Wang Chuanli and Zhu Siyuan: The Shifting Center of the World Socialist Movement and China’s Emergence as the Mainstay of the Socialist Cause
In the history of the world socialist movement, there has been a phenomenon of shifting centers, where different countries or regions have become the "bellwethers" of the socialist movement at different periods. Lenin once proposed the thesis of "backward Europe and advanced Asia." The Communist Party of China (CPC) has not let Lenin’s expectations down. As an important component of the cause of human progress, the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era has achieved major accomplishments, profoundly influencing the course of world history and deeply altering the trends and patterns of global development. China is increasingly becoming the mainstay of the revitalization of the world socialist movement; it "has created a new form of human civilization and expanded the channels for developing countries to achieve modernization. It has offered a new choice to those nations and peoples who wish to accelerate their development while preserving their independence," making a significant contribution to the peaceful development of all humanity and possessing great world significance.
I. The uneven development of the world socialist movement leads to a shift in the movement's center
Development is uneven both in world capitalism and world socialism. Regarding the development of world capitalism, the bellwether nations have been in a constant state of flux—from Italy, where the earliest sprouts of capitalism appeared; to Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands, which took the lead in colonial expansion after the opening of the New Routes; to Britain and France in the era of the Industrial Revolution; and finally to Germany and the United States in the era of imperialism. Today, the unipolar hegemony of the United States is in a state of instability. Regarding this phenomenon of shifting centers in world capitalism, Lenin pointed out: "There never has been and never could be any evenness, harmony, or proportion in the capitalist world. In the development of each country, sometimes one aspect, one feature, or one type of characteristic of capitalism and the workers' movement stands out particularly prominently, and sometimes another."
The development of the world socialist movement is also uneven. The Industrial Revolution first appeared in Britain, making Britain the first to give rise to the modern proletariat and its revolutionary movement. Engels noted: "The Industrial Revolution created a class of large industrial capitalists, but it also created a class of industrial workers who far outnumbered the former. As the Industrial Revolution gradually spread across various industrial sectors, this class increased in number; as its numbers grew, its strength grew as well." With the rapid development of British industry, the ranks of the British working class continuously expanded, and their consciousness and level of organization steadily improved. The emergence and development of the British working class possessed world-historical significance: "On the Continent, there is also poverty, misery, and social oppression, yet this has had no impact on the development of nations; conversely, the poverty and misery of the modern British working class has national significance, and even world-historical significance."
Marx pointed out: "The English workers are the first-born sons of modern industry. They will then, certainly, not be the last in aiding the social revolution produced by that industry." As the British working class developed, their struggle against the bourgeoisie also continuous developed—initially as spontaneous struggles against individual bourgeois who directly exploited them, manifested primarily in the "Luddite movement" [1] of destroying machinery, factories, and goods. As the ranks of the proletariat expanded and the degree of exploitation by capitalists deepened, workers began to consciously unite, forming organizations such as trade unions to protect their basic rights and interests. This conscious union was a major step forward from spontaneous struggle, though the objective of the struggle remained confined to the economic sphere. As the workers' movement deepened, the struggle transformed into uprisings in some areas and began to take on a political character. The outbreak of the Chartist movement [2] marked the British working class taking the lead in stepping onto the stage of world history as an independent political force, opening the curtain on the proletariat’s struggle for political power against the bourgeoisie, while most countries in Europe were still under heavy feudal shackles. Lenin pointed out that "when the first broad, truly mass, and politically organized proletarian revolutionary movement in the world, the Chartist movement, occurred in Britain, the revolutions happening on the European continent were mostly weak bourgeois revolutions." This meant the British working class stood at the forefront of the international workers' movement at that time, and Britain became the initial center of the world socialist movement. In 1847, the first international proletarian political party—the Communist League—was secretly established in London, the product of the integration of scientific socialism and the international workers' movement.
After the failure of the 1848 European revolutions, the confidence of the British working class suffered a setback. Engels noted: "The defeat of the class brothers on the Continent left the British working class dejected and undermined its confidence in its own cause," and there emerged an upper stratum of the proletariat that became extremely bourgeoisified, content to remain politically inactive. Lenin believed that "from the perspective of the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat, this advanced capitalist country has actually lagged behind by several decades." During the period of European revolutions, France—with its long tradition of class struggle—saw the "February Revolution" and the "June Uprising" [3] break out, becoming the center of the world socialist movement after Britain. Marx spoke highly of the June Uprising: "It was the first great battle between the two classes that split modern society. It was a struggle for the preservation or annihilation of the bourgeois order." Although this uprising failed, "the proletariat at least failed with the glory of having fought a great world-historical struggle; not only France, but the whole of Europe was shaken by the June earthquake." The French proletariat was not crushed by defeat but grew through struggle, rapidly gaining revolutionary experience and lessons; they "who formerly calculated their development in half-centuries, now had to calculate it in weeks." On March 18, 1871, a proletarian revolution broke out in Paris, establishing the first proletarian regime in human history—the Paris Commune. It inherited the glorious tradition of the French people seeking social change through violent revolution since 1789 and was the continuation of a series of revolutionary struggles for liberation, such as the French Revolution and the June Uprising. It marked the entry of the proletarian struggle against the bourgeoisie into a new historical stage, with the French proletariat standing at the forefront of the world socialist movement.
The failure of the Paris Commune caused not only the French workers' movement but also the world socialist movement to fall into a low ebb. The proletariats of various countries were not intimidated by the "White Terror" [4] but adapted to the new situation, carrying out legal struggles, spreading Marxism, and establishing various workers' groups and parties. Following France, the German workers' movement moved to the forefront of the era. Lenin noted: "The French working class made significant contributions to world history by rising in heroic rebellion against the bourgeoisie twice, in 1848 and 1871, and in these two uprisings, the strength of the French proletariat seemed to have been exhausted. After this, from the 1870s onward, leadership in the international workers' movement passed to Germany, which was economically behind both Britain and France." It naturally took many years for the French working class to recover from the bloodshed and sacrifice in Paris. In Germany, however, with the help of billions in windfall gains obtained from France [5], capitalist industry grew as rapidly as plants in a greenhouse; simultaneously, the proletariat and its political party also grew rapidly. The German proletariat made full use of universal suffrage, founded its own daily newspapers, and established its own organizations, allowing Marxism to spread widely and making its party the "strongest, most disciplined, and fastest-growing socialist party," contributing significantly to the world socialist movement. In 1874, in the preface to The Peasant War in Germany, Engels profoundly analyzed the two advantages of the German proletariat over its European counterparts: first, its emphasis on theory and its possession of the highest theoretical cultivation; second, its ability to stand on the shoulders of the British and French workers' movements and directly utilize the experience of its "predecessors." "On the one hand, because of this advantageous position of the German workers, and on the other hand, because of the insular characteristics of the British workers' movement and the violent suppression of the French movement, the German workers are now at the forefront of the proletarian struggle." With the in-depth development of the international workers' movement, the widespread dissemination of Marxism, and the general establishment of workers' parties in various countries, the Second International was established in 1889 under Engels’ guidance, with the Social Democratic Party of Germany being the most influential party within it.
In 1892, the elderly Engels held high hopes for the German workers' movement: "The victory of the European working class does not depend on England alone. It can only be secured by the cooperation of, at least, England, France, and Germany. In both France and Germany the working-class movement is well ahead of England. In Germany it is even within measurable distance of victory. The progress it has there made during the last twenty-five years is unparalleled. It advances with ever-increasing velocity. If the German middle class has shown itself lamentably deficient in political capacity, discipline, courage, energy, and perseverance, the German working class has given ample proof of all these qualities. Four hundred years ago, Germany was the starting-point of the first rising of the European middle class; as things are now, is it outside the range of possibility that Germany will be the scene, too, of the first great victory of the European proletariat?" But things turned out contrary to these wishes. Since Engels’ death, leadership of the Social Democratic Party of Germany was gradually usurped by opportunists, who failed Engels’ expectations, abandoned the revolutionary soul of Marxism, and became obsessed with legal parliamentary struggle. With the outbreak of World War I, the leaders of the Second International, headed by Bernstein and Kautsky, openly betrayed scientific socialism. They shamelessly defended their own bourgeois governments and used the slogan of "defending the fatherland" to fool workers into killing each other, refusing to propagate or support revolutionary actions by the proletariat against their own domestic bourgeoisie, thus degenerating into social-chauvinists. Regarding this, Lenin noted: "By the second decade of the 20th century, when Germany surpassed Britain and France economically, those leading the German Marxist workers' party—the model party for the whole world—were a small group of utter scoundrels and the most despicable villains who had sold themselves to the capitalists."
Lenin led the Russian Bolshevik Party in a resolute struggle against the Second International’s revision of Marxism and betrayal of scientific socialism. He proposed the internationalist slogan of "turning the imperialist war into a civil war," utilized the political and economic crises caused by the war to overthrow the Tsarist autocracy in the February Revolution, and launched the October Revolution at the opportune moment, eventually establishing the world's first socialist state under the dictatorship of the proletariat, signaling that "a new era in world history had begun." In 1919, under Lenin’s guidance, the Third International was established in Moscow, and Russia became the center of the world socialist movement and the source of the world proletarian revolution. Regarding the shift of the center of the world socialist movement from Germany to Russia, Lenin noted: "When Karl Kautsky was still a Marxist... he wrote an article at the beginning of the 20th century called 'The Slavs and the Revolution.' In this article, he pointed out that due to certain historical conditions, leadership of the international revolutionary movement might pass into the hands of the Slavs. And so it was. Leadership in the revolutionary proletarian international has temporarily (naturally only for a short period) passed into the hands of the Russians, just as at various periods of the 19th century it was held by the British, the French, and the Germans." Thereafter, the birth of the Soviet Union and its achievements in construction fully demonstrated the superiority of the socialist system. Under the influence of the Soviet Union and the Comintern, countries such as China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba, along with many Eastern European nations, embarked on the socialist road, forming a powerful socialist camp in the world for a time. This greatly promoted the struggle for national independence and liberation by colonial countries and oppressed nations, facilitated the collapse of the world colonial system, profoundly changed the world political landscape, and advanced the course of world history.
Looking across the history of the continuous shifts in the center of gravity of the world socialist movement, one can draw the following conclusion: the development of the world socialist movement is uneven. Which nation can temporarily occupy a leading position depends primarily on two aspects: the objective situation and subjective preparation. Among these, the objective situation plays a decisive role, and changes in the objective situation are the fundamental cause leading to a shift in the movement's center of gravity. Had the failure of the Paris Commune not dealt a heavy blow to the French proletariat, the leadership of the movement would not have shifted from France to Germany. However, subjective preparation is also crucial; particularly after the objective situation has matured, subjective conditions play a key role. The most important subjective condition is a strong and powerful proletarian political party. It was precisely because Lenin and the Bolshevik Party made long-term and sufficient revolutionary preparations that they were able to seize the great victory of the October Revolution at one stroke when the opportunity ripened, pushing the center of gravity of the world socialist movement from Germany to Russia. In analyzing the German workers' movement, Engels once pointed out: "How long the situation will allow them to occupy this honorable position cannot yet be predicted... If the German workers proceed in the same way, they will not exactly march at the head of the movement—which is not at all in the interest of the movement that the workers of any one single nation should march at its head—but they will occupy an honorable place in the battle line; and they will stand armed and ready when either unexpectedly grave trials or weighty events demand from them greater courage, greater determination, and endurance." [6] However, the German workers' movement did not develop as Engels had hoped. Because leadership was gradually usurped by opportunists, the Social Democratic Party of Germany was not only ill-prepared in the face of the momentous events of the First World War but actually betrayed the revolution, causing Germany to lose its honorable leading position in the world socialist movement.
II. China as the Mainstay of the Resurgence of the Socialist Cause
In the history of the world socialist movement, the Paris Commune and the October Revolution possess an indisputable landmark significance. As a great attempt by the proletariat to overthrow bourgeois rule and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat, Marx spoke highly of the world-historical significance of the Paris Commune: "Working men’s Paris, with its Commune, will be forever celebrated as the glorious harbinger of a new society. Its martyrs are enshrined in the great heart of the working class." Although the Paris Commune eventually failed, "the principles of the Commune are eternal and cannot be crushed; they will assert themselves again and again until the working class is emancipated." The October Revolution ended the low period of the international communist movement following the failure of the Paris Commune and entered the annals of history as the "first victory of the international union of workers over the international union of the various bourgeoisies," opening a new era of human history in which the oppressed and exploited class—the proletariat—exercises rule. As Lenin pointed out, we have begun this work: "The ice has been broken; the road is open, the way has been shown." The Paris Commune and the October Revolution profoundly influenced the global landscape and the historical process, serving as the two great landmarks of the world socialist movement. Where, then, will the third landmark of the world socialist movement appear?
Marx and Engels once predicted that the Pacific Ocean would replace the Atlantic, just as the Atlantic historically replaced the Mediterranean—this is an irreversible historical trend. "California gold and the tireless energy of the Americans will soon cross the Pacific Ocean to the coastal regions, which will become as densely populated, as convenient for trade, and as industrially developed as the coast from Boston to New Orleans is now. Then the Pacific Ocean will play the great role of a world waterway of communication, just as the Atlantic does in the modern age and the Mediterranean did in antiquity and the Middle Ages; while the status of the Atlantic will be reduced to that of an inland sea, much like the Mediterranean today." [7] In Backward Europe and Advanced Asia, Lenin also pointed out that with the awakening of Asia, world history would enter a new stage: "Technically advanced, culturally rich and comprehensive, constitutional, civilized and advanced Europe has reached a historical period when the ruling bourgeoisie, out of fear of the growing and strengthening proletariat, supports everything backward, dying, and medieval. The decaying bourgeoisie is uniting with all the decayed and decaying forces in order to preserve tottering wage-slavery... In Asia a mighty democratic movement is growing, spreading and gaining in strength everywhere. There the bourgeoisie is still siding with the people against the forces of reaction. Hundreds of millions of people are awakening to life, to light and to liberty." [8] The Chinese Communists have not failed Marx, Engels, and Lenin. Today, socialist China radiates vigorous vitality. Chinese-path modernization provides human society with a new choice, offering Chinese wisdom, Chinese solutions, and Chinese strength, increasingly becoming the mainstay of the socialist cause.
First, following the drastic changes in Eastern Europe, the world socialist cause bestowed upon China the glorious mission of becoming its mainstay. In 1991, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union—personally founded by Lenin and possessing a glorious history and rich experience of struggle—withdrew from the stage of governance. The Soviet Union—the world’s first socialist state, born in the October Revolution and tempered in the fires of imperialist armed intervention and world war, and the leader of the world socialist camp—disintegrated. A large number of socialist countries "changed their flags and banners" [9], and the world socialist movement fell into an unprecedented low tide. For a time, theories such as the "obsolescence of Marxism," the "bankruptcy of socialism," and the "end of history" became rampant; many people shook in their faith in Marxism and their conviction in socialism. Not only did a large number of vacillating elements withdraw from their parties, but the socialist front shrank significantly; communist parties in many countries were either ordered to dissolve, ceased activities, or changed their names.
Only when the seas are in turmoil does a hero show his true colors. As the world socialist movement fell into a trough, the world significance of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics became even more prominent, and the people of the world looked to China with hope. The Chinese Communists were not intimidated by setbacks or failures, nor did they drift with the tide or change their banners. Instead, under extremely difficult domestic and international situations, they persisted in the guiding position of Marxism, held fast to the developmental direction of socialism, and opened up a path of socialism with Chinese characteristics that conforms to China's national conditions and the developmental requirements of the times, thereby soul-saving the world socialist movement. Since the 18th National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era. The cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era is flourishing. On the basis of having built a moderately prosperous society in all respects and achieving the first centenary goal, our country has embarked on a new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, moving steadily toward the second centenary goal. Every step forward in the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a contribution to the world socialist cause and will drive its development. Xi Jinping pointed out that the success of socialism with Chinese characteristics "has enabled the socialist proposition with its 500-year history to successfully open up a correct path with high reality and feasibility in the world's most populous country, letting scientific socialism radiate new and vigorous vitality in the 21st century." The world socialist cause did not fall silent in the low tide; rather, it has shown strong vitality in New Era China. From a flourishing socialist China, people can see the bright future of the world socialist cause and strengthen their confidence that capitalism will inevitably perish and socialism will inevitably triumph.
Second, the significant results and major achievements attained in both theory and practice over more than a century demonstrate the Communist Party of China's (CPC) ability to shoulder the responsibility of revitalizing the world socialist cause. Throughout its hundred-year struggle, our Party has always "persisted in writing Marxism on its own banners, continuously advancing the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, absorbing all excellent achievements of human civilization with a broad mind, and leading great practice with the scientific theories of Sinicized Marxism." The Party persists in combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese culture, providing timely answers to the questions of the times and the questions of the people. It has successively formed Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. "The continuous success of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism has presented Marxism to the world with a brand-new image." "The scientific and truthful nature of Marxism has been fully tested in China, the people-centered and practical nature of Marxism has been fully implemented in China, and the open and contemporary nature of Marxism has been fully demonstrated in China."
The history of the CPC’s development is both a history of the victorious development of Marxism and its Sinicized theories and a history of the victorious development of China's socialist practice. Looking at the communist parties of various countries in the world, none has been like the CPC—able to correctly combine the basic tenets of Marxism with its own national realities while persisting in those tenets, continuously promoting theoretical innovation on the basis of practice, developing Marxism, and withstanding the test of practice. Because the Communist Party of the Soviet Union abandoned the guiding position of Marxism-Leninism, deviated from the socialist path, and moved toward so-called "humane, democratic socialism," the party and the state perished. Because the communist parties of Eastern European countries were long dependent on the CPSU and the Soviet Union and failed to independently explore a socialist path suited to their own national conditions, they inevitably failed alongside the collapse of the CPSU and the USSR. The communist parties in Europe and America, such as those in France, the United States, and Italy, have become increasingly social-democratized due to the influence of Bernsteinism [10] in the Second International; they abandoned violent revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat, limited their goals to reforms within the capitalist framework, and were reduced to ordinary political parties focused on maintaining their party status through parliamentary elections. Some other communist parties, such as the Communist Party of Greece, although persisting in Marxism-Leninism as their guide, the goal of the dictatorship of the proletariat, and the organizational principle of democratic centralism, have faced developmental dilemmas and the risk of political marginalization due to sectarianism and tactical differences leading to constant internal splits and an inability to unite the majority and win over the masses. The Japanese Communist Party once had a unique style in Marxist theoretical research, achieving many significant results and holding strong influence and authority among Marxist researchers for a time; however, changes in the external environment and failures in practice caused many to doubt and waver in their commitment to Marxism. Only the CPC has truly achieved the persistence and development of Marxism and attained brilliant victories in practice. "The CPC, having traversed a century of struggle, has become stronger and more powerful through revolutionary tempering. The Party's political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social mobilization have been significantly enhanced. The Party consistently maintains flesh-and-blood ties with the people. The CPC has always stood at the forefront of the times during the historical process of profound changes in the world landscape, has always been the pillar of the people throughout the historical process of responding to various domestic and international risks and trials, and has always been the strong leadership core in the historical process of persisting in and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics," causing Marxism to exhibit a powerful and persuasive force of truth on Chinese soil. Therefore, contemporary Chinese Marxism has deservedly become the banner of scientific socialism's development and the Marxism of the 21st century leading the world.
Third, the Chinese solutions provided by the CPC for resolving the reality of "global chaos" demonstrate our Party's powerful governance leadership and the superiority of the socialist system. In today's world, instability and uncertainty are prominent; humanity faces many challenges such as "insufficient momentum for world economic growth, an increasingly serious gap between rich and poor, frequent regional hotspots, and the continuous spread of non-traditional security threats like terrorism, cybersecurity, major infectious diseases, and climate change." Capitalism is not only incapable of solving global chaos but is adding chaos to chaos. The people of the world have not enjoyed the dividends of peace following the end of the Cold War; instead, they are shrouded in the shadow of war. To consolidate its global hegemony and seek comprehensive and absolute military superiority, the United States has successively caused a series of armed conflicts such as the Gulf War, the Afghan War, and the Iraq War. Since the 2008 international financial crisis, the economies of major capitalist countries have remained sluggish, and social contradictions have intensified, manifesting in a series of political upheavals, such as the "Occupy Wall Street" movement in the U.S., riots in the U.K., the refugee crisis in Germany, and the "Yellow Vest" movement in France. Trends of anti-globalization and populist thought have spread accordingly, and the entire capitalist world has fallen into a systemic crisis that is difficult to resolve.
If the global problems currently manifesting cannot be resolved within the scope of the capitalist system, then the success of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics demonstrates the feasibility of resolving these problems through a socialist system. As the global landscape shifts and the international system undergoes transformation, the two social systems of capitalism and socialism will exhibit a trend of one waxing as the other wanes in the long river of human history; socialism will win a broader institutional advantage over capitalism.
Fourth, the unique and excellent qualities of the CPC as a century-old Party determine that our Party represents the developmental direction of the cause of socialism. A century-old Party, tempered into steel through a hundred trials [11], gathers a multitude of excellent qualities within itself. For instance, it brings together hundreds of millions of the outstanding sons and daughters of the Chinese nation; it is massive in scale, strong, and powerful. In today's world, there are only a little more than ten countries with a population exceeding 100 million, yet the current membership of the CPC is approaching 100 million, with nearly five million primary-level Party organizations permating every corner of urban and rural areas, industrial mines, military barracks, schools, and communities. The CPC is not only the world's largest party in terms of membership but also the world's strongest party with unparalleled social mobilization and cohesive power. Built according to democratic centralism, the CPC is rigorously organized and strictly disciplined, with the entire Party obeying the Central Committee. A single command from the Party Central Committee can immediately transform the Party’s organizational power into executive power, forming a majestic force that moves mountains and seas [12], overcoming any difficulties and challenges arising from the political, economic, cultural, and social spheres, as well as the natural world. From the "serving the people" proposed by Mao Zedong to "putting the people above all else" in the New Era, the inseparable "flesh-and-blood ties" between the Party and the people are manifest. The reason a century-old Party possesses such strength also lies in the fact that its roots are in the people, its lifeblood is in the people, and its strength is in the people; it possesses the political advantage of maintaining close ties with the masses and the greatest confidence for governing and rejuvenating the country.
Furthermore, the century-old Party possesses the excellent character of having the courage for self-revolution and the courage to struggle. The greatness, glory, and correctness of the Party lie not in whether it makes mistakes, but in whether it dares to face mistakes head-on and has the courage for self-revolution. The courage to struggle and the courage to win constitute the invincible and powerful spiritual force of this century-old Party. A century of brilliance is built upon the foundation of a century of struggle. No matter how powerful the opponent or how severe the challenge, the Party has always been determined to "fear no sacrifice and surmount every difficulty to win victory" [13]. The CPC never represents the interests of any interest group, any power bloc, or any privileged stratum; this is the source of our Party's courage and confidence for self-revolution. "When there is no selfishness, the world becomes a commonweal" [14]. Precisely because it is selfless, the Party is able to examine itself, constantly reflect on its faults, and have the courage for criticism and self-criticism. It dares to "turn the blade inward," resolutely opposing corruption within the Party, boldly eradicating all viruses that erode the Party’s healthy organism, and daring to declare war on those who seize the interests of the state and the people, erode the Party’s foundation for governance, and shake the socialist state power. It breaks free from the "hunting" and corruption of all interest groups, power blocs, and privileged strata, clearing away all factors that damage the Party's advanced nature and purity to ensure the Party's organism remains full of health and vitality. Additionally, the century-old Party holds independence as a vital principle of its founding, possesses the independent strategic resolve to persist in proceeding from national conditions, possesses the breadth of vision to correctly understand and handle relations with the outside world based on the great tides of human development, the great patterns of world change, and the great history of Chinese development, and possesses the "magic weapon" [15] of the united front to unite all forces that can be united. These excellent qualities possessed by the CPC ensure that China is increasingly becoming the mainstay for the rejuvenation of the cause of socialism, and the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics determines the future and direction of the global socialist cause.
III. The World Significance of the Cause of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era
In 1962, Mao Zedong predicted: "From now on, the next fifty to one hundred years or so will be a great era of radical change in the social systems of the world, an earth-shaking era, compared to which any previous historical era will be nothing." Mao Zeodong called upon the Chinese people to "summon their resolve" [16] before the world, to build our country into a prosperous and strong nation, and to make a greater contribution to the world. Exactly 50 years later, the clock of history struck 2012, which was both the time of the 18th CPC National Congress and the exact beginning of the "great era" predicted by Mao Zedong. This great era is the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics; it is the era in which the CPC leads the Chinese people to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, proceed to build a great modern socialist country in all respects, and strive to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. It is an era where socialist China is increasingly approaching the center of the world stage and continuously making greater contributions to humanity; it is an era where the cause of world socialism is gradually emerging from its low ebb and moving towards rejuvenation. Today, with the successful convening of the 20th CPC National Congress, the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics has spanned ten years. "The great changes in the first decade of the New Era are of landmark significance in the history of the Party, of the People's Republic of China, of reform and opening up, of the development of socialism, and of the development of the Chinese nation." It has laid a solid foundation for the arrival of the "Pacific Era" and the era of "Advanced Asia" predicted by Marx, Engels, and Lenin, and possesses profound world significance.
First, it has debunked the "End of History" thesis, which is of great significance for the cause of world socialism. In the history of the world socialist movement, assertions that "socialism has failed" and "Marxism is outdated" have been heard incessantly, becoming particularly prevalent after the upheaval in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The most representative of these was the "End of History" thesis proposed by the American scholar Francis Fukuyama, who declared that the liberal democratic system of capitalism is the "end point of mankind's ideological evolution" and the "final form of human government." The theory and practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, especially the success of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, "has used facts to announce the bankruptcy of the 'End of History' thesis, and the bankruptcy of the unilinear view of history that all countries must eventually find their home in the Western institutional model."
The collapse of the socialist system in some countries at the end of the 20th century does not prove that socialism failed or that Marxism no longer works. If the CPC, leading the Chinese people over the next several generations, were unable to break the Western plots for "peaceful evolution" [17] or the armed subversion of socialist China, the impact on the world socialist movement would be no less than that of the upheaval in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Faced with this severe test, Deng Xiaoping calmly pointed out: "The problem now is not whether the Soviet flag falls—the Soviet Union is certain to be in chaos—but whether the Chinese flag falls." "As long as Chinese socialism does not fall, socialism will always stand its ground in the world." Xi Jinping also profoundly noted: "If the leadership of the CPC and our country's socialist system had also collapsed in that domino-style change, or failed for other reasons, then socialist practice might once again have to wander in the dark for a long time."
Viewing the relationship between the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the world socialist cause, in the 30-plus years since the upheaval in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics has played a vital role for world socialism at every critical juncture. Particularly in the decade since the 18th CPC National Congress, we have experienced three major events of great practical and far-reaching historical significance: the centenary of the founding of the CPC, the entry of socialism with Chinese characteristics into a New Era, and the accomplishment of the historical task of poverty alleviation and the finishing of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Historical achievements have been made and historical changes have occurred in the cause of the Party and the country. "The Chinese nation has presented to the world a scene of flourishing vitality, standing tall and firm in the East." The report to the 20th CPC National Congress pointed out: "This is a historic victory—one won through combined struggle by the CPC and the Chinese people, a historic victory that will be forever recorded in the annals of the development of the Chinese nation, and a historic victory with far-reaching influence on the world." Facts have proved that Chinese Communists withstood the major test of the upheaval in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Under the situation where the world socialist cause was in extreme difficulty, they not only persisted in and developed Marxism in theory, leading and shaping 21st-century Marxism, but also achieved world-renowned major accomplishments in practice, "bringing about a major shift in the historical evolution and contest of the two ideologies and social systems of socialism and capitalism on a global scale, in favor of socialism."
Socialism moved from utopia to science, from theory to practice, and from a single country to multiple countries; it went from achieving great victories to encountering major setbacks, and then to the world-renowned great achievements of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. For over five hundred years, humanity's pursuit of socialism has never stopped. Xi Jinping pointed out: "The success of scientific socialism in China is of great significance to Marxism and scientific socialism, and to world socialism." The success of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era saved and defended scientific socialism with practical actions at a critical moment, allowing Marxism to be presented to the world with a brand-new image. It proved with iron facts that the world socialist cause in the 21st century still possesses robust vitality, largely reversing the "ten thousand horses stand mute" [18] state of the world socialist cause following the upheaval in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, reversing the passive position formed in the long-term competition between socialism and capitalism, and promoting the development of the world socialist movement.
Second, it has debunked "Western-centrism," which is of great significance for the modernization of developing countries. The world's modernized countries are basically divided into two categories: first, Western developed capitalist countries built on the basis of bloody colonial plunder; second, developing countries that are dependent on Western developed countries. The success of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era has changed the monopoly status of the Western modernization model and explored a brand-new path of modernization for humanity. This path of modernization neither relies on external colonial plunder nor on the dependence and subordination to developed countries, ending the predicament involving developing countries having independence without modernization, or modernization without independence.
Capitalism once played a positive role in the development of human civilization, but the nature of capitalism dictates that it will trigger more international problems while remaining powerless to solve them. The two world wars, which inflicted the greatest trauma on the people of the world, precisely originated from the capitalist system. Western powers, as suzerain states, once forced many poor and weak countries to become colonies or semi-colonies, creating an old international economic and political order with "strong ships and sharp cannons." Although the old colonial system collapsed in the second half of the 20th century, the old international economic and political order has not fundamentally changed; the vast number of developing countries still suffer from the economic plunder, political control, and military expansion of neo-colonialism. Capitalism cannot guarantee the prosperity of developing countries; it has always been a serious obstacle to their development. Constructing the future of the world according to the laws of capitalism can only cause global wealth to concentrate in the hands of a tiny minority in a tiny minority of countries, further widening the gap between the rich few developed countries and the poor many developing countries. As early as 1988, when meeting with foreign guests, Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "Although the international community has proposed to solve the North-South problem, it has been discussed for many years, and the gap between North and South is not narrowing but expanding, and it is becoming larger and larger."
For developing countries, the achievements and experience of socialist China are precious and significantly meaningful. China's New Democratic Revolution thoroughly overthrew the "three great mountains" of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism, serving as a model for colonial and semi-colonial countries seeking national independence and people's liberation. The socialist revolution and construction led by the CPC not only allowed a vast Eastern country with a large population that was "poor and blank" [19] to stride into socialism, but also broke the political map of the three giants at the Yalta Conference who divided the world, inspiring the confidence of oppressed nations worldwide to rise. Its significance far transcended China's borders. It was precisely under the inspiration of the achievements of China's socialist revolution and construction that the people of colonial and semi-colonial countries were able, through indomitable struggle, to destroy the world capitalist system and order that capitalism had built over several hundred years since the 16th-century Age of Discovery, promoting the formation of the "Three Worlds." Since the reform and opening up, the CPC has led the people to successfully open up the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, form the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and establish the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics; the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics has flourished. Our country "completed in just a few decades the industrialization process that took developed countries several hundred years, creating the two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability," catching up with the times in giant strides.
The report of the 20th CPC National Congress profoundly pointed out: "Building on long-term exploration and practice since the founding of the People's Republic, especially since the start of reform and opening up, and through theoretical and practical breakthroughs since the 18th National Congress, our Party has successfully promoted and expanded Chinese-path modernization." The major achievements of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era have solved many difficult problems in the development of human society through unprecedented initiatives. It has discarded the old modernization path of the West—which is capital-centered, polarized, characterized by one-sided and deformed development, bloated with materialism, and driven by external colonial expansion. Instead, it has independently explored a new path of Chinese-path modernization that is people-centered, adheres to common prosperity for all, coordinates material and ethical-cultural advancement, promotes harmony between humanity and nature, and follows the path of peaceful development, providing a new choice for humanity to achieve modernization. The path of Chinese-path modernization has eloquently proved to the world with facts that the socialist system possesses immense superiority, and that taking the socialist road is more conducive to the rapid development of third-world developing countries, allowing them to achieve modernization faster and better. Today, on the basis of having finished building a moderately prosperous society in all respects [20], our country has embarked on a new journey to build a modern socialist country in all respects. When China becomes a powerful country that has achieved modernization not by taking the capitalist road, but by taking the socialist road, the world significance of the Chinese-path modernization road will be even more fully manifested.
Third, it has dispelled the "clash of civilizations" theory and holds great significance for the peaceful development of all humanity. Having experienced the catastrophe of two world wars and half a century of the Cold War in the 20th century, humanity longs to enjoy lasting peace and prosperity in the 21st century. Seeking peace and pursuing cooperation are the common aspirations of people in all countries today. The international community has exhausted its efforts to resolve the issue of world peace, and politicians have frequently shuttled through international circles to this end, yet the results have been meager; the entire world remains beset by constant local wars and frequent conflicts and turmoil. In this context, Harvard University Professor Huntington proposed the so-called "clash of civilizations" theory, arguing that differences between different civilizations would inevitably lead to a "clash of civilizations," and further emphasized that China's rise "is the potential underlying source of a large-scale intercivilizational war of core states." The successful practice of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era demonstrates that differences between different civilizations will not lead to conflict but will instead make "civilizations exchange because of diversity, learn from each other because of exchange, and develop because of mutual learning." China's rise is not a source of war, but rather an important guarantee for world peace. It has dispelled the "clash of civilizations" theory and provided a path of peaceful development for the joint struggle of all humanity.
Reviewing history, socialist China is a peace-loving force on the international stage that cannot be ignored. The history of the first half of the 20th century has already revealed that a poor, weak, and fragmented old China was the focus of competition for international capital and an unstable factor for world peace. To scramble for interests in China, imperialist powers provoked countless wars, including both joint wars of aggression against China and fratricidal wars to divide the spoils. Similarly, the experience of the second half of the 20th century shows that a unified, independent, and prosperous socialist China is a blessing to the world. After the founding of New China, the Chinese people stood up; the Party led the people in beginning the magnificent cause of socialist construction and was no longer at the mercy of others. The international disputes originally triggered by the so-called "China problem" [21] are gone, never to return. To this day, some people full of hostility toward China still inherit the mantle of old colonialism, trying every possible means to contain, blockade, divide, and disintegrate China. It is only if such attempts succeed that world peace would be seriously damaged.
For over 70 years, New China has always appeared on the world stage with an image of being industrious, brave, and peace-loving. Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "When China was under the leadership of Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai, it emphasized opposing the hegemonism of the superpowers," and "opposing the hegemonism of the superpowers is also maintaining world peace." At the beginning of the founding of New China, we proposed the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence [22], which became basic norms governing international relations and basic principles of international law. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Belt and Road Initiative and the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity proposed by Xi Jinping have called for "all countries to promote the common values of humanity—peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom—to promote mutual understanding and affinity among the people of all countries, to respect the diversity of world civilizations, and to let exchange among civilizations transcend estrangement, mutual learning transcend clash, and coexistence transcend superiority, so as to jointly address various global challenges." This has contributed Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to building a world of lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness, inclusiveness, and cleanliness and beauty, making an important contribution to the noble cause of human peace and development.
Looking to the future, we can certainly conclude that China in the New Era can bring a dawn of hope to world peace. Xi Jinping pointed out: "The Communist Party of China is concerned about the future and destiny of humanity and moves forward hand-in-hand with all progressive forces in the world. China will always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of international order!" China is currently in the historical process of building a modern socialist country in all respects; it not only needs a stable domestic environment but also, even more so, needs a peaceful international environment. China cannot replace the people of the world in resolving all disputes and conflicts and ensuring eternal world peace, but a developed socialist China will certainly contribute to world peace. "As long as we adhere to the path of peaceful development—both developing ourselves by maintaining world peace and maintaining world peace through our own development—moving forward hand-in-hand with all progressive forces in the world, neither depending on others nor plundering others, and never seeking hegemony, we will surely be able to continuously contribute wisdom and strength to the progress of human civilization and work with the people of all countries to push the wheel of history toward a bright future."
Lenin pointed out: "Only socialist states are capable of achieving, and have already achieved, a high level of civilization." The success of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era has made China a leading force in the development of human civilization. The Communists of China in the New Era have "upheld and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics, promoted the coordinated development of material, political, ethical-cultural, social, and ecological civilizations, created a new path of Chinese-path modernization, and created a new form of human civilization," allowing the "high level of civilization" mentioned by Lenin to be fully manifested in China in the New Era. This new form of human civilization is the civilizational form of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the civilizational form of Chinese-path modernization. It not only breaks through traditional socialist civilizational forms but also comprehensively transcends Western capitalist civilizational forms. It consistently adheres to the principle of "people first," persists in peaceful development, maintains a global vision, and actively learns from and absorbs all the beneficial achievements of human civilization. It has become an advanced civilizational form that conforms to the laws of the development of human civilization and represents the direction of human progress. It has profoundly changed the world landscape of human civilization, fully demonstrated the superiority of socialist civilization relative to capitalist civilization, and pointed out a new path for the revival of world socialism, the modernization of developing countries, and the peaceful development of all humanity. It will surely lead humanity toward a better future.