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
Summary definitions of the mass line and mass perspective. (One page.)
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.)
Mao Zedong and the Mass Line — Documents and excerpts from Mao’s writings relating to the mass line.
Chapter XI on the mass line, from Mao Zedong’s famous “Little Red Book”. [To be added.]
Lenin on Topics Related to the Mass Line
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[Book:] Lenin: Party Work in the Masses —
Selections from his Collected Works (Moscow: 1969)
Scanned in these sections: [In searchable PDF image format]- Cover, Title Page & Contents [600 KB]
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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.
The Philippines and the Mass Line — Documents by or about revolutionaries in the Philippines 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.
The United States and the Mass Line — Documents about the American revolutionary movement and the mass line.
Revolutionary Communist Party, USA — Documents by, or about, the RCP related to the mass line. (There are quite a few items in this section.)
Letter on the Mass Line, by Scott H. (10/9/07) — Discussing the RCP’s peculiar understanding of “leadership”, and what it means to have a mass perspective and a deep understanding of what “the masses are the makers of history” must mean. PDF version [95 KB]; MS Word version [40 KB]
Kasama Project and website — Documents by, or about, the Kasama Project which are related to the mass line.
“Prologue to the Mass Line” — A letter from Scott H. to Mike Ely about a planned discussion of the mass line on Kasama, Dec. 21, 2009. PDF Version [191 KB]; MS Word Version [53 KB]
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
Related Links to web sites which make some reference to the mass line and/or having a mass perspective.
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