Over the course the last several months there has been a great push to publicly develop New Era Theory in a very public way in China. In addition to the production of some often useful scholarly writings by Chinese academics and CPC cadres, these efforts have taken two forms that suggest the importance of the project, not just for the CPC, but also for national and international elements useful for engaging with New Era Theory.
The first is the decision to publish a number of articles in the journal 求是 [Seeking Truth], the organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). It is described in its own English language web page as "the most influential and authoritative magazine devoted to policy-making and theoretical studies, with a circulation of 1.26 million in 2010."
The second is that those articles are authored by Xi Jinping himself, the leadership core of the collective developing New Era Thought. That adds a substantial amount of political weight to the project, and also suggests that the interpretive avenues pursued will be authoritative, even if only because they are likable to be made so by the CPC itself.
Yet their authority has been enhanced because represent instances of Xi Jinping teaching theory at the highest levels of the CPC--the symbolism is quite clear and clearly directed. Taken together, these essays appear to represent an effort to rationalize Xi Jinping's contribution to the development of New Era Theory and to flesh out its principles, and implications for policy and the direction of the CPC in the current stage of the historical development of China.At the same time, their authority is enhanced further by their resonance with the theory of Deng Xiaoping, against which New Era Thought must be read. The parallels, now more clearly delineated not in opposition but aligned to their resperctive historical stages of development suggest the enduring power of the discursive and ideological template developed under the core leadership of Deng Xiaoping and its projection forward. Ironically enough, that includes in quite interesting ways, the ways on which Chinese Leninism continues to wrestle with the legacy of the Revolutionary and Founding Eras under the core leadership of Mao Zedong.
The CPE New Era Thought Project has been considering these in recent posts:
习近平 坚持、完善和发展中国特色社会主义国家制度与法律制度 [Xi Jinping: "Adhere to, improve and develop the socialist state system and legal system with Chinese characteristics"]
习近平 学习马克思主义基本理论是共产党人的必修课 [Xi Jinping: "Learning the basic theory of Marxism is a compulsory course for communists"]--Text and Analysis
Now Xi Jinping has again authored an essay in Seeking Truth Journal. This time it reduces to writing Xi's speech delivered during the eleventh group study of the Eighteenth Central Political Bureau on December 3, 2013, and titled 坚持历史唯物主义不断开辟当代中国马克思主义发展新境界 [Persist in Historical Materialism and Open up New Realms of Development of Contemporary Chinese Marxism]. This post includes the text of that essay plus a crude English translation preceded by brief reflections. It ends with links to other essays touching on aspects of New Era Thought emerging from the writings of Xi Jinping. A final version of these Reflections will be published in Volume 15(1) of the CPE Bulletin, Emancipating the Mind in the New Era.
Reflections on “Persist in Historical Materialism
and Open up New Realms of Contemporary Chinese Marxism Development” [published
in "Seeking Truth" 2020/02 Author: Xi Jinping 2020-01-15]
Larry Catá Backer
The core leadership of Xi Jinping has assumed a
substantial and burdensome responsibility in the role that this core-collective
leadership plays within the Communist Party of China (CPC). It has fallen to this core-collective
leadership to recognize and announce both the end of the brilliantly successful
Era of Reform and Opening Up under the core-collective leadership of Deng
Xiaoping, and to serve as its worthy successor—a task for which judgment must
await the completion of the project.
Succession is, indeed, a heavy burden where one speaks of it, as we do
here, in the sense of the burden of driving Marxist and Leninist theory forward
to suit the times,. But in a way that is respectful of the foundations to which
it owes its unwavering loyalty and from which it derives its legitimacy. To those ends, it falls to the
core-collective leadership whose task it is to drive theory forward in
fundamental ways to reflect the realities of the emerging new historical era,
to build on rather than to dismantle, the foundations of all that came before.
The task must be understood in two senses.
The first centers conceptual continuity moving forward; the second is
grounded on a continuity deeply embedded in history, that is one that looks
back.
It is the deep sense of the critical role of
history that drives, in part, Marxist theory, and that now drives the Xi
Jinping core-collective leadership in
its task of recognizing the historical gateway that is the “New Era” as well as
the duty that arises on its passing to drive theory forward through its gates. It
follows that, early in the history of the current core-collective leadership,
the issue of BOTH history and its dialectical processes (that is of the
inevitability of change and the inevitable trajectories of its course—both
legitimacy enhancing exercises in the (re)construction of a present from out of
the spent insights of the past) should play a decisive role in the formation of
the baseline insights that eventually would emerge as New Era Thought. It is
with this in mind that is it possible to productive approach the core elements
of knowledge production and dissemination that is meant to be served by the
essay Persist
in Historical Materialism and Open up New Realms of Contemporary Chinese
Marxism Development, which is the object of these reflections.
Xi uses the opening of the essay to ground its
insights in its foundational historical conceptual urtext—that created by a
Jewish intellectual accorded (grudgingly for the time) German nationality and
residence in the United Kingdom; a man as detached and attached to the cultures
from out of which his theories arose (and was embedded), as Xi would have it
for the Chinese manifestation of the theoretical insights from its core legitimacy is founded. It is
important to keep that image in mind as one reads through the essay—the notions
of attachment and detachment, of the rooting of thought in history as well as
its historical detachment, and
ultimately, the connection between the rationality of a coherent conceptual
system built against the passionate sociology of power and community.
The centrality of history is aligned with the
Marxist concept of “materialism” understood in two sense. First, Xi suggests, one must grasp dialectical
materialism, and then historical materialism. These, Xi also suggests, form “the
ideological basis of Marxist theory” (Xi Essay, supra) and thus the
foundational premises of Chinese Marxist Leninism and the principles that serve as the cage of
legitimating principles within which the political discretion of the CPC
may be exercised. The legitimacy of materialism is itself evidence of its
rationality—what the Chinese Marxist-Leninist theory describes as a scientific
theory. But it does more than that. It sets up the framework for New Era theory
in two respects. The first is by
connecting the core premises of Marxism to a principle of dynamic evolution
(“Marx said, ‘Any true philosophy is the spiritual essence of his time.’(Xi
Essay, supra). The second is by connecting the fundamental principles of
Marxist urtext to its contextually
sensitive expression in China and in its New Era as a “powerful ideological
weapon for people to move forward.” (Xi Essay, supra).
These notions serve as the necessary nexus between
Marxism as a historical artifact; Marxism
distilled from its time and place and embraced by the CPC during the
course of its first, Revolutionary, Era from 1933 on when Marxist “philosophy”
(note not theory) became “a basic course for cadre training” (Xi Essay,
supra). That migration and embedding is
then reaffirmed during the core-collective leadership of later Eras,
culminating in Xi, who “repeatedly emphasized that the Party school should take
Marxist philosophy as its main curriculum” (Ibid.).
In the context of the elaboration of historical
and dialectical materialism, Xi organizes his teaching around three main points.
The first was the baseline requirement of understanding the specific context
within which materialism can be understood and applied in a contemporary
historical era (“learn and master the analysis of basic contradictions in
society, and deeply understand the importance and urgency of comprehensively
deepening reforms” (Xi Essay, supra). The second touched on the interrelationship of
material production within shifting
historical context (“learn and grasp the point that material production is the
basis of social life, and accurately grasp the important relationship of
comprehensively deepening reform.” (Xi Essay, supra). The third was the instrumentalism
embedded within the concept of dialectical materialism (“learn and grasp the
view that the people are the creators of history, and rely on the people to
advance reforms” (Xi Essay, supra)). All
three points invite a closer examination of historical and dialectical
materialism not just in the specific context of China, but generally as a
constructed world view whose fundamental orientation shapes the way in which it
is possible to understand and participate in the world.
How does Xi understand historical materialism?
At its simplest it is a set of principles built around the premise that history
is the way society understand the (inevitable) progression of its
development in response to the stimulus that are the material conditions
in which individuals in society find themselves. The concept, then, starts from
the core premises that all societal efforts to collectively organize
individuals within managed communities are a function of (and can be understood,
studied, and rationalized) through an understanding of the material
conditions (and thus the “materialism” in the name) of a given social order
in time; that is of the conditions in the world around individuals. History is
thus both the description of and the object of the dynamic element of human
progress. The dynamism that lubricates
progress is derived from the insight that material conditions are inevitably
imperfect; that imperfection is historically contingent; and the imperfection
can be measured by the structures of exploitation (for the classical Marxists the
concept of exploitation is limited to the exploitation of people; for Marxism
in the 21st century the ecology within which people develop human
communities). Exploitation (of individuals or the collective ecology within
which human organization is developed), in turn, is understood to produce contradiction
measured as the distance between perfection (the absence of exploitation) and
the forms and character of exploitation within a contemporary historical era.
Contradiction, then, can be understood as a cancer
on societal organization and inevitable produces a response; society
inevitably responds to the material
conditions that define a historical period and that such a response (over the
long term and despite the periodic reverse or sideways movement) always pushes
societal development forward. But solidifying
the concept around concrete conditions
has proven to be both elusive and ideological.
For liberal democracy, these contradictions are understood in cultural
and social terms, at least since the Christian Reformation of the 16th
century. In contemporary parlance one
speak to the contradictions of societal organization around racism,
ethnocentrism, sexism, and the like; these are conceptions that go to the organization
of society the consequence of which affects the use and distribution of power
over productive forces. For Marxist-Leninists,
on the other hand, it is the issue of contradiction around the control and exploitation
of productive forces that have as its consequence a solution to the societal
organization problems at the heart of the contradictions centered in the West. As
a consequence, what are centered are the contradictions of class struggle (the
old basic contradiction of global communism), and in China since the 1970s,
socialist modernization (the effective development of all productive forces),
and now the contradiction of the distribution of the fruits of productive
forces development.
In
1883, Engels said in front of Marx's tomb: "Just as Darwin discovered the
development law of the organic world, Marx discovered the development law of
human history, which is a simple fact that has always been covered by a
multitude of ideology: people must first Eat, drink, live, wear, and then
engage in politics, science, art, religion, and so on; therefore, direct
production of material means of living, and thus a certain stage of economic
development of a nation or an era, form the basis for people. The state
facilities, legal viewpoints, arts, and religious concepts have been developed
from this foundation. Therefore, they must also be interpreted from this
foundation, rather than doing the opposite as in the past. " The basic
connotation of historical materialism. The ancient Chinese said that
"people rely on food as their heavens", "cangjie knows
etiquette, and food and clothing knows honor and disgrace", etc., also
contain such simple materialism. (Xi Essay, supra).
The forward motion implied by historical materialism,
then, is understood from a variety of possible perspectives that function as
the product of a correct mix of time, materials conditions and explosion which then
helps to rationalize both the stability of a set of societal material
conditions over a period of time, and the “scientific” (that is rational, in
accordance with the application of the principles of historical and dialectical
materialism) understanding of the movement from one to another historical era,
and the shift from one set of material conditions to another.
For materialists within liberal democratic systems,
such a process of historical materialism may lead toward that attainment of
better lives for its citizens, or material prosperity, or security, or merely
to the preservation of customs and traditions
that define the form which the societal order takes. Historical
materialism points to a state of perfection, but its content and realization is
beyond history—a goal toward which society must devote its productive (social, political,
economic, cultural) forces, but one which is neither ever attained, nor one the
content of which is ever fixed. defined For
the Marxist, of course, this cycle must have a direction (in the long term); in
this they resemble non-Marxist progressives who also believe in the forward
march of history (through a set of sometimes vastly different mechanics). And for
the Marxist, of course, the eventual resting place of historical materialism
lies in the establishment of the only possible stable state that can exist
beyond history—the point where a communist society can be established. From
this premise, the connection between historical materialism and the fundamental
legitimating core objective of the CPC is exposed. The reason that a Marxist
vanguard would undertake the obligation to move a society through history is
precisely to the ends of establishing a communist society and in that case to
overcome both history and the contradictions of the material conditions of
society. One here describes the baseline of the Chinese Communist Party Basic
Line and its epistemology. It is how
they see and understand the world. To
understand a Marxist world view, then, it is important to appreciate the
centrality of the rationalization of societal or lived reality along a time
line (history) whose markers, or rational understanding, can only be the
product of the discovery of material conditions within a (stable) historical
period and the forces pushes that historical era toward transformation.
The difficulties of historical materialism are well
known and well worn. My object is not to suggest that the concept is either right
or wrong or that it has been used correctly or incorrectly—those are inevitably
political questions decided by the legitimating force of power successfully
applied to a given collective. However, it is necessary to point to the weakness
of the concept which is exogenous to the concept itself. That weakness emerges from the meaning of its
terms. Time is an easily measurable
object (though inevitably arbitrary and culturally (and sometime conceptual) anthropocentric,
communal and political (e.g., Abrahamic religions measure time differently than
geologists). But everything else is open to debate: materiality, conditions, contradiction,
exploitation, etc. are terms that are
inherently contextual, which shift in meaning depending on the baseline
perspective (or world view) of those who approach the rationalization of each.
More importantly, it is not clear whether historical materialism has borders,
and if so whether they are drawn around cultural, political. Religious, racial,
ethnic or other markers. In all these cases, then, the core premise must be
that rationalization—that the scientific study of material conditions and their
historical trajectories—like those of all of the social sciences, must start
and end with a set of arbitrary decisions that are inherently and fundamentally
socio-political. And there lies the urtext complication of the concept—the unanswered
question of whether the notion of historical materialism is itself subject to a
dialectical process because of the inherent flaws (and consequential contradiction)
that its own application produces.
Xi elaborates a traditionally orthodox view,
transformed for the emerging new historical era toward which China was (then)
moving:
Historical
materialism, as an important part of Marxist philosophy, is a science about the
general laws of the development of human society. In each historical period of
revolution, construction, and reform, our party uses historical materialism to
analyze the Chinese social movement and its development laws systematically,
specifically, and historically.
* *
*
Historical
materialism believes that the interaction and mutual restraint of productive
forces and production relations, economic foundations and superstructures
dominate the entire social development process. Production relations must be
suitable for productive forces, and superstructures must be suitable for
economic fundamentals. Their combined effect constitutes a contradictory
movement in the entire society. Only by observing the contradictory movements
of productivity and production relations with the contradictory movements of
economic foundations and superstructures, and observing the basic contradictions
of society as a whole, can we fully grasp the basic outlook and development
direction of the entire society. (Xi Essay, supra).
To these Xi embeds
the fruits of transition from one historical era to another as he urges
his students toward a sensitive understanding of the positive linkages between
historical eras.
Second, learn and grasp the
point that material production is the basis of social life, and accurately
grasp the important relationship of comprehensively deepening reform.
Historical materialism holds that material productivity is the material premise
of all social life, and that the sum of production relations that are
compatible with a certain stage of productive force development constitutes the
socioeconomic foundation. Productive force is the most active and revolutionary
factor in promoting social progress, and the development of productive forces
is a fundamental criterion for measuring social development. This provides a
reliable basis for our analysis of social development.
* * *
In the comprehensive deepening of reforms, we must adhere to
the major strategic judgment that development is still the key to solving all
problems in China, so that the market plays a decisive role in the allocation
of resources and better plays the role of the government to promote the
continuous development of China's social productive forces. We say that we
should not simply talk about heroes based on the growth rate of GDP. We must
look at the overall level of work, that is, we must develop in accordance with
the law of the development of productive forces, and not act violently. We must
correctly use productivity standards to promote the unification of continuous
enrichment and the all-round development of people. (Xi Essay, supra).
And, indeed, it is the notion of linkages, and
their effects, especially for a vanguard party, that mark an important
development in Marxist thinking here. Xi’s
expression of these interlinkages serve to remind people that to understand the
material conditions at the heart of historical materialism one must adopt a comprehensive
approach; and that in its absence, the project of dialectical materialism
(discussed below) will not succeed.
Things in the world are always
connected in one way or another. The development of things cannot be viewed in
isolation. Otherwise, the problem of blindness and generalization will often
occur. It is the so-called "with or without each other, easy and difficult
to form, long and short form, high and low phase inclination, sound and sound,
and follow each other." When observing social development, we must pay
attention to the organic connection between this decision and the decision,
action, and reaction. The productivity standards must be comprehensively and
accurately understood, and must not be absolute, and productivity standards and
superstructures cannot be put aside to understand productivity standards. Since
the reform and opening up, our party has proposed a series of "two-handed
grasp", including one hand for material civilization construction, one
hand for spiritual civilization construction, one hand for economic
construction, one hand for legal construction, one hand for development, one
hand for stability, and one hand for reform and opening up. The one-handed
approach to punishing corruption is in line with the requirements of historical
materialism.
* * *
How to understand the role of the people in history is a major
issue in the concept of social history. Opposite to the historical idealist
heroic conception of history, the historical materialist concept of mass
history completely solved this major problem for the first time and proposed
that the people are the creators of history. (Xi Essay, supra).
And
lastly, that the idea of historical materialism is itself not just high concept
but a blueprint and guide for practical application within the specific context
of China.
Learning
is not about dogma and quotes, but to solve practical problems. Leading cadres
at all levels, especially senior cadres, should originally study and study
classic works, strive to use Marxist philosophy as their housekeeping skills,
strengthen ideals and convictions, adhere to the correct political direction,
improve strategic thinking ability, comprehensive decision-making ability, and
control Overall ability and unity lead the people to continuously write a new
chapter in the history of reform and opening up. (Xi Essay, supra).
How does Xi understand dialectical materialism? Historical materialism provides the
conceptual framework for rationalizing (that is for the scientific approach) to
the normative basis for societal organization and the trajectory of its
evolution. But historical materialism is
passive. It invites positioning within
its course of development but does not suggest any power to mold or manage that
inevitable progress. Something else is
necessary. That “something else” is
supplied by the relate notion of dialectical materialism. It also suggests a consequential
insight—that to be on the “right side of history” a vanguard must anticipate
and shape its own projection into history in accordance with the times and
sensitive to the course of historical development (the Leninists are not the
only ones to embrace these progressive
notions of history and its consequences, though not its inherent connection to
material conditions; see, e.g., Benn Shapiro, The
Right Side of History). If
historical material provides the theory of historical development grounded in
the constant need to resolve the inherent contradictions of the material
conditions of individuals (and groups now) within societal organization at
every stage of social development, then dialectical materialism suggests the
structures within which a leadership group (a vanguard however composed and
organized) can intervene in that progress of history to manage it to an
inevitable end. It provides a rational basis to justify the intervention of
a leading group to manage the inevitable course of historical progress toward
its ultimate goal. 
Dialectical materialism, of course, refers to a
set of premises about the ways or mechanics through which ideas (and
ideologies) are formed, are challenged, and then are changed. It is here that
the focus shifts from the centrality of history (which now produces context) to
the dynamic possibilities of exploiting the conditions of exploitation (the
contradictions at the heart of the imperfection of a historically
contextualized set of material conditions. These fundamental contradictions in material
conditions trigger or account for change (for some Marxists a constant sometimes tumultuous change) because material
conditions at any historical era produce create societal tensions (the exploitation
at the heart of any societal system at any point in history) strong enough to
generate (re)action. That (re) action can be as benign as voting (for example the US election
of 2016) or as violent as revolution (the “go to” of 20th century
revolutionary Leninists embracing a Marxist normative world view). Dialectics
are the way that one can explain the historical movement of society from one
historical era to another as a response to the tensions emerging from the
material conditions that define a specific historical era. But more than that,
dialectics supplies the palette of responses to the stimuli that are the
material conditions of a society during a historical era. Dialectics rationalizes (and by rationalizing
provides a means of controlling) the reactions to the contradictions of the
material conditions in any era whose confrontation produces the “explosion”
necessary to move to the next era—and the next set of eventually transforming
contradictions inherent in the changed material conditions.
This is how they can affect the course of human
events in the serve of the epistemology of historical materialism (dialectics
as a toolkit) bent toward the assurance of the earlier attainment of a
communist society free of history and of the contradictions of flawed material
conditions. It is based on the normative elements of historical materialism
(e.g., that the process of progress is inevitable and that it invariably
proceeds in accordance with a discernable form) and then transforms the
dialectics of historical materialism—which are in turn built around the
constant resolution and resolution of the contradictions of material conditions
(its flaws—measured by exploitation)—from a passive to an active force. This active force, in the hands of a fully
self-conscious vanguard, can be used to guide society forward.
For Xi, the Marxism of historical materialism
serves as foundation for dialectical materialism. And it is to the understanding of dialectical
materialism practically applied to the problems of Chinese progress toward the
establishment of a communist society that occupies much of the thinking in the
essay. These, importantly enough, also touch on the rationalization of the accumulation
of central contradictions that drive historical materialism forward.
In the
process of understanding the world and transforming the world, we constantly
grasp the laws and actively use them to promote the party. And the people's
cause has won one victory after another. The road proposed by Comrade Mao
Zedong to surround the city with the countryside and seize power with the armed
forces, our party led the people to carry out an arduous exploration of
socialist construction. In the new historical period, our party scientifically
analyzed the major contradictions in our society, and decided to transfer the
party and state work centers Economic construction and reform and opening up
are the results of the correct application of historical materialism.
We
must make clear that the fundamental task of socialism is to liberate and
develop social productive forces. This cannot be shaken at any time. Comrade
Deng Xiaoping answered the fundamental question of "What is socialism and
how to build socialism", mainly to answer the fundamental task of
socialism. "Socialism has many tasks, but the fundamental one is to
develop productive forces." "For many years, we have suffered a big
loss, and the socialist transformation has basically been completed. We
still" take class struggle as the key link "and ignore the
development of productive forces. The" Cultural Revolution "has gone
to the extreme. Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee,
the whole party has The focus of work has shifted to the construction of
socialist modernization. On the basis of adhering to the four basic principles,
we must concentrate our efforts on the development of social productive forces.
This is the most fundamental of allocating disorder. "(Xi Essay, supra).
Xi is sensitive, though to the comprehensive
character of material conditions, even if such are driven through the lends of
productive activity. “Since the reform and opening up, our party has proposed a
series of "two-handed grasp", including one hand for material
civilization construction, one hand for spiritual civilization construction,
one hand for economic construction, one hand for legal construction, one hand
for development, one hand for stability, and one hand for reform and opening
up. The one-handed approach to punishing corruption is in line with the
requirements of historical materialism.” (Xi Essay, supra).
That process of projecting power in the world
requires the anchor of a set of rationalizing principles against which action can be measured. Here Xi draws on both Marx and Mao Zedong.
In
1942, Comrade Mao Zedong delivered an important speech at the opening ceremony
of the Central Party School, entitled "Rectifying the Party's Style."
He pointed out that we must call on our comrades to learn to apply
Marxist-Leninist positions, viewpoints, and methods, to study China ’s history,
to study China ’s economy, politics, military, and culture, and to analyze each
issue based on detailed materials. , And then draw theoretical conclusions. He
also emphasized: "We should not take Marxist theory as dead dogma. For
Marxist theory, we must be able to master it and apply it. (Xi Essay, supra; the choice of this reference might have been eye opening as it alludes to the start of the 1942 Rectification campaigns 延安整风运动 ).
The
process of dialectical materialism is ongoing; that is the fundamental insight
for the dialectical process that historical materialism provides (beyond its
role as a baseline against which action can be measured. “Basic social
contradictions are always developing, so adjusting production relations and improving
superstructures needs to be continued accordingly. I have said that there is no
end to practical development, there is no end to emancipating the mind, and
there is no end to reform and opening up. Reform and opening up can only be
carried out and not completed. This is the historical materialist attitude” (Xi
Essay, supra). It is from this that one can see
the way that data, and data driven disciplinary mechanisms provide the
only suitable vehicle for the application of dialectical materialism in a
Leninist political organization. Rationalizing the progress of history in the
shadow of contradiction requires a scientific approach that can both measure
and assess. The notion of data driven governance and the necessity of an
analytics to help guide practical application also emerges in its connection to
the comprehensive planning at the center of vanguard driven dialectics: “The 35-year
course of reform and opening up shows that many reforms have been spontaneously
promoted by the grassroots masses and formed from the bottom up. The broad
masses of the people are an important force in promoting reforms. Today, when
we comprehensively deepen reform, we must still give full play to the role of
the people. Reform is for the people, so that reform is meaningful; relying on
the people for reform, reform is motivated.” (Xi Essay, supra).
In
addition, the uncertainties of dialectical materialism also suggest the value
of experimentation.
On the one hand, we must adhere to everything
that is based on reality and act in accordance with objective laws. We must
grasp a blueprint to the end, and do a good job of laying the foundation for
long-term work. We must not pat our heads, blindly direct, make random
decisions, eradicate short-term behaviors, and promote seedlings. On the other
hand, local, grassroots and masses should be encouraged to explore boldly, try
first, sum up experience in a timely manner, be bold in advancing theoretical
and practical innovation, and continuously deepen their understanding of the
laws of reform. We propose the combination of strengthening the top-level design
and crossing the river while feeling the stones, promoting the overall
advancement and promoting breakthroughs in key areas. This is an important
principle that must be followed to comprehensively deepen the reform, and it is
also a requirement of historical materialism. (Xi Essay, supra).
Dialectical materialism, then, provides the
legitimating basis, and the context around which a key Leninist concept can be
developed and applied—the Mass Line.
Following
the viewpoint of historical materialism, our party has put forward the mass
line and made it the party's lifeline and fundamental work line. . . In the process of comprehensively deepening
reform, we must adhere to the Marxist mass perspective, adhere to the party's
mass line, and "take the people's heart as the heart", and take the
realization, maintenance, and development of the fundamental interests of the
overwhelming majority of the people as the starting point and end point of
promoting reform. To make development results more and more equitable for all
people. Only in this way can reform make a difference.
The
35-year course of reform and opening up shows that many reforms have been
spontaneously promoted by the grassroots masses and formed from the bottom up.
The broad masses of the people are an important force in promoting reforms.
Today, when we comprehensively deepen reform, we must still give full play to
the role of the people. Reform is for the people, so that reform is meaningful;
relying on the people for reform, reform is motivated (Xi Essay, supra). .
To
what end, then, must a Leninist vanguard party devote the resources to the
proper understanding (and application) of historical and dialectical
materialism? For New Era Theory the core objective is scientific (that is rationalizing)
metrics against which the practical application of theory can be measured. “The purpose of studying is to better
understand the national conditions, better understand the development trend of
the cause of the party and the state, better understand the laws of historical
development, and more actively promote various tasks. . . . The theories,
guidelines, and policies proposed and implemented by our party at this stage
are correct because they are based on the social existence of our country in
the current era.” (Xi, Essay, supra).
There is another objective, however. That objective is to understand the world
within which the vanguard party must operate, and more importantly, the
relationship between a vanguard party dedicated to moving a society forward
toward the establishment of communism and those vanguards whose own objective s,
beyond history, would take society in a very different direction. It is this that provides a window into the
way the world is understood from the perspective of the New Era.
Here, I want to talk about a
problem. Marx and Engels used the basic contradictions of society to promote
the law of social development and made scientific predictions about future
social development. The Communist Manifesto states that "the destruction
of the bourgeoisie and the victory of the proletariat are equally
inevitable." This is the "two inevitables". It is the inevitable
direction of historical laws in terms of the general trend of human history.
Here we also need to talk about the "two never" proposed by Marx.
Marx said: "No matter what social form it is, it will never perish until
all the productive forces it can hold are exerted; and the new higher production
relationship will never occur until its material existence conditions have
matured in the fetus of the old society. "This important point of Marx can
help us understand why capitalism has not completely died out, and why
socialism There will also be twists and turns like the collapse of the Soviet
Union and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe. Why did communism as foreseen
by Marxism take a long historical development to achieve. After learning this
scientific worldview and methodology of understanding social and historical
development, we will be able to strengthen the ideal backbone, build a ballast
stone of conviction, and maintain a strong strategic determination. We must
strengthen the self-confidence, theoretical confidence, and self-confidence of
the road to socialism with Chinese characteristics, and continuously improve
the level of development of our country ’s social productive forces and people
’s living standards. broad. (Xi Essay, supra).
Xi’s essay, then, provides a comprehensive window on the (re)construction of historical and dialectical materialism for the CPC in its New Era. In the process it significantly fleshes out New Era Thought and its consequences for Chinese internal and external policy. Agree or not, this is a world view that can be ignored only at great peril. For those outside of China who seek meaningful communication with the Chinese vanguard, it is as important for them to develop a proper understanding of the central organizing role of historical and dialectical materialism. For CPC cadres, failure to master historical and dialectical materialism inhibits their effectiveness in moving China toward its next historical stage. For foreigners, the failure to grasp Chinese perspectives will produce the failures of communication inherent when two people use the same words to very different effect. Lastly, for those who view these notions as relevant to their own contextual material conditions, the study may provide clarity about the extent and plausibility of its application in (mostly developing) states.
__________
坚持历史唯物主义不断开辟当代中国马克思主义发展新境界
来源：《求是》2020/02 作者：习近平 2020-01-15 15:20:31
坚持历史唯物主义不断开辟当代中国马克思主义发展新境界
习近平
马克思主义哲学包括辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义，是马克思主义立场、观点、方法的集中体现，是马克思主义学说的思想基础。马克思说：“任何真正的哲学都是自己时代的精神上的精华”。马克思主义哲学尽管诞生在一个半世纪之前，但由于它深刻揭示了客观世界特别是人类社会发展一般规律，被历史和实践证明是科学的理论，在当今时代依然有着强大生命力，依然是指导我们共产党人前进的强大思想武器。我们党自成立起就高度重视在思想上建党，其中十分重要的一条就是坚持用马克思主义哲学教育和武装全党。学哲学、用哲学，是我们党的一个好传统。1937年夏，毛泽东同志在延安应抗日军政大学之邀，亲自讲授马克思主义哲学，并为此撰写了《辩证法唯物论（讲授提纲）》。在撰写这个提纲的过程中，诞生了《实践论》和《矛盾论》等体现马克思主义中国化理论成果的重要哲学著作。
中央党校从1933年创办至今，马克思主义哲学一直是干部培训的基本课程。我在兼任中央党校校长期间，多次强调党校要把马克思主义哲学作为主要课程。2009年5月13日，在中央党校2009年春季学期第二批进修班暨专题研讨班开学典礼上，我引用了陈云同志的一段话，他说：“学习理论，最要紧的，是把思想方法搞对头。因此，首先要学哲学，学习正确观察问题的思想方法。如果对辩证唯物主义一窍不通，就总是要犯错误。”我还建议大家读一些马克思主义哲学基本著作，掌握科学世界观和方法论，不断增强工作的原则性、系统性、预见性、创造性。
中国共产党第十八届中央委员会第三次全体会议，于2013年11月9日至12日在北京举行。全会由中央政治局主持，中央委员会总书记习近平作重要讲话。 新华社记者 兰红光/摄
历史唯物主义作为马克思主义哲学的重要组成部分，是关于人类社会发展一般规律的科学。在革命、建设、改革各个历史时期，我们党运用历史唯物主义，系统、具体、历史地分析中国社会运动及其发展规律，在认识世界和改造世界过程中不断把握规律、积极运用规律，推动党和人民事业取得了一个又一个胜利。毛泽东同志提出的以农村包围城市、武装夺取政权的道路，我们党带领人民进行艰辛的社会主义建设探索，新的历史时期我们党科学分析我国社会主要矛盾、果断决定把党和国家工作中心转移到经济建设上来、实行改革开放，都是正确运用历史唯物主义的结果。我们党在实践中不断回答“什么是社会主义、怎样建设社会主义”、“建设什么样的党、怎样建设党”、“实现什么样的发展、怎样发展”这些重大历史性课题，也都是正确运用历史唯物主义的结果。历史和现实都表明，只有坚持历史唯物主义，我们才能不断把对中国特色社会主义规律的认识提高到新的水平，不断开辟当代中国马克思主义发展新境界。现在，我们依然要推动全党学习马克思主义哲学，依然要推动全党掌握历史唯物主义基本原理和方法论。学习的目的，就是更好认识国情，更好认识党和国家事业发展大势，更好认识历史发展规律，更加能动地推进各项工作。1942年，毛泽东同志在中央党校开学典礼上发表了重要演说，题目是《整顿党的作风》。他指出，要号召我们的同志学会应用马克思列宁主义的立场、观点、方法，认真研究中国的历史，研究中国的经济、政治、军事和文化，对每一问题要根据详细的材料加以具体的分析，然后引出理论性的结论来。他还强调：我们“不应当把马克思主义的理论当成死的教条。对于马克思主义的理论，要能够精通它、应用它，精通的目的全在于应用。如果你能应用马克思列宁主义的观点，说明一个两个实际问题，那就要受到称赞，就算有了几分成绩。被你说明的东西越多，越普遍，越深刻，你的成绩就越大。”我们学习历史唯物主义，也要坚持这样的正确态度。
社会存在决定社会意识。我们党现阶段提出和实施的理论和路线方针政策，之所以正确，就是因为它们都是以我国现时代的社会存在为基础的。党的十八届三中全会对我国全面深化改革作出了总体部署，是从我国现在的社会存在出发的，即从我国现在的社会物质条件的总和出发的，也就是从我国基本国情和发展要求出发的。
下面，我想结合今天的学习，围绕深刻认识全面深化改革规律、更好落实各项改革举措谈点认识。
第一，学习和掌握社会基本矛盾分析法，深入理解全面深化改革的重要性和紧迫性。1883年，恩格斯在马克思墓前说：“正像达尔文发现有机界的发展规律一样，马克思发现了人类历史的发展规律，即历来为繁芜丛杂的意识形态所掩盖着的一个简单事实：人们首先必须吃、喝、住、穿，然后才能从事政治、科学、艺术、宗教等等；所以，直接的物质的生活资料的生产，从而一个民族或一个时代的一定的经济发展阶段，便构成基础，人们的国家设施、法的观点、艺术以至宗教观念，就是从这个基础上发展起来的，因而，也必须由这个基础来解释，而不是像过去那样做得相反。”这段话，十分精辟地阐明了历史唯物主义的基本内涵。中国古人说的“民以食为天”、“仓廪实则知礼节，衣食足则知荣辱”等，也包含着这样的朴素唯物思想。
历史唯物主义认为，生产力和生产关系、经济基础和上层建筑相互作用、相互制约，支配着整个社会发展进程。生产关系一定要适合生产力状况，上层建筑一定要适合经济基础状况，它们的共同作用构成整个社会的矛盾运动。只有把生产力和生产关系的矛盾运动同经济基础和上层建筑的矛盾运动结合起来观察，把社会基本矛盾作为一个整体来观察，才能全面把握整个社会的基本面貌和发展方向。
中国共产党第十九届中央委员会第四次全体会议，于2019年10月28日至31日在北京举行。这是习近平、李克强、栗战书、汪洋、王沪宁、赵乐际、韩正等在主席台上。 新华社记者 申宏/摄
坚持和发展中国特色社会主义，必须不断适应社会生产力发展调整生产关系，不断适应经济基础发展完善上层建筑。改革开放35年来，我国经济社会发展取得了重大成就，根本原因就是我们通过不断调整生产关系激发了社会生产力发展活力，通过不断完善上层建筑适应了经济基础发展要求。我们进行经济体制改革，进行政治体制、文化体制、社会体制、生态文明体制和党的建设制度改革，都是出于这个目的。我们提出进行全面深化改革，就是要适应我国社会基本矛盾运动的变化来推进社会发展。社会基本矛盾总是不断发展的，所以调整生产关系、完善上层建筑需要相应地不断进行下去。我讲过，实践发展永无止境，解放思想永无止境，改革开放也永无止境，改革开放只有进行时、没有完成时。这是历史唯物主义态度。
第二，学习和掌握物质生产是社会生活的基础的观点，准确把握全面深化改革的重大关系。历史唯物主义认为，物质生产力是全部社会生活的物质前提，同生产力发展一定阶段相适应的生产关系的总和构成社会经济基础。生产力是推动社会进步的最活跃、最革命的要素，生产力发展是衡量社会发展的带有根本性的标准。这为我们分析社会发展提供了可靠依据。
2018年11月13日，党和国家领导人习近平、栗战书、汪洋、王沪宁、赵乐际、韩正、王岐山等在国家博物馆参观“伟大的变革——庆祝改革开放40周年大型展览”。 新华社记者 谢环驰/摄
我们要明确，社会主义的根本任务是解放和发展社会生产力，这一点任何时候都不能动摇。邓小平同志回答了“什么是社会主义、怎样建设社会主义”这个根本问题，主要是回答了社会主义的根本任务是什么。“社会主义的任务很多，但根本一条就是发展生产力”。“多少年来我们吃了一个大亏，社会主义改造基本完成了，还是‘以阶级斗争为纲’，忽视发展生产力。‘文化大革命’更走到了极端。十一届三中全会以来，全党把工作重点转移到社会主义现代化建设上来，在坚持四项基本原则的基础上，集中力量发展社会生产力。这是最根本的拨乱反正。”在全面深化改革中，我们要坚持发展仍是解决我国所有问题的关键这个重大战略判断，使市场在资源配置中起决定性作用和更好发挥政府作用，推动我国社会生产力不断向前发展。我们讲不要简单以国内生产总值增长率论英雄，要看全面工作水平，就是说要按照生产力发展规律去发展，而不要违背规律蛮干。我们要正确运用生产力标准，推动实现物的不断丰富和人的全面发展的统一。
虽然物质生产是社会生活的基础，但上层建筑也可以反作用于经济基础，生产力和生产关系、经济基础和上层建筑之间有着十分复杂的关系，有着作用和反作用的现实过程，并不是单线式的简单决定和被决定逻辑。
世界上的事物总是有着这样那样的联系，不能孤立地静止地看待事物发展，否则往往会出现盲人摸象、以偏概全的问题。正所谓“有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随”。在观察社会发展时，一定要注意这种决定和被决定、作用和反作用的有机联系。对生产力标准必须全面准确理解，不能绝对化，不能撇开生产关系、上层建筑来理解生产力标准。改革开放以来，我们党提出的一系列“两手抓”，包括一手抓物质文明建设、一手抓精神文明建设，一手抓经济建设、一手抓法治建设，一手抓发展、一手抓稳定，一手抓改革开放、一手抓惩治腐败等，都是符合历史唯物主义要求的。
我们在考虑这次三中全会议题时，就提出要制定一个全面深化改革的方案，而不是只讲经济体制改革，或者只讲经济体制和社会体制改革。这样考虑，是因为要解决我们面临的突出矛盾和问题，仅仅依靠单个领域、单个层次的改革难以奏效，必须加强顶层设计、整体谋划，增强各项改革的关联性、系统性、协同性。只有既解决好生产关系中不适应的问题，又解决好上层建筑中不适应的问题，这样才能产生综合效应。
同时，我们也突出强调了要以经济建设为中心、发挥经济体制改革牵引作用。这就是说，要把握住我国现阶段社会基本矛盾的主要方面，重点是发展。只有紧紧围绕发展这个第一要务来部署各方面改革，以解放和发展社会生产力为改革提供强大牵引，才能更好推动生产关系与生产力、上层建筑与经济基础相适应。我国改革开放以来的实践充分证明，紧紧扭住解放和发展社会生产力，就能为其他各方面改革提供强大推动，影响其他各个方面改革相应推进。
2018年4月26日下午，中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平在武汉主持召开深入推动长江经济带发展座谈会并发表重要讲话。这是座谈会前，习近平于24日下午在三峡大坝左岸电站同技术人员、劳动模范、工作人员代表亲切交流。 新华社记者 谢环驰/摄
这里，我还要说到一个问题。马克思、恩格斯运用社会基本矛盾推动社会发展的规律，对未来社会发展作出了科学预见。《共产党宣言》提出：“资产阶级的灭亡和无产阶级的胜利是同样不可避免的。”这就是“两个必然”，是就人类历史总的发展趋势而言的，是历史规律的必然指向。这里还要说到马克思提出的“两个决不会”，马克思说：“无论哪一个社会形态，在它所能容纳的全部生产力发挥出来以前，是决不会灭亡的；而新的更高的生产关系，在它的物质存在条件在旧社会的胎胞里成熟以前，是决不会出现的。”马克思的这一重要论点，可以帮助我们理解为什么资本主义至今没有完全消亡，为什么社会主义还会出现苏联解体、东欧剧变那样的曲折，为什么马克思主义预见的共产主义还需要经过很长的历史发展才能实现。学懂了这一认识和研究社会历史发展的科学世界观和方法论，我们就能坚定理想的主心骨、筑牢信念的压舱石，保持强大的战略定力。我们要坚定中国特色社会主义道路自信、理论自信、制度自信，不断提高我国社会生产力发展水平和人民生活水平，使我国社会主义制度优越性不断显现和丰富起来，使中国特色社会主义道路越走越宽广。第三，学习和掌握人民群众是历史创造者的观点，紧紧依靠人民推进改革。如何认识人民群众在历史上的作用，是社会历史观的重大问题。同历史唯心主义英雄史观相对立，历史唯物主义群众史观第一次彻底解决了这个重大问题，提出人民是历史的创造者。遵循历史唯物主义这一观点，我们党提出了群众路线，并把它作为党的生命线和根本工作路线。
在革命、建设、改革各个历史时期，我们党都坚持紧紧依靠人民。改革开放35年来的历程表明，许多改革都是由基层群众自发推动、自下而上形成的，广大人民群众是推动改革的重要力量。今天，我们全面深化改革，依然要充分发挥人民主体作用。为了人民而改革，改革才有意义；依靠人民而改革，改革才有动力。
党的十八届三中全会在总结改革开放历史经验时强调，要坚持以人为本，尊重人民主体地位，发挥群众首创精神，紧紧依靠人民推动改革，促进人的全面发展；在全面深化改革的指导思想中鲜明提出，要以促进社会公平正义、增进人民福祉为出发点和落脚点。在全面深化改革进程中，我们要坚持马克思主义群众观点，坚持党的群众路线，“以百姓心为心”，把实现好、维护好、发展好最广大人民根本利益作为推进改革的出发点和落脚点，让发展成果更多更公平惠及全体人民。唯有如此，改革才能大有作为。
唐太宗李世民和大臣们在贞观年间总结隋炀帝亡国的教训时说，治理国家“必须先存百姓，若损百姓以奉其身，犹割股以啖腹，腹饱而身毙”。古代封建统治者尚能认识到存养百姓的重要性，我们党的各级领导干部更应自觉坚持全心全意为人民服务的根本宗旨，保持同人民群众的血肉联系，始终与人民同呼吸、共命运、心连心，团结带领人民续写改革新篇章，确保改革取得成功。
在全面深化改革中，我们要处理好尊重客观规律和发挥主观能动性的关系。一方面，要坚持一切从实际出发，按照客观规律办事，一张蓝图抓到底，抓好打基础利长远的工作，不能拍脑袋、瞎指挥、乱决策，杜绝短期行为、拔苗助长。另一方面，要鼓励地方、基层、群众大胆探索、先行先试，及时总结经验，勇于推进理论和实践创新，不断深化对改革规律的认识。我们提出加强顶层设计和摸着石头过河相结合、整体推进和重点突破相促进，这是全面深化改革必须遵循的重要原则，也是历史唯物主义的要求。
最后，我想强调的是，我们党在中国这样一个有着13亿人口的大国执政，面对着十分复杂的国内外环境，肩负着繁重的执政使命，如果缺乏理论思维的有力支撑，是难以战胜各种风险和困难的，也是难以不断前进的。恩格斯说过：“一个民族要想站在科学的最高峰，就一刻也不能没有理论思维。”全党都要加强对马克思主义哲学的学习和运用，提高运用马克思主义立场、观点、方法分析和解决问题的能力。学习不是背教条、背语录，而是要用以解决实际问题。党的各级领导干部特别是高级干部，要原原本本学习和研读经典著作，努力把马克思主义哲学作为自己的看家本领，坚定理想信念，坚持正确政治方向，提高战略思维能力、综合决策能力、驾驭全局能力，团结带领人民不断书写改革开放历史新篇章。
（这是习近平总书记2013年12月3日在十八届中央政治局第十一次集体学习时讲话的主要部分。）
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Persist in Historical Materialism and Open up New Realms of Contemporary Chinese Marxism Development
Source: "Seeking Truth" 2020/02 Author: Xi Jinping 2020-01-15 15:20:31
Persist in Historical Materialism and Open up New Realms of Contemporary Chinese Marxism Development
Xi Jinping
Marxist philosophy includes dialectical materialism and historical materialism. It is a concentrated reflection of Marxist positions, viewpoints, and methods, and is the ideological basis of Marxist theory. Marx said: "Any true philosophy is the spiritual essence of his time." Although Marxist philosophy was born more than a century and a half ago, because it deeply reveals the general laws of the development of the objective world, especially human society, it has been proven by history and practice to be a scientific theory. A powerful ideological weapon for people to move forward.
Our Party has attached great importance to building the Party ideologically since its establishment. One of the most important is to insist on using Marxist philosophy to educate and arm the entire Party. Learning philosophy and using philosophy is a good tradition of our party. In the summer of 1937, Comrade Mao Zedong was invited to teach the Marxist philosophy in Yanan at the invitation of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, and wrote "Dialectical Materialism (Lecture Outline)" for this purpose. In the process of writing this outline, important philosophical works such as "Practical Theory" and "Contradiction" which embody the theoretical results of Marxist Sinicization were born.
Since the founding of the Central Party School in 1933, Marxist philosophy has been a basic course for cadre training. When I was concurrently the principal of the Central Party School, I repeatedly emphasized that the Party school should take Marxist philosophy as its main curriculum. On May 13, 2009, at the opening ceremony of the second batch of refresher classes and special seminars in the spring semester of 2009 at the Central Party School, I quoted a quote from Comrade Chen Yun. "The most important thing to study the theory is to think The method is right. Therefore, we must first learn philosophy and learn how to observe problems correctly. If we do n’t know anything about dialectical materialism, we will always make mistakes. ”I also recommend that you read some basic works of Marxist philosophy and master the scientific worldview and methodology Continue to enhance the principled, systematic, predictive and creative work.
第三 The third plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing from November 9th to 12th, 2013. The plenary session was chaired by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, and Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee made an important speech. Xinhua News Agency reporter Lan Hongguang / Photo
Historical materialism, as an important part of Marxist philosophy, is a science about the general laws of the development of human society. In each historical period of revolution, construction, and reform, our party uses historical materialism to analyze the Chinese social movement and its development laws systematically, specifically, and historically. In the process of understanding the world and transforming the world, we constantly grasp the laws and actively use them to promote the party. And the people's cause has won one victory after another. The road proposed by Comrade Mao Zedong to surround the city with the countryside and seize power with the armed forces, our party led the people to carry out an arduous exploration of socialist construction. In the new historical period, our party scientifically analyzed the major contradictions in our society, and decided to transfer the party and state work centers Economic construction and reform and opening up are the results of the correct application of historical materialism. In practice, our party constantly answers the major historical issues of "what is socialism, how to build socialism", "what kind of party to build, how to build party", and "what kind of development is achieved and how to develop". The correct application of the results of historical materialism. Both history and reality have shown that only by adhering to historical materialism can we continuously improve our understanding of the laws of socialism with Chinese characteristics to a new level and constantly open up new realms for the development of contemporary Chinese Marxism.
At present, we still need to promote the entire party to learn Marxist philosophy, and we still need to promote the entire party to master the basic principles and methodologies of historical materialism. The purpose of studying is to better understand the national conditions, better understand the development trend of the cause of the party and the state, better understand the laws of historical development, and more actively promote various tasks. In 1942, Comrade Mao Zedong delivered an important speech at the opening ceremony of the Central Party School, entitled "Rectifying the Party's Style." He pointed out that we must call on our comrades to learn to apply Marxist-Leninist positions, viewpoints, and methods, to study China ’s history, to study China ’s economy, politics, military, and culture, and to analyze each issue based on detailed materials. , And then draw theoretical conclusions. He also emphasized: "We should not take Marxist theory as dead dogma. For Marxist theory, we must be able to master it and apply it. The purpose of mastery is all about application. If you can apply Marxist-Leninist views, explain One or two practical issues, then you have to be praised, even if you have a few grades. The more you explain, the more common, the more profound, the greater your grade. "We must also persist in studying historical materialism. Such a correct attitude.
存在 Social existence determines social consciousness. The theories, guidelines, and policies proposed and implemented by our party at this stage are correct because they are based on the social existence of our country in the current era. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee made overall arrangements for China's comprehensive deepening reform. It started from the current social existence of our country, that is, from the total of our current social material conditions, that is, from China's basic national conditions and development requirements. Set off.
Below, I would like to combine today's study with a deep understanding of the comprehensive reform rules and better implementation of various reform measures.
First, learn and master the analysis of basic contradictions in society, and deeply understand the importance and urgency of comprehensively deepening reforms. In 1883, Engels said in front of Marx's tomb: "Just as Darwin discovered the development law of the organic world, Marx discovered the development law of human history, which is a simple fact that has always been covered by a multitude of ideology: people must first Eat, drink, live, wear, and then engage in politics, science, art, religion, and so on; therefore, direct production of material means of living, and thus a certain stage of economic development of a nation or an era, form the basis for people. The state facilities, legal viewpoints, arts, and religious concepts have been developed from this foundation. Therefore, they must also be interpreted from this foundation, rather than doing the opposite as in the past. " The basic connotation of historical materialism. The ancient Chinese said that "people rely on food as their heavens", "cangjie knows etiquette, and food and clothing knows honor and disgrace", etc., also contain such simple materialism.
Historical materialism believes that the interaction and mutual restraint of productive forces and production relations, economic foundations and superstructures dominate the entire social development process. Production relations must be suitable for productive forces, and superstructures must be suitable for economic fundamentals. Their combined effect constitutes a contradictory movement in the entire society. Only by observing the contradictory movements of productivity and production relations with the contradictory movements of economic foundations and superstructures, and observing the basic contradictions of society as a whole, can we fully grasp the basic outlook and development direction of the entire society.
第四 The fourth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing from October 28 to 31, 2019. This is Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng, etc. on the podium. Xinhua News Agency reporter Shen Hong / photo
To adhere to and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, we must continuously adapt to the development of social productive forces, adjust production relations, and constantly adapt to the development of the economic foundation to improve the superstructure. In the 35 years since the reform and opening up, China has made great achievements in economic and social development. The fundamental reason is that we have stimulated the vitality of social productive forces by continuously adjusting production relations, and have continuously adapted the superstructure to meet the requirements of economic foundation development. We have reformed the economic system, reformed the political system, cultural system, social system, ecological civilization system, and party building system for this purpose.
We propose to carry out comprehensive and deepening reforms in order to adapt to changes in the basic contradictions in our society and promote social development. Basic social contradictions are always developing, so adjusting production relations and improving superstructures needs to be continued accordingly. I have said that there is no end to practical development, there is no end to emancipating the mind, and there is no end to reform and opening up. Reform and opening up can only be carried out and not completed. This is the historical materialist attitude.
Second, learn and grasp the point that material production is the basis of social life, and accurately grasp the important relationship of comprehensively deepening reform. Historical materialism holds that material productivity is the material premise of all social life, and that the sum of production relations that are compatible with a certain stage of productive force development constitutes the socioeconomic foundation. Productive force is the most active and revolutionary factor in promoting social progress, and the development of productive forces is a fundamental criterion for measuring social development. This provides a reliable basis for our analysis of social development.
11On November 13, 2018, party and state leaders Xi Jinping, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng, Wang Qishan, etc. visited the National Museum of China "Great Change-Large Exhibition Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Reform and Opening Up". Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi / photo
We must make clear that the fundamental task of socialism is to liberate and develop social productive forces. This cannot be shaken at any time. Comrade Deng Xiaoping answered the fundamental question of "What is socialism and how to build socialism", mainly to answer the fundamental task of socialism. "Socialism has many tasks, but the fundamental one is to develop productive forces." "For many years, we have suffered a big loss, and the socialist transformation has basically been completed. We still" take class struggle as the key link "and ignore the development of productive forces. The" Cultural Revolution "has gone to the extreme. Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the whole party has The focus of work has shifted to the construction of socialist modernization. On the basis of adhering to the four basic principles, we must concentrate our efforts on the development of social productive forces. This is the most fundamental of allocating disorder. "
全面 In the comprehensive deepening of reforms, we must adhere to the major strategic judgment that development is still the key to solving all problems in China, so that the market plays a decisive role in the allocation of resources and better plays the role of the government to promote the continuous development of China's social productive forces. We say that we should not simply talk about heroes based on the growth rate of GDP. We must look at the overall level of work, that is, we must develop in accordance with the law of the development of productive forces, and not act violently. We must correctly use productivity standards to promote the unification of continuous enrichment and the all-round development of people.
Although material production is the basis of social life, superstructures can also react to economic foundations. There is a very complex relationship between productivity and production relations, economic foundations, and superstructures. The actual processes that have effects and reactions are not single-line. Simple decision and decision logic.
的 Things in the world are always connected in one way or another. The development of things cannot be viewed in isolation. Otherwise, the problem of blindness and generalization will often occur. It is the so-called "with or without each other, easy and difficult to form, long and short form, high and low phase inclination, sound and sound, and follow each other." When observing social development, we must pay attention to the organic connection between this decision and the decision, action, and reaction. The productivity standards must be comprehensively and accurately understood, and must not be absolute, and productivity standards and superstructures cannot be put aside to understand productivity standards. Since the reform and opening up, our party has proposed a series of "two-handed grasp", including one hand for material civilization construction, one hand for spiritual civilization construction, one hand for economic construction, one hand for legal construction, one hand for development, one hand for stability, and one hand for reform and opening up. The one-handed approach to punishing corruption is in line with the requirements of historical materialism.
When considering the topics of the Third Plenary Session, we proposed to formulate a comprehensive and deepening reform plan, instead of just talking about economic system reform, or only economic and social system reform. This consideration is because to solve the prominent contradictions and problems we face, it is difficult to rely on reforms in a single field and at a single level. It is necessary to strengthen the top-level design and overall planning, and to strengthen the relevance, systemicity, and synergy of the reforms. Only by resolving the problem of inadequacy in the production relationship and the problem of inadequacy in the superstructure can the comprehensive effect be produced.
At the same time, we also highlighted the need to focus on economic construction and give play to the traction of economic system reform. That is to say, we must grasp the main aspects of the basic contradictions in our society at this stage, with emphasis on development. Only by focusing on the first priority of development to deploy reforms in various aspects, and to provide a strong traction for reform by liberating and developing social productive forces, can we better promote the adaptation of production relations to productive forces, superstructures and economic foundations. The practice since China's reform and opening up has fully proved that tightly twisting the liberation and development of social productive forces can provide a strong impetus for reforms in other aspects and affect the corresponding advancement of reforms in other aspects.
下午 On the afternoon of April 26, 2018, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, State President, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, hosted a seminar on furthering the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in Wuhan and delivered an important speech. Before this symposium, Xi Jinping had a cordial exchange with technicians, model workers and staff representatives at the left bank of the Three Gorges Dam on the afternoon of the 24th. Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi / photo
Here, I want to talk about a problem. Marx and Engels used the basic contradictions of society to promote the law of social development and made scientific predictions about future social development. The Communist Manifesto states that "the destruction of the bourgeoisie and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable." This is the "two inevitables". It is the inevitable direction of historical laws in terms of the general trend of human history. Here we also need to talk about the "two never" proposed by Marx. Marx said: "No matter what social form it is, it will never perish until all the productive forces it can hold are exerted; and the new higher The production relationship will never occur until its material existence conditions have matured in the fetus of the old society. "This important point of Marx can help us understand why capitalism has not completely died out, and why socialism There will also be twists and turns like the collapse of the Soviet Union and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe. Why did communism as foreseen by Marxism take a long historical development to achieve. After learning this scientific worldview and methodology of understanding social and historical development, we will be able to strengthen the ideal backbone, build a ballast stone of conviction, and maintain a strong strategic determination. We must strengthen the self-confidence, theoretical confidence, and self-confidence of the road to socialism with Chinese characteristics, and continuously improve the level of development of our country ’s social productive forces and people ’s living standards. broad.
Third, learn and grasp the view that the people are the creators of history, and rely on the people to advance reforms. How to understand the role of the people in history is a major issue in the concept of social history. Opposite to the historical idealist heroic conception of history, the historical materialist concept of mass history completely solved this major problem for the first time and proposed that the people are the creators of history. Following the viewpoint of historical materialism, our party has put forward the mass line and made it the party's lifeline and fundamental work line.
党 In all historical periods of revolution, construction, and reform, our party insists on relying on the people closely. The 35-year course of reform and opening up shows that many reforms have been spontaneously promoted by the grassroots masses and formed from the bottom up. The broad masses of the people are an important force in promoting reforms. Today, when we comprehensively deepen reform, we must still give full play to the role of the people. Reform is for the people, so that reform is meaningful; relying on the people for reform, reform is motivated.
In summarizing the historical experience of reform and opening up, the Third Plenary Session of the Eighteenth Central Committee of the Party emphasized that it is necessary to adhere to people-oriented, respect the status of the people as the main body, give full play to the spirit of the people's initiative, rely on the people to promote reform, and promote the all-round development of the people; It is clearly stated in the thought that the starting point and end point should be to promote social fairness and justice and improve people's well-being. In the process of comprehensively deepening reform, we must adhere to the Marxist mass perspective, adhere to the party's mass line, and "take the people's heart as the heart", and take the realization, maintenance, and development of the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people as the starting point and end point of promoting reform. To make development results more and more equitable for all people. Only in this way can reform make a difference.
When Emperor Taizong Li Shimin and his ministers summed up the lessons of Emperor Sui's death during the Zhenguan reign, governing the country "must save the people first, if the people are damaged to serve their lives, they will cut their stocks to eat their belly, and their stomachs will be full." The feudal rulers of ancient times still realized the importance of keeping the people. Our party's leaders at all levels should consciously adhere to the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, maintain flesh-and-blood ties with the people, and always breathe and share the fate with the people Unite and lead the people to lead a new chapter in reform to ensure the success of the reform.
全面 In comprehensively deepening reforms, we must properly handle the relationship of respecting objective laws and exerting subjective initiative. On the one hand, we must adhere to everything that is based on reality and act in accordance with objective laws. We must grasp a blueprint to the end, and do a good job of laying the foundation for long-term work. We must not pat our heads, blindly direct, make random decisions, eradicate short-term behaviors, and promote seedlings. On the other hand, local, grassroots and masses should be encouraged to explore boldly, try first, sum up experience in a timely manner, be bold in advancing theoretical and practical innovation, and continuously deepen their understanding of the laws of reform. We propose the combination of strengthening the top-level design and crossing the river while feeling the stones, promoting the overall advancement and promoting breakthroughs in key areas. This is an important principle that must be followed to comprehensively deepen the reform, and it is also a requirement of historical materialism.
Finally, I want to emphasize that our party is governing in a big country like China with a population of 1.3 billion. Faced with a very complicated domestic and foreign environment, it shoulders a heavy ruling mission. Without the strong support of theoretical thinking, it is difficult to overcome. It is also difficult to keep moving forward with all kinds of risks and difficulties. Engels said: "If a nation wants to stand at the highest point of science, it must not be without theoretical thinking for a moment." The entire party must strengthen the study and application of Marxist philosophy, improve the use of Marxist positions, views, methods, analysis and analysis. problem solving skill. Learning is not about dogma and quotes, but to solve practical problems. Leading cadres at all levels, especially senior cadres, should originally study and study classic works, strive to use Marxist philosophy as their housekeeping skills, strengthen ideals and convictions, adhere to the correct political direction, improve strategic thinking ability, comprehensive decision-making ability, and control Overall ability and unity lead the people to continuously write a new chapter in the history of reform and opening up.
(This is the main part of General Secretary Xi Jinping's speech during the eleventh group study of the Eighteenth Central Political Bureau on December 3, 2013.)
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Additional elements of Xi Jinping's contributions ot New Era Thought
Toward New Era Thought: Reflections on Xi Jinping, Speech at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up
The Meaning is in the Title--Reflections on Xi Jinping Speech, "Work Together to Create a High-Quality World Economy
CPE Working Group on Empire: Part 2--Observations on Xi Jinping, Speech Delivered at the G20 Leaders' Summit on the World Economic Situation and Trade Issues--"Work Together to Create a High Quality World Economy" [习近平在二十国集团领导人峰会上关于世界经济形势和贸易问题的讲话（全文）携手共进，合力打造高质量世界经济]
Building New Era Thought--An Annotation of the English Translation of Xi Jinping's Address on the 40th Anniversary of Reform and Opening Up, Beijing 18 December 2018
Flora Sapio: Four Short Reflections on Jiang Shigong’s Essay on “Philosophy and History” Interpreting the “Xi Jinping Era” through Xi’s Report to the Nineteenth National Congress of the CCP’ [ 哲学与历史 —从党的十九大报告解读“习近平时代” 强世功 ]
Chinese Communist Party Plenum on Socialist Rule of Law: Xi Jinping on Five Key Points of Chinese Rule of Law
"Always Uphold and Fully Utilize the Unique Advantages of the Party" (始终坚持和充分发挥党的独特优势) : Xi Jinping (习近平) and the Institutionalization of Intra-Party Democracy With Chinese Characteristics in the Chinese Communist Party
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