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Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party

The ideology of the Chinese Communist Party has undergone dramatic changes throughout the years, especially during Deng Xiaoping's leadership and the contemporary leadership of Xi Jinping.

Ideology

In the early days of this party, the prevailing nationalism and populism in 1910s China played an important part in the ideology of early communists such as Li Dazhao and Mao Zedong. On the one hand, Marxism was a spiritual utopia to the early communists, while, on the other hand, they modified or "Sinicized" some doctrines of communist ideology in a realistic and nationalist way to support their revolution in China. In the process of establishment, land reform, and collectivization, these ideological syntheses led to the emergence of the famous Great Leap Forward movement and the Cultural Revolution. [1]

In recent years, it has been argued, mainly by foreign commentators, that the CCP does not have an ideology, and that the party organization is pragmatic and interested only in what works.[2]

The party itself, however, claims otherwise.[3] For instance, CCP general secretary Hu Jintao stated in 2012 that the Western world is "threatening to divide us" and that "the international culture of the West is strong while we are weak ... ideological and cultural fields are our main targets".[2] The CCP puts a great deal of effort into the party schools and crafting its ideological message.[2] Before the "Practice Is the Sole Criterion for Truth" campaign, the relationship between ideology and decision-making was a deductive one, meaning that policy-making was derived from ideological knowledge.[4] Under Deng, this relationship was turned upside down, with decision-making justifying ideology and not the other way around.[4] Lastly, Chinese policy-makers believe that one of the reasons for the dissolution of the Soviet Union was its stagnant state ideology. They therefore believe that their party ideology must be dynamic to safeguard the party's rule, unlike the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, whose ideology became "rigid, unimaginative, ossified, and disconnected from reality."[4]

Role of ideology

Ideals and convictions

In the article "Revolutionary Ideals are Higher than Heaven-Studying" (published in 2013), a person writing under the pen name "Autumn Stone", supports CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping's policy of strengthening the ideological conviction of party cadres, since (as the Leninist mantra goes) ideological unity leads to party unity.[5] The writer claims "Ideals and convictions are the spiritual banners for the united struggle of a country, nation and party, wavering ideals and convictions are the most harmful form of wavering."[5] Adhering to the ideals and convictions of the party creates a link between the party and the masses, and will let the party "gain victories wherever" it goes.[5] Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the core spiritual values of members have become more important than ever, considering the restrengthened position of world capitalism.[5] Xi Jinping believes that wavering conviction in the party's ideals leads to increased corruption and unwanted behaviour.[5] Exemplary members have existed before, such as Xia Minghan who said "Don't fear being beheaded, as long as one's ism is true", Yang Chao's "The heaven's are full of rain, wind and worry, for the Revolution, it is unnecessary to fear losing one's head" and Fang Zhimin's statement that "The enemy can only cut off our heads, but cannot shake our beliefs!"[5] The author suggest that these men were incorruptible because they carried the party's ideals and convictions.[5] The dissolution of the Soviet Union, the writer suggests, was in key parts due to the ideological wavering of officials; claiming that even Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, had acknowledged in private that communist ideals had become obsolete to him.[5] Disintegration in the ideological arena can lead to breaches in other areas of the party's edifice, paving the way for party collapse, the author states.[5]

In 2006, at the 16th Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee, the CCP leadership under General Secretary Hu Jintao expressed the need to create a new value system, referred to as the socialist core value system.[6] In his speech, entitled "Resolution on Major Issues Concerning the Building of a Socialist Harmonious Society", to the 16th Plenary Session Hu Jintao stated;[7]

The guiding ideology of Marxism, the common ideal of the socialism with Chinese characteristics, the national spirit with patriotism as the core, the spirit of the times with reform and innovation as the core, and the socialist concept of honour and disgrace constitute the basic contents of the socialist core values system. We should persist in integrating the socialist core values system into the entire process of national education and the building of a spiritual civilization and having it run through the various aspect of the modernization drive.[8]

Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought

I am a Marxist. The essence of Marxism is change, [...] The Marxist in China today is not a stubborn, dogmatic, and outdated 19th-century old man, but a dynamic, pro-change, young thinker. We have a flexible approach: if Marx's words are still applicable, we will use them; for things he did not articulate clearly, we will spell them out; for what he did not say, we will boldly come up with something new.

Ye Xiaowen on the role of Marxist thought.[9]

Marxism–Leninism was the first official ideology of the Chinese Communist Party, and is a combination of classical Marxism (the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels) and Leninism (the thoughts of Vladimir Lenin).[10] According to the CCP, "Marxism–Leninism reveals the universal laws governing the development of history of human society." To the CCP, Marxism–Leninism provides a vision of the contradictions in capitalist society and of the inevitability of a future socialist and communist societies.[10] Marx and Engels first created the theory behind Marxist party building; Lenin developed it in practice before, during and after the Russian Revolution of 1917.[10] Lenin's biggest achievement came in party-building, through concepts such as the vanguard party of the working class and democratic centralism.[10] According to the People's Daily, Mao Zedong Thought "is Marxism–Leninism applied and developed in China".[10]

Mao Zedong Thought was conceived not only by CCP Chairman Mao Zedong, but by leading party officials.[11] According to Xinhua, Mao Zedong Thought is "an integration of the universal truth of Marxism–Leninism with the practice of the Chinese revolution."[11] Currently, the CCP interprets the essence of Mao Zedong Thought as "Seeking truth from facts": "we must proceed from reality and put theory into practice in everything. In other words, we must integrate the universal theory of Marxism–Leninism with China's specific conditions."[11]

 
A monument dedicated to Marx (left) and Engels (right) in Shanghai, China

While analysts generally agree that the CCP has rejected orthodox Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought (or at least basic thoughts within orthodox thinking), the CCP itself disagrees.[12] Some Western commentators also talk about a "crisis of ideology" within the party; they believe that the CCP has rejected communism.[12] Wang Xuedong, the director of the Institute of World Socialism, said in response, "We know there are those abroad who think we have a 'crisis of ideology,' but we do not agree."[12] According to former CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin, the CCP "must never discard Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought." He said that "if we did, we would lose our foundation."[13] He further noted that Marxism in general "like any science, needs to change as time and circumstances advance."[13] Certain groups argue that Jiang Zemin ended the CCP's formal commitment to Marxism with the introduction of the ideological theory, the Three Represents.[14] However, party theorist Leng Rong disagrees, claiming that "President Jiang rid the Party of the ideological obstacles to different kinds of ownership [...] He did not give up Marxism or socialism. He strengthened the Party by providing a modern understanding of Marxism and socialism—which is why we talk about a 'socialist market economy' with Chinese characteristics."[14] Marxism in its core is, according to Jiang Zemin, methodology and the goal of a future, classless society, not analyses of class and of the contradictions between different classes.[15]

Karl Marx argued that society went through different stages of development, and believed that the capitalist mode of production was the fourth stage.[16] The stages were: ancient primitive communism, slavery, feudal, capitalist, socialist, and the communist mode of production.[16] The attainment of true "communism" is described as the CCP's and China's "ultimate goal".[17] While the CCP claims that China is in the primary stage of socialism, party theorists argue that the current development stage "looks a lot like capitalism". Alternately, certain party theorists argue that "capitalism is the early or first stage of communism."[17] In official pronouncements, the primary stage of socialism is predicted to last about 100 years, after which China will reach another developmental stage.[17] Some have dismissed the concept of a primary stage of socialism as intellectual cynicism.[17] According to Robert Lawrence Kuhn, a China analyst, "When I first heard this rationale, I thought it more comic than clever—a wry caricature of hack propagandists leaked by intellectual cynics. But the 100-year horizon comes from serious political theorists".[17]

Reforms

 
China's nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) trend from 1952 to 2005

While it has been argued by Westerners that the reforms introduced by the CCP under Deng were a rejection of the party's Marxist heritage and ideology, the CCP does not view it as such.[18] The rationale behind the reforms was that the productive forces of China lagged behind the advanced culture and ideology developed by the party-state. In 1986, to end this deficiency, the party came to the conclusion that the main contradiction in Chinese society was that between the backward productive forces and the advanced culture and ideology of China.[18] By doing this, they deemphasized class struggle, and contradicted both Mao and Karl Marx, who both considered that class struggle was the main focus of the communist movement.[18] According to this logic, thwarting the CCP's goal of advancing productive forces was synonymous with class struggle.[18] The classical goal of class struggle was declared by Deng to have been achieved in 1976.[18] While Mao had also emphasized the need to develop productive forces, under Deng it became paramount.[19]

 
Mao Zedong (left) meets with Richard Nixon, the President of the United States, on 21 February 1972

Some have likened the CCP's position under Deng to that of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin when he introduced the planned economy.[19] Adrian Chan, the author of Chinese Marxism, opposes this view: "To Stalin, the development of productive forces was the prerequisite for the Soviet Union to become communist."[19] He further argues that such a view does not make sense in light of the different situations; Stalin emphasized production because of the Soviet Union's backwardness in all areas, while in China, the reforms were seen as one way to further develop the productive forces.[19] These interpretations, while not in agreement, shed light on the fact that Chinese socialism did change during the Deng era.[19] In 1987, the Beijing Review stated that the achievements of socialism were "evaluated according to the level of the productive forces".[19]

Party theoretician and former Politburo member Hu Qiaomu in his thesis "Observe economic laws, speed up the Four Modernizations", published in 1978, argued that economic laws were objective, on par with natural laws.[20] He insisted that economic laws were no more negotiable "than the law of gravity".[20] Hu's conclusion was that the party was responsible for the socialist economy's acting on these economic laws.[20] He believed that only an economy based on the individual would satisfy these laws, since "such an economy would be in accord with the productive forces".[20] The CCP followed his line, and at the 12th National Congress, the party constitution was amended, stating that the private economy was a "needed complement to the socialist economy".[20] This sentiment was echoed by Xue Muqiao; "practice shows that socialism is not necessarily based on a unified public ownership by the whole society".[20]

 
 
 
Reform and opening up would not have been introduced if not for the work of Deng Xiaoping (left), Chen Yun (center) and Li Xiannian (right). The relationship between Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun and Li Xiannian, was described as "two and a half" in the 1980s; with Chen being considered roughly as Deng's equal, and with Li Xiannian "being half a step behind".[21]

The official communiqué of the 3rd plenum of the 11th Central Committee included the words: "integrate the universal principles of Marxism–Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought with the concrete practice of socialist modernization and develop it under the new historical conditions".[22] With the words "new historical conditions", the CCP had in fact made it possible to view the old, Maoist ideology as obsolete (or at least certain tenets).[22] To know if a policy was obsolete or not, the party had to "seek truth from facts" and follow the slogan "practice is the sole criterion of the truth".[22] At the 6th plenum of the 11th Central Committee, the "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China" was adopted.[23] The resolution separated Mao the person from Mao Zedong Thought, claiming that Mao had contravened Mao Zedong Thought during his rule.[23] While the document criticized Mao, it clearly stated that he was a "proletarian revolutionary" (i.e. not all of his views were wrong), and that without Mao there would have been no new China.[23] Su Shaozi, a party theoretician and the head of the Institute of Marxism–Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought, argued that the CCP needed to reassess the New Economic Policy introduced by Vladimir Lenin and ended by Stalin, as well as Stalin's industrialization policies and the prominent role he gave to class struggle.[24] Su claimed that the "exploiting classes in China had been eliminated".[25] Dong Fureng, a deputy director at the Institute of Economics, agreed with the reformist discourse, first by criticizing Marx and Friedrich Engels' view that a socialist society had to abolish private property, and secondly, accusing both Marx and Engels for being vague on what kind of ownership of the means of production was necessary in socialist society.[25] While both Su and Dong agreed that it was the collectivization of agriculture and the establishment of People's Communes which had ended rural exploitation, neither of them sought a return to collectivized agriculture.[26]

Socialist market economy

The term "socialism with Chinese characteristics" was added to the General Program of the party's constitution at the 12th National Congress, without a definition of the term.[27] At the 13th National Congress, held in 1987, Zhao Ziyang, the CCP General Secretary, claimed that socialism with Chinese characteristics was the "integration of the fundamental tenets of Marxism with the modernization drive in China" and was "scientific socialism rooted in the realities of present-day China".[28] By this time the CCP believed that China was in the primary stage of socialism, and therefore needed market relations to develop into a socialist society.[29] Two years earlier, Su had tried to internationalize the term "primary stage of socialism" by claiming that socialism contained three different production phases.[29] China was currently in the first phase, while the Soviet Union and the remaining Eastern Bloc countries were in the second phase.[29] Because China was in the primary stage of socialism, Zhao argued that in "[China] for a long time to come, we shall develop various sectors of the economy, always ensuring the dominant position of the public sector".[29] Further, some individuals should be allowed to become rich "before the objective of common prosperity [pure communism] is achieved".[30] Lastly, during the primary stage of socialism, planning would no longer be the primary means of organization of the economy. Upon hearing this remark, Chen Yun, a cautious reformer and the second-most powerful politician in China, walked out of the meeting.[31]

Why do people support us? Because over the last ten years our economy has been developing ... If the economy stagnated for five years or developed at only a slow rate – for example, at 4 or 5 percent, or even 2 or 3 percent—what effects would be produced? This would be not only an economic problem but also a political one.

— Deng Xiaoping during a conversation with Yang Shangkun and Premier Li in 1990.[32]

Both Chen Yun and Deng supported the formation of a private market. At the 8th National Congress, Chen first proposed an economy where the socialist sector would be dominant, with the private economy in a secondary role.[33] He believed that by following the "Ten Major Relationships", an article by Mao on how to proceed with socialist construction, the CCP could remain on the socialist road while also supporting private property.[34] Chen Yun conceived of the bird-cage theory, where the bird represents the free market and the cage represents a central plan. Chen proposed that a balance should be found between "setting the bird free" and choking the bird with a central plan that was too restrictive.[35]

Between the time of the 13th National Congress and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the line between right and left within the CCP became clearer.[36] The rift became visible in the run-up to the 7th plenum of the 13th National Congress (in 1990), when problems arose concerning China's 8th Five-Year Plan.[37] The draft for the 8th Five-Year Plan, supervised by Premier Li Peng and Deputy Premier Yao Yilin, openly endorsed Chen Yun's economic view that planning should be primary, coupled with slow, balanced growth.[37] Li went further and directly contradicted Deng, stating, "Reform and opening up should not be taken as the guiding principle; instead, sustained, steady, and coordinated development should be taken as the guiding principle."[37] Deng retaliated by rejecting the Draft for the 8th Five-Year Plan, claiming that the 1990s was the "best time" for continuing with reform and opening up.[38] Li and Yao even went so far as to try to annul two key resolutions passed by the 13th National Congress: the theory of socialist political civilization, and the resolution that central planning and markets were equals.[38] Deng rejected the idea of reopening discussions on these subjects, and restated that reforms were essential for the CCP's future.[38] Not accepting Deng's stance, party theorist Deng Liqun, along with others, began promoting "Chen Yun Thought".[38] After a discussion with General Wang Zhen, a supporter of Chen Yun, Deng stated he would propose the abolishment of the Central Advisory Commission (CAC).[38] Chen Yun retaliated by naming Bo Yibo to succeed him as CAC chairman.[38] Indeed, when the 7th plenum of the 13th Central Committee did in fact convene, nothing notable took place, with both sides trying not to widen the ideological gap even further.[39] The resolution of the 7th plenum did contain a great deal of ideological language ("firmly follow the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics"), but no clear formulation of new policy was uttered.[39]

 
Private ownership of the means of productions were allowed as a result of the reforms.

Chen Yun's thoughts and policies dominated CCP discourse from 1989 until Deng's southern tour in 1992.[40] Deng began campaigning for his reformist policies in 1991, managing to get reformist articles printed in the People's Daily and Liberation Army during this period.[40] The articles criticized those communists who believed that central planning and market economics were polar opposites, instead repeating the Dengist mantra that planning and markets were only two different ways in which to regulate economic activity.[41] By that time, the party had begun preparing for the 14th National Congress.[42] Deng threatened to withdraw his support for Jiang Zemin's reelection as CCP General Secretary if Jiang did not accept reformist policies.[42] However, at the 8th plenum of the 13th Central Committee, in 1991, the conservatives still held the upper hand within the party leadership.[42]

To reassert his economic agenda, in the spring of 1992, Deng made his famous southern tour of China, visiting Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai, and spending the New Year in Shanghai. He used his travels to reassert his economic policy ideas after his retirement from office.[43] On the tour, Deng made many speeches and generated large local support for his reformist platform. He stressed the importance of economic reform in China, and criticized those who were against further reform and opening up.[43] The tour proved that amongst the party's grassroots organizations, support for reform and opening up was firm.[43] Because of this, more and more leading members of the central party leadership converted to Deng's position, amongst them Jiang Zemin.[44] In his speech "Deeply Understand and Implement Comrade Deng Xiaoping's Important Spirit, Make Economic Construction, Reform and Opening Go Faster and Better" to the Central Party School, Jiang said it did not matter if a certain mechanism was capitalist or socialist, the key question was whether it worked.[45] Jiang's speech is notable since it introduced the term socialist market economy, which replaced Chen Yun's "planned socialist market economy".[45] In a later Politburo meeting, members voted unanimously, in old communist fashion, to continue with reform and opening up.[45] Knowing that he had lost, Chen Yun gave in, and claimed that because of new conditions, the old techniques of the planned economy were outdated.[45]

At the 14th National Congress, the thought of Deng Xiaoping was officially dubbed Deng Xiaoping Theory, and elevated to the same level as Mao Zedong Thought.[46] The concepts of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "the primary stage of socialism" were credited to him.[46] At the congress, Jiang reiterated Deng's view that it was unnecessary to ask if something was socialist or capitalist, since the important factor was whether it worked.[47] Several capitalist techniques were introduced, while science and technology were to be the primary productive force.[47]

Three Represents

 
Numerous books (as seen in the picture) about the Three Represents have been published.

The term ″Three Represents″ was first used in 2000 by Jiang Zemin in a trip to Guangdong province.[48] From then until its inclusion in the party's constitution at the 16th National Congress, the Three Represents became a constant theme for Jiang Zemin.[48] In his speech at the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Jiang Zemin said that "[The CCP] must always represent the development trend of China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people in China."[48] By this time, Jiang and the CCP had reached the conclusion that attaining the communist mode of production, as formulated by earlier communists, was more complex than had been realized, and that it was useless to try to force a change in the mode of production, as it had to develop naturally, by following the economic laws of history.[49] While segments within the CCP criticized the Three Represents as being un-Marxist and a betrayal of basic Marxist values, supporters viewed it as a further development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.[50] The theory is most notable for allowing capitalists, officially referred to as the "new social strata", to join the party on the grounds that they engaged in "honest labor and work" and through their labour contributed "to build[ing] socialism with Chinese characteristics."[51] Jiang contended that capitalists should be able to join the party on the grounds that;[51]

It is not advisable to judge a person's political orientation simply by whether he or she owns property or how much property he or she owns [...] Rather, we should judge him or her mainly by his or her political awareness, moral integrity and performance, by how he or she has acquired the property, how it has been disposed of and used, and by his or her actual contribution to the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Scientific Outlook on Development

The 3rd plenum of the 16th Central Committee conceived and formulated the ideology of Scientific Outlook on Development.[52] This concept is generally considered to be Hu Jintao's contribution to the official ideological discourse.[53] It is considered a continuation and creative development of ideologies advanced by previous CCP leaders.[53] To apply the Scientific Outlook on Development on China, the CCP must adhere to building a Harmonious Socialist Society.[54] According to Hu Jintao, the concept is a sub-ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics.[55] It is a further adaptation of Marxism to the specific conditions of China, and a concept open to change.[55]

Xi Jinping Thought

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era consists of a 14-point basic policy, as follows:[56][57]

  1. Ensuring Chinese Communist Party leadership over all forms of work in China.
  2. The Chinese Communist Party should take a people-centric approach for the public interest.
  3. The continuation of "comprehensive deepening of reforms".
  4. Adopting new development ideas based on science and for "innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development".
  5. Following "socialism with Chinese characteristics" with "people as the masters of the country".
  6. Governing China with the rule of law.
  7. "Practise socialist core values", including Marxism-Leninism, Communism and "socialism with Chinese characteristics".
  8. "Improving people's livelihood and well-being is the primary goal of development".
  9. Coexist well with nature with "energy conservation and environmental protection" policies and "contribute to global ecological safety".
  10. Strengthen national security.
  11. The Chinese Communist Party should have "absolute leadership over" China's People's Liberation Army.
  12. Promoting the one country, two systems system for Hong Kong and Macau with a future of "complete national reunification"; and to follow the One-China policy and 1992 Consensus for Taiwan.
  13. Establish a common destiny between Chinese people and other people around the world with a "peaceful international environment".
  14. Improve party discipline in the Chinese Communist Party.

Views on capitalism

[...] their theory that capitalism is the ultimate has been shaken, and socialist development has experienced a miracle. Western capitalism has suffered reversals, a financial crisis, a credit crisis, a crisis of confidence, and their self-conviction has wavered. Western countries have begun to reflect, and openly or secretively compare themselves against China's politics, economy and path.

Xi Jinping, the CCP General Secretary, on the inevitability of socialism.[58]

The CCP does not believe that it has abandoned Marxism.[59] The party views the world as organized into two opposing camps; socialist and capitalist.[59] They insist that socialism, on the basis of historical materialism, will eventually triumph over capitalism.[59] In recent years, when the party has been asked to explain the capitalist globalization occurring, the party has returned to the writings of Karl Marx.[59] Marx wrote that capitalists, in their search for profit, would travel the world in a bid to establish new international markets – hence, it is generally assumed that Marx forecasted globalization.[59] His writings on the subject are used to justify the CCP's market reforms, since nations, according to Marx, have little choice in the matter of joining or not.[59] Opting not to take part in capitalist globalization means losing out in the fields of economic development, technological development, foreign investment and world trade.[59] This view is strengthened by the economic failures of the Soviet Union and of China under Mao.[60]

Despite admitting that globalization developed through the capitalist system, the party's leaders and theorists argue that globalization is not intrinsically capitalist,[60] the reason being that, if globalization were purely capitalist, it would exclude an alternate socialist form of modernity.[60] Globalization, as with the market economy, therefore does not have one specific class character (either socialist or capitalist) according to the party.[60] The instance that globalization is not fixed in nature, comes from Deng's insistence that China can pursue socialist modernization by incorporating elements of capitalism.[60] Because of this there is considerable optimism within the CCP that despite the current capitalist dominance of globalization, globalization can be turned into a vehicle supporting socialism.[61] This event will occur through capitalism's own contradictions.[61] These contradictions are, according to party theorist Yue Yi from the Academy of Social Sciences, "that between private ownership of the means of production and socialised production. This contradiction has manifested itself globally as the following contradictions; the contradiction between planned and regulated national economies and the unplanned and unregulated world economy; the contradiction between well-organized and scientifically managed Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and a blindly expanding and chaotic world market; the contradiction between the unlimited increase of productive capacity and the limited world market; and the contradiction between sovereign states and TNCs."[62] It was these contradictions, argues Yue Yi, that led to the dot-com bubble of the 1990s, that has caused unbalanced development and polarization, and widened the gap between rich and poor.[63] These contradictions will lead to the inevitable demise of capitalism and the resultant dominance of socialism.[63]

Concepts

People's Democratic Dictatorship

In 2007, Hu Jintao noted in a speech that "people's democracy is the lifeblood of socialism ... without democracy there can be no socialism, and there can be no socialist modernization."[64] Democracy, in the CCP's understanding of the word, does not mean democracy as practiced in liberal democracies. Instead it means the creation of a more balanced, equal society, "with socialism bringing about social justice.[64] The CCP still believes that the Party and country is led by the unity of the peasant and working classes.[64] However, for the further development of democracy and socialism, stability is needed.[64]

Democracy as interpreted in capitalist societies is the democracy of the bourgeoisie, in reality, it is a monopolized democracy, and is nothing more than multi-party competitive elections, a tripartite separation of powers and a bicameral system. Our system is the system of the People's Congresses, it is the people's democracy system under the leadership of the Communist Party, we cannot do those Western ways.

— Deng Xiaoping, the CCP paramount leader, on importing bourgeois/liberal democracy to China.[65]

Yang Xiaoqing in the article "A Comparative Study of Constitutional Governance and the People's Democratic Regime", published in the party's journal Seeking Truth from Facts in 2013, argues that the people's democratic dictatorship and Western constitutional government are mutually exclusive.[65] She notes, in line with classical Marxist theory, that constitutionalism in general fits with the capitalist mode of production and bourgeois democracy, and does not fit in with China's socialist system of people's democratic dictatorship.[65] Constitutional government has a market economy in which private property plays the predominant role, as the basis unlike the Chinese socialist market economy in which public ownership is the basis.[65] The rallying cries of the liberal revolutions in the 17th and 18th century she notes was "Private property is sacred and inviolable, and constitutional governance was established around this premise.[65] While things have changed since the 17th and 18th centuries the basic premise remains the same in Western societies; a small government which protects the interests of private property.[65]

People's democracy versus parliamentary democracy

In fact, there is only concrete freedom in the world, and concrete democracy, there is no abstract freedom or abstract democracy. In class struggle societies, where there is the freedom for the exploiting classes to exploit the labouring people, there is no freedom for the labouring people to be free from exploitation. Where there is bourgeois democracy, there is no democracy of the proletariat or the working people. [...] democracy and freedom are relative, not absolute, they all occur and develop in history

— Mao Zedong[66]

Yang states that people's democracy, unlike parliamentary democracy, realises the principle of "popular sovereignty".[65] The basis for the argument is that in a parliamentary democracy, a system in which ordinary people can vote for different parties, the parties available are in the pockets of the bourgeoisie.[65] Parties can only win, Yang claims, if they have enough money—when parties have money, they get it from the bourgeoisie.[65] This relationship turns the political parties contesting the election to subservient tools of the bourgeoisie, and makes them govern in their interest.[65] While a system with multi-party elections, rotational government and parliaments looks more democratic, it is in fact beholden to the interests of the bourgeoisie, and not the people.[65] In contrast, the people's democratic system with People's Congresses realises popular sovereignty through a mixture electoral and consultative democracy.[65] Unlike in parliamentary democracies Yang adds, people standing for elections for seats in people's congresses are state financed, thus giving every candidate an equal chance of getting elected.[65] Yang claims that;

All political parties [in China] bear the trust of the people, all implement their duties according to the law and under the leadership of the Communist Party, and serve the people.[65]

In a parliamentary democracy, the only way for a party to gain legitimacy is through elections, but due to the involvement of the bourgeoisie in the election process this legitimacy is not considered as genuine.[65] The CCP gained legitimacy, Yang asserts, through its victory in the "Chinese democratic revolution".[65] Yang claims that the introduction of constitutionalism in any form would lead to the fall of the CCP, and even claims that socialist constitutionalism of the Soviet Union and the former socialist states was a main factor contributing to their downfall.[65]

While not writing negatively about the system of checks and balances as it exists in the United States, Yang claims that the people's congress system of "one governments and two courts" (the institutions of the People's Courts and the People's Procuratorates) is the best suited for Chinese conditions, since it is "the best form to reflect our country's national essence."[65] In the people's democratic system, the courts are both responsible to and supervised by the people's congresses.[65] In this system, Yang adds, the judiciary is under the control of the National People's Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee (SC).[65] The NPC (or the SC), are responsible for supervising the implementation of the constitution, and judicial organs are granted judicial independence (through their respective people's congresses).[65] These courts are not subject to interference by groups, individuals and are solely responsible to the people's congresses at their respective level.[65] However, as Yang puts it;[65]

Accordingly, our country's judicial organs, both trial organs and procuratorial organs, shall implement their powers independently according to the provisions of the law, but in terms of politics, ideology and organization, they must be under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. The Socialist rule of law concept is persisting in 'governing the country according to the law, a judiciary for the people, fairness and justice, serving the bigger picture, and the leadership of the Party.'[65]

Similarly Yang rejects the constitutionalist notion that the military is to be neutral and nationalized under the control of civilian politician.[65] Since it was established by the CCP, and given its role in the victory against the Kuomintang, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is unique and should be treated as such.[65]

Socialist democracy

In the article "Marxism is a Universal Truth, not a 'Universal Value'" (published in Party Building in 2013) Wang Ningyou states that democracy is not a universal value since the meaning of democracy (and how it should work) changes from which class perspective one has.[66] He claims that the two main forms of democracy, socialist democracy (proletarian democracy) and capitalist democracy (bourgeoisie democracy) are both diametrically opposite; socialist democracy allows the people to master their own affairs while capitalist democracy, Wang contends, "guarantees the freedom of capital to exploit and suppress [the masses/proletariat]".[66] The use of qualifiers in front of the word of democracy is important as to highlight the class nature of the different forms of democracy Wang contends, and concludes that "One sort of pure democracy, common democracy or 'universal democracy' that all of humanity identifies with has never existed in human societies".[66]

Under Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party styles itself as a socialist democracy.[67]

Opposition to constitutionalism

Yang rejects the notion that constitutionalism "is a good word", and rejects the introduction of a term "socialist constitutional governance" (or another formulation of it) into Chinese ideological discourse.[65] Constitutionalism, Yang believes, has discourse hegemony since it is backed by the bourgeoisie.[65] Similarly to Engels' and Vladimir Lenin's conclusions (among others), Yang concludes that constitutional systems are ruled by property relations which gives the bourgeoisie considerable control.[65] In The Condition of the Working Class in England Engels' states (a position which is still endorsed by the CCP);[65]

Free competition will suffer no limitation, no State supervision; the whole State is but a burden to it. It would reach its highest perfection in a wholly ungoverned anarchic society, where each might exploit the other to his hearts content. [...] However, the bourgeoisie cannot dispense with government, but must have it to hold the equally indispensable proletariat in check, it turns the power of government against the proletariat and keeps out of its way as far as possible.[65]

Constitutionalism, and liberal democracy in general (which is continuously referred to as the "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie" in the article), can be considered "superficial" Yang argues, since the bourgeoisie are the only one access to true liberty and democracy.[65] Yang notes that "constitutional governance asserts that power lies in the people, and implements a parliamentary democratic political system. But the real operation of parliamentary democracies is completely grasped in the hands of the bourgeoisie." Members of parliament (or officials in general) are able to contest elections (and win them) only with the support of the bourgeoisie.[65] He goes on to claim that the elected officials of democratic states fool the people; they pretend to serve the people, "but in reality, they dominate and plunder citizens".[65] Yang shares Karl Marx's sentiment that liberal democracy "permits the oppressed to decide once every few years on which persons from the oppressive class will be represented in parliament to oppress them!"[65] The Chinese system is based on Marx's own writings, who write in The Civil War in France that "Communes shall not have a parliamentary form, and shall be organs combining executive and legislative work at the same time."[65] The whole points of these elected assemblies are that the people elected to the assemblies are responsible for implementing and supervising laws.[65]

Wang contends that the fixed class nature of constitutionalism is bourgeoisie.[66] While there are some who try to separate constitutionalism from the Western capitalist system, Wang argues, by doing so they are only safeguarding the rights of the bourgeoisie and their "universal values".[66] Constitutionalism is used as a tool by the ruling class (the bourgeoisie) to oppress the labouring masses (the proletariat).[66] Wang reiterates Mao's position of "constitutionalism, or what is called democratic politics, in fact is a politics that eats people."[66] Wang concludes his remarks on constitutionalism by claiming that "it is [...] necessary to sweep this [concept] into the rubbish bin of history".[66]

Socialist civilization

The term "civilization" (文明; Wenming) became a key word during the 1990s.[68] In short, the ideological campaigns tried to harmonize the relationship between the "two civilizations" in China – "material civilization and spiritual civilization".[69] The concept first developed during the early 1980s from classical Marxist thought.[69] It was through this concept that the CCP called for "balanced development".[69] "Material civilization" is synonymous with economic development; "spiritual civilization", often referred to as "socialist spiritual civilization", tries to spread good socialist morals in Chinese society.[69] Under Deng, the CCP emphasized material civilization, but under Jiang the emphasis was on spiritual civilization,[69] which was less easily definable. "Spiritual civilization" changed from a concept largely defined in socialist terminology under Deng into a vehicle for cultural nationalism under Jiang.[69] The theory has become more complex with time; at the 16th National Congress Jiang introduced a third concept of civilization, "political civilization", focused solely on the CCP and political reform.[70]

The state strengthens the building of socialist spiritual civilization by promoting education in high ideals, ethics, general knowledge, discipline and legality, and by promoting the formulation and observance of rules of conduct and common pledges by various sections of the people in urban and rural areas.

The state advocates the civic virtues of love for the motherland, for the people, for labor, for science and for socialism. It conducts education among the people in patriotism and collectivism, in internationalism and communism and in dialectical and historical materialism, to combat capitalist, feudalist and other decadent ideas.

— Article 25 of the state constitution.[71]

Deng first used the term in 1979, to denote the need to develop a material civilization as well as a spiritual civilization.[72] Analyst Nicholas Dynon believes it may have been introduced to placate the conservatives within the party, Deng's way of reassuring them that socialism was not be abandoned.[72] "Socialist civilization" was to replace class struggle as the main engine of progress, a worldview seen as more harmonious and cooperative.[72] "Socialist Spiritual Civilization" was launched in the early 1980s to protect the party from foreign, corruptive influences but also to protect the CCP's policy of reform and opening up.[72] While the two terms, "material" and "spiritual" civilizations, were added to the party constitution at the 12th National Congress, the terms and their meanings were hotly debated.[73] For instance, Zhao Yiya, the editor-in-chief of the Liberation Army Press, criticized Hua Yaobang's speech to the 12th National Congress, noting that both material and spiritual elements contained "class character" as well as cultural elements.[73] Material civilization was less contested, and it maintained close links to the Marxist view of economic development and the mode of productions, and the view that the material is the basis of the superstructure.[74] On this, Deng was a classical Marxist who believed that the material served as the basis; "when people's material wealth progresses, their cultural aspects will rise as well [and] their spiritual aspects will change considerably".[75] Under the banner of spiritual civilization, the CCP would promote patriotic spirit, collectivism and the four haves.[75] By the mid-1980s, Deng became concerned that material civilization was getting more attention than spiritual civilization; he said "the one is tough [material civilization] while the other is soft [spiritual civilization]."[76] The 6th plenary meeting of the 12th Central Committee adopted the "Resolutions on the guiding principles for developing a Socialist Spiritual Civilization" under the slogan "In grasping with two hands, both hands must be firm".[76] Deng's Spiritual Civilization continued using much of the old Maoist vocabulary and slogans, such as "five stresses, four goods and three loves", "study Lei Feng" and "serve the people".[76] However, in a radical break from the past, Deng ended the Maoist emphasis on antagonism and contradiction in Chinese socialist thought.[77]

At the 16th National Congress, Jiang introduced a third kind of civilization, political civilization, along with "the important thoughts of the Three Represents".[78] According to Robert Lawrence Kuhn, a former advisor to the Chinese government, the idea was "three interrelated objectives — material civilization, spiritual civilization, and political civilization — and one unifying mechanism, Three Represents. The three civilizations were the intended ends, and the important thought of Three Represents was the chosen means."[78] There has been talk of introducing a fourth civilization, but nothing has come of it yet.[79] A proposed fourth civilization, social civilization, is linked to Hu's concept of Harmonious Socialist Society.[80] According to Lie Zhongjie, the deputy director of the Central Research Office, "the outcome of building 'society' in a general sense ... is 'social civilization' ... it is a social civilization in the broad sense, transcending the [other] three civilizations".[81] However, social civilization has not been elevated to the same level as the other three kinds of civilization.[81] There are a number of proponents in China for "ecological civilization", "an unsurprising development given the growing awareness and official recognition of China's pressing environmental issues."[81]

Socialist modernization

 
A billboard during the preparations for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China

Throughout the 20th century, ideology served two functions: first, to achieve the modernization of China, and second, to provide unity where there was fragmentation and struggle.[82] The thought most linked to modernity in early China was Marxism, which analysed different social structures and relations.[82] Mao conceived a Chinese version of Marxism, in which a proletarian revolution was amended to a peasant-dominated revolution.[82] This change gave traction to a utopian modernist view and led to the Chinese Revolution in 1949.[82] The immediate post-1949 consensus was intimately linked with the idea of an "alternative modernity that transcended capitalist modernity and its Eurocentric assumptions of historical teleology and economist determinism."[82] The impact of this was in two key areas: the introduction of Marxist terms such as proletariat, bourgeoisie, petit bourgeoisie, capitalist to denote class, for Mao's emphasis class struggle in Chinese society, and the creation of the party-state.[83]

The Maoist vision of modernity never "enjoyed entire hegemony" within the party, and was always contested even at the height of Mao's power.[83] Zhou Enlai's launching of the Four Modernizations in 1965 (and again 1975) are an example of this.[83] When Mao died, the Four Modernizations replaced class struggle as the party's key objective.[83] This vision eventually led to the enfranchisement of the private market economy and the establishment of new institutions, and became Deng Xiaoping's "socialism with Chinese characteristics".[83] This in turn led to the adoption of alternative visions of modernity popular in the Western world.[83] Ideological change led to factional strife, with many leading members of the party calling for a return to the classical socialist model of development.[83] From the outside world these changes may seem odd: a society which looks more capitalist by the day is still ruled by a party that claims "fidelity to socialism". However, there is "less understanding of how this looks from within".[84] A break with the basic tenets of Maoist thought came in the 1990s, when Jiang Zemin talked of the need to let private entrepreneurs join the party.[84] This decision had a stronger connection to realpolitik then to ideological conviction. By the 16th National Congress, the private sector was one of the most dominant forces in society, a constituency the party could not ignore if it wished to hold on to power.[85]

The party is, in official discourse, directly linked to modernity.[86] For instance, in Hu's speech commemorating the 85th anniversary of the CCP's founding, he said, "Only our Party can become the nucleus of power to lead the Chinese revolution, construction, and reform, only it is able to bear the great trust of the Chinese people and the Chinese nationality ... In the last 85 years, our party has preserved and developed the progressive creative line."[87] According to the CCP, the "people are the force for creating history", and for the CCP to accomplish its task of modernization, it cannot become alienated from the people;[87] it must creatively adapt theory and pursue strategic, sound policies.[87] Therefore, having a correct understanding of Marxism and its development in China is crucial.[87] Hu noted that progressiveness "is the essence of Marxist party building" and that it is "the basic service and eternal theme" of Marxism.[87]

The CCP has come a long way to modernization via the industrialization movements that were brought on by communism. However, this was not a painless process, and continues to face difficulty as our world rapidly develops. Mao’s position as a dictator gave way and continues to give way to the oppression of peoples in China, no matter the economic success that has been gained through the communist movement.

Socialist patriotism

Socialist patriotism is a concept invented by Vladimir Lenin, the informal leader of the Russian Bolshevik Party.[88] It commits people to a non-nationalistic form of devotion to one's country.[88] According to the standard Soviet definition, it means "boundless love for the socialist homeland, a commitment to the revolutionary transformation of society [and] the cause of communism".[88] To ensure that socialist patriotism did not evolve into a form of nationalism (criticized as a bourgeois ideology), the people had to be committed to proletarian internationalism.[88] The CCP, shortly after seizing power, defined three levels of socialist patriotism. "At the first level, individuals should subordinate their personal interests to the interests of the state. At the second level, individuals should subordinate their personal destiny to the destiny of our socialist system. At the third level, individuals should subordinate their personal future to the future of our communist cause."[89] Mao's nationalism was not inclusivist, and people from certain classes were deemed unpatriotic from the outset.[90] Chinese nationalism under Mao was defined as "anti-imperialist" and "anti-feudal" in principle.[90] However, Mao believed that nationalism was of secondary importance, and his main aim was to further expand the reach of the world revolution.[90]

Under Deng, the concept was further expanded.[91] Believing that purer communist concepts such as class struggle and the like could not bring people together as they had done under Mao, his regime gave patriotism a larger role.[92] In early 1982, the CCP initiated the "Three Loves" campaign under the slogan "Love the party, love socialism, and love the motherland".[91] A year later, the Central Propaganda Department and the Central Research Office formulated a comprehensive plan to exploit nationalist feelings by making films and television programs out of China's "heroic struggle against Western and Japanese imperialism".[91] "Patriotic activities" were added to the school system's extracurricular activities; the national flag was to be raised daily and pupils were to sing and learn the national anthem.[93] By 1983, the party had concluded that "among patriotism, collectivism, socialism, and communism, patriotism has peculiar features and functions. [...] Patriotism is the banner of greatest appeal."[93] Despite its broadened role, patriotism remained secondary to socialism.[93] As Deng put it, "Some have said that not loving Socialism is not the same as not loving one's motherland. Is the motherland something abstract? If you do not love socialist New China led by the Communist Party, what motherland do you love?"[93] According to official pronouncements, the CCP was the best representative of the nation, communists were the most devoted patriots, and socialism the only viable road for China to become "a great nation".[93] Deng Liqun, in a similar vein, said, "One cannot demonstrate that one loves the motherland if one shows no deep love for the socialist system and the Communist Party. In short, in our times, loving the Chinese Communist Party is the highest expression of Chinese patriotism."[94]

Economics

Productive forces vs. superstructure

According to China scholar Maria Hsia Chang, Deng Xiaoping was "in a very real sense, a better Marxist theoretician than Mao Zedong."[95] Deng had studied Marxism in the Soviet Union in the 1920s at the Moscow Sun Yat-sen University, unlike Mao who never studied Marxism in depth before the 1930s, enrolling in a course on historical materialism and Marxist economics.[95] Like Mao, Deng never referenced Marxism when articulating new policies, however, the few times the pair did, Deng displayed a more advanced grasp of Marxism than Mao ever did.[95] To take one example, in 1975 in "On the General Program of Work of the whole Party and the Whole Nation", Deng wrote;[95]

Marxism holds that, within the contradictions between the productive forces and the relations of production, between practice and theory, and between the economic base and the superstructure, the productive forces ... and the economic base generally play the principal and decisive role ... Whoever denies this is not a materialist.[95]

This position, while being based on Marxism, was criticized by Maoists at the time of being the "revisionist theory of the productive forces."[95] In a break with classical Marxism, Mao argued that the superstructure should play the leading role in the revolution, that is the political system and individuals, and not the materialist forces, which Mao considered secondary. This ideology served as a significant base is Mao’s push towards communism and improving the lives of the lower working class peoples.[95] This was not a small ideological issue, and had been in the heart of Marxist theoretical debate since the era of Vladimir Lenin.[96] Lenin had argued that socialist revolutions could occur in the peripheries of capitalism, that is countries not economically advanced enough to develop socialism according to Karl Marx, since these revolutions could instigate a revolutionary wave in the more advanced countries.[96] Marx, in The Poverty of Philosophy, stated that "in acquiring new productive forces, men change their mode of production; and in changing their mode of production, in changing their way of earning a living, they change all their social relations."[96] To explain, Marx believed as the productive forces, literally the economic forces, changed social relations would change, and when the social relations changed, something new would develop.[96] In short, the Marxist founders argued that the socialist mode of production could only develop out of a developed capitalist economy, and not from a backward economy, developing it on a backward area was, according to Marx, a "chiliastic dream fantasy."[97] After the failure of the revolutionary waves of the late-1910s, early 1920s, Lenin initiated the New Economic Policy, a series of policies which reintroduced capitalist economics in the country in a bid to develop socialism in Russia despite its backwardness.[97] According to Maria Hsia Chang, Mao never grasped the central importance of the productive forces in developing socialism, and he argued until the end that socialism could be created through the superstructure alone with "revolutionary commitment, political intransigence, personal sacrifice, and selfless dedication [to the revolution]."[98] Deng, on the other hand, stayed true to classical Marxism, arguing until his death that the productive forces played the central role.[98]

The basic conflict between the Maoists and the Dengists was if China after 1949 had reached socialism or not, and what it would entail.[99] In the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward and the Sino–Soviet split Mao himself, was even unsure if China had reached the socialist mode of production.[99] In 1962 he reached the conclusion that China, despite having nationalized the means of production, had not reached the socialist mode of production in its mature form, claiming that the principle conflict as existing in China was between the proletariat and the "new bourgeois elements", which were constantly reproduced, and other enemies of the revolution.[99] This view led Mao to introduce to the Cultural Revolution.[99] Unlike Mao, who gave priority to superstructural elements, Deng argued in 1956 in the "Report on the Revision of the Constitution of the Communist Party of China", that socialism had taken root in socialism, since private property had been abolished, since nationalization of property Deng argued (again following the basic premises of classical Marxism) entailed removing the basis of other classes reproducing, stating;[100]

Casual labourers and farm labourers have disappeared. Poor and middle peasants have all become members of agricultural producers' co-operatives, and before the distinction between them will have become merely a thing of historical interest ... The vast majority of our intellectuals have now come over to the side of the working class ... The conditions in which the urban poor and the professional people used to exist as independent social strata are virtually no longer present ... but the government control and regulation continues to soar,[100]

In contrast to Mao, Deng argued that the principal contradiction in Chinese society was the backwardness of the productive forces, further adding that the party's "central task" over the coming years were to develop them.[101] In addition he believed that China, since 1957, had been unable "to figure out what socialism is and how to build it".[102] He criticized Mao's policies, particularly those after 1957, arguing that the CCP had "wasted twenty year."[101]

Primary stage of socialism

The concept of a primary stage of socialism was developed mainly by Xue Muqiao and Su Shaozi.[103][104] The concept began to evolve when the new post-Mao leadership of Deng began questioning Mao' assertion that "class struggle as the key link".[104] Su, coauthoring with Feng Langrui, published an article in Economic Research (Chinese: Jingji yanju) in 1979 which called into question the Chinese socialist project by using Marxist methodology.[104] The article analyzed the basis of Chinese socialism by looking at Karl Marx's writings; Marx drew a distinction between lower-stage communism (commonly referred to as the socialist mode of production) and higher-phase communism (often referred to as simply communism).[104] Su's and Feng's article created three subdivisions within the socialist mode of production; the first phase was the transition from the capitalist mode of production to the socialist mode of production; which was (a) the phase in which the proletariat seized power and set-up the dictatorship of the proletariat and (b) in which undeveloped socialism was created, the second phase was advanced socialism (the socialism of which Marx wrote about).[104] They argued that China was an undeveloped socialist nation since;[105]

The characteristics of undeveloped socialism are the two forms of public ownership, commodity production and commodity exchange. Capitalists have been basically eliminated as a class but there are still capitalist and bourgeois remnants, even feudal remnants. There also exist quite a few small producers, class differences among workers and peasants ... and the force of habit of small-scale producers. The production forces are still not highly developed. And there is not an abundance of products. ... Therefore, the transition toward socialism has not yet been completed.[105]

The concept of a primary stage of socialism led directly to the reconception of capitalism and socialism's polar-opposite relation to each other.[106] Previously, the CCP had declared that supporting capitalism meant supporting an historical retreat, secondly, capitalism was considered the diametrical opposite of socialism and their relations were considered hostile and incompatible.[106] The official reconception of the two terms were sanctioned in the Political Report to the 13th National Congress.[106] Before the reform efforts, capitalism and socialism were believed to be part of a sequential relationship, with the latter developing from the former.[106] A less traditional view was that capitalism had proven it had a "greater capacity for creating human civilization" than Marx expected, which indirectly meant that socialism could learn from capitalism.[106] Another mark of continuity was that the two systems existed alongside each other.[106]

Role of the market

Deng did not believe that the fundamental difference between the capitalist mode of production and the socialist mode of production was central planning versus free markets. He said, "A planned economy is not the definition of socialism, because there is planning under capitalism; the market economy happens under socialism, too. Planning and market forces are both ways of controlling economic activity".[107] Jiang Zemin supported Deng's thinking, and stated in a party gathering that it did not matter if a certain mechanism was capitalist or socialist, because the only thing that mattered was whether it worked.[45] It was at this gathering that Jiang Zemin introduced the term socialist market economy, which replaced Chen Yun's "planned socialist market economy".[45] In his report to the 14th National Congress Jiang Zemin told the delegates that the socialist state would "let market forces play a basic role in resource allocation".[108] At the 15th National Congress, the party line was changed to "make market forces further play their role in resource allocation"; this line continued until the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee),[108] when it was amended to "let market forces play a decisive role in resource allocation".[108] Despite this, the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee upheld the creed "Maintain the dominance of the public sector and strengthen the economic vitality of the State-owned economy".[108]

Cultural and societal views

Stance on religion

The CCP, as an officially atheist institution, prohibits party members from belonging to a religion.[109] Although religion is banned for party members, personal beliefs are not held accountable.[109] During Mao's rule, religious movements were oppressed, and religious organizations were forbidden to have contact with foreigners.[110] All religious organizations were state-owned and not independent.[110] Relations with foreign religious institutions were worsened when in 1947, and again in 1949, the Vatican forbade any Catholic to support a communist party.[110] On questions of religion, Deng was more open than Mao, but the issue was left unresolved during his leadership.[111] According to Ye Xiaowen, the former director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, "In its infancy, the socialist movement was critical of religion. In Marx's eyes, theology had become a bastion protecting the feudal ruling class in Germany. Therefore, the political revolution had to start by criticizing religion. It was from this perspective that Marx said 'religion is the opium of the people'."[112] It was because of Marx's writings that the CCP initiated anti-religious policies under Mao and Deng.[112] The popularity of Falun Gong, and its subsequent banning by state authorities, led to the convening of a three-day National Work Conference for Religious Affairs in 1999, the highest-level gathering on religious affairs in the party's history.[113] Jiang Zemin, who had subscribed to the classical Marxist view that religion would wither away, was forced to change his mind when he learnt that religion in China was in fact growing, not decreasing.[114] In his concluding speech to the National Work Conference, Jiang asked the participants to find a way to make "socialism and religion adapt to each other".[115] He added that "asking religions to adapt to socialism doesn't mean we want religious believers to give up their faith".[115] Jiang ordered Ye Xiaowen to study the classical Marxist works in depth to find an excuse to liberalize the CCP's policy towards religion.[115] It was discovered that Friedrich Engels had written that religion would survive as long as problems existed.[115] With this rationale, religious organizations were given more autonomy.[115]

Stance on Chinese traditions

The CCP is historically notorious for attempting to destroy aspects of Chinese culture, mainly folk Confucianism in the form of Four Olds under Mao. This attitude has reversed under later leaders with a widespread claim to "5,000 years of history",[116] culminating in Xi Jinping's open embrace of Confucianism as "the cultural soil that nourishes the Chinese people" and the addition of "cultural confidence" in the confidence doctrine.[117]

On the other hand, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has always been endorsed by the CCP. While Mao valued TCM's use as a low-cost way to improve rural health, Xi's preference is more based on cultural concerns.[118]

See also

References

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Books

ideology, chinese, communist, party, further, information, chinese, marxist, philosophy, ideology, chinese, communist, party, undergone, dramatic, changes, throughout, years, especially, during, deng, xiaoping, leadership, contemporary, leadership, jinping, co. Further information Chinese Marxist philosophy The ideology of the Chinese Communist Party has undergone dramatic changes throughout the years especially during Deng Xiaoping s leadership and the contemporary leadership of Xi Jinping Contents 1 Ideology 2 Role of ideology 2 1 Ideals and convictions 3 Marxism Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought 4 Reforms 4 1 Socialist market economy 5 Three Represents 6 Scientific Outlook on Development 7 Xi Jinping Thought 8 Views on capitalism 9 Concepts 9 1 People s Democratic Dictatorship 9 1 1 People s democracy versus parliamentary democracy 9 1 2 Socialist democracy 9 1 3 Opposition to constitutionalism 9 2 Socialist civilization 9 3 Socialist modernization 9 4 Socialist patriotism 10 Economics 10 1 Productive forces vs superstructure 10 2 Primary stage of socialism 10 3 Role of the market 11 Cultural and societal views 11 1 Stance on religion 11 2 Stance on Chinese traditions 12 See also 13 References 13 1 Citations 13 2 Sources 13 2 1 Articles and journal entries 13 2 2 BooksIdeology EditIn the early days of this party the prevailing nationalism and populism in 1910s China played an important part in the ideology of early communists such as Li Dazhao and Mao Zedong On the one hand Marxism was a spiritual utopia to the early communists while on the other hand they modified or Sinicized some doctrines of communist ideology in a realistic and nationalist way to support their revolution in China In the process of establishment land reform and collectivization these ideological syntheses led to the emergence of the famous Great Leap Forward movement and the Cultural Revolution 1 In recent years it has been argued mainly by foreign commentators that the CCP does not have an ideology and that the party organization is pragmatic and interested only in what works 2 The party itself however claims otherwise 3 For instance CCP general secretary Hu Jintao stated in 2012 that the Western world is threatening to divide us and that the international culture of the West is strong while we are weak ideological and cultural fields are our main targets 2 The CCP puts a great deal of effort into the party schools and crafting its ideological message 2 Before the Practice Is the Sole Criterion for Truth campaign the relationship between ideology and decision making was a deductive one meaning that policy making was derived from ideological knowledge 4 Under Deng this relationship was turned upside down with decision making justifying ideology and not the other way around 4 Lastly Chinese policy makers believe that one of the reasons for the dissolution of the Soviet Union was its stagnant state ideology They therefore believe that their party ideology must be dynamic to safeguard the party s rule unlike the Communist Party of the Soviet Union whose ideology became rigid unimaginative ossified and disconnected from reality 4 Role of ideology EditIdeals and convictions Edit In the article Revolutionary Ideals are Higher than Heaven Studying published in 2013 a person writing under the pen name Autumn Stone supports CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping s policy of strengthening the ideological conviction of party cadres since as the Leninist mantra goes ideological unity leads to party unity 5 The writer claims Ideals and convictions are the spiritual banners for the united struggle of a country nation and party wavering ideals and convictions are the most harmful form of wavering 5 Adhering to the ideals and convictions of the party creates a link between the party and the masses and will let the party gain victories wherever it goes 5 Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union the core spiritual values of members have become more important than ever considering the restrengthened position of world capitalism 5 Xi Jinping believes that wavering conviction in the party s ideals leads to increased corruption and unwanted behaviour 5 Exemplary members have existed before such as Xia Minghan who said Don t fear being beheaded as long as one s ism is true Yang Chao s The heaven s are full of rain wind and worry for the Revolution it is unnecessary to fear losing one s head and Fang Zhimin s statement that The enemy can only cut off our heads but cannot shake our beliefs 5 The author suggest that these men were incorruptible because they carried the party s ideals and convictions 5 The dissolution of the Soviet Union the writer suggests was in key parts due to the ideological wavering of officials claiming that even Mikhail Gorbachev the last Soviet leader had acknowledged in private that communist ideals had become obsolete to him 5 Disintegration in the ideological arena can lead to breaches in other areas of the party s edifice paving the way for party collapse the author states 5 In 2006 at the 16th Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee the CCP leadership under General Secretary Hu Jintao expressed the need to create a new value system referred to as the socialist core value system 6 In his speech entitled Resolution on Major Issues Concerning the Building of a Socialist Harmonious Society to the 16th Plenary Session Hu Jintao stated 7 The guiding ideology of Marxism the common ideal of the socialism with Chinese characteristics the national spirit with patriotism as the core the spirit of the times with reform and innovation as the core and the socialist concept of honour and disgrace constitute the basic contents of the socialist core values system We should persist in integrating the socialist core values system into the entire process of national education and the building of a spiritual civilization and having it run through the various aspect of the modernization drive 8 Marxism Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought EditI am a Marxist The essence of Marxism is change The Marxist in China today is not a stubborn dogmatic and outdated 19th century old man but a dynamic pro change young thinker We have a flexible approach if Marx s words are still applicable we will use them for things he did not articulate clearly we will spell them out for what he did not say we will boldly come up with something new Ye Xiaowen on the role of Marxist thought 9 Main article Maoism Marxism Leninism was the first official ideology of the Chinese Communist Party and is a combination of classical Marxism the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and Leninism the thoughts of Vladimir Lenin 10 According to the CCP Marxism Leninism reveals the universal laws governing the development of history of human society To the CCP Marxism Leninism provides a vision of the contradictions in capitalist society and of the inevitability of a future socialist and communist societies 10 Marx and Engels first created the theory behind Marxist party building Lenin developed it in practice before during and after the Russian Revolution of 1917 10 Lenin s biggest achievement came in party building through concepts such as the vanguard party of the working class and democratic centralism 10 According to the People s Daily Mao Zedong Thought is Marxism Leninism applied and developed in China 10 Mao Zedong Thought was conceived not only by CCP Chairman Mao Zedong but by leading party officials 11 According to Xinhua Mao Zedong Thought is an integration of the universal truth of Marxism Leninism with the practice of the Chinese revolution 11 Currently the CCP interprets the essence of Mao Zedong Thought as Seeking truth from facts we must proceed from reality and put theory into practice in everything In other words we must integrate the universal theory of Marxism Leninism with China s specific conditions 11 A monument dedicated to Marx left and Engels right in Shanghai China While analysts generally agree that the CCP has rejected orthodox Marxism Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought or at least basic thoughts within orthodox thinking the CCP itself disagrees 12 Some Western commentators also talk about a crisis of ideology within the party they believe that the CCP has rejected communism 12 Wang Xuedong the director of the Institute of World Socialism said in response We know there are those abroad who think we have a crisis of ideology but we do not agree 12 According to former CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin the CCP must never discard Marxism Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought He said that if we did we would lose our foundation 13 He further noted that Marxism in general like any science needs to change as time and circumstances advance 13 Certain groups argue that Jiang Zemin ended the CCP s formal commitment to Marxism with the introduction of the ideological theory the Three Represents 14 However party theorist Leng Rong disagrees claiming that President Jiang rid the Party of the ideological obstacles to different kinds of ownership He did not give up Marxism or socialism He strengthened the Party by providing a modern understanding of Marxism and socialism which is why we talk about a socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics 14 Marxism in its core is according to Jiang Zemin methodology and the goal of a future classless society not analyses of class and of the contradictions between different classes 15 Karl Marx argued that society went through different stages of development and believed that the capitalist mode of production was the fourth stage 16 The stages were ancient primitive communism slavery feudal capitalist socialist and the communist mode of production 16 The attainment of true communism is described as the CCP s and China s ultimate goal 17 While the CCP claims that China is in the primary stage of socialism party theorists argue that the current development stage looks a lot like capitalism Alternately certain party theorists argue that capitalism is the early or first stage of communism 17 In official pronouncements the primary stage of socialism is predicted to last about 100 years after which China will reach another developmental stage 17 Some have dismissed the concept of a primary stage of socialism as intellectual cynicism 17 According to Robert Lawrence Kuhn a China analyst When I first heard this rationale I thought it more comic than clever a wry caricature of hack propagandists leaked by intellectual cynics But the 100 year horizon comes from serious political theorists 17 Reforms EditMain article Chinese economic reform China s nominal Gross Domestic Product GDP trend from 1952 to 2005 While it has been argued by Westerners that the reforms introduced by the CCP under Deng were a rejection of the party s Marxist heritage and ideology the CCP does not view it as such 18 The rationale behind the reforms was that the productive forces of China lagged behind the advanced culture and ideology developed by the party state In 1986 to end this deficiency the party came to the conclusion that the main contradiction in Chinese society was that between the backward productive forces and the advanced culture and ideology of China 18 By doing this they deemphasized class struggle and contradicted both Mao and Karl Marx who both considered that class struggle was the main focus of the communist movement 18 According to this logic thwarting the CCP s goal of advancing productive forces was synonymous with class struggle 18 The classical goal of class struggle was declared by Deng to have been achieved in 1976 18 While Mao had also emphasized the need to develop productive forces under Deng it became paramount 19 Mao Zedong left meets with Richard Nixon the President of the United States on 21 February 1972 Some have likened the CCP s position under Deng to that of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin when he introduced the planned economy 19 Adrian Chan the author of Chinese Marxism opposes this view To Stalin the development of productive forces was the prerequisite for the Soviet Union to become communist 19 He further argues that such a view does not make sense in light of the different situations Stalin emphasized production because of the Soviet Union s backwardness in all areas while in China the reforms were seen as one way to further develop the productive forces 19 These interpretations while not in agreement shed light on the fact that Chinese socialism did change during the Deng era 19 In 1987 the Beijing Review stated that the achievements of socialism were evaluated according to the level of the productive forces 19 Party theoretician and former Politburo member Hu Qiaomu in his thesis Observe economic laws speed up the Four Modernizations published in 1978 argued that economic laws were objective on par with natural laws 20 He insisted that economic laws were no more negotiable than the law of gravity 20 Hu s conclusion was that the party was responsible for the socialist economy s acting on these economic laws 20 He believed that only an economy based on the individual would satisfy these laws since such an economy would be in accord with the productive forces 20 The CCP followed his line and at the 12th National Congress the party constitution was amended stating that the private economy was a needed complement to the socialist economy 20 This sentiment was echoed by Xue Muqiao practice shows that socialism is not necessarily based on a unified public ownership by the whole society 20 Reform and opening up would not have been introduced if not for the work of Deng Xiaoping left Chen Yun center and Li Xiannian right The relationship between Deng Xiaoping Chen Yun and Li Xiannian was described as two and a half in the 1980s with Chen being considered roughly as Deng s equal and with Li Xiannian being half a step behind 21 The official communique of the 3rd plenum of the 11th Central Committee included the words integrate the universal principles of Marxism Leninism Mao Zedong Thought with the concrete practice of socialist modernization and develop it under the new historical conditions 22 With the words new historical conditions the CCP had in fact made it possible to view the old Maoist ideology as obsolete or at least certain tenets 22 To know if a policy was obsolete or not the party had to seek truth from facts and follow the slogan practice is the sole criterion of the truth 22 At the 6th plenum of the 11th Central Committee the Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People s Republic of China was adopted 23 The resolution separated Mao the person from Mao Zedong Thought claiming that Mao had contravened Mao Zedong Thought during his rule 23 While the document criticized Mao it clearly stated that he was a proletarian revolutionary i e not all of his views were wrong and that without Mao there would have been no new China 23 Su Shaozi a party theoretician and the head of the Institute of Marxism Leninism Mao Zedong Thought argued that the CCP needed to reassess the New Economic Policy introduced by Vladimir Lenin and ended by Stalin as well as Stalin s industrialization policies and the prominent role he gave to class struggle 24 Su claimed that the exploiting classes in China had been eliminated 25 Dong Fureng a deputy director at the Institute of Economics agreed with the reformist discourse first by criticizing Marx and Friedrich Engels view that a socialist society had to abolish private property and secondly accusing both Marx and Engels for being vague on what kind of ownership of the means of production was necessary in socialist society 25 While both Su and Dong agreed that it was the collectivization of agriculture and the establishment of People s Communes which had ended rural exploitation neither of them sought a return to collectivized agriculture 26 Socialist market economy Edit Main articles Socialism with Chinese characteristics and Deng Xiaoping Theory The term socialism with Chinese characteristics was added to the General Program of the party s constitution at the 12th National Congress without a definition of the term 27 At the 13th National Congress held in 1987 Zhao Ziyang the CCP General Secretary claimed that socialism with Chinese characteristics was the integration of the fundamental tenets of Marxism with the modernization drive in China and was scientific socialism rooted in the realities of present day China 28 By this time the CCP believed that China was in the primary stage of socialism and therefore needed market relations to develop into a socialist society 29 Two years earlier Su had tried to internationalize the term primary stage of socialism by claiming that socialism contained three different production phases 29 China was currently in the first phase while the Soviet Union and the remaining Eastern Bloc countries were in the second phase 29 Because China was in the primary stage of socialism Zhao argued that in China for a long time to come we shall develop various sectors of the economy always ensuring the dominant position of the public sector 29 Further some individuals should be allowed to become rich before the objective of common prosperity pure communism is achieved 30 Lastly during the primary stage of socialism planning would no longer be the primary means of organization of the economy Upon hearing this remark Chen Yun a cautious reformer and the second most powerful politician in China walked out of the meeting 31 Why do people support us Because over the last ten years our economy has been developing If the economy stagnated for five years or developed at only a slow rate for example at 4 or 5 percent or even 2 or 3 percent what effects would be produced This would be not only an economic problem but also a political one Deng Xiaoping during a conversation with Yang Shangkun and Premier Li in 1990 32 Both Chen Yun and Deng supported the formation of a private market At the 8th National Congress Chen first proposed an economy where the socialist sector would be dominant with the private economy in a secondary role 33 He believed that by following the Ten Major Relationships an article by Mao on how to proceed with socialist construction the CCP could remain on the socialist road while also supporting private property 34 Chen Yun conceived of the bird cage theory where the bird represents the free market and the cage represents a central plan Chen proposed that a balance should be found between setting the bird free and choking the bird with a central plan that was too restrictive 35 Between the time of the 13th National Congress and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre the line between right and left within the CCP became clearer 36 The rift became visible in the run up to the 7th plenum of the 13th National Congress in 1990 when problems arose concerning China s 8th Five Year Plan 37 The draft for the 8th Five Year Plan supervised by Premier Li Peng and Deputy Premier Yao Yilin openly endorsed Chen Yun s economic view that planning should be primary coupled with slow balanced growth 37 Li went further and directly contradicted Deng stating Reform and opening up should not be taken as the guiding principle instead sustained steady and coordinated development should be taken as the guiding principle 37 Deng retaliated by rejecting the Draft for the 8th Five Year Plan claiming that the 1990s was the best time for continuing with reform and opening up 38 Li and Yao even went so far as to try to annul two key resolutions passed by the 13th National Congress the theory of socialist political civilization and the resolution that central planning and markets were equals 38 Deng rejected the idea of reopening discussions on these subjects and restated that reforms were essential for the CCP s future 38 Not accepting Deng s stance party theorist Deng Liqun along with others began promoting Chen Yun Thought 38 After a discussion with General Wang Zhen a supporter of Chen Yun Deng stated he would propose the abolishment of the Central Advisory Commission CAC 38 Chen Yun retaliated by naming Bo Yibo to succeed him as CAC chairman 38 Indeed when the 7th plenum of the 13th Central Committee did in fact convene nothing notable took place with both sides trying not to widen the ideological gap even further 39 The resolution of the 7th plenum did contain a great deal of ideological language firmly follow the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics but no clear formulation of new policy was uttered 39 Private ownership of the means of productions were allowed as a result of the reforms Chen Yun s thoughts and policies dominated CCP discourse from 1989 until Deng s southern tour in 1992 40 Deng began campaigning for his reformist policies in 1991 managing to get reformist articles printed in the People s Daily and Liberation Army during this period 40 The articles criticized those communists who believed that central planning and market economics were polar opposites instead repeating the Dengist mantra that planning and markets were only two different ways in which to regulate economic activity 41 By that time the party had begun preparing for the 14th National Congress 42 Deng threatened to withdraw his support for Jiang Zemin s reelection as CCP General Secretary if Jiang did not accept reformist policies 42 However at the 8th plenum of the 13th Central Committee in 1991 the conservatives still held the upper hand within the party leadership 42 To reassert his economic agenda in the spring of 1992 Deng made his famous southern tour of China visiting Guangzhou Shenzhen and Zhuhai and spending the New Year in Shanghai He used his travels to reassert his economic policy ideas after his retirement from office 43 On the tour Deng made many speeches and generated large local support for his reformist platform He stressed the importance of economic reform in China and criticized those who were against further reform and opening up 43 The tour proved that amongst the party s grassroots organizations support for reform and opening up was firm 43 Because of this more and more leading members of the central party leadership converted to Deng s position amongst them Jiang Zemin 44 In his speech Deeply Understand and Implement Comrade Deng Xiaoping s Important Spirit Make Economic Construction Reform and Opening Go Faster and Better to the Central Party School Jiang said it did not matter if a certain mechanism was capitalist or socialist the key question was whether it worked 45 Jiang s speech is notable since it introduced the term socialist market economy which replaced Chen Yun s planned socialist market economy 45 In a later Politburo meeting members voted unanimously in old communist fashion to continue with reform and opening up 45 Knowing that he had lost Chen Yun gave in and claimed that because of new conditions the old techniques of the planned economy were outdated 45 At the 14th National Congress the thought of Deng Xiaoping was officially dubbed Deng Xiaoping Theory and elevated to the same level as Mao Zedong Thought 46 The concepts of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the primary stage of socialism were credited to him 46 At the congress Jiang reiterated Deng s view that it was unnecessary to ask if something was socialist or capitalist since the important factor was whether it worked 47 Several capitalist techniques were introduced while science and technology were to be the primary productive force 47 Three Represents EditMain article Three Represents Numerous books as seen in the picture about the Three Represents have been published The term Three Represents was first used in 2000 by Jiang Zemin in a trip to Guangdong province 48 From then until its inclusion in the party s constitution at the 16th National Congress the Three Represents became a constant theme for Jiang Zemin 48 In his speech at the anniversary of the founding of the People s Republic of China Jiang Zemin said that The CCP must always represent the development trend of China s advanced productive forces the orientation of China s advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people in China 48 By this time Jiang and the CCP had reached the conclusion that attaining the communist mode of production as formulated by earlier communists was more complex than had been realized and that it was useless to try to force a change in the mode of production as it had to develop naturally by following the economic laws of history 49 While segments within the CCP criticized the Three Represents as being un Marxist and a betrayal of basic Marxist values supporters viewed it as a further development of socialism with Chinese characteristics 50 The theory is most notable for allowing capitalists officially referred to as the new social strata to join the party on the grounds that they engaged in honest labor and work and through their labour contributed to build ing socialism with Chinese characteristics 51 Jiang contended that capitalists should be able to join the party on the grounds that 51 It is not advisable to judge a person s political orientation simply by whether he or she owns property or how much property he or she owns Rather we should judge him or her mainly by his or her political awareness moral integrity and performance by how he or she has acquired the property how it has been disposed of and used and by his or her actual contribution to the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics Scientific Outlook on Development EditMain article Scientific Outlook on Development The 3rd plenum of the 16th Central Committee conceived and formulated the ideology of Scientific Outlook on Development 52 This concept is generally considered to be Hu Jintao s contribution to the official ideological discourse 53 It is considered a continuation and creative development of ideologies advanced by previous CCP leaders 53 To apply the Scientific Outlook on Development on China the CCP must adhere to building a Harmonious Socialist Society 54 According to Hu Jintao the concept is a sub ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics 55 It is a further adaptation of Marxism to the specific conditions of China and a concept open to change 55 Xi Jinping Thought EditMain article Xi Jinping Thought Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era consists of a 14 point basic policy as follows 56 57 Ensuring Chinese Communist Party leadership over all forms of work in China The Chinese Communist Party should take a people centric approach for the public interest The continuation of comprehensive deepening of reforms Adopting new development ideas based on science and for innovative coordinated green open and shared development Following socialism with Chinese characteristics with people as the masters of the country Governing China with the rule of law Practise socialist core values including Marxism Leninism Communism and socialism with Chinese characteristics Improving people s livelihood and well being is the primary goal of development Coexist well with nature with energy conservation and environmental protection policies and contribute to global ecological safety Strengthen national security The Chinese Communist Party should have absolute leadership over China s People s Liberation Army Promoting the one country two systems system for Hong Kong and Macau with a future of complete national reunification and to follow the One China policy and 1992 Consensus for Taiwan Establish a common destiny between Chinese people and other people around the world with a peaceful international environment Improve party discipline in the Chinese Communist Party Views on capitalism Edit their theory that capitalism is the ultimate has been shaken and socialist development has experienced a miracle Western capitalism has suffered reversals a financial crisis a credit crisis a crisis of confidence and their self conviction has wavered Western countries have begun to reflect and openly or secretively compare themselves against China s politics economy and path Xi Jinping the CCP General Secretary on the inevitability of socialism 58 The CCP does not believe that it has abandoned Marxism 59 The party views the world as organized into two opposing camps socialist and capitalist 59 They insist that socialism on the basis of historical materialism will eventually triumph over capitalism 59 In recent years when the party has been asked to explain the capitalist globalization occurring the party has returned to the writings of Karl Marx 59 Marx wrote that capitalists in their search for profit would travel the world in a bid to establish new international markets hence it is generally assumed that Marx forecasted globalization 59 His writings on the subject are used to justify the CCP s market reforms since nations according to Marx have little choice in the matter of joining or not 59 Opting not to take part in capitalist globalization means losing out in the fields of economic development technological development foreign investment and world trade 59 This view is strengthened by the economic failures of the Soviet Union and of China under Mao 60 Despite admitting that globalization developed through the capitalist system the party s leaders and theorists argue that globalization is not intrinsically capitalist 60 the reason being that if globalization were purely capitalist it would exclude an alternate socialist form of modernity 60 Globalization as with the market economy therefore does not have one specific class character either socialist or capitalist according to the party 60 The instance that globalization is not fixed in nature comes from Deng s insistence that China can pursue socialist modernization by incorporating elements of capitalism 60 Because of this there is considerable optimism within the CCP that despite the current capitalist dominance of globalization globalization can be turned into a vehicle supporting socialism 61 This event will occur through capitalism s own contradictions 61 These contradictions are according to party theorist Yue Yi from the Academy of Social Sciences that between private ownership of the means of production and socialised production This contradiction has manifested itself globally as the following contradictions the contradiction between planned and regulated national economies and the unplanned and unregulated world economy the contradiction between well organized and scientifically managed Transnational Corporations TNCs and a blindly expanding and chaotic world market the contradiction between the unlimited increase of productive capacity and the limited world market and the contradiction between sovereign states and TNCs 62 It was these contradictions argues Yue Yi that led to the dot com bubble of the 1990s that has caused unbalanced development and polarization and widened the gap between rich and poor 63 These contradictions will lead to the inevitable demise of capitalism and the resultant dominance of socialism 63 Concepts EditPeople s Democratic Dictatorship Edit Main article People s democratic dictatorship In 2007 Hu Jintao noted in a speech that people s democracy is the lifeblood of socialism without democracy there can be no socialism and there can be no socialist modernization 64 Democracy in the CCP s understanding of the word does not mean democracy as practiced in liberal democracies Instead it means the creation of a more balanced equal society with socialism bringing about social justice 64 The CCP still believes that the Party and country is led by the unity of the peasant and working classes 64 However for the further development of democracy and socialism stability is needed 64 Democracy as interpreted in capitalist societies is the democracy of the bourgeoisie in reality it is a monopolized democracy and is nothing more than multi party competitive elections a tripartite separation of powers and a bicameral system Our system is the system of the People s Congresses it is the people s democracy system under the leadership of the Communist Party we cannot do those Western ways Deng Xiaoping the CCP paramount leader on importing bourgeois liberal democracy to China 65 Yang Xiaoqing in the article A Comparative Study of Constitutional Governance and the People s Democratic Regime published in the party s journal Seeking Truth from Facts in 2013 argues that the people s democratic dictatorship and Western constitutional government are mutually exclusive 65 She notes in line with classical Marxist theory that constitutionalism in general fits with the capitalist mode of production and bourgeois democracy and does not fit in with China s socialist system of people s democratic dictatorship 65 Constitutional government has a market economy in which private property plays the predominant role as the basis unlike the Chinese socialist market economy in which public ownership is the basis 65 The rallying cries of the liberal revolutions in the 17th and 18th century she notes was Private property is sacred and inviolable and constitutional governance was established around this premise 65 While things have changed since the 17th and 18th centuries the basic premise remains the same in Western societies a small government which protects the interests of private property 65 People s democracy versus parliamentary democracy Edit Further information People s democracy Marxism Leninism In fact there is only concrete freedom in the world and concrete democracy there is no abstract freedom or abstract democracy In class struggle societies where there is the freedom for the exploiting classes to exploit the labouring people there is no freedom for the labouring people to be free from exploitation Where there is bourgeois democracy there is no democracy of the proletariat or the working people democracy and freedom are relative not absolute they all occur and develop in history Mao Zedong 66 Yang states that people s democracy unlike parliamentary democracy realises the principle of popular sovereignty 65 The basis for the argument is that in a parliamentary democracy a system in which ordinary people can vote for different parties the parties available are in the pockets of the bourgeoisie 65 Parties can only win Yang claims if they have enough money when parties have money they get it from the bourgeoisie 65 This relationship turns the political parties contesting the election to subservient tools of the bourgeoisie and makes them govern in their interest 65 While a system with multi party elections rotational government and parliaments looks more democratic it is in fact beholden to the interests of the bourgeoisie and not the people 65 In contrast the people s democratic system with People s Congresses realises popular sovereignty through a mixture electoral and consultative democracy 65 Unlike in parliamentary democracies Yang adds people standing for elections for seats in people s congresses are state financed thus giving every candidate an equal chance of getting elected 65 Yang claims that All political parties in China bear the trust of the people all implement their duties according to the law and under the leadership of the Communist Party and serve the people 65 In a parliamentary democracy the only way for a party to gain legitimacy is through elections but due to the involvement of the bourgeoisie in the election process this legitimacy is not considered as genuine 65 The CCP gained legitimacy Yang asserts through its victory in the Chinese democratic revolution 65 Yang claims that the introduction of constitutionalism in any form would lead to the fall of the CCP and even claims that socialist constitutionalism of the Soviet Union and the former socialist states was a main factor contributing to their downfall 65 While not writing negatively about the system of checks and balances as it exists in the United States Yang claims that the people s congress system of one governments and two courts the institutions of the People s Courts and the People s Procuratorates is the best suited for Chinese conditions since it is the best form to reflect our country s national essence 65 In the people s democratic system the courts are both responsible to and supervised by the people s congresses 65 In this system Yang adds the judiciary is under the control of the National People s Congress NPC and its Standing Committee SC 65 The NPC or the SC are responsible for supervising the implementation of the constitution and judicial organs are granted judicial independence through their respective people s congresses 65 These courts are not subject to interference by groups individuals and are solely responsible to the people s congresses at their respective level 65 However as Yang puts it 65 Accordingly our country s judicial organs both trial organs and procuratorial organs shall implement their powers independently according to the provisions of the law but in terms of politics ideology and organization they must be under the leadership of the Communist Party of China The Socialist rule of law concept is persisting in governing the country according to the law a judiciary for the people fairness and justice serving the bigger picture and the leadership of the Party 65 Similarly Yang rejects the constitutionalist notion that the military is to be neutral and nationalized under the control of civilian politician 65 Since it was established by the CCP and given its role in the victory against the Kuomintang the People s Liberation Army PLA is unique and should be treated as such 65 Socialist democracy Edit In the article Marxism is a Universal Truth not a Universal Value published in Party Building in 2013 Wang Ningyou states that democracy is not a universal value since the meaning of democracy and how it should work changes from which class perspective one has 66 He claims that the two main forms of democracy socialist democracy proletarian democracy and capitalist democracy bourgeoisie democracy are both diametrically opposite socialist democracy allows the people to master their own affairs while capitalist democracy Wang contends guarantees the freedom of capital to exploit and suppress the masses proletariat 66 The use of qualifiers in front of the word of democracy is important as to highlight the class nature of the different forms of democracy Wang contends and concludes that One sort of pure democracy common democracy or universal democracy that all of humanity identifies with has never existed in human societies 66 Under Xi Jinping the Chinese Communist Party styles itself as a socialist democracy 67 Opposition to constitutionalism EditYang rejects the notion that constitutionalism is a good word and rejects the introduction of a term socialist constitutional governance or another formulation of it into Chinese ideological discourse 65 Constitutionalism Yang believes has discourse hegemony since it is backed by the bourgeoisie 65 Similarly to Engels and Vladimir Lenin s conclusions among others Yang concludes that constitutional systems are ruled by property relations which gives the bourgeoisie considerable control 65 In The Condition of the Working Class in England Engels states a position which is still endorsed by the CCP 65 Free competition will suffer no limitation no State supervision the whole State is but a burden to it It would reach its highest perfection in a wholly ungoverned anarchic society where each might exploit the other to his hearts content However the bourgeoisie cannot dispense with government but must have it to hold the equally indispensable proletariat in check it turns the power of government against the proletariat and keeps out of its way as far as possible 65 Constitutionalism and liberal democracy in general which is continuously referred to as the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie in the article can be considered superficial Yang argues since the bourgeoisie are the only one access to true liberty and democracy 65 Yang notes that constitutional governance asserts that power lies in the people and implements a parliamentary democratic political system But the real operation of parliamentary democracies is completely grasped in the hands of the bourgeoisie Members of parliament or officials in general are able to contest elections and win them only with the support of the bourgeoisie 65 He goes on to claim that the elected officials of democratic states fool the people they pretend to serve the people but in reality they dominate and plunder citizens 65 Yang shares Karl Marx s sentiment that liberal democracy permits the oppressed to decide once every few years on which persons from the oppressive class will be represented in parliament to oppress them 65 The Chinese system is based on Marx s own writings who write in The Civil War in France that Communes shall not have a parliamentary form and shall be organs combining executive and legislative work at the same time 65 The whole points of these elected assemblies are that the people elected to the assemblies are responsible for implementing and supervising laws 65 Wang contends that the fixed class nature of constitutionalism is bourgeoisie 66 While there are some who try to separate constitutionalism from the Western capitalist system Wang argues by doing so they are only safeguarding the rights of the bourgeoisie and their universal values 66 Constitutionalism is used as a tool by the ruling class the bourgeoisie to oppress the labouring masses the proletariat 66 Wang reiterates Mao s position of constitutionalism or what is called democratic politics in fact is a politics that eats people 66 Wang concludes his remarks on constitutionalism by claiming that it is necessary to sweep this concept into the rubbish bin of history 66 Socialist civilization Edit The term civilization 文明 Wenming became a key word during the 1990s 68 In short the ideological campaigns tried to harmonize the relationship between the two civilizations in China material civilization and spiritual civilization 69 The concept first developed during the early 1980s from classical Marxist thought 69 It was through this concept that the CCP called for balanced development 69 Material civilization is synonymous with economic development spiritual civilization often referred to as socialist spiritual civilization tries to spread good socialist morals in Chinese society 69 Under Deng the CCP emphasized material civilization but under Jiang the emphasis was on spiritual civilization 69 which was less easily definable Spiritual civilization changed from a concept largely defined in socialist terminology under Deng into a vehicle for cultural nationalism under Jiang 69 The theory has become more complex with time at the 16th National Congress Jiang introduced a third concept of civilization political civilization focused solely on the CCP and political reform 70 The state strengthens the building of socialist spiritual civilization by promoting education in high ideals ethics general knowledge discipline and legality and by promoting the formulation and observance of rules of conduct and common pledges by various sections of the people in urban and rural areas The state advocates the civic virtues of love for the motherland for the people for labor for science and for socialism It conducts education among the people in patriotism and collectivism in internationalism and communism and in dialectical and historical materialism to combat capitalist feudalist and other decadent ideas Article 25 of the state constitution 71 Deng first used the term in 1979 to denote the need to develop a material civilization as well as a spiritual civilization 72 Analyst Nicholas Dynon believes it may have been introduced to placate the conservatives within the party Deng s way of reassuring them that socialism was not be abandoned 72 Socialist civilization was to replace class struggle as the main engine of progress a worldview seen as more harmonious and cooperative 72 Socialist Spiritual Civilization was launched in the early 1980s to protect the party from foreign corruptive influences but also to protect the CCP s policy of reform and opening up 72 While the two terms material and spiritual civilizations were added to the party constitution at the 12th National Congress the terms and their meanings were hotly debated 73 For instance Zhao Yiya the editor in chief of the Liberation Army Press criticized Hua Yaobang s speech to the 12th National Congress noting that both material and spiritual elements contained class character as well as cultural elements 73 Material civilization was less contested and it maintained close links to the Marxist view of economic development and the mode of productions and the view that the material is the basis of the superstructure 74 On this Deng was a classical Marxist who believed that the material served as the basis when people s material wealth progresses their cultural aspects will rise as well and their spiritual aspects will change considerably 75 Under the banner of spiritual civilization the CCP would promote patriotic spirit collectivism and the four haves 75 By the mid 1980s Deng became concerned that material civilization was getting more attention than spiritual civilization he said the one is tough material civilization while the other is soft spiritual civilization 76 The 6th plenary meeting of the 12th Central Committee adopted the Resolutions on the guiding principles for developing a Socialist Spiritual Civilization under the slogan In grasping with two hands both hands must be firm 76 Deng s Spiritual Civilization continued using much of the old Maoist vocabulary and slogans such as five stresses four goods and three loves study Lei Feng and serve the people 76 However in a radical break from the past Deng ended the Maoist emphasis on antagonism and contradiction in Chinese socialist thought 77 At the 16th National Congress Jiang introduced a third kind of civilization political civilization along with the important thoughts of the Three Represents 78 According to Robert Lawrence Kuhn a former advisor to the Chinese government the idea was three interrelated objectives material civilization spiritual civilization and political civilization and one unifying mechanism Three Represents The three civilizations were the intended ends and the important thought of Three Represents was the chosen means 78 There has been talk of introducing a fourth civilization but nothing has come of it yet 79 A proposed fourth civilization social civilization is linked to Hu s concept of Harmonious Socialist Society 80 According to Lie Zhongjie the deputy director of the Central Research Office the outcome of building society in a general sense is social civilization it is a social civilization in the broad sense transcending the other three civilizations 81 However social civilization has not been elevated to the same level as the other three kinds of civilization 81 There are a number of proponents in China for ecological civilization an unsurprising development given the growing awareness and official recognition of China s pressing environmental issues 81 Socialist modernization Edit A billboard during the preparations for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the People s Republic of China Throughout the 20th century ideology served two functions first to achieve the modernization of China and second to provide unity where there was fragmentation and struggle 82 The thought most linked to modernity in early China was Marxism which analysed different social structures and relations 82 Mao conceived a Chinese version of Marxism in which a proletarian revolution was amended to a peasant dominated revolution 82 This change gave traction to a utopian modernist view and led to the Chinese Revolution in 1949 82 The immediate post 1949 consensus was intimately linked with the idea of an alternative modernity that transcended capitalist modernity and its Eurocentric assumptions of historical teleology and economist determinism 82 The impact of this was in two key areas the introduction of Marxist terms such as proletariat bourgeoisie petit bourgeoisie capitalist to denote class for Mao s emphasis class struggle in Chinese society and the creation of the party state 83 The Maoist vision of modernity never enjoyed entire hegemony within the party and was always contested even at the height of Mao s power 83 Zhou Enlai s launching of the Four Modernizations in 1965 and again 1975 are an example of this 83 When Mao died the Four Modernizations replaced class struggle as the party s key objective 83 This vision eventually led to the enfranchisement of the private market economy and the establishment of new institutions and became Deng Xiaoping s socialism with Chinese characteristics 83 This in turn led to the adoption of alternative visions of modernity popular in the Western world 83 Ideological change led to factional strife with many leading members of the party calling for a return to the classical socialist model of development 83 From the outside world these changes may seem odd a society which looks more capitalist by the day is still ruled by a party that claims fidelity to socialism However there is less understanding of how this looks from within 84 A break with the basic tenets of Maoist thought came in the 1990s when Jiang Zemin talked of the need to let private entrepreneurs join the party 84 This decision had a stronger connection to realpolitik then to ideological conviction By the 16th National Congress the private sector was one of the most dominant forces in society a constituency the party could not ignore if it wished to hold on to power 85 The party is in official discourse directly linked to modernity 86 For instance in Hu s speech commemorating the 85th anniversary of the CCP s founding he said Only our Party can become the nucleus of power to lead the Chinese revolution construction and reform only it is able to bear the great trust of the Chinese people and the Chinese nationality In the last 85 years our party has preserved and developed the progressive creative line 87 According to the CCP the people are the force for creating history and for the CCP to accomplish its task of modernization it cannot become alienated from the people 87 it must creatively adapt theory and pursue strategic sound policies 87 Therefore having a correct understanding of Marxism and its development in China is crucial 87 Hu noted that progressiveness is the essence of Marxist party building and that it is the basic service and eternal theme of Marxism 87 The CCP has come a long way to modernization via the industrialization movements that were brought on by communism However this was not a painless process and continues to face difficulty as our world rapidly develops Mao s position as a dictator gave way and continues to give way to the oppression of peoples in China no matter the economic success that has been gained through the communist movement Socialist patriotism Edit Further information Socialist patriotism Socialist patriotism is a concept invented by Vladimir Lenin the informal leader of the Russian Bolshevik Party 88 It commits people to a non nationalistic form of devotion to one s country 88 According to the standard Soviet definition it means boundless love for the socialist homeland a commitment to the revolutionary transformation of society and the cause of communism 88 To ensure that socialist patriotism did not evolve into a form of nationalism criticized as a bourgeois ideology the people had to be committed to proletarian internationalism 88 The CCP shortly after seizing power defined three levels of socialist patriotism At the first level individuals should subordinate their personal interests to the interests of the state At the second level individuals should subordinate their personal destiny to the destiny of our socialist system At the third level individuals should subordinate their personal future to the future of our communist cause 89 Mao s nationalism was not inclusivist and people from certain classes were deemed unpatriotic from the outset 90 Chinese nationalism under Mao was defined as anti imperialist and anti feudal in principle 90 However Mao believed that nationalism was of secondary importance and his main aim was to further expand the reach of the world revolution 90 Under Deng the concept was further expanded 91 Believing that purer communist concepts such as class struggle and the like could not bring people together as they had done under Mao his regime gave patriotism a larger role 92 In early 1982 the CCP initiated the Three Loves campaign under the slogan Love the party love socialism and love the motherland 91 A year later the Central Propaganda Department and the Central Research Office formulated a comprehensive plan to exploit nationalist feelings by making films and television programs out of China s heroic struggle against Western and Japanese imperialism 91 Patriotic activities were added to the school system s extracurricular activities the national flag was to be raised daily and pupils were to sing and learn the national anthem 93 By 1983 the party had concluded that among patriotism collectivism socialism and communism patriotism has peculiar features and functions Patriotism is the banner of greatest appeal 93 Despite its broadened role patriotism remained secondary to socialism 93 As Deng put it Some have said that not loving Socialism is not the same as not loving one s motherland Is the motherland something abstract If you do not love socialist New China led by the Communist Party what motherland do you love 93 According to official pronouncements the CCP was the best representative of the nation communists were the most devoted patriots and socialism the only viable road for China to become a great nation 93 Deng Liqun in a similar vein said One cannot demonstrate that one loves the motherland if one shows no deep love for the socialist system and the Communist Party In short in our times loving the Chinese Communist Party is the highest expression of Chinese patriotism 94 Economics EditFurther information Economy of China Productive forces vs superstructure Edit According to China scholar Maria Hsia Chang Deng Xiaoping was in a very real sense a better Marxist theoretician than Mao Zedong 95 Deng had studied Marxism in the Soviet Union in the 1920s at the Moscow Sun Yat sen University unlike Mao who never studied Marxism in depth before the 1930s enrolling in a course on historical materialism and Marxist economics 95 Like Mao Deng never referenced Marxism when articulating new policies however the few times the pair did Deng displayed a more advanced grasp of Marxism than Mao ever did 95 To take one example in 1975 in On the General Program of Work of the whole Party and the Whole Nation Deng wrote 95 Marxism holds that within the contradictions between the productive forces and the relations of production between practice and theory and between the economic base and the superstructure the productive forces and the economic base generally play the principal and decisive role Whoever denies this is not a materialist 95 This position while being based on Marxism was criticized by Maoists at the time of being the revisionist theory of the productive forces 95 In a break with classical Marxism Mao argued that the superstructure should play the leading role in the revolution that is the political system and individuals and not the materialist forces which Mao considered secondary This ideology served as a significant base is Mao s push towards communism and improving the lives of the lower working class peoples 95 This was not a small ideological issue and had been in the heart of Marxist theoretical debate since the era of Vladimir Lenin 96 Lenin had argued that socialist revolutions could occur in the peripheries of capitalism that is countries not economically advanced enough to develop socialism according to Karl Marx since these revolutions could instigate a revolutionary wave in the more advanced countries 96 Marx in The Poverty of Philosophy stated that in acquiring new productive forces men change their mode of production and in changing their mode of production in changing their way of earning a living they change all their social relations 96 To explain Marx believed as the productive forces literally the economic forces changed social relations would change and when the social relations changed something new would develop 96 In short the Marxist founders argued that the socialist mode of production could only develop out of a developed capitalist economy and not from a backward economy developing it on a backward area was according to Marx a chiliastic dream fantasy 97 After the failure of the revolutionary waves of the late 1910s early 1920s Lenin initiated the New Economic Policy a series of policies which reintroduced capitalist economics in the country in a bid to develop socialism in Russia despite its backwardness 97 According to Maria Hsia Chang Mao never grasped the central importance of the productive forces in developing socialism and he argued until the end that socialism could be created through the superstructure alone with revolutionary commitment political intransigence personal sacrifice and selfless dedication to the revolution 98 Deng on the other hand stayed true to classical Marxism arguing until his death that the productive forces played the central role 98 The basic conflict between the Maoists and the Dengists was if China after 1949 had reached socialism or not and what it would entail 99 In the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward and the Sino Soviet split Mao himself was even unsure if China had reached the socialist mode of production 99 In 1962 he reached the conclusion that China despite having nationalized the means of production had not reached the socialist mode of production in its mature form claiming that the principle conflict as existing in China was between the proletariat and the new bourgeois elements which were constantly reproduced and other enemies of the revolution 99 This view led Mao to introduce to the Cultural Revolution 99 Unlike Mao who gave priority to superstructural elements Deng argued in 1956 in the Report on the Revision of the Constitution of the Communist Party of China that socialism had taken root in socialism since private property had been abolished since nationalization of property Deng argued again following the basic premises of classical Marxism entailed removing the basis of other classes reproducing stating 100 Casual labourers and farm labourers have disappeared Poor and middle peasants have all become members of agricultural producers co operatives and before the distinction between them will have become merely a thing of historical interest The vast majority of our intellectuals have now come over to the side of the working class The conditions in which the urban poor and the professional people used to exist as independent social strata are virtually no longer present but the government control and regulation continues to soar 100 In contrast to Mao Deng argued that the principal contradiction in Chinese society was the backwardness of the productive forces further adding that the party s central task over the coming years were to develop them 101 In addition he believed that China since 1957 had been unable to figure out what socialism is and how to build it 102 He criticized Mao s policies particularly those after 1957 arguing that the CCP had wasted twenty year 101 Primary stage of socialism Edit Main article Primary stage of socialism The concept of a primary stage of socialism was developed mainly by Xue Muqiao and Su Shaozi 103 104 The concept began to evolve when the new post Mao leadership of Deng began questioning Mao assertion that class struggle as the key link 104 Su coauthoring with Feng Langrui published an article in Economic Research Chinese Jingji yanju in 1979 which called into question the Chinese socialist project by using Marxist methodology 104 The article analyzed the basis of Chinese socialism by looking at Karl Marx s writings Marx drew a distinction between lower stage communism commonly referred to as the socialist mode of production and higher phase communism often referred to as simply communism 104 Su s and Feng s article created three subdivisions within the socialist mode of production the first phase was the transition from the capitalist mode of production to the socialist mode of production which was a the phase in which the proletariat seized power and set up the dictatorship of the proletariat and b in which undeveloped socialism was created the second phase was advanced socialism the socialism of which Marx wrote about 104 They argued that China was an undeveloped socialist nation since 105 The characteristics of undeveloped socialism are the two forms of public ownership commodity production and commodity exchange Capitalists have been basically eliminated as a class but there are still capitalist and bourgeois remnants even feudal remnants There also exist quite a few small producers class differences among workers and peasants and the force of habit of small scale producers The production forces are still not highly developed And there is not an abundance of products Therefore the transition toward socialism has not yet been completed 105 The concept of a primary stage of socialism led directly to the reconception of capitalism and socialism s polar opposite relation to each other 106 Previously the CCP had declared that supporting capitalism meant supporting an historical retreat secondly capitalism was considered the diametrical opposite of socialism and their relations were considered hostile and incompatible 106 The official reconception of the two terms were sanctioned in the Political Report to the 13th National Congress 106 Before the reform efforts capitalism and socialism were believed to be part of a sequential relationship with the latter developing from the former 106 A less traditional view was that capitalism had proven it had a greater capacity for creating human civilization than Marx expected which indirectly meant that socialism could learn from capitalism 106 Another mark of continuity was that the two systems existed alongside each other 106 Role of the market Edit Further information Socialist market economy Deng did not believe that the fundamental difference between the capitalist mode of production and the socialist mode of production was central planning versus free markets He said A planned economy is not the definition of socialism because there is planning under capitalism the market economy happens under socialism too Planning and market forces are both ways of controlling economic activity 107 Jiang Zemin supported Deng s thinking and stated in a party gathering that it did not matter if a certain mechanism was capitalist or socialist because the only thing that mattered was whether it worked 45 It was at this gathering that Jiang Zemin introduced the term socialist market economy which replaced Chen Yun s planned socialist market economy 45 In his report to the 14th National Congress Jiang Zemin told the delegates that the socialist state would let market forces play a basic role in resource allocation 108 At the 15th National Congress the party line was changed to make market forces further play their role in resource allocation this line continued until the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee 108 when it was amended to let market forces play a decisive role in resource allocation 108 Despite this the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee upheld the creed Maintain the dominance of the public sector and strengthen the economic vitality of the State owned economy 108 Cultural and societal views EditStance on religion Edit Further information Religion in China Marxism and religion and Antireligious campaigns in China The CCP as an officially atheist institution prohibits party members from belonging to a religion 109 Although religion is banned for party members personal beliefs are not held accountable 109 During Mao s rule religious movements were oppressed and religious organizations were forbidden to have contact with foreigners 110 All religious organizations were state owned and not independent 110 Relations with foreign religious institutions were worsened when in 1947 and again in 1949 the Vatican forbade any Catholic to support a communist party 110 On questions of religion Deng was more open than Mao but the issue was left unresolved during his leadership 111 According to Ye Xiaowen the former director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs In its infancy the socialist movement was critical of religion In Marx s eyes theology had become a bastion protecting the feudal ruling class in Germany Therefore the political revolution had to start by criticizing religion It was from this perspective that Marx said religion is the opium of the people 112 It was because of Marx s writings that the CCP initiated anti religious policies under Mao and Deng 112 The popularity of Falun Gong and its subsequent banning by state authorities led to the convening of a three day National Work Conference for Religious Affairs in 1999 the highest level gathering on religious affairs in the party s history 113 Jiang Zemin who had subscribed to the classical Marxist view that religion would wither away was forced to change his mind when he learnt that religion in China was in fact growing not decreasing 114 In his concluding speech to the National Work Conference Jiang asked the participants to find a way to make socialism and religion adapt to each other 115 He added that asking religions to adapt to socialism doesn t mean we want religious believers to give up their faith 115 Jiang ordered Ye Xiaowen to study the classical Marxist works in depth to find an excuse to liberalize the CCP s policy towards religion 115 It was discovered that Friedrich Engels had written that religion would survive as long as problems existed 115 With this rationale religious organizations were given more autonomy 115 Stance on Chinese traditions Edit The CCP is historically notorious for attempting to destroy aspects of Chinese culture mainly folk Confucianism in the form of Four Olds under Mao This attitude has reversed under later leaders with a widespread claim to 5 000 years of history 116 culminating in Xi Jinping s open embrace of Confucianism as the cultural soil that nourishes the Chinese people and the addition of cultural confidence in the confidence doctrine 117 On the other hand traditional Chinese medicine TCM has always been endorsed by the CCP While Mao valued TCM s use as a low cost way to improve rural health Xi s preference is more based on cultural concerns 118 See also EditIdeology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Communism State Capitalism Chinese nationalism Neoauthoritarianism China New Confucianism Chinese New Left Liberalism in China Professor Wang Huning top theorist of the Party References EditCitations Edit Meisner Maurice J 1967 Li Ta chao and the origins of Chinese Marxism Harvard University Press ISBN 9780674180819 OCLC 162350792 a b c Brown 2012 p 52 Johnson Matthew D 11 June 2020 Safeguarding socialism The origins evolution and expansion of China s total security paradigm Sinopsis Retrieved 13 June 2020 a b c Shambaugh 2008 p 105 a b c d e f g h i Unknown Autumn Stone 14 November 2013 Revolutionary Ideals are Higher than Heaven Studying Comrade Xi Jinping s Important Elaboration concerning Strengthening Ideals and Convictions China Copyright and Media Archived from the original on 15 August 2014 Retrieved 14 August 2014 Ash 2007 p 233 Ash 2007 p 261 Ash 2007 p 274 Kuhn 2011 p 369 a b c d e Ideological Foundation of the CPC People s Daily Central Committee of the Communist Party of China 30 October 2012 Archived from the original on 28 December 2013 Retrieved 26 December 2013 a b c Staff writer 26 December 2013 Mao Zedong Thought Xinhua News Agency Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 26 December 2013 a b c Shambaugh 2008 p 104 a b Kuhn 2011 p 98 a b Kuhn 2011 p 99 Kuhn 2011 p 115 a b Kuhn 2011 p 528 a b c d e Kuhn 2011 p 527 a b c d e Chan 2003 p 177 a b c d e f Chan 2003 p 178 a b c d e f Chan 2003 p 179 Vogel 2011 p 353 a b c Chan 2003 p 180 a b c Chan 2003 p 181 Chan 2003 p 182 a b Chan 2003 p 183 Chan 2003 pp 183 184 Chan 2003 p 187 Chan 2003 pp 187 188 a b c d Chan 2003 p 188 Chan 2003 p 188 189 Vogel 2011 p 470 Vogel 2011 p 667 Coase amp Wang 2012 p 73 Coase amp Wang 2012 p 74 Coase amp Wang 2012 pp 74 75 Baum 1996 pp 317 321 a b c Baum 1996 p 320 a b c d e f Baum 1996 p 321 a b Baum 1996 p 322 a b Vogel 2011 pp 668 669 Vogel 2011 p 668 a b c Vogel 2011 p 669 a b c Vogel 2011 pp 669 680 Vogel 2011 pp 681 682 a b c d e f Vogel 2011 p 682 a b Vogel 2011 p 684 a b Vogel 2011 p 685 a b c Chan 2003 p 201 Kuhn 2011 pp 107 108 Kuhn 2011 pp 108 109 a b Kuhn 2011 p 110 Izuhara 2013 p 110 a b Guo amp Guo 2008 p 119 Guo amp Guo 2008 p 121 a b Scientific Outlook on Development China Radio International 1 November 2012 Archived from the original on 3 January 2014 Retrieved 3 January 2014 Goh Sui Noi 18 October 2017 19th Party Congress Xi Jinping outlines new thought on socialism with Chinese traits Straits Times Archived from the original on 26 October 2017 Retrieved 28 October 2017 His own words The 14 principles of Xi Jinping Thought BBC Monitoring Archived from the original on 28 October 2017 Retrieved 28 October 2017 Buckley Chris 13 February 2014 Xi Touts Communist Party as Defender of Confucius s Virtues The New York Times Archived from the original on 22 February 2014 Retrieved 13 February 2014 a b c d e f g Heazle amp Knight 2007 p 62 a b c d e Heazle amp Knight 2007 p 63 a b Heazle amp Knight 2007 p 64 Heazle amp Knight 2007 pp 64 65 a b Heazle amp Knight 2007 p 65 a b c d Brown 2012 p 63 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak Creemiers Roger 3 June 2013 The Chinese Debate on Constitutionalism Texts and Analyses Part I China Copyright and Media Archived from the original on 14 August 2014 Retrieved 12 August 2014 a b c d e f g h i Ningyou Wang 10 August 2013 Wang Ningyou Marxism Is a Universal Truth not a Universal Value China Copyright and Media Archived from the original on 15 August 2014 Retrieved 13 August 2014 Mardell Mark 5 June 2020 World at One No Interview with Chen Win Minister at the Chinese Embassy in the UK 34 40 35 30 BBC Radio Four a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint location link Dynon 2008 p 83 a b c d e f Dynon 2008 p 84 Dynon 2008 p 85 Constitution Government of the People s Republic of China 14 March 2004 Archived from the original on 26 July 2013 Retrieved 10 December 2013 a b c d Dynon 2008 p 86 a b Dynon 2008 p 87 Dynon 2008 pp 87 88 a b Dynon 2008 p 88 a b c Dynon 2008 p 91 Dynon 2008 p 92 a b Dynon 2008 p 101 Dynon 2008 pp 104 107 Dynon 2008 p 104 a b c Dynon 2008 p 106 a b c d e Brown 2012 p 54 a b c d e f g Brown 2012 p 55 a b Brown 2012 p 56 Brown 2012 p 57 Brown 2012 p 58 a b c d e Brown 2012 p 59 a b c d White 2000 p 182 Zhao 2004 p 28 a b c Gregor 1999 p 163 a b c Ding 2006 p 143 Vogel 2011 p 661 a b c d e Ding 2006 p 144 Ding 2006 p 145 a b c d e f g Chang 1999 p 66 a b c d Chang 1999 p 67 a b Chang 1999 p 68 a b Chang 1999 p 69 a b c d Chang 1999 p 71 a b Chang 1999 pp 71 72 a b Chang 1999 p 72 Chang 1999 p 70 McCarthy 1985 p 142 a b c d e Sun 1995 p 184 a b Sun 1995 pp 184 185 a b c d e f Sun 1995 p 206 Deng Xiaoping 30 June 1984 Building a Socialism with a specifically Chinese character People s Daily Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Archived from the original on 16 January 2013 Retrieved 13 January 2013 a b c d Marketization the key to economic system reform China Daily China Daily Group 18 November 2013 Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 22 December 2013 a b Kuhn 2011 p 373 a b c Kuhn 2011 p 362 Kuhn 2011 p 365 a b Kuhn 2011 p 364 Kuhn 2011 pp 366 367 Kuhn 2011 p 367 a b c d e Kuhn 2011 p 368 Storozom Michael 15 July 2019 China s 5 000 Years of History Fact or Fiction Culture clash for China as Xi introduces Confucius to Marx South China Morning Post 27 July 2019 Berezow Alex 28 February 2018 Is China the World Leader in Biomedical Fraud Foreign Policy Archived from the original on 6 February 2020 Retrieved 31 March 2020 Sources Edit Articles and journal entries Edit Abrami Regina Malesky Edmund Zheng Yu 2008 Accountability and Inequality in Single Party Regimes A Comparative Analysis of Vietnam and China PDF University of California Press pp 1 46 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Ash Robert 2007 Quarterly Chronicle and Documentation October December 2006 The China Quarterly No 189 Cambridge University Press pp 232 286 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Brown Kerry 2 August 2012 The Communist Party of China and Ideology PDF China An International Journal Vol 10 no 2 National University of Singapore Press pp 52 68 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Chambers David Ian 30 April 2002 Edging In from the Cold The Past and Present State of Chinese Intelligence Historiography Journal of the American Intelligence Professional Vol 56 no 3 Central Intelligence Agency pp 31 46 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Dynon Nicholas July 2008 Four Civilizations and the Evolution of Post Mao Chinese Socialist Ideology The China Journal Vol 60 University of Chicago Press pp 83 109 JSTOR 20647989 Hepeng Ji Fall 2014 The Three Represents Campaign Reform the Party or Indoctrinate the Capitalists PDF The Cato Journal Vol 24 no 3 Cato Institute pp 261 275 Li Cheng 19 November 2009 Intra Party Democracy in China Should We Take It Seriously Vol 30 no 4 China Leadership Monitor pp 1 14 Kollner Patrick August 2013 Informal Institutions in Autocracies Analytical Perspectives and the Case of the Chinese Communist Party PDF No 232 German Institute of Global and Area Studies pp 1 30 Archived from the original PDF on 17 November 2020 Retrieved 13 February 2014 Miller H Lyman 19 November 2009 Hu Jintao and the Party Politburo PDF Vol 32 no 9 China Leadership Monitor pp 1 11 Books Edit Baum Richard 1996 Burying Mao Chinese Politics in the Age of Deng Xiaoping Princeton University Press ISBN 978 0691036373 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Baylis Thomas 1989 Governing by Committee Collegial Leadership in Advanced Societies State University of New York Press ISBN 9780887069444 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Bush Richard 2005 Untying the Knot Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait Brookings Institution Press ISBN 978 0815797814 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Broodsgaard Kjeld Erik Yongnian Zheng 2006 The Chinese Communist Party in Reform Routledge ISBN 978 0203099285 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link McCarthy Greg 1985 Brugger Bill ed Chinese Marxism in Flux 1978 84 Essays on Epistemology Ideology and Political Economy M E Sharpe ISBN 978 0873323239 Carter Peter 1976 Mao Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0192731401 Chan Adrian 2003 Chinese Marxism Continuum Publishing ISBN 978 0826473073 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Chang Maris Hsia 1999 The Labors of Sisyphus The Economic Development of Communist China Transaction Publishers ISBN 978 0765806611 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Coase Ronald Wang Ling 2012 How China Became Capitalist Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 978 1137019363 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Ding X L 2006 The Decline of Communism in China Legitimacy Crisis 1977 1989 Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0521026239 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Feigon Lee 2002 Mao A Reinterpretation Ivan R Dee ISBN 978 1566635226 Finer Catherine Jones 2003 Social Policy Reform in China Views from Home and Abroad Ashgate Publishing ISBN 978 0754631750 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Fu Zhengyuan 1993 Autocratic Tradition and Chinese Politics Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0521442282 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Gao James 2009 Historical Dictionary of Modern China 1800 1949 Scarecrow Press ISBN 978 0810863088 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Gregor A James 1999 Marxism China amp Development Reflections on Theory and Reality Transaction Publishers ISBN 978 1412828154 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Gucheng Li 1995 A Glossary of Political Terms of the People s Republic of China Chinese University Press ISBN 978 9622016156 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Guo Sujian 2012 Chinese Politics and Government Power Ideology and Organization Routledge ISBN 978 0415551380 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Guo Sujian Guo Baogang 2008 China in Search of a Harmonious Society Lexington Books ISBN 978 0739126240 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Heazle Michael Knight Nick 2007 China Japan Relations in the Twenty first Century Creating a Future Past Edward Elgar Publishing ISBN 978 1781956236 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Izuhara Misa 2013 Handbook on East Asian Social Policy Edward Elgar Publishing ISBN 978 0857930293 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Keping Yu 2010 Democracy and the Rule of Law in China Brill Publishers ISBN 978 9004182127 Kornberg Judith Faust John 2005 China in World Politics Policies Processes Prospects University of British Columbia Press ISBN 978 1588262486 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Kuhn Robert Lawrence 2011 How China s Leaders Think The Inside Story of China s Past Current and Future Leaders John Wiley amp Sons ISBN 978 1118104255 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Latham Kevin 2007 Pop Culture China Media Arts and Lifestyle ABC CLIO ISBN 978 1851095827 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Li Cheng 2009 China s Changing Political Landscape Prospects for Democracy Brookings Institution Press ISBN 978 0815752080 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Liu Guoli 2011 Politics and Government in China ABC CLIO ISBN 978 0313357312 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Joseph William 2010 Politics in China an Introduction Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0195335309 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Mackerras Colin McMillen Donald Watson Andrew 2001 Dictionary of the Politics of the People s Republic of China Routledge ISBN 978 0415250672 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link McGregor Richard 2012 The Party The Secret World of China s Communist Rulers 2nd ed Harper Perennial ISBN 978 0061708763 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Musto Marcello 2008 Karl Marx S Grundrisse Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy 150 Years Later Routledge ISBN 978 1134073825 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Smith Ivian West Nigel 2012 Historical Dictionary of Chinese Intelligence Scarecrow Press ISBN 978 0810871748 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Ogden Chris 2013 Handbook of China s Governance and Domestic Politics Routledge ISBN 978 1136579530 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development 2005 Governance in China OECD Publishing ISBN 978 9264008441 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Saich Tony Yang Benjamin 1995 The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party Documents and Analysis M E Sharpe ISBN 978 1563241550 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Schram Stuart 1966 Mao Tse Tung Simon amp Schuster ISBN 978 0140208405 Shambaugh David 2008 China s Communist Party Atrophy and Adaptation University of California Press ISBN 978 0520254923 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Shambaugh David 2013 China Goes Global The Partial Power Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0199323692 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Sullivan Lawrence 2007 Historical Dictionary of the People s Republic of China Scarecrow Press ISBN 978 0810864436 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Sullivan Lawrence 2012 Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Communist Party Scarecrow Press ISBN 978 0810872257 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Sun Yat 1995 The Chinese Reassessment of Socialism 1976 1992 Princeton University Press ISBN 978 0691029986 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Unger Jonathan 2002 The Nature of Chinese Politics From Mao to Jiang M E Sharpe ISBN 978 0765641151 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Van de Ven Hans J 1991 From Friend to Comrade The Founding of the Chinese Communist Party 1920 1927 University of California Press ISBN 978 0520910874 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Vogel Ezra 2011 Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0674055445 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Wang Gunwu Zheng Yongian 2012 China Development and Governance World Scientific ISBN 978 9814425834 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link White Stephen 2000 Russia s New Politics The Management of a Postcommunist Society Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0521587372 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Wong Yiu chung 2005 From Deng Xiaoping to Jiang Zemin Two Decades of Political Reform in the People s Republic of China University Press of America ISBN 978 0761830740 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link Zhao Suisheng 2004 A Nation state by Construction Dynamics of Modern Chinese Nationalism Stanford University Press ISBN 978 0804750011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party amp oldid 1136248859, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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