Giving Priority to Ideological Remoulding – On the Juche Idea (treatise, 1982)

Ideological remoulding is an important task to transform people into genuine men of a communist type.

The leader put forward the task of revolutionizing, working-classizing and intellectualizing all members of society and thus transforming them into communist men of a Juche type, as a major revolutionary task in modelling the whole society on the Juche idea.

In order to build socialism and communism we must not only develop the productive forces and change the social relations but also transform people themselves into comprehensively developed communist men. No matter how highly the productive forces have been developed and how great the material wealth is, one could not claim to have built a communist society unless people, the masters of society, are transformed into men of a communist type.

If we are to train people to be harmoniously developed communists, independent and creative men, we must equip them with communist ideology and advanced scientific and technical knowledge and help them to acquire a high cultural level.

In particular, primary attention should be directed to the task of arming people with communist ideology.

The transforming of man in essence means ideological remoulding. Thoughts define men’s worth and quality and, accordingly, ideological remodelling is of the utmost importance in the transformation of man.

Ideological remoulding is more difficult than the change of people’s conditions of material life or the enhancement of their cultural and technical standards. Man’s ideology depends on his socio-economic position and the conditions of material life. However, it does not change of its own accord with the change of his socio-economic position and the material conditions of social life. The remnants of outdated ideology are very conservative and tenacious. Ideological remoulding is a complex and protracted task. It can be successful only through a vigorous struggle.

The remoulding of man’s ideology is a far-reaching revolution. It is a struggle to eliminate the remnants of the old society in the sphere of man’s ideology for good and arm all the working people with the progressive idea of the working class, the communist idea. It constitutes the basic form of class struggle in socialist society where the exploiting classes have been liquidated. In order to remodel people in a communist way, even after the establishment of a socialist system we must fight against the penetration of reactionary ideology and culture by the imperialists and, at the same time, continue to carry out the ideological revolution to eliminate the remnants of obsolete ideology persisting in the minds of the people and equip them with a new, communist ideology.

The main thing in ideological remoulding is the establishment of a revolutionary world outlook, the outlook on the revolution.

If people are to be transformed into ardent communist revolutionaries who fight devotedly for the cause of socialism and communism, they should acquire a correct outlook on the revolution. What an attitude one takes towards the revolution and how active one is in the revolution depends, after all, on one’s outlook on the revolution.

The outlook on the revolution our Party members and working people should possess is the Juche outlook on the revolution. The Juche outlook on the revolution is the viewpoint and attitude to the revolution which place the popular masses in the centre; it is a revolutionary spirit to fight vigorously for the masses.

The core in the Juche outlook on the revolution is loyalty to the party and the leader. The cause of socialism and communism is started by the leader and is carried out under the guidance of the party and the leader. The revolutionary movement will be victorious only when it follows the guidance of the party and the leader. Therefore, to establish a correct outlook on the revolution, one must always put the main emphasis on increasing loyalty to the party and the leader.

To acquire a correct revolutionary outlook one must firmly equip oneself with revolutionary ideology and theory. This alone would enable one to correctly understand the laws of revolutionary development, have confidence in the prospect of the revolution and struggle to the end in any adverse condition without vacillation and hesitation.

To establish a correct outlook on the revolution, one must have communist revolutionary spirit. This spirit is an infinite devotion to give one’s all for the party and the leader, the working class and the people, burning hatred for the enemy of the revolution and an indomitable revolutionary spirit to resolutely fight to the end without the slightest vacillation in any adverse condition, true to one’s revolutionary principles. It is a revolutionary spirit of self- reliance to solve all problems by one’s own initiative, braving the difficulties standing in the way of advance, and a strong sense of organization and discipline to hold most dearly the revolutionary organization and voluntarily observe the rules of the organization. One can be a genuine revolutionary only when one has such a spirit.

When one has made the revolutionary ideas and theories one’s conviction and acquired a strong communist revolutionary spirit, one can say that one has acquired a correct outlook on the revolution.

Whether one has a correct outlook on the revolution or not is proved by revolutionary practice. The revolutionary practice is a powerful means of ideological remoulding and a criterion which can be used to prove man’s ideology. Without practice and action it is impossible to appraise and prove man’s ideology. The revolutionary practice of communists is nothing less than a struggle to implement the revolutionary idea of the leader and party policy. A man who upholds the revolutionary idea of the leader and dedicates his all to the struggle to carry out party policy is a genuine communist revolutionary with a correct outlook on the revolution.

Whether one has a correct outlook on the revolution or not is revealed particularly at a time of severe trials. People reveal their true nature in adverse circumstances. He who is determined to be infinitely faithful to the party and the leader even if he would have to give up his life and who remains loyal to his revolutionary principles on the scaffold, is a true revolutionary with a firm Juche outlook on the revolution.

If one is to be a communist revolutionary with a right outlook on the revolution, one must intensify revolutionary studying.

Studying is the basic means to equip oneself with revolutionary ideas, theories, strategy and tactics. Without studying one would not be able to comprehend the truth of revolutionary struggle nor have a high level of class viewpoint and revolutionary vision. A revolutionary must always regard studying as his first and foremost duty and continue to do it all his life. Studying is not merely aimed to acquire theory and knowledge. The revolutionary theory and knowledge one has learned through studying must be turned into one’s conviction.

In order to become a communist revolutionary with a correct outlook on the revolution, one must lead a faithful revolutionary organizational life.

Organizational life is a revolutionary mode of life stemming from the essential nature of the communist movement and a school for revolutionary training. Without this life, people would be unable to become revolutionaries nor preserve political integrity. One’s physical life is inherited from his parents, but one’s political life is obtained and developed through organizational life.

Revolutionary organizational life must always be conducted amidst a strong ideological struggle. Only when an ideological struggle is conducted vigorously along with ideological education, can people be awakened and trained politically and develop their ideological and moral qualities as a revolutionary to perfection. The working-class party should always hold fast to the revolutionary organizational life and train people to be ardent communists in the crucible of ideological struggle.

In order to become a communist revolutionary with a proper revolutionary outlook, one must train oneself in the revolutionary practice.

The revolutionary is hardened ideologically and in will power and acquires the revolutionary qualities and traits in the course of the revolutionary practice. Class struggle is the most acute revolutionary struggle. In the course of class struggle people heighten their class consciousness, become able to correctly tell friend from foe and acquire an uncompromising fighting spirit against class enemies. The struggle for socialist economic construction is also an important revolutionary struggle. Active participation in the struggle for production and construction is the only way to acquire confidence in the justice and victory of the cause of socialism and communism as well as genuinely revolutionary spirit and traits of the working class.

Through revolutionary study and organizational life and through revolutionary practice we should train the Party members and working people to become Juche-inspired communist revolutionaries with a firm Juche outlook on the revolution and genuine revolutionary fighters who will fight with devotion for the consummation of the Juche revolutionary cause started by the leader.