General Survey of Contemporary World Socialism
Content Summary This book examines the five-hundred-year developmental course of world socialism from a Marxist standpoint, viewpoint, and method. It conducts an in-depth summary of the lived experiences of socialism across different periods and countries, extracts the basic laws of the development of world socialism, and analyzes the current status, problems, and challenges facing world socialism today. Furthermore, it explores the historical position of socialism with Chinese characteristics within the development of world socialism and reveals the significant contributions of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era to world socialism. This book is of great significance for deepening research into frontier theoretical issues of socialism and for promoting the further development of world socialism studies.
Author Biography Jiang Hui is a member of the Party Leadership Group of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Director of the Institute of Contemporary China (at the sub-ministerial level), Director of the Institute of Marxism Studies, Research Fellow, and doctoral supervisor. He concurrently serves as the Executive Director of the CASS Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Director of the Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, and Deputy Director of the World Socialism Research Center. He also serves as Vice President of the Chinese Association of Scientific Socialism and Vice President of the Academy of Party History of the CPC. He is a National Specialist with Outstanding Contributions for Young and Middle-Aged Professionals, a recipient of the State Council Government Special Allowance, a member of the National Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Talents Project [1], a leading talent in philosophy and social sciences under the National "Ten Thousand Talents Program," a National Cultural Master and "Four Batches" [2] talent, and a lead expert of the Central Marxist Theoretical Research and Construction Project.
He has long been engaged in research on Marxist theory, scientific socialism and the international communist movement, socialism with Chinese characteristics, and contemporary world socialism. He has authored, co-authored, translated, and edited numerous works and published over 200 papers in major central newspapers and leading academic journals. He has long presided over major projects of the National Social Science Fund, major projects of the Central Marxist Theoretical Research and Construction Project, and major research projects of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, achieving fruitful results. He possesses significant and extensive influence in fields such as research on international communism and scientific socialism, world socialism studies, and the innovative development of Marxism in the 21st century.
Table of Contents
Introduction: World Socialism Amidst Great Changes Unseen in a Century (1) I. Main Content of the Book and Primary Research Questions (1) II. New Stages, New Patterns, and New Trends of Contemporary World Socialism (4) III. The New Development of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Its New Contributions to World Socialism (9)
Chapter 1: Historical Stages of the Development of World Socialism (15) Section 1: Theory and Practice of Utopian Socialism (15) Section 2: Socialism from Utopia to Science, from Theory to Practice (23) Section 3: The Establishment of the Socialist System in the Soviet Union and Its Expansion from One Country to Many (30) Section 4: Socialist Construction and Reform (40) Section 5: World Socialism’s Exploration of the Path to Revival Amidst Twists and Turns (53)
Chapter 2: The Great Journey of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (69) Section 1: Historical Background of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (70) I. International Background (70) II. Domestic Background (75) Section 2: Opening the Path of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (77) I. Re-establishing the Party's Ideological, Political, and Organizational Lines (78) II. New Explorations of the Path of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (83) Section 3: The Development of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (93) I. Creating a New Situation for the Cause of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (93) II. Upholding and Developing Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (94) Section 4: Socialism with Chinese Characteristics Enters a New Era (96) I. Main Characteristics of the New Era of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (97) II. The Fundamental Direction of Contemporary China’s Development and Progress (99)
Chapter 3: Theory and Practice of Foreign Socialist Countries (106) Section 1: Vietnamese Socialism Exploring and Advancing through the Cause of Doi Moi [3] (106) I. The Beginning of Vietnam’s Doi Moi and the Turning Point for the Socialist Cause (107) II. Theory and Practice of Vietnam’s Socialist Doi Moi (110) III. Vietnam’s Socialist-oriented Market Economy (113) IV. Vietnam’s Political System (Oriented) Renovation (116) V. Trends in Vietnam’s Renovation since the 12th CPV National Congress (119) Section 2: Theoretical and Practical Explorations of Cuban Socialism (132) I. Cuba’s Tortuous Exploration of the Path of Socialist Construction (133) II. New Trends in Cuban Socialism after the Seventh PCC National Congress (140) III. Challenges and Prospects for Cuban Socialist Construction (143) Section 3: Theory and Practice of Socialist Construction in Laos (145) I. Three Developmental Stages of Socialist Construction in Laos (145) II. The Status of Socialist Construction in Laos after the Drastic Changes [4] (148) III. Opportunities, Challenges, and Prospects for Socialist Construction in Laos (155) Section 4: Theory and Practice of Socialist Construction in North Korea (160) I. Practice and Development of North Korea’s Political System Reform (161) II. Exploration and Innovation of North Korea’s Economic System Reform (165) III. Building the Ideology and Work Style of the North Korean Ruling Party (168) IV. Adjustments and Breakthroughs in North Korean Socialist Construction (170) V. Opportunities and Challenges for North Korean Socialist Construction (175)
Chapter 4: The Socialist Movement in Developed Capitalist Countries (178) Section 1: Evolution of Communist Parties in Developed Countries after the Drastic Changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (178) I. Existing Communist Parties and Their Organizations in Developed Countries (179) II. Intra-systemic Struggles of Communist Parties in Developed Countries (183) III. Extra-systemic Struggles of Communist Parties in Developed Countries (186) Section 2: Theoretical and Policy Adjustments of Communist Parties in Developed Countries (189) I. Understanding of Marxism (189) II. Exploring Indigenous Paths for Socialist Development (196) III. Improving the Party's Self-Building (209) IV. Strengthening Links Between Communist Parties and with Other Left-wing Parties (216) Section 3: Problems and Challenges Facing Communist Parties in Developed Countries (224) I. Developmental Paths for Upholding and Innovating Theoretical Strategies (224) II. Practical Dilemmas and Trends of Left-wing Coalitions (227) III. Paths for Strengthening Links with Trade Unions and Social Movements (229) IV. The Impact and Influence of the Rise of Populist Parties on Communist Parties (232)
Chapter 5: The Socialist Movement in the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (235) Section 1: Developmental Status of the Socialist Movement in the Former Soviet and Eastern European Regions (235) I. Communist Parties in the Former Soviet Region (238) II. Communist Parties in the Former Eastern European Region (255) Section 2: The Rise of "New Socialism" Thought in the Former Soviet and Eastern European Regions (270) I. Fundamental Reasons for the Slow Resurgence of the "New Socialism" Trend (271) II. Main Reasons for the Slow Resurgence of the "New Socialism" Trend (274) III. Direct Reasons for the Slow Resurgence of the "New Socialism" Trend (277) Section 3: Understanding of the Collapse of the Soviet Union by Communist Parties in the Former Soviet and Eastern European Regions (281) I. Internal Problems within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Led to the Collapse (282) II. Problems with the Backwardness of the Soviet Economy (288) III. The Role of Western Peace Evolution [5] in Promoting the Collapse (289) IV. What Failed Was an Outdated Form of Socialism, Not Socialism Itself (290)
Chapter 6: The Socialist Movement in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (292) Section 1: The Socialist Movement in South and Southeast Asia in the 21st Century (292) I. The Maoist Movement in South Asia in the 21st Century (293) II. Parliamentary Achievements and Political Bottlenecks of South Asian Communist Parties: Represented by the CPI(M) (315) III. The Sole Remaining Success of the Socialist Movement in Southeast Asia: Current Status and Future Prospects of the Communist Party of the Philippines (321) Section 2: Historical Experience and New Developments of Communist Parties in African Countries (329) I. Rise of Communist Parties in African Countries (330) II. Development of Communist Parties in African Countries (335) III. The Heavy Blow Dealt by the Drastic Changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to the African Communist Movement (338) IV. New Developments of Communist Parties in African Countries after the Drastic Changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (340) V. Problems, Challenges, and Developmental Trends Facing African Communist Parties (349) Section 3: Historical Experience and New Developments of the Latin American Communist Movement (351) I. Rise of Latin American Communist Parties (351) II. Consolidation and Development Stage of Latin American Communist Parties (1929–1945) (356) III. Persistent Struggle of Latin American Communist Parties Amidst Adversity (From the End of WWII to the Drastic Changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe) (361) IV. Impact of the Soviet and Eastern European Changes on Latin American Communist Parties and Their Reflections and Adjustments (370) V. New Developments of Latin American Communist Parties after the Changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (374) VI. Challenges and Future Developmental Prospects for Latin American Communist Parties (376) Section 4: The Rise and Development of "21st Century Socialism" in Latin America (379) I. Rise of "21st Century Socialism" in Latin America (379) II. Theoretical Propositions of Latin American "21st Century Socialism" (384) III. Practices of Latin American "21st Century Socialism" (387) IV. Evaluation of "21st Century Socialism" in Latin America (392) V. Challenges and Prospects for "21st Century Socialism" in Latin America (394)
Chapter 7: Views on Socialism among Foreign Left-wing Scholars (398) Section 1: New Scrutiny of Capitalism by the Foreign Left (399) I. Discussions on Carboniferous and Socialist Issues (399) II. Two Dimensions for Scrutinizing the Crisis of Capitalism (401) III. New Manifestations of the Capitalist Crisis in the Early 21st Century (404) IV. Chronic Maladies and Self-Adjustment Capacities: Crisis Response Programs (409) Section 2: Discussions on the Core Content of Socialism by Foreign Left-wing Scholars (413) I. Understanding the Core Content of Socialism (414) II. Positive Significance of the Understanding of "What is Socialism" (423) III. Limitations of the Understanding of "What is Socialism" (424) Section 3: Blueprints for Socialism Designed by Foreign Left-wing Scholars (426) I. Market Socialism: New Designs for Combining Socialism with the Market (426) II. Eco-socialism: New Attention to the Relationship Between Humanity and Nature Under the Socialist System (430) III. Post-industrial Socialism: New Longings for a New Social Civilization in the Post-industrial Era (431) IV. Alternatives and Measures for Globalization (435) Section 4: Main Views and Analysis of Foreign Left-wing Scholars in the Early 21st Century (440) I. Main Views and Their Characteristics (440) II. Positive Significance and Limitations (447)
Chapter 8: Historical Experience in the Development and Construction of World Socialism (452) Section 1: Upholding the Integration of Theory with Practice and Exploring Indigenous Paths of Revolution and Construction (452) Section 2: Rooting in the Times and Internalizing Practical Development to Innovate Socialist Theory (458) Section 3: Upholding the Leadership of Marxist Parties and Continuously Improving Governance Levels (474) Section 4: Correctly Handling the Relationship Between the Two Systems and Continuously Enhancing the Superiority of Socialism (477) Section 5: Formulating Correct Strategies and Tactics to Strengthen Unity and Cooperation with Progressive Forces (481)
Chapter 9: Opportunities, Problems, and Challenges Facing World Socialism (485) Section 1: The Capitalist Crisis and World Socialism (485) I. The "Incantations" and "Incurable Diseases" Capitalism Cannot Dispel (486) II. Where Does the "Crisis" of Capitalism Lie? (487) III. Disputes over the Fate of Capitalism (489) IV. What Does the Capitalist Crisis Illustrate? (490) Section 2: Conditions and Opportunities for World Socialism (493) I. Favorable Shifts in the Environment for Survival and Development (493) II. A Good Opportunity for Rectifying and Innovating Socialist Theory (494) III. Recovery and Proactive Actions of Socialist Forces (495) IV. Socialist Forces Seeking Alliance (495) V. Profound Inspirations from the Lessons of the Soviet and Eastern European Changes (496) VI. Socialism with Chinese Characteristics Becomes the Mainstay (497) Section 3: Problems and Challenges Facing World Socialism (497) I. The Overall Pattern of "Strong Capitalism and Weak Socialism" Has Not Fundamentally Changed (497) II. The Marginalization of Foreign Socialist Forces is Difficult to Reverse in the Short Term (498) III. The Influence of Socialist Parties and Forces Remains Small (498) IV. Fragmentation and the "State of Being In-Itself" of Socialist Subjects (499)
Chapter 10: Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and World Socialism (501) Section 1: Opening a New Path for the Practical Development of World Socialism (502) Section 2: Establishing a New Form for the Theoretical Development of World Socialism (505) Section 3: Demonstrating the Superiority of Socialist System Development (507) Section 4: Promoting World Socialism into a New Stage (514)
Chapter 11: The Future of World Socialism (517) Section 1: The New Pattern of World Socialism in the Early 21st Century (517) Section 2: New Characteristics of World Socialism's Development in the 21st Century (519) Section 3: New Trends in the Development of World Socialism in the 21st Century (523) I. Upholding the Unity of National Character and Internationalism (523) II. Upholding the Unity of Regionality and Universality (525) III. Upholding the Unity of Working-Class Movements and Mass Movements (526) IV. Upholding the Unity of Social Transformation/Construction and Ecological Civilization Construction (527)
Bibliography (529) Postscript (544)