This is the second installment of UNITY’S study series on the current international situation and Mao Tsetung’s theory of the three worlds. Part I presented the importance of studying the international situation and the general features of the three worlds theory.
Each study column will have a commentary oh aspects of the three worlds theory as well as some suggested readings from Marxist works, which should help in seeing the theory as consistent with and a great contribution to Marxism-Leninism.
Discussion questions at the end of each column are suitable for individual or group study.
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A fundamental question communists must answer is who are our friends and enemies. This question must be answered on an international scale, for the revolutionary struggle of any country is actually closely connected to the international class struggle. This study column focuses on explaining why Mao Tsetung’s theory of the three worlds places the two superpowers, the U.S. and U.S.S.R., as the main enemies of the people of the world.
The theory of the three worlds maintains that the two superpowers are the strongholds of world reaction today. The two of them are frantically contending with each other to achieve world domination. The contention of the two is leading them inevitably towards unleashing a new world war, the Soviet Union in particular being the more dangerous source of war.
The three worlds theory makes a clear distinction between the two superpowers and the lesser capitalist countries, the second world. This is because the two superpowers are in a far more dominant position economically and militarily than the second world countries. The two superpowers exploit and oppress the masses in their “own” countries and the nations and peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America. But the two superpowers also dominate and threaten, to different degrees, the lesser capitalist countries such as Britain, France and West Germany.
The U.S. was the first superpower to appear on the world’s scene. Following World War’ II it emerged as the most powerful imperialism on earth. It strived to take over the former empires of the weakened or defeated capitalist countries. The U.S. went out to build the most extensive imperialist empire in history, oppressing the peoples and countries everywhere and dominating even the other capitalist countries. The U.S. built a vast economic network to exploit others and set up a worldwide military network to enforce its hegemony. It openly practiced aggression as in Korea, Lebanon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Indochina, and others.
It was clear that U.S. imperialism was the number one enemy of the people of the world during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Communists designated U.S. imperialism as the main target internationally and made a distinction between U.S. imperialism and the second-rate imperialist countries.
But the situation today is not the same as it was during the 1950’s and 1960’s. The Soviet Union, once a socialist country, degenerated back to capitalism in the 1950’s’ and has since become an imperialist superpower itself. The Soviet Union is seeking to dominate and oppress other countries. It is social-imperialist – socialist in words, imperialist in deeds. This became evident with its outright invasion and continued occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Today the U.S. and U.S.S.R. have become the two biggest imperialist powers in the world and have relegated the other imperialist countries to an inferior position. The Communist Party of China defines what is a superpower:
The distinctive features of a superpower are as follows: its state apparatus is controlled by monopoly capital in its most concentrated form, and it relies on its economic and military power, which is far greater than that of other countries, to carry on economic exploitation and political oppression and to strive for military control on a global scale; each superpower sets exclusive world hegemony as its goal and to this end makes frantic preparations for a new world war.(1)
In economic terms the U.S. and U.S.S.R. are definitely in a dominant position in the capitalist world. The gross national product of both countries is far above that of any other country. A look at some economic comparisons of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. with other capitalist countries shows this:
In military terms too the U.S. and U.S.S.R. are in a supreme position in the capitalist world. Both have the greatest nuclear arsenals the world has ever seen. They have thousands of nuclear missiles, bombs and tactical weapons. They both by far also have the largest conventional militaries. They both have 100,000’s of troops in other countries: the U.S. has 400,000 and the Soviets have some 700,000 men outside their borders.
As Lenin pointed out, the imperialists divide the world into “’in proportion to capital’. ’in proportion to strength,’ because there cannot be any other method of division under commodity production and capitalism,” and “strength varies with the degree of economic and political development” (4) The two superpowers are way above in “strength” as compared to the lesser capitalist countries and are the centers of imperialist reaction today. Therefore it is entirely correct to place the two superpowers in a distinct category, the first world. And it is entirely correct to point out that the second world countries, even though they have not changed their capitalist social systems, have themselves become targets of superpower interference and domination. Second world countries such as Japan, Germany, Czechoslovakia and others actually have much of their territory occupied by armed forces of the two superpowers.
There are some people today who wish to lump all the imperialist countries into one undifferentiated reactionary mass. This would simply not be in accordance with the facts of the current world situation. If one does not distinguish between the lesser capitalist countries and the two superpowers, it actually helps to mask and underestimates the predatory policies of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. The two superpowers today are the only imperialist powers in a position to seek world hegemony and therefore must be targeted as the main international enemies.
The two superpowers are in contradiction with the rest of the world, but also they are in serious contradiction with one another. Both seek world domination, which means that each must try to defeat the other. Inevitably this means war. As Lenin has pointed out: “... an essential feature of imperialism is the rivalry between several Great Powers in striving for hegemony, i.e. for the conquest of territory ... to weaken the adversary and undermine his hegemony.”(5) The intense rivalry of the two superpowers results in their conflict everywhere as each hopes to gain advantages over the other.
The U.S. is economically the more powerful of the two superpowers. The U.S. still has more extensive holdings and military bases around the world than the U.S.S.R. It is doing all it can to maintain its supremacy and also erode Soviet influence. This is evident in the U.S.’s continued support for the racist south African regimes and its stepped up meddling in the affairs of the Middle East. But the U.S. position is weaker and less stable than in previous years.
The Soviet Union on the other hand is a newer imperialist power which is seeking to replace the U.S. as world overlord. Because of its weaker economic position, the Soviet Union relies more on military and political interference to further its imperialist interests and challenge the U.S. This is the path which rising imperialist powers have taken in the past. History gives us fascist Germany, Italy and Japan as examples.
The Soviet Union is more aggressive and ambitious and represents an offensive force in today’s world. It is moving to take over areas formerly under the domination of the U.S. or others, such as in Africa and Southeast Asia today. The arms developments of the social-imperialists are also increasing at a more rapid rate than the U.S.
At home the Soviet Union has imposed a fascist dictatorship over the masses. The bureaucrat capitalists there have highly centralized state and economic power to advance their war preparations, and it tries to do all this by maintaining its “socialist” label.
On a world scale, then, the Soviet Union is the more dangerous of the two superpowers in instigating a new world war. This is manifested in recent events such as the Soviet-backed invasion of Zaire, the Soviet military involvement in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, and the encouragement the Soviets are giving to Viet Nam in its war against Kampuchea. The Soviets hope to expand their influence in the third world to control sources of raw materials and markets. Their aim is to isolate their main strategic objective which is Europe with its highly developed economy. The Soviet interest in Europe is shown in its continuing massive buildup of social-imperialist forces in Eastern Europe.
In any particular instance, one or the other of the two superpowers or any other force may be the principal enemy, but in analyzing the world as a whole it is necessary to pinpoint the two superpowers as the main enemies and the Soviet Union in particular as the most aggressive of the two.
The theory of the three worlds incorporates Lenin’s important lesson on the uneven development of capitalism. In opposition to some who did not recognize the sharp contradictions among the imperialists, Lenin pointed out that there is intense competition among them. Some capitalist forces are on the decline while others are on the rise. Spain and Portugal were once the preeminent capitalist powers in the world, but they fell behind and were surpassed by Britain, France and others. U.S. imperialism thought it could be the world’s policeman for eternity, but this is obviously not going to be the case. As Lenin pointed out, imperialism increases “the unevenness and contradictions in world economy” including the contradictions among the imperialist powers.
This lesson is validated by today’s situation – the uneven development of capitalism has resulted in the relegation of the former top imperialist countries (Britain, Japan, France, etc.) to an inferior position and the development of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. as the top imperialist powers. The law of uneven development is also reflected in the sharpening contradiction between the rising imperialism of the Soviet Union and the declining position of the U.S. imperialists.
Communists have always made use of the contradictions among the imperialists for revolution. Just before the outbreak of World War II, Stalin made a distinction between the aggressor and non-aggressor countries to build an anti-aggression united front. Later he also made use of the contradictions among the imperialist countries to help build an anti-fascist front and defeat the Axis powers. In China, Mao Tsetung and the Communist Party utilized the contradiction between U.S. imperialism and Japanese imperialism to defeat the main enemy and push forward the struggle for national liberation.
Lenin too never belittled the necessity of utilizing inter-imperialist contradictions. In 1920 Lenin drew some lessons on the importance of using the differences among the enemy forces. Referring to the situation of the new-born Soviet Union and the dangers of Japanese and American imperialism, he stated:
... we must take advantage of the antagonisms and the contradictions that exist between the two imperialisms, the two groups of capitalist states, and play them off against each other. Until we (communists) have conquered the whole world, and as long as we are economically and militarily weaker than the capitalist world, we must stick to the rule that we must be able to take advantage of the antagonisms and contradictions existing among the imperialists. Had we not adhered to this rule, every one of us would have long ago been strung up by the neck, to the glee of the capitalists. ... At present we stand between two foes. If we are unable to defeat both of them, we must be able to dispose our forces in such a way as to make them fall out among themselves; whenever thieves fall out, honest men come into their own. However, as soon as we are strong enough to overcome capitalism as a whole, we shall immediately seize it by the scruff of the neck. . . .(6)
Lenin also stated quite clearly:
... to support one of these countries (Japan and the U.S.) against the other would be a crime against communism; we communists have to play one off against the other. Are we not committing a crime against communism? No, because we are doing that as a socialist state which is carrying on communist propaganda and is obliged to take advantage of every hour granted it by circumstances in order to gain strength as rapidly as possible.(7)
Today we should learn from the history of the international communist movement and make full use of the contradictions among the imperialists in the interest of communism. Marxist-Leninists cannot adopt a simplistic formula of making no distinction among enemy forces or believing that the revolution proceeds in a straight path without twists and turns. We should learn from Lenin’s observation:
The more powerful enemy can be vanquished only be exerting the utmost effort, and without fail, most thoroughly, carefully, attentively and skillfully using every, even the smallest “rift” among the enemies, of every antagonism of interest among the bourgeoisie of the various countries and among the various groups or types of bourgeoisie within the various countries, and also by taking advantage of every, even the smallest, opportunity of gaining a mass ally, even though this ally be temporary, vacillating, unstable, unreliable and conditional. Those who fail to understand this, fail to understand even a particle of Marxism, or of scientific, modern Socialism in general.(8)
As communists we oppose all imperialism and reaction. Our objective is socialism and world communism. We work to thoroughly eliminate exploitation and oppression from the face of the earth and without a doubt this will be achieved one day. Some may think it “easier,” “simpler” or more “revolutionary” not to make distinctions among the enemy forces. But this is of no help. The value of the theory of the three worlds is that it shows that we should take advantage of all the various contradictions in the world in the interest of the proletariat to defeat the bulwarks of reaction, the two superpowers. The worldwide defeat of the two superpowers will mean an unprecedented defeat for imperialism and reaction and advance for the world revolution.
Our next study column will discuss the third world countries.
1. Chairman Mao’s Differentiation of the Three Worlds Is A Major Contribution to Marxism-Leninism.
2. Information from United Nations sources.
3. Information from the Institute of Strategic Studies, London.
4. Lenin, Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism.
5. Lenin, ibid.
6. Lenin, ibid.
7. Lenin, “Speech Delivered At A Meeting of Activists of the Moscow Organization of the RCP(B)”.
8. Lenin, Left-wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder.
People’s Daily, Chairman Mao’s Theory of the Differentiation of the Three Worlds Is A Major Contribution to Marxism-Leninism, esp. pp 3-39.
Lenin, Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism, “Imperialism As A Special Stage of Capitalism,” Chapter 7.
Yenan Books Reprints, Study Guide for Chairman Mao’s Theory of the Three Worlds, pp 4-16.
1. In Imperialism, Lenin criticizes the opportunist thesis of “ultra-imperialism.” What is “ultra-imperialism” and what are some views today which are similar to this deviation?
2. What is the significance today of Lenin’s observation that imperialism “strives to annex not only agrarian territories, but even most highly industrialized regions”?
3. Discuss the importance of not characterizing all the capitalist and imperialist countries as “just an undifferentiated reactionary mass.”
4. Mao Tsetung once stated that it is necessary to “concentrate a superior force to destroy the enemy forces one by one.” How can we learn from this?