Utopian socialism represented by Saint-Simon, Fourier, and Owen in the nineteenth century played a definitely progressive role in history. This progressive role found expression in two aspects. First, it contained criticism and denunciation of the foundation of capitalist society. As a result, it "provided valuable materials for awakening workers' consciousness." Second, it set forth some positive ideals on future society "such as the elimination of antagonism between urban and rural areas, the family, the private profit system, and the employed labor (...) system, the advocacy of social harmony, and the call for turning the state into a single production-controlling organ." These burgeoning, critical socialist thoughts constituted one of the sources of the theory of scientific socialism. But their conception of history was the idealist conception of history and also the supraclass theory of human nature. This essay is devoted to a detailed discussion of Saint-Simon's and Fourier's social doctrines and historical views. (shrink)

Old societies had the following superstition: Certain persons had demons attached to them, and things that they had used were considered "unclean." These things then became forbidden objects; if one came into contact with them, then one's body, too, would be polluted by the demonic influence.

Ai Ssu-ch'i is a little known but very important figure in the introduction of Marxism-Leninism into China. This first article provides a brief biography of Ai Ssu-ch'i as well as a detailed account of his activities as teacher, author and propagandist. Among his other services to the cause of Marxism-Leninism in China, one has to stress Ai Ssu-ch'i's systematic opposition to Yeh Ch'ing and to the non-Communist interpretation of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People. (cf.SST 10 (1970), 138–166.).

In Ai Ssu-ch'i is exemplified and substantiated the Soviet influence on the official definition of philosophy in the history of Communist Party of China, i.e., the assertion about and the method for knowledge of the world. Such a philosophical knowledge has as its formal object the most fundamental laws of the universe.In order to acquire such a genuine philosophical knowledge, one needs a desire to change the world and a proletarian point of view. For only by aiming at changing the (...) world is inevitability reflected; only in the proletarian viewpoint are the objective laws reflected. In order to substantiate these assertions, one has to point out that, first, man's thinking is determined by his social relations and, secondly, social relations are determined by practice. Since the proletariat is in the right kind of practice, it is both in the proper locus of social relations and, therefore, it perceives both inevitability and objectivity. Yet, due to man's subjective dynamism, it is possible for other classes to adopt the standpoint of the proletariat. (shrink)

Introduction Marxism did not come to China simply as one of the many waves from abroad that inundated Chinese intellectual life during the late Ch'ing ...