The basic experience of the CPC in ideological construction over the past century

Zhang Zhidan

The basic experience of the CPC's ideological construction over the past hundred years includes: Persisting in the party's management of propaganda and the party's management of ideology; persisting in advancing with the times and advancing ideological construction in a new way under the party's strong leadership; constantly promoting the sinification of Marxism and the popularization of the times around the central task, serving the overall situation, and grasping the direction; and unremittingly arming the whole party and educating the people with the party's theoretical innovations, so as to promote the development of the party's cause. These experiences are epitomized as the "six persistences".

Persist in the consistency of party spirit and people's nature

In the hundred years since the founding of the party, no matter how history has changed and how the economy and society have developed, the principle of party spirit in adhering to ideological work has always been the same. Realistically speaking, adhering to the principle of party spirit in ideological work is inseparable from the "normal" situation in the ideological field that is always complicated and full of struggle. In the course of a hundred years, the party has achieved the following points: First, it has taken a clear-cut stand in stressing party spirit, strengthening its political orientation, standing firm in its political stand, and ensuring that ideological work does not deviate from the party's basic line, principles, and policies; second, it has adhered to the correct guidance of public opinion, sung the main melody, and constantly enhanced the charm of mainstream ideology and its role in forging the soul; third, it has established a sense of adhering to the ideological position and strictly implemented the responsibility system for ideological work.

While adhering to the principle of party spirit in ideological work, the party regards the people's nature as the fundamental orientation of ideological work. The people's position is the fundamental political position of the Communist Party of China. To uphold the people's nature is to regard the fulfillment, protection, and development of the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people as the starting point and foothold of all work, and to persist in putting the people first and putting people first.

To do a good job in ideological work, we must properly resolve the fundamental issue of "for whom and on whom to rely on," firmly establish a people-centered work orientation, regard the realization of the people's happy life as the fundamental pursuit, and serve the interests of the masses of the people.

In its ideological work over the past century, the party has adhered to the unity of party spirit and people's nature, and has mainly achieved the following three points: Strengthening the party's leadership over ideological work and adhering to the people-centered work orientation is integrated; publicizing the party's propositions and reflecting the people's voices is organically unified; and upholding the party's leadership over ideology and relying on the people to do a good job in ideological work.

Insist on unity and diversity

In the party's century-old ideological construction, it has always adhered to the principle of coexistence of unity and multiculturalism in guiding ideology; it not only emphasizes the guiding position of Marxism and rejects and criticizes erroneous ideological trends, but at the same time maintains cultural diversity, adheres to the principles of "a hundred flowers blooming, a hundred schools of thought contend," and "foreign countries are used in China, and the past is used for the present," and advocates mutual learning and mutual learning among different civilizations and cultures. Its experience is mainly reflected in the following two aspects.

First, we should always hold high the banner of Marxism and uphold the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field.

Second, we should always adhere to the coexistence of diverse cultures and maintain the prosperity and development of culture.

The party's guiding ideology and culture are not incompatible relations, but a relationship of univariate guidance and pluralistic symbiosis. In the course of a century of practice, the Chinese Communists have realized that at no time can we use the diversification of economic components as a reason to carry out the pluralism of guiding ideology. The party's century-old ideological construction strives to dominate in pluralism and diversity, seek consensus in exchanges and blending, the main theme is the mainstay, and diverse cultures are indispensable, and the two are unified in the great practice of the construction of new democratic socialist culture.

Adhere to the combination of theory and practice

Adhering to the combination of theory and practice is the basic experience of the party's ideological construction. On the one hand, the party has always strengthened ideological construction and strengthened theoretical guidance around the central work.

On the other hand, the party has always insisted on ideological innovation in practice. Persisting in being problem-oriented and constantly promoting the sinicization of Marxism and the popularization of the times is the code for the party's ideology to always maintain its vigorous vitality.

After arduous exploration, the Chinese Communists "crossed the river by feeling the stones," came to the conclusion of integrating Marxism-Leninism with China's reality, and worked hard to promote the sinicization of Marxism and the popularization of the times. Today, in the face of the "two overall situations" in the new era, the party's ideological innovation not only revolves around seeking rejuvenation for the nation and seeking happiness for the people, but also actively responds to the requirement of seeking common ground for the world, striving to build a community with a shared future for mankind, and taking this as the highlight of the party's innovation theory in the new era. The ideological innovation of the Communist Party of China has always been closely centered on practical issues, social contradictions and the theme of the times.

Adhere to the coupling of inheritance and development

In the practice of ideological work over the past century, the party has always adhered to and developed the idea of Marxist ideological work.

First, it inherits and develops the ideas of marxist classic writers on the importance of ideological work.

Second, it inherits and develops the ideas of Marxist classic writers on how to promote ideological work.

The Chinese Communists have profoundly realized that the history of Marxism as the party's guiding ideology is essentially a history of ideological and theoretical construction that constantly emancipates the mind, advances with the times, and blazes new trails. Historically, the Chinese Communists have resolutely opposed the dogmatic treatment of Marxism, and have kept pace with the times; at the same time, they have actively promoted the pioneering and innovative theory and practice of ideological work and the innovation of thinking methods and work mechanisms for the party's ideological construction. Entering the new era, Xi Jinping emphasized from the perspective of inheritance and development that "ideological work is an extremely important work of the party" from the perspective of status theory, emphasized two "consolidations" from the perspective of fundamental task theory, that is, "consolidating Marxist guidance and consolidating the ideological foundation", and emphasized from the perspective of content theory how to do a good job in ideological work in the new era, that is, to "take ideals and beliefs as the core of ideological work" and to "study, research, and publicize Marxism".

Insist on engaging constructively with critical riveting

Over the past hundred years, the party has always attached great importance to strengthening the theoretical arming of the broad masses of party members and cadres and the masses of the people, and at the same time has always paid attention to preventing the invasion of various erroneous ideological trends.

Adhering to the unity of criticism and constructiveness has been repeatedly proved by the practice of the party's century-old ideological construction. Whether it is criticizing non-proletarian ideological trends in the period of the new-democratic revolution, or facing the struggle of "two roads" and "two classes" after the founding of New China, or facing the impact of the extreme "Left" ideological trend in the period of socialist construction, and facing the impact of the two erroneous tendencies of "Left" and "Right" in the period of reform and opening up, the party has always been able to accurately grasp the "standing" and "breaking" in the ideological field, follow the dialectical unity of "standing" and "breaking" in ideological work, and adhere to the principle of taking "standing" as the foundation and breaking through at the same time. On the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen the Marxist stand, firmly grasp the correct guidance of public opinion, transmit the mainstream ideology through positive education and propaganda, sing the main melody, spread positive energy, and at the same time do a good job in internal and external propaganda work; on the other hand, we should take a clear-cut stand in upholding the truth, refuting fallacies, fighting to the end against bad social ideological trends and erroneous public opinion, breaking the ideological fog caused by bad social ideological trends, and cracking the misjudgment and misreading of socialism with Chinese characteristics in international public opinion and the malicious smear of the Cpc.

Adhere to the link between value and system

Linking value and system, conserving ideological construction in leading the construction of spiritual civilization and advanced culture with the construction of socialist core values, consolidating the value foundation of ideological construction, and at the same time guaranteeing ideological construction with institutional norms are another basic experience of the party's ideological construction in the past hundred years.

On the one hand, we should take the construction of values as the starting point and lay a solid value foundation for ideological construction. The core values of socialism in contemporary China were formed and developed in the great practice of revolution, construction and reform on the mainland, of which the people-centered values as the main line, the national spirit with patriotism as the core, and the spirit of the times with reform and innovation as the core are the two wings, and the content is very rich. "Serving the people", "realizing the freedom and all-round development of the people", "taking the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people as the foundation", "meeting the growing needs of the people for a better life", and "realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" have become the value concepts and value pursuits adhered to by the party.

On the other hand, we should promote the construction of systems under the guidance of ideology from a strategic height, and at the same time attach importance to promoting the institutionalization and rule of law of ideological work. The founding of New China created conditions for promoting the ideological education work system of the party and the army to the whole country, and all walks of life have begun to promote the institutionalization of Marxist education and study. After the reform and opening up, the party led the rectification of chaos, restored the correct principles formed by the party in the long-term ideological construction, optimized the methods of ideological work, strengthened the leadership of relevant organizations and the building of the contingent, strengthened the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, and gradually matured the ideological construction system through "adhering to the four cardinal principles."

Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping has clearly defined the extreme importance of ideological work in the new era from a political and strategic perspective, and regarded adhering to the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field as a "fundamental system", and this fundamental system has been written into the Party Constitution and Constitution.

Realizing the "combination of rigidity and softness" of value and system in ideological construction fully demonstrates the distinctive characteristics and unique advantages of socialist ideological construction.

We must further deeply understand the "key code" of the earth-shaking great miracle created by the CPC and the people, build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leading force, and closely unite all the people in ideals and beliefs, values, and moral concepts.

(Author Affilications: School of Marxism, Shanghai Normal University, excerpted from Marxism and Reality, No. 4, 2021, excerpted by Li Xiaoxiao and Wang Zhiqiang)