With famine rising in most of China — Anhui was one of the worst, less serious in Heilongjiang and Xinjiang — somewhat less extreme Party leaders prevailed upon Mao to go into semi-retirement and to allow a more moderate line to prevail. Mao later fomented the coup against the moderates known as the Cultural Revolution.
Just imagine you are a loyal cadre boundlessly loyal to Mao Zedong Thought reading the People’s Daily (aka the Tongue of the Party) through those years as the adjustments of the Party line were explained. Propaganda work is very important to the Chinese Communist Party. There is that saying “Out of the barrels of guns comes political power” 枪杆子里面出政权 (often mistranslated in a way that exaggerates the importance of armed repression) — guns are one of but not the only source of political power and perhaps not even the most important one.
Putting the quote into context, Mao was making that statement as a corrective to those in the Party who neglected the importance of military strength. Aside from guns, continual political education/propaganda work is also essential to protecting the Party as wrong ideas continually slip into China. One of the more important organs of the Chinese Communist Party is the United Front Work Department — better known these days for its work in Chinese communities abroad but most important for its work within China itself to ensure that political correctness 政治合格 prevails. The Chinese Communist Party spends vast sums on propaganda along with various means of coercion (including against family, friends and coworkers) to obtain ‘voluntary’ compliance.
A 2006 VOA article on Liu Shaoqi, arch-leftist (so far left that he was a rightist? Maybe Mao just couldn’t abide a rival (only one tiger per mountain?) or more evidence for the wisdom of Zhou Enlai who always kept his head down) via Google Translate “Looking Back at the Cultural Revolution (3): The Ultra-Leftist Liu Shaoqi” 回首文革(3)：极左派刘少奇
Unveiling the Political Rumor: “Better the Grass of Socialism than the Shoots of Capitalism”
Author: The Spirit of Runzhi
Date: 2018-12-23 08:17:30
Photo caption:
Old photo of China in the 1970s, stalls can be set up in front of Tiananmen Square (archival photo). In violet characters “Searching for the Origins of the Political Rumor: ‘Better the Grass of Socialism than the Shoots of Capitalism””
On June 11, 1959, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued directives concerning the private raising of livestock and poultry by commune members and the allocation of private plots of land. This directive was drafted by Liao Luyan and Deng Zihui after discussions with Mao Zedong, Deng Zihui, Li Xiannian, and Liao Luyan.
The directive suggested that each county issue an announcement in the name of the People’s Committee to inform the public of the following four matters:
- Allowing commune members to privately raise livestock and poultry.
- Restoring the private plot system.
- Encouraging commune members to utilize scattered idle land during their spare time, with the harvest freely distributed by individuals.
- Returning scattered trees (including bamboo and fruit trees) around houses to private ownership by commune members and rewarding those who utilize waste land around houses to plant bamboo, trees, and fruits, allowing whoever plants them to own them.
Between 1977 and nearly twenty years later, there were 367 articles in the “People’s Daily” related to “cutting the capitalist tail,” all describing the so-called crimes of the Cultural Revolution as a catastrophe. Such statements have flooded the narrative for over two decades, leading many, whether they experienced it or not, to equate “cutting the capitalist tail” with the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong’s era. However, the past documents are not truly silent. In the new era, these once silent documents will speak again. We welcome everyone to provide more detailed records.
From the “People’s Daily,” how was the “capitalist tail” cut?
“Cutting the capitalist tail” “割资本主义尾巴” has been one of the crimes of the Cultural Revolution for nearly thirty years. Recently, I found some “new” discoveries by reviewing articles in the “People’s Daily” since the founding of the country and would like to share them with everyone.
From January 1, 1950, to December 31, 1997, the “People’s Daily” mentioned cutting the capitalist tail in 393 articles. Here are excerpts of information published in the “People’s Daily” (in chronological order):
Article 1, November 28, 1957:
“Rich Middle Peasants and Socialism—An Investigation in Liu Jiemei’s Agricultural Cooperative in Huanggang County, Hubei” (Excerpt)
Reporters: Jiang Xia, Lin Xi
Rich middle peasants: which path to take? The road of personal capitalist wealth, or the road of socialist common prosperity? Answering this question is of great significance because rich middle peasants make up 20% to 30% of the rural population nationwide. Their movements often influence the entire rural socialist transformation endeavor.
Recently, we conducted an investigation on the economic changes of seventy-nine rich middle peasant households over the past few years in the Qunli Third Agricultural Cooperative in Huanggang County, Hubei Province. Like in other parts of the country, a significant number of rich middle peasants in this cooperative have resisted the state’s purchase and sales policies and the cooperative movement because the rural socialist revolution restricted and blocked their path to personal capitalist wealth. In this debate between two paths, rich middle peasant Liu Jiemei, who exhibited forgetfulness and sought the capitalist road of exploitation, was a typical representative of this cooperative.
In the fall of 1955, when the entire township transitioned to a higher-level cooperative, the unified use of land relieved him of his worries about waterlogged fields; in 1956, his household earned over 4,200 work points, equivalent to more than 270 yuan, compared to an average annual total income of 190 yuan from farming and sideline production during the three years between land reform and cooperative establishment, an increase of more than 80 yuan or 43%. This year, the cooperative assigned him to work at the draught animal trading post, and with his son’s labor, their income is expected to increase further.
Another newly rich middle peasant, Liu Runsheng, worked as a tenant farmer for ten years before the land reform. After the land reform, his living standard improved, so he began trading in fish fry, cattle, and timber. However, engaging in commercial speculation sometimes did not increase his income, and he even incurred losses several times in the past two years. After cadre persuasion and education, he decided to sever his capitalist tail.
Article 2, June 14, 1966:
“Promoting the Experience of the People’s Liberation Army in Studying and Applying Chairman Mao’s Works in Rural Guangdong Province” (Excerpt)
(No byline)
The Jiaoliao Brigade of Chengyue Commune in Suixi County was originally a well-known backward brigade, where many members mishandled the relationship between private and collective interests. Many members focused on their household side businesses, neglecting the collective, applying good fertilizer to their private plots and only poor fertilizer to the collective fields. As a result, collective production struggled, and they relied on state loans, grain, and fertilizer, becoming a “three-dependency brigade.” People said they had long capitalist tails. In the past, higher authorities sent people to rectify this brigade, and as soon as they were straightened out, the tails reappeared afterward. After studying Chairman Mao’s works, their mindset changed, breaking selfishness for public benefit, everyone scrambled to “cut the tail,” focusing solely on the collective. Fertilizer, funds, and grain were all self-reliant, not seeking state assistance. Now they are called the “three-no-need brigade.” Last year, they planted 900 mu of early rice, this year they planted 1,800 mu; lacking fertilizer, they collected from everyone, increasing the fertilizer per unit area by 70% compared to last year.
Article 3, March 6, 1968:
“The Spring of Mao Zedong Thought—Reaping the Fruits of Holding Mao Zedong Thought Study Classes in Rural Hangjinhouqi, Inner Mongolia” (Excerpt)
Reporter
Digging out the roots of revisionism and cutting off the capitalist tail.
Through recalling hardships and thinking of the sweetness, the masses consciously fought against selfishness. They said: “‘The self’ is a great root of disaster; if the ‘self’ is not overthrown, it is hard to maintain the country!” “‘Self’ is the root of revisionism and the tail of capitalism, we must dig it out and cut it ourselves.” “Being selfless is our path as poor and lower-middle peasants.” “‘私’字是个大祸根，‘私’字不倒，江山难保！”‘私’字是修正主义的根子、资本主义的尾巴，我们要自己来挖，自己来割。”“大公无私，才是咱们贫下中农的正道。” In the study classes, people competed to reveal their selfish thoughts and fight against them, making the “self” filthy and stinky, not wanting to touch it themselves, and others didn’t want to hear about it. An old man from Yongyue Brigade in Sandaoqiao Commune used to buy others’ sheep and sell lamb offal soup. He thought it was a way to make a fortune. After being critiqued for selfishness and revisionism in the study class, he realized it was the capitalist road promoted by China’s Khrushchev and resolutely stopped.
Article 4, March 31, 1970:
“The Sunshine of Mao Zedong Thought Illuminates Thousands of Households—An Investigation on Promoting Family Mao Zedong Thought Study Classes and Conducting Family Revolution Activities in Shengzhou Brigade of Cotton Ship Commune, Pengze County, Jiangxi Province” (Excerpt)
Xinhua News Agency Reporter
In the family study classes, members often elevated what were considered “small issues” to the level of the struggle between two ideologies, two paths, and two lines. In one family, there was a discussion about a few cabbages the mother planted on the collective’s irrigation ditch dam. Everyone said, “Private vegetables on the collective’s banks, the bigger the cabbages grow, the bigger the selfishness.” “个人的菜，种在集体的坝上，菜长得越大，私心就越大”They immediately uprooted the cabbages and handed them to the team. The members often said, “The bourgeois ‘self’ is the root of disaster for socialism. If the bourgeois ‘self’ is not overthrown, the capitalist tail cannot be cut off; only by fighting the bourgeois ‘self’ and establishing the socialist ‘public’ can we always follow the socialist path.” “资产阶级的‘私’字是社会主义的祸根。资产阶级的‘私’字不倒，资本主义尾巴割不掉；只有把资产阶级的‘私’字斗倒，社会主义的‘公’字树牢，才能永远走社会主义的道。”
Article 5, December 21, 1971:
“Combining Line Education with Revolutionary Criticism—An Investigation Report on Mashi Commune, Jianghua Yao Autonomous County, Hunan Province” (Excerpt)
Investigation Team of the CPC Lingling Prefecture Committee; CPC Jianghua Yao Autonomous County Committee
Contacting the new trends in class struggle and line struggle, timely conducting revolutionary criticism. The Mashi Commune Party Committee insisted on investigation and research, regularly holding situation analysis meetings, proposing new topics for line education and revolutionary criticism, making line education constant and revolutionary criticism frequent. The phenomenon of making straw sandals was originally a family sideline. At one time, a handful of class enemies raised a wind of making straw sandals exclusively, neglecting collective work, engaging in sideline work independently.
The brigade party branch mobilized the masses to criticize this wind, and they proposed the fallacy of “eliminating straw sandals, cutting off the capitalist tail,” attempting to sabotage the implementation of the party’s policies by taking an extreme “left” approach. By linking this new trend in class struggle, the brigade organized cadres and members to repeatedly study the party’s policies, further developing large-scale criticism, clarifying the boundaries between sideline work and legitimate family sideline activities, ensuring healthy development of family sideline production. The commune party committee, based on the experience of Lianjiang Brigade, conducted in-depth policy education throughout the commune, studying Mao Zedong’s teachings on policies, criticizing both right and “left” errors, raising cadres’ and masses’ awareness of implementing Mao Zedong’s revolutionary line and policies.
Article 6, April 10, 1972:
“Advancing in the Struggle Between Two Lines—Experiences of Agricultural Learning from Dazhai in Shunchang County, Fujian Province” (Excerpt)
Reporting Team of Shunchang County; Reporter
In the agricultural front, the fundamental issue of the past and present is the line issue—this is the deepest realization of the CPC Shunchang County Committee in the agricultural learning from Dazhai movement.
One Important Experience
Seriously implementing the party’s guidelines and policies. This is another important realization of the Shunchang County Committee in the struggle between two lines, two paths. The county revolutionary committee chairman Chen Fuke often talks about his lessons in handling Zhengfang Brigade as a point. Over the years, the brigade has adhered to the socialist direction, relying on self-reliance, hard work, transforming low-yield fields, rebuilding mountain terraces, and achieving consecutive grain harvests, setting an example for the entire county. In 1970, grain yield per mu reached 847 jin.
However, wood, bamboo, and mushroom production all declined, and the team-run paper factory also stopped production. As a result, the collective and members’ income decreased by year-end distribution. Why did this deviation occur? Were other cooperatives and teams facing similar issues? Chen Fuke and other responsible comrades led an investigation team to several brigades and a grassroots supply and marketing cooperative for a comprehensive survey, discovering that the issues in Zhengfang Brigade were somewhat prevalent throughout the county.
In recent years, after criticizing capitalist tendencies, some cadres developed the wrong idea that focusing on grain production was safe while diversified management was risky. In the struggle between two lines and two paths, in revolutionary criticism, they did not adhere well to the policy of “taking grain as the key link and developing diversified economy,” mischaracterizing diversified management as “putting money first,” “money as the commander,” “taking the capitalist road,” “以粮为纲，全面发展”的方针和政策，把抓多种经营说成是“以钱为纲”、“金钱挂帅”、“走资本主义道路”and treating traditional collective and family sideline work permitted by policy as “capitalist tails” to be cut off. From the deviations at the point, they saw the issues on the surface; from the surface issues, they saw the deviations in leadership thinking.
The struggle made Shunchang County leaders realize that to implement Mao Zedong’s revolutionary line, it was necessary to use the party’s policies to mobilize and arm the masses, daring to fight all deviations from the party’s guidelines and policies, and paying attention to one tendency covering another. Only by arranging agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline, and fishery properly, balancing grain, cotton, oil, hemp, silk, tea, sugar, vegetables, tobacco, fruit, medicine, and miscellaneous crops, could the collective economy develop rapidly and comprehensively, thus adhering to the socialist direction and fully utilizing the superiority of the socialist system.
Article 7, May 22, 1972:
“Integrating Actual Issues in Implementing Policies with Earnest Study—Wuzhong County Committee Enhances Understanding of Party Policies Theoretically, Gradually Implementing Various Economic Policies in Rural Areas, Further Motivating Members’ Socialist Enthusiasm and Developing a Good Situation” (Excerpt)
Xinhua News Agency
For a time, some cooperatives and teams in the county canceled members’ legitimate family sideline activities, labeling it “cutting the capitalist tail.” Although the county committee felt this was not in line with party policies, they did not promptly stop it, resulting in decreased income for some members and dampening their enthusiasm. This incident made the county committee leaders reflect deeply. They studied Mao Zedong’s teachings: “In the matter of why certain economic policies should be adopted instead of others, there are many confused thoughts within the Party.”
Through earnest study and discussion, they realized that the failure to implement party policies decisively was due to not thoroughly understanding the theoretical basis for those policies. From then on, they always strove to understand the theoretical basis for policies when implementing various economic policies in rural areas, ensuring that policies were conscientiously followed under any circumstances. They deeply studied Mao Zedong’s “On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People” and the current policies of the people’s commune, thoroughly understanding the correct approach to family sideline activities, resolutely correcting practices that did not conform to policies, thereby allowing the development of legitimate family sideline activities like raising poultry and livestock, as well as weaving, to a suitable extent, thus enlivening the market and increasing members’ incomes.
Article 8, June 3, 1972:
“Conduct Lively and Vivid Line Education Linked with Reality” (Excerpt)
Party Branch of Guozhuang Brigade, Xiao County, Anhui Province
We have long known the party’s pig-raising policy, so why couldn’t we implement it? The problem lies in our leadership thinking. We are quite sensitive to interference from the right but often lose vigilance against interference from the “left” and lack discernment. When Liu Shaoqi and his ilk pushed a leftist but essentially rightist black scheme, we were unknowingly poisoned. For a period, we treated members’ family pig-raising as “capitalist tails” to cut, treating the party’s correct policy as “capitalist” and fighting it. Deep down, the reason Liu’s poison infiltrated Guozhuang was that we had selfish thoughts, a soil for its existence. We mistakenly thought that the more pigs the collective raised and the fewer pigs individuals raised, the more “advanced” Guozhuang would be. After the big debate over “a bunch of sweet potato vines,” we found pig-raising had dropped significantly and realized we couldn’t do without implementing the party’s policy. But in execution, we compromised, adopting restrictive practices against members’ family pig-raising. Initially, we wanted to advance along Mao Zedong’s revolutionary line, but in fact, we deviated from it. The masses criticized: Mao Zedong called for walking on two legs, but you want to cut off one leg, how can you implement his revolutionary line? This criticism was very pertinent.
Reviewing this tortuous process, we deeply felt that policy embodies the line and ensures its implementation. If the policy is deviated from, actions will go off-track and off-line. Whether the party’s policies are correctly implemented is determined by the worldview. Only by transforming the worldview, combating selfish thoughts, overcoming subjective arbitrariness, earnestly reading and studying, and raising awareness of line struggles, can we dare to fight against the “left” and the right, firmly implementing Mao Zedong’s revolutionary line.
Article 9, June 20, 1972:
“Earnestly Study the Party’s Basic Line, Correctly Implement the Party’s Policies” (Excerpt)
CPC Nanxian County Committee, Hunan Province
Overcome “left” and right oscillations in policy implementation
In implementing the party’s rural economic policies, some comrades often oscillate between “left” and right. Reviewing past experiences and lessons, we realized that this oscillation stemmed from not grasping the party’s general line and policies thoroughly. The situation in Shima Brigade of Zhongyukou Commune enlightened us.
Before the Cultural Revolution, influenced by Liu Shaoqi’s “three freedoms and one contract” and “four big freedoms” reactionary revisionist line, the spontaneous capitalist tendencies in this brigade were severe. Some members spent their days fishing and shrimping, “each paddling their own boat, each casting their own net,” with collective production long in a backward state. At that time, some even viewed this capitalist evil as a “socialist momentum.”
Through the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, cadres and masses powerfully criticized Liu Shaoqi’s reactionary revisionist line. However, they failed to recognize the extreme “left” thinking Liu and his ilk incited under the new situation. In the spring of 1970, while harshly criticizing capitalist tendencies, they mistook legitimate family sideline activities for capitalism, conducting “cutting capitalist tails and growing socialist wings,” damaging the masses’ interests and hindering collective economic development.
Later, with the help of the higher-level party committee, they took the party’s basic line as the outline, deeply conducted education on thoughts and political lines, guiding cadres and masses to distinguish Mao Zedong’s Marxist-Leninist line and policies from Liu Shaoqi’s anti-Marxist-Leninist line and policies, correcting “left” deviations and better implementing the party’s rural economic policies. In 1971, the brigade made significant changes, with grain yield per mu surpassing the Outline.
Shima Brigade’s policy implementation oscillated between “left” and right because they couldn’t distinguish socialism from capitalism. Without clarity on the path, right and wrong were unclear, leading to oscillations in specific policy execution.
Article 10, July 6, 1972:
“Summarize Experiences and Lessons, Deeply Conduct the Party’s Basic Line Education—Yueyang County Gengkou Commune Combines Line Struggle Cases with Revolutionary Criticism” (Excerpt)
Reporter
High awareness can surpass current economic policies?
With continuous production development and rising mass awareness, Gengkou Commune Party Committee focused on combining ideological line education with frequent policy education for cadres and members.
Once, during an inspection of policy implementation, the commune party committee found that a few cadres believed that the current high awareness of members made “distribution according to work” unsuitable. In other teams, some legitimate family sideline activities were criticized and restricted as “capitalist tails,” dampening the masses’ enthusiasm.
Can high awareness surpass current economic policies? The commune party committee held three sessions of line and policy education study classes with team and brigade cadres and representatives of poor and lower-middle peasants, guiding everyone to discuss this issue…
After reaching a unified understanding, the commune party committee and brigade party branches, together with production team cadres and masses, systematically checked the implementation of economic policies, analyzing item by item, overcoming the fuzzy concepts some cadres had in policy execution, raising awareness of line struggle and policy levels, promoting better implementation of various policies.
Article 11, July 10, 1972:
“Earnestly Read Books and Learn, Correctly Implement the Party’s Policies” (Excerpt)
CPC Lulong County Committee, Hebei Province
To correctly implement the party’s guidelines and policies, one must earnestly read Marxist, Leninist, and Mao Zedong’s books, establishing a dialectical materialist worldview, overcoming idealism and metaphysics, and continuously eliminating various interferences, promoting the development of socialist revolution and socialist construction.
For a time, influenced by the extreme “left” ideology spread by Liu Shaoqi and his ilk, some cooperatives and teams canceled members’ legitimate family sideline activities, calling it “cutting the capitalist tail.” Initially, we also thought this approach “headed in the right direction.” After some time, this approach hindered the overall development of diversified management. Although we sensed a problem, we couldn’t articulate it. Later, studying Lenin and Mao Zedong’s teachings, we analyzed it seriously.
Lenin said, “Revolutionary strategy must never be based solely on revolutionary sentiment.” Mao Zedong said, “Policies and strategies are the life of the party; all leading comrades must pay full attention and must not be careless.” In formulating and changing policies, members’ awareness is only one basis, not the whole basis. If one only sees the increase in people’s awareness, ignoring other objective conditions, and arbitrarily changes policies, it is subjective idealism.
One should use dialectical materialism to analyze things in detail, enhancing discernment. To implement the party’s policies, we organized cadres and members to repeatedly study the current policies of the people’s commune, summarizing experiences and lessons in policy implementation, criticizing Liu Shaoqi’s ilk for sabotaging the party’s policies from both “left” and right.
This clarified what are legitimate sideline activities permitted by policy and what are capitalist tendencies, thereby implementing the party’s policies, eliminating “left” interferences, actively developing family sideline activities, educating members to prioritize public interest, leading family sideline activities on the right track, not only providing sideline products for the state and collective but also improving members’ living standards.
Article 12, August 12, 1972:
“Be Good at Differentiating Policy Boundaries” (Excerpt)
CPC Sihong County Committee Secretary Liu Yuewu
To differentiate policy boundaries, one must first differentiate between the correct and erroneous lines.
Last spring, I found some brigade and production team cadres, poisoned by the extreme “left” ideology spread by Liu Shaoqi and his ilk, mistakenly believing that “tightening the reins on family sideline activities, the ‘capitalist tail,’ can prevent capitalist tendencies.” Others said, “Developing collective sideline activities is the main direction, controlling family sideline activities strictly is not a big issue.” This stemmed from not understanding the party’s rural sideline policies from an ideological and political line perspective.
The focus of the rural two-line struggle is whether to adhere to the socialist path. Strengthening party leadership over family sideline activities, adhering to the socialist direction, reflects Mao Zedong’s revolutionary line; spontaneous development of family sideline activities reflects the influence of Liu Shaoqi’s anti-revolutionary revisionist line. Therefore, distinguishing policy boundaries requires distinguishing the struggle between two lines; only by distinguishing the correct and erroneous lines can one understand the importance of correctly implementing policies for implementing the party’s line.
Article 13, August 27, 1972:
“Dare to Adhere to Principles and Fulfill Policies” (Excerpt)
Reporting Team of Paozi Commune
In the process of implementing the Party’s rural economic policies, the Party Branch of Dahuang Brigade, Paozi Commune, Xinjin County, Liaoning Province, dared to adhere to principles, fulfill policies, and earned the praise of the masses.
Previously, Dahuang Brigade often encountered situations where some cadres did not take the masses’ policy issues seriously, often using “research” as an excuse for long-term non-resolution; some cadres even labeled members’ policy issues as “private” and individualistic, dampening the masses’ revolutionary enthusiasm. The Party Branch analyzed the causes of these problems, mainly that some leading cadres did not have a strong policy concept and did not fundamentally understand the relationship between the Party’s policies and the interests and demands of the masses.
The Party Branch then organized everyone to carefully summarize past experiences and lessons. They recalled this event: a few years ago, the masses actively responded to Chairman Mao’s call for “greening the motherland.” Besides collective tree planting, they also planted some trees around their houses, along roads, and on garden edges, bringing great benefits to the members.
Later, influenced by Liu Shaoqi’s extreme “left” thinking, they once considered the members’ private tree planting as “capitalist tails” to be cut off. Consequently, members dared not plant private trees, and collective afforestation was also reduced, resulting in “bald hills, yellow slopes, and no shade along the roads.” This spring, the masses raised this issue again. The Party Branch, combined with the criticism and rectification campaign, realized that the better the situation, the higher the members’ awareness, the more attention should be paid to implementing the Party’s policies. So they corrected the past practices, greatly motivated the masses’ enthusiasm, and within one spring, besides collective afforestation, members planted over four thousand trees.
Afterwards, the Party Branch guided everyone to study Chairman Mao’s teachings that “the production of the masses, the interests of the masses, the experiences of the masses, and the emotions of the masses are all things that leading cadres should pay attention to at all times,” “群众生产，群众利益，群众经验，群众情绪，这些都是领导干部们应时刻注意的” realizing that the Party’s policies reflect the interests and demands of the masses, and the masses care most about policies. The masses raising policy issues is not about personal or local interests, but about handling the interests of the state, the collective, and individuals more reasonably. From then on, the Party Branch of this brigade made sure to promptly investigate, carefully study, devise solutions, and reasonably resolve the policy issues raised by the masses.
Article 14, August 27, 1972:
New Colors in the Mountainous Areas of Lian County — Guangdong Lian County Develops Diversified Economy (Excerpt)
Correspondent
Under the guidance of Chairman Mao’s proletarian revolutionary line, cadres and masses in the mountainous areas of Lian County have vigorously promoted grain production while actively developing a diversified economy, facilitating the comprehensive development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline, and fishery, significantly changing the appearance of the mountainous areas. Everywhere presents a scene of green mountains, lush forests, abundant grains, and thriving livestock.
Great Changes in Date Village
Located on the Jinfeng Mountain, the Dalubian Commune and Xingzi Commune are densely planted with date trees, producing red dates, honey dates, and black dates loved by the people, earning the area the nickname “Date Village.” A few years ago, under Liu Shaoqi’s reactionary revisionist line of “left” but actually right, the area suffered from “equal distribution and arbitrary adjustment,” and “cutting the capitalist tail,” severely dampening the production enthusiasm of the date-producing masses. The old date gardens were poorly managed, new date trees became fewer, and date yields declined.
In recent years, the leaders of the date-producing communes seriously implemented the Party’s policies on rural diversified economy, putting date production on the agenda of the Revolutionary Committee’s work, as an important task in implementing rural economic policies. Date production has seen new developments, with yields increasing year by year. Last year, they harvested over 600,000 jin of various dates, setting a new record. Last winter, the Dalubian Commune Revolutionary Committee, located in the date-producing area, summarized and promoted the advanced experience of the Xinyong Production Team in seriously implementing policies, exploring land potential, and developing date production, giving a great push to the entire area.
Since this spring, the poor and lower-middle peasants in the date-producing areas have fully utilized land potential, using wastelands, riverbanks, roadsides, and scattered lands around villages to plant dates extensively. The Dalubian Commune alone planted over 900 mu of date trees, totaling more than 10,000 trees; they also pruned and managed existing date trees, creating favorable conditions for developing date production.
Article 15, September 5, 1972
Lessons from “Cutting Tails”
Reporting Team of Anlu County, Hubei Province
Hearing that the fifth production team of Baihe Brigade in Liuhhe Commune has rapidly developed pig farming, we asked the team leader Zhang Zhengming to share his experience. He smiled and said, “It’s not experience, it’s a lesson!” He then talked about two instances of “cutting tails”:
The summer before last, members pulled weeds in the paddy fields and took the pulled grass home to feed pigs. Some people reported this to me, and I thought: we are an advanced team, members taking grass home instead of giving it to the production team, how can that be right? At a meeting, I criticized this without naming names and asked members to “cut the capitalist tail and grow socialist wings.” After that, no one took grass home anymore. Seeing this, I felt quite pleased.
However, by winter, the number of pigs in members’ households decreased. We consulted the poor and lower-middle peasants for the reasons. They said, “Only relying on collective pig farming and not helping members’ private pig farming, performing a ‘one-legged dance,’ “只管集体养猪，不帮助社员私人养猪，跳‘独脚舞’ how can it not decline?” After hearing the criticism from the poor and lower-middle peasants, I re-studied the Party’s relevant policies. The policies clearly stipulated “do public and private pig farming simultaneously,” “公养私养并举” so what’s wrong with members taking a few handfuls of grass home to raise pigs, as long as it doesn’t affect production? But we treated members’ legitimate sideline production as a “capitalist tail” and “cut” it off. We corrected this mistake and actively encouraged members to use their spare time to raise pigs. By the end of last year, the number of pigs reached an average of one per person.
With the development of pig farming, more feed grains were needed. At that time, we feared that giving more feed grain would reduce the collective reserve grain, benefiting members at the expense of the collective, and we did not promptly solve the feed problem for members. As a result, we reverted to the “one-legged dance,” and the number of pigs in the entire brigade fell to an average of 0.8 per person.
To summarize the lessons from the two instances of “cutting tails,” this spring, our team committee earnestly studied the Party’s various economic policies for rural areas, discussing and analyzing as we went along. Some said, “We always want to speed up our steps on the road of learning from Dazhai in agriculture, but missing a leg, we move slower instead. What we cut was not a ‘capitalist tail,’ but socialist policies.” Some said, “It seems we were thinking for the collective, but actually, we were worried about not maintaining ‘advanced’ status, which is a selfish thought.” “看起来，我们为集体着想是番‘好心’，其实，我们是担心‘先进’保不住不好办，这种想法正是私心作怪。”As I listened, I became increasingly excited, realizing that the policy deviations were due to my untransformed worldview and low awareness of line struggles. The next day, at a members’ meeting, I connected the two instances of “cutting tails” to criticize the selfish thoughts behind the “good intentions.” 挖了“好心”背后的私心 The poor and lower-middle peasants happily said, “When the cadres’ selfish thoughts are cut off, policies are implemented, and our enthusiasm for pig farming is high.” Currently, we are back to nearly one pig per person.
Reflections on One Issue at a Time
The lessons from “cutting tails” are thought-provoking. Some grassroots cadres can resist interference from the right when implementing the Party’s rural economic policies, but they often cannot resist known wrong interference from the “left.” They think being a little “left” is “good intentions,” while being right is bad. However, “left” and right are different in form but the same in essence, both deviating from Chairman Mao’s revolutionary line, violating the Party’s policies, and harming the socialist cause.
Clearly selfish thoughts are called “good intentions,” and clear violations of socialist policies are called “cutting capitalist tails.” To seriously absorb the lessons from “cutting tails,” we must earnestly study books, improve the ability to distinguish true from false Marxism, eliminate selfish thoughts, and adhere to Party principles. Only then can we stand firm and withstand interference from both the “left” and right when movements arise.
Article 16, September 6, 1972
Good Education on the Overall Line, Rapid Transformation of Backward Brigades
Xinhua News Agency
Changchun City’s subordinate counties and suburban areas have seen a number of backward brigades enter the ranks of the advanced through combining basic line education and policy education, facilitating the implementation of the Party’s various economic policies in rural areas, promoting the transformation of backward brigades. Some backward brigades in Jiutai County, located in hilly areas suitable for diversified management, were previously influenced by extreme “left” thinking, treating diversified management as “capitalist tails” to be cut off. Last year, these backward brigades, through line education, implemented policies, boosting not only grain production but also pig farming, fish farming, afforestation, kiln burning, and mining.
Article 17, September 11, 1972
The Struggle Between Two Lines in the History of Large Cooperative Pig Farming
Reporter, Correspondent of “Inner Mongolia Daily,” Correspondent of This Newspaper
At this time, Liu Shaoqi’s ilk blew a new wind, saying that members’ family pig farming was “developing capitalism” and needed “cutting capitalist tails.” Supporting members to raise more pigs, was it in line with Chairman Mao’s revolutionary line and policies? The Party branch comrades were unsure.
In the spring of 1971, the county committee cadres stationed here led them to study the Party’s basic line, making them understand that whether something benefits socialism is our only criterion for judgment. Members using spare time to raise pigs and sell them to the state, with manure contributing to the collective, benefits socialism and should be supported.
The brigade Party branch clarified their understanding. While actively developing collective pig farming, they supported members’ family pig farming, advancing the pig farming business significantly. Currently, the brigade has 1,339 people, with a total of 1,422 pigs raised collectively and by members.
More pigs mean more manure and grain. In 1970, the brigade’s grain output increased by about a third compared to 1969 and doubled compared to 1962. Last year, despite severe natural disasters, they still had a good harvest. This year, with more pigs, crops are growing better too. Throughout this process, the awareness of the line struggle among cadres and members continuously improved.
Article 18, September 18, 1972
Implementing Policies, Transforming Spirit into Material Things (Excerpt)
Correspondent, Reporter
Why could Yuexi Commune develop rapidly and comprehensively? “Mainly because policies were implemented,” summarized by the responsible comrades of the commune Party committee. They insisted on “publicizing policies to the fullest, implementing policies honestly, meticulously checking policy implementation, and mobilizing the masses to supervise policy implementation.” In implementing policies, they focused on the following issues:
- Specific analysis and clear policy boundaries. For a time, influenced by Liu Shaoqi’s extreme “left” thinking, some people couldn’t distinguish between capitalism and socialism, treating legitimate family sideline activities as “capitalist tails” to be cut off, prohibiting members from raising chickens and ducks. Once, a cadre went to a shop to buy eggs, and the shop assistant criticized, “You don’t allow more chicken raising, where can we get eggs to sell to you?” The commune Party committee studied Chairman Mao’s teachings, corrected the wrong practices, leading to a rapid increase in chicken and duck raising, doubling the numbers compared to the previous year.
Article 19, September 19, 1972:
Selflessness Leads to Fearlessness — The Deeds of Party Branch Secretary Xia Xiangao of Shuanghe Brigade, Jiangsu Province (Excerpt)
Correspondent
Xia Xiangao, Party Branch Secretary of Shuanghe Brigade, Qingfeng Commune, Jianhu County, Jiangsu Province, dares to fight against wrong thoughts that violate the Party’s policies in implementing the Party’s economic policies. The masses praise him as a good secretary who defends the Party’s rural economic policies.
Last year, a production team leader stipulated that members were not allowed to fertilize their private plots. This reached Xia’s ears, and he felt this was against the Party’s rural economic policies and prepared to talk to the team leader. Someone advised, “Old Xia, you can’t talk about this! It could be seen as ‘public protection for private interests’!” Xia said, “The Party’s policy allocates private plots to members, so they should be cultivated well. Not allowing any fertilizer, how can they be cultivated well? This is against the policy.” Xia talked to the team leader, who said, “You can’t have it both ways; focusing on the large fields means you can’t focus on private plots, and vice versa.” Xia felt this reasoning was wrong but didn’t have enough to convince the leader.
He studied Chairman Mao’s works and relevant policy documents, realizing that the Party’s current rural economic policies were formulated based on the characteristics of the socialist period. Trying to surpass the socialist historical stage and implement extreme “left” economic policies would dampen the masses’ socialist enthusiasm and harm the revolutionary cause. After his understanding improved, Xia talked to the team leader again, first providing policy education and helping him review the damage to the collective economy in Shuanghe Brigade under Liu Shaoqi’s so-called “cutting the capitalist tail” influence. The team leader understood, voluntarily checked with the masses, and appropriately arranged fertilizer use for both the large fields and private plots.
Xia Xiangao realized that to defeat wrong lines and implement the Party’s policies, he must first overcome selfish thoughts.
Article 20, October 18, 1972
Earnestly Read and Study, Overcome Empiricism (Excerpt)
CPC Ledong County Committee, Guangdong Province
We often are satisfied with knowing the superficiality of our experiences but fail to strive to explore the reasons behind them. Some are correct but do not know why they are correct; others are wrong, but do not understand where they are wrong. This is also a manifestation of empiricism. In 1969, Liu Shaoqi’s ilk stirred up a wrong wind again, proposing to “cut the capitalist tail,” trying to implement a brigade accounting and equal distribution method. Some brigades in our county followed suit. Then, recalling the experience and lessons from ten years ago when Liu Shaoqi’s ilk engaged in “equal distribution and arbitrary adjustment” that harmed productivity, we believed that we should still adhere to “three-level ownership with the brigade as the basis” and the principle of distribution according to work, but no one could clearly articulate why. Hearing others say their approach “conforms to the direction of communism,” we dared not express our attitude, letting some brigades carry on. A year later, facts proved that their aim to “cut the capitalist tail” was false, and what they were really doing was to chop off socialist policies. Only then did we decide to correct it.
Why couldn’t we resist something we knew was wrong in the past? Now we realize that besides selfish thoughts, a crucial reason is that our experiences remained at the sensory stage and didn’t rise to the rational stage. Chairman Mao said, “Perception only solves the problem of phenomena, while theory solves the problem of essence.” For Liu Shaoqi’s ilk’s “equal distribution and arbitrary adjustment” ten years ago, we only saw many negative outcomes from phenomena, knowing it wouldn’t work, without understanding its nature from theoretical and line perspectives. Our understanding of the correctness and necessity of “three-level ownership with the brigade as the basis” and the principle of distribution according to work was also superficial.
Naturally, we lacked the power to resist Liu Shaoqi’s ilk’s interference and couldn’t adhere to the Party’s line and policies. Recently, studying “Critique of the Gotha Program,”
- We understood from Marx’s insightful discussions that due to the level of productivity and the degree of people’s consciousness in the socialist stage, the principle of “distribution according to work” is a historical necessity.
- We understood that the Party’s policies at this stage are formulated based on Marxist principles and conform to the objective laws of social development, and
- We understood that if we violated them we would face punishment because of these objective laws.
Thus, for the errors of “cutting the capitalist tail,” we rose from sensory understanding to rational understanding, strengthening our determination to adhere to the Party’s line and policies and overcome extreme “left” thinking.
Article 21, October 21, 1972
Frequently Analyze Yourself (Excerpt)
Wang Shubing, Party Branch Secretary of Jinzhang Brigade, Da Wu Commune, Pingshan County, Hebei Province
In the campaign of criticism and rectification, we repeatedly studied Chairman Mao’s philosophical works, earnestly checked our implementation of the Party’s various economic policies, and realized that things are two-sided. This way, I calmly reviewed our brigade’s implementation of Chairman Mao’s revolutionary line. In 1968, Liu Shaoqi’s ilk stirred up a wrong wind, saying that private plots, private sheep, and private trees were capitalist tails.
Then I thought, the Red Flag Team can only lead, it can’t fall behind others. So, we turned private plots into collective ownership, treated brick making, weaving, smithing, workshops, etc., as capitalist tendencies and chopped them off, and canceled reasonable rewards and compensation for pig raising and fertilization. The result was that we violated the current economic policies of the people’s commune, dampened the socialist enthusiasm of members, and harmed productivity, causing a reduction in grain and cotton production in 1969.
Article 22, November 21, 1972
Adhere to Scientific Attitudes, Improve Leadership Styles (Excerpt)
General Party Branch of Konkeng Brigade, Gaofu Commune, Zixi County
We realized in the struggle that to truly implement the Party’s policies, we must stand on the positions of Party spirit and Party policies, fighting various wrong tendencies.
In 1969, Liu Shaoqi’s ilk implemented an extreme “left” but essentially right reactionary revisionist line, proposing the slogan “cutting the capitalist tail.” Influenced by this wrong slogan, we here forbade members from raising sows. At that time, we didn’t realize this was against the Party’s policies, and we turned all the sows raised by members into collective ownership, dampening the masses’ enthusiasm, and significantly reducing the number of pigs raised in the brigade.
After suffering this setback, we went back to studying the Party’s policies, realizing that members raising sows could increase social wealth, develop production, and increase members’ income, which was not a bad thing. So, we immediately corrected this mistake, sincerely checked with members, and encouraged them to raise more pigs and accumulate more fertilizer. After the policies were implemented, pig farming continued to develop.
Article 23, December 25, 1972
Important Issues in Building Communist Youth League Branches — An Investigation by the Communist Youth League Branch of Cuipo Brigade, Yiyang County, Hunan Province on Line Education (Excerpt)
Correspondent
Distinguish Right from Wrong
Implementing the Party’s basic line education enhanced the class struggle awareness of Youth League members and young people. Then an incident occurred:
A youth in the Shufangchong Production Team, influenced by the wrong wind of “cutting the capitalist tail,” used some improper methods to restrict members’ family poultry raising. After the incident, some said this was wrong, others said it was a “revolutionary action.” The Youth League branch considered this a significant ideological trend: many youths couldn’t distinguish Chairman Mao’s revolutionary line and policies from Liu Shaoqi’s ilk’s reactionary revisionist line and policies and couldn’t analyze specific issues specifically. If the Youth League organization didn’t educate them, they would deviate from Chairman Mao’s correct line and become blind revolutionaries. So, they treated guiding youths to distinguish right from wrong, drawing policy boundaries, as an important part of ideological and political line education.
Article 24, October 21, 1973
Pioneers of the Socialist Path — The Revolutionary Deeds of Ai Hexiang, Party Branch Secretary of Kongzhuang Production Team, Hunan Commune, Linchuan County, Jiangxi Province (Excerpt)
Correspondent
Through line education, the masses’ awareness increased. They rose to expose the sabotage plots of class enemies, determined to follow Chairman Mao’s socialist path to the end. Those cadres and members who were once fascinated by individual sideline activities all returned their carts to the team, participating in collective production and legitimate sideline production.
In the advancing path, the struggle between two lines was very sharp. Ai Hexiang led the cadres and members of Kongzhuang Production Team, never stopping the fight. In 1971, a “big figure” from above spread the fallacy of “cutting the capitalist tail” everywhere. Ai Hexiang firmly fought against this. Some worried for her, saying, “He’s from above, aren’t you afraid of death?” Ai Hexiang resolutely replied, “No matter where they come from, as long as it doesn’t conform to what Chairman Mao says, we must fight firmly, even if it means imprisonment or death.”
For over twenty years, Ai Hexiang remained fearless in the struggle between two lines. She often said, “Water flows, the boat moves, but the shore remains unchanged. We walk the socialist path, we must stand firm.” Thus, regardless of where the wrong wind and evil currents came from, she resolutely resisted and fought against them. The masses praised her as a “pioneer of the socialist path.”
Article 26, August 22, 1975
Large-Scale Pig Farming in Xinghe County (Excerpt)
Correspondent of Xinhua News Agency
Policies Implemented, Enthusiasm for Pig Farming High
In the process of developing pig farming, the Xinghe County Committee also combined learning the theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat with meticulously and thoroughly implementing policies. Everyone realized that Marxist theory is the ideological foundation of the Party’s line and policies. Without understanding the theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat, it would be difficult to distinguish between correct and incorrect lines in practical work.
Through learning the theory, they clarified the right and wrong boundaries of the line and policies, unwaveringly implementing the policy of “actively developing collective pig farming while continuing to encourage members to raise pigs,” adhering to the principle of public farming as the mainstay, with public and private farming together. In this regard, they overcame many obstacles, promoted the experience of the Daku Lian Brigade throughout the county, established large collective pig farms, and mobilized members to raise pigs, criticizing the fallacy that members raising pigs was “developing capitalism” and needed “cutting the capitalist tail.”
Article 27 was published on July 21, 1977. From that date through December 1, 1995 393 articles of this type were published of which only two are excerpted here.
Article 27, July 21, 1977
Eliminating interference from the Gang of Four: Grain, Forests and Sheep develop together (excerpt).
Our Correspondent
The Wangzhuang brigade in Teng County, Shandong Province, is a mountainous team. In the past: the mountain rock roll, under the mountain “three run” field, grain yield of only one hundred pounds per mu, eat the national food seven, eighty thousand pounds per year. In the agricultural learning Dazhai movement, they follow Chairman Mao’s “food for the program, comprehensive development” policy, carry forward the revolutionary spirit of war, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, comprehensive planning, integrated management, greening of barren hills, and actively develop the sheep, and strengthened the collective economy. The “Gang of Four” wantonly interfered with and destroyed the Party’s policy, and once took sheep farming as a capitalist tail to cut. The Party branch led the majority of poor and lower-middle peasants to seriously study Chairman Mao’s teaching on the equal importance of agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry, and fought tit-for-tat against the interference of the “Gang of Four”. They said angrily: arable land can produce food, barren mountains can produce sheep, cut sheep as cut food!
……
Article 393, December 1, 1995
‘Market’ or ‘Place’ Which Came First? (Excerpt)
December 11, 1995
A market is a place where goods are exchanged. For the sake of convenience, the word “market” will be separated here: “market” means trading activities; “field” means a place for trading. “City” and “field”, what is first? Undoubtedly, is the first “city” – buyers and sellers demand, in order to meet this demand, people to a certain place to trade, before the formation of “field “. For example, the country’s largest commodities market in Yiwu 义乌 in Zhejiang Province. Why isn’t it somewhere else? Because Yiwu people have a tradition of buying and selling small commodities, and there is a group of small traders who walk around the countryside with a stretcher and “exchange chicken feathers for sugar”. Even in the era of rampant extreme leftist line and “cutting the tail of capitalism”, they were still quietly active. After the policy of reform and opening up began, the business became bigger and bigger and more and more prosperous, and finally grew to be the largest in the country, with an annual turnover of tens of billions of dollars of “Small Commodity World”.
政治谣言“宁要社会主义的草,不要资本主义的苗”的来龙去脉
作者: 润之精神 日期: 2018-12-23 08:17:30
70年代的中国老照片 天安门前可以摆摊（资料图）
1959年6月11日 中共中央发出关于社员私养家畜家禽和分配自留地等问题的指示。这个指示是由毛泽东同邓子恢、李先念、廖鲁言等研究后由廖鲁言、邓子恢起草的。
指示“建议各县用人民委员会的名义出一张布告，把下面四件事向群众公布。第一，允许社员私人喂养家禽家畜。第二，恢复自留地制度。第三，鼓励社员利用零星空闲时间把零星闲散土地充分利用起来，收获由个人自由支配。第四，屋前屋后的零星树木(包括竹木果树)仍然归还社员私有，并且奖励社员利用屋前屋后和其他废弃土地种竹木水果，谁种谁有”。
《人民日报》在1977年以后近二十年间，有367篇文章涉及“割资本主义尾巴”，内容均为如今人们熟悉的文革“浩劫”的“罪状”，相关说法在这二十多年来铺天盖地，使许许多多经历过或者没经历过的人都把“割资本主义尾巴”与文化大革命乃至毛泽东时代划上了等号。但是，不要以为过去了的文献就真的沉默不语了。在新的生活光辉照耀下，曾经沉默不语的文献必将重新开口说话。欢迎大家补充提供更详细的记载。
从《人民日报》看历史是怎样“割资本主义尾巴”的？
“割资本主义尾巴”在近三十年来一直是文革“浩劫”的罪状之一。最近，笔者查阅建国以来《人民日报》的文章有些“新”的发现，发出来与网友们共享。
1950年1月1日至1997年12月31日《人民日报》，共有393篇文章提到割资本主义尾巴。以下是人民日报登载的信息摘录（按文章发表的时间顺序）：
第1篇，1957年11月28日：
富裕中农和社会主义——在湖北黄冈县刘介梅所在农业社所作的调查（摘录）
记者 江夏 林晰
富裕中农走哪条路？走资本主义个人发财的道路，还是走社会主义共同富裕的道路？回答这个问题具有重要的意义，因为富裕中农这个阶层的人数，占全国农村人口的２０％至３０％。他们的动向，往往足以影响整个农村的社会主义改造事业。
最近，我们在湖北省黄冈县群力第三农业社，对七十九户富裕中农几年来经济变化情况作了若干调查。和全国其他地区一样，这个社为数不少的富裕中农，对国家的统购统销政策和合作化事业抱有抵触情绪，根本原因在于农村的社会主义革命限制和堵死了他们走资本主义个人发财的道路。在这次两条道路的大辩论中，暴露和批判了自己有忘本思想、想走资本主义剥削道路的富裕中农刘介梅，就是这个社的典型代表。
……
1955年秋，全乡转入高级社以后，土地统一使用，他不再发愁田地被淹了；１９５６年由于劳动力（共两个）能够充分发挥，他家共做了四千二百多个工分，合二百七十多元，比土改后合作化前的三年中，每年的农副业平均总收入一百九十元零三角七分增加了八十多元，增长率为４３％。今年，社里派他到耕畜交易所工作，加上他儿子的劳动，预计收入比去年还有增加。
另一户新富裕中农刘润生，土改前给地主当过十年长工，土改后生活不断上升，于是开始贩鱼秧、贩牛、贩木材。但是，搞商业投机有时并不能使他增加收入，两年来他甚至还蚀过几次本钱。经过干部的说服教育，他的思想搞通了，表示决心割断自己的资本主义尾巴。 ……
第2篇，1966年6月14日：
推广解放军活学活用毛主席著作的经验 广东省农村中蓬勃兴起群众性学习毛主席著作热潮（摘录）
（此篇无署名）
……
遂溪县城月公社家寮大队，原来是个有名的落后大队，许多人对公私关系处理不好。有不少社员顾家庭副业，不顾集体，好肥往自留地上，不好的才向队里投。这样，集体生产当然搞不好，依赖国家贷款、贷粮、贷化肥，是个“三依赖大队”。人们说他们尾巴长（资本主义尾巴）。过去上级派人到这个大队做整顿工作，刚一整，尾巴断了，可是过后又出来了。经过学习毛主席著作，人们思想变了，破私立公，大家争着“割尾巴”，一心为集体，肥料、资金、粮食全靠自己，不向国家伸手，现在大家叫他们“三不要大队”。去年早造插秧九百亩，今年插了一千八百亩；没有肥料大家投，单位面积施肥量比去年增加了百分之七十。 ……
第3篇，1968年3月6日：
办学习班，是个好办法，很多问题可以在学习班得到解决。 毛泽东思想的春天 ——记内蒙古杭锦后旗大办农村毛泽东思想学习班的丰硕成果（摘录）
记者
……
挖修正主义根子 割资本主义尾巴
……
通过忆苦思甜，推动了广大社员自觉地斗私。他们说：“‘私’字是个大祸根，‘私’字不倒，江山难保！”‘私’字是修正主义的根子、资本主义的尾巴，我们要自己来挖，自己来割。”“大公无私，才是咱们贫下中农的正道。”在学习班里，人们抢着亮私，斗私，把“私”字搞得又脏又臭，自己见了不想沾，别人见了不想闻。三道桥公社永跃大队有个老汉，过去专买别人的羊，宰了卖羊杂碎汤。他以为这是一门生财之道。经过在学习班里斗私批修，他认识到这是中国赫鲁晓夫鼓吹的资本主义的道路，坚决洗手不干了。
第4篇，1970年3月31日：
毛泽东思想的阳光普照千家万户 江西彭泽县棉船公社升洲大队大办家庭毛泽东思想学习班 开展家庭革命化活动的调查（摘录）
新华社记者
……
在家庭学习班里，社员常把被认为是“小问题”的事提高到两种思想、两条道路、两条路线斗争的高度来认识。有一个家庭，在学习班上对母亲在集体的抽水沟坝边上种了几棵白菜的事，展开了讨论。大家说：“个人的菜，种在集体的坝上，菜长得越大，私心就越大”。他们立即把白菜连根拔下来，送到队里去了。社员群众常说：“资产阶级的‘私’字是社会主义的祸根。资产阶级的‘私’字不倒，资本主义尾巴割不掉；只有把资产阶级的‘私’字斗倒，社会主义的‘公’字树牢，才能永远走社会主义的道。”
第5篇，1971年12月21日：
把路线教育和革命大批判结合起来 ——湖南江华瑶族自治县码市公社的调查报告（摘录）
中国共产党湖南省零陵地区委员会;中国共产党江华瑶族自治县委员会调查组
……
联系阶级斗争和路线斗争的新动向，及时开展革命大批判。码市公社党委坚持调查研究，定期召开形势分析会，为路线教育和革命大批判提出新课题，使路线教育常讲常新，革命大批判常批常新。辇江大队打草鞋本来是一项家庭副业，有个时期，一小撮阶级敌人在开展家庭副业的幌子下，刮起一股专打草鞋，不出集体工，搞副业单干的歪风。大队党支部发动群众批判了这股歪风，他们又抛出“消灭草鞋耙，割掉资本主义尾巴”的谬论，妄图从极“左”的方面破坏党的政策的贯彻执行。联系这一阶级斗争的新动向，这个大队组织干部社员反复学习党的有关政策，进一步开展大批判，划清副业单干和正当家庭副业的界限，使家庭副业生产健康的开展。公社党委根据辇江大队的经验，在全公社进行了一次深入的政策教育，学习毛主席论政策的有关教导，批判右的和“左”的错误倾向，提高了干部群众执行毛主席革命路线和政策的自觉性。
……
中国共产党湖南省零陵地区委员会
中国共产党江华瑶族自治县委员会 调查组
（原载《红旗》杂志一九七一年第十三期）
第6篇，1972年4月10日：
在两条路线斗争中不断前进 ——福建顺昌县开展农业学大寨运动的经验（摘录）
顺昌县报道组;本报记者
在农业战线上，过去的根本问题是路线问题，现在仍然是路线问题——这是中共顺昌县委在农业学大寨运动中的最深切的体会。
……
一条重要的经验
要认真执行党的方针和政策。这是顺昌县委在两条路线、两条道路的斗争中的又一个重要体会。顺昌县革委会主任陈福科同志经常谈到自己抓郑坊大队这个“点”的教训。几年来，郑坊大队在学大寨运动中，坚持社会主义方向，自力更生，艰苦奋斗，大力改造低产田，重建山垄，粮食生产连年丰收，为全县作出了榜样。一九七○年，粮食亩产达到八百四十七斤。但是，木材、毛竹、杂竹、香菇等都减产了，队办的造纸厂也停止了生产。所以，在年终分配时，集体和社员的收入却减少了，为什么会出现这种偏向？其他社、队是否也存在同样的问题呢？陈福科和其他负责同志带领调查组，到几个大队和一个基层供销社，进行全面调查，发现郑坊大队出现的问题在全县有一定的普遍性。近几年来，批判了资本主义倾向以后，在一部分干部中，又出现了“抓粮食生产保险，抓多种经营危险”的错误思想。他们在开展两条路线、两条道路斗争，进行革命大批判中，没有很好地坚持“以粮为纲，全面发展”的方针和政策，把抓多种经营说成是“以钱为纲”、“金钱挂帅”、“走资本主义道路”，把政策许可的传统的集体副业和社员家庭副业当做“资本主义尾巴”割掉了。他们从点上的偏向，看到面上的问题；从面上的问题，看到领导思想上的偏向。
斗争的实践，使顺昌县领导干部认识到，要贯彻执行毛主席的革命路线，就必须用党的政策发动群众，武装群众，敢于同一切违反党的方针和政策的“左”右倾向进行坚决的斗争，注意一种倾向掩盖另一种倾向。只有搞好农、林、牧、副、渔五业的布局，摆正粮、棉、油、麻、丝、茶、糖、菜、烟、果、药、杂的位置，使集体经济得到迅速全面的发展，才能真正坚持社会主义方向，充分发挥社会主义制度的优越性。 ……
第7篇，1972年5月22日：
结合贯彻执行政策中的实际问题认真读书 吴忠县委从理论上加深对党的政策的理解，使各项经济政策在农村逐 步落实，进一步调动了广大社员的社会主义积极性，发展了大好形势（摘录）
新华社
……
有一段时间，这个县有些社队取消了社员正当的家庭副业，说这是“割资本主义尾巴”。对于这种做法，县委虽然觉得不符合党的政策，但却没有及时去制止，造成一部分社员收入减少，挫伤了他们的积极性。这件事引起了县委领导成员的深思。他们学习了毛主席的教导：“在为什么应当采取这样的经济政策而不应当采取别样的经济政策这个问题上，在理论和原则性的问题上，党内是存在着许多糊涂思想的。”通过认真的学习和讨论，大家认识到所以在行动上没有坚决执行党的政策，就是因为没有认真学习党的政策，特别是没有进一步弄懂制定它的理论根据。从此，他们在落实党在农村的各项经济政策时，总是努力弄通制定政策的理论根据，以做到不论在什么情况下，都能自觉地执行政策。他们深入学习毛主席的《关于正确处理人民内部矛盾的问题》和人民公社现阶段的政策，从理论上弄通了正确对待社员家庭副业的问题，坚决纠正了一些不符合政策的做法，使饲养家禽、家畜，以及编织筐席等正当家庭副业得到了适当的发展，从而活跃了市场，增加了社员收入。
……
第8篇，1972年6月3日：
联系实际进行生动活泼的路线教育（摘录）
安徽省萧县郭庄大队党支部
……
党的养猪政策我们早就知道，为什么却不能落实呢？问题出在我们领导思想上。我们对来自右的方面的干扰比较敏感，对来自“左”的方面的干扰却往往失去警惕性，缺乏鉴别力。当刘少奇一类骗子推行形“左”实右的一套黑货时，我们就不知不觉地受到了毒害。有一个时期，我们就是把社员家庭养猪当作“资本主义尾巴”来割的，以致把党的正确政策也当作“资本主义”斗掉了。再深挖一下，“刘毒”所以能流到郭庄来，还因为我们头脑里有私心杂念，有适应它存在的土壤。我们错误地认为，集体养猪越多，个人养猪越少，郭庄才称得上“先进”。在“一把山芋秧子”的大辩论以后，我们虽然发现养猪数量显著下降，感到不执行党的政策不行了；但在执行中又打了折扣，采取了限制社员家庭养猪的错误做法。本来，我们想的是要沿着毛主席的革命路线把步子迈得更大些，实际上却背离了毛主席的革命路线。群众批评说，毛主席号召两条腿走路，你们想砍掉一条腿，怎么能贯彻执行毛主席的革命路线呢？这种批评是很中肯的。
回顾这段曲折过程，我们深深感到：政策是路线的体现，又是执行路线的保证。执行政策一偏，行动就会脱“轨”离“线”。而能不能正确执行党的政策，又是由世界观决定的。只有努力改造世界观，狠斗私心杂念，克服主观随意性，认真看书学习，提高路线斗争觉悟，才敢顶“左”反右，才能顶“左”反右，坚定地执行毛主席的革命路线。
……
第9篇，1972年6月20日：
认真学习党的基本路线 正确执行党的政策（摘录）
中共湖南南县委员会
……
克服执行政策中的“左”右摇摆现象
在执行党的农村经济政策中，有的同志经常“左”右摇摆。回顾以前的经验教训，我们认识到发生这种现象的根本原因，是没有切实掌握党的总路线和总政策。中鱼口公社石马大队的情况，使我们得到启发。
文化大革命前，在刘少奇的“三自一包”、“四大自由”等反革命的修正主义路线影响下，这个大队资本主义自发势力比较严重，一部分社员成天捕鱼捞虾，“各荡各的桨，各撒各的网”，集体生产长期处于后进状态。当时，少数人还把这种资本主义的邪气，看成是“搞社会主义的劲头”。通过无产阶级文化大革命，干部、群众对刘少奇的反革命的修正主义路线进行了有力批判。但是，对刘少奇一类骗子在新形势下煽起的极“左”思潮却认识不清。一九七○年春，在狠批资本主义倾向时，他们又把正当的家庭副业当作资本主义去反，搞什么“割资本主义尾巴，长社会主义翅膀”，损害了群众的利益，影响了集体经济的发展。后来，在上级党委帮助下，他们以党的基本路线为纲，在全大队深入开展思想和政治路线方面的教育，引导干部、群众分清什么是毛主席的马克思列宁主义路线和政策，什么是刘少奇一类骗子反马克思列宁主义的路线和政策，纠正了“左”的偏向，使党的农村经济政策得到了较好的落实。一九七一年，这个大队发生了巨大变化，粮食亩产一举跨过《纲要》。
石马大队在执行政策中，为什么会时“左”时右、摇摆不定呢？我们学习党的基本路线，认识到农村中两条路线斗争的焦点，在于要不要坚持社会主义道路。执行农村经济政策的斗争，归根到底，是围绕走什么道路这个根本问题进行的。石马大队在执行党的农村经济政策中，所以曾经“左”右摇摆，就是分不清什么是社会主义的东西，什么是资本主义的东西。道路不清，是非不明，执行具体政策就必然“左”右摇摆。
第10篇，1972年7月6日：
总结正反两方面的经验 深入进行党的基本路线教育 ——岳阳县筻口公社结合两条路线斗争的事例，开展革命大批判（摘录）
本报通讯员
……
群众觉悟高就能“超越”现行经济政策吗？
在生产不断发展、群众思想觉悟不断提高的情况下，筻口公社党委十分注意结合思想路线教育，经常对干部和社员进行政策教育。 有一次，公社党委分头下去检查政策落实情况。在三港大队发现，少数干部认为现在群众为革命种田的觉悟很高，搞“按劳分配”已经“不适应形势”了。在其它队还了解到，有的社员的某些正当的家庭副业被当作“资本主义尾巴”，进行了批评和限制，挫伤了群众的积极性。
群众觉悟提高了，就可以超越现行经济政策吗？公社党委先后举办了三期有社、队干部和贫下中农代表参加的路线和政策教育学习班，引导大家围绕这个问题开展讨论。……
……
认识统一以后，公社党委和大队党支部的成员都深入到下面，把党的基本路线教育和政策教育紧密结合起来，同生产队干部和群众一道，对经济政策的贯彻执行情况，逐队逐项地认真检查，认真分析，克服了少数干部在执行政策上的糊涂观念，提高了干部群众的路线斗争觉悟和政策水平，促进了各项政策的进一步落实。 ……
第11篇，1972年7月10日：
认真看书学习 正确贯彻执行党的政策（摘录）
中共河北卢龙县委员会
要正确地贯彻执行党的方针、政策，必须认真读马、列的书，认真读毛主席的书，树立辩证唯物主义的世界观，克服唯心论和形而上学，不断地排除各种干扰，推动社会主义革命和社会主义建设的发展。
……
有一段时间，由于受到刘少奇一类骗子宣扬的极“左”思潮的影响，少数社、队有些人认为，群众觉悟提高了，农村基本政策可以改变了。他们把社员正当的家庭副业，错误地当成“资本主义尾巴”割掉了。起初，我们也认为这种做法“方向对头”。过了一段时间，这种做法影响了多种经营全面发展，我们虽然感到有问题，但讲不出道理来。后来，我们学习了列宁和毛主席的教导，联系实际进行认真分析。列宁说：“革命策略决不能只根据革命情绪来制定。”毛主席说：“政策和策略是党的生命，各级领导同志务必充分注意，万万不可粗心大意。”制定政策和改变政策，群众觉悟只是依据之一，而不是全部依据。如果只看到人的觉悟有所提高的一面，就不顾其它客观条件随意改变政策，那是主观唯心主义。应当运用唯物辩证法，对事物进行详细分析，提高识别能力。为了使党的政策得到落实，我们组织干部和社员群众反复学习党的现阶段农村人民公社的基本政策，总结在执行政策中的经验教训，批判刘少奇一类骗子从“左”的和右的两方面破坏党的政策的罪行。这样认清了什么是政策允许的正当副业，什么是资本主义倾向，从而落实了党的政策，排除了“左”的干扰，积极发展家庭副业。同时教育社员先公后私，使社员的家庭副业走上正确轨道，不但为国家、集体提供了副业产品，又提高了社员的生活水平。
……
第12篇，1972年8月12日：
要善于区别政策的界限（摘录）
（中共泗阳县委书记 刘岳五）
……
要区别政策的界限，首先要区别正确的路线和错误的路线的界限。
去年春天，我发现有的大队和生产队干部，由于受了刘少奇一类骗子散布的极“左”思潮和推行的反革命的修正主义路线的毒害，错误地认为“对于家庭副业这个‘资本主义尾巴’，就是要卡紧，才能防止资本主义倾向”。还有的说：“发展集体副业是大方向，家庭副业管死一点，关系不大。”这正是由于他们对党的关于农村副业的政策，没有从思想路线上和政治路线上来理解的缘故。
走社会主义道路，还是走资本主义道路，这是农村两条路线斗争的焦点。加强党对家庭副业的领导，坚持走社会主义道路这个大方向，就体现毛主席的革命路线；而自发地发展家庭副业，则是刘少奇一类骗子反革命的修正主义路线流毒的反映。因此，对发展家庭副业要区别：是在积极参加集体劳动发展社会主义集体经济条件下，利用业余和农闲时间搞，还是不参加集体劳动，只搞家庭“副业”；是有领导地就地取材、自产自销，还是自发地包揽加工、转卖牟利，等等。只有区别这些政策的界限，才能看出两条路线的斗争；也只有区别正确的路线和错误的路线，才能理解正确执行政策对于正确执行党的路线的重要意义。
……
第13篇，1972年8月27日：
敢于坚持原则 做到政策兑现（摘录）
泡子公社报道组
辽宁新金县泡子公社大荒大队党支部，在落实党的农村经济政策中，敢于坚持原则，做到政策兑现，得到群众的好评。 以前，大荒大队常有这样的情况：有的干部对群众提出的政策性问题不够重视，往往以“研究研究”为借口，长期不给解决；有的干部甚至把群众提出政策性问题，说成“私”字冒头，闹个人主义、本位主义，结果挫伤了群众的革命积极性。党支部分析产生这些问题的原因，主要是一些领导干部政策观念不强，没有从根本上认清党的政策和群众的利益、要求的关系。党支部便组织大家认真总结过去的经验教训。他们回顾了这样一件事：前几年，广大干部群众积极响应毛主席关于“绿化祖国”的号召，除了集体植树造林外，还在房前屋后、路旁园边栽植了一些树，给社员群众带来了很大利益。后来，由于受到刘少奇一类骗子极“左”思潮的影响，一度把社员个人栽树当成“资本主义尾巴”来割。这样一来，社员不敢栽植自留树，集体造林也不多，造成“山变秃，坡变黄，大道两旁无阴凉”的情况。今年春，群众把这个问题重新提出。党支部结合批修整风，认识到：形势越好，群众觉悟越高，越要注意落实党的政策。于是纠正了过去的做法，大大地调动了群众的积极性，一个春季，除集体造林外，社员自栽各种树木四千多棵。事后，党支部引导大家学习了毛主席关于“群众生产，群众利益，群众经验，群众情绪，这些都是领导干部们应时刻注意的”教导，认识到：党的政策集中反映了群众的利益和要求，群众最关心政策。群众提出有关政策性问题，不是什么闹个人主义、本位主义，而是表明他们希望把国家、集体、个人三者利益处理得更加合理。打这以后，这个大队党支部对群众提出的政策性问题，做到及时调查，认真研究，拿出办法，合理解决。
……
第14篇，1972年8月27日：
连县山区添新彩 ——广东连县发展多种经营（摘录）
本报通讯员
在毛主席无产阶级革命路线指引下，连县山区各级干部和广大群众在狠抓粮食生产的同时，积极发展多种经营，促进了农、林、牧、副、渔的全面发展，使山区面貌大改变，到处呈现着山青水秀，林茂粮丰，六畜兴旺的新气象。
枣乡大变
地处巾峰山上的大路边公社和星子公社，枣树茂密，盛产群众爱吃的红枣、蜜枣和黑枣，人们称这一带地方是“枣子之乡”。几年前，这一带枣区在刘少奇一类骗子形“左”实右的反革命的修正主义路线破坏下，大搞“一平二调”、“割资本主义尾巴”，严重地挫伤了枣区群众的生产积极性，使老的枣园管理不好，新的枣树越来越少，枣子产量下降。这几年，枣区公社的各级领导，认真贯彻执行党在农村发展多种经营的各项方针和政策，把枣子生产列入革委会工作的议事日程，作为落实农村经济政策的一件大事来抓，枣子生产有了新的发展，产量一年比一年增加。去年，收获各种枣子六十多万斤，超过了历史的最高水平。去年冬天，地处枣区的大路边公社革委会，总结推广了新永生产队认真落实政策，挖掘土地潜力，发展枣子生产的先进经验，给全区推动很大。今年入春以来，枣区的广大贫下中农充分挖掘土地潜力，利用荒山、河边、路旁、村前村后的零星土地，大种枣树，单大路边公社就种了枣树九百多亩，达一万多棵；又普遍对原有的枣树进行了整枝等管理工作，为发展枣子生产创造了良好的条件。
……
第15篇，1972年9月5日：
“割尾巴”的教训
湖北省安陆县报道组
听说六合公社白合大队第五生产队生猪发展比较快，我们请队长张正明介绍一下经验。他笑了笑说：“哪里是经验，是教训哩！”接着，他谈了两次“割尾巴”的事：
前年夏天，社员们在稻田除草时，顺便把扯的草带回家喂猪。有的人向我反映了这件事，我心想：我们是先进队，社员扯的草不给生产队，拿回家怎么行呢？会上，我不指名地批评了一下，要求社员“割资本主义尾巴，长社会主义翅膀”。以后，再没有人带草回家了。看到这些，我心里还挺高兴。
但是，到了冬天，社员家庭的生猪存栏数下降了。我们找贫下中农查原因，他们说：“只管集体养猪，不帮助社员私人养猪，跳‘独脚舞’，怎能不下降？！”听了贫下中农的批评，我重新学习了党的有关政策。政策明明规定“公养私养并举”，那么，社员为了养好猪，在不影响生产的情况下，带几把草回家有什么不可以？而我们却把社员的正当副业生产当作“资本主义尾巴”给“割”掉了。我们纠正了这种错误做法，积极鼓励社员利用业余时间养猪。去年年底，生猪存栏数就达到平均每人一头。
生猪发展了，需要增加饲料粮。这时，我们又怕饲料粮给多了，集体储备粮就会减少，肥了社员，亏了集体，没有及时给社员解决饲料问题。结果，又走了跳“独脚舞”的老路，全大队生猪下降到平均每人零点八头。
为了总结两次“割尾巴”的教训，今春，我们队委会认真学习了党在农村的各项经济政策，大家边学边议。有的说：“我们总想在农业学大寨的道路上把脚步走快点，但是少了一条腿，反而走慢了。我们割的不是‘资本主义尾巴’，而是割掉了社会主义政策。”有的说：“看起来，我们为集体着想是番‘好心’，其实，我们是担心‘先进’保不住不好办，这种想法正是私心作怪。”我越听越激动，认识到执行政策所以有偏差，是我的世界观没有改造好，路线斗争觉悟低。第二天，在社员会上，我联系两次“割尾巴”的教训，挖了“好心”背后的私心。贫下中农高兴地说：“干部私心杂念的尾巴割掉了，政策落实了，我们养猪的积极性就足了。”目前，又接近平均每人一猪了。 ＊ ＊ ＊
一事一议
“割尾巴”的教训发人深省。有些基层干部，在落实党在农村的经济政策的时候，对来自右的方面的干扰能抵制，对来自“左”的方面的干扰往往明知不对也不敢抵制。他们还认为：“左”一点是“好心”，右了是坏事。其实，“左”的和右的，表现形式不同，本质却是一个，都是背离毛主席的革命路线，违反党的政策，不利于社会主义事业的。
明明是私心，还说是“好心”，明明是违背了社会主义政策，还说是“割了资本主义尾巴”。要认真吸取“割尾巴”的教训，必须认真看书学习，提高识别真假马克思主义的能力，破除私心杂念，坚持党性原则。只有这样，当运动出现“左”右干扰时，才能站得稳，顶得住。＊
第16篇，1972年9月6日：
路线教育抓得好 后进社队转化快 长春市属各县和郊区一批后进社队跨入先进行列（摘录）
新华社
……
长春市委把基本路线教育和政策教育结合起来，使党在农村的各项经济政策在后进社队逐步得到落实，促进了后进社队的转化。九台县的一些后进社队地处丘陵地区，适宜多种经营，可是过去由于受极“左”思潮的干扰，他们把多种经营当做“资本主义尾巴”砍掉了。去年，这些后进社队通过路线教育，落实了政策，不仅粮食生产上来了，而且养猪、养鱼、植树造林以及烧窑、采矿等也都很快发展起来。＊
第17篇，1972年9月11日：
大库联养猪的路线斗争史（摘录）
本报通讯员;《内蒙古日报》记者;本报记者
……
这时，刘少奇一类骗子又吹出一股歪风，说什么社员家庭养猪是“发展资本主义”，要“割资本主义尾巴”。支持社员多养猪是不是符合毛主席的革命路线和政策呢？党支部的同志一时拿不定主意。
一九七一年春天，县委在这里蹲点的同志领导他们学习党的基本路线，使他们懂得：对社会主义有利还是有害，是我们判断是非的唯一标准。社员利用工余时间养猪卖给国家，肥料投给集体，对社会主义有利，应当支持。
大队党支部的认识明确了。在积极发展集体养猪的同时，扶持社员家庭养猪，使养猪事业又大大前进了一步。目前，全大队一千三百三十九人，集体和社员养猪共一千四百二十二口。
猪多肥多粮多，一九七○年，全大队粮食产量比一九六九年增加约三分之一，比一九六二年增加约一倍。去年遭遇了严重的自然灾害，仍然获得较好的收成。今年，猪更多了，庄稼也长得更好了。在这过程中，干部和群众的路线觉悟不断提高。＊
第18篇。1972年9月18日：
政策一落实 精神变物质（摘录）
本报通讯员;本报记者
……
越溪公社为什么能迅速全面发展？“主要是政策落实。”公社党委负责同志这样概括他们的经验。他们在工作中，坚持“原原本本宣传政策，老老实实执行政策，认认真真检查政策落实情况，发动群众监督执行政策。”在落实政策中，注意以下几个问题：
一、注意具体分析，划清政策界限。有一个时期，由于刘少奇一类骗子极“左”思潮的影响，一些人分不清资本主义和社会主义的界限，把正当的家庭副业也当作“资本主义尾巴”割掉，禁止社员养鸡养鸭。一次，有个干部到商店买鸡蛋，营业员批评说：“你们不让多养鸡，我们那里有蛋卖给你。”公社党委学习了毛主席的有关教导，纠正了违背政策的错误作法，鸡鸭发展很快，一九七一年比上一年增长两倍。
……
第19篇，1972年10月18日：
无私才能无畏 ——双河大队党支部书记夏咸高捍卫党的政策的事迹（摘录）
本报通讯员
夏咸高是江苏省建湖县庆丰公社双河大队党支部书记。在贯彻执行党的经济政策中，敢于对违反党的政策的错误思想作斗争。群众都赞扬他是捍卫党的农村经济政策的好书记。
去年，有个生产队长给社员规定不准给自留地施肥。这件事传到老夏耳朵里，他感到这不符合党在农村的经济政策，准备找这个队长谈谈。有人劝他说：“老夏，这事可不能说呀！弄得不好就是‘顶公护私’啊！”老夏说：“党的政策规定分给社员自留地，给了就要种好。一点肥不准用，怎么能种好呢？这是违背政策的。”老夏找队长谈话，队长说：“‘甘蔗没有两头甜’，顾大田就顾不了自留地，顾自留地就顾不了大田。”老夏感到这种说法不对，但是没有充分理由说服队长。
他学习了毛主席著作和有关政策文件，认识到：当前，党在农村的经济政策是根据社会主义时期的经济特点制定的。如果企图超越社会主义历史阶段，实行极“左”的经济政策，必将打击群众的社会主义积极性，使革命事业受损失。认识提高后，老夏第二次找队长谈话，首先对他进行了政策教育，还帮他回顾了双河大队过去在刘少奇一类骗子所谓“割资本主义尾巴”的影响下破坏集体经济的教训。这个队长想通了，主动向群众作了检查，并对大田和自留地用肥作了适当安排。
夏咸高体会到，要战胜错误路线，落实党的政策，首先必须克服私心杂念。
……
第20篇，1972年10月18日：
认真看书学习 克服经验主义（摘录）
中共广东省乐东县委员会
……
认识要深化 经验要提高
对于自己的经验，我们常常满足于知其然，而不努力探究其所以然。正确的，不知道为什么正确；错误的，说不清错在那里。这也是一种经验主义的表现。一九六九年，刘少奇一类骗子又煸起一股歪风，提出什么“割掉资本主义尾巴”的黑货，妄图大搞大队核算和平均主义的分配办法。我县个别大队也这样作了。当时，我们回想起十年前刘少奇一类骗子大搞“一平二调”破坏生产力的经验教训，认为今天还是应当坚持“三级所有，队为基础”和按劳分配的原则，但是谁都讲不出多少道理。听到别人讲他们的做法“符合共产主义大方向”，就更不敢表明自己的态度了，听凭个别大队搞下去。直到一年以后，事实证明他们要“割掉资本主义尾巴”是假，要砍掉社会主义政策是真，我们才下决心去纠正。
为什么过去有经验教训，明知道不对的事情而不能抵制呢？现在认识到，除了思想上有私心杂念，很重要的一个原因，就是我们的经验还停留在感性阶段，没有上升到理性阶段。毛主席说：“感觉只解决现象问题，理论才解决本质问题。”对于十年前刘少奇一类骗子大搞“一平二调”的做法，那时我们只是从现象上看到很多恶果，知道那样做不行，而没有从理论上和路线上来认识它的性质。对于“三级所有，队为基础”和按劳分配原则的正确性和必要性，我们的认识也很肤浅。这样，自然就无力抵制刘少奇一类骗子的干扰，不能坚持党的路线和政策。不久前，我们学习《哥达纲领批判》，从马克思的精辟论述中，懂得了在社会主义阶段，由于生产力水平和群众觉悟程度的限制，实行“按劳分配”有它的历史的必然性；懂得了党在现阶段的政策，都是根据马克思主义的原理制定的，是符合社会发展客观规律的，违反了就要受客观规律的惩罚。这样，对于“割掉资本主义尾巴”的错误，才从感性认识阶段上升到了理性认识阶段，我们坚持党的路线和政策、克服极“左”思潮的决心就更加坚定。 ……
第21篇，1972年10月21日：
要经常解剖自己（摘录）
（中共河北省平山县大吾公社近掌大队党支部书记 王树兵）
……
在批修整风运动中，我们反复学习毛主席的哲学著作，认真检查了我们贯彻执行党的各项经济政策的情况，认识到事物都是一分为二的。这样，我比较冷静地回顾了我们大队贯彻执行毛主席革命路线的情况。一九六八年，刘少奇一类骗子刮来一股妖风，说什么自留地、自留羊、自留树是资本主义尾巴。这时，我就想，红旗队只能走在前边，可不能落在别人后头。于是，把自留地收归集体所有了，把烧砖、编织、红炉、作坊等副业也当成资本主义倾向砍掉了，还取消了养猪积肥合理报酬和奖励办法。结果，违反了人民公社现阶段的经济政策，挫伤了社员的社会主义积极性，破坏了生产力的发展，造成一九六九年粮棉减产。
……
第22篇，1972年11月2日：
坚持科学态度 改进领导作风（摘录）
中共资溪县高阜公社孔坑大队总支委员会
……
我们在斗争中体会到：要把党的政策真正落到实处，必须站在党性和党的政策的立场上，同各种错误倾向作斗争。 一九六九年，刘少奇一类骗子推行形“左”实右的反革命的修正主义路线，提出所谓“割资本主义尾巴”的口号。在这个错误口号的影响下，我们这里刮起了一股不准社员养母猪的歪风。当时我们并没有意识到这是违反党的政策的，就把社员养的母猪全部收归了集体，挫伤了群众的积极性，全大队生猪饲养量显著下降。吃了苦头之后，我们又回过头来学习党的政策，认识到：社员养母猪，能够为社会增加财富，发展生产，社员也能增加收入，并不是什么坏事。于是，我们立即纠正了这个错误，诚恳地向社员作了检查，鼓励社员多养猪、多积肥。政策落实后，养猪事业又继续向前发展。
……
第23篇，1972年12月25日：
团支部建设的重要课题
——中共湖南省益阳县翠坡大队团支部进行路线教育的调查（摘录）
本报通讯员
……
分是非
进行党的基本路线教育，使团员、青年的阶级斗争观念增强了。这时又发生了一件事情：
书房冲生产队有个青年，在“割资本主义尾巴”的妖风影响下，用一些不正当的方法限制社员家庭饲养家禽。事情发生后，有人说这是错误的，也有人说这是“革命行动”。团支部认为这是一个值得重视的思想动向：不少青年分不清什么是毛主席的革命路线和政策，什么是刘少奇一类骗子反革命的修正主义路线和政策，往往不能对具体事物进行具体分析。如果团组织不进行教育，那就会使青年偏离毛主席的正确路线，变成盲目的革命者。因此，他们把引导青年分清路线是非、划清政策界限，当做思想和政治路线教育的重要内容来抓。
……
第24篇，1973年10月21日：
走社会主义道路的带头人
——记江西临川县湖南公社孔庄生产队党支部书记艾荷香的革命事迹（摘录）
本报通讯员
……
通过路线教育，群众的觉悟提高了。大家纷纷起来控诉阶级敌人的破坏阴谋，决心沿着毛主席指引的社会主义道路走到底。那些一度迷恋单干副业的干部和社员，都把板车拉回到队里，参加集体生产和正当的副业生产。
在前进的道路上，两条路线的斗争十分尖锐。艾荷香带领孔庄生产队的干部和社员，从没有停止过战斗。一九七一年，上面来的一位“大人物”到处散布“割资本主义尾巴”的谬论，艾荷香对此进行了坚决的斗争。有人为她捏着把汗说：“人家是上面来的，你不怕死呀！”艾荷香坚定地回答：“不管哪里来的，只要不符合毛主席说的，就要不怕坐牢，不怕死，坚决和他斗。”
二十多年来，艾荷香在两条路线斗争中，就是这样无私无畏。她常说：“水流船行岸不移，我们走社会主义道路，就是要站稳立场。”因此，歪风邪气不论从那里来，她都坚决给予抵制、斗争。群众称她是“走社会主义道路的带头人”。
……
第25篇，1975年8月10日：
共产主义思想和现阶段的政策（摘录）
胡容 (1975.08.10)
……
我们坚持不断革命论和革命发展阶段论的辩证统一，刘少奇、林彪一类则对此进行种种干扰、破坏。他们经常地是否定不断革命，抛出“巩固新民主主义秩序”一类的反动口号，反对革命从这一阶段向另一阶段发展，反对扩大共产主义思想的宣传；有时候则把革命的不同发展阶段混淆起来，叫喊什么要“割资本主义尾巴”，取消商品生产，破坏现阶段党的各项政策的落实。不论采用什么手法，他们的罪恶目的就是妄图从根本上改变党的基本路线和政策，颠覆无产阶级专政，复辟资本主义。我们要在毛主席关于理论问题的重要指示的指引下，学好无产阶级专政的理论，继续深入批判刘少奇、林彪反革命的修正主义路线，批判资产阶级，更好地宣传共产主义思想，更好地执行党在现阶段的各项政策，不断巩固和加强无产阶级专政，用社会主义彻底战胜资本主义，为最终实现共产主义而奋斗！＊
第26篇，1975年8月22日：
兴和县大养其猪（摘录）
新华社通讯员
……
政策落实了 养猪劲头足
兴和县委在抓养猪事业的过程中，还结合学习无产阶级专政的理论，具体地深入细致地抓了政策落实的工作。大家认识到，马克思主义的理论是党的路线和政策的思想基础，不学懂弄通无产阶级专政的理论，就会在实际工作中分不清正确路线和错误路线的界限。 通过学习理论，弄清路线和政策的是非界限，这个县坚定不移地认真贯彻“积极发展集体养猪，继续鼓励社员家庭养猪”的方针，坚持以公养为主，公养与私养并举。在这方面，他们克服了许多阻力，在全县推广大库联大队的经验，大办集体养猪场；同时动员社员家庭养猪，批判那种把社员家庭养猪说成是“发展资本主义”，要“割资本主义尾巴”的谬论。
……
————————————————————–
第27篇发表在1977年7月21日，至1995年12月1日是第393篇，这里仅摘录两篇。
第27篇，1977年7月21日：
排除“四人帮”干扰 粮、林、羊齐发展（摘录）
本报通讯员
山东省滕县王庄大队是个山区队。过去是：山上乱石滚，山下“三跑”田，粮食亩产只有一百斤左右，每年吃国家统销粮七、八万斤。在农业学大寨运动中，他们遵照毛主席“以粮为纲，全面发展”的方针，发扬战天斗地的革命精神，对农、林、牧全面规划，综合治理，绿化荒山，积极发展养羊，壮大了集体经济。“四人帮”肆意干扰破坏党的政策，曾一度把养羊当成资本主义尾巴来割。党支部领导广大贫下中农认真学习毛主席关于农、林、牧并重的教导，同“四人帮”的干扰进行了针锋相对的斗争。他们气愤地说：耕地可以出粮，荒山可以出羊，砍羊如砍粮！
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第393篇，1995年12月1日：
题：先有『市』，还是先有『场』？（摘录）
1995年12月11日
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市场，本意就是从事商品交换活动的场所。为叙述的方便，这里将“市场”一词拆开：“市”，指交易活动；“场”，指交易的场所。“市”与“场”，何者在先？无疑，是先有了“市”———买卖双方的需求，为满足这种需求，人们才到一定的场所进行交易，才形成了“场”。譬如，全国最大的小商品市场在义乌，为什么不在别处？盖因义乌人有买卖小商品的传统，有一批挑着担子走乡串巷“鸡毛换糖”的小商贩队伍。即使在极左路线猖獗、“割资本主义尾巴”的年代，他们也在悄悄地活动着。改革开放后，生意越做越大越红火，终于生长为全国最大的、年交易额上百亿元的“小商品世界”。
高大伟 David Cowhig's Translation Blog 