Liu Li: 20 Years of the Establishment of Marxist Theory as a Discipline and Chinese Modernization | Marxism Research Network

Liu Li, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and President of the Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences, stated that this path contains a distinctive worldview, values, and perspectives on history, the people, democracy, and ecology. It both directly confronts a multitude of global problems urgently requiring solution and presents the academic community with the "three hows" as propositions of the era: first, how to inject theoretical ^[1] momentum into the great practice of Chinese-path modernization through research results of greater depth and substance; second, how to construct a national discourse system ^[2] possessing greater subjectivity ^[3] and persuasiveness to vividly explain the China story to the world; and third, how to clarify the underlying reason, theory, and philosophy ^[4] carried by the path of Chinese-path modernization through systematized and theorized interpretation. These "three hows" point directly to the core direction of Marxist theoretical research in the New Era and represent the key topics upon which the academic community must focus its assault ^[5].

Notes

↩ [1] 学理 (xuélǐ): Specifically refers to the scientific or academic logic underpinning a theory. In the context of "theorized" (学理化) construction, it implies elevating empirical experience into a rigorous, systematic Marxist framework.

↩ [2] 民族话语体系 (mínzú huàyǔ tǐxì): Literally "ethnic" or "national" discourse system. In Chinese Marxist terminology, this refers to the project of developing a set of political and social science concepts that are rooted in China’s own history and conditions, rather than relying on imported Western categories.

↩ [3] 主体性 (zhǔtǐxìng): Subjectivity. In this context, it refers to intellectual autonomy and the "actorhood" of the Chinese nation in the production of knowledge, resisting "epistemological dependence" on Western social science paradigms.

↩ [4] 道理、学理、哲理 (dàolǐ, xuélǐ, zhélǐ): A common rhetorical triad in contemporary CPC theory. "Reason" (daoli) refers to factual or practical logic; "theory" (xueli) refers to academic and scientific rigor; and "philosophy" (zheli) refers to the deep ontological and epistemological foundations.

↩ [5] 攻坚 (gōngjiān): A military metaphor meaning "to storm a fortification." It is frequently used in Chinese political discourse to describe the process of overcoming the most difficult and stubborn obstacles in policy reform or academic research.