I have recently discovered that I harbor serious perverted and abusive thoughts during discussions on forums. Here are two examples: First, when a forum member posted news about fourteen ovarian stimulation surgeries in a chat channel, according to proletarian ideology, and even the thoughts of the majority, I should have felt sympathy for the women in the news and anger towards the fascist male chauvinist husband. However, I did not think this way immediately; in fact, I can say that I had such thoughts afterward. Even when I tried to consciously feel angry about it, I only experienced some abstract emotions. At that moment, my first thought was that because this male chauvinist husband had abused his wife, based on my petty bourgeois moral view, I justified treating the husband in the news as a victim of mental abuse. In my mental world, I fantasized about “judging” him and physically torturing him, but this was merely a fantasy to satisfy my selfish desires. The second example is from today when I discussed with a forum member who mentioned that he failed to get his salary from the store manager and had to resort to arbitration. My thoughts were still as described above, but this time I unconsciously laughed because I was satisfied with my mental victory. Meanwhile, I also have extremely severe personal revenge ideas, believing that anyone who wrongs me (most of the time, my comrades helping me in ideological struggles) must be retaliated against, preferably completely defeated, with so-called “weakness attack” and “mental manipulation.” Sometimes I resort to any means necessary to turn them into my mental slaves for my oppression. This kind of thought is extremely dark and perverted, but most of the time I rely on intimidation, telling myself “You can’t do this, or else…” Clearly, this is a form of possessiveness, an extreme selfishness, and a perverted desire for possession. When encountering capitalist and bourgeois oppression at work, or conflicts with others in daily life, I sometimes think secretly: “Damn, I’ve exploded with you, just wait,” fantasizing about the victorious outcome of the confrontation and feeling proud of it, or violently attacking the other person with vulgar language. However, these are very childish thoughts and behaviors because fantasies are just fantasies, and acting like a hooligan is simply unreasonable. The reality is complex and convoluted. Most of my current struggles are driven by personal interests being harmed, without considering collective interests. I realize that these struggles are not only for myself but also for many workers and peasants I have never met. Are there any specific suggestions for addressing these issues, and how should I conduct my struggles?
When considering doing such things, think about whether you have the same mistakes as him. Empathy can suppress your own wrong thoughts and serve as a warning. There’s a saying: “Be strict with others, lenient with yourself.” The criticism is aimed at your kind of erroneous thinking.
In the past, it seems someone said that when you see others’ clothes are very messy, you should think about whether your own clothes are also messy. Sometimes criticizing others’ wrong ideas is okay, but it should be moderate. The “Zhong Wei Ge” (中未革) says that criticizing petty bourgeoisie should be “gentle as a breeze,” not “cruel struggle.” Excessive criticism often harms others and is not conducive to self-reflection, covering up possible similar mistakes of one’s own.
Laughing unconsciously is too frightening; to laugh at the setbacks of workers’ struggles is completely viewing this matter from a bourgeois perspective. A specific analysis should be made as to why such thoughts arise and how this kind of thinking relates to one’s reality. Otherwise, this dark mindset will continue to ferment in other aspects.
Sorry, I didn’t make myself clear. What I mean is that after seeing a forum member’s failed struggle to get the store manager to pay wages, I used this as a “justified” reason to psychologically attack the so-called store manager and unconsciously laughed. From a proletarian standpoint, one should feel sympathy for the worker’s plight and despise the store manager’s behavior.
I think it is even more the fierce conflict between the petty bourgeois worldview and the proletarian worldview. The petty bourgeoisie in the academic institutions can easily defeat a thousand people, and they usually lash out at classmates who hinder their speculation. In fact, this kind of thinking is a selfish and self-interested social interaction view of the petty bourgeoisie. This may not be very vivid; using the example of street vendors in the market is more accurate. Two vegetable vendors compete for customers; when a customer goes to the other vendor, the original vendor spreads rumors about the other or even fights. I previously also regarded this as a moral issue, but after reading the guide to ideological struggle, I found it is a manifestation of selfishness, indifference, and ruthlessness. Vendors, to protect their private property, such as vegetable sales income, think internally: “What I get, you don’t even think about wanting,” and even to increase their income, they damage others’ vegetable sales income to get rich. Think about what kind of practice the petty bourgeoisie had in school before, how to bring them into society, and how these residuals are reflected in factory work nowadays.
I believe morality in the dictionary refers to the unwritten behavioral norms of a class, which are inevitably determined by a certain class worldview. Perhaps you can look into why the petty bourgeoisie engages in ideological struggle and compare the seven social interactions, public-private views, and outlooks on life, learning from the proletariat’s “moral” struggle to the petty bourgeoisie’s selfish and self-interested “morality.”
My philosophy is not good; these words are my intuitive understanding of ideological struggle. If they are wrong, please point them out.
I believe this is a manifestation of the bourgeois worldview because the petty bourgeoisie is indifferent in their social interactions, which is connected to their economic status of being self-sufficient but not participating in social production. Clearly, Bexi’s attitude here is to feel pleasure because of others’ suffering, which aligns with the cold-blooded bourgeois perspective that builds their happiness on the pain of others.
Feeling that Bei Xi did not elevate his own problems to a class perspective, but only limited himself to abstract moral issues. You would find it laughable that workers are owed wages and fail to get them, which shows you stand on the bourgeoisie’s side, essentially believing in the survival of the fittest, that those who are superior and oppress others are the real heroes and worthy of admiration; that those who are trampled underfoot and oppressed deserve it. This is the extreme individualism of the bourgeoisie, who take pleasure in oppression with cold ruthlessness. Bei Xi only finds it funny because he identifies with the oppressor as the “strong,” rather than standing on the side of the oppressed workers.
And so-called personal revenge is actually not pure revenge, but a manifestation of bourgeois oppression desire. The bourgeoisie is also good at finding excuses for themselves; they infringe on the rights of the people but believe it to be justified; when the people defend their rights, they get angry; when the people’s movement slightly “oversteps,” they open fire on the masses! The Chicago playground incident is an example of this. The bourgeoisie is very good at justifying themselves; they also claim they are being persecuted and are merely retaliating reasonably. The Russian imperialist invasion of Ukraine follows the same logic.
When Bei Xi is oppressed by the exploitative class after starting work, and has the thought of “blowing up on the other side,” it’s because he hasn’t realized that he is being oppressed as a proletarian by the bourgeoisie, nor has he elevated his struggle from individual conflicts to the class struggle between workers and capitalists, between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. His actions are just for personal gain, not for the interests of the proletariat. This kind of attitude makes his anger towards capitalism narrow-minded, often just focused on personal benefits, forgetting that there are also oppressed masses.
I think Bei Xi needs to reflect on what practical experiences in the past led him to develop such a serious bourgeois individualism that takes pleasure in oppression. At the same time, he also needs to change himself through practice. Since Bei Xi can recognize that his way of thinking is wrong, it shows that there is potential for correction towards the better. The reason his thoughts are detached from the people is because his life is too disconnected from the people. Bei Xi should read more books for theoretical study, watch more news to understand how the lives of the masses are, and not just work to save money but also engage with the people. I believe Bei Xi’s alienation from society and the people is the root cause of his attitude. If you are a delivery worker who is 62 years old, has worked for six years, and suddenly gets fired without any compensation or explanation, with no savings and no way out, you wouldn’t find it funny that you can’t get your wages. Ultimately, this is a matter of stance.
And also, regarding the comment Fenghuo gave you earlier, you hadn’t replied before, maybe you didn’t see it. I think it’s quite meaningful, and you should read the new section of the “Thought Struggle Guide” in the latest issue of Dawn magazine.
https://www.wcjjzz.com/t/topic/1893/25
I have read the guide on ideological struggle, but I did not grasp its meaning. I still understand “ideological struggle” as a very abstract literal term and have not applied it to my own life. Most of the time, I still approach problems from the so-called “moral” perspective, thinking that doing this is bad and doing that is good, without using class analysis methods to analyze my own thoughts and behaviors or those of others.
Engels said, “Freedom does not lie in escaping the laws of nature through illusion and becoming independent, but in understanding these laws, so as to be able to use them purposefully to serve certain goals. Conscious freedom is merely the ability to make decisions with the help of understanding things.” Beixi first detached himself from the reality of class struggle, indulged in pleasures and a life disconnected from the people for a long time, and inherently held fascist bourgeois ideas of oppression and abuse. Therefore, for the reactionaries, it was only about fantasizing in their minds how to “blow up” the opponent to achieve spiritual victory. There was not a single change in reality. When dealing with those stupid scabs and capitalists, after fantasizing a thousand times, they still stand there arrogantly mocking and exploiting workers. The struggle should be about thinking of specific strategies, what you can do specifically, and analyzing the contradictions between the enemy and ourselves. Holding this kind of Qiqi attitude, in practice, when facing oppression and struggle, one would be weak and unable to exert effort. Don’t forget your situation of being pulled by the line leader by the sleeve while smiling face. Even now, in the ongoing labor interactions, one cannot be lazy and unchanging, or else they will suffer great losses.