The Practice Criterion and the Theory Guidance

Practice is the only test of truth. This is one of the most important problems solved early in the establishment of Marxist philosophy. Chairman Mao stated, "The truth of any knowledge or theory is determined not by subjective feelings but by objective results in social practice. Social practice can be the only criterion of truth" (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, vol. 1, p. 261). The leader of the revolution frequently repeated these and similar words, and they were elucidated and affirmed with such extraordinary clarity that there really should have been no misunderstanding. The axiom that practice is the only criterion for the test of truth is itself one of the great questions of practice repeatedly and conclusively proven innumerable times by both facts and human practice. The fact that there have been great changes in our national scene, resulting from the shattering of the "gang of four," has fullyproven how fallacious and harmful subjective theories of truth, ignoring the criterion of practice, can be...