On Practice by Mao Zedong: Part 1

Originally given as a lecture at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political College in Yenan, and later developed into an essay, On Practice was published in 1937 in order to expose the subjectivist errors of dogmatism and empiricism within the Chinese Communist Party. Considered a classic, must-read text in Marxist circles today, it is unfortunate that many organizers misunderstand or overlook the key points provided by Mao Zedong. We hope to correct this issue with our 3-part series to dissect these fundamental points from the text. 

It's important to note that Mao developed the key lessons of this essay from on-the-ground struggles in the Chinese Revolution. Additionally, these key lessons were also developed in discussions with another prominent philosopher from the Chinese Revolution, Ài Sīqí, who helped spread the ideas of dialectical materialism within Chinese society. 

To break down this important essay, we are joined by a member of the Maoist Communist Union (MCU) who uses this piece for their internal studies to politically develop its cadre and, most importantly, to understand how knowledge is obtained and put into practice, to follow the path of correct ideas and to avoid the subjectivist errors of dogmatism and empiricism in the US today. 

• MCU website
• MCU Journal, Red Pages 
• Zhou Enlai Speaking with Albanian Comrades
• On Practice: On the Relation Between Knowledge and Practice, Between Knowing and Doing

Resources from POLICOMM:
https://linktr.ee/policomm

Chapters

• 0:00 Introductions
• 6:02 Context: Combating Dogmatism
• 11:34 Dogmatism in the COMINTERN
• 23:10 Dogmatism within larger Chinese Society
• 27:23 Dogmatism in US Society Today
• 43:58 All Knowledge is Based on Practice
• 47:32 The Generator Factory: Anti-Duhring Debate
• 58:41 Subjectivity and Post-Modernism
• 1:16:45 Theory & Practice
• 1:33:01 Pragmatism & US Imperialism
• 1:37:32 Dogmatism of Red Guards USA/CR-CPUSA