Dictionary of Revolutionary Marxism

—   Ri - Rn   —


RICARDO, David   (1772-1823)
English economist. Overall, his work reached the highest level of classical bourgeois political economy.

RICH AND POOR — Income
Since World War II there has been an ever-growing percentage of total personal income in the U.S. which goes to the already very rich. In 2012 this percentage of income going to the top 10% of the population exceed 50% for the first time. The old popular slogan, that under capitalism the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, is truer than ever. And the powerful trend is for things to only get even worse in the future—unless this exploitative system is overthrown. Morever, when personal wealth is considered, i.e. the accumulated wealth of individuals or families, the situation is even more extremely unequal than it is with personal income!
        See also: BILLIONAIRES,   MILLIONAIRES

“Ten men in our country could buy the whole world and ten million can’t buy enough to eat.” —Will Rogers, 1931. Quoted in James W. Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me (1995), p. 194.

RICH PEASANT
1. [In China before collectivization in the 1950s:] A peasant (farmer) who owned relatively large amounts of land (for the times), plow animals and farm equipment, and who both took part in farm work himself and also hired rural laborers to work for him.
2. Someone in a similar situation at other times and places.
        See also: CHINA—Class Analysis Before 1949

RIGHT (Ethics)
In moral contexts, the word ‘right’ is normally used to characterize actions, and means “conforming to the standards we have for answering to the common, collective interests of the people for that sort of activity”. For further discussion of this word as it is used in ethics see section 2.8 in chapter 2 of my work in progress An Introduction to the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Class Interest Theory of Ethics, at: http://www.massline.org/Philosophy/ScottH/MLM-Ethics-Ch1-2.pdf

RIGHT AND WRONG

“IX. The relationship between right and wrong
         “A clear distinction must be made between right and wrong, whether inside or outside the Party. How to deal with people who have made mistakes is an important question. The correct attitude towards them should be to adopt a policy of ‘learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the sickness to save the patient’, help them correct their mistakes and allow them to go on taking part in the revolution....
         “A clear distinction must be drawn between right and wrong, for inner-Party controversies over principle are a reflection inside the Party of the class struggle in society, and no equivocation is to be tolerated. It is normal, in accordance with the merits of the case, to mete out appropriate and well grounded criticism to comrades who have erred, and even to conduct necessary struggle against them; this is to help them correct mistakes. To deny them help and, what is worse, to gloat over their mistakes, is sectarianism.” —Mao, “On the Ten Major Relationships”, April 25, 1956, SW5:301-302.

“RIGHTS”
[To be added...]
        See also: BOURGEOIS RIGHT,   “NATURAL RIGHTS”



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