Criticism and self-criticism (Marxism–Leninism)

Criticism and self-criticism (Russian: самокритика, samokritika; Chinese: 自我批评, zìwǒ pīpíng; Vietnamese: tự phê bình) or Autocritique is a philosophical and political concept developed within the ideology of Marxism–Leninism and Maoism.

[3] The Marxist concept of self-criticism is also present in the works of Mao Zedong, who dedicates an entire chapter of The Little Red Book to the issue.

According to David Priestland, the concept of politically enforced "criticism and self-criticism" originated during the 1921–1924 purges of academia within the Soviet Union.

This would eventually develop into the practise of "criticism and self-criticism" campaigns in which intellectuals suspected of possessing counter-revolutionary tendencies were publicly interrogated as part of a policy of "proletariatization.

[12]Following the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, successor to Soviet premiership Nikita Khrushchev would reaffirm the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's ideological dedication to the concepts of "criticism and self criticism" in the conclusion to the 1956 speech before the 20th Party Congress, while also denouncing the policies and actions of Stalin.

[19] In the People's Republic of China, self-criticism—called ziwo pipan (自我批判) or jiǎntǎo (检讨)—is an important part of Maoist practice.

[20][21] As General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping has partially brought back the practice of self-criticism.

He passed wordlessly onto the next man, indicating who this should be by pursing his lips in his direction.North Koreans are required to engage in saenghwal ch’onghwa sessions in which they confess to wrongdoings, transgressions, and deviations from Kim Il Sung's Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System.

[28] Inmates at North Korean kwalliso camps are required to engage in self-criticism sessions, which often lead to harsh collective punishments for entire work-units.

[29] French Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser wrote "Essays in Self-Criticism" focused on the issue of ideologically correcting ideas expressed in his prior works, most prominently For Marx and Reading Capital.

[32] Likewise, the German Red Army Faction discussed the issues of self criticism in their publication The Urban Guerrilla Concept.