Originally published in China Youth Magazine, Issue 9, 2024
@郑长忠
At every historical stage of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, Chinese youth have played a pioneering role. Entering a new era and embarking on a new journey, new quality productivity has become an important driving force for the development of Chinese-style modernization. This requires us to promote the development of China's youth according to the requirements of the new quality of productive forces, and forge a vanguard force in the new era that adapts to it. This requires the Communist Youth League of China to shoulder its due mission and play an active role in the process of forging a vanguard force in the new era.
Chinese youth: the vanguard force of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation
In ancient societies, the family had both life and production functions. In this kind of family community, young people are only "offspring" in the biological sense, attached to the family community. With the opening of modernization, modern schools and modern factories appeared in China, and a large number of young people left their families and entered schools and factories, forming groups with common characteristics, so that young people as social significance began to appear. After the May Fourth Movement, as young intellectuals took to the streets, the prelude to youth participation in politics began, and under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, young people entered the Chinese political arena in an all-round way, and youth began to appear as political significance. At this point, the youth group with both physical, social and political integrity was born in China.
The birth of youth in China coincided with the beginning of modernization. Modernization requires dynamic participation that is constantly adapting to mobility and innovation, and therefore, the beginning of modernization in China requires the participation of young people. As a result, modernization has pushed the most physically energetic young people to leave the traditional family and enter modern schools and factories, thus giving birth to the birth of youth in the full sense of the word, and at the same time, the least conservative and innovative characteristics of young people are also the most in line with the needs of modernization. This means that the birth of young people is spawned by modernization, and youth development also promotes the development of modernization. Therefore, both logically and historically, Chinese youth have the characteristics of resonance at the same frequency with China's modernization from the starting point, thus determining that as the "trendsetters" of modernization development, Chinese youth have played a pioneering role in every historical period.
In ancient times, the Chinese nation made brilliant achievements in civilization and made significant contributions to human development. However, after the Opium War, the corruption of the Qing Dynasty and the imperialist invasion made the Chinese nation begin to weaken. Only by promoting modernization can we realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, which has become the consensus of people of insight. In order to promote modernization, we need a group of vigorous and energetic forces with the least conservatism and the most innovation, and the Chinese youth, as the vanguard force of modernization, came into being, and thus the Chinese youth have become the vanguard force of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people overthrew the "three mountains," fulfilled the tasks of the new democratic revolution, established New China, chose to build modernization in a socialist way, promoted the cause of reform, opening up and socialism with Chinese characteristics, embarked on a Chinese-style modernization path, built the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, created a new form of human civilization, and promoted the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, whether in the years of revolutionary war or in the period of modernization, as a vanguard force, every generation of Chinese youth has played a due and positive role, thus making great contributions to the Chinese-style modernization drive and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
New quality productivity and the development of Chinese-style modernization
In the process of the development of human civilization, the productive forces are in a decisive position. The development of the productive forces has promoted the development of production relations and superstructure. This means that the development of productive forces will promote the development of the overall form of civilization, including material civilization, political civilization, spiritual civilization, social civilization and ecological civilization, and this development will not only occur in one country, but also in the whole world, thus promoting the overall development of human society.
It is precisely under the impetus of the development of productive forces that human society has stepped out of ignorance and barbarism and entered the stage of civilization. After the birth of civilization as a whole, and driven by the development of productive forces, human society has transitioned from ancient society to modern society, and will eventually develop towards a communist society. People call the process of the transition of human society from ancient society to modern society and the form of modern civilization established as modernization, so modernization is both a process and a form.
As the productive capacity of human beings, the productive forces are the practical abilities of human beings under the guidance of reason, and the results of human development in the process of transforming nature, so the development of productive forces is also the result of the development of human rationality and practice. Science and technology are the crystallization of human understanding of laws accumulated by human beings in the process of transforming nature, and contain the fruits of human rationality and its development. Because science and technology are the systematic results of the understanding and application of laws, so that science and technology not only play an important role in the application of productive forces, but also in their development, science and technology have become the primary productive forces.
In the agricultural period, human beings continued to accumulate scientific and technological achievements that were adapted to them, and constantly transformed them into productive forces, thus promoting the development of ancient civilizations. With the development of science and technology, the industrial technological revolution has taken place, which has made the productive forces develop by leaps and bounds, and promoted the transformation of human civilization from ancient times to modern times. Subsequently, science and technology adapted to the industrial age continued to accumulate, and productivity was also continuously improved, promoting the development of modern civilization. The digital technology revolution has detonated a chain revolution in various fields of science and technology, thus promoting the generation of new qualitative productive forces led by digital technology, driven by innovative science and technology in various fields, and characterized by continuous innovation. The emergence of new quality productive forces has brought about an overall transformation, all-round empowerment and revolutionary reshaping in all fields of modern civilization, which will have a profound impact on the development of modernization and become the basis of the productive forces for the new development of modern civilization and the new form of human civilization. As far as China is concerned, at the time of the large-scale emergence of new quality productive forces, it is the time when we enter a new era and embark on a new journey, so further promoting the development of new quality productive forces is an important foundation for accelerating the promotion of Chinese-style modernization. This requires us not only to actively promote the development of the new quality of productive forces, but also to actively adapt to the changes brought about by the new quality of the productive forces.
The development of new quality productive forces and the forging of vanguard forces in the new era
As an important driving force for the development of Chinese-style modernization in the new era and new journey, the development of new quality productivity has put forward two requirements for us: First, we must follow the internal logic of the development of new quality productivity, continuously promote the innovation and development of cutting-edge science and technology in various fields led by digital technology, and accelerate the transformation of formed scientific and technological achievements into real productivity. Second, it is necessary to follow the internal logic of the development of civilization and constantly promote the rapid adaptation of all fields of civilization development to the influence and changes brought about by the development of new productive forces. Whether it is to promote the development of new quality of productive forces or to adapt to the changes brought about by new quality of productivity, it is necessary for members of society to actively participate. It includes not only scientific and technological workers who are responsible for promoting scientific and technological innovation, but also general workers who can use these new technologies; It includes not only the participants in the production field who promote the development of new quality productivity and the promotion of traditional productivity with new quality productivity, but also other field participants who actively adapt to the changes brought about by the development of new quality productivity.
However, for the development of new productive forces and their impact, in order to be able to quickly promote their development and application, a number of forces are needed to play a leading role. If we look at the age structure, we believe that in the overall population, young people are still the vanguard force in promoting the development and application of new quality productivity. Here's why:
From the perspective of promoting the development of new quality productivity, new quality productivity is guided and promoted by scientific and technological innovation, among which the cutting-edge technology in various fields led by digital technology is the most important driving force for the development of new quality productivity, and rapid iterative innovation is an important feature of the development of cutting-edge science and technology. We continue to take on the important task of promoting the development and breakthrough of cutting-edge science and technology.
From the point of view of adapting to the changes brought about by the new quality of productive forces, the development of new quality of productive forces has not only created all kinds of new products, but also created various new types of relations, and correspondingly formed all kinds of new concepts, which requires that in terms of governance, we must also carry out reforms according to these changes, that is to say, the development of new quality productive forces will bring about changes in various elements and fields of civilization form. Judging from the development of the new productive forces over the past few years, the development of the new quality of productive forces has been so rapid and the impact is so great, and the characteristics of being the least conservative and the most innovative have made young people the social group that is most able to adapt to the impact and changes brought about by the development of the new quality of the productive forces.
Forging the vanguard force of the new era and promoting the new development of Chinese youth
Theoretical, historical, and practical logic have all proved that young people are the vanguard force in promoting the development and application of new quality productive forces. However, in order to give better play to the pioneering role of young people and promote their further development in the process, it is necessary for the state and society to create conditions in all aspects in accordance with the requirements of the development and application of new quality productive forces. Specifically, it can be promoted from the following aspects:
First, in terms of policies, we should introduce and improve the content and measures that attach importance to and encourage young people to participate in the promotion of new quality productivity. In terms of specific content, we should pay attention to the support and encouragement of talents at different levels, and attach importance to high-end talents, medium-level talents, and general producers in these fields. Because the development of new quality productive forces requires not only high-end scientific and technological talents as a guide, but also the specific participation and application of low-level talents and laborers. At the same time, young people should be encouraged to help middle-aged and elderly people adapt to the social changes brought about by the new quality of productive forces, and incorporate them into the relevant policies for the construction of spiritual civilization and social construction.
Second, in education, it is necessary to further promote labor education and professional education that are suited to the development of new quality productive forces. Labor education needs to cultivate not only the general consciousness of labor, but also the specific labor content and characteristics in the process of developing new productive forces, so that it can cultivate a labor concept that not only has a general labor consciousness but also can meet the needs of the development of new productive forces. At the same time, in the education system, especially in ordinary colleges and universities and vocational schools, it is necessary to carry out reforms, innovations, and adjustments in the setting of disciplines, teaching contents, and teaching methods in accordance with the requirements for the development and application of new quality productive forces.
Third, in terms of public opinion, we should further advocate that the whole society attach importance to the role of young people in the development and application of new quality productive forces. It is necessary to promote media propaganda and social public opinion from top to bottom, and intensify propaganda on the role of young people in promoting the development and application of new productive forces in terms of orientation, content, and methods. It is necessary not only to publicize the role of young people in promoting the development of new quality productive forces, but also to publicize the leading role of young people in adapting to the changes brought about by new quality productive forces.
Fourth, in society, we should encourage various organizations to create conditions for young people to play a role in the development and application of the new productive forces. Young people are organized in various economic and social organizations, and many young people with flexible employment also participate in the corresponding platforms, so we should promote specific organizations and platforms, attach importance to the vanguard role of young people as promoting the development and application of new quality productive forces, and create conditions in all aspects so that their roles can be better played. For society as a whole, it is also necessary to create a more inclusive and positive environment to encourage the all-round development of young people and to address their worries.
The mission of the Communist Youth League to forge the vanguard force of the new era
As the party's assistant and reserve army, and as a bridge between the party and the government and the youth, the Communist Youth League has the unshirkable responsibility to give play to the role of the youth and promote the growth of the youth in the process of the development of the new quality productive forces, so as to forge the vanguard force of the new era. We believe that the Communist Youth League can assist the party and the government in doing a good job in the following aspects:
First, in the formulation of youth policies, the Communist Youth League should add to the medium- and long-term development plan for young people to give play to the role of youth and promote youth development around serving the development of new productive forces. Not only should specific measures and contents be added, but also should be raised to the level of the guiding ideology of the planning and running through all aspects of the planning. At the same time, these contents should be integrated into the construction of youth development cities, and innovation should be encouraged in all localities.
Second, in terms of support for youth organizations, the Communist Youth League should give full play to the strength of the youth league organizations and the role of the Youth Federation, the Federation of Students, and other types of youth organizations, focus on the role of young people in promoting the development and application of new productive forces, innovate work content and working methods, and promote the growth and all-round development of young people in the process of giving play to their role.
Third, in the aspect of building public opinion, the Communist Youth League should strengthen the role of youth and the content of youth development in the development and application of new productive forces in the selection of typical trees and propaganda of public opinion, and innovate propaganda methods and means to give play to the role of young people as the main force in the creation of public opinion and enhance the effectiveness of public opinion building.
Fourth, in terms of serving youth development, the Communist Youth League should strengthen the innovation of the service system focusing on the role of youth and youth development in the process of developing and applying new productive forces. Communist Youth League organizations at all levels should work together with all sectors of society and all fields to find and discover various ways and means of serving young people that already exist or that are innovative to adapt to the development of new productive forces, and then integrate and classify these individual cases to form an overall new youth service system. On this basis, according to the needs of the development of new quality productive forces, we should further innovate new youth service methods and means, so as to continuously improve the new youth service system.
Zheng Changzhong
(The author is a professor and director of the Center for Party Building and National Development Research of Fudan University, a think tank of Shanghai universities, director of the Fudan Base of the Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and the rotating president of the Shanghai Youth Studies Association)
Producer: Pi Jun Final Review: Chen Min Reviewer: Liu Xiao Liu Bowen Editor: Wang Leizheng Miao Jiaxin (intern)