

The Juche idea clarifies that consciousness of independence reflecting aspirations and demands of the masses plays decisive role in the revolutionary movement, and thus newly elucidates that the revolutionary movement, socio-historical movement which is a conscious movement is propelled by consciousness of independence.

Leader Kim Jong Il said:

“The consciousness of independence plays the decisive role in the masses’ revolutionary movement for independence.”

The key to all successes in the revolution and construction depends on the role of the masses, the masters. If the popular masses play the role of masters, they can properly advance the revolution and construction by utilizing fully all conditions and possibilities even under the unfavorable circumstances.

However, if they do not so, they can not make success in the revolution and construction even under the favorable conditions.

Role played by the people in the revolution and construction differs according to their ideological consciousness.

Ideological consciousness of independence that reflects the independent aspiration and demand of the masses can only enable the people to turn up to the revolutionary struggle for transforming nature and society in a revolutionary manner.

First of all, consciousness of independence determines the class character of behavior of the people who participated in the revolutionary movement to actively propel the revolutionary movement.

In class society all behaviors of the people have class character and they differ fundamentally according to the class character. The purpose, direction, result and effect of behavior differ according to which class’s interest they defend.

The most fundamental difference in the people’s behavior is the difference in their class character.

The class character of the people’s behavior is decided by their ideologies.

All behaviors of the people are based on and restricted by their social and class position. Social and class position of the people give effects upon their behavior through their ideologies.

It can be found in the fact that any man does not struggle for the interest of the working class even though he is origin of the working class nor he does defend interest of the exploiting class because he is origin of the class.

The people who are origin of the working class should arm themselves with consciousness of independence. Only then, can they defend class stand and struggle staunchly for the interest of the working class. Even though they are from the working class they can not struggle for the interest of the working class, if they lack class consciousness nor they are armed with consciousness of independence. But even though they are from the exploiting class they can be out of the exploiting class to actively struggle for the interest of the working class when they cognize the reactionary essence of the exploiting class and have consciousness of independence.

It was the time when Watt made a steam engine.

A steam engine was the machine which played a great role in marking the beginning of industrial revolution. At that time the capitalists bled the workers more harshly while making good use of this machine to develop industry. Therefore, the workers had to engage in backbreaking labor for 15 hours a day. Products were much produced as never before, but the workers received the lowest wages under the minimum cost of living. So the workers thought that their troubles and indigent life were ascribed to the machines saying that “new machines are killing us.” As a result, a sabotage to break the machines took place. This was the so-called “machine-breaking campaign” waged by the working class.

Meanwhile, the capitalists who monopolized the machines made the government proclaim a strict law that “ Persons who break down machines shall be sentenced to death” and suppressed the workers mercilessly.

Witnessing this, the workers came to realize that their life could not be improved by the breaking-down of the machines.

The workers understood that they had to fight not against the machines, but against the capitalists and demand for the reduction of the working hours and wage increase. Thus, the workers sometimes succeeded in reducing the working hours a little and raising their wages. But they could not improve fundamentally their status even by this. It is because the capitalists occupied state power and the means of production, and still oppressed and exploited the workers.

If the workers were to improve fundamentally their status, they had to fight against not an individual capitalist, but all the capitalists and overthrow the capitalist system on which the capitalists rely.

As days went by they were armed with consciousness of independence, and accordingly they conducted organizational struggle to overthrow the capitalist society and build a socialist society.

This historical fact tells clearly that the consciousness of independence enables the people to have the correct class stand and turn up to the revolutionary movement, so that they can propel the revolutionary movement.

The consciousness of independence propels the revolutionary movement by determining the will and fighting spirit of the people displayed in the revolutionary movement.

How fully they display their will and fighting spirit depends on their ideologies. Masses’ revolutionary capability is inexhaustible, but it can not be fully displayed if they are not awakened ideologically.

The masses who are not awakened ideologically cannot wage struggle even under the exploitation and oppression but hesitate before troubles and trials in the revolutionary struggle.

Only with the consciousness of independence can the masses have the stubborn stand and attitude and participate in the revolution with strong will and brave all kinds of difficulties and trials in the revolutionary struggle.

We have many episodes about the anti-Japanese revolutionary forerunners who devoted themselves to freedom and liberation of the people in the history of the long and arduous anti-Japanese armed struggle in Korea.

They includes the episode about the heroic soldier who blocked the enemy’s muzzle in order to open the breakthrough of his unit, the episode about the fighter who cut him in the tongue because he was afraid of telling the secret of organization when he was arrested by the enemy, the episode about the woman fighter who was deprived of her eyes by the enemy but shouted that “I have no eyes, but I can see the victorious future of revolution” before her death, and so on.

Then, how, on earth, can the anti-Japanese revolutionary forerunners devoted themselves for the victory of revolution braving through all difficulties and trials?

It is because the anti-Japanese revolutionary forerunners had as their faith the consciousness of independence that is consistent with the self-consciousness of being masters of revolution and with the firm conviction in sure victory.

After all, the revolutionary movement is caused and propelled by the decisive role of consciousness of independence that determines the class character of the people’s behavior and their will and fighting spirit.