KIM JONG IL
RESPECTING THE FORERUNNERS OF THE REVOLUTION IS
A NOBLE MORAL OBLIGATION OF REVOLUTIONARIES
Discourse
Published in Rodong Sinmun,
the Organ of the Central Committee of the Workers¡¯ Party of
December
25, 1995
Seventy years has elapsed since the dawn
of the Korean revolution, which has advanced under the banner of the Juche idea.
In this noble revolution several generations have shed their precious sweat and
blood for people¡¯s freedom, national independence and sovereignty and for the
victory of socialism. A large number of revolutionaries have performed
distinguished services and made brilliant achievements.
Our people respect the revolutionaries
of the previous generations as their revolutionary seniors, set great store by
their spirit and achievements in the struggle, and are carrying faithfully
forward and developing the revolutionary cause pioneered by them. This is a
noble morality developed by our people from generation to generation, as well
as a basic factor that ensures the steady, triumphant development of our
revolution even in the most complex situations.
The history of the world socialist
movement provides the serious lesson that a revolution advances victoriously
when revolutionary forefathers are respected and their accomplishments are
preserved and developed, and that a revolution is abandoned and frustrated when
revolutionary predecessors are betrayed and their accomplishments are negated. In
several countries that had built socialism in the past, opportunists occupying
the leadership of the parties and states defamed their revolutionary
predecessors and obliterated their achievements. In consequence of their
traitorous acts, the reputation of communists has been damaged, the image of
socialism clouded, and the socialist system itself has ended in collapse.
Establishing a correct viewpoint and
attitude towards revolutionary seniors is most important for the development of
the socialist movement.
Only when the red flag of the revolution
raised by the revolutionary forerunners is carried forward down through
generations can the cause of independence for the popular masses, the socialist
cause, emerge victorious.
1
To respect its pioneers is the demand of
the revolution and the noble moral obligation of revolutionaries.
Socialism advances to consummation as
the successors carry on and develop down through generations what their
predecessors achieved for the revolution. Their attitude towards their
revolutionary forefathers means their attitude towards the revolution. It is an
important matter relating to the destiny of the revolution.
Holding revolutionary seniors in esteem
means putting forward in every way the revolutionaries who devoted everything
to the struggle, championing and preserving their revolutionary ideas and
achievements and carrying forward and developing these ideas and achievements. The
predecessors¡¯ noble revolutionary ideas and the results of their arduous
struggle constitute the gains of the revolution and precious wealth for
carrying out the revolution. Only when all succeeding generations champion, preserve
and develop their predecessors¡¯ ideas and accomplishments can the revolutionary
cause continue to advance to brilliant consummation. Taking a nihilistic
approach to their predecessors¡¯ struggle and achievements, or denying them, amounts
to retreating from the road of revolution and betraying it. Vilifying
revolutionary seniors and defaming their ideas and accomplishments means
disgracing the revolution and grovelling at the foot
of the enemy of the revolution. The working-class party must, with unbroken
consistency, unfailing loyalty to the revolution and unshakable confidence in
this cause, carry forward and develop the socialism pioneered and advanced by
the revolutionary predecessors. It must pay close attention to giving
prominence to the revolutionary pioneers and to educating the people in the
ideas and through the accomplishments of these pioneers.
The attitude towards revolutionary
forefathers reflects the attitude of revolutionaries towards the revolution, as
well as their morality.
Morality is a basic criterion for
defining the qualities of a revolutionary. A revolutionary must hold not only
revolutionary ideals as his belief, but also be equipped with genuine human
qualities supported by noble moral principles. Conscience and the sense of
obligation are laudable virtues unique to the human race; these are the source
of the spiritual force that encourages people to conscientious and noble deeds.
Even a person with advanced ideas cannot acquire noble human qualities, nor can
he be a true revolutionary, unless he has a strong conscience and the sense of
moral obligation.
Even in the old society, conscientious
people valued morality, by which they evaluated personality and regarded
immoral behaviour as unworthy of human beings. In an
exploitative society, however, genuine morality cannot thrive or become
dominant. Individualism, which is the basis of the exploitative society, cannot
be compatible with true morality, and no relations of moral obligation can
exist between the exploiting and exploited classes. Moral hypocrisy is the true
nature of the exploiting class, and moral corruption is an inevitable product
of the bourgeois society.
The most ennobling human qualities
belong to the communists, who love their fellow people and fight in the cause
of independence for the popular masses. Love for and trust in
people are the basis of genuine human relations, the basis of human
morality. Promoting the benefit of others rather than of
oneself and working with devotion for one¡¯s society and collective are an
expression of a person¡¯s noble morality. Because they treasure and love
people and place social and collective interests above those of an individual, communists
struggle with devotion for the good of their fellow people, their society and
collective, not for selfish interests or personal fame. Communist
revolutionaries love their comrades and fellow people with noble feelings of
love for humanity, and devotedly struggle solely for the people, for their
independence, with revolutionary conscience and a lofty sense of moral
obligation. A man who shuts his eyes to the people¡¯s interests, who is devoid
of love for them and lacks conscience, loyalty and sympathy, cannot be a
communist or a revolutionary.
Regarding revolutionary pioneers with
respect is an inviolable revolutionary obligation. In spite of the difference
in seniority in the relationship between seniors and juniors in the revolution,
their relations are the comradeship of revolutionaries who fight in the same
cause. The relationship between parents and children is kinship resulting
mainly from actual physical birth, whereas the relationship among
revolutionaries is the comradeship of fighters who share the same ideas, hardships
and successes on the road of revolution and exalt their socio-political
integrity, which is more precious to them than their physical lives. The
kinship among revolutionaries represents a truly communist human relationship
based on comradely love and revolutionary obligation. Communist revolutionaries¡¯
outlook on morality and their moral qualities are characterized by their
regarding it as a noble duty and honour to love their
comrades most ardently and fulfil their revolutionary
obligation to them. That is why revolutionaries consider it most shameful and
treacherous to betray their comrades or to abandon conscience and loyalty in
their mutual relationship.
For the heirs to the revolution to
respect their revolutionary predecessors--the forerunners who dedicated their
lives to the revolution and left a great heritage behind them—can be said to be
a noble expression of revolutionary morality. Our revolutionary forerunners
gave their lives unhesitatingly in the fight and made precious achievements for
the country, the people and the happiness of the coming generations, not for
the sake of personal interest or honour; our
revolutionary forefathers shouted, ¡°Love the future!¡± in do-or-die battles, or
at the last moment of their lives on the gallows, precisely because they loved
the coming generations. By their heroic struggle, the revolutionary forerunners
paved the road of revolution, brought about enormous gains for the revolution, and
ensured the flowering of an independent and creative new life for people. To
respect their revolutionary predecessors, who fought devotedly for those who
came after, is the next generations¡¯ natural revolutionary obligation, its
noble moral duty.
The highest representative of
revolutionary elders is the leader, and loyalty to the leader is the highest
expression of the sense of revolutionary obligation.
The leader of the working class is the
guiding intellect and leader of the revolution. The popular masses make history,
but they can hold the position of true masters of their destiny as independent
makers of history and fulfil their role as such only
when they receive the guidance of a pre-eminent leader. The leader puts forward
scientific revolutionary ideas, strategy and tactics, inspires the masses with
revolutionary consciousness and organizes them, guides the revolutionary
struggle to victory, provides people with noble socio-political integrity and
teaches them to lead honourable lives on the road of
revolution. Under his leadership tens of thousands of revolutionaries grow up, and
people come to struggle for the revolution. Under his leadership the socialist
cause is pioneered and advanced victoriously. Thanks to his noble ideas and
outstanding leadership, great revolutionary achievements are made, and the honour and dignity of the revolutionary generations are
exalted.
Carrying forward the cause of
independence for the popular masses, the cause of socialism, means none other
than the continuation of the cause of the leader. Inheriting the ideas and
achievements of the revolutionary predecessors means inheriting the leader¡¯s
revolutionary ideas and the achievements made under his leadership. Respect for
revolutionary predecessors finds typical expression in loyalty to the leader. Being
unfailingly loyal to the great leader through all generations is the duty of
revolutionaries and the highest expression of the sense of revolutionary
obligation. Revolutionaries must resolutely defend the ideas and exploits of
the leader and loyally carry forward his revolutionary cause.
Historically, in opposing socialism, imperialists
and renegades from the revolution have directed their attacks on the leaders of
the working class and the revolutionaries of the preceding generation. This is
because socialism was pioneered and has triumphed thanks to the guidance of the
leader and the self-sacrificing struggle of the revolutionaries of the
preceding generations, and because the dignity of socialism is associated with
their honour. Modern revisionists and socialist
renegades have caused socialism to degenerate and collapse by disgracing the
leader and their revolutionary elders and by obliterating their exploits. The
process of the degeneration and collapse of socialism began with the emergence
of modern revisionism, which vilified the leader and revolutionary pioneers and
distorted and debased the revolutionary ideas of the working class. Because of
modern revisionists, socialism began to go off the track and crumble from
within. Its collapse was due to the policy of ¡°reform¡± and ¡°restructuring¡±, pursued
by socialist renegades who denied and obliterated every historical achievement
of socialism. Opportunists and socialist renegades slandered the leaders of the
working class and debased the sacred revolutionary struggle and great
revolutionary achievements of their revolutionary predecessors. They destroyed
socialism and revived capitalism. This is a most despicable
counterrevolutionary crime that betrayed the revolution under the pressure of
imperialism, an immoral perfidy that discarded loyalty to the revolution and
trampled underfoot elementary human morals. Traitors to the revolution left no
stone unturned in slandering and defaming their revolutionary predecessors. Thus
they created ideological vacillation and confusion among the people and gave
the imperialists and reactionaries the chance to slander the communists and
socialism even more viciously.
The traitors gained the leading
positions of the party and state through an intrigue and tarnished the honour of their revolutionary forerunners in an attempt to
enhance their popularity and win support from the people. However, the top
hierarchy of the party and state does not necessarily mean the leader, or enjoy
the support and respect of the people. People¡¯s confidence cannot be earned by
means of power or fraud. If one wants to become a leader and enjoy people's
confidence and support, one must have the personality and qualifications that
befit a leader and fulfil the responsibility and role
as such. A leader must, above all, be the people¡¯s servant who loves and
devotes himself to them. Love for the people and respect for revolutionary
predecessors are inseparable. A person who loves the people and is loyal to
them is bound to highly respect his revolutionary forerunners who struggled
self-sacrificingly for the people. however,
one who despises the people and lords it over them does not hesitate to
disgrace his revolutionary elders in the most despicable way. The renegades
from socialism attempted to vilify the revolutionary leaders and predecessors
in a crafty way in order to enhance their own prestige. However, they have
revealed their true colours as traitors, as well as
their inhuman qualities. Those who have deceived their people and betrayed the
revolution will inevitably be forsaken by the people.
True revolutionaries who fight for the
people and for the victory of socialism must not forget their revolutionary
forefathers; instead, they must defend and develop their achievements. This is
the way to keep their revolutionary honour and
dignity and lead the revolution to victory.
2
Being loyal to morality in relation to
our revolutionary pioneers is our revolutionary tradition and the noble moral
trait of our society.
Our revolution, which paved an original
way for accomplishing the cause of independence for the popular masses under
the banner of the Juche idea, opened up a new path in the building of communist
morality. It set an example of noble and beautiful morality at its early stages
and went on to develop it. In our country the tradition of communist morality
was created in the flames of the anti-Japanese revolution. It has been carried
forward and splendidly put into effect through our struggle to build a new
society.
Today, under our socialist system which
is centred on the popular masses, communist morality
is displayed at a high degree. In our society the leader and his fighters, the
Party and the people, are united in one mind, and our people love and help each
other life kinsmen, forming a large, harmonious family. This shows the
brilliant victory of the Juche idea in the spiritual and moral spheres and
demonstrates the superiority of our style of socialism.
The communist morality of our people
finds its highest expression in their unqualified respect for and absolute
allegiance to the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung.
The respected Comrade Kim Il Sung was a great leader, acclaimed and venerated as
such by our people for the first time in
The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung regarded the people as his god. He dearly loved
the people, firmly believed in them, and gave his all for their freedom and
happiness, undergoing hardships and sufferings on their behalf throughout his
life. The glorious history of our revolution, the dignity and honour of socialist
The respected leader Comrade Kim Il Sung was the great teacher and benevolent father of
our people, and all our people are his soldiers and devoted followers, the sons
and daughters of the paternal leader. All the generations of our country, from
the first generation of our revolution up to the present one, have grown up and
led a fruitful life under the leader¡¯s warm care, developing their socio-political
integrity. For many years, our people have regarded the respected Comrade Kim
Il Sung as a legendary hero, the sun of the nation,
a great leader and the nation¡¯s father. They have considered it their greatest honour and noblest moral duty to be single-heartedly loyal
and dutiful to him.
Our people¡¯s loyalty to the great leader
has been displayed even more strongly since he passed away. People throughout
the country paid their last respects to the fatherly leader in bitter tears and
cherished their memory of him in unabated grief. As time goes by, our people
are yearning for him more and more, praying for his immortality with their
purest minds. The world is moved by the infinite loyalty and devotion to the
great leader our people have displayed before and after his death by believing
in him and regarding him invariably as their spiritual pillar.
What was most important to us, gripped
by the pain of great loss after his sudden death, was to continue to venerate
him as much as when he was alive and to carry forward his cause with loyalty. Our
Party concentrated all its efforts on the important work of holding the great
leader in lasting reverence and carrying forward and developing his
revolutionary ideology and cause, and roused the whole Party, entire army and
all the people to this end. We have solemnly rebuilt the
The leadership of our Party, which
invariably and highly respects the great leader and faithfully carries on his
ideology and cause, has convinced our people more deeply that the great leader
Comrade Kim Il Sung will always be with them, and motivated them to
strengthen their indomitable revolutionary spirit and will to carry the
revolutionary cause of Juche through to completion, true to the leader¡¯s
teachings. With a full conviction that as long as our Party exists the great
leader¡¯s revolutionary cause is ever-victorious, our people are fighting
forcefully, placing unqualified support and trust in the Party and united
firmly behind it. Our Party is greatly proud of having such fine people as ours,
who with unshakable outlook on the leader and a noble sense of moral obligation, are loyal to their leader throughout the
generations.
Our Party and people highly respect the
revolutionaries who fought for the revolutionary cause of Juche under the
leadership of great
leader Comrade Kim Il Sung
The anti-Japanese revolutionary veterans
are the honourable first generation of our revolution.
They took up arms and started fighting the war, shedding blood, not for their
personal interests or fame, but solely for the day when people would live
happily on their liberated fatherland. The anti-Japanese revolution was unprecedentedly arduous and beset with trials. Under the
most trying conditions, the anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters upheld the
great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung as the centre
of their unity, the centre of leadership, and fought by displaying unparalleled
heroism and sacrifice. As a result they defeated the Japanese imperialists, accomplished
the historic cause of national liberation, and made a brilliant contribution to
establishing the glorious revolutionary traditions of our Party. Our Party
respects them as the pioneers of our revolution and as model revolutionaries, and
sets great store by their revolutionary spirit and exploits. Putting forward
the slogan, ¡°Let us produce, study and live like the anti-Japanese guerrillas!¡±,
our Party encourages the entire Party membership and working people to emulate
the revolutionary spirit and fighting attitude of the anti-Japanese fighters in
their work and life, and add glory to their exploits.
The participants in the Fatherland
Liberation War are the heroic fighters who defended the people¡¯s fatherland by
inheriting the brilliant traditions of the anti-Japanese revolution. In the
fierce fighting to decide the destiny of the country, our People¡¯s Army and
people defeated the
The heroes and heroines, labour innovators and the front rankers during the great
upsurge of the Chollima Movement in the postwar years
belong to the proud generation that brought about a high tide of building
socialism, surmounting the obstacles in the way of our revolution. We give
prominence to these heroes and heroines, innovators and front-rankers in the Chollima age, as models of self-reliance who, under the
leadership of the Party in a short period, built our country into a socialist
state—independent, self-sufficient and self-reliant in defence—on
the rubble of war in the spirit of self-reliance and fortitude.
Our Party continues to glorify the socio-political
integrity of the revolutionary and patriotic martyrs and heroic fighters who
performed brilliant feats in the different periods of our revolution, thus
passing their accomplishments down through history. We have set up the splendid
revolutionary martyrs cemetery and patriotic martyrs
cemetery in their memory, and have named their birthplaces, schools, factories,
farms or the units of the People¡¯s Army where they studied or served after
these heroes. We give wide publicity to their distinguished services.
Our country also spares nothing to take
loving care of the children of the revolutionary and patriotic martyrs and
heroic soldiers. We have set up schools for the children of revolutionary
martyrs in many parts of the country, educating them to be stalwart
revolutionaries at state expense; we assign them to the important posts of
Party, state and army and help them work well. Our Party and people do this
because they see it as their moral obligation to the revolutionary martyrs.
In our country many revolutionary and
war veterans, disabled soldiers, merited people, renowned intellectuals and
other distinguished people in the cultural field still continue to work for the
revolution, leading valuable and worthwhile lives under the warmly loving care
of the Party and enjoying social concern and respect. To love, respect and give
prominence to the revolutionaries and merited people who are loyal to the Party
and revolution, fatherland and people—this is the politics of our Party and
lofty spirit of our society.
Our Party and people also appreciate the
people renowned in our nation¡¯s history and keep their accomplishments alive in
the nation¡¯s memory. We unearthed the tomb of Tangun,
the founder of
The cause of
independence for the popular masses, the cause of socialism, is a national, and
at the same time an international, cause. The Korean revolutionaries are
genuine internationalists; they respect the revolutionaries, anti-imperialist
fighters, anti-fascist fighters, progressive figures and revolutionary people
of all countries, irrespective of their nationality, and duly appreciate their
achievements.
Our Party and people respect Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin as the leaders of the working
class and speak highly of their distinguished services. Reflecting the demands
and aspirations of the working class, Marx and Engels,
the first leaders of the working class, developed socialism from a Utopian
concept to a science and started the socialist and communist movement. Lenin
inherited and developed Marxism to meet the change in the times and won the
victory of the October Socialist Revolution by organizing and mobilizing the
working class. Stalin, succeeding to the cause of Lenin, built the first young
socialist state into a world power and defended the socialist fatherland from
the fascist invasion, leading the army and the people. In their days Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin represented the aspirations and
demands of the exploited working masses, and the cause of socialism was
inseparably linked with their names. The fact that imperialists and the
traitors to the revolution viciously defame the leaders of the working class
and abuse their leadership as ¡°dictatorship¡± or ¡°infringement on human rights¡±
only proves that the leaders of the working class were zealous champions of the
people¡¯s interests and enjoyed their trust and support, and that they were
steadfast communist revolutionaries who held fast to the revolutionary
principle without compromising with the enemies of the revolution.
Our Party has always assessed the
ideological and theoretical achievements of the working-class leaders in an
impartial way. It has defended the revolutionary principles of Marxism-Leninism
from all manner of opportunistic distortions and inherited and developed them
to meet the interests of the revolution and the requirements of the reality. The
revolutionary idea and theory of the working class must be applied to meet the
historical circumstances and specific situation of each country. The conditions
and circumstances of the revolution ceaselessly change and develop. Therefore, if
we take a dogmatic approach to the existing theories, we cannot formulate the
line and policies correctly, and so cannot avoid twists and turns in the
revolution and construction. While adhering to the revolutionary principles of
Marxism-Leninism, our Party has established its own guiding ideology and theory
on the basis of a correct analysis of the historical limitations of their
doctrines, and used them as a weapon in advancing the socialist cause.
The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, in the course of creatively applying Marxism-Leninism
to the Korean revolution in his early days, authored the Juche idea and blazed
the trail for the independent development of our revolution. The Juche idea is
an original idea, which developed the revolutionary idea of the working class
to meet the new historical circumstances and the modern-day requirements the
historical limitations of the preceding theories were overcome by the Juche
idea, and the revolutionary ideology and theory of the working class developed
onto a higher stage.
The opportunists and socialist renegades
distorted and defamed Marxism-Leninism and disgraced its authors. Modern
revisionists emasculated the revolutionary principles of Marxism-Leninism to
please the imperialists and thus distorted and corrupted the revolutionary
ideology of the working class. The socialist renegades, claiming that the
socialist ideal itself was wrong, denied the revolutionary idea of the working
class outright. The idea that denies the working-class revolutionary idea
cannot be anything but bourgeois ideology. The traitors claimed that they were
carrying out ¡°reform¡± and ¡°restructuring¡± for ¡°democracy¡± and ¡°economic welfare¡±,
gainsaying the revolutionary idea of the working class. However, real life has
clearly shown that their ¡°theory¡± was nothing but a reactionary theory for
destroying socialism and reviving capitalism.
Our people respect not only the leaders
of the working class but also the revolutionaries and peoples of all countries
who have fought heroically for the socialist cause. We remember the great
revolutionary struggles of the peoples in many countries who have rendered
distinguished services in the socialist cause. We highly appreciate their
historical achievements. Our Party and people oppose and denounce all manner of
counterrevolutionary plots and traitorous acts that defame and debase the
struggles and achievements of revolutionary forerunners who contributed to the
socialist cause.
Although the opportunists and the
socialist renegades defaced the honour of the leaders
of the working class and the revolutionary pioneers, they can never wipe out
their names and their worthy achievements from history. Just as socialism is
alive in people¡¯s minds and is opening up the path to a new victory in spite of
temporary twists and turns, so the honour and
accomplishments of the leaders of the working class and the revolutionary
forefathers be respected forever by the people as the socialist movement
advances.
Our Party and people treasure friendship
and solidarity with the peoples of various countries around the world and have
given active support and encouragement to people who are fighting for socialism
and for the cause of anti-imperialist independence. We have invariably been
true to the internationalist principle and revolutionary obligation both in the
party and state relations with the socialist countries and in our relations
with all the friendly countries and friendly people. We invariably respect the
party and state leaders, prominent figures in the political, public, academic and press circles and friends in many countries
with whom the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung became intimate during
his foreign activities. We remember our revolutionary comrades-in-arms and
fraternal people who gave our people disinterested help in the trying years of
our revolution, and also people of all countries who
support and encourage the just cause of our people.
The noble mental and moral qualities of
the people are inconceivable without the correct leadership of the party and
the leader.
Socialist society, where comradely unity
and cooperation constitute the basis of social relations, creates the socio-economic
conditions for the formation and development of new morals which conform to its
intrinsic nature. However, people¡¯s mental and moral qualities do not
automatically become noble with the establishment of the socialist system. Even
in socialist society, people can acquire noble mental and moral qualities only
when they are correctly guided by the party and the leader.
The mental and moral qualities of the
people take after those of the leader and follow the party¡¯s politics. A great
leader and a great party produce a great people.
The respected Comrade Kim Il Sung was a great man and the great father of the
people who was endowed with the loftiest human love as well as with fervent
love for and trust in the people. Our Party is genuinely a maternal party. It
leads the people and takes care of them, pursuing the politics of love and
trust—benevolent politics—true to the noble idea and virtue of the great leader.
The beautiful mental and moral traits of our people were formed and have
developed and become ennobled today under the benevolent care of the paternal
leader and maternal Party. Thanks to the great personality of the fatherly
leader and to the benevolent politics of the motherly Party, our people have
acquired a high sense of moral obligation; they love their comrades, respect
their revolutionary seniors, are loyal to the Party and the revolution and
devote themselves for the society and the collective. Consequently, genuinely
communist human relationships based on comradely unity and cooperation, love
and trust, have come into bloom in our society.
The mental and moral traits of our
people clearly show that our socialism, which is centred
on the popular masses, is superior to the capitalist world politically, ideologically,
mentally and morally.
3
¡¡
Establishing the moral traits of respecting one¡¯s revolutionary predecessors and
developing sound relations between the people, based on morality and loyalty, is
an important task in carrying forward and accomplishing the socialist cause.
As the revolution advances and society
develops, morality must also develop steadily towards perfection. The
consummation of socialism presupposes the perfection of people themselves, the
masters of society, and moral consummation holds an important place in the
perfection of human qualities. The highest stage in the development of human
morals is communist morality. Communist morality is a collectivist morality, based
on comradely love and revolutionary loyalty; it is the highest morality, which
conforms to man¡¯s intrinsic requirement. Only through the process of eliminating
the remnants of outmoded morality still lingering in the people¡¯s minds in
socialist society and establishing thoroughly communist morality can people be
transformed into people of the communist type and can socialism be accomplished.
Defending and carrying forward the
revolutionary traditions established by revolutionary predecessors is a
revolutionary duty and noble moral obligation for the successors to revolution.
The revolutionary idea and spirit of the
revolutionary predecessors, the valuable achievements and experience in their
struggle and their revolutionary traits are the important contents of the
revolutionary traditions which we must inherit and learn down through the
generations. The revolutionary traditions are a priceless ideological and mental
wealth that provides the continuity of revolutionary lifeblood. Whether the
socialist cause advances victoriously through generations, or is abandoned as
one generation is replaced by another, can be said to depend on the attitude
towards revolutionary traditions. Rejecting revolutionary traditions means
renouncing the revolutionary idea and spirit and giving up the revolutionary
struggle, and in the long run, leading the revolution to frustration. The
experience and lesson of the socialist movement show that neglecting, denying
or obliterating the revolutionary traditions will lead a working-class party to
inevitable degeneration and destruction, no matter how it boasts of its long
history and rich experience in the struggle, and that such a practice will make
it impossible for a country to defend socialism no matter how long its history
of socialism or how strong its economic and military power. In order to
strengthen and develop a working-class party steadily into a revolutionary
party and carry forward and accomplish the socialist cause successfully through
generations, it is imperative to preserve and put into effect its revolutionary
traditions correctly in party building and party activity and in all fields of
the revolution and construction.
The revolutionary traditions of our
Party are the revolutionary traditions of Juche, established by the anti-Japanese
forerunners under the leadership of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung. The glorious revolutionary traditions of Juche
are the historical root of our Party and the eternal cornerstone of our
revolution. Defending and carrying forward the revolutionary traditions
established by the revolutionary predecessors is the way to strengthen and
develop our Party forever into the revolutionary party of a Juche type, defend
our socialism and carry forward and accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche
without fail. We must inherit the lofty revolutionary idea and spirit of the
revolutionary predecessors, staunchly adhere to the revolutionary principle, the
working-class principle, and advance stoutly along the road of revolution, no
matter what the circumstances or co0nditions. We must ensure that the Party
members and working people equip themselves firmly with the revolutionary
traditions of our Party, put them thoroughly into practice and always live and
work in a revolutionary manner. We must see that all the Party members and
working people, following the examples of the revolutionary predecessors make
loyalty to the Party and the leader their revolutionary faith and ethics and
fight devotedly for the revolutionary cause of Juche under the leadership of
the Party. In this way we will bring lasting glory to the revolutionary
traditions of Juche established by the anti-Japanese revolutionary forerunners
and developed by our Party, and keep and demonstrate the honour
and dignity of the communist revolutionaries who highly value revolutionary
principles and loyalty.
We must intensify moral education among
Party members and other working people to establish communist moral traits
throughout our society.
Morality is the social standard of behaviour to be observed voluntarily, with conscience. Therefore,
it is only when people acquire noble moral traits with a clear conscience in
and out of work that they become revolutionaries, genuine communists truly
loyal to the Party and revolution, the fatherland and people, and establish communist moral traits throughout all of society.
We must always educate and lead the
Party members and other working people to observe communist moral standards in
good faith in all aspects of social relations and social life, ranging from
loving their parents, brothers, sisters and comrades and helping each other
with solicitude, to valuing their communities and organizations, taking good
care of state and social property and observing public morals voluntarily.
We must pay special attention to
educating the younger generation, the successors to the revolution and the
masters of the future, to be unfailingly loyal to the Party and the revolution.
The prosperity of the country and nation
and the destiny of socialism depend on how we educate and train the younger
generation. The mental and moral qualities of the younger generation reflect
the future of their country and nation. It is a historical lesson that even in
a socialist society the younger generation are unable
to grow up into reliable successors to the revolution, nor can they defend
socialism, unless they are given proper education. The youth and children are
at the stage of ideological and mental development and they have grown up in
easy circumstances without undergoing the trials of revolutionary struggle. Therefore,
if they are not given proper education, they may be easily affected with
unsound ideology, morality and modes of life. The present mental and moral
state of our youth and children is excellent. However, we must never neglect
the education of the younger generation on any account.
We must teach them to be revolutionaries,
communists who follow the Party and the leader with loyalty, are unfailingly
faithful to the fatherland and people and equipped with noble, sound mental and
moral traits.
Giving the younger generation a good
education is an important duty of the elder generation. The most valuable
heritage that the revolutionary predecessors should hand down to their
successors is their mental and moral heritage. The elder generation should
bequeath material wealth for a rich life to their posterity, but what is more
important is to hand over valuable mental and moral wealth to them so that they
reliably succeed to the revolution. We must teach the younger people clearly
how the first and second generations of our revolution followed the Party and
the leader and how they lived and fought to overcome the difficult
revolutionary situation during the arduous anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle,
the Fatherland Liberation War, and in the years of difficult postwar reconstruction
and socialist construction. In this way, we sill ensure that all the younger
people zealously emulate the same unfailing loyalty to the Party and the leader
as was displayed by the first and second revolutionary generations, as well as
the latter¡¯s devotion to the revolutionary cause and their indomitable fighting
spirit.
It is important to enhance the role of
youth organizations in educating the younger people. The basic task of the
League of Socialist Working Youth is to give the younger generation sound
education and train them into the kind of successors to the revolution that are
politically and ideologically steadfast and possess a noble moral character. The
LSWY organizations must step up education in keeping with the characteristics
of young people so that they all grow up to a new revolutionary generation and
reliable masters of the future.
For sound education, schools, society
and families must all join their educational efforts. Schools at all levels, public
educational establishments and families must all pay close attention to
education so that all young people receive a good grounding in sound, revolutionary
living any time and anywhere. Young people are full of curiosity and responsive,
so that everything they see, hear and feel exerts a great influence on their
emotions and lives. Therefore, we must pay close attention to their education
through mass media such as arts, literature and the press.
Moral education in socialist society
must conform to the essential characteristics of communist mortality and the
requirements of developing socialist society.
First of all, we must regard moral
education as an important part of ideological education and conduct it in close
combination with the latter. Ideology and morality are inseparable, and
morality is inconceivable apart from ideology. Morality based on the
revolutionary idea of the working class is a collectivist, communist morality; morality
based on bourgeois reactionary ideology is an ultra-egoistic morality, a
reactionary bourgeois morality. Only when a person¡¯s ideology is sound can he
acquire a noble moral quality, and only when his ideology is reinforced with
his conscience and morality can it be true and unshakable. We must conduct
communist moral education in breadth and depth, considering it as an important
part of education in the Juche idea. By intensifying communist moral education
on the basis of developing in depth education in the principles of the Juche
idea among the Party members and working people, we must see to it that they
firmly absorb the Juche-oriented revolutionary outlook on morality and acquire
the best mental and moral traits of a communist revolutionary of the Juche type.
We must ensure that people cultivate
their communist moral qualities through life in the revolutionary organizations
and in their revolutionary practice. People develop their qualities as social
beings through collective life in social communities, and life in the
revolutionary organizations is the highest form of social collective life. Life
in a revolutionary organization is a fine school that trains and educates
people both ideologically and morally to acquire communist traits. An important
factor that has enabled our people to acquire sound and revolutionary mental
and moral qualities lies in the fact that everyone leads his life as part of a
particular political organization. We must stimulate the activities of people
in a revolutionary organization and establish more firmly the habit of leading
the organizational life on a voluntary basis. We must do this to encourage the
people to enhance their sense of collectivism, reject all manner of
liberalistic and unsound trends and develop noble moral traits. A person¡¯s
conscience and sense of moral obligation are expressed and verified in practical
activities. An outmoded moral outlook and immoral practices are mainly rooted
in obsolete customs. We must see to it that people remain true to their
conscience and obligation in their daily work and life and oppose an obsolete
moral outlook and conventions, thereby setting up a new socialist way and
spirit of life.
It is most effective to conduct moral
education by the method of educating people through the influence of positive
examples and social campaigns. This method is a powerful means, congenial to
the nature of socialist society. Among our people are numerous commendable
people who unhesitatingly dedicate their lives for their revolutionary comrades,
unobtrusively do good things for the Party, the revolution, the society and the
collective, and live conscientiously with a loyal and dutiful attitude
throughout their lives. They are the incarnation of a clean conscience and
noble morality, are the models for the people of our era. We must pay a high
tribute to the communist traits manifested among these people, give wide
publicity to them, and launch a powerful society-wide movement to follow their
example.
We must fight against obsolete, reactionary
morality and any trend of life that runs counter to communist morality and must
prevent their penetration into our ranks.
The work of establishing a new communist
morality is carried on in the fight against obsolete, reactionary morals and
all sorts of immorality and depravity. Bourgeois morality leads people to
follow the law of the jungle and degrades them into slaves of money who discard
the most elementary human conscience and duty for the sake of cash. In
capitalist society, where bourgeois morality rules, every manner of social evil
is rampant, and a corrupt and degraded mode of life prevails. The situation is
further aggravated by the reactionary ruling circles. The imperialists are
extensively spreading their corrupt bourgeois morality and way of life both at
home and abroad. We must heighten our vigilance against the ideological and
cultural infiltration of the imperialists and completely foil it. We must also
have a clear knowledge of the reactionary nature and harmfulness of the
treacherous acts of the opportunists who slandered the pioneers of the
revolution and abused communist morality, and must staunchly oppose and reject
them. The more the imperialists and the renegades from the
revolution scheme to slander the communists and abuse communist morality, the
higher we must display our revolutionary mettle and the noble moral traits as
communist revolutionaries.
The history of our revolution, which has
advanced under the banner of the Juche idea led by the great leader Comrade Kim
Il Sung, is a glorious one. It has been
embroidered with revolutionary comradeship and noble moral fidelity and has
paved the road of victory in our revolution on the strength of single-hearted
unity among the revolutionary ranks. Our Party and people will defend the
glorious history and traditions of our revolution and develop them for ever.