1.

0 INTRODUCTION

Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal

philosophers, hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning,
legal systems and of legal institutions. Modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was
focused on the first principles of the law of nature, civil law, and the law of nations. General
Jurisprudence can be broken into categories both by the types of questions scholars seek to
address and by the theories of jurisprudence or schools of thought regarding how those questions
are best to be answered.

The ‘system theory’ was proposed as the Marxist theory on the political economy of socialism
and was expounded by Soviet manuals on political economy, primarily in Political Economy, a
textbook published in 1954. Maoism or Mao Zedong Thought is a variant of Marxism-Leninism
derived from the teachings of the Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong (Wade-Giles
transliteration known as “Mao Tse-tung").

The term "Mao Zedong Thought" has always been the preferred term by the Communist Party of
China, and the word "Maoism" has never been used in its English-language publications except
pejoratively. Likewise, Maoist groups outside China have usually called themselves Marxist-
Leninist rather than Maoist, a reflection of Mao's view that he did not change, but only
developed, Marxism-Leninism. However, some Maoist groups, believing Mao's theories to have
been sufficiently substantial additions to the basics of the Marxist canon, call themselves
"Marxist-Leninist-Maoist" (MLM) or simply "Maoist".

In the People's Republic of China (PRC), Mao Zedong Thought is part of the official doctrine of
the Communist Party of China, but since the 1978 beginning of Deng Xiaoping's market
economy-oriented reforms, the concept of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" has come to
the forefront of Chinese politics, Chinese economic reform has taken hold, and the official
definition and role of Mao's original ideology in the PRC has been radically altered and reduced .
Unlike the earlier forms of Marxism-Leninism in which the urban proletariat was seen as the
main source of revolution, and the countryside was largely ignored, Mao believed that peasantry
could be the main force behind a revolution, led by the proletariat and a vanguard Communist

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party. The model for this was of course the Chinese communist rural Protracted People's War of
the 1920s and 1930s, which eventually brought the Communist Party of China to power.
Furthermore, unlike other forms of Marxism-Leninism in which large-scale industrial
development were seen as a positive force, Maoism made all-round rural development the
priority. Mao felt that this strategy made sense during the early stages of socialism in a country
in which most of the people were peasants. Unlike most other political ideologies, including
other socialist and Marxist ones, Maoism contains an integral military doctrine and explicitly
connects its political ideology with military strategy. In Maoist thought, "political power grows
from the barrel of the gun" (a famous quote by Mao), and the peasantry can be mobilized to
undertake a "people's war" of armed struggle involving guerrilla warfare.

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2.0 THE SYSTEM THEORY

The ‘system theory’ was presented as the Marxist theory on the political economy of socialism
and was expounded by Soviet manuals on political economy, primarily in Political Economy, a
textbook published in 1954. The political economy of socialism was not introduced in China on a
wider scale until the early fifties and then in the form of the Soviet ‘system theory’ which found
its way to China as part of the superstructure of Soviet economic and political assistance after
Liberation in 1949.

Previous to this book came to China, Chinese economists already had an initiative of the nature
and nature and ideas of the nature and ideas of the “system theory” from Stalin’s small pamphlet,
‘Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR’ (1952), which was meant as a rule for the
authors of the ‘Textbook’, themselves distinguished Soviet economists. Stalin’s involvement in
writing the ‘Textbook’ and final authorization of it made it the most authoritative work of the
‘system theory’. It later appeared in second and third editions, but the theoretical substance
remained identical.

We do not be on familiar terms with to what extent the ‘Textbook’ was used in China before
1959, when an official translation of the third edition appeared. But, we do know that Mao
Zedong followed the translation of the third edition with intense interest and that he criticized it
in his ‘Reading Notes’ immediately after its publication. By the way, Mao Zedong was a Chinese
revolutionary, political theorist and communist leader. He led the People's Republic of China
(PRC) from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. His theoretical contribution to
Marxism-Leninism, military strategies, and his brand of Communist policies are now
collectively known as Maoism.

Mao remains a controversial figure to this day, with a contentious and ever-evolving legacy. He
is officially held in high regard in China as a great revolutionary, political strategist, military
mastermind, and savior of the nation. Many Chinese also believe that through his policies, he laid
the economic, technological and cultural foundations of modern China, transforming the country
from an agrarian society into a major world power. Additionally, Mao is viewed by many as a
poet, philosopher, and visionary, owing the latter primarily to the cult of personality fostered

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during his time in power. As a consequence, his portrait continues to be featured prominently on
Tiananmen and on all Renminbi bills. Conversely, Mao's social-political programs, such as the
Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, are blamed for costing millions of lives,
causing severe famine and damage to the culture, society and economy of China. This is
generally accepted in China as well as by the Chinese Communist Party. Mao's policies and
political purges from 1949 to 1975 are widely believed to have caused the deaths of between 50
to 70 million people. Since Deng Xiaoping assumed power in 1978, many Maoist policies have
been abandoned in favour of economic reforms.

Mao began to depend on Chinese peasants who later became staunch supporters of his theory of
violent revolution.1 This reliance on the rural rather than the urban proletariat to instigate violent
revolution distinguished Mao from his predecessors and contemporaries. Mao himself was from
a peasant family, and thus he cultivated his reputation among the farmers and peasants and
introduced them to Marxism.2

Most of the ideas and concepts of the ‘system theory’ came from the classical writings of Marx,
Engels and Lenin, from Stalin and from various Soviet economists. They were well-known
beforehand, but this was the first attempt to present socialist political economy as a coherent
entity and a scientific system. The ‘Textbook’ was divided into chapters covering all known
modes of production from tribal communism to-as-yet-unrealized communism. The aim was to
elaborate on Stalin’s rather sketchy theses and concepts, to present a scientific understanding of
the evolution of society and to bring order to the chaos of history.

Marxism-Leninism, strictly speaking, refers to the version of Marxism developed by Vladimir

Lenin known as Leninism. However, in various contexts, different (and sometimes opposing)
political groups have used the term "Marxism-Leninism" to describe the ideologies that they
claimed to be upholding. The core ideological features of Marxism-Leninism are those of
Marxism and Leninism, that is to say, belief in the necessity of a violent overthrow of capitalism
through communist revolution, to be followed by a dictatorship of the proletariat as the first stage

1
Davidson, Mark. (1983). Uncommon Sense: The Life and Thought of Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Father of General
Systems Theory. Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher, Inc.
2
Ibid.
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of moving towards communism, and the need for a vanguard party to lead the proletariat in this
effort.3 Those who view themselves as Marxist-Leninists, however, vary with regards to the
leaders and thinkers that they choose to uphold as progressive (and to what extent). Maoists tend
to downplay the importance of all other thinkers in favour of Mao Zedong, whereas Hoxhaists
repudiate Mao.

Leninism holds that capitalism can only be overthrown by revolutionary means; that is, any
attempts to reform capitalism from within, such as Fabianism and non-revolutionary forms of
democratic socialism, are doomed to fail.4 The first goal of a Leninist party is to educate the
proletariat, so as to remove the various modes of false consciousness the bourgeois have instilled
in them, instilled in order to make them more docile and easier to exploit economically, such as
religion and nationalism. Once the proletariat has gained class consciousness the party will
coordinate the proletariat's total might to overthrow the existing government, thus the proletariat
will seize all political and economic power. Lastly the proletariat (thanks to their education by
the party) will implement a dictatorship of the proletariat which would bring upon them
socialism, the lower phase of communism.5 After this, the party would essentially dissolve as the
entire proletariat is elevated to the level of revolutionaries.

The dictatorship of the proletariat refers to the absolute power of the working class. It is
governed by a system of proletarian direct democracy, in which workers hold political power
through local councils known as soviets.

One basic concept in the ‘Textbook’ is that social improvement is determined by two
qualitatively different categories of objective laws. One category of laws consists of general laws
operating through all known modes of production, such as the law determining those production
relations which Stalin defined as comprising the ownership system, mutual relations within
production and the distribution system that will invariably, and almost automatically adapt to
new economic imperatives and will follow developments in social productive forces. The other

3
Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses: Notes Toward an Investigation is available in several English
volumes including Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essay.
4
Ibid.
5
Ibid.
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category of laws is specific to one or some, but not all modes of production, as for example the
law of value, which is the basic law of commodity production, as in capitalism.

The ‘Textbook’ defines socialism as a free and relatively stable social formation with its own set
of objective laws. At the central part is a ‘fundamental law of socialism’ determining that
socialist production produces not for profit, as in capitalist production, but to satisfy the ever-
increasing material and cultural needs of the working people in the process of building socialism.

Around the ‘fundamental law’ there are a series of mutually interrelated non-fundamental laws’.
They are all subordinated to the ‘fundamental law’ and serve to fulfill its demands. The most
important ‘non-fundamental laws’ are firstly the law of planned and proportionate development
guaranteeing correct relations among the various sectors of the various sectors of the economy
and of production, and secondly talk about the law determining that there will be a constant
heightening of labour productivity guaranteeing a constant and swift development of material
production, the thirdly is the law of distribution according to work guaranteeing everybody who
works an income in correspondence to his or her productive efforts and fourthly is the law of
value, itself the ‘fundamental law of capitalism’ guaranteeing that products are exchanged at
equal value.

These laws are defined as objective and incontestable. They are independent of man’s will. They
gradually extend their sphere of influence after the establishment of production socialist
relations, and at the same time they replace the specific laws of the previous mode of production.

The ‘Textbook’ follows Stalin in asserting that the law of value still exerts its influence under
socialism because commodity production and commodity circulation still exist. But it is
emphatically stressed that it operates in a ‘purified form’, controlled by public possession and
socialist preparation and consequently having only a regulatory purpose.6 Even though socialism
is considered to be an independent social formation, there still exist categories such as money,
commodities, value and others known to be very important to capitalist economies.7
Theoretically they are identified as concrete expressions and manifestations of the objective laws
governing socialist society, but it is asserted that they too exist in a ‘purified form’, free of

6
Churchman, C.W. (1971). The design of inquiring systems. New York: Basic Books.
7
Ibid.
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capitalist content. Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideological stream that emerged as the
mainstream tendency among the Communist parties in the 1920s as it was adopted as the
ideological foundation of the Communist International during Stalin's era.

According to the ‘Textbook’, as long as these laws are understood and applied correctly, socialist
production will be able to develop smoothly and at a rapid pace. Consequently, socialist society
will experience a corresponding fulfillment of the ever-increasing material and cultural needs of
the people. Political economists, therefore have it as their task to identify and study the objective
laws in order to provide a basis for rational economic policies.

Even though the ‘system theory’ presents itself as a logically coherent and scientific theory of
socialism, it contains a series of more or less obvious self-contradictions and unsolved theoretical
problems which tend to neutralize its analytical potential altogether.

The ‘system theory’ defines objective laws as part of the object of political economy. However,
when reading the ‘Textbook’ it becomes apparent that these laws have all been defined
beforehand, not detected by analyzing real social problems, relations and contradictions in the
USSR. Thus the method tends to become tautological and the conception of socialism
mechanistic.

Secondly, the entire theoretical complex has been put together from bits and pieces taken from
the writings of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and various Russian economists without taking into
consideration the original textual and historical context. The intention of Stalin and the authors
obviously was to substantiate a preconceived theory of socialism and to construe a system of
thought, a ‘genuine’ and ‘scientific’ Marxist theory, only in order to explain economic policies
and beautify harsh social realities. Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideological stream that
emerged as the mainstream tendency among the Communist parties in the 1920s as it was
adopted as the ideological foundation of the Communist International during Stalin's era.

Thirdly, the ‘system theory’ is a closed system of thought which precludes the possibility of
identifying news laws. This tends to neglect the allegedly dialectical method of analysis of the
‘Textbook’.

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Fourthly, the critical dimension so prevalent in Marx’s criticism of bourgeois political economy
entirely disappeared in ‘system theory’. The ‘Textbook’ reduced political economy to a science
of legitimization more geared to the needs of economic policy making than to the needs of
obtaining knowledge about the nature and structure of socialist society.

Finally, the ‘system theory’ purported to be a science for and of the working people. It
maintained that anything done by the leaders and the Communist Party was done in the interests
of the working people. It maintained that anything done by the leaders and the Communist Party
was done ‘in the interests of the working people’. This idea based itself on the assumption that,
due to the nationalization of the means of production, the working class had become masters in
socialist society. Furthermore, class-struggle would die out because there was no more private
ownership to form a basis for continued exploitation of the working people. The obvious
intention was to ideologize a non-existence social harmony within production relations. It is a
well known fact that production relations in the USSR were imbued with contradictions. The
violent suppression of opposition under Stalin bears testimony to this. By ideologizing
production relations, the ‘system theory’ precluded itself from becoming the critical theory and
instrument of class-struggle which Marx’s original theory had been.

In short, the political economy of the ‘system theory’ was the subject of several articles in the
Chinese economic magazine Jingji Yanjiu (Economic Studies) from its inception in 1955. But
most articles concreted on specific topics, primarily the question of objective laws under
socialism. The ‘system theory’ was not presented officially in it’s entirely until the appearance in
1959 of the translation of the third edition of the ‘Textbook’. The Chinese version of the ‘system
theory’ was basically identical to the Soviet original, but it had to be applied in an entirely
different social and historical context. Therefore, it quickly met with opponent, notably from
market socialists like Chen Yun and Xue Muqiao and from Mao Zedong, who was at that time
starting to develop a theoretical, performs of his own.

3.0 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LENIN ORIENTAL THEORY AND MAO

ZEDONG THOUGHT

Lenin Oriental Theory was formed and developed in the process of Lenin’s leadership in
Russian’s revolution and construction as well as his guidance to the other oriental less developed
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countries’revolution, it reveals the special laws of the Oriental backward countries’revolution
and construction, plays an important role in guiding China’s revolution and construction and has
a major impact on the formation of Mao Zedong Thought.8

Analysing and researching the instrinsic link between Lenin’s theory and Mao Zedong Thought,
summarizing the historical experience that Mao Zedong makes use of Lenin’s theory, have
important theoretical and practical significance for us to further advance the process of Marxism
in China and constantly open up the new situation to build socialism with Chinese
characteristics.9 Scientifically evaluate the theory’s historical status in the forming of Mao
Zedong Thought, summarize the historical experience that Mao Zedong got when he used Lenin
Oriental Theory to solve the specific problems about China’s revolution and construction and
further explore the realities inspirasion that the theory gives us.

Lenin Oriental Theory is a scientific theory, whose core is the doctrine of the colonial people,
including the theory about the transitional period and the thought about socialist construction,
which has striking revolutionary nature, prominent practicality and specific directivity. Lenin
Oriental Theory is the enrichment and development of Marx and Engels Oriental Theory and it is
also the theory arm of the oriental backward countries’ revolution and construction. The
contradictions between imperialism and the Chinese nation, Feudalism and the masses decide
that achieving national independence and people’s liberation is the main task of the Chinese
revolution in modern times, the development of the Chinese revolution in modern times needs
the scientific theory to guide it.

The success of the Russian Revolution in October has a major impact on Chinese revolution;
promoting Leninism’s wide spread in China. The advanced intellectuals are the main body of
spread, the advanced presses are the main channel of Leninism’s early dissemination, the
research community and publishing agencies are the dissemination platform. On the basis of
Lenin’s idea that the revolution in colonial and semi-colonial countries’ main task is to oppose

8
Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses: Notes Toward an Investigation is available in several English
volumes including Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays.
9
Ibid.
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the Middle Age remnants, Mao Zedong pointed out the nature of the new democratic revolution
is bourgeois-democratic revolution.

In accordance with Lenin’s idea that the proletariat must strive for the leadership right of the
Democratic Revolution, Mao Zedong emphasized that the new democratic revolution must be
led by the CPC. According to Lenin’s idea about the farmers’ important position in the Oriental
backward countries, Mao Zedong pointed out that the Chinese revolution in fact is a peasant war
led by the Party. Based on Lenin’s idea about the stages of revolution development, Mao Zedong
expounded that Chinese revolution must go on with two steps and analysed the relation between
the democratic revolution and the socialist revolution. United front, armed sruggle and the
party’s construction are not only the three magic weapons of the success of the new democratic
revolution, but also an important component of the new democratic revolution theory. Mao
Zedong’s theory about armed struggle is directly from Lenin’s doctrine about violent revolution;
Mao Zedong’s united front theory stems from Lenin’s idea that the proletariat must be consistent
with the bourgeois in the period of democratic revolution; Mao Zedong’s theory about building
the party directly comes from Lenin’s party-building theory.

Lenin’s theory of the transitional period includes the reasonable content of the wartime
communist policies and the new economic policies, the theory of state capitalism and the new
economic policies are the core. On the basis of Lenin’s theory of the transitional period, the CPC
central committee and Mao Zedong formulated the party’s general line during the transitional
period. The Chinese communists whose chief representative is Mao Zedong created a gradual
transitional agriculture socialist transformation road, which is that construction and
transformation go on at the same time, co-operative after the first mechanization from low-level
to advance.

There are also some shortcomings in the process of Mao Zedong’s use of Lenin’s cooperative’s
thought, emphasizing production cooperation, neglecting the cooperation in the field of
circulation, attaching importance to organize themselves, lighting the operation and
management, valuing the enthusiasm that the peasants co-operate, lighting the individual
economy’s initiative. Mao Zedong realized successfully the peaceful redemption to the capitalist,
enriched and developed Lenin’s idea about state capitalism. Mao Zedong and Lenin’s
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understanding is the same in the state capitalism’s status, nature and its role in the transition to
socialism, but there are some differences in the objects, forms and focus areas in the
implementation of state capitalism.

The people’s democratic dictatorship is consistent with China’s national conditions, which is
more comprehensive and accurate at the statement of concept, more democratic at the
organizational form; more widely used and enriches and develops Lenin’s theory about the
dictatorship of the proletariat. Lenin’s economic construction thought is the origin of Mao
Zedong’s economic construction theory. According to Lenin’s idea that socialism must
vigorously develop the productive forces, Mao Zedong combined Lenin’s idea about
industrialization with Chinese realities and put forword that we must shift our working focus to
economic construction after the victory of the revolution. Mao Zedong explored a road to
industrialization in China which is based on agriculture, whose main feature is industry-leading.
Based on the succession of Lenin’s thought about developing commodity economy, Mao Zedong
put forward to make use of the law of value to develop socialist economy.

Lenin Oriental Theory is the important origin of Mao Zedong Thought, Mao Zedong Thought is
the succession and development of Lenin Oriental Theory. Lenin’s works have a great affect on
Mao Zedong. Many theoretical views in Mao Zedong Thought are directly from Lenin Oriental
Theory. In the way of thinking and languge style, Mao Zedong was also affected by Lenin. Mao
Zedong thought enriched and developed Lenin’s theory about democratic revolution in colonial
countries, policy and strategy theory and the military strategy theory.Mao Zedong accumulated
precious experience in the process of using Lenin’s theory to solve the specific problems of
Chinese revolution and construction: insisting on Lenin’s theory’s combination with Chinese
realities; insisting on investigation and study; opposing dogmatism; insisting on theoretical
innovation, among them, insisiting on the combination between Lenin’s theory and Chinese
realities is the basic experience that Mao Zedong got when he used and developed Lenin’s
theory. Of course, there are some shortcomings in Mao Zedong’s use of Lenin Oriental Theory,
such as, the big transition theory which confused the stages; misunderstanding the concept of
bourgeo’s rights; misusing the thesis of small producers; exaggerating the role of spiritual
encouragement etc, these shortcomings were the important theoretical root of Mao Zedong’s
later years’errors.
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In short, Lenin Oriental Theory still has important practical significance for building socialism
with Chinese characteristics. The idea about the socialist construction in Lenin Oriental Theory
is the important origin of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and
supply a guide in methodology for constructing the socialism with Chinese characteristics, the
theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics enriches and develops Lenin’s idea
about the socialist construction.

4.0 CONCLUSION

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In conclusion, the ‘system theory’ was proposed as the Marxist theory on the political economy
of socialism and was expounded by Soviet manuals on political economy, primarily in Political
Economy, a textbook published in 1954.

There are also some shortcomings in the process of Mao Zedong’s use of Lenin’s cooperative’s
thought: emphasizing production cooperation, neglecting the cooperation in the field of
circulation; attaching importance to organize themselves, lighting the operation and
management; valuing the enthusiasm that the peasants co-operate, lighting the individual
economy’s initiative. Mao Zedong realized successfully the peaceful redemption to the capitalist,
enriched and developed Lenin’s idea about state capitalism. Mao Zedong and Lenin’s
understanding is the same in the state capitalism’s status, nature and its role in the transition to
socialism, but there are some differences in the objects, forms and focus areas in the
implementation of state capitalism.

There are also some shortcomings in the process of Mao Zedong’s use of Lenin’s cooperative’s
thought, emphasizing production cooperation, neglecting the cooperation in the field of
circulation, attaching importance to organize themselves, lighting the operation and
management, valuing the enthusiasm that the peasants co-operate, lighting the individual
economy’s initiative. Mao Zedong realized successfully the peaceful redemption to the capitalist,
enriched and developed Lenin’s idea about state capitalism. Mao Zedong and Lenin’s
understanding is the same in the state capitalism’s status, nature and its role in the transition to
socialism, but there are some differences in the objects, forms and focus areas in the
implementation of state capitalism.

In short, the ‘system theory’ was not presented officially in it’s entirely until the appearance in
1959 of the translation of the third edition of the ‘Textbook’. The Chinese version of the ‘system
theory’ was basically identical to the Soviet original, but it had to be applied in an entirely
different social and historical context.

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