The thesis that socialist harmony is the essential attribute of socialism with Chinese characteristics represents a new, scientific theory laid down at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 16th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. Since the advancement of this new thesis, experts and scholars involved in the Project of studying and building Marxist theory have conducted relatively in-depth researches on the subject.
"Socialist harmony constitutes basic connotations of the essence attribute of socialism with Chinese characteristics"
This scientific thesis embodies the pursuance of CPC for the ideal of Communism.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels explicitly pointed out that the supreme realm of a human harmonious society could be achieved genuinely only with the realization of a Communist society. The CPC has taken Communism as its most lofty ideal, whilst underscoring the hard work to be done in a substantial and down-to-earth way for the attainment of its program at the current stage. Only in this way, can the Party advance continuously to achieve the supreme goal of Communism ultimately.
Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, says that socialist society has opened up a realistic road leading to a future society with a high-degree harmony, but to realize such an ideal harmonious society constitute a very long, historical process that requires arduous efforts for a protracted period of time.
This scientific thesis accurately reflects the essential attribute of socialism. The CPC has set forth the thesis based on its summary of new practices, which have further shed light on rich connotations of the essence of socialist society. Social harmony represents a vital, important component part of the state "soft power" and a crucial embodiment of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
This scientific thesis reveals the basic, fundamental feature of main contradictions in socialist society. "The basic contradictions in socialist society are still those between the relations of production and the productive forces and between the superstructure and the economic basis," said late Chairman Mao Zedong, founder of both CPC and new China, noting that these contradictions are both adaptable and inadaptable to each other and so they push forward the socialist society.
While the Party Central Committee with Hu Jintao as the general secretary set forth the vital strategic task of building a socialist harmonious society, it acknowledged in a clear-cut way that the socialist harmonious society could on no account imply a society without any contradictions or struggles, but that the construction of such a society represents the sustainable process of going on resolving social contradictions.
This scientific thesis mirrors the basic demand of the present-day China's specific national conditions. But the country's basic national conditions have not changed and will remain so in the primary stage of socialism for a fairly long period to come despite the fact that the nation has undergone close to 30 years of reform, opening-up and modernization construction, and that development remains the most cardinal requirement of China's national conditions.
Since the convocation of the 16th CPC National Congress in Nov. 2002, the CPC Central Committee has enhanced the firmness to concentrate on economic construction and seek development wholeheartedly. Consequently, the promotion of social harmony and attainment of scientific development relate to each other closely, in one way or the other, and are unified in the great practice of developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.
"Social harmony being the essential attribute of socialism with Chinese characteristics constitutes a vital theoretical innovation"
This scientific thesis enriches and develops the theoretical setup of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The thesis has answered a question of vital importance as what type of socialism China should build, and so the overall arrangement for socialism with Chinese characteristics has been extended "from Three in One" to the Four in one" -- A new leap in China's general layout of socialist modernization.
The Party documents adopted or released between the Third Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee convened in Dec. 1978 and the 16th Party National Congress in Nov. 2002 generally has such a "Three in One" wording for the overall arrangement for socialism with Chinese characteristics, namely, economic construction, political construction and cultural construction. Since the 16th CPC National Congress, nevertheless, the Party Central Committee with Hu Jintao as the general secretary has adopted the "Four in One" wording for the overall arrangement of socialism in China after it has summarized the new, practical experience of the reform and opening-up, that is, economic construction, political construction, cultural development and social development.
This scientific thesis deepens and extends the awareness for the quintessence of socialism. The early founders of the CPC learned to know Marxism from classic tenets of its founders and became acquainted themselves with the cream of socialism from the mere integration of the economic base with the superstructure.
Late senior leader Deng Xiaoping worked out a scientific definition to the essence of socialism. He said: the essence of socialism is to "emancipate and develop productive forces, eliminate exploitation and polarization and eventually realize common prosperity." This thesis of Deng's represented a major progress regarding the knowledge about the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Afterwards, Jiang Zemin applied the "theory of all-round Development of Human Being" to the category of the quintessence of socialism and enriched the Party's awareness of the essence of socialism. And the Party Central Committee with Hu Jintao as the general secretary has, in turn, revealed the scientific connotations of the quintessence of socialism in a still more profound eay, and deepened and increased the understanding of the essence of socialism. This epitomizes a vivid embodiment of the Party's continuous innovations in Marxist theory.
By People's Daily Online |
