Ghairman tlao's Theory of the llifferentiation 0l the Three llorlds.ls a Major Contrihution To ilarxism-Leninism by the Editoriol Deportment of "Renmin Riboo" !tltllllllllllllllllltttttl11111ililililtilililililllilil1ililtltltlil1iltlInililllil!ill|llilttillllr ll/TORE than a year has elapsed since the Leninist theory. This is a valuable asset not tYI passing of our great leader and teacher only to the Chinese people but also to the Chairman. Mao Tsetung. He is no longer with international proletariat and revolutionary us, but he has bequeathed us a very rich and people of the world. preeious legacy. Invincible Mao Tsetung Consistently upholding proletarian interna- Thought wilJ. always illuminate the road of our tion'alism, Chairman Mao' formulated China's struggle as we continue the revolution. line, principles and policies in foreign affairs In his life as a great revolutionary, and guided their implementation. He taught Chairman Mao inherited, defended and us to strengthen our unity with the socialist developed Marxism-Leninism both in theory countries and with the proletariat and oppressed and in practice. His contributions to the people and nations throughout the world and Chinese revolution and the world, revolution' firmly support the revolutionary struggles of are immortal. the people of all countries; he taught us to Principles Peaceful Co- Under Chairman Mao's leadership the follow the Five of existence in developing relations with all Chinese people triumphed in the revolution countries, persist combating the im- against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat- to in perialist and social-imperialist policies ag- capitalism, founded the socialist People's Re- of gression and war and superpower hegemonism, publie of China and brought about a radical to fight any manifestation of great-nation change in the situation in the East and chauvinism in our relations with other throughout the world. In guiding the Chinese countries and never to seek hegemony. Over. revolution through its various stages, he correct- a long period of time, Comrade Chou En-lai, his ly solved such fundamental problems as the comrade-in-arms, his seizure of state power through waging close implemented armed revolutionary line in foreign affairs with struggle to encircle the cities from the country- firmness and great distinction. We Chinese side, the establishment of the dictatorship of the people and beloved proletariat through winning nationwide victory will follow our respected Premier Chou's example and will always in the new-democratic revolution and the faithfully carry out these behests of Chairman switch over to the sociallst revolution, and the development of socialism and the prevention Mao's. of capitalist restoration through continuing the By integrating the universal truth of revolution under the dictatorship of the prbte- Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of tariat. ,h a new period and under new the world revolution, Chairman Mao scien- circumstances, he accumulated and summed up tifically analysed the international situation in a rich store of experience in revolution and different periods and drew illuminating construction and greatly developed Marxist- conclusions, thus greatly promoting the revo- L0 Peki.ng Reoi.ew, No. 45 lutionary cause of the proletariat and the theory provides the international proletariat, liberation of the oppressed nations all over the the socialist countries and the oppressed nations worldi with a powerful ideological weapon for forging unity and building the broadest united front With the boldness and vision of a against the two hegemonist powers their proletarian revolutionar5r, Chairman Mao and war'policies and pushing the revolu- initiated a momentous struggle in.the interna- for world tion forward. communist movement to repudiate tional I modern revisionism with the Soviet revisionist Chairman Mao was the greatest Marxist renegade clique as its centre, and rallied the of our time. Like Lenin, he -was the great international proletariat to push on under the teacher of the international proletariat and the militant banner of Mar:rism-Leninism. oppressed people and nations. He has made an inestimable contribution progress of Chairman Mao put forward the theory of to the mankind. the differentiation of the three worlds at a time when the two superpowers, the Soviet In this article we propose to explain at Union and the United States, became locked in some length his theory of the three worlds and a cut-throat struggle for world hegemony and its far-reaching significance for the revolu- were actively preparing for a new war. This tionary struggle oi the people of all countries. The Differentiation of the Three Worlds ls a Scientific Marxist Assessment of Present-Day World Realities Chairuran Mao's theory of the three worlds proletariat must fight together with the op- sgiqnfifinrlly epitomizes the objective realities pressed nations. of class struggle on the world arena today. In In order to have a co{rect understanding of this theory he inherited, defended and developed basic Man<ist-Leninist principles. Chairman Mao's thesis of the differentiation of the Jhree worlds, we must apply dialectical In his talk with the leader of a third.world materialism to appraising present-day interna- countr5r in February 1974, Chairman Mao said, tional political phenomena and start from real- "In my view, the United States and the Soviet ity and not from abstractions, as Lenin and Union form the first world. Japan, Eutope and Stalin did when they discussed the connections Canada, the middle section, belong to the second between national and international problems, world. TYe are the third world." "The third world saying that these must "not be considered in has a huge population. With the exception of isolation but on . .a world scale"l and Japan, Asia belongs to the third world. The "should be appraised not from the point of whole of Africa belongs to the third world, and view of formal democracy, but from the point Latin Ameri@ too." of view of the dctual results, as shown by the general balance sheet of the struggle against This differentiation is a scientific conclusion imperialism."2 which is based on the analysis of the develop- ment of the fundamental contradictions of the In appearance, this theory of Chairman contemporary world and the changes in them Mao's seems to involve only relations between in accordance with Lenin's theses that our era corintries and between nations in the present- is the era of imperialism and proletarian day world, but, in essence, it bears directly on revolution, that the development.of imperialist the vital question of present-day class struggle countries is uneven and the imperialist priwers on a world scale. In the final analysis, national inevitably try to redivide the world by means struggle is a matter of ciass struggle.s .The of war, and that, as imperialism has brought same holds true o.! relations-between countries. about the division of the whole world into op- Relations between countries or nations are pressor and oppressed nations, the international based on relations between class€s, and they are Norsem,ber 4, 7977 11 interconnected and extr:emely complicated. We tional and colonial questions at the'Second can hardly form correct judgments on inter- Congress of the Communist International in national politicai phenomena and make a 1920, Lenin said, "The characteristic feature correct differentiation of the political forces of of imperialism consists in the whole world . the world if we adopt an idealistic or being divided into a large number of oppressed metaphysical approach and make abstract, and an insignificant number of oppres- -so"nations isolated observations instead of proceeding from nations, the latter possessing colossal the international class struggle as a wfrole and wealth and powerful armed forces."7 When making a concrete analysis of concrete cases at Stalin dealt with the national question in The a given time, in a given place and under given Foundations of Lenirtism in 1924, he too said conditions. that "the world is divideil into two eamps:'the camp of a handful of civilized nations, which Marxist-Leninists invariably adhere. to the possess finance capital and exploit the vast international proletariat, uphold stand of the majority of the population of the globe; and the general interests of the revolutionary people the camp of the oppressed and exploited countries international class struggle of all in peoples in the colonies and dependent countries, and persist replacement of the capitalist in the which constitute that majoritY."s In fact, these system with. the communist system as their concluSions reflected the existence of another maximum programrne. the situation with But kind of fundarhental contradiction in the world. regard to this struggle is intricate and volatile. The differentiations drawn by Irnin and The internationhl bourgeoisie has never been Stalin are undoubtedly both correct, the only a monolithic whole, nor can it ever be. The difference lying in what they emphasized. When international working-class movement has also they had to make a comprehensive and experienced one split-after another, subject as concrete differenti.ation of the world's political it is to the influence of alien classes. In waging forces in a given period, they started with an struggle on international arena, the the the overall investigation of the many fundamental proletariat must unite .with all those who can contradictions existing in the world. be united in the light of what is imperative and feasible in different historical periods, so as to The transition from the capitalist to the develop the progressive forces, win over the socialist system on a global scale is a very long miitdle forces and isolate the diehards.a and tortuous process, full of complicated strug- Therefore,'we can never lay down any hard gles, and it is inevitable that in the process and fast formula for differentiating the world's there witl be different alignments of the political forces (i.e., differentiating ourselves, world's political forces in different periods.