The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (GPCR) was an historic uprising of the working class led by the most advanced communist ideas at the time. It was the first time the working class attempted to take state power back from a former communist party that had returned to capitalism.
The leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Mao Tse Tung, initially encouraged the Cultural Revolution to get rid of a few people in the leadership of the Party. But the left forces in the Cultural Revolution recognized that the official Communist Party  was already in the hands of a capitalist ruling class at the time the GPCR began. They argued that the vast majority (90 percent) of the leading cadres were part of that oppressor class, that the People’s Liberation Army (or PLA, the military) was its tool to smash the real left and maintain power. They said that the new “red” bourgeoisie had emerged during the 17 years from 1949-66 from the ranks of the revolutionaries themselves and, therefore, that the GPCR was not, as Mao said, a struggle to consolidate proletarian rule. It was the first revolution in history to attempt to take power back from the fake “communists,” known as revisionists. This analysis led the left workers and students leading the Cultural Revolution to carry out the following political campaigns.
1) They demanded the ouster of the chief representative of China’s “red” capitalists, Chou En-Lai, along with the high-ranking economic and administrative ministers he was sheltering.
2) They demanded that the GPCR be carried into the Army Officer Corps, which they saw as a part of the new ruling class. They engaged in arms seizures from the PLA, raiding depots and arms trains, on the principle that a revolution to overthrow the bourgeoisie had to be an armed struggle of the masses.
3) They opposed China’s foreign policies of alliance with capitalist countries. To carry this through they seized foreign ships in the harbors, burned the British consulate in August of 1967, launched a liberation struggle in Hong Kong, seized Soviet arms going to Vietnam over China’s railroad lines and opposed China’s nuclear development program.
4) They began to discuss and implement the formation of a new communist party, given their assumption that the CPC had become the party of the bourgeois apparatus that was restoring capitalism under the ideological cover of a fake brand of communism.
The left forces presented a view of what was going on in the GPCR which was contradictory to the official views of the CPC under Mao, who claimed “95 percent of the cadres are good” vs. the left-wing forces in the GPCR who said “90 percent of the political cadres must step aside.”
Fake “communists” spread capitalist lies
To amplify how completely the Chinese bosses have now moved to capitalism, they now tell the same lies about the Cultural Revolution as the U.S. bosses. The distorted historical narrative told by the capitalists who currently rule China, and retold and amplified by capitalists around the world, is that the Cultural Revolution was “10 lost years” in which the Chinese economy was on the brink of collapse.
In fact, U.S. economist John Kenneth Golbaith wrote in 1972 that an economic growth rate of 10 percent in China was plausible. This is an expansion rate that rivaled Japan similar to the rate touted as the “Chinese Miracle” after the restoration of capitalism in the late 1970s (NY Times, 11/26/1972).
The participation of millions of workers and farmers in political meetings did not cause production to stop, or even to slow down. The criticism of factory or farm managers to a previously unheard of degree, and active involvement in “non-productive” activities that amounted to having a say in the running of society, in fact energized the masses of workers and farmers.
The Communists accomplished feats that would be called miracles under capitalism, starting with spreading literacy across a country of a billion people, introducing health care and ending starvation in what had been one of the poorest countries in the world prior to the communist revolution. Their efforts in the GPCR showed the importance of continuing the struggle for workers' power even after a revolution. But to ultimately succeed in building a communist society we have to look at the errors of the CPC as well. While the left forces in the GPCR did so many great things they ultimately were defeated and capitalism was firmly established in China. It is important for us to try to understand why the GPCR failed.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Communist movements will inevitably make many mistakes, big and small. The Progressive Labor Party previously believed in fighting for socialism as an intermediary step towards communism. Now, largely from looking at what happened in the former Soviet Union and China, we are fighting for the building of a communist society directly. It is not the only correction we have made or will have to make going forward. For the working class to take and hold power it is essential that the revolutionary communist movement be able to correct ideological errors and bad practices. Criticism and self-criticism of our ideas and activity is the only way we can deal with problems and mistakes that arise. The leadership of the Party especially, has to honestly and soberly evaluate their own ideas and practice and be open to criticism from others.
Perhaps the main weakness that led to the defeat of the GPCR was the belief in the cult of the individual surrounding Mao Tse Tung. A big weakness of the old communist movement was that it built up individual leaders as people who could do no wrong. While the left forces in China recognized that China had moved back to capitalism, they held on to the wrong idea that Mao, the leader of the country, was not a supporter of the backward changes. He was and ultimately Mao used his influence and his control of the army to put down the revolution.
Struggle, Fail; Struggle… WIN
The lessons of the GPCR are one of the driving forces in history that has given PLP the confidence that the working class will fight for a communist future. It has also helped us understand the need to continually struggle against the capitalist ideology of individualism in ourselves and in the communist movement. The effort of the working class in the GPCR has been an invaluable contribution to the fight for communism.
Other lessons learned from the GPCR:
We need a mass communist party that has confidence in the working class to bring about the revolutionary transformation of society.We are building a party that is open to everyone who wants to fight for a communist future for the working class. People can make contributions in many different ways and the more people who participate in building the Party and ultimately running society the better off we will be.
We must breakdown the separation between “experts” and “followers.” In CHALLENGE, we try to explain what is going on in the world as well as have articles on fighting back in the class struggle. We believe that we can only understand the world by trying to change it and knowledge and understanding comes out of putting communist ideas into practice. We call this “better red than expert!”
The struggle for communism will continue for generations. The working class taking state power is only the beginning of the fight to build a communist society.
Commemorating the 56th anniversary of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is an opportunity to struggle with our coworkers and friends to renew our efforts to smash this racist, sexist, imperialist system of capitalism once and for all. Fighting back also means understanding what previous generations in this fight have done – both right and wrong. As the world lurches toward fascism and inter-imperialist war, we have our work cut out for us. We, heirs to the struggle for a communist world, truly honor the heroic masses who fought in the GPCR by organizing on our jobs and in our mass organizations for armed communist revolution. Dare to struggle, dare to win!
References:
Fanshen: A Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village, William H. Hinton.
“The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution & The Reversal of Worker’s Power in China.”
 PL Magazine. Vol 8, No.3, November,1971

WORCESTER, MA, May 1—The revolutionary communist Progressive Labor Party, along with other community organizations, organized a May Day march here. The PLP in New England gave political communist leadership to a march of about 70 workers and youth, with two thirds who are not members (yet).
Prior to the march, we organized several pre-May Day planning meetings and invited members of the Worcester Tenants Union and others to help with security. Considering recent Nazi actions in Boston and Providence, we thought there was a possibility that these fascists would show up and attack the march. Worcester Tenants Union provided street medics and helped with security. There were two disruptions of anti-communists, but we kept them at bay.
We marched to a Worcester Housing Authority apartment building where we’ve organized. Our comrade at the housing project told of struggles they waged against the housing bosses and won, such as getting new laundromats, repairing faulty elevators, and no armed police at monthly tenant meetings, to name a few. His remarks were well received.
Progressive Labor Party's message of no sell-out deals with the bosses, reject the bosses' system of wages and money and our fight for communism were distinct and set us apart from the other May Day events taking place. We hope to win more workers and students to the movement for communism.  
Our speeches opposing the U.S./NATO/Russian imperialist war in the Ukraine and the need for Ukrainian and Russian workers to unite to end this imperialist war was sharp, and new to many. At this moment, we are the political vanguard of the anti-war movement. Our chants of “Arab, Jewish, Black and white, Workers of the world unite!" and the “Cops, the Courts and Ku Klux Klan, all a Part of the Bosses’ plan” resonated with the marchers.  Many passersby honked their horns in support.
Our calls for continued multiracial unity of workers against systemic racism, sexism, and other disparities, strengthen our resolve to fight for a communist world. We will smash these inequities, borders, politicians, and imperialist wars once and for all.

I am a public health student and currently finishing up a pre-med program outside of Los Angeles.  I am also an Iraq-war veteran and have seen first hand the level of racism and destruction of imperialist war.  Over the last six years I have become close friends with a Progressive Labor Party (PLP) member and his family and have supported communist actions and events including events of families who have lost their loved ones to racist police violence.
As a Black man growing up in Detroit, serving in the military, working as a Metro worker and as a student, I have long hated racism and police terror and this was once again reinforced when I became a victim of such terror on my return home from campus.  
No explanation, then a racist interrogation
It was around 6 PM, and I just left my school campus on the Omnitrans train. It was a normal evening until I noticed that the train came to an abrupt stop.  We hadn’t moved for about 25 minutes. I went downstairs to the first level and asked another passenger what was going on.  She mentioned that the train was stopped by the police.  
Suddenly, a voice came over the loudspeaker that directed all passengers to exit from the rear of the train in single file.  As I found the door to exit, I walked toward a sheriff and voiced my concern regarding why we were stopped. The sheriff requested to see my ID. After showing them my ID, I was instructed to wait in the parking lot with the rest of the passengers until further instructions.
 After waiting in the parking lot for another 30 minutes or so it began to get cool outside.  At that time about 15 sheriffs were walking in my direction and towards me.  I was then asked again to show my ID.  I questioned them, why.  I had already shown them my ID.   The sergeant said that they got a call that there was “a killer” aboard the train that was about 5’ 10, 240 pounds, 40 yrs. old, wearing a gray sweatshirt.  
They then started a terrorizing interrogation process, with multiple sheriffs shooting questions at me at the same time.  This whole process was frightening and I was already cold, nervous and agitated and the whole time another sheriff had a loaded shotgun pointed toward my head! These KKKops then had the nerve to command me to calm down.  
Not only was I afraid for my life, but I kept thinking to myself “how the hell do you calm down being terrorized like this” on top you accusing me of “fitting the description” of a purported killer on the train!
 Capitalism means daily racist terror
It wasn’t until later that night that I learned about the mass shooter incident in Brooklyn in which Frank James, for unclear reasons, opened fire on a train, injuring 10 workers. Without a doubt, the daily racist bombardment of capitalism on workers’ lives is creating untold mental health crises in our class.  This is not to condone the actions of Frank James, but to point out that it’s a byproduct of this racist capitalist system.  
Who knows how many Black workers were terrorized on trains across the country because they “fit the description?”
 For nearly two years I have been a supporter of the family of Alex Flores and others who have been killed by KKKops in LA.  This experience has also taught me what our sisters and brothers must go through especially when they’re terrified or in a mental health crisis when the police roll up on them!  
I am grateful for the support, camaraderie as well as the ideas and fightback of Progressive Labor Party in helping me grapple with this experience as well as understanding how capitalism impacts us on a daily basis.

Haiti, May 1—Progressive Labor Party (PLP) celebrated May Day with students, professors and others from a university in a small provincial town in Haiti. We organized a day of activity around the theme “May Day: capitalism questioned.” Several comrades from Port-au-Prince joined us, committed to being with us on this historic day, despite the presence of gangs and kidnappers controlling much of the road leading to our town.
First there was a conference and then a class conscious musical performance by a worker who sang about our  struggle and the exploitation, which pushes us to act against the capitalist system. The participants heard and understood the words as their own, couched in a language of suffering and strength.
The main speaker’s presentation on “the labor movements and the class struggle in Haiti” was like an downpour after a lot of dry weather. It made clear some concepts and historical examples of class struggle from Haiti and around the world. Many people participated freely in the discussion; it was similar to the small schools (tilekòl) that we are used to doing in Haiti.
A student from our solidarity club said that it was a real pleasure to live and participate in the activity: “I thought it [May Day] was the celebration of agriculture, but this day taught me a lot of things about labor movements”(see letter, CHALLENGE issue, 5/25).
As the student noted, the rulers in Haiti have made May 1 a “celebration” of agriculture and work. But their day flouts the essence of workers’ struggles since it is a day of recreational activities and a disgusting display of food so that the bourgeois can gorge themselves while workers and their children are suffering acute hunger.
Our May Day event was a rewarding deconstruction of the bourgeois meaning of May Day. On this day we discuss our working class history of struggles, to see where we are today, to see what we must do to continue the struggle, and above all to allow many more people to learn about workers’ struggles. Indeed, our class is the one that suffers all forms of exploitation, and without it capitalist society cannot continue to function. Our consciousness-building work must continue not only to allow people to have information but also to win them to join the fight. Because our life conditions can change only through struggle!
Another student said he thinks conferences help people understand how and why capitalism destroys our lives, that we don’t need the bosses, that inequality is not natural, and that we have to fight against this system.
Today in Haiti the socio-political situation is at its worst. People, mostly young people, see their future is uncertain and they wonder who is responsible. They want to understand why they are in misery. And above all, they want to know how to get out of this situation—how to fight back. Conferences like today’s are opening the doors to larger discussions with our friends to allow them to understand the essence of the struggle of workers and students. How are these struggles connected; what is our vision for the future? We want a world without profiteering, imperialist wars of conquest, without racism and sexism, a truly egalitarian world.