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Colorful Classics #22
Activist Study – Araling Aktibista
The Activist Study (Araling Aktibista), or ARAK as it's known, is part of the required study for activists in the Filipino revolutionary movement. The study includes Mao Zedong's Five Golden Rays, along with lessons on Revolutionary Study and Analysis, the Mass Line, and Democratic Centralism and the Committee System--all essential texts for studying and forming revolutionary practice.
158 pages, Paperback
Published October 15, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 30, 2020
Picked up this writing because of some friends of mine that are really into the Gonzalo line of Maoism were throwing criticisms at the PSL for not following Democratic centralism and ignoring the masses and their needs with the electoral aspect of the party. After reading this though the PSL does follow democratic centralism all the way through and even collective leadership is followed by the party on par with the Filipino Revolutionary Movement. This book also does a great dive into Combat Liberalism and some of the historical material conditions of the Philippines. A wonderful short read that I will be recommending to comrades anywhere and everywhere.
May 3, 2021
in the point of view of a yankee:
i think its a great book for what it is (e.g. an activist introduction).
this is great introduction for explaining activist thought for our brand new comrades.
for our intermediate/advanced (in knowledge of theory) yankee comrades, its good refresher, a good pocketbook. i wouldn't say there is that much new knowledge in this book for you, aside from reinforcing essential activist thought.
no matter who you are, read it once, and keep reading it to solidify your thought.
i think its a great book for what it is (e.g. an activist introduction).
this is great introduction for explaining activist thought for our brand new comrades.
for our intermediate/advanced (in knowledge of theory) yankee comrades, its good refresher, a good pocketbook. i wouldn't say there is that much new knowledge in this book for you, aside from reinforcing essential activist thought.
no matter who you are, read it once, and keep reading it to solidify your thought.
August 27, 2022
3,5 sterne* fand manche kapitel relativ oberflächlich und die deutsche übersetzung ist natürlich auch nicht perfekt, aber besonders die erste lektion ist schon aufschlussreich
June 26, 2021
Neat little manual for training CPP cadre. The study on the Five Rays is nice for those who haven't read them or want a refresher and helps up-and-coming revolutionaries understand expectations regarding their personal conduct within the movement. However, the real meat of the study comes afterward, with the outline on how to perform investigation and dialectical analysis, the structure of the party's committee system, the mass line, etc. It is surprisingly thorough given its approachability and its short length. Overall a great introduction for would-be revolutionaries and to those interested in learning about MLM praxis, and well worth reading at any level of political development.
January 20, 2024
necessary read… even if you do not know much about leftist filipino history and activism there is good information about how to effectively lead and organize that can be applied to anywhere in life.
January 15, 2022
informative and essential (!) pamphlet from comrades waging revolution rn in the Philippines
January 5, 2023
After PSR (Philippine Society and Revolution) a lot of ND (national democratic) orgs work through the material in ARAK (Activist Study) in educational discussions with org members. I listened through the free audiobook version that FLP (Foreign Languages Press) put out. It’s a text that was compiled by the Education Department of the Communist Party of Philippines, and is actively used by all sorts of organizations, including those that do not explicitly identify as communists, front organization or not. This includes SCMP (Student Christian Movement of the Philippines) which is not directly a NDF (National Democratic Front) organization but is affiliated as a Bayan organization.
The book is divided into four lessons. The first is a text by Mao called the Five Golden Rays, which consists of: 1. Serve the People, 2. In Memory of Comrade Norman Bethune, 3. The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains, 4. Combat Liberalism, 5. On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party. (As an aside, the Bethune College building which houses the department at York for which I work, is named after Norman Bethune, the Canadian doctor and communist who Mao memorializes in this text.) The second lesson involves what it means to study and analyze as a revolutionary, the third lesson is on the mass line, and the fourth lesson is on how democratic centralism and the committee system works within affiliated activist organizations. My friend speculates a lot of the other 3 sections were written by the late Ka Joma Sison, who very recently passed away. I attended a couple events over the holidays that commemorated his life. He is held in very high esteem by the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines and Filipino activists in diaspora I have met here in Canada.
I found the fourth lesson the most useful in terms of praxis, but also the most difficult and challenging, because there remains a large gap between the way I wish I was involved politically and the extent to which I actually am in practice. A lot of self-criticism coursing through my mind during this section, or perhaps good old-fashioned Christian guilt; maybe the same thing, who knows?
I just wanted to finish with this excerpt on Bethune, because I love it, and I think it’s really fascinating children throughout China read this text about Bethune growing up:
“Comrade Norman Bethune, a member of the Communist Party of Canada, was around fifty when he was sent by the Communist Parties of Canada and the United States to China; he made light of traveling thousands of miles to help us in our War of Resistance Against Japan. He arrived in Yanan in the spring of last year, went to work in the Wutai Mountains, and to our great sorrow died a martyr at his post. What kind of spirit is this that makes a foreigner selflessly adopt the cause of the Chinese people’s liberation as his own? It is the spirit of internationalism, the spirit of communism, from which every Chinese Communist must learn.
...We Chinese Communists must also follow this line in our practice. We must unite with the proletariat of all the capitalist countries, with the proletariat of Japan, Britain, the United States, Germany, Italy and all other capitalist countries, for this is the only way to overthrow imperialism, to liberate our nation and people and to liberate the other nations and peoples of the world. This is our internationalism, the internationalism with which we oppose both narrow nationalism and narrow patriotism. Comrade Bethune’s spirit, his utter devotion to others without any thought of self, was shown in his great sense of responsibility in his work and his great warm-hardheartedness towards all comrades and the people. Every Communist must learn from him.”
If you’re ever near Queen’s Park there’s a statue of Bethune just across the road outside UofT’s Medical Sciences Building. On the other side of the UofT campus, there is a plaque outside Bethune’s former home at 136 Robert Street not far from Margaret Fairley Park (named after another Canadian communist). Also a bust of Bethune outside of Bethune College at York University. I’ve seen a road named after him in Markham too. I’ve heard many from China upon arriving in Canada make the pilgrimage up to Bethune’s childhood home in Gravenhurst to pay their respects and honour the deep friendship Bethune showed the people of China in his life, serving them as a doctor in rural areas.
The book is divided into four lessons. The first is a text by Mao called the Five Golden Rays, which consists of: 1. Serve the People, 2. In Memory of Comrade Norman Bethune, 3. The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains, 4. Combat Liberalism, 5. On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party. (As an aside, the Bethune College building which houses the department at York for which I work, is named after Norman Bethune, the Canadian doctor and communist who Mao memorializes in this text.) The second lesson involves what it means to study and analyze as a revolutionary, the third lesson is on the mass line, and the fourth lesson is on how democratic centralism and the committee system works within affiliated activist organizations. My friend speculates a lot of the other 3 sections were written by the late Ka Joma Sison, who very recently passed away. I attended a couple events over the holidays that commemorated his life. He is held in very high esteem by the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines and Filipino activists in diaspora I have met here in Canada.
I found the fourth lesson the most useful in terms of praxis, but also the most difficult and challenging, because there remains a large gap between the way I wish I was involved politically and the extent to which I actually am in practice. A lot of self-criticism coursing through my mind during this section, or perhaps good old-fashioned Christian guilt; maybe the same thing, who knows?
I just wanted to finish with this excerpt on Bethune, because I love it, and I think it’s really fascinating children throughout China read this text about Bethune growing up:
“Comrade Norman Bethune, a member of the Communist Party of Canada, was around fifty when he was sent by the Communist Parties of Canada and the United States to China; he made light of traveling thousands of miles to help us in our War of Resistance Against Japan. He arrived in Yanan in the spring of last year, went to work in the Wutai Mountains, and to our great sorrow died a martyr at his post. What kind of spirit is this that makes a foreigner selflessly adopt the cause of the Chinese people’s liberation as his own? It is the spirit of internationalism, the spirit of communism, from which every Chinese Communist must learn.
...We Chinese Communists must also follow this line in our practice. We must unite with the proletariat of all the capitalist countries, with the proletariat of Japan, Britain, the United States, Germany, Italy and all other capitalist countries, for this is the only way to overthrow imperialism, to liberate our nation and people and to liberate the other nations and peoples of the world. This is our internationalism, the internationalism with which we oppose both narrow nationalism and narrow patriotism. Comrade Bethune’s spirit, his utter devotion to others without any thought of self, was shown in his great sense of responsibility in his work and his great warm-hardheartedness towards all comrades and the people. Every Communist must learn from him.”
If you’re ever near Queen’s Park there’s a statue of Bethune just across the road outside UofT’s Medical Sciences Building. On the other side of the UofT campus, there is a plaque outside Bethune’s former home at 136 Robert Street not far from Margaret Fairley Park (named after another Canadian communist). Also a bust of Bethune outside of Bethune College at York University. I’ve seen a road named after him in Markham too. I’ve heard many from China upon arriving in Canada make the pilgrimage up to Bethune’s childhood home in Gravenhurst to pay their respects and honour the deep friendship Bethune showed the people of China in his life, serving them as a doctor in rural areas.
February 5, 2024
Must read for any organizer.
“The mass line means that we should maintain a close relationship with the masses. First, we need to integrate in our hearts the interest of the masses. We need to make sure that all comrades are tightly connected to the masses and place their interest to the masses above all things. The mass line teaches us that we must love the masses at all times. We must always listen to them and integrate with them instead of putting ourselves above them.
In integrating with the masses, we are able to arouse them and elevate their level of understanding, help them learn how to organize themselves and collate all essentials in their present condition and struggle. We need to give notice to the interest of the masses; their basic problems like landlessness, high rents, low wages, etc...
We need to assess these problems and make proper decisions related to these problems. By doing this, we can show to the masses that we embody their interest and our lives are connected to theirs. It is through this understanding that we can help them understand bigger tasks related to the advancement of the revolutionary struggle towards victory.
Nothing will happen to the struggles of one leading group if it is not closely related and combined in the action of the masses that can only be realized through close relationship with them. On the other hand, if only the masses move without the strong leadership of the Party, they cannot sustain that struggle nor steer it in the proper direction or raise it to a higher level of revolutionary struggle.”
“The mass line means that we should maintain a close relationship with the masses. First, we need to integrate in our hearts the interest of the masses. We need to make sure that all comrades are tightly connected to the masses and place their interest to the masses above all things. The mass line teaches us that we must love the masses at all times. We must always listen to them and integrate with them instead of putting ourselves above them.
In integrating with the masses, we are able to arouse them and elevate their level of understanding, help them learn how to organize themselves and collate all essentials in their present condition and struggle. We need to give notice to the interest of the masses; their basic problems like landlessness, high rents, low wages, etc...
We need to assess these problems and make proper decisions related to these problems. By doing this, we can show to the masses that we embody their interest and our lives are connected to theirs. It is through this understanding that we can help them understand bigger tasks related to the advancement of the revolutionary struggle towards victory.
Nothing will happen to the struggles of one leading group if it is not closely related and combined in the action of the masses that can only be realized through close relationship with them. On the other hand, if only the masses move without the strong leadership of the Party, they cannot sustain that struggle nor steer it in the proper direction or raise it to a higher level of revolutionary struggle.”
September 25, 2025
Ganz gute Einführung. Wenn es gelingt, die Sachen, die aufgezählt werden, umzusetzen, wird man eine gute Arbeit leisten können.
Nur gelingt das in unseren Kreisen trotz besserem Wissen all zu oft nicht. Das hat meines Erachtens auch etwas damit zu tun, wie die Informationen hier vermittelt werden. Namentlich ohne logisch-historische Herleitung, bestenfalls mit ein oder zwei Beispielen aus dem halbkolonialen Kontext. Das regt nicht eben zum Mitdenken, sonder zum Auswendiglernen an. So aber wird aus den Informationen nur schwerlich Wissen.
Im Kontext der Philippinen ist der Text eingebettet in eine echte, lebendige und wirkliche klassenkämpfe führende revolutionäre Bewegung, die einem die Informationen zugleich praktisch vermitteln kann. So besteht ein ganz anderer Zugang. Der Charakter des Buches ist also kontextuell anders bestimmt und ich bewerte hier wesentlich die aktuelle Bedeutung im imperialisitischen Kontext.
Nur gelingt das in unseren Kreisen trotz besserem Wissen all zu oft nicht. Das hat meines Erachtens auch etwas damit zu tun, wie die Informationen hier vermittelt werden. Namentlich ohne logisch-historische Herleitung, bestenfalls mit ein oder zwei Beispielen aus dem halbkolonialen Kontext. Das regt nicht eben zum Mitdenken, sonder zum Auswendiglernen an. So aber wird aus den Informationen nur schwerlich Wissen.
Im Kontext der Philippinen ist der Text eingebettet in eine echte, lebendige und wirkliche klassenkämpfe führende revolutionäre Bewegung, die einem die Informationen zugleich praktisch vermitteln kann. So besteht ein ganz anderer Zugang. Der Charakter des Buches ist also kontextuell anders bestimmt und ich bewerte hier wesentlich die aktuelle Bedeutung im imperialisitischen Kontext.
September 23, 2024
It was a decent read on revolutonary thought. It was written well and definitely felt like it was reflected of revolutions past that were successful, not just communist ones. However, I lower to 3 stars since there seems to be a contradictory notion at the end of the book that sort of discounts alot of other philosophical thought that showed its color in practice and I feel as if it is ignoring such implications. A democratic dictatorship is still a dictatorship, regardless of whether the goals of the dictator are to please the people or not. I digress
August 11, 2023
This study guide is easy to digest while laying out out sensible and proven methods of organizing. It encourages social investigation, organizational and personal discipline, and dialectical analysis. I am sure i will return to this text, hopefully with others, and encourage all on the left to do so as well.
Read
December 1, 2025There are a lot of concepts within this distilled down into bite sized and manageable chunks. I still intend to read much of the corresponding original theory related to it, however the summarization and simplification if you want to call it that, contained with Arak is noteworthy in its efficiency.
July 15, 2021
I will say that this should be the second or third book one reads. Familiarize yourself with the basic concepts and then most certainly read this book. It can be a little boring if you are already too familiar however the information inside is extremely valuable. Definitely a must read.
June 24, 2022
A must-read for organizing.
August 29, 2022
the CPP Edu Department just never misses
gonna have to keep this one on me with LRB
gonna have to keep this one on me with LRB
March 20, 2024
must read
August 19, 2024
It‘s easy to read, wasn’t that impressed by it but my comrades really like it. I finished it within a few days and it’s good to read when starting political work.
September 20, 2024
a must read as well as a re-read for continual re-moulding
October 31, 2024
a must read 🔥🔥
January 2, 2025
Informative and essential reading for any organizer and fascinating piece explaining the tactics and values of those organizing for revolution in the Philippines.
May 3, 2025
love the masses
July 11, 2025
gonna run ydsa like the communist party of the Philippines next semester
August 26, 2025
Leaves you wanting More
October 11, 2025
ang literal na aktitud sa pagiging bihasang maka-bayan! ang aral sa pagsusuri at siyang dapat taglayin ng mga kasama para sirain ang pagiging sinikal.
ang bibliya ng mga aktibista huhuhu
ang bibliya ng mga aktibista huhuhu
December 5, 2021
This book is an excellent refresher and reference book. While I like the format for looking up a question I found it pretty tedious to read (like seriously took waaaaaay too long considering it's a short book). In general, I found it can refine and sharpen your understanding of the topics it covers, but will rarely add new knowledge or understanding of a problem. The last section in particular felt a bit weak and tautological: it will definitely not change your mind much on democratic centralism if you don't already believe in it’s merits.
Overall it's definitely worth reading as it condenses Revolutionary principles, behavior, and attitudes into a single short book with little or no historical or marxist background needed.
Overall it's definitely worth reading as it condenses Revolutionary principles, behavior, and attitudes into a single short book with little or no historical or marxist background needed.
April 4, 2025
update 4/3/25: bumping to five stars. i revisit sections of this a lot, and reading this has laid a strong foundation for the organizing i do rn. a favorite and must read for those in any movement.
read with ydsa bookclub and this was also my first time reading mao! i thought this was a good refresher on revolutionary action and combating liberalism and its definitely relevant to the organizing that’s being done on my campus. would recommend 👍🏼
read with ydsa bookclub and this was also my first time reading mao! i thought this was a good refresher on revolutionary action and combating liberalism and its definitely relevant to the organizing that’s being done on my campus. would recommend 👍🏼
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews