From the documentary "Respected Comrade Kim Jong Il is a Great Thinker and Theoretician"
Korean title: 경애하는 김정일동지는 위대한 사상리론가이시다
Year of production: 2000
Ideological and Theoretical Activities To Defend And Advance
The Socialist Cause
Kim Jong Il conducted energetic ideological and theoretical activities to defend and advance the socialist cause in the first half of the 1990s. He said:
“In order to defend and develop socialism in its fierce struggle against enemies of all hues, we must further develop the revolutionary ideology and theory of the working class and make them perfect as required by the times and the developing revolution.”
In the period between the late 1980s and the early 1990s the people’s cause of independence, the socialist cause, encountered vicious challenges by the imperialists and reactionaries. The wind of reform blew hard in some socialist countries, rapidly degenerating socialism and reviving capitalism. Consequently, socialism collapsed and capitalism revived in the Soviet Union and some East European countries. Taking advantage of this, the imperialists and reactionaries made a fuss about the end of socialism and slandered the ideal of socialism.
As rapid progress was made in socialist construction, the limitations of the preceding revolutionary ideas and theories of the working class, those on socialist construction in particular, became more apparent.
With a keen insight into the prevailing situation Kim Jong Il elucidated the essential characteristics and advantages of the Korean-style socialism and the source of its invincible might in several works including the speeches titled, On Some Problems of the Ideological Foundation of Socialism and Socialism of Our Country Is a Socialism of Our Style as the Embodiment of the Juche Idea delivered to senior officials of the WPK Central Committee on May 30 and December 27, 1990, respectively and in a talk titled, Our Socialism Centred on the Masses Shall Not Perish given to senior officials of the WPK
Central Committee on May 5, 1991.
First of all, he proved that Korean-style socialism is a unique one, the ideological foundation of which is the great Juche idea. Socialism is a society based on the revolutionary ideas of the working class and its development is guaranteed by the scientific accuracy, revolutionary character and a practicability of the ideas and theories on which it is based. Korean-style socialism is a unique one based on the Juche idea, the most scientific and revolutionary idea of the working class. As it is based on the Juche idea it is marching along the road of victory without vacillation in the face of all manner of pressure and slander by the imperialists and reactionaries.
Next, he clarified the advantage of Korean-style socialism.
He said:
“The basic advantage of our form of socialism is that it is a
man-centred society, a society which considers everything with man at the centre and makes everything serve him. This advantage is defined by the Juche idea, a man-centred idea.”
He noted that Korean-style socialism is advantageous in that it embodies the intrinsic requirements of man on the highest level. Independence, creativity and consciousness are the essential attributes of a social being and collectivism is an intrinsic requirement of man who can carve out his own destiny only in the social collective. Korean-style socialism is the advantageous socialism which splendidly embodies this intrinsic requirement of a social being as clarified by the Juche idea.
Kim Jong Il elucidated that Korean-style socialism is the most advantageous social system which provides the masses of the people with a genuine independent and creative life. Political life, economic life and ideological and cultural life are major fields of social life. How the working people enjoy their independent rights and creative abilities in every field of social life is the key factor in determining the progressive nature and advantage of society.
The advantage of the Korean-style socialism which is based on the Juche idea lies not merely in that the master of the state power and means of production is the masses of the people but in that it substantially provides them with an independent and creative life in all fields of political life, economic life and ideological and cultural life. Herein lies the advantage of the socialist life over the capitalist life and the greatest advantage of the Korean-style socialism over the one in other countries which was established on the basis of the materialistic world outlook.
(To be continued...)
History of Revolutionary Activities of Chairman Kim Jong Il (2015)