The People’s Consciousness of Independence Plays the Decisive Role in Revolutionary Struggle – On the Juche Idea (treatise, 1982)

The revolution is propelled forward to victory by the conscious struggle of the masses of the people.

The leader put in a new light the principle that the masses’ consciousness of independence plays the decisive role in the revolutionary struggle.

Ideological consciousness determines and regulates all actions of man.

Consciousness, essentially, is the highest quality that makes man superior to all beings and the most powerful in the world. It is the sophisticated function of man’s brain, the most developed of his physical organs. The brain plays the central role in the activity of human life, and consciousness which is the function of the brain, commands all actions of man.

Ideological consciousness reflects man’s desire and interests, and for this reason, it has the most active effect on his conduct. Without the determination and regulation of ideological consciousness, man’s independent and creative activities would be inconceivable.

If a man is to be an independent creative being, he must have the consciousness of independence. This consciousness means the awareness of one’s being the master of one’s own destiny and signifies the will to shape one’s destiny by one’s own initiative. Only when a man has the consciousness of independence can he conduct conscious activity to conquer nature and actively struggle against the oppressors who encroach and trample upon his independence. Man’s endeavour to acquire a scientific understanding of the world and transform it actively is none other than the manifestation of his consciousness; man’s role in transforming nature and society, after all, is the role of his ideological consciousness.

The consciousness of independence plays the decisive role in the masses’ revolutionary movement for independence.

All revolutionary movements are conscious movements. A revolutionary movement begins with awakening people to an advanced idea and emerges victorious on the strength of the masses of the people who are armed with the advanced idea.

Ideological consciousness is the decisive factor that determines man’s role in the revolution and construction.

Ideological consciousness determines the class character of the actions of people who participate in the revolutionary movement. There can be no supraclass ideology in a class society, and what is basic to man’s ideological consciousness is his class awareness. People’s attitude towards the class struggle is determined by their class consciousness. Of course, people’s activities are based on their social and class positions and limited by them. But their social and class positions have effect on their actions always through their ideological consciousness. Which class interests people struggle for in a class society depends on which class ideology they have. Only when they have the ideology of an advanced class, the consciousness of independence, can they have a correct class standpoint and struggle for the victory of the revolution.

The will and fighting power of people demonstrated in the revolutionary movement are also determined by their ideological consciousness. The level of the willpower and strength demonstrated by the people is determined by their ideology. Only those who have a firm consciousness of independence will be able to take an indomitable attitude towards the revolution, actively participate in it with a strong will, and struggle to the end, overcoming all difficulties and trials.

The masses’ revolutionary ability is unfathomable, but it cannot find full expression if they are not ideologically awakened. Ideologically unawakened masses are unable to rise in the revolutionary struggle in spite of exploitation and oppression imposed upon them, nor can they successfully transform nature and society to meet their needs. Only those masses who are conscious of their class interests can demonstrate their revolutionary force to the full and guarantee victory in the revolution.

The role of ideological consciousness steadily increases with the development of the revolutionary movement.

By nature, the communist movement, the highest stage of the revolutionary movement, requires a high degree of consciousness from people. The socialist and communist societies are built by the purposeful and conscious efforts of the popular masses. The role of ideological consciousness is incomparably enhanced when building socialism and communism after the seizure of political power and the establishment of the socialist system by the working class. Capitalism depends on the discipline of hunger and the rod, but socialism and communism rely on the high level of people’s consciousness. True, control is necessary in the socialist society which is transitional. But the more the remnants of old society are eliminated as progress is made in building socialism and communism, the greater becomes the significance of people’s consciousness. Socialism and communism provide all conditions for increasing the role of people’s ideological consciousness to the full. In the socialist society, the advanced ideology of the working class prevails all over the community. Capitalism subordinates even man’s thinking and action to money considerations, but socialism and communism make the masses of the people true masters of society, and therefore give full play to the revolutionary enthusiasm and creative zeal of the masses.

The tremendous role of ideological consciousness in the revolutionary struggle for socialism and communism is also connected with the characteristics of the revolutionary thought of the working class.

The role of ideological consciousness in social progress depends on its class character and content. The reactionary ideology of the exploiting class hampers social progress, whereas the advanced ideology of the progressive class gives impetus to the development of society. The revolutionary ideology of the working class, the most independent class, has an incomparably greater revolutionary influence than any other advanced ideas in history. The revolutionary thought of the working class mirrors the laws of social development and the aspirations of the masses in a scientific manner, so that it becomes a great material force in social progress. It is a weapon with which to understand and change the reality and create the future. Unlike the reactionary thinking of the exploiting class which hinders the forward movement of history and advocates the old moribund system, the revolutionary thought of the working class performs the mission to push forward and lead historical progress.

The revolutionary movement is a conscious movement, and for this reason one must always hold fast to people’s thinking as the main thing in the revolutionary struggle and construction work. Doing this is an important principle that must be maintained in the revolution and construction.

Grasping man’s thinking as the main thing in the revolution and construction means solving all problems by attaching decisive importance to the ideological factor and enhancing the role of ideological consciousness.

Attaching decisive importance to the ideological factor is a law of revolutionary movement. Material factors, too, play a great part in the revolutionary movement. But the existence of material conditions does not give rise to the revolution automatically. How to make use of these material conditions depends on people’s conscious activity. Whether these material conditions are prepared quickly or not depends on man’s activity. The revolution can be pushed forward only by the active struggle of the revolutionaries and the popular masses. Fundamentally speaking, a revolution does not always break out when all the necessary conditions exist, nor is it carried out always in favourable circumstances.

Waiting with folded arms for all conditions to ripen is tantamount to refusing to make a revolution. Primary importance, therefore, should be given to the ideological factor in the revolutionary struggle and construction work, and on this basis strenuous efforts should be made to create all the necessary conditions.

Solving all problems by raising the level of people’s consciousness is the method inherent to the communists. The communists who struggle for the freedom and happiness of the people, lead the revolution to victory and fulfil their noble mission by awakening people ideologically and making them conscious and encouraging them to undertake the struggle of their own accord. The communists have a powerful ideological weapon capable of awakening all the people to activity. Although the capitalist class, too, strives to spread its ideology, capitalist thinking cannot be accepted by the masses as their own because it fundamentally conflicts with their interests. Only the working-class ideology which champions the interests of the working masses can be accepted by all the people, and it alone can dominate the whole society.

Doing everything by awakening people politically and ideologically is a solid guarantee for the triumph of the revolution and construction. Reliance on the high degree of the masses’ revolutionary consciousness will give a strong impetus to the revolutionary struggle and construction work, overcome unfavourable conditions and speed up the victory of the revolution.