Term age has been used in different ways according to diverse criteria in social life. With tools created by man as criteria, we say the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the machine industry age and the age of computer and, with the modes of production and the ownership of means of production as criteria, we say primitive age, feudal age and capitalist age.
Absolute criterion distinguishing the development process of human history on a scientific basis is the position and role of the popular masses in socio-historical development.
The popular masses are the subject of history. Human history develops constantly by creative labour and struggle of the popular masses, the makers of history and the motive force of social development.
Chairman
“Our leader created the great Juche idea after acquiring a deep insight into the requirements of a new era when the oppressed and humiliated masses of the people became masters of their own destiny. Thus he developed their struggle for independence onto a higher plane and opened up the age of Juche.”
The age of Juche is the age when the masses of the people became masters of the world and their own destiny for the first time in history to advance history and carve out their own destiny in an independent and creative way. We call this age the age of independence in the respect that the popular masses truly realize independence, their intrinsic demand.
The masses of the people did not hold the position nor played the role as masters of history throughout all ages in history of human development. The popular masses, who had to bear heavy burden of making history not according to their own will but according to the will of the ruling class, waged strenuous struggle.
It was the struggle for the popular masses whose intrinsic nature is independence to be free from all sorts of exploitation and subordination and become masters of society and history.
The popular masses’ struggle that had suffered from repeated failure for a long time due to passivism and separateness gradually developed onto a higher phase.
The age of Juche, a new age of development of human history in which the popular masses are awakened to their demand and interests and united as a political force to hold the position as masters of history and play their role as such has come at last thanks to the protracted arduous struggle of the popular masses.
