It is Necessary to Depend on the People

The method of depending on the people is one of the important contents of the principle of applying the creative method in the revolution and construction.

This method is the method that enables to solve all problems arising in the revolution and construction by mobilizing the creative strength and wisdom of the people.

Why, then, is it necessary to solve all problems depending on the people?

Leader Kim Jong Il said:

The success of the revolution and construction depends, after all, on how the creative efforts of the popular masses are utilized.

Since the masses are the decisive force that propels the revolution and construction, one can successfully solve any difficult problem and energetically speed up the revolution and construction only when one relies on them.

To solve all problems arising in the revolution and construction depending on the people is necessary because the people are the decisive forces that propel the revolution and construction.

The people are the masters and the motive forces of the revolution and construction. This means the people are the agents of the revolution and construction and that they have ability to carry out the revolution and construction.

Since the revolution and construction are for the people, the people are the agents of the revolution and construction.

They have also inexhaustible strength to carry out the revolution and construction.

A proverb goes:

Three shoemakers are wiser than Zhu Geliang.

Zhu Geliang was a famous general in the era of three states, China. As a wise man, he defeated 150,000 enemies of Si Mayi only by playing a musical instrument and in the red wall battle defeated 200,000 strong army of Cao Cao, thus being known as famous person in Chinese history. So since long time ago a wise man is compared to Zhu Geliang.

This proverb tells that however wise and intelligent an individual is, his wisdom and strength is no better than those of the collective. In other words, many people are wiser than one man.

The people are numerous in number and their strength and wisdom are limitless.

Since the people are the most wise and powerful beings, if they rise with the awareness that they are masters, they can successfully solve any problems arising in the revolution and constructions.

This is the reason why it is necessary to solve all problems arising in the revolution and construction depending on the people.

What is, then, necessary to do so?

First of all, it is important to map out correct policies reflecting the desire and demand of the people and make the prior problems be their concern.

This is the first process in making the revolution and construction depending on the people.

For the revolution and construction, it is prior to make policies and lines.

Man should set up goal and find ways and act according to it even if he does a small thing. Only then, can he work with conviction without mistake. How is it possible to do revolution and construction blindly without calculation? That is why it is necessary to map out policies and lines first.

What is to be done to map out correct policies?

It is important to do it by reflecting desire and demand of the people.

Their desire and demand should be the starting point, as the revolution and construction are for the people. The policies that reflect desire and demand of the people only can be scientific ones.

For example, in the middle of November General Secretary Kim Jong Il visited Lihyon Cooperative Farm. He looked at farmers thrashing rice.

The farmers worked in the noise of the machine in the dust. The General Secretary asked a farmer whether the work is not difficult.

The farmer answer that electric machine is not so difficult than manual thrasher.

He was right. In the past, Korean farmers thrashed only 10 bags with manual thrasher a day. But now they use electric machine to thrash 60 bags a day.

The General Secretary again asked how many hours they work a day.

The farmer proudly answered that in the busy thrashing time they come in the early morning and go home late at night.

The General Secretary pondered a little and said it is of course easier to work with electric machine than with manual one but if they work from morning till night they would be tired. And he asked whether there may be way to work easier.

The farmer hesitated a little and said it would be better to mechanize in a bigger way so the people can work together.

Listening to this, he said it was a good idea, stressing that it would be better to produce combine thrasher.

Like this, the party in the DPRK maps out policies, so the policies become scientific ones that reflect farmers’ desire and demands.

The policies that reflect their desire and demand prove big power when they are carried back to the people to become their own concern.

But the policies do not become the concern of the people of their own accord, although they reflect their desire and demand. Since the knowledge and experience of individuals are limited, not all the people can easily understand the policies that generalize and integrate scientifically the desire and demand of the entire people. It is therefore important to explain the scientific policies and awaken them to the fact that they reflect people’s desire and demand. In other words, such policies should be carried back to the people.

Although the policies are correctly mapped out, if they don’t become the concern of the people, people cannot win the revolution and construction.

The correct way of depending on the people is to map out policies reflecting desire and demand of the people and be carried to them. In order to make the revolution and construction depending on the people, it is also necessary to unite the masses into a political force.

People’s power is in unity. The people have inexhaustible power but if they are not united they cannot display the power.

What, then, is necessary to unite the people into a political force?

It is important to isolate a handful of reactionaries while uniting those people who are even a little interested in revolution. This is the principle to be adhered to in the revolution and construction.

To unite the people into a political force does not mean unprincipled unity.

The purpose of unity is to make the revolution well. It is therefore impossible to unite those who are against the revolution. Unprincipled “unity” is not unity. If compromising in an unprincipled way with the reactionaries, the unity would be destroyed. It is therefore necessary to isolate those who are against the revolution.

Meanwhile, it is necessary to unite those who are interested in the revolution.

Since the people have different social status, some people may agitate to participate in the revolution. If such people are rejected, who will make revolution for whom?

If the people are rejected from the side of revolution under this or that pretext, they may go over to the side of the reaction, and the reactionaries try to attract such people. This will weaken the revolutionary forces. In order to make revolution, it is important to unite even those who agitate in the political organization and educate them constantly.

To make the revolution and construction depending on the people, it is also necessary to fight against the old that goes against the innovation.

The revolution and construction is originally the work to create the new against the old. The creation and innovation accompany resistance of the old. In order to bring about innovation in the revolution and construction by displaying creativity of the people, it is necessary to fight constantly against the old.

What is specially important is to fight against passiveness and conservatism.

Passiveness is the ideological tendency and work method of being afraid of boldly advancing the revolution and construction whereas conservatism is the tendency of being unwilling to accept the new and the advanced, clinging to the old and the backward.

Passiveness and conservatism are linked to mysticism.

Mystic people regard the new as mysterious and take passive approach, resorting to conservatism.

Once the people thought the plane as mysterious. But the detailed study tells the plane was made after the principle of flying bird. And cutting wood with plain is as much the same as cutting iron with lathe.

Passive and conservative people think normal of flying bird and cutting wood with plain but think mysterious of flying plane and cutting iron with lathe, hesitating and checking the new. This tells both passiveness and conservatism are obstacles that hamper the new creation.

Therefore, when the struggle against passiveness and conservatism is strengthened, it is possible to display the people’s creativity and bring about continuous innovation and upsurges in the building of a new society.

In order to carry out the revolution and construction depending on the people, it is necessary to conduct mass movement.

Mass movement is a social movement in which the broad masses participate and which they propel.

The building of a new society raises arduous and grave tasks. Mass movement is the organized movement to fulfill these tasks by mobilizing the broad masses in a nationwide scale.

Mass movement enables to strengthen unity and cooperation of the masses and display inexhaustible strength and wisdom of the people.

In this movement, the broad masses work with high awareness that they are masters of revolution for the common purpose. So the people will display wisdom and creative initiative uniting and helping each other forward.

Mass movement pushes ahead with the building of a new society considerably through mass struggle and collective innovation. As the broad masses participate in the mass movement, it is possible to solve all problems through mass struggle and to bring about collective innovation.

Since after restoration, Korean people conducted the General Ideological Mobilization Movement for Nation Building, Chollima Movement, the Three-Revolution Red Flag Movement, the Campaign to Follow the Example of the Unassuming Heroes, etc., in a nation-wide scale. As a result, miracles and leaps were made in all fronts of the revolution and construction, pushing ahead with the building of socialism.

This tells that in order to build a new society successfully, it is necessary to organize and develop the mass movement that enables to display the strength and wisdom to the full.

In order to carry out the revolution and construction depending on the people, it is also necessary to establish revolutionary work method.

This is very important in mobilizing the creative initiatives of the people.

Although the policies reflect desire and demand of the people, it is impossible to mobilize the people’s strength to the full, without correct work method. If the leading people have bad work method, the people are not willing to raise creative opinion and display their strength and wisdom.

If the leading people give command and shout at the people like bureaucrats in the exploiter society, they cannot move the masses at all.

What, then, is the revolutionary work method?

It is the method by which one goes among the people to understand the situation and find out correct way for solution, and by which the senior helps the subordinates and gives priority to political work so that the people voluntarily fulfill the tasks and solves all problems without forms according to the specific conditions in a creative way.

It is also the method by which the leading people share bitters and sweets with the masses, stand in the van, possess modest, humble and generous traits and lead the people so that the people work with creative initiatives.

This is called the Juche work method, because it is revolutionary and popular work method that enables to educate and help the people and make the people fulfill their responsibility with high awareness that they are masters of the building of a new society.

Juche work method is fundamentally confronted with the method of moving people with money or whip and the administrative commanding work method. It is powerful method that enables the people to share bitters and sweets and encourage their self-awareness.

As mentioned so far, the Juche idea clarifies the method of depending on the people, thus providing powerful weapon to successfully make the revolution and construction by mobilizing inexhaustible strength and wisdom.