STUDY AND PRACTICE MARXISM

STUDY AND PRACTICE MARXISM*

May 4, 2018

Frederick Engels said, “A nation that wants to climb the pinnacles of science cannot possibly manage without theoretical thought.” If we Chinese are to realize national rejuvenation, we likewise cannot possibly manage without a strong command of theory. Marxism is and will continue to be the guiding theory for our Party and nation. It is the formidable theoretical tool which we use to understand the world, grasp its underlying patterns, search for its truth, and effect change.

Marxist ideas and theories are wide-ranging and profound and maintain relevance through constant study. In the new era, we Chinese Communists still need to study Karl Marx, study and practice Marxism, and continually draw on its powerful knowledge and theories. In this way, we will uphold and develop Chinese socialism in the new era with more resolve, confidence and wisdom. It will support the coordinated advance of the Five-sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy and ensure that we always stay the course towards national rejuvenation as we break the waves and sail ahead.

— Studying Marx requires the study and practice of Marxist thought on the patterns underlying the development of human society. Marx revealed through his research the inexorable trend by which human society would ultimately move towards communism. Marx and Engels firmly believed that in the society of the future “we shall have an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all”, and that “the proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win”. Marx firmly believed that the tide of history would only surge forward once the people became the masters of themselves, society, and human development, and with this the ideal of communism would necessarily be realized by degrees through the extant conditions of continuous change. Marxism established the theoretical foundation for the unwavering ideals and convictions of Communists. We need to have a complete mastery of the worldview and methodology of dialectical and historical materialism, and fully understand that realizing communism is a long process involving the step-by-step achievement of milestones. We need to bring together the noble ideal of communism with the shared ideal of Chinese socialism and the endeavors in which we are currently engaged, and we should remain confident in the path, theory, system and culture of Chinese socialism, and adhere to the ideals and convictions of Communists. We need to be like Marx, and strive for communism throughout our lives.

— Studying Marx requires the study and practice of Marxist thought on upholding the position of the people. Commitment to the people is Marxism’s most distinctive character. According to Marx and Engels, historical action is the action of the masses. Enabling the people to gain their emancipation was Marx’s life goal. We must always ensure that our basic position is that of the people, and that we strive for the wellbeing of the people as our fundamental mission, remain committed to the fundamental principle of wholeheartedly serving the people, and carry out the mass line. We must also respect the principal status of the people and their creativity, forever maintain close ties with them, channel our strength into an invincible force, and unite the people and lead them in moving history forward. This is the natural choice that respects the laws of history, and it is the responsibility undertaken by we Chinese Communists for our part in staying true to our original aspiration and founding mission.

— Studying Marx requires the study and practice of Marxist thought on the productive forces and the relations of production. Marxism holds that the material forces of production form the material prerequisites for all social existence, and that the totality of these relations of production appropriate to a given stage in the development of the material forces of production constitutes the economic base of society. The forces of production are the most dynamic and revolutionary factors driving social progress. “The aggregate of productive forces accessible to men determines the condition of society.” The mutual interactions and constraints between the productive forces and the relations of production and between the economic base and the superstructure govern the whole course of social development. Unleashing and developing the productive forces is a fundamental task for socialism; it is also a major challenge which the Chinese Communists continue to explore and work hard to resolve. Within 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and especially since the launch of reform and opening up in 1978, our Party has led the people in resolute efforts to unleash and develop the productive forces and completed a process of development that took the West several centuries, thus propelling our country’s high-speed rise to become the world’s second largest economy. We need to have the courage to further reform in all areas, rouse the vitality of the productive forces by balancing the relations of production, and adapt to the requirements of developing the economic base by improving the superstructure. This will ensure that the development of Chinese socialism better conforms with the patterns governing the productive forces and the relations of production.

— Studying Marx requires the study and practice of Marxist thought on people’s democracy. As Marx and Engels noted, “The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority.” They believed that “the working class, once come to power, could not go on managing with the old state machine”, and that it would replace the former state power with “a new and truly democratic one”. State agencies must change from controlling the public to serving them, and accept public oversight. We need to keep to the path of socialist political progress with Chinese characteristics, and drive the development of China’s socialist democracy while remaining committed to the integration of Party leadership, the people’s status as masters of the country, and law-based governance. We also need to strengthen institutional guarantees for the people to run the country, accelerate the modernization of China’s governance system and capacity, arouse people’s enthusiasm, initiative and creativity, and more firmly and effectively implement people’s democracy.

— Studying Marx requires the study and practice of Marxist thought on cultural progress. Marx believed that given different economic and social environments, people would produce different ideas and culture, and that even though ideas and culture are determined by the economic base, they also react with it. Once advanced ideas and culture are apprehended by the people, they transform into a formidable material force; conversely, if outmoded or erroneous ideas are not cast aside, they become fetters on social development. Theoretical awareness and cultural confidence are a force for national progress; advanced values and a free mind are the source of social vitality. Culture both transforms and fashions the spirit of a nation. While remaining grounded in China’s realities, our nation must embrace modernization, the world, and the future. We must consolidate the guiding role of Marxism in the ideological domain, develop an advanced socialist culture, and strengthen socialist cultural and ethical standards. We must also see that all areas of social development are imbued with the core socialist values, promote the creative transformation and development of our traditional culture, help our people raise their political awareness and moral standards, and foster appreciation of fine culture. In so doing, we will continue to add new luster to Chinese culture.

— Studying Marx requires us to study and practice Marxist thought on social progress. Marx and Engels envisaged that in the society of the future “production will now be calculated to provide wealth for all”, and that it would feature “the participation of all in the enjoyments provided by all”. Engels integrated a series of views raised by Marx in Manifesto of the Communist Party, Critique of the Gotha Programme, Capital, and other works, clarifying how, under the conditions of socialism, society should “give healthy and useful labour to all, ample wealth and leisure to all, and the truest and fullest freedom to all”. The people yearn for a better life, and our goal is to help them achieve it. We need to remain committed to our people-centered philosophy of development, focus on the most pressing and most immediate issues that concern the people the most, and consistently secure and improve standards of living for the people. We need to promote social fairness and justice, ensure access to a higher level of childcare, education, employment, medical services, elderly care, housing, and social assistance, and see that reform and development offer greater benefits to all our people in a fair way. In so doing, we will promote well-rounded human development and achieve shared prosperity for everyone.

— Studying Marx requires us to study and practice Marxist thought on the relationship between humanity and nature. Marx understood that “man lives on nature”, and that nature not only provides humans with the means of life such as soils which are fertile, and rivers, lakes and oceans which are teeming with fish, but it also provides humans with the means of production. Nature constitutes the natural conditions in which humans exist. If we humans treat nature well as we work, live and develop alongside it, nature will bestow its gifts upon us; however, “if man, by dint of his knowledge and inventive genius, has subdued the forces of nature, the latter avenge themselves upon him.” Nature is the mother of life, humanity and nature form a community of life, and humanity must revere and respect nature, follow its ways, and protect it. We need to ensure harmony between humanity and nature, firmly realize that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and conscientiously act on this understanding, mobilize all sectors of society to build an eco-civilization, and build a beautiful China together. In so doing, we will ensure that the people appreciate the beauty of nature, life and existence as they live with lucid waters and lush mountains, and pursue a model of sustainable development featuring increased production, higher living standards, and healthy ecosystems.

— Studying Marx requires us to study and practice Marxist thought on world history. Marx and Engels said, “The more the original isolation of the separate nationalities is destroyed by the advanced mode of production, by intercourse and by the natural division of labour between various nations arising as a result, the more history becomes world history.” This prognostication has since become a reality; history and reality have increasingly proved its scientific value. Today, the global nature of human association is more profound and extensive than ever before, and the connections and interdependence between countries are more frequent and intimate than ever before. We live in an integrated world; whoever rejects this world will also be rejected by it. All living things grow side by side without harming one another; the sun, the moon, and the seasons rotate according to their own laws without hindering the others. We need to look from the perspective of world history to examine the development trends and the problems we face in the world today, and continue to pursue a path of peaceful development, an independent foreign policy of peace, and a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up. We should expand cooperation with all other countries, take an active part in global governance, and realize win-win cooperation and common development in more fields and at higher levels, and we must not submit to others and even less so plunder others. In this way, we can work with the people of all other countries to build a global community of shared future and create a better world.

— Studying Marx requires us to study and practice Marxist thought on developing a Marxist political party. Marx recognized that the Communists “have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole”, that “in the various stages of development which the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie has to pass through, they always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole”, and that they work “in the interest of the immense majority” and strive to build a communist society. A communist party must “set up bench marks for all the world to see, whereby it may gauge how far the party has progressed”. The basic difference between a Marxist party and other political parties is that the former always stands with the people and fights for their interests. We need to coordinate our great struggle, great project, great cause, and great dream, and strengthen our consciousness of the need to maintain political commitment, think in terms of the general picture, follow the core leadership of the CPC Central Committee, and act in accordance with its requirements. We need to persevere with full and rigorous governance over the Party, give top priority to reinforcing the Party’s political foundations, uphold and strengthen overall Party leadership, and uphold the authority of the Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership. We need to uphold truth and correct errors, forever preserve the political character of Communists, and build the Party into a vibrant Marxist governing party that is always at the forefront of the times, enjoys the wholehearted support of the people, has the courage to reform itself, and is able to withstand all tests.

* Part of the speech at the ceremony marking the bicentenary of the birth of Karl Marx.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)