If the popular masses are the driving force of destiny control, what direction will they take to control their destiny?

Countless raindrops falling on the vast of fields form streams or rivers to flow into the sea.

It is natural that there is a certain orientation of the process of destiny control. Without such an orientation man carving out his destiny will be little different from a boat adrift in rough seas without compass.

President Kim Il Sung said:

“To lead an equitable, happy life in a free and peaceful world, without domination, subjugation, aggression and war, is mankind’s ideal which is derived from the social nature of independent man, and to aspire to such a world is the basic trend of historical development. ”

Carving out destiny, in a nutshell, is the process of fulfilling the people’s basic aspiration and demand.

What are then the people’s basic aspiration and demand? They are the demand for independence to live happily free from the yoke of nature and society.

As mentioned before, one of the intrinsic natures of man is independence, fundamental attribute vital to man as a social being. If man loses independence and lives at others’ beck and call, he is alive physically but he is dead as a social being. Mans’ display of creativity and consciousness is not for the sake of themselves but for the sake of independence. History has recorded lots of people who dedicated their lives to the fight against tyranny and oppression, a demonstration that independence is more precious than physical life.

Demand for independence is just the requirement man cultivates as he has independence, his life and soul, and underlies all his activities.

Of course, as each person has different status, the specific needs of individuals may be different from each other. But they share a common fundamental requirement to live as master free from any shackles. For this commonness their is bound together and the process of their control is oriented towards the realization of demand for independence.

What then is the destination of the process of realizing the demand?

What we have to remember here is that people’s social status, living conditions and future are determined by their position and role in society. Those who take the position of master and play the role of master in society can shape their destiny in accordance with their will and demand to become the master of their destiny, but those who fail to take the status as master is bound to be subjected to domination and exploitation by others.

The position and role of man in community are decided by ownership of national sovereign power, or political control over the whole of society, and the means of production. So it is natural that the process of destiny control goes in the direction of establishing a social system in which the popular masses grasp national sovereign power and the means of production.

If they do not become the master of national sovereign power and the means of production they can neither enjoy an independent life nor control their destiny in a genuine manner.

Les Miserable, produced by the French writer Victor Marie Hugo in 1862, is widely known to have made a big contribution to the development of European literature as it integrated the ideological and artistic characteristics of French progressive romanticism. The novel gives a vivid portrayal of the miserable and heartrending life of the abandoned people in the exploiting society through the representation of the hero Jean Valjean who experiences ups and downs of life after serving a 19-year prison term for having stolen a piece of bread for his young hungry nephews, and Fantine who has her hair cut and tooth picked out and even prostitutes herself to raise her child and earn her living but loses her life in the end. Any reader will keenly feel that poverty and absence of rights are the only portion for working people who have no sovereign power and the means of production in the class society.

Working people, the majority of the population in capitalist society, have not yet political rights, being treated as a tool for material production or labourers who work for only wages.

People under foreigners’ colonial rule are in a more dreadful plight. Korea had been Japan’s colony for over four decades during which more than a million innocent people were killed. In the period between 1938 and 1945 over 8.4 million young and middle-aged Koreans were drafted or conscripted and 200 000 women were force into sexual slavery allegedly as “comfort women” for Japanese troops. Given that at the time the Korean population was around 20 million, the above-mentioned figures show how miserable the Korean people were under the jackboot of the Japanese.

The same was the case with the people in African colonial nations. You can still see the huts on the Slave Coast in western Africa, which had been used by European slave dealers to keep Africans after hunting them as if they were animals. According to the estimation of a black professor, Western colonialists had caught or killed nearly 100 million Africans as slaves. Hence a saying goes that ruined people are little better than a dog in a house of grief.

That is why the process of the people’s struggle to shape their destiny inevitably moves towards a society in which they are masters of sovereign power and the means of production.

Such a society is socialism where the popular masses can realize their demand for independence. The society is quite distinct from any other societies in that sovereign power and the means of production are in the hands of the popular masses.

That is why, in socialist society, there are no exploitation and oppression, everyone is equal in status and the whole society forms a harmonious family where prevails the comradeship of helping and leading each other forward under the slogan of “One for all and all for one!”. And the interests of the entire society and those of each individual are combined harmoniously and a broad avenue is open for the members of the society to develop to the full in accordance with these talents.

Bright prospects of boosted productivity are guaranteed in socialism where the popular masses direct undertakers of production, are the masters of sovereign power and the means of production. Therefore, every member of society is provided with full material conditions for leading an independent and creative life to their heart’s content.

This proves that socialism is a society where man’s demand for independence to live happily free from all manner of restriction and subjugation is fulfilled and an ideal society where the age-old desire to become the equal master and be equally well-off comes true.

It is not accidental that today mankind holds socialism as a beacon of hope and moves forward towards it.

The Zimbabwean President has reaffirmed that his country and people would go along the road of socialism in the face of the imperialists’ blackmail and appeasement. In Benin, a country the US touted as a good model of Western democracy in Africa, the Construction Workers’ Party of Benin has won the heart of the broad masses of people as it aspires to socialism and the Western mode of politics has been rejected in Uganda and Kenya.

The flames of socialism have flared up in Latin America, called the calm backyard of the US. The Cuban people are unswervingly advancing along the road of socialism they had chosen in the 1960s and the Venezuelans are taking the road of socialism while resolutely rejecting the US imperialists’ intervention and pressure. The movement to restore socialism is gathering momentum in the former socialist countries.

It is the unchangeable trend of human history that the stream of destiny control with the popular masses as the driving force flows in the direction of realizing human independence, more specifically in the direction of building and developing socialism.