【Forum】"Doing Things According to Dialectics": Comrade Deng Xiaoping's Far-sighted Strategic Thinking

"Acting according to the dialectic"

Comrade Deng Xiaoping's far-sighted strategic thinking

Li Qinggang

In his important speech at the symposium commemorating the 120th anniversary of Comrade Deng Xiaoping's birth, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that Comrade Deng Xiaoping's lifelong struggle "fully demonstrated his lofty character of incomparably firm belief in the lofty ideals of communism and socialism with Chinese characteristics, his great feelings of incomparable love for the people, the theoretical quality of always seeking truth from facts, the political courage to constantly blaze new trails, his far-sighted strategic thinking, and his frank and selfless broad-mindedness." Strategic thinking is the most magnificent revolutionary spirit of Comrade Deng Xiaoping's life, and it will always be the way of thinking that the Chinese communists should establish.

In December 1984, the signing ceremony of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Hong Kong Question was held. The picture shows Deng Xiaoping meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who came to China to attend the signing ceremony (Source: People's Daily Online)

Comrade Deng Xiaoping's strategic thinking has a profound Marxist philosophical foundation, that is, "acting according to dialectics." In February 1945, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out at the report meeting of the Central Party School: "Comrade Deng Xiaoping said: How should things be done? Do things according to the dialectic. I agree with him. In January 1957, in his speech at a meeting of secretaries of provincial, municipal and autonomous regional party committees, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "We must act according to dialectics. This is what Comrade Deng Xiaoping said. In my view, the whole party should study dialectics and advocate acting according to dialectics. Comrade Deng Xiaoping "acted according to dialectics," and many of his important ideas and theories were full of materialist dialectics and embodied the overall vision and strategic vision.

One

"Hold on" vs. "Hold on"

"Holding on to it" means that we must grasp the main contradiction and attach importance to the main aspect of the contradiction in policy making. The main contradiction in Chinese society during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was the contradiction between the Chinese nation and Japan imperialism. In January 1943, Comrade Deng Xiaoping summed up the work of the struggle against Japan and pointed out: "The starting point of all policies and work, whether in base areas, enemy-occupied areas, or guerrilla areas, must firmly grasp the principle of expanding Sino-Japanese contradictions. This is hitting the enemy's sore spot. That is to say, it is necessary to carry out the revolutionary work with a firm grasp of the main contradictions. Focusing on this main contradiction, he further analyzed and pointed out: "Now tremendous changes have begun in the enemy-occupied areas that are favorable to us, and the basic manifestation of this is that the people's anti-Japanese sentiment has greatly increased and the contradiction between the enemy and the puppet has developed. We should grasp this basic characteristic to develop our work, grasp the essence of the Sino-Japanese contradictions, develop the anti-Japanese national united front, and unite all anti-Japanese people of all strata in the struggle against the enemy. Experience has proved that in enemy-occupied areas, we should not expand the class contradictions of the Chinese themselves, but basically unite all Chinese against the enemy. In this way, we will be able to carry out work in enemy-occupied areas, otherwise we will not be able to gain a foothold in enemy-occupied areas. Experience has also proved that uniting the Chinese against the enemy also involves struggle. The content of the struggle should mainly be against those individual elements who do not understand the general righteousness, undermine unity, help the enemy, and are selfish, and the mode of struggle should also be peaceful and political. Only against the kind of traitors and spies who are desperate for their enemies and hated by the people can we adopt the method of resolutely cracking down. The requirements of "firmly grasping" and "grasping well" are a true and vivid portrayal of Comrade Deng Xiaoping's application of the key theory to guide the struggle against Japan against the enemy.

In the new period of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, the main contradiction in mainland society is the contradiction between the people's ever-growing material and cultural needs and backward social production. On the basis of a correct analysis of this principal contradiction, Comrade Deng Xiaoping explicitly demanded that the focus of the work of the party and the state must be shifted to socialist modernization with economic construction as the center. He repeatedly stressed: "We, the whole party and the whole people, must firmly establish this ambition, hold on to it, be 'stubborn' a little, and never waver," and "this matter must be firmly held and not delayed for a single day." It is precisely on the basis of an accurate grasp of "backward social production" in the main contradiction in society and relying on the perseverance and tenacity of "holding on" to economic construction as the center, that the CPC has led the Chinese people to achieve a historic breakthrough from a relatively backward state of productive forces to the second largest economic output in the world, to achieve a historic leap in the people's living standards from insufficient food and clothing to an overall well-off life and to a well-off life in all respects, and to promote the great leap of the Chinese nation from standing up to becoming rich.

Two

"Key Theory" and "Two-Point Theory"

The "theory of key points" and the "theory of two points" are interrelated and organically unified, and we should not forget the two points when highlighting the key points, and we should keep in mind the overall situation when grasping the key points. During the years of the revolutionary war, Comrade Deng Xiaoping proposed that the three major tasks of war, production, and education should be grasped together: "We are all for the victory of the war, production is precisely to ensure the victory of the war, and education is to serve the war and production, and if the three are closely combined, we will be an invincible force." "After the founding of the People's Republic of China, while leading the Southwest Bureau to do a good job in consolidating political power and restoring the economy, Comrade Deng Xiaoping resolutely made arrangements for suppressing bandits in view of the serious situation of banditry. It was not an easy task to exterminate 900,000 bandits, but it turned out to be "beautifully fought." Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out that Deng Xiaoping was a good hand in politics, military affairs, and military affairs. In 1975, Comrade Deng Xiaoping broke through the obstacles of the "Gang of Four" and carried out the work of comprehensive rectification in a big way. Comrade Deng Xiaoping later regarded this rectification as an "experiment" in reform. The soul of all these measures is the word "dare". He often told people to have a little spirit, "dare to be the first word, and have a heart", not afraid of being caught in braids, not afraid of making mistakes, not afraid of being knocked down again. All this embodies Comrade Deng Xiaoping's strategic thinking of grasping key points and grasping all-round aspects.

In Comrade Deng Xiaoping's view, the overall situation is also called "great truth." He stressed on many occasions that "the big truth and the small truth must be clarified" and "the small situation is subordinated to the overall situation, and the small reason is subordinated to the big truth." He pointed out that "whether for the present or the future, what I am talking about is not from a small angle, but from the overall situation," and "we must advocate taking the overall situation into account." Some things are feasible from a local point of view, but not from a big picture point of view; Some things are not feasible from a local point of view, but they are feasible from a big picture point of view. In the end, it's about looking at the big picture." With regard to major issues that have a bearing on the overall situation and have a long-term impact, Comrade Deng Xiaoping has always been able to keep the overall situation in mind, gain insight into the general trend, lift heavy weights as if they were light, and raise the banner in a directional manner. In handling the relations between the coastal areas and the hinterland, Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "It is an issue that has a bearing on the overall situation that the coastal areas should speed up the opening up to the outside world so that this vast zone with a population of 200 million people can develop relatively quickly and thus bring about better development in the hinterland. The mainland should take into account this overall situation. On the other hand, when the development reaches a certain point, the coastal areas are required to come up with more forces to help the development of the hinterland, and this is also an overall situation. At that time, the coast will also be subject to this overall situation. All this has fully demonstrated Comrade Deng Xiaoping's outstanding courage and magnificence as a strategist of a generation.

Four

"Seize the opportunity and make timely decisions"

Seizing the opportunity, judging the hour and sizing up the situation, and preventing overdoing it is an important principle that Comrade Deng Xiaoping followed when making strategic decisions. In the process of promoting reform and opening up, Comrade Deng Xiaoping stressed: "We must be good at seizing the opportunity to solve our development problems." Reform is a new thing for us, and we need to grope our way forward to grasp the opportunity, that is, to "cross the river by feeling the stones". Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out in a matter-of-fact manner: "Due to the complexity of urban reform, some mistakes may occur. But this does not affect the overall situation, we are taking one step at a time, and if there is something inappropriate, we just need to change it." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Crossing the river by feeling the stones is a reform method rich in Chinese wisdom, and it is also a method that conforms to Marxist epistemology and practice." In the process of reform and opening up, we have "crossed the river by feeling the stones," and for the reforms that must make breakthroughs but are not so sure for the time being, we have adopted the method of experimenting with exploration and asking for directions, taking the lead in experiments, respecting practice and creation, encouraging bold exploration and pioneering efforts, gaining experience and seeing it very accurately before pushing it aside. That is to say, the development of things always starts from quantitative changes, and when quantitative changes reach a certain extent, we must decisively seize the opportunity to promote the transformation and development of things. Therefore, it is necessary to be good at seizing the opportunity and making strategic decisions in a timely manner. Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "The problems that should be solved should be resolved at a faster pace, and they should be resolved by means of cutting through the mess with a quick knife, and they should not be delayed. When the judgment continues, you must make mistakes. At a time when reform and opening up were gradually entering the deep-water zone, Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "In order to achieve an appropriate pace of development, we must not just make circles in the affairs at hand, but analyze problems from a macro strategic perspective and come up with concrete measures. Opportunities should be seized, decisions should be made in a timely manner, and it is necessary to study which places have better conditions and can be open source on a larger scale. ”

Comrade Deng Xiaoping has always advocated "sorting out problems, grasping ideas well, and then proceeding." To "sort out problems," we must emancipate our minds and seek truth from facts. He pointed out that it is necessary to "break the shackles of habitual forces and subjective prejudices under the guidance of Marxism, study new situations, and solve new problems," take practice as the only criterion for testing truth, and "make ideology conform to reality and subjectivity and objectivity," that is, seeking truth from facts. Comrade Deng Xiaoping often said that he was a "school of seeking truth from facts." He stressed many times that in the revolution of reform, "we must be bold and take steady steps." "Be bold", emphasizing the play of subjective initiative, "if you see it, you will boldly try and boldly break through". "The pace should be steady", the emphasis is on respecting objective laws, seeking truth from facts, "the principles to be followed in formulating plans should be positive, leave room for improvement, and can only be achieved through hard work", and quickly change problems when they are discovered. The combination of the two embodies the unity of giving full play to subjective initiative and respecting objective laws, the unity of daring to try and break through, and the unity of steady and steady progress.

The successful pioneering of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the tremendous achievements made in the cause of reform and opening up are inseparable from Comrade Deng Xiaoping's far-sighted strategic thinking and the scientific guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory. "Doing things according to the dialectic method" has distinctive characteristics and is of great significance. In the new era and new journey, we must continue to study and apply Deng Xiaoping Theory in depth and fully and accurately understand its scientific connotation and core essence. If we neglect one or the other, and if we neglect one or the other, we will easily lead to deviations in practice and even make mistakes in principle and direction." Party members and cadres should conscientiously study Comrade Deng Xiaoping's world vision and strategic thinking of "looking at the world, the future, the present, and all aspects", learn from his ideological and work methods that are good at grasping the key points and outlining the outline, observe and think about problems from the forefront of the times, plan the cause of the party and the people in the long river of history and the global vision, see the big from the small and see the small things from the small, achieve strategic breakthroughs in solving outstanding problems, and promote all work while grasping the overall strategic situation. We will unswervingly advance the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

Source: Red Flag Manuscripts

Author: Li Qinggang (Deputy Director and Professor of the Teaching and Research Department of the History of the Communist Party of China at the Central Party School (National Academy of Administration))

Pictured: Fang Zhi Sichuan