Lenin and Mao on imperialist-country petty bourgeoisie and labor 
aristocracy

Lenin and COMINTERN: Distinguish labor aristocracy from 
proletariat or no dictatorship of the proletariat possible

"The right Independents and the followers of Longuet do not 
understand and explain to the masses that the imperialist super-
profits of the advanced countries enabled and enable them to bribe 
the upper strata of the proletariat, to throw them crumbs of these 
super-profits drawn from the colonies and from the financial 
exploitation of weak countries, to create a privileged section of 
skilled workers, etc.

"Without exposing this evil, without fighting not only against the 
trade union bureaucracy but also against all petty-bourgeois 
manifestations of the craft and labour aristocracy, without the 
ruthless expulsion of the representatives of this attitude from 
the revolutionary party, without calling in the lower strata, the 
broad masses, the real majority of the exploited, there can be no 
talk of the dictatorship of the proletariat."

[MC5 adds: Lenin wrote the above and the COMINTERN accepted it in 
1920. Lenin spoke again of this above quote in another context 
which we reproduce below.]

"The question of replacing experienced reformist or 'Centrist' 
leaders by novices is not a particular question, of concern to a 
single country in special circumstances. It is a general question 
which arises in every proletarian revolution, and as such it is 
formulated and quite specifically answered in the resolution of 
the Second Congress of the Communist International on "The 
Fundamental Tasks of the Communist International". In point 8 we 
read: 'Preparation for the dictatorship of the proletariat, not 
only entails explaining the bourgeois character of all reformism; 
. . . it also entails replacing the old leaders by Communists in 
proletarian organisations of absolutely every type--not only 
political, but also trade union, cooperative, educational, etc. . 
. . These representatives of the labour aristocracy, or the 
bourgeoisified workers, should be eliminated from all their posts 
a hundred times more boldly than hitherto, and replaced by 
workers, even if wholly inexperienced, as long as they are 
connected with the exploited masses and enjoy the latter's 
confidence in the struggle against the exploiters. The 
dictatorship of the proletariat will require the appointment of 
such inexperienced workers to the most responsible posts in the 
state."

--V. I. Lenin, in Jane Degras, ed., ITAL The Communist 
International: 1919-1943 Documents, END London: Frank Cass & Co., 
Ltd, 1971, Vol. 1, p. 78

Lenin: Super-profits convert proletariat into petty-bourgeoisie

"...in all the civilized, advanced countries the bourgeoisie rob--
either by colonial oppression or by financially extracting 'gain' 
from formally independent weak countries--they rob a population 
many times larger than that of 'their own' country.  This is the 
economic factor that enables the imperialist bourgeoisie to obtain 
superprofits, part of which is used to bribe the top section of 
the proletariat and convert it into a reformist, opportunist petty 
bourgeoisie that fears revolution."

--V. I. Lenin, "Letter to Workers of Europe and America (1919)" 
in: ITAL Collected Works, END Moscow: Progress Publishers,  1963-
1970, Vol. 28 of 45, p. 433. 

Lenin: from "A Caricature of Marxism and Imperialist Economism"

"Economic statistics show that here a larger percentage of the 
workers become 'straw bosses' than is the case in the oppressed 
nations, a larger percentage rise to the labour aristocracy.  That 
is a fact.

To a certain degree the workers of the oppressor nations are 
partners of their own bourgeoisie in plundering the workers (and 
the mass of the population) of the oppressed nations.  (2) 
Politically, the difference is that, compared with the workers of 
the oppressed nations, they occupy a privileged position in many 
spheres of political life.  (3)

Ideologically, the difference is that they are taught, at school 
and in life, disdain and contempt for the workers of the oppressed 
nations."

V. I. Lenin, ITAL Collected Works, END Moscow: Progress 
Publishers,  1963-1970, Vol. 23 of 45, pp. 55-56

Mao on imperialist country poisoning of the working-class

"In the various nations of the West there is a great obstacle to
carrying through any revolution and construction movement; i.e., 
the poisons of the bourgeoisie are so powerful that they have 
penetrated each and every corner. While our bourgeoisie has had, 
after all, only three generations, those of England and France 
have had a 250-300 year history of development, and their ideology 
and modus operandi have influenced all aspects and strata of their 
societies. Thus the English working class follows the Labour 
Party, not the Communist Party.

Mao Zedong, ITAL A Critique of Soviet Economics, END New York: 
Monthly Review Press, 1977, p. 50.

ITAL These and many more quotes from Marxist-Leninist-Maoist 
classics on this and other topics are available at 
http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/classics/classics.html END