In interactions with classmates, it is necessary to consider the feelings of others. The petty bourgeoisie also tends to lean towards revolution; they are not the bourgeoisie, and should not engage in egocentric revolution. Moreover, you are also petty bourgeoisie, the difference is only in having come into contact with Marxist ideas for transformation. Individualism is bourgeois ideology. If you regularly engage in behaviors that harm others and benefit yourself, how can you talk about being a Marxist or doing propaganda work for the masses? The Five Peasants also have attitudes like “despised people,” which shows that on this bourgeois individualist ideology, they treat Marxism as a superior title and elite, looking down on others as spiritual aristocrats.
Only those who are to be promoted deserve “basic respect”; others are “doing their own thing.” I think this kind of thinking needs to be discussed further. But, what kind of “respect” do you have for the people you want to promote? I think there are also problems with this. Holding a mentality of spiritual aristocracy, perhaps you just think that those who can promote will talk politics, criticize the Chinese revisionists, and share “common topics” with you, thus looking up to the other party. But such propaganda ultimately is not genuine thorough respect and equality, but turns into “playing the mentor” and “big brother” disciplining the younger brother, satisfying one’s own vanity—an opportunist behavior.
What exactly does the Five Peasants see as the backwardness of their classmates? Before discussing this point, it might be good to also reflect on your own behaviors that violate petty bourgeois morals, such as not flushing the toilet or cutting in line—these are also forms of backwardness, aren’t they? As for backwardness, we all know that currently petty bourgeois students indulge in various pleasures and hold reactionary ideas. The environment for communication in classrooms and dormitories is vulgar or even filthy. But we should recognize that students, as petty bourgeois, are not directly involved in exploitation practices and are also oppressed in capitalist society, showing tendencies towards revolution. Among classmates, there is dissatisfaction with schools, parents, and even Nazi ideology. In school, they can also analyze class distinctions, understand their classmates’ worldviews, and see the contradictions between progress and backwardness, oppression and bullying. These are opportunities for Marxists to do work—unite and encourage the oppressed, and spread Marxist ideas. For example, girls often face various disgusting sexual jokes and insults from boys, both in front of and behind the scenes. By setting an example, explaining and criticizing pornographic ideas, you may face opposition from some right-wing petty bourgeois classmates, but you will gain recognition from others.
The soil for students to develop a mentality of spiritual aristocracy is a parasitic life that is detached from the masses, extremely closed and narrow. In fact, they do not have enough understanding of those around them. When I was in high school, I learned that my deskmate’s parents were workers oppressed by capitalists, and she herself was also oppressed by her family elders. At that time, I thought this “matched what I read in books,” and used my knowledge gained from reading to boast and promote the idea that revisionism is a phenomenon of capitalist society and the dark side of the education system, trying to persuade her not to engage in opportunism. But in reality, I was disconnected from reality, and she, as a woman from an oppressed working-class family, knew more about these issues. So, in fact, I learned from her past experiences, which educated me about many real-life situations faced by women today.
