sosa

With exceptions (i.e. analysis of class in Civil-War-era China) this is pretty universal even outside of politics. I’ve basically added “no investigation, no right to speak” to my vocabulary — it’s a true phrase! Investigate a problem and its historical context before speaking on it (excluding curious questions, of course); investigation is the only way one can solve a problem, because then you have truly understood a problem.

The third section that delves into the theme of the title is great, especially:

”When we say Marxism is correct, it is certainly not because Marx was a "prophet" but because his theory has been proved correct in our practice and in our struggle.”

I rate this four stars though only because I feel that there could have been more to this essay; something feels missing. Perhaps if it was written as a whole, cohesive book alongside the ideas of “On Contradiction” and “On Practice”… Mao seemed far too busy with KMT encirclement and the devastating fate of Yang Kaihui, though, so I don’t blame him.