A few years ago, there was a debate about the question of the ruling party and the revolutionary party, but there did not seem to be a very clear conclusion. If we think about it seriously, some people must draw up the opposition between the ruling party and the revolutionary party, or insist that our party can only be the ruling party and should no longer be a revolutionary party.
For example, why should the ruling party no longer become a revolutionary party? If the Communist Party no longer has the character of a revolutionary party, will the Communist Party still be a Communist Party? Should we persist in the basic viewpoint of abolishing private ownership put forward in the "Communist Manifesto"? If we do not get these questions clear, then in what direction should we move forward? What should be the great goal of our struggle? Such questions will cause us great trouble and bring about great confusion in our thinking.
During the period of the democratic revolution, the party's task was very clear, that is, to overthrow the three mountains and win the victory of the new democratic revolution. The party's goal is to build a new China that is completely different from the old China. However, Chairman Mao also said in "On New Democracy" that the Chinese revolution is divided into two steps: the first step is the new democratic revolution, and the second step is the socialist revolution.
When we talk about the socialist revolution, we need to mention the construction of socialism. There is only a socialist revolution, and without socialist construction, this socialist revolution is just an empty shelf. The socialist revolution and socialist construction are closely linked. When we seized power in the whole country, our party became the ruling party. However, the socialist revolution has not yet been completed, and the tasks of this revolution must continue, so it is impossible to lose the character of a revolutionary party.
According to the earliest ideas of Marx and Engels, the proletarian revolution was to break out in the whole capitalist world at the same time, and to win at the same time. Later developments proved that because of the uneven development of capitalism, the development of the working class movement was also uneven, especially in the colonial and semi-colonial countries of the world. Therefore, it is unrealistic for all capitalist countries to have a proletarian revolution at the same time and at the same time to win.
After the founding of New China, especially after the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, China deeply felt that we must strengthen the construction of our national defense industry and heavy industry. The primary purpose of this is to strengthen our national defense construction. At the same time, we develop heavy industry, but also to provide equipment and technology for the development of agriculture and light industry. Since the period of the democratic revolution, we have mainly undertaken the tasks of the revolutionary party, but since that time we have also Xi been learning to do the work of the ruling party in the construction of the base areas of the red revolution and in the building of the anti-Japanese democratic regime.
In the course of socialist construction, our internal and external environment is not very peaceful. Hostile forces outside the borders want to sabotage our socialist construction, our country's development, and the enhancement of our comprehensive national strength. The hostile forces at home should also cooperate with the hostile forces outside the country to constantly disrupt and sabotage our construction and the overall development of the country, thus threatening our national security. In this sense, the revolutionary party function of the Chinese Communists has not faded, let alone been abolished. The fundamental purpose of the Communist Party of China is to serve the people, to protect the interests of the people, and to continuously develop the interests of the people. Therefore, of course, our socialist construction is for the purpose of serving the Chinese people; at the same time, we are also serving the Chinese people by waging a resolute and necessary struggle against hostile forces to sabotage and troublemaking them. This is because this kind of struggle is to protect the fundamental interests of the masses of the people. From this point of view, the functions of the ruling party of the Chinese communists and those of the revolutionary party are essentially the same and unified.
The establishment of China's socialist system and the development of China's socialist construction have become a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh of Western capitalism. It is inevitable that they will do everything possible to cause trouble and sabotage. In order to counter the rampant offensive of Western capitalism, the Chinese Communists must wage a resolute struggle. This kind of struggle is not only to protect the fundamental interests of the Chinese people, but also to constantly attack capitalism, make capitalism constantly retreat, and thus make capitalism constantly decline, thus increasing the favorable opportunity for socialism to defeat capitalism. In this sense, when the Communists were building their own country, they were also indirectly attacking the arrogance of capitalism against China. Coupled with the constant intensification and sharpening of the inherent contradictions of capitalism itself, the trend of Western capitalism in decline has become irreversible.
In this sense, not only the Chinese Communists, but also the Communists of the whole world, in the process, are constantly attacking Western capitalism. China and the vast number of countries in the Global South are united in continuous construction and development, and the general trend of the world's basic development is on our side. The continuous development of the countries of the Global South will inevitably force the capitalist countries of the West to retreat step by step. In addition, although the strength of the communist parties in the advanced capitalist countries of the West is still relatively weak, their existence is also waging a stubborn struggle against Western capitalism. They are also our comrades-in-arms and comrades. In a sense, the influence of socialism or communism is constantly expanding, and the influence of Western capitalism is shrinking. Doesn't this also coincide with the ultimate goal of the development of communism as envisaged by Marxism?
In addition, while Western capitalism is constantly attacking progressive forces such as China, it always uses the ideology of the Western bourgeoisie as a weapon in their hands. In this regard, the Communists of the world, including the Chinese Communists, as well as the progressive forces of the whole world, of course, must also take up the weapon of ideology to fight back. When hostile forces want to undermine China's socialist construction and the foundation of China's socialist public ownership, the Chinese communists will inevitably lead the people in waging a resolute and unremitting struggle against these hostile forces. In this sense, the revolutionary mission of the Communists cannot be discarded. On the one hand, we are building, and on the other hand, we are fighting. In such a situation, the functions of the Communists as the ruling party and the functions of the revolutionary party are organically combined.
On the one hand, the Chinese Communists lead the Chinese people in socialist construction for the sake of the people's interests, and on the other hand, when hostile forces come to sabotage and infringe upon the interests of our people, the Communists need to wage a desperate struggle against the hostile forces in order to defend the people's interests. Again, it is for the benefit of the people. Both are indispensable. It is not the true character of a communist to concentrate only on construction without daring to struggle or revolution. At the same time, if we only one-sidedly emphasize struggle and revolution without attaching importance to new construction and development, and neglect the comprehensive construction and governance of the country, we will ultimately harm the fundamental interests of the people.
Fundamentally speaking, the communist movement engaged in by the Communists is the fundamental overthrow of the capitalist system and the realization of human liberation under the leadership of the proletariat. It now seems that the overthrow of the capitalist system depends not only on the forces of revolution, but also on the forces of construction. The forces of socialism, through the continuous construction of the state, have gradually reduced and squeezed the sphere of influence and influence of capitalism, which is also a very necessary way in the process of the final elimination of capitalism. The fundamental reason why the communist movement wants to overthrow the capitalist system is that such a system is no longer suitable for the development of the social productive forces of mankind, and this system has become a great obstacle to the development of the social productive forces. Only by fundamentally overthrowing this system can the productive forces of human society be emancipated to a greater extent, and thus mankind itself can be fundamentally emancipated.
If we only stress construction and the functions of the ruling party and abandon the consciousness and functions of the revolutionary party, it is obviously not the complete mission of the Communist Party; in the same way, if we only talk about revolution and struggle, and ignore or even give up the construction and development of continuous progress that we need, it will also not be all the tasks that communists should undertake today. In today's situation, we must organically integrate the two and create a new cause and a new mission for communists in the new period. Strive for the ultimate realization of the great goal of communism.
If it is necessary to establish a relationship of primacy and subordination, a relationship between leading and being led, between the ruling party and the revolutionary party, it is obvious that the revolutionary party should be placed in the main position, and the attributes of the revolutionary party should lead the attributes of the ruling party. This relationship of priority and subordination cannot be reversed. However, in concrete and practical work, a large part of our energy and time are devoted to the work of the ruling party, but the soul of the Communist Party can only be a revolutionary party.
(The author is a senior researcher at the Kunlun Ce Research Institute; source: Kunlun Ce Network [author's authorization], revised and released; the picture comes from the Internet, invaded and deleted)