Zhang Ruifen: Deeply Grasping the Principle that "The Essence of Modernization is the Modernization of People"
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has led the people of the whole country in writing a new chapter of the "two miracles" [1], successfully advancing and expanding Chinese-path modernization. History and reality have fully proven that Chinese-path modernization is the broad road toward building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that "the essence of modernization is the modernization of people," profoundly revealing the foundational and fundamental status of "the modernization of people" within Chinese-path modernization, identifying its fundamental force, and pointing out its value orientation. Deeply elucidating the core tenets, significant value, and practical path of this important assertion is of great significance for advancing Chinese-path modernization and contributing Chinese wisdom to the cause of human modernization.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that "Chinese-path modernization is a modernization centered on the people," that we must "adhere to the concept of the supremacy of the people and highlight the people-centered nature of the direction of modernization," and that "the ultimate goal of modernization is to achieve the free and well-rounded development of individuals." This series of important expositions demonstrates that modernization is by no means a "piling up of things," but rather a systemic project focusing on "human development." All economic growth, technological innovation, and institutional refinement must revolve around "people," be driven by "people," and serve "people," with the comprehensive upgrading of people's ideological concepts, capacities, qualities, and the protection of their rights as the ultimate hallmark.
People are the fundamental driving force of modernization—driving breakthroughs in various fields through the "upgrading of human capacity." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The people are the creators of history; they are the most solid foundation and the deepest strength for advancing modernization." Modernization is a process in which "people" actively transform the world and promote social progress; its momentum originates from the modernized advancement of people in dimensions such as needs, capacities, and rights. People's survival, development, and spiritual needs are the basic drivers for modernization in various fields. As material life improves, the needs of the people have shifted from "material and cultural needs" to "needs for a better life." To satisfy the people's demands for "more stable jobs and a more beautiful ecological environment," our country has promoted economic transformation and upgrading alongside the construction of ecological civilization, giving rise to new industries such as green energy and smart environmental protection. The enhancement of human labor skills and the upgrading of modes of collaboration are the core drivers of industrial modernization; the transition from manual labor to intelligent manufacturing is, in essence, a historic leap for humanity from "physical labor" to "mental labor" and "digital labor." The strengthening of people's consciousness of their rights promotes the modernization of institutions. In the New Era, our country has promulgated and implemented the Civil Code, developed whole-process people's democracy, and pushed for institutional refinement to ensure that more people can participate equally in national governance and fairly enjoy the achievements of modernization.
People are the ultimate goal of modernization—commanding the direction of modernization in various fields through "the free and well-rounded development of individuals." The core goal of modernization is not "material abundance" itself, but the free and well-rounded development of "people." General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Political parties should anchor themselves to the people's aspiration for a better life, conform to the people's longing for civilization and progress, and strive to achieve material wealth, political integrity, spiritual enrichment, social stability, and ecological pleasantness, so that modernization can better respond to the various demands and multi-level needs of the people." The purpose of material modernization is to liberate people from poverty, provide safer living environments, and create more convenient living conditions; its essence is the protection of people's right to life and survival. For instance, the complete victory in the battle against poverty [2] allowed nearly 100 million rural poor to escape poverty and live a life of moderate prosperity in all respects. The purpose of educational modernization is to enable people to acquire knowledge, enhance their thinking abilities, and realize self-worth; its essence is the promotion of the comprehensive enhancement of human capacity. The purpose of cultural modernization is to liberate people from traditional prejudices and achieve spiritual freedom; its essence is respecting people's spiritual needs and individual development. The purpose of social modernization is to solidify the bottom line of human development and institutional protections.
People are the core yardstick of modernization—testing the quality of modernization in various fields through the "degree of human modernization." Judging whether a society has achieved modernization cannot rely solely on material indicators; it must also look at the degree of the modernized development of "people"—that is, whether people's concepts, qualities, and rights are compatible with modern society. At the conceptual level, whether traditional notions of hierarchy have been broken and whether people possess the modern consciousness of democracy, freedom, equality, and the rule of law advocated by the Core Socialist Values—this is the core hallmark of a society’s transition from traditional to modern. At the capacity level, whether people possess the ability to engage in modern economic, political, cultural, and social activities—such as the ability to use smart devices and understand digital information as required by the digital era, or the ability to participate in public affairs and social governance through voting and supervision as required by modern democratic politics and social construction—this is the foundation for individuals to integrate into modern society. At the level of rights, whether the populace enjoys the various rights endowed by modern society—this is the "human-centered yardstick" for the modernization of institutions.
"The essence of modernization is the modernization of people" is not an abstract declaration of values, but a scientific judgment made by General Secretary Xi Jinping based on Marxist theory, the historical experience of human modernization, and the practical requirements of Chinese-path modernization. It possesses significant theoretical, historical, and practical value.
It represents a creative development of the Marxist theory of "the free and well-rounded development of individuals." Although Marx and Engels did not explicitly propose the concept of "the modernization of people," they formed the theory of the free and well-rounded development of individuals by elucidating the essence of man, alienated labor, human liberation, and comprehensive development, providing a theoretical source for "the modernization of people." Marx pointed out in the Theses on Feuerbach: "the essence of man is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality it is the ensemble of the social relations." This viewpoint clarifies that "the essence of the modernization of people is the optimization of concrete social relations." Accordingly, Marx believed that the form of human development is always inherently isomorphic with the mode of production and social relations of a specific historical stage. The transition from "dependence on persons" to "dependence on things" is, in essence, the constraint of social relations on human development; whereas "the modernization of people" is precisely the process of progressively breaking through dependency relations to obtain "free individuality." Marx and Engels explicitly pointed out in The German Ideology that the well-rounded development of the individual will cease to be an ideal only when the impulse given to the actual development of the abilities of the individual by the external world is under the control of the individuals themselves. They took "achieving the free and well-rounded development of each individual" as the ultimate goal of "the modernization of people." Rooted in the practice of Chinese-path modernization in the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has placed "the modernization of people" at the core of Chinese-path modernization, emphasizing that "we persist in taking the realization of the people's aspiration for a better life as the starting point and ultimate goal of modernization construction," ensuring that modernization always revolves around "the free and well-rounded development of individuals."
It represents a historic transcendence of the dilemma of "human alienation" in capitalist modernization. In the process of human modernization, Western capitalism was the first to initiate the modernization process, but its inherent logic of being "centered on capital" led to an inability to eliminate the fundamental opposition between "capital valorization" and "human development." The Marxist critique that "the more wealth the worker produces... the poorer he becomes" has evolved in the contemporary era into problems such as "the expansion of economic aggregates alongside lagging people's livelihoods," "technological progress alongside employment displacement," and "material abundance alongside spiritual emptiness." This proves that a path of modernization that "purely pursues material growth and ignores human value" is unsustainable. Chinese-path modernization takes "the modernization of people" as its driving force, purpose, and yardstick, fundamentally avoiding this pitfall. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Whether the path of modernization can eventually be navigated and maintained steadily depends crucially on whether it persists in being people-centered," highlighting the essential difference between Chinese-path modernization and Western modernization. From "cultivating both intelligence and aspiration" [3] in the battle against poverty to foster the self-development capacity of the poor, to implementing the rural revitalization strategy to promote the equalization of basic public services between urban and rural areas, and to building common prosperity demonstration zones to narrow regional and group gaps, Chinese-path modernization has consistently led its developmental direction with "the modernization of people."
It is a practical requirement for resolving the developmental difficulties of "the modernization of people" in the New Era. The process of the modernization of people is always in resonance with the changes in the principal contradiction of society. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved into one between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing need for a better life." The principal contradiction faced by "the modernization of people"—namely, the contradiction between the people's high-level developmental demands and the insufficiency of social support capacities—is specifically manifested in three aspects. First is the contradiction between the comprehensive upgrading of needs and structural imbalances in supply. People's needs have shifted from "material and cultural needs" to "needs for a better life," such as the contradiction between the demand for high-quality education and the gap in urban-rural educational resources, which is essentially a gap between the people's modernization needs and the matching capacity on the supply side. Second is the contradiction between the demand for equal opportunity and the unequal distribution of resources. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all people, but gaps in resource distribution between urban and rural areas, regions, and groups still exist to a certain extent, resulting in some groups having difficulty enjoying the achievements of modernization equally. Third is the contradiction between the requirements for capacity matching and lagging development. Chinese-path modernization places higher demands on "human capacity," yet gaps remain in the capacities of some groups. For instance, grassroots governance innovation requires cadres to possess digital capabilities, but the digital literacy of some township-level cadres remains weak. Therefore, resolving the developmental difficulties of "the modernization of people" in the New Era has become an urgent task in the process of Chinese-path modernization.
Currently, our country is in a critical period for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization. We must take "the modernization of people" as the value thread running through the entire process of Chinese-path modernization, realizing the modernization of people while advancing Chinese-path modernization.
Steadily implement the strategic deployment of Chinese-path modernization to provide powerful support for "the modernization of people." The Report to the 20th CPC National Congress included "achieving more obvious and substantive progress in the well-rounded development of individuals and the common prosperity of all people" in the overall goals for our country's development by 2035; the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee made systemic arrangements across the fields of economy, technology, education, and people’s livelihoods. Looking to the future, in the economic field, we must continue to promote the construction of a modern industrial system, focusing on cultivating strategic emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and bio-manufacturing, deepening the market-based allocation of factors of production, accelerating the construction of a unified national data factor market, and breaking down barriers to the flow of factors between urban and rural areas. This will create a platform for fair competition in employment and development for different groups, pushing economic growth from "expansion of scale" to "quality and efficiency," ensuring that development results more precisely meet the needs of human capacity enhancement. In the fields of science and education, we need to deepen the "Four New" [4] constructions (new engineering, new medicine, etc.), focusing on creating national-level industry-education integration bodies to promote the deep coupling of vocational education with industrial demand. We must increase investment in basic research to ensure the steady expansion of social R&D expenditure, implement special programs for young scientific and technological talents, and improve the two-way flow mechanism for scientific research personnel to enhance talent innovation capabilities. In the field of people’s livelihoods, we must strengthen the employment-first strategy, accelerate the establishment of a long-term care insurance system, and promote the high-quality and balanced development of compulsory education to protect basic human development rights through the equalization of public services. At the institutional level, we need to deepen reforms in areas such as household registration and social security, breaking down institutional and mechanistic obstacles that restrict well-rounded human development to provide institutional safeguards for "the modernization of people."
Rely on the upgrading of needs and enhancement of capacities in "the modernization of people" to inject endogenous momentum into Chinese-path modernization. On one hand, conform to the people's need for a better life and promote the upgrading of consumption structures from "survival-based" to "development-based" and "enjoyment-based." Revolve around needs for health, education, and culture to cultivate new growth points such as the silver economy and green consumption, forcing the industrial system to transform toward high-end, intelligent, and green directions. For example, targeting the health needs of the whole population, we should accelerate the construction of national medical centers and promote the integration of the medical industry with digital technology. This not only meets the broad populace's demand for high-quality medical care but also drives the development of the biopharmaceutical industry. On the other hand, focus on the enhancement of modern human capacity, build a lifelong learning system, promote "Internet + vocational skill training," and carry out customized training for new industries and business formats to improve the ability of laborers to adapt to modern industries. Improve innovation incentive mechanisms, support mass entrepreneurship and innovation, and encourage individuals to release creative vitality in fields such as the digital economy and platform economy, allowing more people to become subjects of innovation. Simultaneously, respect the subjective status of people, improve participation mechanisms for grassroots governance, and promote the orderly participation of citizens in public affair decision-making, ensuring that Chinese-path modernization always fits the developmental will of the people, forming an endogenous cycle where "demand pulls supply and capacity drives innovation."
Establish a mutual promotion mechanism to realize the modernization and well-rounded development of people in the process of advancing Chinese-path modernization. First, strengthen institutional linkages by integrating markers of "the modernization of people" into the evaluation system for Chinese-path modernization. When formulating strategies for economic development or technological innovation, simultaneously plan for human capacity cultivation and the protection of rights and interests. For example, clarify skilled talent cultivation goals within industrial planning and coordinate the layout of public service resources within regional coordinated development to ensure that Chinese-path modernization always advances around "human" development. Second, establish a dynamic adaptation mechanism to regularly monitor changes in human needs and capacity development status, adjusting modernization priorities in a timely manner. For instance, when emerging industries create a large demand for skilled positions, simultaneously increase investment in vocational training; when changes in population structure lead to upgraded needs for elderly care, accelerate the construction of the elderly care service system, achieving resonance between Chinese-path modernization and human development needs. Third, permeate the entire process of advancing Chinese-path modernization and the modernization of people with the value orientation of "persisting in being people-centered." By improving the income distribution system and expanding the middle-income group, let the achievements of Chinese-path modernization benefit all people more extensively and fairly. The enthusiasm for struggle and creative vitality stimulated in the people as they share in these achievements will, in turn, advance the construction of Chinese-path modernization, forming a closed loop where "strategy supports human development, and people empower strategic advancement," demonstrating the fundamental advantage of Chinese-path modernization.