2021 National Forum on Basic Principles of Marxism Successfully Held at Northwestern Polytechnical University
On December 4, 2021, the 2021 National Forum on the Basic Principles of Marxism was held at Northwestern Polytechnical University. The conference was hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Department of Marxist Studies, the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for the Theory of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in Beijing Universities (China University of Political Science and Law). It was organized by the Northwestern Polytechnical University Discipline Office, the School of Marxism, and the Center for Innovative Marxist Studies. More than 300 experts and scholars from major universities across the country participated in the forum through a combination of online and offline formats.
At the opening ceremony, Chen Jianyou, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Northwestern Polytechnical University, extended a warm welcome and delivered a speech on behalf of the organizers. Professor Lin Jianhua, Vice President of the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, delivered an address and presented a keynote report. He provided a comprehensive overview of the history of the Forum on the Basic Principles of Marxism and, based on the relevant important discourses of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the spirit of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee [1], provided a profound exposition on how to advance the study of the basic principles of Marxism. Cheng Enfu—Member of the CASS Academic Division, Chief Professor at the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and member of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the National People's Congress—delivered a keynote report. He focused on current trends in the study of basic Marxist principles and the development of Marxism globally. Addressing the domestic neglect of the importance of Leninism, he delivered a report titled "What is the Scientificity and Contemporary Value of Leninism? A Discussion with British Academician David Lane," profoundly noting that Leninism is an international Marxist theory on par with Marxism-Engelsism. This forum featured four sessions of keynote reports.
The first session was chaired by Li Gang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Marxism at Northwestern Polytechnical University. Professor Xu Zhongwei, former Party Secretary of Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, delivered a report titled "Ten Noteworthy Problems in the Subject Education and Discipline Construction of the Basic Principles of Marxism." Taking a problem-oriented approach with a profound perspective, he identified ten major issues in current discipline education and construction, such as serious formalism, prevailing dogmatism, neglect of the scientific system, pragmatic attitudes, non-academic interpretations, and a lack of scientific spirit. He encouraged scholars to overcome these issues to advance the discipline. Professor Yu Bin, Director of the Department of Marxist Principles at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, delivered a report titled "On the Totality of the Totality of Marxism." Starting from the totality of Marxism, he pointed out that studying Marxist works should not be limited to classic passages; rather, Marxist theory must be examined within the context of total social practice and the entirety of the era to avoid "blind men feeling the elephant" [2] or taking the part for the whole. Professor Wang Yan—a Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor, national-level teaching master, member of the Ministry of Education's Steering Committee for Integrated Ideological and Political Theory Courses in Universities, and Director of the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Base for the Center for the Study of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in Jiangsu Province—delivered a report titled "Revisiting the People’s Viewpoint in the 'Three Constantly Read Articles' [3] and Its Implications." Examining the "Three Constantly Read Articles" from a fresh perspective, he provided a profound analysis of questions such as "Who are 'the people' in Mao Zedong's writings?", "How are 'the people' possible in Mao Zedong's writings?", and "How is the consciousness of purpose [serving the people] consistently maintained in Mao Zedong's writings?". He proposed that "the people" is a politically rich concept with different connotations under different historical conditions, and that "centered on the people" [4] represents a new transcendence of the concept. Professor Du Yuhua—member of the State Council's Discipline Review Group, member of the Ministry of Education's Steering Committee for Integrated Ideological and Political Theory Courses in Universities, and faculty at Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of Marxism—delivered a report titled "The Process and Essence of Modernization from a Marxist Perspective," profoundly expounding on the conceptual categories of modernization and Marx's understanding of it. She proposed that modernization must be understood within the process of globalized modernization.
The second session was chaired by Professor Sun Shaoyong, Director of the Center for Innovative Marxist Studies at Northwestern Polytechnical University. Professor Yan Lianfu—member of the State Council's Discipline Review Group, Ministry of Education Young Changjiang Scholar, and Dean of the School of Marxism at Xi'an Jiaotong University—presented a report titled "General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Important Discourses on Spiritual Life." He expounded on several important orientations of General Secretary Xi Jinping regarding spiritual life and the pathways for advancing the development of the people's spiritual life. From the height of a community with a shared future for humanity, he explored General Secretary Xi Jinping’s vision for promoting cultural exchange and building a community of shared human spiritual life. Professor Yang Yunxia, Dean of the School of Marxism at Northwestern Polytechnical University, delivered a report titled "Utilizing Rule of Law Means in Opposing Historical Nihilism [5]." Taking the opposition to historical nihilism as an entry point and working through three aspects—discourse, experience, and achievements—she conducted an in-depth study of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s discourses on opposing historical nihilism, the experience of using legal means to oppose it, and the achievements of rule of law construction in the struggle within the ideological sphere. Based on an examination of domestic and international situations, she proposed that the national strategy of comprehensively governing the country according to the law determines the trend toward the legalization of ideology, which possesses strict boundaries. Professor Hou Yanshe from the School of Marxism at Renmin University of China delivered a report titled "Learning from the Past to Chart the Future, Taking Initiative: Ten Experiences Systematically Revealing the Party's Path to Success." He deeply analyzed the historical experience of the Communist Party of China (CPC) through its century-long struggle. Focusing closely on the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century, he expounded on the developmental trajectory, profound connotations, and distinct characteristics of the CPC’s century of historical experience. He proposed the profound meaning behind each "persistence" [6] and how the Resolution embodies the Marxist materialist conception of history. Professor Zhou Shaodong from the School of Marxism at Wuhan University presented "The Materialist Conception of History and the Party's Historical Resolutions," conducting a scholarly study of the Party's historical resolutions through a historical review. He sequentially discussed the Resolution in relation to the revolutionary view of history and the modernization view of history, proposing that the Third Historical Resolution [7] should be studied with a correct view of Party history. Professor Du Liming from the School of Marxism at Sichuan University delivered a report titled "Achievements and Proclamations: Four Leaps on the Road to the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation," deeply studying the four leaps in the rejuvenation process through the CPC's history. He expounded on key views such as the Party leading the people's war to bring about the first leap, the Party leading the people in independence and hard struggle to bring about the second leap, the Party leading the people in innovation to bring about the third leap, and the Party coordinating the "Four Greats" [8] to bring about the fourth leap.
The third session was chaired by Professor Tan Jingsong, former Dean of the School of Marxism at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. Professor Tai Lihua, Executive Dean of the School of Marxism at China University of Political Science and Law, delivered a report titled "Research on the Fairness of Income Distribution under the Vision of Common Prosperity." She focused on the formal fairness of the ownership of the means of production and distribution, the substantive fairness of social ownership and distribution, and the major innovations of socialism with Chinese characteristics in promoting distributive equity. Professor Zhang Jianyun, Director of the Marxist Philosophy Office at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, delivered a report titled "The Essence and Value Analysis of Artificial Intelligence from the Perspective of Marx's Labor Theory." He explored AI's essence and value, proposing that the essence of human labor is the objectification of the subject, and analyzed the internal mechanism and essence of AI "labor," as well as its value and significance. Professor Zhao Yan'an, Dean of the School of Marxism at Northwest A&F University, delivered a report titled "Advancing Research on Marxist 'Three Rural Issues' [9] Theory," expounding on the background, basis, and fields of research and introducing his university's progress in rural studies. Professor Zhang Yunlong, Vice Dean of the School of Marxism at Northwestern Polytechnical University, delivered "The Threefold Rational Dimensions of a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity." From a philosophical perspective, he explored the public rationality, communicative rationality, and practical rationality of the community with a shared future for humanity—divided into public rationality based on "co-presence," communicative rationality to achieve harmonious coexistence, and practical rationality emphasizing action and effectiveness.
The fourth session was chaired by Professor Kong Xiangli, President of the Shaanxi Provincial Das Kapital Research Association and Professor at Shaanxi Normal University’s International Business School. Researcher Yang Jing, Deputy Director of the Department of Marxist Principles at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, delivered a report titled "Common Prosperity: Argumentation and Theoretical Analysis." She pointed out the research results of common prosperity, nine focus points in academic circles, and the essence of academic debates, offering suggestions on how to view the prosperity of common prosperity, including deepening its connotation and synergistically advancing its measures. Professor Duan Xuehui, Director of the Center for Innovative Marxist Studies at Yan'an University, delivered "Methodological Verification and Implications of the Logical Starting Point of Marxist Political Economy." She analyzed the logical starting point of Political Economy and proposed, from a high-level perspective, the starting point, divergences, and underlying methodology of Socialist Political Economy with Chinese Characteristics. Professor Chen Huixiong, Director of the Institute of Humanistic Economics at Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, delivered "The Road to Happiness: The Structural Logic of Completing the Building of a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects and the Natural Scale of Common Prosperity," exploring the core mechanism of completing a moderately prosperous society and the relationship between wealth, affluence, and common prosperity. Professor Ren Xiaowei, Vice President of the Ministry of Education's Steering Committee for Integrated Ideological and Political Theory Courses and Vice President of Shaanxi Normal University, delivered "Original Contributions of the CPC's Century of Struggle to World Socialism." Based on the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century, he discussed five major and far-reaching original contributions of the CPC to world socialism and global development, particularly for developing countries.
The conference included three sub-forums. Participating experts and scholars engaged in in-depth exchanges and discussions around three themes: "The CPC's Application and Development of Basic Marxist Principles over the Past Century," "Special Studies on the Theory of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Marxist Modernization Theory," and "Classic Interpretations and Frontier Theoretical Research on Basic Marxist Principles." Representatives from the three sub-forums gave group reports, moderated by Professor Yang Yunxia. Associate Professor Yao Yu from Shaanxi Normal University reported for the first group, detailing the participation numbers, five exchange themes, and discussion results, evaluating it as an academic exchange with novel ideas and fruitful results. Associate Professor Xiao Bin from Xiamen University reported for the second group, detailing topics including technological innovation, common prosperity, dual circulation, and a community with a shared future for humanity, noting the rich content and diverse outcomes. Associate Professor Zhang Quansheng from Xi'an University of Finance and Economics reported for the third group on themes including the Marxist view of authority, religious thought, and alienation theory, noting four distinct characteristics: younger members, a rational member structure, diverse research themes, and a modernized research perspective.
The closing ceremony was presided over by Professor Yang Yunxia. Professor Cheng Enfu delivered the closing remarks, fully affirming the forum's achievements. He noted that the speeches were of high quality, the themes and disciplines diverse, the viewpoints novel, and the intellectual harvest rich. He provided brilliant commentary on the speakers' content, interpreted the concept of common prosperity while reminding scholars to prevent its generalization, and argued that the construction of democratic institutions should combine top-down and bottom-up approaches, with top-down management as the primary focus. He expressed hope that scholars would persist in the organic integration of independent academic research, theoretical dissemination, and policy exploration to better promote the study of basic Marxist principles. Professor Yang Yunxia concluded by affirming the discussions, expressing heartfelt thanks to the scholars, hosts, and staff, and welcoming experts to work at the School of Marxism. She wished all scholars better research results in the future to advance Marxist theory.
(Contributed by Sun Shaoyong, Zhou Wei, and Chen Yongsheng)