It Is Right to Rebel!

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of It Is Right to Rebel! has been prepared and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the following edition: Speech at a Meeting of All Circles in Yan'an to Commemorate Stalin's Sixtieth Birthday, in Mao's Road to Power, First English Edition, Vol. 7, M.E. Sharpe, Armonk and London, 2005.

#INTRODUCTION NOTE

This is a speech delivered by Comrade Mao Zedong at a rally to celebrate Comrade I.B. Stalin's 60th birthday in Yan'an, Shaanxi, China on the 21st of December, 1939. It was first published in the Renmin Ribao (20th of December, 1949).

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#IT IS RIGHT TO REBEL!

#SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE YAN'AN RALLY TO CELEBRATE COMRADE STALIN'S 60TH BIRTHDAY

#Mao Zedong

#21st of December, 1939

#★

Today, we are holding a meeting to congratulate Stalin on his 60th birthday. «From ancient times, few people have reached the age of 70», and living to the age of 60 is also rare. But why do we celebrate only Stalin's birthday? And why, moreover, are such celebrations taking place, not only in Yan'an, but in the whole country and in the whole world? Provided only that they know who the person is who was born on this day, provided that they know what kind of person he is, then all those who suffer oppression will congratulate him. The reason is that Stalin is the saviour of all oppressed people. What kind of people are opposed to congratulating him and do not like to congratulate him? Only those who do not suffer oppression, but, on the contrary, oppress other people, first of all, the imperialists.

Comrades! A foreigner, who is separated from us by thousands of kilometres, and whose birthday is celebrated by everyone — is this not an unprecedented event? This is because he is leading the great Council Union, because he is leading the great Communist International, because he is leading the cause of the liberation of all humanity, and because he is helping China to fight Japan.

At present, the whole world is divided into two fronts fighting against each other. On the one side is imperialism, which represents the front of the oppressors. On the other is socialism, which represents the front of resistance to oppression. Some people imagine that the national-revolutionary front in the colonial and semi-colonial countries occupies an intermediate position, but its enemy is imperialism, and hence it cannot do otherwise than call on the friendship of socialism, and it cannot but belong to the revolutionary front of resistance to the oppressors. China's Right wing imagines that it can play both sides, and, at the same time, set up arches in honour of its own virtue, fighting Communism with one hand and resisting Japan with the other. The Right-wing elements call themselves Centrists, but they will never achieve their aims. If they do not repent, they will certainly end by going over to the side of the counter-revolution. Both the revolutionary and the counter-revolutionary fronts must have someone to act as their leader, someone to serve as their commander. Who is the commander of the counter-revolutionary front? It is imperialism, it is Chamberlain. Who is the commander of the revolutionary front? It is socialism, it is Stalin. Comrade Stalin is the leader of the world revolution. This is an extremely important circumstance. Among all of humanity, this person, Stalin, has appeared, and this is a very great event. Because he is there, it is easier to get things done. As you know, Marx is dead, and Engels and Lenin are dead, too. If there were no Stalin, who would issue the orders? This is indeed a fortunate circumstance. Because there now is a Council Union, a Communist International, and a Stalin in the world, world affairs can be dealt with more easily. What does a revolutionary commander do? They see to it that everyone has food to eat, clothes to wear, a place to live, and books to read. And in order to achieve this, they must lead more than 1'000'000'000 people to fight against the oppressors and lead them to win final victory. This is precisely what Stalin wants to do. Since this is the case, should not all those who suffer oppression congratulate Stalin? I think they should and must. We should congratulate, support, and study him.

The two aspects of Stalin which we want to study are the theoretical aspect and the practical aspect.

Marxism consists of thousands of truths, but they all boil down to the one sentence: «It is right to rebel.» For thousands of years, it has been said that it was right to oppress, it was right to exploit, and it was wrong to rebel. This old verdict was only reversed by the appearance of Marxism. This is a great contribution. It was through struggle that the proletariat learned this truth, and Marx drew the conclusion. And, from this truth, there follows resistance, struggle, and the fight for socialism. What is Comrade Stalin's contribution? He developed this principle further, developed Marxism-Leninism further, and produced a very clear, concrete, and living theory for the oppressed people of the whole world. This is the complete theory for establishing a revolutionary united front, overthrowing imperialism and capitalism, and establishing a socialist society.

The practical aspect consists in turning theory into reality. Neither Marx, Engels, nor Lenin carried to completion the cause of establishing a socialist society, but Stalin did so. This is a great and unprecedented exploit. Before the Council Union's two five-year plans, the capitalist newspapers of various countries proclaimed daily that the Council Union was in desperate straits, that socialism was unreliable, but what do we see today? Chamberlain's mouth has been silenced, as have the mouths of those Right-wing elements in China. They all recognize that the Council Union has triumphed.

Apart from helping us from the theoretical standpoint in our War of Resistance Against Japan, Stalin has also given us concrete, practical aid. Since the victory of Stalin's cause, he has aided us with many aeroplanes, cannons, aviators, and military advisers in every theatre of operations, as well as lending us money. What other country in the world, led by what class, political party, and leader, has helped us in this way? Who is there, apart from the Council Union, the proletariat, the Communist Party of the Council Union, and Stalin?

At present, there are some people who call themselves our friends, but in fact can only be classed with Li Linfu of the Tang Dynasty. This Mr. Li Linfu was a person who had «honey on his lips and murder in his heart». The imperialists all have honey on their lips and murder in their hearts, and Chamberlain is a present-day Li Linfu. What imperialist country has abolished the special privileges enjoyed by many countries in China, such as the right to station troops, consular jurisdiction, extraterritoriality, and so on? Not a single one. Only the Council Union has abolished them.

In the past, Marxism-Leninism provided theoretical guidance to the world revolution. Today, something has been added: It is possible to provide material aid to the world revolution. This is Stalin's great contribution.

After we have celebrated Stalin's birthday, we must continue to carry out propaganda among the people of the whole country to make these facts known. We must explain things clearly to the 450'000'000 Chinese people, so that our whole people understands that only the Union of Socialist Council Republics, only Stalin, are the good friends of China.