Deng Chundong: Upholding Integrity and Innovating to Advance the Adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese Context and the Needs of the Times | Marxism Research Network

Practice knows no bounds, and theoretical innovation knows no bounds. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: “To keep writing new chapters in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism is the solemn historical responsibility of contemporary Chinese Communists.” To continue promoting theoretical innovation based on practice, we must first grasp the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and persist in and apply the stances, viewpoints, and methods that permeate it. In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the “Six Must-Persists,” ^[1] one of which is that “we must uphold the fundamentals and break new ground.”

General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: “In the history of human thought, no other theory has had such a broad and profound influence on humanity as Marxism.” Marked by the publication of the Manifesto of the Communist Party, the birth of Marxism greatly advanced the process of human civilization and remains a system of thought and discourse with major international influence today. Over the past century and more, human society has undergone earth-shaking changes, but the general principles expounded by Marxism remain, on the whole, entirely correct.

The vitality of a theory lies in constant innovation; promoting the continuous development of Marxism is the sacred duty of Communists. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The history of the development of Marxism is a history in which Marx, Engels, and their successors have continuously developed it according to the development of the times, practice, and understanding.” Marx’s entire worldview is not a doctrine, but a method. It provides not ready-made dogmas, but a starting point for further research and the methods to be used in such research. As the world situation, the global landscape, and the face of human society undergo immense changes, Marxism—as a scientific understanding of the laws governing the development of human society—advances with the times and is constantly enriched and developed.

From the perspective of the history of world socialism, upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground is the key to the enrichment and development of Marxism. It concerns the vitality and influence of the scientific theory of Marxism and the rise or fall of the cause of world socialism. To depart from upholding the fundamentals and betray Marxism would inevitably lead to setbacks and failures for socialism. To depart from breaking new ground and allow Marxism to become dogmatically rigid would inevitably lead to the stagnation of socialism, a lack of vigor, and the loss of its superiority. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China: “We are engaged in a great cause that has no precedent. Only by upholding the fundamentals can we avoid losing our way or making subversive errors ^[2]; only by breaking new ground can we grasp the times and lead the times.”

From the perspective of the practice of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground has permeated the century-long struggle of the Communist Party of China. Over the past century, in the process of leading China’s revolution, construction, and reform, the CPC has firmly adhered to the guiding position of Marxism, explored arduously, dared to create, and promoted the formation of the Party’s theoretical innovations while advancing with the times. On the one hand, despite encountering difficulties, setbacks, and even failures during the century of struggle, the CPC has always adhered to Marxism as its guide to action, writing the most magnificent epic in the thousands of years of the Chinese nation's history. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has clearly proposed adhering to the guiding status of Marxism, strengthening the Party's ideological work, and insisting on arming the whole Party, educating the people, guiding practice, and promoting work with Marxism and the results of its Sinicization and modernization. On the other hand, while adhering to Marxism to guide practice, the Party has insisted on using its scientific worldview and methodology to solve China’s problems, rather than reciting and repeating specific conclusions and phrases, let alone treating Marxism as an unchanging dogma to be mechanically applied in practice. By insisting on using Marxism to observe, interpret, and lead the times, using the vivid and rich practice of contemporary China to promote the development of Marxism, and absorbing all the excellent achievements of human civilization with a broad vision, the Party has upheld the fundamentals while breaking new ground, constantly transcended itself, learned from the strengths of others, and improved itself. It has continuously deepened its understanding of the laws of governance by a Communist party, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of the development of human society. It created Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory, formed the Theory of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development, and created Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, leading the cause of the Party and the people to constantly open up new horizons.

Practice has proven that the fate of Marxism has long been closely linked with the fate of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people, and the Chinese nation. Marxism provided a powerful ideological weapon for China’s revolution, construction, and reform, enabling China, an ancient power in the East, to create development miracles unprecedented in human history. In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly expounded on the great significance of upholding the fundamentals: “Only by upholding the fundamentals can we avoid losing our way or making subversive errors,” and explicitly required that on the new journey, we must continue to adhere to the “Three No-Waverings.” ^[3]

First, we must never waver in adhering to the basic principles of Marxism. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Times are changing and society is developing, but the basic principles of Marxism remain scientific truths. Although the era we live in has undergone tremendous and profound changes compared to the era in which Marx lived, from the broad perspective of the five-hundred-year history of world socialism, we are still in the historical era pointed out by Marxism.” Therefore, to promote the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, we must adhere to and apply the worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism; adhere to and apply Marxist stances, viewpoints, and methods; adhere to and apply Marxist principles regarding the materiality of the world and its laws of development, the natural and historical nature of the development of human society and its related laws, the laws regarding the liberation and free and comprehensive development of human beings, and the laws regarding the nature and development of cognition. We must adhere to and apply the Marxist views on practice, the masses, class, development, and contradiction, truly mastering and making good use of Marxism as our "house-keeping" skill. ^[4]

Second, we must never waver in adhering to the Party’s overall leadership. The leadership of the Party is the lifeblood of the Chinese people and the future of the Chinese nation; it is an inevitable requirement for adhering to the guiding status of Marxism. Throughout the century of struggle, the Party has always been the most reliable pillar ^[5] and the strongest and most powerful core of leadership for the people. On the new journey of striving to promote the great cause of national rejuvenation and building a modern socialist power, the Party has successfully delivered new answers to the “questions of the people,” the “questions of China,” and the “questions of the times.” Only under the leadership of the Party, and by continuously deepening the understanding of the laws of governance by a Communist party, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of the development of human society, can the cause of the Party and the people advance in the right direction. History has fully proved that the foundation of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground lies in adhering to the Party’s overall leadership, which is the "core code" for the great achievements China has made in the past. History will also prove that adhering to the Party’s overall leadership is the fundamental guarantee for achieving the eternal great cause of the Chinese nation.

Third, we must never waver in adhering to socialism with Chinese characteristics. The path determines fate; the issue of the path is a fundamental one. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a fundamental achievement made by the Party and the people through untold hardships and at a great cost; it is the only path to achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This path was not easily won and must be kept firmly in our own hands. This path is the correct one that conforms to China’s development, reflects the people’s will, and adapts to the trend of the times. We must carry forward the spirit of advancing with the times, and continuously expand the breadth and depth of our understanding of this path so that it continues to lead China toward the future and secure new victories. Adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics is a "great article" ^[6]; to continue writing this great article, we must adhere to the Marxist developmental viewpoint, give play to historical initiative and creativity, forge ahead with determination, explore boldly, and be courageous and adept at analyzing and answering the urgent questions in real life and in the minds of the masses, constantly making discoveries, creations, progress, and innovations.

III

Upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground are dialectically unified and inseparable; only by achieving innovation on the basis of upholding fundamentals can we better uphold the fundamentals through innovation. In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly expounded on the great significance of innovation, noting that “only by breaking new ground can we grasp the times and lead the times.” He explicitly required us to keep pace with the times, respond to the development of practice, treat all newborn things with full enthusiasm, constantly expand the breadth and depth of our understanding, dare to say new words that our predecessors never said, dare to do new things that our predecessors never did, and guide new practice with new theories.

Treat science with a scientific attitude and pursue truth with the spirit of truth. The scientific attitude and the spirit of truth are essentially a respect for objective laws. Upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground are, in essence, an adherence to Marxism, which reveals objective laws, and the continuous revelation of new laws through innovation. Thus, continuously deepening the understanding of the laws of governance by a Communist party, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of the development of human society—and following these laws on the basis of scientific understanding—is the fundamental requirement for both upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground. Marxism is a science and a truth, but it is an open and constantly developing science. It has not exhausted truth but has opened the correct path for people to continuously obtain more truth. To promote the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, we must follow the laws of scientific development, the laws of discovering and adhering to truth, and the laws of Marxist epistemology; we must persist in exploring the objective laws of the development of things in practice, obtain new understandings of objective laws, form new thoughts, viewpoints, and concepts, and constantly promote the Party’s theoretical innovation.

In its century-long struggle, the Party has accumulated much experience in this regard. For example, we must never treat following old conventions, rigidity, and dogma as "upholding the fundamentals." We cannot consider it "upholding the fundamentals" to simply copy and paste the specific words of our predecessors, to be afraid of saying new things they did not say, or to be afraid of doing new things they did not do—and even less can we consider persisting in errors committed in the past as "upholding the fundamentals." Conversely, we must never regard policy proposals that depart from the Marxist stance, depart from the basic principles of Marxism, or violate the fundamental socialist system as "innovation." We cannot treat the simple copying and mechanical application of the governance methods and socio-economic policies of developed countries—that is, Western capitalist countries—as "innovation." We must persist in dialectical thinking, strategic thinking, bottom-line thinking, systemic thinking, historical thinking, and rule-of-law thinking. We must plan reform and construction with scientific thinking, identify the content that needs both upholding and innovating in practice, and scientifically and precisely design policies so that both aspects accurately reflect the requirements of the laws in all aspects of socialist construction with Chinese characteristics, achieving the dialectical unity of the two.

We must persist in proceeding from China’s reality and combining Marxism with China’s specific reality. To promote the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, we must clarify China’s actual situation, base ourselves on China’s reality, explain China’s reality, and solve the actual problems of Chinese society. China’s reality includes China’s historical characteristics and current conditions. To promote the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, we must combine the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific reality and with China’s excellent traditional culture. We should focus on what we are currently doing, listen to the voice of the people, respond to realistic needs, and deeply summarize the practical experience of socialism with Chinese characteristics, focusing on solving practical problems in reform, opening up, and socialist modernization in the New Era. We must strengthen confidence in our history and culture, adhere to the principle of making the past serve the present and bringing forth the new from the old ^[7], and integrate the essence of Marxist thought with the cream of China’s excellent traditional culture and with the common values that the people "use every day without realizing it." ^[8] We must constantly endow scientific theory with distinct Chinese characteristics and continuously consolidate the historical and mass foundations for the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. We must make accurate judgments on erroneous tendencies that harm the execution of the Party’s correct line, persist in proceeding from objective reality, truly aim at a specific target, and carry out struggles against erroneous tendencies by seeking truth from facts. Through active struggle, we must eliminate the interference of erroneous ideas and promote the Party’s theoretical innovation using the Marxist ideological line.

We must base ourselves on the characteristics of the era and answer the "questions of China," the "questions of the world," the "questions of the people," and the "questions of the times." To continue promoting the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, we must accurately grasp the general trend of the times, have the courage to stand at the forefront of human development, listen to the voice of the people, respond to realistic needs, persist in emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and upholding the fundamentals while breaking new ground. We must better unify the persistence in and development of Marxism, and persist in using the light of Marxism...

We must use the "arrow" ^[9] of Marxism to shoot the "target" ^[10] of China in the New Era. This requires a profound grasp of the patterns and direction of world history, as well as a high degree of attention to and research on the great changes unseen in a century ^[11]. We must strengthen our research into contemporary capitalism, analyzing and grasping the various changes that have emerged along with their underlying essence. We must deepen our regularized ^[12] understanding of the profound and complex shifts in capitalism and international political and economic relations, accurately grasping the new changes and characteristics of contemporary capitalism. We must broaden our horizons to absorb all the beneficial achievements of human civilization, paying close attention to and researching the new results of Marxist studies abroad. This must be done with analysis and discernment; we must neither reject them out of hand nor copy them mechanically. Using Marxist positions, viewpoints, and methods for analysis and judgment, and with the goal of facilitating the development of the cause of the Party and the people, we must continuously propose new concepts, ideas, and methods that truly solve problems. We must systematically grasp the theoretical system of Chinese-path modernization, profoundly comprehending its Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, and major principles. We must correctly handle the several major relationships in advancing Chinese-path modernization and thoroughly implement the strategic deployments for building a modern socialist country in all respects.

We must guide new practice with the Party’s innovative theories. Why the Communist Party of China is capable and why socialism with Chinese characteristics is good is, in the final analysis, because Marxism works, and especially because Sinicized and modernized Marxism works. To continue advancing the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, we must stand firm in the regularized understanding gained by the Party and the people through wisdom, sweat, blood, and life. We must follow these laws in practice as we continue new explorations, constantly pushing forward the development of the Party’s cause and the innovation of its theory. Since the 18th National Congress ^[13], General Secretary Xi Jinping has engaged in profound reflection and scientific judgment regarding a series of major theoretical and practical issues concerning the development of the cause of the Party and the state in the New Era. Regarding the major themes of the times—such as what kind of socialism with Chinese characteristics to uphold and develop in the New Era and how to uphold and develop it; what kind of great modern socialist power to build and how to build it; and what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it—he has proposed a series of original new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies for state governance. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the Marxism of contemporary China and of the twenty-first century; it is the essence of Chinese culture and the Chinese spirit in our time. To uphold the fundamentals and break new ground on the new journey of the New Era, we must unswervingly arm the whole Party, educate the people, and guide practice with this innovative theory. We must be courageous in continuously advancing theoretical innovation in integration with new practices, and be adept at using new theories to guide new practices. Through the "Two Combinations" ^[14], we will continually open new frontiers in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, creating more new miracles that will make the world look on with fresh eyes ^[15].