Notes on studying "Anti-Duhring'

by Wang Che

Duhring— "Genius" or Swindler? sarcastically, then "we have before us the greatest genius of all time, the first superhuman, because in• NT1-D UHRING, Engels' great work, was the pro• fallible," and we common human beings could only duct of an acute inner-party struggle. "sink to the ground in deepest reverence before the • : During the 1870s, Eugen Duhring, a lecturer at mightiest genius of all time." Berlin University, came out with a series of works Engels' remark hit the nail on the head, because which' launched ah all-round attack on , from Duhring just wanted to establish his authority through philosophy and to the theory of so• this kind of advertising propaganda. He wanted others cialism. This attack did great damage to party unifica• to believe that he, the great "genius" and "superhuman,'? tion and unity because it was in 1875 that the two was infallible and that things would be all right if others sections of the German workers' organization, namely blindly followed. him. the Eisenachers and Lassalleans, had just joined to set up the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany. Although Marx and Engels despised.and were disgusted at

there were big defects in this fusion, to a certain degree all: of. Duhring's trash. Calling him . an "impertinent it ended the situation in which there were sectarian dwarf," Engels said that Duhring's babbling was "one splits and confusion in the German and of the most characteristic types of \ bumptious strengthened the party. However, many people in the pseudo-science" and "sublime nonsense." It was un• party did not study the basic theoretical question very- fortunate, however, that such stuff was then forcing its

well and their understanding of the Marxist world out• way to the fore in • Germany. Not only did Bernstein 1 look was rather shallow. Taking advantage of this, become an active Duhringist, but a good comrade like Duhring made himself up as a big theoretical authority Bebel was also deceived by him. Far from being of the party by blowing his own trumpet and cheating "purely academic," Duhring had clear-cut political and in order to peddle his pseudo-socialist goods and create: organizational lines. His theoretical attack on Marxism splits in the party. was prepared for his sham and for splitting the party organizationally. - Filled with wild ambition, As Engels had pointed out, Duhring and his little he formed a sect in the party, attempting to make it sect "were using all the arts of advertisement and in• the nucleus of a future separate party. His activities trigue." While he himself actiially was a charlatan, had indeed developed to an extent that was inimical to D-ahring berated others as "charlatans." Copying, steal• the cause of the party. ing and talking nonsense, Duhring had the cheek to repudiate others time and again as "idiots" and "buf• To raise the party's theoretical level, maintain party fooneries," as if he was the greatest genius. Using unity and make the recently united party advance along high-sounding adjectives, he pompously and shame• a correct line, Engels,- supported and joined by Marx, lessly praised himself'— a "new mode of thought,"' took up his pen to smash Duhring's fierce attack. "from the ground up original conclusions and views," "system-creating ideas," "an all-round penetrating work A Priori Method Is qn Idealist Method

of thought," "in-the:grand style," aru} so forth.-Briefly, Duhring had a full basket. Engels listed its con• in his" eyes, everyone-else was no good, other people's tent's as following: Nothing less than a complete System theories were all-worthless and only his was-the "firial- of Philosophy, -mental,- moral, natural, and historical; a ahd •ultimate truth." If that was the-case,-Engels said- complete -System of Political - Economy and Socialism;

March 10, 1972 5 and3 finally, a Critical History of Political Economy — created natural and human history, and nature and three big volumes in octavo. All this seemed quite human history were governed by logical laws or "the formidable. But there was a question: Where did these universal divine reason." Duhring was completely ex• big volumes and articles come from? posed by Engels who pointed out that on the one hand Weaving his web like a spider, Duhring made up Duhring in general repudiated Hegel's philosophy as this whole series of systems out of his "genius' " brain. "delirious fantasies," on the other hand Duhring copied He imagined that, without any kind of experience and the really "delirious fantasies" of Hegel's apriorism. starting from the simplest "basic forms" or "basic In criticizing apriorism, Engels incisively elaborated elements" of things, he could logically deduce a whole the principle of the materialist theory of reflection. He system of philosophy by applying several understood said that principle was not the starting point of research, axioms of philosophy and then, by sovereign decree, he but was its ultimate result, that it "was not for the ob• imposed this constitution on nature and humanity. jective world to adapt to principle but a principle was Engels pointed out: correct only when it conformed to the objective world. "This is only giving a new twist to the old favourite But Duhring turned things upside down. With con• -ideological method, also known as the a priori method, vincing arguments, Engels explained that all , which consists in ascertaining the properties of an object including mathematics which seemed very abstract, -by logical deduction from the concept of the object, came from practical experiences. instead of from the object itself. . . . The object is then Duhring's "socialism" was created by the apriori to conform to the concept, not the concept to the ob• method. According to him, socialism was neither a re• ject. . . . The philosophy of reality . . . proves ... to flection of the objective law of social development at all be . . . the deduction of reality not from itself but from nor a reflection of the class interests of the , a concept." but was derived from the so-called principle that, was universal and just. Apriorism is an idealist theory of knowledge. The materialist theory of reflection holds that ideas are the In order to penetratingly expose Duhring's error reflection of objective reality, that all true knowledge from a broad historical background, Engels described originates from experience. So. there is no knowledge in detail the emergence and development of the idea prior to experience. Yet apriorism holds that the ra• of socialism. He gave a general account of the ideas tional includes -some "gifted concept," "self-understood of the Utopians Saint-Simon, Fourier and Owen whose reason,"' "born principles" or -logical categories, philosophical ideas were derived from the French that it does not arise from experience but is innate in materialists of the 18th century. However all material• the mind,-and .that starting from -these principles or ism before Marx' was not thorough; especially when categories, one can get real knowledge through logical its proponents talked about things in the sphere of deduction. -Apriorists do not admit the dependence of social life, they, all slipped into idealism. These Uto• conceptual knowledge upon perceptual knowledge, but pians were no exception. They observed social history think that- the former is independent; they oppose pro• not from the conditions of material life in society, but ceeding from practical experience, but stand for proceed• from the so-called principle of reason. They judged ing from the rational. They do not proceed from facts everything by their "reason." They also put socialism to concepts but vice versa. on the basis of the principles of "reason" and "justice." They regarded abstract principles like "reason" -and The most well-known representative of apriorism "justice" as primary and demanded that social life con• is the 18th century German philosopher Kant. He held form to these principles. As a result they submerged that sense material alone could not become knowl• themselves in apriorism. edge, because such material itself was confused and in• significant, and knowledge was formed only after The Utopians' theses, however, played a positive sense material had been arranged through human rea• role under the then historical conditions. But it was son' by innate logical categories. While being arranged, entirely retrogressive and reactionary for Duhring to sense material was given a law by human reason. put out his stuff when Marxism had emerged. Actually, Therefore law did not exist objectively, but was his aim was not to advocate socialism at all. AsEngels created by human beings. Hegel also was an apriorist made clear, Duhring did not raise, even in the slightest although what he said was somewhat different. He held way, any criticism of the capitalist mode of . that reason or logical categories existed long, before Duhring thought it was very fine. He only fancied world history.. The development of these categories that capitalist society could eliminate its defects. This

6 Peking Review, No. 10 obviously is neither nor Utopian so• have spared humanity 500 years of error, strife, and cialism, but Utopian ! suffering." China's Wang Ming, Liu Shao-chi and other swind• There was a legendary saying in ancient China that lers tailed after Duhring. They denied practice, neg• "a wise ruler will emerge every 500 years," and the lected investigation and study and advocated "cultiva• Jewish nation had recorded the coming of the Messiah tion" behind closed doors. They regarded general truth as told by the prophets. These embody the wish for a as pure abstract formula out of the vacuum, and spread sage or saviour to emerge in so many years who would the fallacy that theory was the product of a genius' deliver the people. from their misery. It was a great brain. As early as the 1930s, they used "reason" as the pity that so few sages or saviours appeared central slogan of "national defence philosophy," saying every 500 or 1,000 years. Before they came into that "reason" was the "universal and just basis of truth." being, the slaves had no alternative but wait patiently. They even said that socialism would surely be Consciously or unconsciously, the Utopian socialists con• achieved so long as this abstract "reason" was developed. sidered themselves saviours. From their viewpoint, Later they propagated a supra-class "philosophy of history was not made by slaves but by heroes, geniuses public interests" and distorted as the reali• and great men. Past history was dark and full of zation of an abstract principle of "public interests" to ignorance and errors, and only one or two geniuses cover up their real aim of opposing the dictatorship of could bring the light of reason to the world and create a the proletariat and clinging to the capitalist road. They genuinely rational society. They put the question of also - denied that the human brain coiild only reflect social system as one of knowledge which they summed objective laws and babbled that objective laws depend• up to be a question of genius. Consequently they- ed on human beings for development. Since human negated mass struggle and class struggle. Though Duh• beings could develop objective laws, they certainly could ring had thoroughly discredited the Utopian -socialists, create them too. Aren't all these refurbished versions he completely inherited and developed their mistaken of apriorism which had long been repudiated by view. Marxism in the history of thought? From studying Anti-Duhring, we are able to see the reactionary ideal• Using the materialist conception of history, Engels ism.' of these swindlers very clearly. thoroughly refuted this idealist conception of history. - He pointed out that the final causes of all social and . Historical Development Is Not Decided by political changes should be sought, not in man's brain- Men of Genius or better-insight into "eternal truth" or "universal jus• • • Utopian socialists believed that society could be tice," but, in, the economic base of society and class changed by the force of reason alone and that reason struggle. The birth of capitalism was not .because of was apriorist and eternal. They denied the fact that mistakes in man's knowledge; it was historically.inevi• knowledge depends on social practice and truth is a pro• table because the capitalist system corresponded to the cess of development. Proceeding from this, they in• development of the social prodiictive forces under the evitably derived the idealist conception of history which then historical conditions. Similarly, that the capitalist considers history as being created by genius. Engels system must give way to the socialist system is not. be• said: cause people come to know that it is contradictory to the principles of justice and equality or merely because "[To all these] socialism is the expression of absolute they want to abolish classes, but because the capitalist truth, reason and justice and needs only to be discovered retard the development of the to conquer all the world by virtue of its own power. social productive forces and only the socialist relations And as absolute truth is independent of time, space, of production can liberate those forces. Therefore^ and of the historical development of man, it is a mere the question is not one of first imagining a per• accident when and where it is discovered." "If pure fect social system in the mind and then imposing it on reason and justice have not, hitherto, ruled the world, society. Only by objectively observing and knowing this has been the case only becaixse men have not rightly the laws governing the development of society and rely• understood them. What was wanted was the individual ing on the struggle of the masses to transform theory man of genius, who has now arisen and who understands into material force can society be changed. the truth. That he has now arisen, that the truth has now been clearly understood, is not an inevitable event; Marxism has always recognized the reaction of following of necessity in- the chain of- historical devel• mental on material things and the role of heroes, leaders opment, but a mere happy accident. He might just as. and geniuses in history. But no matter how great the well have been born 50fr years earlier, and might then geniuses are, they cannot change the laws of history and

March-10,1972 7 decide its course. • History is not created by a few men works, the more dearly we see through these swindlers' of genius but by the masses of the people. Only when lies and sophistry. . the ideas of heroes, leaders and men- of genius represent the interests of the advanced class, correspond to the Scientific Socialism Emerges and Develops on the needs of the objective reality and are grasped by Basis of Revolutionary Practice the masses can they become a great material force to Why couldn't people like Saint-Simon found scien• transform the world. tific socialism? Was it because they lacked genius? A genius is no more than somewhat wiser and more No. Engels regarded Saint-Simon as a man of genius, talented than the others. But where do wisdom and but no genius can go beyond the limit set by his time. talent come from? Liu Shao-chi described wisdom as It was because of the historical conditions that people a "natural quality," inherent and independent of social like Saint-Simon fell into . At that practice, and purely physiological endowment. This is time capitalism was in its period of ascendancy and the just a refurbished version of apriorism. Talent belongs struggle of the proletariat against the had to the category of knowledge and is not something en• not developed yet, so it was impossible to foresee the dowed by nature. Although man's wisdom and ability and the dictatorship of the proletariat. are related to the degree of perfection of his brain, the i Why could Marx and Engels found scientific social• evolution of his brain has been the result of man's long• ism? Was it merely or mainly because of their genius? time labour and the development of language. As the The answer is no. As to Marx' genius, Engels only human brain itself is a product of labour, how can man's mentioned it on a few occasions and never specially wisdom and ability be separated from social practice? stressed it. On the contrary, Engels stressed in many Moreover, physiological differences between people can- places in Anti-Duhring and his other works the histori• hot explain at all that talent is naturally endowed be• cal and practical conditions which gave rise to Marxism. cause they only constitute the natural material founda• In the era of Marx and Engels natural science made tion for the development of talent and provide the possi• tremendous advances and the three great discoveries bility for this development. The real forming of talent of cells, transformation of energy and the evolution of is acquired through tempering and study. All such asser• living things provided strong scientific proof of dialec• tions as born "talent," "all-embracing talent" or leaders tics. On the other hand, in the words of Engels, "cer• are nothing but out-and-out lies! Wisdom and.ability tain historical facts had occurred which led to a decisive can be .derived only, from social practice and from the change in the conception of history," i.e., the first work• masses;. Chairman "Mao has. contributed" greatly to the ers' uprising in Lyons, France, in 1831 and the Chartist development of this question. He pointed out: The movement — the first nationwide workers' movement brain of any hero and outstanding man can only play in England which reached its climax between 1838 and the role of a processing plant and its raw material or 1842. These facts showed that with the development of semi-finished products come from the masses. The big industry and of the bourgeoisie's newly seized polit• lowly who" personally take part in practice are most ical rule, the class struggle between the proletariat intelligent and truth is in the hands of the masses. Only and the bourgeoisie was raised to the principal con• when the leaders first become students of the masses tradiction in the most developed European countries. can they become the lattef's teachers. According to Marx and Engels were able to found their theories this view, geniuses are not isolated individuals, but are precisely because they personally took part in revolu• the representatives of the classes. They come from the tionary practice at that time, read many books, studied masses, and are most adept at concentrating their wis• large quantities of material in natural science and so• dom. If there were no masses, there would be no cial history, studied the economic structure of capi• talism and its inner contradictions and summed up the genius. The masses are the real heroes and the genius historical experience of the International workers' of heroes and leaders is the concentrated expression of movement. As Engels put it: "Socialism was no longer the wisdom of the masses, the classes and the party. an accidental discovery of this or that ingenious brain, Obviously, the genius referred to by Marxists is but the necessary outcome of the struggle between two entirely different from what the idealists talk about. historically developed classes — the proletariat and the Liu Shao-chi and swindlers like him put a Marxist label bourgeoisie." on the idealist apriorist trash- and thought they could deceive people by-substituting the false -for the truth.- ' Liu Shao-chi and swindlers like him •' described-

However, the more diligently we study the works of genius • as something mysterious - and -:preached- -that Marx, Enge's, -Lenin - and Stalin and Chairman Mao's" geniuses-were men of-"foresight-and-vision.•'- All this'

8 Peking Review,- No. 10 obviously is apriorist trash which runs completely coun• world." Engels scathingly refuted this fallacy, point• ter to Marxism. Chairman Mao has pointed out: ing out: Everyone's knowledge is limited by subjective "In feudal society it was impossible to know the laws and objective conditions and therefore cannot be of un• of capitalist society in advance because capitalism had conditional and paramount significance. The so-called not yet emerged, the relevant practice was lacking. "infallible" genius and superman who exhausts absolute Marxism could be the product only of capitalist society. truth simply does not exist. However, through the Marx, in the era of laissez-faire capitalism, could not efforts of generation after generation, mankind is con• concretely know certain laws peculiar to the era of im• tinuously approaching absolute truth. In this sense, perialism beforehand, because imperialism, the last only the endless development of man's knowledge itself stage of capitalism, had not yet emerged and the rele• is of unconditional and paramount authority. vant practice was lacking; only Lenin and Stalin could Liu Shao-chi and swindlers like him kept changing undertake this task. Leaving aside their genius, the their tactics in opposing Marxism--Mao reason why Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin could work Tsetung Thought. At first they described Marxism- out their theories was mainly that they personally took Leninism in absolute terms and negated the fact that part in the practice of the class struggle and the scien• Mao Tsetung Thought is a development of Marxism- tific experimentation of their time; lacking this condi• Leninism. After this tactic had failed, they in turn tion, no genius could have succeeded." Here Chairman tried to make Mao Tsetung Thought absolute and Mao pointed out very clearly that genius is neither denied the fact that Mao Tsetung Thought can develop the only nor the principal condition, that the principal continuously. The greatness of Chairman Mao lies condition is practice and there is no such thing as "fore• precisely in' the fact that he always stands in the van sight and vision" free from the restrictions set by of history and continuously makes his thought and history and practice. practice advance together. Making Mao Tsetung Similarly Mao Tsetung Thought can only emerge Thought absolute and solidified in itself is counter to in the present era in which imperialism is heading for Mao Tsetung Thought. Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung total collapse and socialism Is advancing to'worldwide Thought has in no way exhausted truth but ceaselessly victory. Chairman Mao has been able to develop Marx- opens up roads to the knowledge of truth in the course ism-Leninism to a new stage mainly because modern of practice. Liu Shao-chi and the other swindlers su• China was the focus of the various contradictions in the perficially praised Mao Tsetung Thought, but actually East and Chairman Mao, in the great struggle led by him disparaged and slandered it; superficially they wanted of carrying out the new-democratic revolution, the so• to establish the absolute authority of Chairman Mao, cialist revolution and socialist .construction in China over but actually they were trying to establish their own the past half century and during the great struggle absolute authority. We must thoroughly expose their against Imperialism, modern and the reac• vicious and treacherous tactics! tionaries of various countries, has summed up the * * * 1 enormously rich and new experience of the. proletariat It is almost 100 years since Engels wrote his Anti- and the revolutionary masses and integrated the univer• Duhring. Although Duhring had been fairly well- sal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete prac• known, a few years after Anti-Duhring was published, tice of the contemporary revolution. nobody paid any more attention to his works, while Man's practice is a process of continuous develop• Engels' Anti-Duhring became one of the most popular• ment and will never be ended; so is man's knowl• ized Marxist classics which still preserves its splendour edge. People's knowledge at any given stage of develop• today. It is because of his role as a teacher by negative ment is relative truth which contains factors of absolute example that Duhring was not completely forgotten. truth but is not absolute truth. What is absolute truth? People know his name only by reading Anti-Duhring. Chairman Mao has given a precise definition: "The How inexorable is history's judgment! However, Liu sum total of innumerable relative truths" constitutes Shao-chi and swindlers of his type could not learn the absolute truth. "Innumerable" means countless - and historical lesson from this fact. They still used aprior• knowledge cannot be completed. Therefore, no in• ism to oppose the theory of reflection and dressed dividual can exhaust absolute truth and enjoy abso• themselves up as geniuses who created history, born lute scientific authority. Putting on airs as an absolute saviours and infallible supermen so as'to carry out authority who "knows everything," Duhring adver• their criminal .plot, of usurping Party and state power tised his goods as the "final and ultimate truth" and and restoring capitalism. But all this was only wishful bragged that his thinking was able to exclude any tend• thinking. Unable to turn back the. wheel of history, ency to a "subjectively limited conception . of. the thejf;1could only^be, .crushed ^ by it in .the end!.. ... ;

March 10, 1972 9