Antagonistic contradiction

Antagonistic contradiction is the impossibility of compromise between different social classes. The term is most often applied in Marxist theory, which holds that differences between the two primary classes, the working class/proletariat and the bourgeoisie are so great that there is no way to bring about a reconciliation of their views. Because the groups involved have diametrically opposed concerns, their objectives are so dissimilar and contradictory that no mutually acceptable resolution can be found. Nonantagonistic contradictions may be resolved through mere debate, but antagonistic contradictions can only be resolved through struggle.

In Maoism, the antagonistic contradiction was usually that between the peasantry and the landowning class. Mao Zedong expressed his views on the policy in his famous February 1957 speech "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People."

References

• Meisner, Maurice (1986). Mao's China and after (Rev. ed.). New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-02-920880-X.