Problems of War and Peace in the Philosophical and Political Journalism of Li Dazhao

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the evolution of views on the problem of war and peace of a prominent Chinese educator and political figure, one of the first in the country to take the path of comprehending Marxism and playing a key role in its establishment in China. Having received a classical Con - fucian education, the future first Chinese Marxist and one of the founders of the Communist Party of China went through a difficult path of ideological evolution – from liberal democracy to revolutionary and further to Marxism. In this context, the main vector of changes in his views on the problems of war and peace was determined by a gradual transition from consistent anti-militarism to an understanding of the class essence of war. The turn that was determined in Li Dazhao’s views under the influence of the First World War was finally consolidated by the revolutionary events of 1917 in Russia. Considering war an inevitable companion of capitalism, which, under the conditions of imperialism, strives to extract maximum profit by erasing state borders and creating superempires, Li Dazhao ultimately came to the conclusion that the only way to combat militarism and prevent the threat of new wars of conquest is to change the existing system and establish new ones relations in the spheres of labor and property. At the same time, the main instrument of these changes should be the proletarian state.