Gu Hailiang: A retrospective of the Communist Party of China's century-old economic thought
Party building and governance
★★★★★
Engels said that "the whole theory of the proletarian party comes from the study of political economy". Lenin regarded political economy as "the most profound, comprehensive, and exhaustive proof and application" of Marxist theory. The history of economic thought since the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) over the past 100 years is a history of upholding theoretical consciousness and historical consciousness and constantly promoting the sinicization of Marxist political economy, as well as the history of constantly promoting the innovation and creation of Marxist political economy theory in China. We should apply the methodology of Marxist political economy to deepen our understanding of the laws governing the mainland's economic development and enhance our ability and level of leading the mainland's economic development. The Early Spread of Marxist Political Economy in China At the end of the 19th century, Marxism spread like a trickle in Chinese intellectual circles, and in this process of dissemination, Marxist political economy was at the forefront. In 1899, the Literature Society published "Big Classmates" in Shanghai, which was the first work in Chinese to mention the names and ideas of Marx and Engels, and the work started from the introduction of Marx and Engels' economic theories. In 1903, the Japanese scholar Nishiji Tajima's "Latest Economics" and Fukui Ryozao's "Modern Socialism" were translated and published in Shanghai, which became representative works for the further dissemination of Marx and Engels' economic thoughts. "Latest Economics" gives a rough introduction to the economic theories of the "communist faction" and the "socialist faction", holding that the economic theories of the "communist faction" "advocate the abolition of private ownership in order to achieve equality for all", and the "socialist" economic theories "only say that land and capital can be shared." All other property is allowed to be privately owned." "Socialism in Modern Times" mentions that Marx "paid attention to economic principles" and formed a kind of "new socialism", compared with this "new socialism", the socialism in Britain and France, represented by Owen, Saint-Simon and Fourier, was nothing more than a "utopian theory" and "child's play". Modern Socialism commented that Capital was "really a good teacher for social and economic scholars" and "a great work of a generation", and evaluated several other works of political economy by Marx and Engels, including: "Poverty as Seen in Philosophy" ("The Poverty of Philosophy"), "Capital", "On Free Trade" ("Speech on the Question of Free Trade"), and "The State of British Labor Society" ("The Condition of the Working Class in England"). In the early spread of Marxism in China from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the introduction and evaluation of the economic theories of Marx and Engels were relatively superficial and rudimentary, and had obvious spontaneity, and many theoretical viewpoints were only formed on the basis of compiling and translating the relevant expositions of Japanese scholars. Subsequently, after nearly 20 years of evolution, the theoretical and historical consciousness of Marxist political economy was gradually formed by the Chinese communists. At the beginning of the 20th century, in the course of the rapid development of social contradictions in China, under the influence of the October Revolution in Russia, and after the baptism of the May Fourth Movement, the trickle of Marxist political economy spread in China gradually converged into a strong ideological trend and became the ideological guide for the Chinese Communists to change China. Li Dazhao and a group of early communists took the initiative to apply Marx and Engels' economic thought to the reality of China's economic and social development, realizing the integration of the basic tenets of Marxist political economy with China's specific reality, and the theory of Sinicization of Marxist political economy began to sprout. In 1919, Li Dazhao published "My View of Marxism" in New Youth, Vol. 6, Nos. 5 and No. 6. The "first part" expounds the Marxist materialist view of history and the theory of class struggle as a whole, and the "second part" expounds political economy, especially the theory of surplus value and the theory of capital. It is worth mentioning that in the "first part," Li Dazhao proposed that we should "first briefly talk about the position of 'Marxism' in the history of economic thought." His conclusion was that Marx "used a scientific argument to prove that the possibility and inevitability of socialist economic organization were completely separate from the individualist economics that had never been made, and that socialist economics could only become an independent system, so that the originator of socialist economics could not but push Marx." Li Dazhao's understanding of Marxist political economy is in direct coupling with Engels' emphasis on the Marxist viewpoint that "all theories come from the study of political economy." After the founding of the Communist Party of China, the spread of Marxist political economy in China took the transformation of Chinese society as its main task, and political economy was regarded as a theory to explore "the driving force of world transformation". In May 1922, Chen Duxiu pointed out in "Marx's Two Spirits" that Marx's theory and behavior have the two spirits of "practical research" and "practical activity", and that "the spirit of Marx's practical research should be used to study various situations in society, and the most important thing is the political and economic conditions of the present society, not just Marx's theory." He believed that in studying Marx's theory, "it is necessary to give full play to the spirit of Marx's practical activities and regard Marx's theory as the driving force of social revolution." Integrating Marxist political economy with China's specific reality and the "practical activities" of the Chinese revolution to make it the "driving force of China's social revolution" is a manifestation of the CPC's consciousness in realizing the theory of Sinicization of Marxist political economy. Taking the economic situation in Russia after the October Revolution as a mirror, the Communist Party of China applied the principles of Marxist political economy to China's reality, and its theoretical consciousness and ability were constantly enhanced. In October 1920, Qu Qiubai went to Soviet Russia as a reporter of the "Morning Post" and wrote a large number of newsletters reporting on the political and economic situation of the Soviet Union. Among them, "The Humanization of Communism" and "The Economic Problems of Soviet Russia" specifically introduce the process of the transformation of Soviet Russia from war communism to the New Economic Policy, as well as its basic spirit and main characteristics. Qu Qiubai proposed: "In order for 'we' to be able to solve the problem of directly implementing socialism, we must first understand what kind of indirect methods and attitudes should be used in the transition from the economic relations to capitalism and the policy of transition to socialism. That's the gist of the question. This is actually Qu Qiubai's reflection on the practical problems of the Chinese revolution in connection with the theory and practice of the Russian revolution. After its founding, the Communist Party of China attached great importance to integrating Lenin's theory on national and colonial revolution with China's reality and profoundly exploring a revolutionary road suited to China's national conditions. Guided by Lenin's basic theory, the Second National Congress of the Communist Party of China recognized that capitalism in Chinese society was still in the initial stage of development, and that the imperialist and feudal forces, especially their representatives, the warlords and bureaucrats, were the main reactionary forces hindering China's social and economic development and brutally oppressing the people. The Communist Party of China has always adhered to the historical consciousness of the sinicization of Marxist political economy The theoretical consciousness of the Communist Party of China on the sinicization of Marxist political economy has been elevated to historical consciousness in the practice of China's social revolution. Historical consciousness is embodied in profound historical feelings. Before the founding of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong proposed in 1919: "The greater the original great ability of the Chinese nation! The deeper the oppression, the greater the resistance, and the longer it lasts, it will be launched quickly. "Profound historical feelings permeate the entire process of the ideological development of the Communist Party of China, as well as the whole process of the sinicization of Marxist political economy. Historical consciousness is embodied in a profound historical contemplation. Over the past 100 years since the founding of the party, the process of sinicization of Marxist political economy has always kept pace with the historical changes in China's economic and social forms, played a leading role in theory, and has become an ideological guide for understanding China's transformation of China. Over the past 100 years, China has ushered in a great leap from standing up to becoming rich and strong, which fundamentally demonstrates the historical perspective of Marxist political economy. Historical consciousness is embodied in a strong sense of historical responsibility. In 1922, the Manifesto of the Second Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the goals of the Chinese revolution as the primary goals and tasks of "eliminating civil strife, overthrowing warlords, and building domestic peace" and "overthrowing the oppression of international imperialism and achieving the complete independence of the Chinese nation". The Communist Party of China (CPC) has formed the idea of two major historical tasks for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, namely, "one is to seek national independence and the people's liberation, and the other is to achieve national prosperity and common prosperity for the people." The former task is to clear the way and create the necessary preconditions for the latter". The Development Stages and Theoretical Achievements of the Sinicization of Marxist Political Economy The theoretical and historical consciousness of the Sinicization of Marxist political economy has achieved the intrinsic endowment of the economic thought of the Communist Party of China. From the perspective of the combination of theoretical consciousness and historical consciousness, the Sinicization of Marxist political economy can be divided into four periods: First, the period from the founding of the Communist Party of China to the new democratic revolution. During this period, the Communist Party of China made a scientific judgment on the nature of the economic form of China's semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, creatively put forward a new democratic economic program, and systematically expounded on the new democratic economic system and economic structure, economic development and economic policies, and the future of economic development. Second, the founding of the People's Republic of China was carried out before the reform and opening up. The Communist Party of China (CPC) led the people to creatively embark on the path of simultaneous development of the basic economic system, the transformation of the economic system, and the sustained growth of the productive forces; from the establishment of the basic socialist economic system in 1956 to the beginning of reform and opening up, it was a period of laying the foundation, arduous exploration, and tortuous development of China's socialist political economy. During this period, a series of original achievements were made, including: the theory of basic contradictions in socialist society, the theory of overall planning and attention to comprehensive balance, and the theory of coordinated development based on agriculture, dominated by industry, and light on agriculture. Third, the period from 1978 to 2012 was the period of formation and development of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics. Based on the essential characteristics and development trend of economic relations in the initial stage of socialism, and on the basis of systematically grasping the overall relationship between the economic system, the economic system, and economic operation at this stage, the Communist Party of China has creatively put forward theories such as economic reform, market economy, scientific development, and opening up to the outside world, forming the main structure and system of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics in the new period. Fourth, since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics has once again achieved innovative development. At the end of 2017, the first Central Economic Work Conference held after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward Xi Jinping Thought on Socialist Economy with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era with the new development concept as the main content, expanding the theoretical realm of Marxist political economy. Since 2020, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has put forward a series of economic ideas on the 14th Five-Year Plan and the construction of a modern socialist country, which has once again enriched the connotation of Marxist political economy. Constantly Exploring New Realms of Marxist Political Economy "Our party has always attached importance to the study, research, and application of Marxist political economy. "The economic thinking formed by the Communist Party of China over the past 100 years since its founding has not only applied the basic tenets of Marxist political economy to China's reality and promoted the sinicization of Marxist political economy, but has also elevated the new ideas formed in this process to the new connotation of Marxist political economy, thus realizing the theoretical innovation and theoretical creation of Marxist political economy. The "theoretical innovation" mentioned here is, on the one hand, inherited innovation, that is, the innovative theoretical development obtained in the process of applying the basic tenets of Marxist political economy to China's reality. For example, in the inheritance of the Marxist theory on the productive forces and the relations of production, the theoretical viewpoint of taking the emancipation and development of the productive forces as the essence of socialism is derived. On the other hand, it is integrated innovation, that is, while inheriting and developing Marxist political economy, it also pays attention to the absorption of valuable and referenceable elements in various foreign economic thoughts, pays attention to the transformation and development of traditional Chinese economic thought, and realizes the innovation of comprehensive ideological resources in various aspects. For example, the idea of the construction of socialist ecological civilization not only has the leading Marxist idea of the coordinated development of man and nature, but also draws on the popular theory of protecting the ecological environment in the context of economic globalization in the 80s of the 20th century, as well as the transformation and development of the idea of "the unity of man and nature" in the excellent traditional Chinese culture. The "theoretical creation" mentioned here is, first, the excavation and creative use of Marxist classic texts. For example, in 1978, Deng Xiaoping pointed out from Marx's interpretation of "productive forces also include science" in Marx's Economic Manuscripts of 1857-1858: "Science and technology are productive forces, which is the historical view of Marxism. More than 100 years ago, Marx said that the development of machine production requires the conscious application of natural science. "From this, the source of the idea that science and technology are the primary productive forces has been discovered. The second refers to the realization of the original innovation of Marxist political economy on the basis of China's specific reality or the new reality of the development of the contemporary world, for example, in the new period of reform and opening up, the Communist Party of China has created the theory of socialist market economy. During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, Comrade Mao Zedong stressed on many occasions that the Communist Party of China "made theoretical creations that meet China's needs in all aspects from the careful study of China's historical reality and revolutionary reality, and only then can it be called the link between theory and practice." The theoretical innovation and theoretical creation of political economy contained in Mao Zedong Thought are embodied in the analysis of the nature of China's semi-colonial and semi-feudal society and the interpretation of the new democratic economic program. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in the light of China's unique national conditions and economic and social development, the Communist Party of China embarked on the road of a socialist transition period with Chinese characteristics and creatively formed a unique theory of the transitional period; in the course of exploring the path of socialist economic construction, it put forward a series of theoretical innovations and theoretical creations that "meet China's needs," including the theory of socialist modernization, the development strategy of a comprehensive and balanced national economy, and the principle of independence and self-reliance. Since the reform and opening up, the exploration of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics has formed a series of theoretical innovations and theoretical creations that "meet China's needs" in the sinicization of Marxist political economy. For example, the theory on the essence of socialism, the theory on the basic economic system in the initial stage of socialism, the theory on establishing and implementing the concept of innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development, the theory on developing the socialist market economy, enabling the market to play a decisive role in the allocation of resources, and giving better play to the role of the government, the theory that the mainland's economic development has entered a new normal, the theory on promoting the coordination of new industrialization, informationization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization, and the theory on making good use of the international and domestic markets. The theory of two resources, the theory of promoting social fairness and justice, and gradually realizing the common prosperity of all people, and so on. Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialist Economy with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era highlights the theoretical innovation and theoretical creation of the sinicization of Marxist political economy since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The new development concept is the main content of Xi Jinping's socialist economic thought with Chinese characteristics for a new era. The new development concept is a condensation and sublimation of the ideology of the arduous exploration of the question of "what kind of development to achieve and how to develop", and reflects the new understanding of the Communist Party of China on the law of economic and social development. Promoting the mainland's economic and social development in accordance with the new development concept is the general requirement and general trend of the mainland's development at present and for a period of time to come. With the new development concept as the main content, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is divided into three major sections in terms of theoretical framework: First, adhering to strengthening the Party's centralized and unified leadership over economic work and adhering to the people-centered development philosophy are the essential characteristics and fundamental positions of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialist Economy with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Second, while upholding and improving the basic socialist economic system, we should persist in adapting to and grasping the new normal of economic development, persist in reforming the socialist market economic system, and persist in supply-side structural reform, which are the theoretical pillars of reform and development. Third, adhere to the problem-oriented deployment of new economic development strategies and adhere to the correct work strategies and methods, which are the main methods of Xi Jinping's socialist economic thought with Chinese characteristics for a new era. Entering a new stage of development, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has made new pioneering explorations in the political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics with a high degree of theoretical and historical consciousness. In the systematic planning and careful deployment of the mainland's economic and social development strategy in the new development stage, General Secretary Xi Jinping grasped the main contradictions in mainland society, thoroughly implemented the new development concept, and focused on handling the five relationships. The first is to "handle the relationship between inheritance and innovation, and do a good job in the organic connection of the 'two centenary' goals". This is a new requirement for China's economic development after achieving the development goals and fundamental tasks of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way. The second is to "properly handle the relationship between the government and the market, and give better play to the advantages of the mainland's system." The Fourth Plenary Session of the 19 th CPC Central Committee put forward the thesis that "the public ownership system is the mainstay, the economy under various forms of ownership develops together, distribution according to work is the mainstay, various forms of distribution coexist, and the socialist market economic system" is the "basic economic system" in the initial stage of socialism, which not only embodies the superiority of the socialist system, but also adapts to the level of development of the social productive forces in the initial stage of socialism on the mainland, and is a great creation of the party and the people. The third is to "properly handle the relationship between openness and independence, and better coordinate the overall domestic and international situations". To build a new development pattern, it is not only necessary to enhance the mainland's new advantages in international economic cooperation and competition, but also to enhance the mainland's ability to develop independently. Fourth, it is necessary to "properly handle the relationship between development and security, and effectively guard against and respond to systemic risks that may affect the modernization process." Security is the premise of development, and development is the guarantee of security. To promote the building of a modern socialist country, we must properly handle the relationship between development and security. Fifth, "properly handle the relationship between strategy and tactics, and formulate a far-sighted, pragmatic and effective planning proposal." In the new stage of development, efforts should be made to deal with and solve problems such as implementing the strategy of expanding domestic demand, optimizing and stabilizing industrial and supply chains, improving the urbanization strategy, adjusting and optimizing the structure of scientific and technological input and output, realizing the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and strengthening the construction of the public health system. These strategies and tactics are major issues related to the country's medium- and long-term economic and social development, and the relationship between them must be properly handled.
[Gu Hailiang: Speaker of Chang'an Street Reading Club, former member of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Education]
Note: Authorized to publish, this article has been selected and included in the "Chang'an Street Reading Club" theoretical learning platform (People's Daily, People's Political Consultative Conference Daily, Beijing Daily, Chongqing Daily, Xinhuanet, CCTV, National Party Media Information Public Platform, Vision, Beijing Time, Surging Government Affairs, Phoenix News Client "Chang'an Street Reading Club" column synchronization), reprinting must be uniformly marked "Chang'an Street Reading Club" theoretical learning platform source and author.
Editor-in-charge: Ma Jiajun, preliminary review: Cheng Ziqian, Chen Jiani, review: Li Yufan
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