioned by the existence of these individuals who form that society...

...This question truly deserves pondering...

...There was a second issue of Inquiries, put out on January 27, which featured a continuation of The Fifth Modernization: Three sections appeared in all...

...There were socialists before Marx but, at that time, they were associated with the democratic movement...

...This pseudonym immediately conjures up the image of the "slave," and, like the utterances of all slaves, the criticism this one levels is pitiable...

...The text here presented is amazing for its daring...

...The way of being in a totalitarian society is the oppression of the individuality of its subjects, that is why totalitarianism is essentially a form of slavery...

...since you haven't the habit of taking your fate into your own hands, you must entrust it to the dictatorship...

...pseudonym the name of the dyed-in-the-wool slave in The Dream of the Red Pavillion...

...That is why "popular democratic dictatorship "4 led to the tyranny of "the Great Navigator...

...Our youth needs new routes to open up if it is to have a new life...

...The result—fascism and dictatorship—cannot be due to chance since it is ubiquitous...

...Although they have not yet targeted as false what was presented to them as "Truth," they have nonetheless lost faith for some time now in the "Truth" they have been exposed to over the past several decades...

...They have pierced the "bamboo curtain" and glimpsed the light...