He Zili: Marx's labor theory of value and surplus value must never be negated

Recently, some people in the media circles have high-profile negated Marx's labor theory of value and surplus value, propagated the fallacy of bourgeois vulgar economics, and seriously interfered with reform, opening up, and Chinese-style modernization. The labor theory of value and the theory of surplus value founded by Marx scientifically revealed the law of movement of the commodity economy, expounded the historical inevitability of the emergence, development and demise of the capitalist system, and provided a powerful theoretical weapon for the exploited and oppressed proletariat all over the world to overthrow the capitalist system and achieve complete emancipation. When Marx and Engels were alive, they resolutely counterattacked and profoundly criticized the fallacies that attacked the labor theory of value and the theory of surplus value. After the death of Marx and Engels, the working class and its political parties in all countries of the world continued to wage an uncompromising struggle against all kinds of anti-Marxist ideological trends, upheld the scientific truth of Marxism, and promoted the cause of the proletarian revolution. There is no doubt about the scientific and revolutionary nature of the labor theory of value and the theory of surplus value, and they have not been overshadowed by the attacks and denials of the opponents; on the contrary, with the passage of time, the truth of Marx's labor theory of value and the theory of surplus value has been more and more fully proved. Today, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new historical position, and the construction of a great modern socialist country has entered a critical moment in an all-round way. It is of special significance to forge ahead to achieve the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

First, correctly understand the characteristics and behavior of capital

In this round of farce attacking Marx's labor theory of value and surplus value, some people have regained the "three-in-one formula" of capital-profit, labor-wages, and land-rent, preached the theory of "capital neutrality," and attempted to obliterate the "profit-seekingness" of capital.

In the history of economic thought, bourgeois vulgar economics confuses capital with the means of production, declaring that the profits of capitalists come from capital, the wages of workers come from labor, and the rent of landlords comes from land, forming a "trinity formula" of value creation and sources of income. According to this theory, the value of commodities is jointly created by capital, labor, and land, and the relationship between capitalists, workers, and landlords is completely equal, and there is no confrontation. This theory is obviously seriously inconsistent with the fact that there is a sharp contradiction between the capitalist and the worker in the real economic life of capitalism. By distinguishing between labor and labor, Marx revealed the duality of the capitalist production process, clarified the fundamental difference between capital and the means of production, exposed the essence of capital's domination and exploitation of labor, and criticized the vulgarity of the "trinity formula" to defend the exploiting class. Marx pointed out: "Capital, land, labor! But capital is not a thing, but a definite, social, and production relation belonging to a certain historical and social form, which is embodied in a thing and endows this thing with a unique social character." Capital is not the sum of the material and the means of production produced. Capital is the means of production that have been transformed into capital, and this means of production are not capital in themselves, just as gold or silver itself is not money. "Negro is negro. It is only in a certain relationship that he becomes a slave. A spinning machine is a machine that spins cotton. It becomes capital only in a certain relationship. Without this relationship, it is not capital, just as gold itself is not money, and sugar is not the price of sugar. According to Marx's point of view, the essential feature of the movement of capital is the exchange of capital and labor, which determines the duality of the production process of capital: on the one hand, it is manifested in the use of the means of production by laborers to process the objects of labor and produce material products; On the other hand, it is manifested in the special social relations of the capitalists who own the means of production to possess labor and realize the multiplication of value. Here, the means of production are endowed with a unique social character, becoming a tool for dominating and controlling the laborers, and are no longer simple things. It can be seen that capital, as a social relations of production, is a production relationship of capitalist society. It is in the capitalist relations of production that the means of production, the instruments of labour and the raw materials become capital. It is of great theoretical significance to distinguish between labor and labor and to reveal the essential difference between capital and the means of production, which laid a solid foundation for Marx to establish the theory of surplus value.

Second, a correct understanding of contemporary capitalism

In order to negate Marx's labor theory of value and surplus value, some people say that Marx's analysis and criticism of capitalism is only applicable to liberal capitalism in the 19th century, not to contemporary capitalism, and that the theory of surplus value is outdated.

In fact, contemporary capitalism is the continuation and development of capitalism in Marx's time, and the social conditions under which the law of surplus value revealed by Marx depends have not changed, and the law of surplus value is still the basic economic law that governs the process of production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of contemporary capitalism. Today's capitalism is not labor equality and social harmony as some people advocate, on the contrary, the basic contradictions of capitalism have become more intensified, and the polarization of income distribution has widened. French economist Piketty made an empirical analysis of the income distribution of Western capitalist countries in the past 100 years after Marx, and believed that the inequality of wealth distribution in modern Western society is more serious than that of Marx's era, and social contradictions are more irreconcilable. In fact, after a hundred years of development, with the continuous progress of science and technology and the continuous improvement of the degree of socialization of production, the basic contradictions of capitalism have become increasingly intensified, which is mainly manifested in the fact that contemporary capitalism has fallen into a serious quagmire of deindustrialization and financialization and cannot extricate itself. Since Western industrial capitalism entered the track of deindustrialization and financialization since the 70s of the 20th century, various contradictions of capitalism have been intensifying, pushing the contemporary capitalist economy into a state of continuous stagnation and crisis: the virtual economy is disconnected from the real economy, which constantly triggers financial crises; The economy is highly servitized, the added value of the service industry accounts for more than 80% of GDP, and the industrial competitiveness is lost; The government's sources of fiscal revenue have dried up, and large-scale borrowing has led to high debts; Economic growth continues to decline, and recovery and prosperity are far away; The middle class is divided, the olive-shaped class structure is transformed into a pyramid-shaped structure, and class antagonism is intensified; The pattern of economic crises has undergone profound changes, and the crisis of overproduction has evolved into a financial crisis with frequent outbreaks; Economic stagnation has become the norm, and cyclicality no longer exists; The political system is terminally ill and the government is very inefficient in its ability to cope with the economic and social crisis. All this fully proves that everything that happens in contemporary capitalism is the inevitable result of the development of capitalism in Marx's time, and is the inevitable product of the role of the economic laws revealed by the theory of surplus value, which is the most scientific theory for understanding contemporary capitalism, and it is not outdated at all, nor can it be outdated.

Third, the special status and role of the state-owned economy and state-owned enterprises brook no erasure

Under the pretext of implementing the 31 measures to promote the development and growth of private enterprises, some people advocate that the types of enterprises should no longer be divided according to ownership, and that state-owned enterprises and private enterprises should no longer be distinguished, but that enterprises should be divided according to their scale, industry, technology type, and other characteristics, and that relevant policies should be formulated based on these characteristics. This claim is debatable.

The mainland is a socialist country under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and public ownership is the economic foundation of socialism. The reform carried out on the mainland is the self-improvement of the socialist system, and the purpose of the reform is to readjust and change certain links or aspects of the socialist production relations that are not suited to the requirements of the development of the productive forces, to liberate and develop the social productive forces, and to meet the people's ever-growing needs for a better life. The public-owned economy has been formed over a long period of time in the course of the country's development, has made outstanding contributions to national construction, national defense security, and the improvement of the people's living standards, and is the precious wealth of all the people; the public-owned economy must develop well, continue to make contributions to reform, opening up, and modernization, and the bottom line of reform is to safeguard the public ownership rather than abandon it. The implementation of the basic system of common development of the economy under various forms of ownership with public ownership as the mainstay is a major policy established by the Communist Party of China, an important part of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and an inevitable requirement for perfecting the socialist market economic system. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that consolidating and developing the public economy is not antagonistic to encouraging, supporting, and guiding the development of the non-public economy, but is organically unified, and any view that wants to negate the public economy or the non-public economy is not in line with the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people, and is not in line with the requirements of the mainland's reform and development, and therefore is also wrong.

After the founding of New China, with the state-owned economy as the mainstay, the mainland established an independent national economic system, initially formed a modern industrial system, and played a major role in promoting socialist modernization and improving the people's material and cultural living standards. Since the beginning of reform and opening up, while expanding the scope of market regulation and supporting the development of the non-public sector of the economy, our party has always adhered to the unswerving role of the state-owned economy, which has played a very important role in implementing the state's major development strategy, promoting the coordinated, stable, and rapid development of the economy, enhancing the country's economic strength, its ability to cope with various emergencies and major risks, and safeguarding the common interests of all the people. State-owned enterprises provide necessary public goods and services to the whole society to meet the growing needs of the public, such as national defense, compulsory education and public welfare. State-owned enterprises provide a stable supply of energy, raw materials and basic services for sustainable economic growth; State-owned enterprises have undertaken the construction of major projects related to the national economy and people's livelihood, and major projects such as the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, West-East Gas Transmission, South-to-North Water Diversion, Three Gorges Hydropower Station, manned spaceflight, highways, high-speed railways, and ultra-high voltage power grids are of great significance to the sustained and stable development of the mainland's national economy and the improvement of the well-being of all Chinese. State-owned enterprises have made breakthroughs in a large number of major innovative projects, such as the domestically produced large aircraft, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the "Blue Whale No. 1" drilling platform, the Beidou system, the supercomputer, the "Sky Eye" sounding, the "Chang'e" to the moon, and the "Tianwen" and "Fire Exploration" projects, indicating that the mainland is already at the advanced level of scientific and technological innovation in the world. All this fully proves that state-owned enterprises are the most reliable force to rely on in the process of concentrating forces to do great things, and that the state-owned economy is the deepest material foundation for the system of concentrating forces to do great things with Chinese characteristics, and it is futile and impossible to obliterate the special status and role of the state-owned economy.

Fourth, correctly understand the status and role of private capital

Some people preach that private entrepreneurs lack confidence and have no sense of security because they discriminate against private capital in theory and policy. This viewpoint is completely erroneous, and its purpose is to create ideological confusion and negate the basic socialist economic system.

As a matter of fact, since the beginning of reform and opening up, the mainland's non-public economy has grown from small to large and from weak to strong, and this has been realized under the guidance of the principles and policies of our party and state, and the private economy has played an important role in stabilizing growth, promoting innovation, increasing employment, and improving people's livelihood; the non-public economy is an important foundation for stabilizing the economy, an important source of state tax revenue, an important force for technological innovation, an important support for financial development, and an important force for sustained and healthy economic development. At the same time, it must also be pointed out that under the conditions of the socialist market economy, private capital is a concrete form of existence that combines private ownership of the means of production with wage labor relations, and is the main body of the non-public economy. The role of private capital is two-sided. On the one hand, private capital is an important form of capital, and the development of private capital under the conditions of the socialist market economy can fully mobilize the enthusiasm and creativity of private capital, promote private capital to play a positive role in activating the market, supporting growth, promoting innovation, stabilizing employment, increasing tax revenue, expanding opening up, etc., and contribute to the realization of common prosperity for all people. On the other hand, private capital has a strong profit-seeking nature, and it may drive the behavior of the non-public economy to deviate from the purpose of socialist production: first, it grabs high profits by extending working hours, increasing labor intensity, replacing labor with machines, and seeking monopoly, so as to widen the gap between capital income and labor remuneration; Second, due to the fluctuation of the rate of profit, the willingness to accumulate capital will be reduced, the expansion of the scale of social reproduction will be slowed down, and the sustained and stable operation of the economy will be affected; Third, when there is a difference in profit rate between domestic and foreign countries, and the profit rate of foreign countries is higher than that of domestic countries, private capital will flow from domestic to foreign, resulting in the hollowing out of the industry; Fourth, it may drive the disorderly expansion and barbaric growth of private capital, undermine the market order of fair competition, and harm the interests of other market entities and even the entire society. Under the conditions of the socialist market economy, it is necessary to adhere to the "two unswerving", fully affirm the important contribution and positive role of private capital, correctly view the remuneration obtained by private capital through legal and compliant operation, and strive to create a good social atmosphere that promotes the development and growth of private capital, so that private capital can play a greater role in promoting the great cause of achieving common prosperity. It can be said that the positioning and understanding of the status and role of the private economy and private capital are very clear, and there is no discrimination at all.

In the new era, the private economy and private capital are still an important force in the mainland's economic and social development, and the principles and policies of unswervingly encouraging, supporting, and guiding the development of the non-public sector of the economy will not change, and the party and the government should create a good environment and provide more opportunities for the development of the private economy and private capital.

First, it is necessary to consciously safeguard the basic socialist economic system. Leading cadres at all levels of the party and government should continuously improve the level of Marxist theory, profoundly understand the important significance of upholding and building socialism with Chinese characteristics, safeguard the basic economic system of socialism with Chinese characteristics with a high sense of political responsibility, earnestly consolidate and develop the public economy in the course of work practice, and earnestly encourage and develop the public economy. To support and guide the development of the non-public economy, we must not discriminate against the non-public economy and harm the rights and interests of people in the non-public sector just because we want to safeguard the dominant position of the public economy, nor can we allow the disorderly development of the non-public economy, weaken or even abandon the dominant position of the public economy, and damage the political foundation of the party's ruling power and the material basis of the common interests of all the people just because we want to encourage and support the non-public economy.

Second, build a "pro" and "clean" political and business relationship. Leading cadres at all levels of the party and government should show ideological and emotional concern for people in the non-public sector of the economy, be mentors and helpful friends of people in the non-public sector of the economy, and practice "proximity" and "purity." "Proximity" means that we should openly and sincerely strengthen contacts and exchanges with private enterprises, especially when private enterprises encounter difficulties and problems, we should be more active in acting and providing services to the front, pay more attention to, talk more, and give more guidance to people in the non-public sector of the economy, and help solve practical difficulties. "Clean" means that the relationship with private entrepreneurs must be innocent and pure, honest and honest, and there must be no greed for selfishness, no abuse of power for personal gain, and no trading of power for money.

Third, they should identify with socialism with Chinese characteristics ideologically and emotionally. People in the non-public sector of the economy should step up their political study, understand and familiarize themselves with the principles and policies of the party and the government, correctly understand and grasp the theoretical connotation and institutional characteristics of socialism with Chinese characteristics, identify with socialism with Chinese characteristics ideologically and emotionally, and consciously safeguard the basic economic system of socialism with Chinese characteristics in action。 We must soberly understand that the public and non-public economies are common components of the basic economic system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the common foundation of the socialist market economy. The development of the private economy from scratch, from small to large, and from weak to strong is inseparable from the strong support of the party's line, principles, and policies, and from the support and assistance of the public economy.

Fourth, have the courage to assume social responsibility. On the basis of the achievements already made, people in the non-public sector of the economy should continue to work hard to improve their internal skills, strengthen their physical fitness, and shoulder greater responsibilities. Private entrepreneurs should establish a high sense of responsibility and self-confidence, cherish their own social image, link their own career development with the destiny of the country and the nation, carry forward the entrepreneurial spirit, and be a model of patriotism and dedication, law-abiding management, innovation and entrepreneurship, and social returns; Private enterprises should make good use of strategic opportunities, effectively respond to various risks and challenges, strive to move towards the middle and high-end level, and play a greater role in promoting structural adjustment, cultivating new growth points, and accelerating transformation and upgrading; Private entrepreneurs should have the courage to assume social responsibility, maintain concentration, focus on innovation, and make due contributions to the revitalization of the real economy.