Guo Chao: The Internal Characteristics and Contemporary Value of the Party's Strategic Thought on Self-Revolution
The courage for self-revolution is a unique advantage of a Marxist party and a powerful weapon for the Communist Party of China (CPC) to maintain its advanced nature and purity. Marx and Engels once pointed out that "all revolutions up till now have left the mode of activity unchanged... whereas the communist revolution is directed against the preceding mode of activity, does away with labour, and abolishes the rule of all classes with the classes themselves." Only a Marxist party, which takes the realization of communism as its highest ideal and ultimate goal, possesses the sufficient conditions and adequate courage to turn the "blade" of revolution toward itself, and can possess the most thorough revolutionary consciousness and revolutionary will. Since Marx and Engels guided the establishment of the International Workingmen's Association, Marxist parties across various countries have drawn sufficient revolutionary spirit from theory and practice, cultivated scientific revolutionary thinking, and integrated this spirit and thinking into the practice of Party building. As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, Xi Jinping—based on a summary of over a century of practice by various countries and especially the CPC—integrated the inherent characteristics of "revolution" within the Marxist context into every aspect of Party building, advancing major theoretical innovations in Marxist revolutionary theory and the doctrine of Party building.
I. The Rich Content of the Strategic Thought on the Party’s Self-Revolution
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Xi Jinping has delivered a series of important discourses centered on self-revolution, systematically answering major questions such as "why the CPC must pursue self-revolution, why it can pursue self-revolution, and how to advance self-revolution," thereby forming and refining the strategic thought on the Party's self-revolution. To summarize the internal characteristics of this thought and grasp its value for the times, one must first collate General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on self-revolution to profoundly grasp its starting point, value pursuit, value foundation, fundamental premise, and practical direction.
(1) Resolving prominent problems within the Party is the starting point of self-revolution
Since the 18th National Congress, Xi Jinping has attached great importance to the Party’s self-revolution, regarding it as one of the historical experiences of the Party's century-long struggle and the "second answer" to escaping the historical cycle of rise and fall. It carries great theoretical and practical significance, embodying the Party's courage to "turn the blade inward and scrape the poison off the bone" [1] and its determination and will to solve problems at their root, imparting a distinct revolutionary character to the great practice of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. In July 2016, Xi Jinping creatively introduced the concept of self-revolution into the field of Party management and governance. He pointed out: "The whole Party must, with the political courage for self-revolution, focus on solving the prominent problems existing within the Party, continuously enhance the Party's capacity for self-purification, self-perfection, self-innovation, and self-improvement, withstand the 'four tests,' and overcome the 'four dangers' [2], ensuring the Party remains the strong leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics." Since then, Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the need to use the determination and will of self-revolution to cut into the Party's chronic ailments, promptly confront and correct errors, and always maintain the Party's advanced nature and purity.
From this, it is evident that the creative application of the concept of self-revolution in the field of Party management and governance is "itself directed at problems," targeting prominent intra-Party issues that affect the Party’s advanced nature and purity. These problems include the "four dangers," the "Four Winds," "four impurities" [3], and the "seven types of misconduct" [4]. Among these, "corruption is the largest malignant tumor harming the Party's vitality and combat effectiveness, and anti-corruption is the most thorough form of self-revolution." To solve the prominent intra-Party problems, with corruption as the greatest tumor, one must purify the soil in which these problems breed. Clearly, the components of this soil are complex, involving political and ideological factors, as well as factors related to work style, discipline, organization, and institutions. Therefore, overcoming and solving these problems is likewise a complex systematic project; we should grasp the "new great project of Party building" [5] holistically from a theoretical height. Xi Jinping has proposed a series of new concepts and advanced a series of new practices, particularly the explicit proposal to construct a system for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and a system of institutional norms for the Party's self-revolution. The commonality of these concepts and practices is that "they are all permeated with a strong spirit of self-revolution, reflecting our Party's determination and will for self-revolution."
(2) Remaining true to the original aspiration and founding mission is the value pursuit and value foundation of self-revolution
Self-revolution is closely linked to remaining true to the original aspiration and founding mission. In June 2019, while presiding over the 15th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee, Xi Jinping pointed out that "staying true to the original aspiration and founding mission is not an easy task; it requires a strong spirit of self-revolution," and emphasized that "remaining true to the original aspiration and founding mission is, in final analysis, about solving various problems within the Party that violate that aspiration and mission; the key is to have the self-awareness to face problems and the courage to turn the blade inward." The process of advancing self-revolution is a process in which the Party continuously strengthens its determination and courage to confront and solve problems, and continuously resolves its own prominent issues. Through self-revolution, the Party can both urge Party members and cadres to examine themselves and correct erroneous thoughts that violate the original aspiration and mission, while also solving various intra-Party problems that contravene them, thereby ensuring the whole Party remains true to its original aspiration and founding mission. Thus, only by taking the original aspiration and founding mission as its value pursuit and advancing self-revolution with firm determination and will can the CPC solve the various problems in its thinking and actions that violate that mission.
Remaining true to the original aspiration and founding mission is the value foundation of the Party's self-revolution. Xi Jinping pointed out that the courage for self-revolution stems from the Party's original aspiration and founding mission; as long as we keep them in mind, "constantly examine ourselves, do not hide our shortcomings, do not gloss over our faults [6], and resolutely struggle against all phenomena that weaken the Party's advanced nature and purity or harm the Party's health, we will surely remain invincible." On the new journey, we "must keep in mind the original aspiration and founding mission, and push the Party's self-revolution to a deeper level in the New Era." These important discourses fully demonstrate that the firmer the original aspiration and mission of Party members and cadres, the deeper the Party's self-revolution can be driven. Starting from June 2019, the Party Central Committee decided to carry out a themed education campaign on "remaining true to our original aspiration and founding mission" throughout the Party. By adhering to the spirit of self-revolution to solve problems, the Party strengthened its ideals and beliefs, and reinforced the whole Party's ideological unity, political solidarity, and consistency in action. Xi Jinping pointed out that this was "a vivid practice of deepening the Party's self-revolution and promoting the development of comprehensive and strict Party governance toward a deeper level in the New Era." This vivid practice of self-revolution consolidated the original aspiration and mission of the broad ranks of Party members and cadres, laid a deeper value foundation for the Party's self-revolution, and formed a more steadfast will and more powerful force. It is thus clear that keeping the original aspiration and mission in mind and advancing self-revolution are a dialectically unified whole; they are mutually causal. Remaining true to the original aspiration and mission is the value pursuit of the Party's self-revolution, and a firmer original aspiration and mission provide the value foundation for the Party to further advance its self-revolution.
(3) Having no special interests of its own is the fundamental premise of self-revolution
The essential attributes of a Marxist party grant the CPC its unique character of self-revolution. Xi Jinping emphasized: "The courage for self-revolution is the most distinctive character of our Party and its greatest advantage," and "it is a prominent hallmark distinguishing the CPC from other political parties." It is easy to revolutionize others, but difficult to revolutionize oneself. In the world, there are very few parties with the determination, will, and capacity to advance self-revolution like the CPC. Even regarding social revolution, bourgeois parties find it difficult to possess thorough revolutionary determination and will; this is determined by the class position of the bourgeoisie. Lenin once pointed out that "the class position of the bourgeoisie in capitalist society inevitably makes it inconsistent in a democratic revolution," and "the bourgeoisie always looks backward and fears democratic progress which would inevitably strengthen the proletariat." From this, we see that in the process of seizing power, the revolutionary character displayed by bourgeois parties is incomplete. After seizing power, especially when facing the progressive demands of advanced classes, this originally incomplete revolutionary character transforms into a complete counter-revolutionary character. The meaning of a bourgeois party's existence is to protect the class interests of the bourgeoisie and maintain its dominant position in society. Such narrow class interests are fundamentally incompatible with self-revolution.
Fundamentally different from bourgeois parties, the CPC has no special interests of its own other than the interests of the country, the nation, and the people; this is precisely where the CPC derives its courage for self-revolution. That the CPC has no special interests of its own is by no means an abstract expression, but carries realistic and specific meanings. As a revolutionary Marxist party, the CPC represents the fundamental interests of the broadest possible range of the people. This requires the Party to lead the people of the whole country in liberating and developing productive forces, eliminating exploitation, eradicating polarization, and gradually achieving common prosperity for all. However, long-term governance is a test for a Marxist party; how to always remain firm in the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a major theoretical and practical issue. Historically, some Marxist parties, when facing domestic and foreign challenges, gave rise to a privileged stratum, abandoned their Marxist faith and communist ideals, and consequently lost the determination, will, and capacity for self-revolution, eventually leading to the death of the party and the state. Unlike these parties, the CPC has maintained the spirit of self-revolution throughout its century of struggle, constantly examining itself, discovering and correcting errors in a timely manner, and never forming a privileged group like the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. An important reason why the CPC can advance self-revolution in the New Era is that it has always adhered to self-revolution throughout history, maintained its fundamental nature, avoided the formation of privileged groups, and "has never represented the interests of any interest group, any power group, or any privileged stratum."
(4) Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is the practical direction of self-revolution
Self-revolution is a dialectically unified whole of the spirit of self-revolution and the practice of self-revolution. Xi Jinping pointed out: "To persist in the spirit of self-revolution, the key is to have the self-awareness to confront problems and the courage to turn the blade inward," illustrating that this self-awareness and courage constitute the core of the spirit of self-revolution. Xi Jinping also pointed out: "We must continuously advance the Party's self-revolution with the courage to confront problems and the self-awareness to turn the blade inward," indicating that for the Party to advance self-revolution, it must possess a strong spirit of self-revolution. Therefore, self-revolution is both the courage to "scrape the poison off the bone" at the spiritual level and the Party-strengthening activity permeated with a strong spirit of self-revolution at the practical level. The spirit and practice of self-revolution complement each other: without the spirit, the New Era practice of strengthening the Party would lose its soul; without the practice, the spirit would have no "field of application." In the New Era, comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is the great practice of the Party's self-revolution.
The foundation, key, and core of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party are all permeated with a strong spirit of self-revolution. First, comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is a systematic project; omitting any area or neglecting any level could lead to total failure. Thus, "comprehensive" is its foundation. Comprehensiveness refers both to the fields of Party management and to its depth, requiring both full coverage of areas and the courage to take the knife to deep-seated problems within the Party. Second, it targets the long-standing "lax, loose, and soft" [7] problems in Party management; essentially, it is a high-standard requirement for the ideological style of Party members and cadres. Thus, "strictness" is the key. Only by making intra-Party political life more serious, making Party discipline more rigorous, and promoting the shift of Party management toward being "strict, tight, and hard" can the prominent problems within the Party be solved. Finally, comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is the Party's strategic policy and a practical activity of management. Whether it is across all fields and deep levels, or involving the normalization of political life and discipline, it ultimately depends on "governance" for its guarantee. Governance is the direct practice of Party management, embodying the Party's courage and determination to solve its own problems by turning the blade inward; it is the force that transforms the concepts and systems of Party management into reality. Thus, comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is "the great practice of the Party's self-revolution in the New Era, which has opened up a new realm for the self-revolution of a century-old party."
II. The Internal Characteristics of the Strategic Thought on the Party's Self-Revolution
The strategic thought on the Party's self-revolution embodies the inherent characteristics of "revolution" within the Marxist context. Only by returning to the scientific context of Marxism and analyzing the inherent characteristics of "revolution" can we fully understand the internal characteristics of the strategic thought on the Party's self-revolution.
(1) The self-awareness of "turning the blade inward and scraping poison off the bone"
"Revolution" is not a concept exclusive to the proletariat and its vanguard. According to the definition provided by Comrade Mao Zedong in his early years, "A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another." In this sense, the bourgeoisie also emphasized and led revolutions. In the process of leading the overthrow of feudal rule and promoting fundamental transformations in the mode of production, the bourgeoisie embodied certain characteristics of "revolution." However, as Comrade Mao Zedong noted, the bourgeoisie lacked a clear foresight regarding social development; consequently, bourgeois revolutions were often spontaneous.
A revolution led by the proletariat is essentially different from any led by previous classes, including the bourgeoisie, because Marx discovered the laws of social development and "saw through the entire field of modern social relations with clarity and distinctness." Such a revolution can never arise spontaneously; a spontaneous workers' movement can only become a "tail" [8] to the bourgeoisie. On the contrary, such a revolution can only be realized under the strong leadership of a conscious Marxist party. Therefore, "revolution" in the Marxist context possesses a distinct consciousness (zijuexing). Successfully seizing political power is merely the beginning of this consciousness, not its end; it requires the Marxist party to lead the great social revolution through the Party’s great self-revolution. The strategic thought on the Party’s self-revolution inherits and develops this revolutionary consciousness. It expresses both the Chinese Communist Party's active spirit of correcting errors—"cutting out its own gangrenous flesh" to advance the great social revolution—and demonstrates the Party's active practice of mastering and applying the laws of proletarian party-building to promote self-purification, self-perfection, self-renewal, and self-improvement. The concept of the Party’s self-revolution itself indicates that the Party is both the subject and the object of the revolution. "Revolutionizing one's own self" fully embodies the great historical initiative of the CPC and further highlights the consciousness inherent in "revolution."
(2) Seeking the Thoroughness of Innovation at the Fundamental Level
The revolution led by the proletariat is entirely different from previous revolutions that "always left the nature of the activity untouched." The purpose of this revolution is not to serve the narrow interests of a particular class, but to achieve the liberation of all humanity by abolishing classes themselves. The driving force of this revolution is the proletariat, rendered extremely impoverished under the oppression of the capitalist system; to change their state of misery, they must struggle against all social inequality. Proudhon, the petty-bourgeois socialist, also fantasized about eliminating social inequality, but he failed to see the real economic relations hidden within these phenomena. He could only appeal to "eternal justice" and attempt to "abolish interest" by a stroke of a legislative pen. The opposition represented by old scholars like Proudhon fell far short of touching the nature of the activity; such opposition lacked thoroughness (chedixing), could not solve real-world problems, and certainly did not qualify as a revolution. Conversely, the proletariat stands in total opposition to the premises of the existing social system. They demand not just the elimination of the phenomena of social inequality, but a "revolution from the roots" to eliminate the very source of these phenomena. Therefore, only the activities of the proletariat to change the existing state of affairs can be called a true revolution and possess the most resolute thoroughness.
Philosophy is the head of the revolution, and the proletariat is its heart. Without philosophy, the proletariat loses its brain, and the revolution loses the thoroughness it should inherently possess. The reason workers' movements prior to the birth of Marxism exhibited spontaneity and lack of thoroughness lay in their lack of a scientific worldview and methodology as guidance. Revolutionary thoroughness takes revolutionary consciousness as its premise, and revolutionary consciousness takes the leadership of a Marxist party as its premise. However, not every Marxist party can remain conscious over the long term; the collapse of the Party and the state in the Soviet Union is a striking example. Although the collapse of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the result of multiple factors, a major reason was its failure to persist in the most thorough revolutionary spirit. The CPC has always maintained the most thorough spirit of self-revolution, remained firm in its ideals and convictions, remained mindful of its original aspiration and founding mission, and has never allowed the formation of any vested-interest groups or pursued narrow partisan interests. Consequently, the CPC is able to turn the sword of revolution inward and consciously promote comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. In the process of advancing self-revolution, the CPC has created a systematic and scientific guiding theory and grasped the objective laws of a proletarian party’s self-revolution; it is therefore conscious. Guided by scientific theory and with the strongest resolve and firmest will, the CPC purifies the deepest soil that breeds intra-Party problems and solves issues substantively without being shackled by the interests of the few; it is therefore thorough. Highlights of the strategic thought on the Party's self-revolution embody the inherent characteristics of "revolution" in the Marxist context, giving salient expression to the most resolute thoroughness.
(3) Seeking the Principle-Centeredness of Innovation on the Basis of Upholding Fundamentals
On the basis of consciousness and thoroughness, "revolution" embodies the principle-centeredness (yuanzexing) of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground. The consciousness of revolution lies in grasping the root causes hidden behind phenomena; the thoroughness of revolution lies in resolving those roots and the problems arising from them. This by no means implies that revolutionary thoroughness requires a simple negation of everything. On the contrary, thoroughness predicated on consciousness aims to achieve development based on inheritance—that is, seeking innovation while upholding the fundamentals.
The most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the CPC, and the key to advancing the great social revolution is the Party’s self-revolution. Whether the CPC can adhere to the principle of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground in its self-revolution concerns the success or failure of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Xi Jinping pointed out that to advance self-revolution, we "must persist in the unity of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground." The core of this unity lies in upholding the fundamentals (shouzheng); only on this basis can innovation (chuangxin) be achieved. The basic requirement of upholding the fundamentals is to master the general laws of Marxist party-building and to grasp the historical coordinates of self-revolution. The basic requirement of innovation is to apply the general laws of Marxist party-building and absorb all the outstanding intellectual and cultural achievements of humanity to analyze, grasp, and solve the prominent problems existing within the Party. For the CPC, self-revolution means "remaining unswerving in upholding the Party's nature, purpose, ideals, convictions, original aspiration, and founding mission," while also creatively transforming and innovatively developing the unique political wisdom of Chinese civilization. It requires eliminating all factors that negatively impact the Party's advanced nature and purity, and on this basis, employing flexible means and methods to solve intra-Party problems. It is evident that this principle-centeredness is an inherent requirement of the strategic thought on the Party’s self-revolution.
(4) The Long-Term Nature of Being "Always on the Road"
Proletarian revolution includes not only a political revolution to seize and transform the state apparatus, but more importantly, a social revolution to transform the economic base using the precious fruits of the political revolution. Under certain special conditions, the political revolution to seize state power may be completed in a short time by "exciting momentary enthusiasms in itself and the masses," such as the Russian October Revolution, which took the form of uprisings in central cities. Even such revolutions require long-term ideological and organizational preparation as a premise. Unlike such political revolutions, social revolution is a "series of historical processes that will transform both circumstances and men." The essence of this historical process is the transformation of society's material productive forces and the corresponding relations of production and socio-economic structure, followed by the transformation of the entire superstructure built upon it and its corresponding forms of social consciousness. This transformation cannot be achieved overnight; on the contrary, it requires the unremitting struggle of several, dozens, or even scores of generations. Thus, the long-term nature (changqixing) is an inherent characteristic of social revolution.
As long as the social revolution continues to advance, self-revolution cannot stop for a single moment. Xi Jinping pointed out: "It is undeniable that under the conditions of developing a socialist market economy, the principles of commodity exchange will inevitably penetrate into intra-Party life; this is independent of human will. Various temptations in society entangle Party members and cadres, leading to the 'boiled frog' phenomenon [9], where some people find themselves 'invited into the urn' [10] before they know it." Problems such as corruption, bureaucratism, and formalism within the Party are rooted in the social soil and possess a stubborn and recurring nature under the conditions of a socialist market economy. To solve these stubborn and recurring intra-Party problems while facing the long-term "Four Tests" [11], the Party must persist in self-revolution over the long term. Otherwise, a Marxist party can easily be corrupted by the objectively existing principles of commodity exchange and various social temptations, forming privileged interest groups and eventually changing its nature, its "color," and its "flavor." Therefore, the report to the 20th National Congress emphasized that "As long as the soil and conditions for corruption exist, the anti-corruption struggle must not stop for a single moment," and "Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is always on the road; the Party’s self-revolution is always on the road. We must never entertain the idea of relaxing, taking a break, or becoming weary." It is thus clear that the strategic thought on the Party’s self-revolution embodies the inherent characteristics of "revolution" in the Marxist context, expressing a long-term commitment to being "always on the road."
III. The Epochal Value of the Strategic Thought on the Party's Self-Revolution
The strategic thought on the Party’s self-revolution expresses the CPC’s determination and courage to turn the blade inward and "scrape the bone to treat the poison." [12] It embodies the consciousness, thoroughness, principle-centeredness, and long-term nature of the Party's governance over itself. Based on these characteristics, this strategic thought demonstrates significant epochal value.
(1) It Embodies the Organic Unity of Marxist Revolutionary Theory and Party-Building Doctrine
In the article "The Condition of England: The Eighteenth Century," Engels pointed out that the social revolution is the true revolution, more extensive and far-reaching than any other, and that political and philosophical revolutions must lead to social revolution. The primary task of a proletarian party is to seize state power through political revolution, but it "cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery"; rather, it must revolutionarily transform it to meet the needs of driving social revolution. With the development of scientific socialism and the practice of proletarian party-building, how to solve the Party's own prominent problems and truly build the Party into a strong leadership core for the socialist cause has become a major theoretical and practical question for Marxists to answer.
Marxists are first and foremost great proletarian revolutionaries. Their thoughts possess all the characteristics of "revolution," which naturally permeate their party-building doctrines—such as Lenin's theory of "instillation" and Comrade Mao Zedong's theory of "self-criticism." On this basis, Xi Jinping has consciously and comprehensively developed Marxist party-building doctrine by applying the consciousness, thoroughness, principle-centeredness, and long-term nature of "revolution." Whether in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party or in the anti-corruption struggle, whether in the "Four Selfs" [13] or the "Six Constructions" [14], every field of Party building clearly embodies a distinct revolutionary character. Simultaneously, the strategic thought on the Party’s self-revolution serves as a bridge connecting Marxist party-building doctrine with the theory of social revolution. "The Communist Party of China is the highest force for political leadership," and the key to advancing the great social revolution, solving China's problems, and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation lies in the CPC’s self-revolution. "Leading the social revolution through the Party's self-revolution" contains Xi Jinping’s profound grasp of the nature of a socialist state and provides a new approach for the Party to lead the great social revolution "starting from itself." Thus, self-revolution both enriches Marxist revolutionary theory and develops Marxist party-building doctrine, embodying the organic unity of the two.
(2) It Refutes the Fallacy that "One-Party Rule Inevitably Leads to Corruption"
For some time, some Party members and cadres have been deeply blinded by the ideological discourse of Western "multi-party rotation." Xi Jinping once criticized this phenomenon, pointing out: "Some people are obsessed with the Western systems of multi-party rotation and the separation of powers, believing that a one-party administration cannot solve its own internal problems. In fact, looking at political parties across all countries, those truly like the Communist Party of China—which can consistently face its own problems head-on, form a complete system of self-restraining institutional norms, and seriously punish a large number of corrupt and degenerated elements within the Party—are, one might say, exceptionally rare." This actually points out that self-revolution is the key to breaking through such erroneous conceptions. According to the Marxist perspective, all social problems are rooted in material relations, and the problem of corruption is no exception. The soil that breeds corruption is not the party system itself, but rather the socio-economic base upon which that party system arises. The party system of multi-party rotation is a product of capitalist economic relations. In his work The Class Struggles in France, 1848-1850, Marx systematically analyzed the struggles within the French bourgeoisie at that time, noting that all these factions within the Party of Order (the party of the royalist big bourgeoisie) insisted on the joint rule of the bourgeoisie against the usurping and rebellious desires of their rivals, maintaining the Republic as the form in which various special demands could cancel each other out while simultaneously preserving one another. From this, it can be seen that the bourgeois republic was not a conscious choice made by the bourgeoisie after full consideration of so-called fairness, justice, or checks and balances; rather, it was a spontaneous product of the mutual struggle, stalemate, and reluctant compromise between various factions within the bourgeoisie. Similarly, the system of multi-party rotation is merely the inevitable result of incomplete factional struggles within the bourgeoisie and a political tool for the bourgeoisie to unite to exploit the masses and pursue the accumulation and concentration of capital. If "the exchange of power for money" is corruption, then under a system of multi-party rotation, bourgeois parties whose very pursuit is "using power to seek money" are naturally incapable of solving their own internal problems.
China's new-type party system is a product of socialist economic relations, serving to liberate and develop the productive forces, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and the common prosperity of all the people. Unlike the antagonistic interests between bourgeois factions, the interests of the proletariat are fundamentally aligned. The consistency of proletarian interests requires that there can only be one strong Marxist party. Therefore, the Communist Party of China, representing the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the Chinese people, is able to hold state power over the long term. Only under the strong leadership of the CPC can the fundamental interests of the broadest masses be guaranteed and the historical mission of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation be realized. Of course, under the conditions of a socialist market economy, it is inevitable that some Party members and cadres will encounter various problems when faced with various temptations. These problems existing within the Party can and must be resolved through self-revolution. The consciousness and thoroughness of the CPC’s self-revolution require the Party to oppose corruption with the most resolute attitude and resolve various intra-Party issues; the principle-based and long-term nature of self-revolution requires it to be a process of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, moving forward step-by-step, and persisting over the long term. Furthermore, by leading social revolution, self-revolution must and will eliminate the social soil that breeds corruption—that is, the complete elimination of corruption itself. Thus, it is evident that the CPC's self-revolution is the key to solving the problem of corruption at its source and a powerful weapon for debunking the fallacy that "one-party rule inevitably leads to corruption."
(3) Inspiring the Determination and Courage of the Whole Party to Thoroughly Resolve Its Own Problems
The word "revolution" (革命, geming) appeared as early as the pre-Qin classic The Book of Changes (I Ching), in the "Commentary on the Tuan" for the Ge (Revolution) Hexagram [15]. It states: "Tang and Wu led revolutions [16] that followed the will of Heaven and responded to the needs of the people." From the very beginning, "revolution" has embodied the great spiritual spirit of the Chinese people—"aspiring to the beautiful, unyielding to brute force, and daring to struggle"—inspiring the determination and courage of oppressed people to fight. Consequently, "revolution" became the leitmotif of Chinese history following the May Fourth Movement [17]. Among all the political parties in modern China, only the CPC endowed "revolution" with its scientific Marxist connotation—namely, consciousness, thoroughness, principle, and long-term duration—thereby making "revolution" a scientific method and spiritual faith for the suffering Chinese people to thoroughly overthrow the "Three Great Mountains" [18] and fundamentally change their own future and destiny.
Revolutionary ideals soar higher than the heavens. Through more than a century of struggle, the CPC has successfully integrated revolutionary determination, will, and courage into the very blood of every Chinese Communist. "Revolution" is the key that awakens the spirit of struggle inscribed in the genes of Chinese Communists and is the banner that inspires them to unite and struggle for the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. As socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era, the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and the risks and challenges facing our country have become more arduous and complex. In this environment, if the CPC is to lead the people in advancing a great social revolution, it must first advance the new great project of Party building, resolve prominent problems within the Party, and maintain its own advanced nature and purity. Self-revolution inherits the great spirit of revolutionary struggle, stimulating the spirit of thorough revolution in which Chinese Communists do not hesitate to shed blood or sacrifice to change their own status and solve prominent intra-Party problems; it manifests the strong will and character of Chinese Communists to persevere, relentlessly improve Party conduct and enforce discipline, and wage a resolute struggle against corruption and other prominent intra-Party issues.
(4) Providing the Second Answer to Escaping the Historical Cycle of Rise and Fall
The "historical cycle" of order and chaos, rise and fall, is a "Sword of Damocles" hanging over the head of any individual or political party in power, and the CPC is no exception [19]. The CPC has been continuously exploring the question of how to escape this historical cycle. More than 70 years ago, Comrade Mao Zedong gave the first answer: "Only by letting the people supervise the government will the government not dare to slacken. Only when everyone stands up to take responsibility will the administration not perish when the leader dies." After more than 70 years of exploration, our Party has found a new path, which is self-revolution. Xi Jinping pointed out: "Over the past hundred years, the Party has relied externally on developing people's democracy and accepting people's supervision, and internally on comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and advancing self-revolution. It has had the courage to uphold truth and correct errors, and the courage to turn the blade inward and scrape the poison off the bone [20], ensuring that the Party remains evergreen and continues to grow and strengthen." Developing people's democracy and accepting people's supervision have strengthened the "flesh-and-blood ties" between the Party and the masses, upheld and developed the political advantage of the Party coming from and being rooted in the people, and reflected the populist sentiment of "everything for the people and everything relying on the people." Self-revolution highlights the thorough revolutionary nature of the Party, reflecting its consciousness in turning the blade inward, scraping poison off the bone, continuously resolving its own problems, and maintaining its advanced nature and purity.
Developing people's democracy and accepting people's supervision focus on mobilizing the consciousness of the masses to urge all Party members and cadres to adhere to their original aspiration and founding mission, reject corruption and lethargy, and serve the people wholeheartedly. Self-revolution focuses on exercising the Party’s own conscious power, emphasizing the Party's commitment to "the Party managing the Party" and comprehensively and strictly governing the Party to achieve self-purification, self-perfection, self-renewal, and self-progression. Self-revolution demonstrates that the CPC always remains a revolutionary party, and the spirit of thorough revolutionary struggle will forever be the Party's banner. The entire Party will surely unite under the banner of self-revolution, bolstering its determination and courage to turn the blade inward and scrape poison off the bone, consciously waging a long-term and unremitting struggle against prominent intra-Party problems. At the same time, through the bridge of "revolution," self-revolution is closely linked with social revolution. The Party’s great self-revolution provides a strong leadership force for the great social revolution, while the positive results of the great social revolution provide strong material and spiritual support for the Party’s great self-revolution. It is precisely because the CPC consistently insists on leading the great social revolution through the Party's great self-revolution that it can fundamentally resolve its own prominent problems as the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics develops and the great social revolution gradually advances. In short, the continuously advancing great social revolution lays the foundation of objective possibility for the historical initiative manifested in the Party’s great self-revolution, making self-revolution a new answer—following "people's supervision"—for the CPC to escape the historical cycle of rise and fall.
(Author: Guo Chao, 2022 Doctoral Student, School of Marxism, University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) (Project: A preliminary result of the CASS Major Innovation Project "Research on the Practical Process and Major Contributions of the CPC in Escaping the Historical Cycle" [2023YZD026])