The most valuable and influential spiritual wealth left by Marx is the scientific theory named after him — — Marxism. Marxism has profoundly changed not only the world, but also China. Since the emergence of Marxism, China, which has suffered from foreign aggression and disasters in modern times, has achieved a great historical leap from the sick man of East Asia to the rich, and has ushered in a new great leap from being rich to being strong. The great success of Marxism in China has not only eloquently proved the great truth power and vitality of Marxism, but also greatly enhanced its influence in the world. At the same time, it has made great progress in Marxism, constantly opening up new realms and creating new forms. Facts have proved that Marxism and China in modern times are a community of destiny that shares weal and woe. Adhering to and developing Marxism is a red line to maintain this community of destiny, and it is our true inheritance of Marx’s most precious spiritual wealth. Today, we must learn and understand Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought of the Supreme Leader in the new era from this theoretical standpoint.
First, grasping the problems of the times, expounding the spirit of the times and leading the trend of the times are not only the reasons why Marxism has always had strong truth power and vitality, but also the basic history and theoretical logic of upholding and developing Marxism.
Time is the mother of thought and practice is the source of theory. The understanding and evaluation of any thought depends on its grasp of the era and its characteristics, while the scientific grasp of the times, the trend of the times and the spirit of the times is the characteristic of Marx and his successors in the same strain in thought. Merlin, a famous Marxist theorist, once profoundly pointed out that the emergence of Marx’s great thoughts could not be imagined by even the most talented minds in the past, and its secrets could only be exposed at a certain point in human history. (Merlin: Defending Marxism, People’s Publishing House, 1982, p. 3) Therefore, to know Marx, we must know the era when he came into being; To evaluate Marx, we must focus on Marx’s grasp of the times; To inherit Marx’s spiritual wealth, we must adhere to and develop Marx’s standpoint, viewpoint and method of scientifically grasping the times.
The remarkable characteristics of the formation period of Marxism are the alternation of two revolutions and the intersection of two ideological trends. Specifically, it was still in the period of bourgeois democratic revolution, but the modern proletarian revolution has entered the stage of world history and shown an increasingly strong development momentum. Accordingly, the classical ideological trend, which represents the ideological achievements of the emerging bourgeoisie, is in full swing, dominating people’s way of thinking and historical vision, while the utopian socialist ideological trend, which represents the immature state of the early working class, has also emerged, opening up people’s ideological space and exploring paths. With the great changes of the times, historical scenes are rapidly switched, social contradictions are complicated, difficulties and challenges emerge one after another, and the prospects for the way out are foggy. All the puzzles focus on two paradoxes arising from the development of capitalism: one is the coexistence of huge growth of material wealth and unprecedented aggravation of poverty, and the other is the coexistence of rich and diverse material wealth and one-sided development of human beings. Although various schools of thought have contributed their own thoughts, only Marx has solved the paradox of this era.
The key to grasp the times is to solve the "question of the times". Although people have different degrees of perception of the challenges of the times, it is difficult to ask questions correctly. The urgent problem of an era has the same fate as any problem that is well-founded in content and therefore reasonable: the main difficulty is not the answer, but the problem. The problem is "the motto of the times" and "the open and unscrupulous voice of the times that dominates all individuals". (The Complete Works of Marx and Engels, Volume 1, People’s Publishing House, 1995, p. 203) In Marx’s era, "human liberation" has been called for hundreds of years, but it is an empty fantasy. How can it be transformed into a practical proposition of the times? Only Marx put forward for the first time with profound historical materialism that the liberation of human beings must be attributed to the liberation of the proletariat, "the secret of the 19th century revolution: the liberation of the proletariat". (Selected Works of Marx and Engels, Volume 1, People’s Publishing House, 1995, p. 386) The liberation of the proletariat has thus truly become an issue of the times for human liberation.
It can be seen that the difficulty in grasping the times lies in finding a new class worthy of great responsibility. It is not easy to find a new class in the era of great changes in history. The most obvious thing is that the discussion on the poverty of the proletariat and the social changes it has triggered has aroused widespread concern, but it has failed to jump out of the narrow vision of bourgeois social private ownership. Marx was the first to see the historical trend that the proletarian revolution replaced the bourgeois revolution and the communist movement replaced the Enlightenment. Marx not only discovered the modern proletariat from the historical investigation of the three major European workers’ movements in modern times, but also completed the combination with the working class from the international workers’ movement organized by himself, and saw the historical initiative and creativity of the working class from the great revolution of the Paris Commune, thus establishing the idea of transition to a proletarian society through the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Today, "although the era in which we live has undergone tremendous and profound changes compared with the era in which Marx lived, from the perspective of 500 years of world socialism, we are still in the historical era pointed out by Marxism. This is the scientific basis for our firm confidence in Marxism and our belief in winning socialism. " (The Supreme Leader’s Talk on Governing the Country, Volume 2, foreign languages press, 2017, p. 66) From the perspective of the characteristics of the times, we are indeed experiencing a historical scene similar to Marx’s life period, which is the "great change that has not happened in a hundred years." The contemporary world presents a situation of profound and complex changes, full of uncertainty, which makes people look forward to the future and feel confused. The common challenges faced by human society far exceed the consensus of human response to challenges. The opportunities for development are hidden in endless challenges. The common interests of human beings are divided in the highlights and conflicts of local interests, and the historical trend is hidden from time to time under the interference of many counter-currents and eddies. Open or closed, forward or backward, mankind is facing a new major choice. To answer the questions of these times, we must not be afraid of clouds, be good at seeing the sun through the clouds, and recognize the general trend of the world. Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought of the Supreme Leader in the New Era adheres to the Marxist viewpoint that judging the trend of the times must be based on objective historical laws, scientifically separating the historical trend from the coat it wraps, and promoting the historical trend by relying on new social forces.And creative application under the new historical conditions has laid a solid foundation for us to judge the times and recognize the trend of the times. It can be said that "Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era" is based on the historical changes in contemporary China, the scientific judgment on China’s new historical position, and the great judgment based on the contemporary world pattern and new order, especially the historical changes in the relationship between contemporary China and the world.
The historical orientation established in the new era shows that contemporary China and the contemporary world are at a historical juncture of great turning point. An ancient oriental nation has a glorious and uninterrupted history of thousands of years, and a century-long humiliation of being trampled on by others and ruining the country in modern times. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), after a hundred years of struggle, it finally ushered in a great leap from standing up, becoming rich and becoming strong. This great change, which happened in the world’s most populous country, will inevitably profoundly affect and change the course of world history. The historical orientation established in the new era shows that we firmly regard peaceful development as the theme and characteristics of the times, that we regard upholding and developing Socialism with Chinese characteristics as the theme of all theories and practices of contemporary China, and that we regard upholding peaceful development, win-win cooperation and promoting the building of a community of human destiny as the guiding ideology for establishing relations between contemporary China and the world. Cutting economic globalization, trade liberalization and capitalism, actively integrating into economic globalization, playing a major role in promoting world peace and development together with third world countries and emerging market countries, and promoting a fairer and more reasonable world order and the establishment of global governance rules are all pioneering works that lead the trend of the times.
Second, establishing the people’s historical subject position with the modern working class as the core is the starting point and destination of all Marxist theories, and also the fundamental position of upholding and developing Marxism.
History is always human history, and the key is who creates history and how people who are the main body of historical activities identify it. From the world view, in the final analysis, there are two kinds of identification: one is individual subject, which seems to be consistent with people’s experience, and human existence is first of all a living individual. However, the individual in the biological sense is not the subject of historical activities. Only by constantly solving the contradictory relationship with nature can the subject of historical activities be formed through the process of socialization. From the perspective of abstract individual subject and epistemology, there is definitely no objective law, and even if there is one, it is unknown. Therefore, the creative source of history can only resort to abstract human nature, or the so-called "overlapping consensus". From the perspective of political practice, taking abstract individuals as the main body of historical activities, no matter how grandiose, must ultimately safeguard the rule of a few special individuals. Second, to establish the people’s historical subject status, we must break through the wrong cognition that the people are the aggregate of individuals and the interests of the people are the sum of individual interests, and clarify the scientific nature of the people as the organic subject of historical activities. With the people as the main body, history has objective laws to follow, and it is possible to understand and master historical laws. It can be said that the opposition between historical materialism and historical idealism is fundamentally the opposition between two historical subjects; Historical materialism is the people’s historical view, while all kinds of idealistic historical views are ultimately personal historical views.
To establish the people’s historical dominant position, we must solve the difficult problem of how people create history. Interest is the motive force of historical activities, and the theory of individual subjectivity and the theory of people subjectivity rely on individual interests and universal interests respectively. Therefore, the key to solving the problem of people creating history is to clarify the reality of universal interests. Marx’s discovery boils down to pointing out that in a society where class interests are antagonistic, the only possible realistic form of universal interests of mankind is the class interests of the revolutionary class. His research shows that history, especially the history of the French Revolution, shows that the class interests of any class that tries to lead the revolution must be consistent with the actual universal interests of mankind in one way or another. As a liberator, "this class is as close as brothers to the whole society, merges with the whole society and is regarded as and regarded as the general representative of society;" At this moment, the demands and rights of this class have really become the rights and requirements of society itself, and it is really the mind and heart of society. " (Selected Works of Marx and Engels, Volume 1, People’s Publishing House, 1995, pp. 12-13) Therefore, the people and their interests are always represented by the advanced revolutionary class. The only difference is that the revolutionary class, as the exploiting class, represents the people temporarily, and only the proletariat can represent the general interests of mankind permanently, so it is the only social force that can break through the narrow personal relationship of capitalism.
It can be seen that the people in Marx’s vision are not a collection of individuals, but an organic whole with the advanced class as the core, the working masses as the foundation and all groups and individuals that conform to historical development as the extension. Only from the law of the contradictory movement of productive forces and relations of production, from the class relations and class struggles can we understand the people’s subject, which contains most individuals but cannot be attributed to individuals, and represents the fundamental interests of most individuals but cannot be reduced to personal interests. Establishing the people’s historical dominant position and realizing the real liberation of mankind through the proletarian liberation movement are the roots of Marxism’s powerful truth power.
The Communist Party of China (CPC)’s mission today is not only to seek happiness for the people of China and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, but also to seek peaceful development for the people of the world. Not only committed to China’s own development, but also stressed the responsibility and contribution to the world; Not only for the people of China, but also for the people of the world. This pursuit of closely linking the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation not only with the great prospect of communism, but also with the development of China and the world fully shows that the Communist Party of China (CPC) people with firm communist ideals and beliefs have put an end to sectarian sentiment and narrow nationalism from the "initial heart" and are doomed to keep forging ahead along the road of human civilization. The Communist Party of China (CPC) not only has no personal interests of one party, but also has no personal interests of one country. It is a great political party with a real foothold in China and an open mind to the world. This lofty purpose and mission is not only a source of strength for us to struggle endlessly, but also a strong support for our strategic determination to firmly believe in the justice of our cause.
Taking the people as the center is the practical basis of the supreme leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought with strong cohesion in the new era. The ruling concept of putting the people in the highest position, the people-centered development concept, the system design of adhering to the people’s dominant position, and taking the people’s longing for a better life as the goal of struggle have effectively ensured that all the people are United and United. In the specific implementation of the policy, while taking into account the interests of all people, we should focus on solving the production and life of people in need, and eliminate all the poor people by 2020 through precise poverty alleviation and precise poverty alleviation; Give prominence to solving the most direct and realistic interests that people are most concerned about, and continue to make new progress in learning to teach, earning income from labor, getting medical care, providing for the elderly and living; Give full play to the advantages of socialism to concentrate on doing great things, forge the heavy weapon of the country, and resolutely and effectively safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests; Wait a minute. It fully embodies the persistence and innovation of this thought to the essence of Marxism.
Adhering to the people-centered development thought, we are embarking on a road to a strong country that breaks the logic of "national power must dominate". The characteristic of this development thinking is to regard the development of other countries as their own opportunities, turn their own development into opportunities of other countries, and achieve a win-win situation in mutually beneficial cooperation. The key to realizing this development thinking lies in not seeking hegemony, not being self-centered, not being paranoid about one’s own selfish interests, and not trying to enjoy the success. People in China know very well that nothing can fall in the sky, and all happiness in the world must be created by hard work. This is how the great changes and turning points in history happened. With its own continuous development and growth, China’s influence and appeal to the world are also increasing. "Twenty years ago or even 15 years ago, the main driver of economic globalization was the United States and other western countries. Today, we are considered to be the biggest standard-bearer in the world to promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and actively fight against all kinds of protectionism in western countries. This shows that as long as we actively conform to the world development trend, we can not only develop ourselves, but also lead the world development trend. " (The Supreme Leader’s Talks on Governing the Country, Volume 2, foreign languages press, 2017, p. 212) China’s return to the center of the world stage is not only a major event that reflects the world trend of peaceful development, but also further strengthens the irreversible trend of peaceful development.
Third, the scientific attitude of unswervingly pursuing truth and the theoretical character of being brave in self-revolution are the source of life for Marxism to remain young forever, and are also the necessary conditions for upholding and developing Marxism.
The reason why Marxism can innovate constantly and keep its vitality forever lies in its theoretical character of self-revolution. At the beginning of the creation of his own thoughts, Marx proposed to embody the spirit of thorough criticism. "That is to say, this kind of criticism is not afraid of its own conclusions, nor is it afraid of conflicts with existing forces." (Collected Works of Marx and Engels, Volume 10, People’s Publishing House, 2009, page 7) This is the concentrated expression of Marxist scientific attitude. As we all know, Marx always made necessary revisions to his thoughts and works according to the development of practice, including the revision of the communist party Declaration according to the experience of the Paris Commune Revolution and the latest achievements in ancient social research. History has proved that "Marxism–Leninism did not end the truth, but constantly opened up the road to know the truth in practice." (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Volume 1, People’s Publishing House, 1991).
The theoretical character of Marxism is closely related to the historical mission of the working class. Why is the proletarian revolution the only way for the proletariat to complete its historical mission? In Marx’s view, "the revolution is necessary not only because there is no other way to overthrow the ruling class, but also because the class that overthrew the ruling class can only throw away all the old and dirty things on itself in the revolution and be competent for the work of rebuilding society." (Collected Works of Marx and Engels, Volume 1, People’s Publishing House, 2009, p. 543) While transforming the objective world, it has become the basic follow of the working class and its political parties. This has also formed a scientific attitude of Marxist believers towards Marxism, that is, they firmly believe that the basic principles of Marxism are correct and will not be outdated; At the same time, we firmly believe that Marxism should develop with the development of practice, times and science. This scientific attitude is the theoretical source for Marxist political parties to maintain their purity and advanced nature, and ensures that they will always stand at the forefront of the times in the revolutionary practice with changeable situations and tortuous roads.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) believed in Marxism because China’s advanced elements saw the way to solve the China problem from Marxism–Leninism’s scientific truth. This determines the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s scientific attitude towards Marxism, that is, insisting on solving the China issue with Marxism, closely combining the basic principles of Marxism with the reality of contemporary China and the characteristics of the times, and constantly pushing forward the China of Marxism. This has also fundamentally established the internal unity of scientific belief and scientific theory, laid firm ideals and beliefs on the arms of scientific theory, and laid a foundation for remembering the mission in the practical practice of completing the mission. From the world view, it is to solve the unity of faith and science, and the unity of value and truth. The justice of our cause comes from science, which is not only a vision for a better future, but also a grasp of the objective laws of history; Our top-level design should not only have historical and realistic basis, but also be supported by scientific theory; Strengthening the party’s leadership in an all-round way not only has historical experience and practical needs, but also has the support of Marxist dialectical materialism and historical materialism world outlook.
To realize the ideal and complete the mission, we must have a strong will, so we must consciously shape the revolutionary spirit. The Communist Party of China (CPC) people’s self-revolutionary spirit is summarized by the supreme leader as "taking the exam" on the road forever. We ask the whole party not to forget that the times are the authors, we are the respondents, and the people are the reviewers. How well we have done and whether we are competent or not is not up to ourselves, but is judged by the people and declared by history. This kind of judgment is not only severe, but also constantly updated. Only when we are soberly aware that yesterday’s success does not mean that we can succeed forever in the future, and that the glory of the past does not mean that the future can be brilliant forever, can we maintain the revolutionary spirit forever.
This spirit of self-revolution of the Communist Party of China (CPC) people is mainly manifested in the organic unity of leading the people to carry out the great social revolution and the great project of party building that is brave in self-revolution, and insisting on promoting the great social revolution led by the party with the party’s self-revolution. The reason why our Party has a powerful motive force for self-revolution, which is unmatched by any other political party, historical group and sage elite, is because this motive force does not come from abstract moral laws or moral personality, but from the objective needs of all kinds of difficulties and hardships that must be overcome in carrying out the great social revolution, and from the inherent needs of the character that the Party must have to lead the people to realize the great social revolution. Standing at the historical commanding heights of the development of human society, we will not be intoxicated by the immediate success, nor will we turn around because of various risk challenges; Inheriting and developing China’s excellent traditional culture for more than 5,000 years, and shouldering the high hopes of the people of China and the Chinese nation, we will have invincible strength and an inexhaustible source of innovation.
(Author: Distinguished Professor of China Academy of Social Sciences, President of China Historical Materialism Society)