Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese Style Modernization [中共中央关于进一步全面深化改革 推进中国式现代化的决定]

Pix Credit here (March Towards the Four Modernizations of a Powerful Socialist Nation)

I recently posted about the Communiqué that was distributed on behalf of the Chinese Communist arty Central Committee to mark the end of its 20th CPC Congress 3rd Plenum Session (中国共产党第二十届中央委员会第三次全体会议公报 [Communiqué of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China] ("Each plenary session is concluded with an appropriate communique in which the vanguard emphasizes and details what it views as important for consumption by the masses--and foreigners. This plenary session was no different.")). 

The 3rd Plenum tends to apply the lens of economic and social policy to the key areas identified in the preceding Congress. This one was no different. It's emphasis on the further, and to some extent extensive, elaboration of Socialist modernization, was noteworthy--a topic that occupied much of the space devoted to the text of the Communique.   Socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics (eg 中国式现代化), in its current forms, remains a key driver of Chinese economic/political policy since the end of the Cultural Revolution. At the same time, like applied Chinese Marxist Leninism, the policy and objectives based expression of that principle has undergone sometimes significant changes as China has moved from one era of historical development to another, The evolution has been especially pronounced  as China leaves the Era of Reform and Opening Up and fully enters the current "New Era." The foundational conception of Socialist modernization would have had to change in that transition in any case--that was a necessary consequence of perhaps one of the more profound movements in evolutionary Chinese Leninism--the shift in the identification of the general contradiction (see, here) from the development of productive forces to "the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life." 

In theory, at least, the principal effect of the shift was to produce a change in the meaning of "development of productive forces" beyond  material productivity to its social, cultural, and political elements.In practice that has produced a variety of efforts to develop policy through which it might be possible to change the context and measurement of development (by broadening the factors ot be considered) and to situate development much more deeply within the coordinated efforts to manage social, cultural, economic, and political movement toward longer term goals. At the same time, the term was more tightly connected to the production of ideology and the systems through which contemporary ideology could be expressed. That, in turn, permitted a broadening of the meaning of the objects around which production could be understood, utilized, and their value added or contribution to overcoming the principal contradiction could be measured. 

Every thing and every one could be considered a State Asset (in the sense of contributing to productivity, and by so contributing affecting the character and forward movement that was meant to be a properly conceptualized and managed socialist modernization). Chinese policy, then, could become as concerned about the full development of the ideal worker, cadre, family, social and cultural apparatus as it had been concerned, in the earlier era of historical development with the factors and objects of economic development more detached from its social, cultural, and political resonances. Moreover, socialist modernization--and especially is high quality development can apply as well to the modernization of the mass line through whole process people's democracy, and with it the Socialist law system and  the "correct view of human rights (坚持正确人权观，加强人权执法司法保障 [Adhere to the correct view of human rights, strengthen the law enforcement and judicial protection of human rights]). More importantly, the structural elements of reformed socialist modernization must necessarily follow trade and development outward, with China as the exemplar and the hub of a new system of foreign trade that enhances socialist modernization at home and aligns  partner systems abroad. None of this necessarily means an abandonment of the traditional approaches to the development of productive forces--the efforts to develop, for example, the dual circulation economy as well as the now equally significant principle/policy of high quality development (“新质生产力”,with its focus on innovation and socially significant approaches) clearly suggests that the move toward economic-political-social-cultural integration was not necessarily a faithful regression back to the union of politics and economics of the old class struggle days.

All of this, though, had to be rationalized in a forward facing way. At the time of the distribution of the 3rd Plenum Communique I suggested what appeared to be the framework of the rationalizing way forward:

And indeed, the principle of socialist modernization remains central the evolution of principles of Chinese Marxist-Leninism in and for the New Era of Chinese historical development and a key element of the way in which policy is shaped to meet the current principal contradiction around which applied principles are built and against which they are measured. The Communique builds a comprehensive system around socialist modernization in interesting ways. It is presented as a comprehensive organizing principle and strategy for organizing and rationalizing policy around a core animating principle. Its added value is in its "connective tissue"--socialist modernization connects the Xi and Deng leadership periods traveling significantly from its articulation during the Era of Reform and Opening Up; in this way it provides an important example of the dynamic element in Chinese Marxist Leninism, one that can flow with the times. Much now fits within the modernization umbrella. (中国共产党第二十届中央委员会第三次全体会议公报 [Communiqué of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China]).

And, indeed, on 21 July 2024, the authorities authorized the release of what appears to be a substantive rationalization along those lines:  Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese Style Modernization [中共中央关于进一步全面深化改革　推进中国式现代化的决定]. The document elaborates the key elements identified in the 3rd Plenum Communique. It will likely be the "text" to be used by members of the Central Party School in the  study sessions to be organized for the benefit of key officials and high level CPC members (small sessions) and larger sessions for  cadres, administrators, key elements of society.

The full text follows below in the original Chinese and in a crude English translations.

What makes it especially interesting, beyond its affirmation, development, and reconstitution of socialist modernization for the New Era looking forward to the 21st CPC Congress, is the way in which key concepts can each be merged with and into almost the entirety of the ruling ideology in its then current forms.  Or put differently, this provides an excellent example of the self-referencing foundations of ideological construction in which each element adds a layer but each layer contains within it the entirety of the system, each providing a perspectives based window on the entirety of the project. This is not dialectics--though it moves through processes of iterative dialectics embedded in the CPC Congress system. Rather it reflects a 

Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese Style Modernization [中共中央关于进一步全面深化改革　推进中国式现代化的决定] is divided into 15 sections:

I. The Significance and Overall Requirements of Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Modernization with Chinese Characteristics

 II. Build a high-level socialist market economic system

 III. Improve the system and mechanism for promoting high-quality economic development

IV. Build a system and mechanism to support comprehensive innovation

 V. Improve the macroeconomic governance system

 VI. Improve the system and mechanism for integrated urban-rural development

 VII. Improve the system and mechanism of high-level opening up

 VIII. Improve the system of whole process people's democracy

 IX. Improve the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics

 X. Deepen the reform of cultural systems and mechanisms

 XII. Deepen the reform of the ecological civilization system

 XIII. Promote the modernization of the national security system and capabilities

 XIV. Continue to deepen defense and military reforms

XV. Improve the Party's leadership in further deepening reform and promoting Chinese-style modernization

What becomes unavoidable, and some might be tempted to argue, inevitable, alignment of politics, societal, cultural and economic vectors within the umbrella of the apex objective of a Leninist State committed to Marxist ideals--the engagement of all factors of societal production toward the task of establishing a communist society. The cocktail of measures and the articulation of ruling frameworks, perspectives, and focus are a function of the nature of the contradictions that must be overcome at each stage of the historical development of a society, led by a vanguard and deeply committed to the "big bang" of their lifeworld (lebenswelt)--the conviction that the establishment of a communist society along Marxist lines is both natural and inevitable.  

The official English language translation,  Full text: Resolution of CPC Central Committee on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization may be accessed HERE. My cruder translation follows below along with the original text. It is sometimes useful to compare the refinements of official text with the over or undertones of meanings a cruder translation sometimes might reveal. A side by side bilingual version, prepared by the folks at NCP Observer may be accessed HERE.

Make America Great Again! and the Treasure Hunt for the "Forgotten Man"--Full Text of Mr. Trump's Nomination Speech, the Republican Party Platform, and a Very Brief Reflection

 

Pix Credit here

 

So tonight, whether you’ve supported me in the past or not, I hope you will support me in the future, because I will bring back the American dream. That’s what we’re going to do. You don’t even hear about the American dream anymore. With great humility, I am asking you to be excited about the future of our country. Be excited. Be excited. (Donald Trump Nomination Speech (19 July 2024))

. . . & to all those weak and pathetic RHINOS, radical left Democrats, Socialists, Marxists, and and Communists who are killing our Nation, remember, we will be back! (Donald Trump, Easter Greetings 2023 Tweet Message (9 April 2023). 

Mr. Trump accepted, for the second time, the nomination of the Republican Party to stand as its candidate for President of the United States.  The nomination, perhaps even more than in its first iteration in 2016, divides people. What makes the division particularly curious is that the division appears to coalesce around the extremes of the spectrum of like/supp port--dislike/oppose.  That, at any rate, is the sense that one gets from the discourse that has emerged around Mr. Trump's candidacy as well as the first term of his Presidency. Particularly interesting is both the efforts undertaken to discredit and de-legitimate Mr. Trump and his fitness for office, an effort that united a large group of people and collectives who might have been forgiven for assuming that Mr Trump threatened their dominion as well as that of the normative and structural order over which they assumed some sort of stewardship (for a taste here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). And, indeed, and in an oddly ironic way, the Fox News tarot card casting for Mr. Trump, Mr. Biden, and the US has been a better predictor of where the nation (and the candidates) find themselves than anything much higher priced analysis (Classical Predictive Analytics: The Semiotics of a Tarot Reading for Mr Trump; Mr. Biden; and the U.S. in 2024).

And so, the American people now are offered a second chance to elect Mr. Trump to the Presidency. That, in turn, may depend on his opponent.  Until recently that would have been the sitting President, Mr. Biden--but it appears that the strategic and political situation among members of the Democratic party and their supporters are still in a dynamic state (eg here).  And Mr. Trump is now well aware that there are people, States, and others, who are ready to seek his assassination. Such is the State of a world in which the Presidency of the United States still projects strongly outward of the borders of the nation. 

And here the Americans now find themselves. 

 But nations, like individuals, become wise only through experience, and only through experience of their own. Now, to be sure, it is easy to see that the German people would be in a quite different position today if they had shaken off the yoke of princely rule in that fateful year 1848, if Weimar had triumphed over Potsdam and not Potsdam over Weimar. But every person must take his life and every nation must take its history as it comes; nothing is more useless than complaining over errors that can no longer be rectified, nothing more vain than regret. (Ludwig von Mises, Nation, State & Economy (1919; 1983), p 27). (From America's Two Democracies in an Age of Transformation--The Semiotics of the Emerging 5th American Republic

On the cusp of an election cycle that continues to surprise, little can be assumed and there is little value to "complaining over errors that can no longer be rectified." That applies with equal measure to the great and mighty (and their scribes and retainers) in both parties.  In this context, Mr. Trump's acceptance of nomination remarks may provide clues about what may be coming should Mr. Trump succeed in his quest for a second term in office. It is thus particularly useful to consider those remarks. They follow below and may be accessed in their original form HERE. 

Underlying the remarks--in which Mr. Trump situates himself, his journey and encounters, and his assessment of the current state of affairs--is a vision that drives much of the discourse and will likely drive policy decisions going forward under a possible second term. Mr. Trump seeks to recapture a vision of the American dream--a concept powerful enough to resonate in other States (eg the China Dream). That vision is quite specific:

Pix Credit NYT 2015

Under our leadership, the United States will be respected again. No nation will question our power. No enemy will doubt our might. Our borders will be totally secure. Our economy will soar. We will return law and order to our streets, patriotism to our schools, and importantly, we will restore peace, stability and harmony all throughout the world. But to achieve this future, we must first rescue our nation from failed and even incompetent leadership. We have totally incompetent leadership. This will be the most important election in the history of our country. Under the current administration, we are indeed a nation in decline. (Donald Trump Nomination Speech (19 July 2024)).

Mr. Trump declares an intention to implement the Republican Party Platform (which also follows below).

This week, the entire Republican Party has formally adopted an agenda for America’s renewal. And you saw that agenda, and it’s very short compared to the long, boring, meaningless agendas of the past. Including the Democrats. They write these things that are hundreds of pages long and they never read them after they’re done. In their case, fortunately they don’t read them because they’re pretty bad. It’s a series of bold promises that we will swiftly implement when you give us a Republican House. And Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. We have our great speaker of the House with us tonight. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. Thank you.

That Platform has been reduced to a 20 point plan, the contours and fulfillment of which contain within it a substantial scope and flexibility. 

1. 
   SEAL THE BORDER, AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION
2. CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY
3. END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN
4. MAKE AMERICA THE DOMINANT ENERGY PRODUCER IN THE WORLD, BY FAR!
5. STOP OUTSOURCING, AND TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO A MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER
6. LARGE TAX CUTS FOR WORKERS, AND NO TAX ON TIPS!
7. DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION, OUR BILL OF RIGHTS, AND OUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, INCLUDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
8. PREVENT WORLD WAR THREE, RESTORE PEACE IN EUROPE AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND BUILD A GREAT IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD OVER OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY -- ALL MADE IN AMERICA
9. END THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
10. STOP THE MIGRANT CRIME EPIDEMIC, DEMOLISH THE FOREIGN DRUG CARTELS, CRUSH GANG VIOLENCE, AND LOCK UP VIOLENT OFFENDERS
11. REBUILD OUR CITIES, INCLUDING WASHINGTON DC, MAKING THEM SAFE, CLEAN, AND BEAUTIFUL AGAIN.
12. STRENGTHEN AND MODERNIZE OUR MILITARY, MAKING IT, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE STRONGEST AND MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD
13. KEEP THE U.S. DOLLAR AS THE WORLD'S RESERVE CURRENCY
14. FIGHT FOR AND PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WITH NO CUTS, INCLUDING NO CHANGES TO THE RETIREMENT AGE
15. CANCEL THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE AND CUT COSTLY AND BURDENSOME REGULATIONS
16. CUT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ANY SCHOOL PUSHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND OTHER INAPPROPRIATE RACIAL, SEXUAL, OR POLITICAL CONTENT ON OUR CHILDREN
17. KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN'S SPORTS
18. DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN
19. SECURE OUR ELECTIONS, INCLUDING SAME DAY VOTING, VOTER IDENTIFICATION, PAPER BALLOTS, AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP
20. UNITE OUR COUNTRY BY BRINGING IT TO NEW AND RECORD LEVELS OF SUCCESS
    
    

Pix credit here (Maynard Dixon 1934)

Much of it is not new, some of it is theatrical, but much of it is meant to appeal, both to Mr. Trump and to what the Republican Party believes to be a sizeable receptive electorate. All of this will be mirrored by the speeches and platform of the Democratic party, when that is revealed.  

But all of it is directed to the "forgotten Man"--which, indeed, serves as the sub-title of the Republican Platform endorsed by Mr. Trump. This is part of the anthem ululated by Mr. Trump in what might well be understood as a high point of his remarks: 

To all of the forgotten men and women who have been neglected, abandoned and left behind, you will be forgotten no longer. We will press forward, and together, we will win, win, win. Win, win, win, win, win, win. Nothing will sway us. Nothing will slow us. And no one will ever stop us. (Donald Trump Nomination Speech (19 July 2024)).

One speaks here of the "forgotten men and women" in two quite different keys.  Both speak to the common people; one as the result of crisis, and the other as a product of privilege; one calls to arms, the other mocks. The first was famously given by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 of the Democratic Party. His object, as appears to be Mr. Trump's was both a call to arms and a criticism of the failures of the opposing political party (in the 1930s the Republican Party). In that context President Roosevelt spoke to the forgotten man in these terms:

In my calm judgment, the Nation faces today a more grave emergency than in 1917.

It is said that Napoleon lost the battle of Waterloo because he forgot his infantry — he staked too much upon the more spectacular but less substantial cavalry. The present administration in Washington provides a close parallel. It has either forgotten or it does not want to remember the infantry of our economic army.

These unhappy times call for the building of plans that rest upon the forgotten, the unorganized but the indispensable units of economic power for plans like those of 1917 that build from the bottom up and not from the top down, that put their faith once more in the forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid. (Franklin D. Roosevelt, Radio Address From Albany, New York: "The 'Forgotten Man' Speech" (7 April 1932).

And the second speaks in the "key" of satire, in the form of a 1930's "screwball comedy" in which a rich but clueless family "adopts" a "hobo" who it turns out is the child of a distinguished Boston family down on his luck. The movie, "My Man Godfrey," starts out with a great treasure hunt in which one of the objects to be retrieved is a "forgotten man,"in that case people ruined by social and economic circumstances of 1930s U.S.

Both films poke fun at rich Americans who have plenty of dollars, but no sense. Godfrey is more direct in its satire, and like Sullivan’s Travels (1941), its message for social equality (in the midst of economic inequality) is front and center.

William Powell is perfectly cast as Godfrey the butler, who knows more about money and manners than his employers (echoing Charles Laughton’s role in Ruggles of Red Gap). Carole Lombard plays Irene, a spoiled heiress who is bored with her frivolous life — though she doesn’t know it yet. Here’s an example of the interplay between Powell and Lombard:

Pix credit here

Godfrey: Do you mind telling me just what a scavenger hunt is?
Irene: Well, a scavenger hunt is exactly like a treasure hunt, except in a treasure hunt you try to find something you want, and in a scavenger hunt you try to find something that nobody wants.
Godfrey: Hmm, like a forgotten man?
Irene: That’s right, and the one who wins gets a prize, only there really isn’t a prize. It’s just the honor of winning, because all the money goes to charity, that is, if there is any money left over, but there never is.
Godfrey: Well, that clears the whole matter up beautifully. (Classic Film Review, the 'Forgotten Man').

None of this is either good or bad; nor is it praise or critique.  Those judgments ought to be left to the electorate. On the other hand cultural connect-the-dots may sometimes be useful in better understanding sub-text and the impulse of events. 

The 2024 Election, then, appears to be the great treasure hunt (again no judgment) conceived as an entertainment for the partygoers, organized for this purpose into our two great political, Democratic and Republican, communities. Their object--to find and retrieve an exemplar of the "forgotten man."  As President Roosevelt reminded his audience almost a century ago, the stakes remain high, though of a different quality than in the 1930s (by how much remains to be debated).  It will be interesting to see what happens when either or both parties find and retrieve them; and if they do, which of the two types they will find or seek.

 

Pix credit: My Man Godfrey (1936), the Treasure Hunt Scene

 

中国共产党第二十届中央委员会第三次全体会议公报 [Communiqué of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China]

 

Pix credit here

 

The Communist Party of China has just concluded the 3rd plenary session of the 20th Central Committee. Each of the plenary sessions in the normal cycle between the Communist Party Congress advances, or at least crystalizes  movements in vanguard policy, their application, and, with it, changes in personnel in important positions that sometimes signal nothing and sometimes underscore the conceptual changes and advances undertaken.  The third plenum usually applies the lens of economic and social policy to the key areas identified in the preceding Congress (eg here here, and here).

Each plenary session is concluded with an appropriate communique in which the vanguard emphasizes and details what it views as important for consumption by the masses--and foreigners. This plenary session was no different. The Vanguard has just caused to be distributed its 中国共产党第二十届中央委员会第三次全体会议公报 [Communiqué of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China]. It is available both in the original Chinese and in an official English translation (to underscore the importance of the matters contained within it to a broader audience.

One paragraph stood out:

Pix credit here

It was stated that high-quality development is our primary task in building China into a modern socialist country in all respects. It is essential that we use the new development philosophy to steer reform and ground our efforts in the new stage of development. We must deepen supply-side structural reform, improve incentive and constraint mechanisms for promoting high-quality development, and strive to create new growth drivers and strengths. We will improve the institutions and mechanisms for fostering new quality productive forces in line with local conditions, for promoting full integration between the real economy and the digital economy, for developing the service sector, for modernizing infrastructure, and for enhancing the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains.

全会提出，高质量发展是全面建设社会主义现代化国家的首要任务。必须以新发展理念引领改革，立足新发展阶段，深化供给侧结构性改革，完善推动高质量发展激励约束机制，塑造发展新动能新优势。要健全因地制宜发展新质生产力体制机制，健全促进实体经济和数字经济深度融合制度，完善发展服务业体制机制，健全现代化基础设施建设体制机制，健全提升产业链供应链韧性和安全水平制度。

The focus on high quality development, well elaborated before the Plenum (see my take here and here, and here) did not go unnoticed by foreigners (eg China’s Third Plenum Embraces a ‘New Development Philosophy; China Communist Party policy meeting endorses leader Xi's high-tech vision for economy). The New York Times was a bit more, analytical (China’s Leaders Offer High Hopes, but Few Details for Road to Recovery). It remains one of the two core principles that distinguish socialist modernization in the Era of Reform and Opening Up from New Era Socialist Modernization.  I useful analysis from the inside:围绕中国式现代化全面深化改革——二十届三中全会公报学习体会 [Comprehensively Deepen Reforms around Chinese-style Modernization——Study Experience of the Communiqué of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee] (with longitudinal analysis of word use frequency; with thanks to Chris Mittelstaedt for the reference).

And indeed, the principle of socialist modernization remains central the evolution of principles of Chinese Marxist-Leninism in and for the New Era of Chinese historical development and a key element of the way in which policy is shaped to meet the current principal contradiction around which applied principles are built and against which they are measured. The Communique builds a comprehensive system around socialist modernization in interesting ways. It is presented as a comprehensive organizing principle and strategy for organizing and rationalizing policy around a core animating principle. Its added value is in its "connective tissue"--socialist modernization connects the Xi and Deng leadership periods traveling significantly from its articulation during the Era of Reform and Opening Up; in this way it provides an important example of the dynamic element in Chinese Marxist Leninism, one that can flow with the times. Much now fits within the modernization umbrella. The comprehensiveness of this lens came across in the body of the text. Consider the arc of the document.

It was stated that the present and the near future constitute a critical period for our endeavor to build a great country and move toward national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization.

We will work to better adapt the relations of production to the productive forces, the superstructure to the economic base, and national governance to social development, so as to provide strong impetus and institutional support for Chinese modernization.

By 2035, we will have finished building a high-standard socialist market economy in all respects, further improved the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, generally modernized our system and capacity for governance, and basically realized socialist modernization.

It was stated that a high-standard socialist market economy will provide an important guarantee for Chinese modernization.

It was stated that education, science and technology, and talent function as a basic and strategic underpinning for Chinese modernization.

It was stated that sound macro regulation, along with effective governance by the government, is essential for ensuring that we can fully harness the institutional strengths of our socialist market economy.

It was stated that integrated urban and rural development is essential to Chinese modernization.

It was stated that opening up is a defining feature of Chinese modernization. We must remain committed to the basic state policy of opening to the outside world and continue to promote reform through opening up.

It was stated that developing whole-process people's democracy is integral to Chinese modernization.

It was stated that the rule of law provides an important guarantee for Chinese modernization.

It was stated that Chinese modernization is the modernization of material and cultural-ethical advancement. We must boost our cultural confidence and work to develop advanced socialist culture, promote revolutionary culture, and carry forward fine traditional Chinese culture.

It was stated that ensuring and enhancing the people's wellbeing in the course of development is one of the major tasks of Chinese modernization.

It was stated that Chinese modernization is the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature.

It was stated that national security provides a pivotal foundation for ensuring steady and continued progress in Chinese modernization.

It was stated that modernizing national defense and the armed forces is an integral part of Chinese modernization.

It was stressed that the Party's leadership is the fundamental guarantee for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization.

It was stressed that Chinese modernization is the modernization of peaceful development. In foreign relations, China remains firmly committed to pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace and is dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future.

The entire Party from the leadership down must work as one to ensure that the Resolution is implemented and the strategic plans for further deepening reform comprehensively are translated into strong impetus for advancing Chinese modernization.

It was stressed that on the basis of studying, communicating, and implementing the guiding principles from the session, we must arm all Party members with the Party's new theories to enhance their understanding of Marxism and their capacity for advancing the modernization drive.

Yet effectively, the 3rd Plenum adhered to the principle that evolution of New Era theory and its application is the primary stance of the Party and its State apparatus; there will be no radical departure. This was reflected in some reporting: egChina’s third plenum: Xi Jinping tells party to show ‘unwavering faith’ in reform plan (SCMP).

The Chinese and official English translations of the Communiqué follow below.

Call for Papers: Grey Zone Conflict in Africa: The 21st Century's Battlefield of Global Power Competition

 

Pix Credit: T. Dobbs et al., Grey Zone

 I am delighted to pass along this Call For Papers: Grey Zone Conflict in Africa: The 21st Century's Battlefield of Global Power Competition. Thus important project is organized by It is organized by Capt (SAN) Dr Dries Putter [putter AT sun.ac.za] and Prof Sascha Dov-Bachmann [Sascha.Bachmann AT canberra.edu.au]. They have provided a brief description of the project:

Africa as a current battleground for foreign influence by the global powers, with its diverse geopolitical landscape and complex security dynamics, presents a fertile ground for exploring grey zone conflicts. This call for papers seeks to compile scholarly contributions that deepen our understanding of grey zone conflicts in Africa. By examining case studies, theoretical frameworks, historical analyses, and empirical studies, this collection aims to shed light on the nature, dynamics, and implications of these conflicts within the African context.

The CfP may be accessed HERE. It includes a longer Concept Note.

 

The Sleeper Awakens: Text of Senator JD Vance's Remarks Delivered at the Munich Security Conference 18 February 2024 and Some Reflections

 

Pix credit here

 

It seems that the great awakening of the 21st century, unlike that of the American 18th century, appears to center on an apotheosis tied somehow to the state of being "woke." Of course, people in the 21st century appear to have been awakened in sometimes startling different ways.  Of course, every awakening is not merely inward, the achievement of a personal state of some sort of grace or enlightenment (depending on one's orientation culturally); it also compels spreading the "good news"--the gospel --to those who must awaken. When a speaker awakens, that speaker must speak: each must embrace as well--or so it appears to be in a set of constantly repeating cultural iterations since the revolution in Palestinian Judaism of the 1st Century of the Common Era--the role of evangel to spread the good news and awaken others.

Pix credit here

Mr. Vance also appears to have been embracing the role of evangelist for gōdspel (from the Old English gōd ‘good’ + spel ‘news). And what better place to awaken other sleepers to the good news of the coming re- or trans-valuation of all values (Umwertung aller Werte) than at the Munich Security Conference. There, on 18 February 2024 "Senator JD Vance (R-OH) delivered a “wake up call” to Europe." (Press Release and Transcript of Remarks). In it here awake to the successes, during his first term, of President's Trump Russia policy, and what it might mean both for the European security apparatus and the priorities of the United States.  

In the process he also provided an insight into the premises that shape those views and that judgment. These, in turn, are grounded in some sort of Manichaen dualist view of the world as composed of an infinite number of binaries that when aligned add up to zero. In particular, the view that productive capacity cannot grow but is merely shifted around to reflect priorities, is worth some considerable consideration. But more than that, the remarks suggest the semiotics of context--that is the way that values and premises about the world shape the possibilities and assessment of the possibilities within that self-referencing meaning-cube. As such, the premises, principles, and outlooks--the core assumptions that drive Mr. Vance's analysis, are not merely conceptually Manichaean but also in their application quite traditionally imperial in that way that this term itself has changed meaning and force (see essays here).

The application appears to have significant consequences for the ordering of US relations--especially with America's European friends and enemies.  Mr. Vance explains: 

“Now, on the question of European security, I think there’s a fundamental issue here that Europe really has to wake up to. And I offer this in the spirit of friendship, not in the spirit of criticism, because, no, I don’t think that we should pull out of NATO, and no, I don’t think that we should abandon Europe. But yes, I think that we should pivot. The United States has to focus more on East Asia. That is going to be the future of American foreign policy for the next 40 years, and Europe has to wake up to that fact."(Press Release and Transcript of Remarks).

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In that context, Mr. Vance suggests, “we need our European allies to step up in Europe."  (Ibid.). Fair enough--American leaders since Mr. Kennedy in the early 1960s have complained, sometimes bitterly about European free riding--with the added bonus of having to listen to European moralizing. On the other hand, that is precisely the cultural baseline for imperial behaviors among an overlord and their barons.  And it is perfectly fair to change the equation as conditions on the ground change. The question that ought to be asked, and the answers debated, touches on the end point of these revisions. Surely not an abandonment.  But with additional financial and other obligations may come a greater say in the shape and direction of the alliances that weave the Americans and Europeans together--even as the Americans embark with greater ferocity on their East Asian projects. The justification in terms of limited industrial capacity, though, makes little sense, especially given the history of the nation one state of which he represents.  Yet it is also true that, like foundations and other donors, the US cannot be expected to  have its generosity go unrewarded--one way or another.  And those are precisely the sensitive topics that have been avoided and that must be addressed.  Nonetheless, Mr. Vance's focus on scarcity is troubling--he appears to view scarcity as a barrier--it might be more useful for a n aspiring national leader to view it as a challenge. That, in turn, requires traveling further along the roadway to awakening on which Mr. Vance appears to be journeying.  

That journeying, in turn, may refine the nature and focus of the state of "woke" regarding Ukraine. Mr. Vance also purports to suggest that, with respect to Ukraine, he supposes (a supposition that might mask his own woken view) of the absence of an endpoint. Of course that, in turn, imposes a rejection of the endpoint that has been quite clear from the Ukrainian side--to recover all territory occupied by the Russian Federation and recover its damages (along with prosecution of criminal elements).  People might read into this some sort of willingness to negotiate away from the Ukrainian endpoint to something more agreeable to Ukraine's American benefactors.  And, indeed, Mr. Vance explains:

 “And my argument is, look, I think what’s reasonable to accomplish is some negotiated peace. I think Russia has incentive to come to the table right now. I think Ukraine, Europe, and the United States have incentive to come to the table. That is going to happen. This will end in a negotiated peace. The question is when it ends in a negotiated peace and what that looks like. (Press Release and Transcript of Remarks).

The problem is, that as it stands, Ukrainians might be forgiven for thinking they will not get much from the bargain. Security guarantees might have less value the paper it might, in another age, have been printed on. Certainly, neither the Americans nor the Europeans have put their money where their mouths are--NATO and EU membership--just the endless frustrating babbling among techno bureaucrats that might raise the fear among Ukrainians that they are to be treated to a variation of the EU dance around Turkish membership. And endless chatter about corruption from places that have themselves not quite overcome their own variations on that theme in the public and private sectors. If Mr. Vance is correct, and if this will become US policy, then it is likely that the terms of the deal, for the Ukrainians at least, will have to be considerably sweetened--and not just with the usual promises from the imperial center or its subalterns in Europe. On that, at least, there would be much work to be done beyond the discursive stances that have sufficed to date. Failure here would, within the conceptual universe of Mr Vance, considerably augment the challenges of scarcity about which his fretting has produced policy.That also is fair enough.

 Ordinarily that might not have made much of a difference to any but Mr. Vance. However, Mr. Vance now assumes the role of candidate for the Vice Presidency of the United States on the Republican ticket headed by Mr. Trump.

JD Vance introduced himself to a national audience Wednesday after being chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate, sharing the story of his hardscrabble upbringing and making the case that his party best understands the challenges facing struggling Americans.

Speaking to a packed arena at the Republican National Convention, the Ohio senator cast himself as fighter for a forgotten working class, making a direct appeal to the Rust Belt voters who helped drive Trump’s surprise 2016 victory and voicing their anger and frustration. (here)

 And because those remarks may serve to influence what might be the second term of Mr. Trump, should he be successful in his bid for office, it might make sense to revisit them and consider them more carefully for what they reveal.  And the importance of revelation is not so much in the application of policy but in the fundamental principles and world views that shape them. Mr. Vance, it seems, is a product of a process of awakening--the trajectories of his life (as he describes them in his book Hillbilly Elegy) suggest that the process of awakening is dynamic. For the moment though this appears to be the context of his current woken state. For Europeans, especially, there is much to consider.  And for Europeans (and especially Ukrainians), it may be necessary to meet this school of evangelism with their own.  Mr. Vance, we are told, is fond of Augustine of Hippo (his chosen patron saint); it may be necessary to remind him of the evangelical power of Paul. And that, eventually may require a council (like Nicaea) in which our woken magisterium might better align their expression of the good news that all, together, represent. 

The Remarks follow below.  They may be accessed in the original from Senator Vance's website here.  

知識無價 免費獲取 (Knowledge is Priceless and Available for Free): Open Books Hong Kong--Project to Release Chinese Academic Work Free and Open Access

 

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 I am delighted to pass along information about the joint effort of three Hong Kong Universities to begin to offer their published work free and open access through Open Books HK. The first batch of 9 books has just been made available.  The next batch is expected by the end of 2024. The website announcement explains the project:

知識無價  免費獲取

本先導計劃由香港中文大學、香港城市大學和香港大學三家高等教育院校的圖書館與出版社聯合發起，是香港首個開放取用（open access）圖書計劃。

本計劃將陸續推出三家大學出版社出版的中文學術著作，免費開放予公眾閱覽、下載、取用和傳播。 本計劃收入之圖書均經過匿名學術評審，並採用創用CC授權條款CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0。「知識無價，免費獲取。」我們希望透過此計劃，與世界分享香港出版的學術研究成果，推動學界積極參與全球知識開放運動，讓公眾受益。

 

 Knowledge is priceless and available for free

This pilot project is jointly launched by the libraries and publishing houses of three higher education institutions: the Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong. It is the first open access book project in Hong Kong.

This project will gradually release Chinese academic works published by three university presses, which will be free and open to the public for reading, downloading, access and dissemination. The books included in this project have undergone anonymous academic review and are licensed under the Creative Commons license CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. "Knowledge is priceless and available for free." Through this program, we hope to share the academic research results published in Hong Kong with the world, promote the academic community to actively participate in the global knowledge openness movement, and benefit the public.

More information follows below for those interested along with links to the initial release of nine books and FAQs (常見問題; in English and Chinese).

 

 

Chinese Journal of International Relations Special Issue: "Dialogue With the Chinese School of International Relations Theory" (Peng Lu, Xiao Ren, Toni Erskine, and Stefano Guzzini (eds))

 

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 I am delighted to pass along notice of the publication of a very interesting set of essays on an emerging school of Chinese International Relations.  It is edited by 

Our “Dialogue with the Chinese School of IR theory” is published by Chinese Journal of International Relations (CJIP). Papers from leading Chinese IR theorists (Qin Yaqing, Yan Xuetong, Shih Chi-yu and Ren Xiao) and Western theorists (Peter Katzenstein, Barry Buzan, Toni Erskine, Stefano Guzzini, Justin Rosenberg, Beate Jahn) are free for download. You may find these papers in CJIP Reader 2024 https://academic.oup.com/cjip/pages/dialogue-with-chinese-school-ir-theory

Links to the articles along with their abstracts follow below. 

Verfassungsblog: Pui-yin Lo, "The'“Hong Kong 47' Verdict: An Explainer"

 

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 Verfssungsblog recently published a most useful "explainer" on the 'Hong Kong 47 'verdicts. The Explainer was authored by my friend and colleague Dr. Pui-yin Lo, a barrister in private practice in Hong Kong and a part-time lecturer of the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong. He explains his objectives in the opening paragraph to the essay:

Recently, the first court verdicts in the trial surrounding the “Hong Kong 47” were handed down. The trial is one of several political trials that are underway in Hong Kong (HK), a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). These trials are political partly because the accused are political figures involved in the 2019 civil unrest, partly because the accused are being tried under the National Security Law (NSL) introduced into HK by the PRC Central Authorities, and partly because they have been didactic spectacles revealing the actions and consequences sought by the accused. This blog post explains the background of the “Hong Kong 47” case and shows why it raises questions that are of interest outside of Hong Kong as well. 

The issues around this trial and the trajectories of the development of the application of the NSL for HK-SAR and its interpretation by HK-SAR Courts is fascinating. Statements by the European External Action Service may be accessed HERE; the statement by the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China may be accessed HERE.

The essay may be accessed in the original Verfassungsblog HERE, and follows below.

"Remarks by President Biden in Address to the Nation" 14 July 2024

 

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 I post the text of the Remarks delivered by President Biden in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Trump in Pennsylvania.  Comments are unnecessary. The text of the remarks follows. They may be accessed from the White House website here.  

CfP: Firms and Moral Repair Workshop - Nov 18th-19th IESE Business School, Barcelona

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I am delighted to pass along a CfP for an intriguing event. Jordi Vives Gabriel (Senior Research Fellow IESE Business School, Barcelona) and Wim Van Lent (IESEG, France) are organizing a scholarly workshop titled “Firms and Moral Repair: Shaping a Research Agenda.”

They write:

It is a widely shared view within our BHR debate that the concept of remedy is one of the least researched areas in our domain. This is also true for broader scholarly discussions in business ethics and social issues in management. The goal of the event is thus to expand this conversation by collectively brainstorming and exploring a potential research agenda around the notion of “moral repair,” broadly understood. Incipient or early development stage research projects are welcome.

Here are the details:Where: IESE Business School, Barcelona
When: November 18th-19th, 2024
How: Submit an extended abstract by September 30th, 2024
Further info and link to the call: https://apply.iese.edu/firms_and_moral_repair/

The Call for Papers with a substantial concept note and bibliography follows below: