The Littlest Red Books #1: Combat Liberalism by Mao Zedong

ABOUT THIS SERIES

Inspired by Mao Zedong's famous "Little Red Book", I wanted to make it easy for people to read and share brief, impactful pieces of revolutionary theory.

Theorists who have complicated and controversial legacies will be included. Take what resonates and leave what does not. It’s up to us to apply their ideas in ways that are productive for our present reality.

ABOUT "COMBAT LIBERALISM"

It's only right to start off with the man whose brand that I'm stealing. One of the most effective Marxist writers, truly. The fact that the whole essay fit into the zine template with minimal formatting tweaks is also very convenient.

FOREWORD TO "COMBAT LIBERALISM"

The pamphlet titled “Combat Liberalism” was written by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong 毛泽东 (1893-1976) during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945).

An ideology that “places personal interests first and the interests of the revolution second” produces “leftists” who say “free Palestine” and “vote blue no matter who” in the same breath. They want us to “stop policing our movements” and “embrace imperfection”. They fail to understand that none of us are free until all of us are free.

In a space that “rejects ideological struggle and stands for unprincipled peace”, truly decolonial movements can’t keep their teeth. The masses struggling for freedom in Palestine, Sudan, the Congo, and elsewhere are discarded because first world activists, oxygen masks on, decide on their own that their deaths are acceptable losses. These same liberals deny Palestinians the right to “embrace perfection” by endlessly demanding that they condemn Hamas.

This is the result of prioritizing the comfort of liberal activists in the imperial core over the interests of the global working class.

“Combat Liberalism” by Mao Zedong is available courtesy of the Marxists Internet Archive. The full text can be found here: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-2/mswv2_03....