Professor Michael Brie from Germany Visits the Academy of Marxism for Academic Exchange

On the morning of October 15, 2025, Professor Michael Brie, a member of the Advisory Board of the Left Party of Germany and former senior researcher at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, visited the Institute of Marxism Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) to conduct an academic exchange on the theme of "Rethinking the Concept of Socialism: The Era of China’s Rise and the Crisis of Western Civilization." The meeting was chaired by Professor Yu Bin, Director of the Department of Foreign Marxism Research at the Institute of Marxism Studies. Professor Yuan Xiuli, Director of the Department of International Communist Movement Research, Deputy Director Liu Haixia, and several relevant researchers participated in the session.

Professor Brie traced the essence of liberalism to examine the causes of the current crisis of Western civilization, the dilemma facing left-liberalism in developed countries, and the misunderstandings surrounding the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. He pointed out that left-liberalism has misled leftist forces into ignoring innovations in the socialist system, thereby becoming a complicit accomplice in Western ideology toward China. In fact, China's practice demonstrates that, under the leadership of the Communist Party, China has integrated market mechanisms into the socialist framework through institutional innovation, simultaneously unleashing the vitality of capital while suppressing its destructive nature. This exploration provides the Global South ^[1] with a new alternative distinct from the West.

The participating scholars and Professor Brie engaged in an in-depth and spirited discussion on the issues covered in his lecture, including Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, the crisis of Western civilization, and left-liberalism.

(Contributed by Wang Xiaohong; text and photos)