The ultra-left ideology of Maoism that inspired China’s cultural revolution of the 1960s was known for its analytical focus on “the principal contradiction”. Only when this contradiction had been solved, said the Great Helmsman, could secondary contradictions be addressed.

It was always a very simplistic view of politics as well as of philosophy, one that applied a dogmatic sheen to the complex, interrelated affairs of everyday life. Its consequence in practice was to treat people as ciphers, capable only of a mechanistic rather than a dynamic understanding of reality – as if they were incapable of walking, thinking and smoking a cigarette all at the same time, and regarding each of these activities as integral to the other (moreover, this approach ignores the fact that many people can only think when smoking, or walking along and reflecting, as the ancient Stoics used to do!).

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The ultra-left ideology of Maoism that inspired China’s cultural revolution of the 1960s was known for its analytical focus on “the principal contradiction”. Only when this contradiction had been solved, said the Great Helmsman, could secondary contradictions be addressed.

It was always a very simplistic view of politics as well as of philosophy, one that applied a dogmatic sheen to the complex, interrelated affairs of everyday life. Its consequence in practice was to treat people as ciphers, capable only of a mechanistic rather than a dynamic understanding of reality – as if they were incapable of walking, thinking and smoking a cigarette all at the same time, and regarding each of these activities as integral to the other (moreover, this approach ignores the fact that many people can only think when smoking, or walking along and reflecting, as the ancient Stoics used to do!).

To view the full article, click here.