The Influence of Marxism on the Ideology of Class Struggle in East Asia-from VKPB.ru

The Influence of Marxism on the Ideology of the Class Struggle in East Asia - GCPB

On February 21, 1848, the "Manifesto of the Communist Party" was published

The ideas of Marx and Lenin – Marxism-Leninism – had a significant impact on the development of the class struggle and the establishment of socialism in East Asia, including the emergence of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The class struggle raged in East Asia even before the penetration of Marxist ideas there. Someone aptly remarked that the history of China is a history of peasant wars and uprisings. However, the class battles of the oppressed from time to time ended in defeats, a return to "normality". This was largely due to the fact that the rebels adhered to utopian views – even when they spoke out for the idea of universal equality.

The most well-known and studied (due to the proximity in time) are the views of the Taipings – peasants who rebelled against the oppressors, which grew into a peasant war in China in the XIX century.

At that time, in Europe – at the other end of the Eurasian continent – Marxism proclaimed that the goal of revolutionary transformation was to improve the lives of the working people; "from each according to his ability – to each according to his needs" as the goal of the struggle. The Taipings in China, on the other hand, held utopian and even reactionary views. They preached the idea that a person should be "content with the minimum."

The Taipings believed that a portion of rice is enough for a person to live, and he does not need anything else. They destroyed beautiful things - precious stones, for example, were crushed into powder. If they came across machines or complex machinery, they would break them. And all because "you need to live the minimum"...

(In the 20th century, Pol Pot's supporters in Kampuchea tried to repeat the ideology of the Taipings, who also believed that man did not need "excesses.")

A different view of things – the idea of development and progress, the constant improvement of human life after the victory of the revolution – brought Marxism to East Asia. This ideology was adopted by the Chinese Communists under the leadership of Mao Zedong and the Korean Communists under the leadership of Kim Il Sung. On the basis of the progressive ideology of Marxism-Leninism, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il formulated the ideas of Juche, the ideas of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism.

This ideology made it possible to break the chain of defeats of the working people in the class struggles in East Asia, the chain of constant "returns back to exploitative society". The victorious Korean communists founded the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which is building socialism and building a better future on the path of progress.

Material of the Rostov Society for the Study of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilis

A Marxist Perspective on the Phnom Penh Walking Street

The much anticipated ‘Phnom Penh Walking Street’ was launched on February 1, 2025, and it is a one-of-a-kind pedestrian area in the Kingdom’s capital (Khmer Times, 2025). While almost every Cambodian applauds the government’s initiatives, I have made some observations and couldn’t help but write on this problem in detail. This is a Marxist perspective on the Phnom Penh Walking Street. 

 The Phnom Penh’s walking street, like many other urban areas, perpetuates the current social and economic inequalities. Although promoted as a space for all, in reality, the street’s function as a consumer space that highlights the wealth gaps between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat in contemporary Khmer society. The bourgeoisie, with high income and free time, come to the walking street to exercise and indulge in consumerism. Some, come to relax and enjoy the view of the Mekong, the Sap, and the Bassac Rivers as they intersect with one another, and to admire the historical Khmer architecture of the Royal Palace, the Chaktomuk Conference Hall, and other beautiful surrounding buildings. 

 The proletariat, in contrast, experiences the walking street as a space where their labour is commodified. Essentially, the walking street is just another place where they can gain extra income in the evening on the weekends after a long week of working for minimum wage. I, Kimlong Ly, asked an old uncle who is a Tuk-tuk driver, he mentioned that he only comes to the areas near the walking street to wait or look for riders. So, essentially, he is not getting the same walking street experience as others (the bourgeoisie).

 This divide, where the bourgeoisie benefits from the labour (and service) of the proletariat, mirrors the larger capitalist system of exploitation. The walking street thus serves as a clear illustration of the contradictions in Phnom Penh’s social structure, where the bourgeoisie’s leisure is enabled by the invisible labour of the working class. The proletariat’s role in the walking street is ultimately one of being in a lower position. 

 As one walks along the street, they should know that they are fortunate if they are there for exercise and relaxation rather than looking for extra income. Two people walking on the same walking street will, therefore, experience the street differently depending on their level of economic and social status. This is a Marxist perspective on the Phnom Penh Walking Street. 

 Phnom Penh, 23rd February 2025 

 Kimlong Ly

Reference: Khmer Times, (2025), Phnom Penh ‘Walking Street’ trial to launch on February 1st, Available at: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501631932/phnom-penh-walking-street-trial to-launch-on-february-1st/