tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24800874.post2911899457623656383..comments2024-03-26T01:56:02.444-04:00Comments on Law at the End of the Day: Part 3 (The CCP and Its Vanguard Role)--On a Constitutional Theory for China--From the General Program of the Chinese Communist Party to Political TheoryLarry Catá Backerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545101367530775497noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24800874.post-49345418313667806322015-09-19T18:20:19.882-04:002015-09-19T18:20:19.882-04:00The CCP is not only a vanguard, but also the core ...The CCP is not only a vanguard, but also the core of leadership. A core is a nucleus, the central part of something else – in this case the core of leadership is the central part of leadership. The non-central part of leadership will be the “working class, the people and the nation”. Here the Statute implies that leadership does not exclusively belong to the CCP per se, but to “the working class, the people and the nation” too. The CCP may be at the forefront of leadership (vanguard role), yet the “masters of the country” are the people (para 15). The CCP and the people play complementary roles, with the CCP drawing its legitimacy and its very existence from the Chinese people. <br /><br />The CCP represents the fundamental interest of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people. Here “fundamental” modifies the meaning of the noun interest, and refers to those interests that are the most important for the people, to their basic interest. Para 1 states that political representation involves the basic interest of the people. Beyond the basic interest, other kinds of interests may exist, which are accidental, nonessential and lie outside the scope of political representation, if and only if they are not relevant to the goals of the CCP. <br /><br />The overwhelming majority of the Chinese people includes the highest possible number of persons, but not their totality. This may or may not mean that there is room for the CCP to expand the scope of its political representation to those who are included in the totality of the people but not in the “overwhelming majority”. The criterion whereby political representation can be enjoyed is not specified. Are multinational corporations, foreign companies, foreign NGOs, and foreign citizens represented by the CCP, or are their rights and interests protected through means other than political representation?<br /> <br />“The realization of communism is the highest ideal and ultimate goal of the Party.” The last sentence of para 1 underwent various changes in time...this is the most interesting sentence of para 1 and perhaps the entire statute. The CCP represents almost the entire totality of Chinese citizens and the Chinese diaspora but, does being represented by the CCP entail an individual or even a communal committment to the realization of communism? This is an ideal and an ultimate goal that belongs to the Party and to those who accept its program and therefore choose to bind themselves to the CCP (See articles 1 and 2). The Party is indeed the vanguard and the core leader of the people but, it is distinct from them. While the ideals and goals of the Party need to be compatible with those of the people (and viceversa), an absolute identity between the goals and the Party and the goals of the people is not a prerequisite for the realization of communism. The Statute creates various spaces of autonomy, and it would be interesting to know how many people have noticed the existence of such spaces...Flora Sapiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13250645073192153144noreply@blogger.com