Welcome to MASSLINE.INFO, a site devoted
to the mass line and having a mass perspective. The mass line is the primary
Marxist method of revolutionary leadership of the people, or the “masses”. Having a mass perspective
means recognizing that the masses are themselves the only force which can revolutionize society,
and that the masses have to discover these revolutionary goals primarily through their own
experience in struggle and through contact with revolutionary ideas from communists in the
course of such struggles. For a short elaboration on these definitions, see the one-page summary
(the first item listed below).
Below we have a variety of materials available on the
mass line and related issues, coming from a variety of sources. They range from one page
summaries of the ideas, to essays, pamphlets, a debate on the topic, and even one long
book. We also have a sister site,
MASSLINE.ORG which has a lot of material on
Marxist-Leninist-Maoist politics, philosophy and political economy, most of which is itself not
directly related to the theory of the mass line and having a mass perspective.
If you have any comments on, or criticisms of, this web site,
or of any materials posted here, or if you wish to suggest additional items that should perhaps be
added here, please contact us at:
webmaster@massline.info
Materials on the mass line and on having a mass perspective
The Mass Line and the American Revolutionary
Movement — A long book on the mass line, on having a mass perspective,
and a wide variety of related topics. This manuscript is still in progress. (About
three-quarters of the chapters are posted so far. More will be made available soon.)
Chapter XI on the mass line, from Mao Zedong’s famous “Little Red Book”.
[To be added.]
China and the Mass Line
— Documents (other than those by Mao) from China relating to the mass line.
“The Mass Line”, by Dr. Joshua Horn. A moving lecture
given in New York in 1971 which brings out important aspects of having a mass perspective
as well as examples of the mass line method of leadership itself in health work.
India and the Mass Line — Documents by or about
revolutionaries in India on the mass line and related topics.
Indonesia and the Mass Line — Documents by or
about revolutionaries in Indonesia on the mass line and related topics.
Nepal and the Mass Line — Documents by or about
revolutionaries in Nepal related to the mass line.
Peru and the Mass Line — Documents by or about
revolutionaries in Peru related to the mass line.
“Mass Work”, a 27-page chapter from a manual which
the CPP apparently prepared for its members in the mid-1990s, as part of a rectification
campaign then in progress in the Party. While some of the material is quite specific to the
situation in the Philippines, some of the rest is of much more general application and
should be of much interest to revolutionaries everywhere.
Revolutionary Communist Party, USA — Documents by,
or about, the RCP related to the mass line. (There are quite a few items in this section.)
Freedom Road Socialist Organization — Documents by,
or about, both of the groups calling themselves the Freedom Road Socialist Organization,
which are related to the mass line.
Towards a new revolutionary organization in the U.S.A.,
one which will actually use the mass line to advance the revolutionary movement here. With
documents relating to both past and current efforts in this direction.
Documents from other Maoist parties and organizations around the world on the
mass line and related issues. [To be added.]
Miscellaneous Documents Related to the Mass Line
(3/18/08)
“Badiou, St. Paul, and the Mass Line”, by Scott H.
This is a short article criticizing a brief comment on the mass line by the French
radical intellectual Alain Badiou. (PDF format.)
Related Links to web sites which make some
reference to the mass line and/or having a mass perspective.