Bai Xiaohu and Xu Minghua: Original Contributions of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Important Expositions on Common Prosperity
Common prosperity is a thousand-year dream of the Chinese people; it is also a fundamental characteristic of both the ideal society and the "better life" for humanity. Yet, to date, no country in human history has truly achieved common prosperity. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, in the great practice of leading the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, General Secretary Xi Jinping—with extraordinary theoretical courage and a strong sense of mission—has conducted scientific explorations and profound reflections on the major theoretical and practical issues surrounding common prosperity. He has delivered a series of important discourses that constitute major judgments on the historical stage of China's economic and social development, a profound grasp of the Party’s foundations for long-term governance, a scientific summary of the momentum behind high-quality development, long-term thinking on the foundations of social harmony, and a high-level distillation of the essential features of Chinese-path modernization. These discourses have achieved a new leap in our Party's understanding of the important experiences of national governance, the laws of the Communist Party's long-term governance, the laws of economic development, the laws of social development, and the laws of socialist construction. They have advanced the Party's understanding of common prosperity to a new level, a new height, and a new realm. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on common prosperity have formed a complete scientific category of common prosperity, constructed a theoretical system, a discourse system, and a practical strategy for it, creatively developed the theory of wealth in Marxist political economy, and enriched the Marxist theory of social formations. They represent an original contribution to Marxism and have advanced the new development of contemporary Chinese Marxism.
I. Taking the Basic Principles of Marxism as Scientific Guidance, Grasping the Historical Practical Process of the Production and Distribution of Wealth, and Constructing the Integral Category of Common Prosperity
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "The creation and distribution of wealth is a major issue facing all countries." [1] Looking at the history and reality of human social development, the creation and distribution of wealth remains a major issue that has yet to achieve its ideal goal in any historical stage, any social system, or any country. Based on the laws of human social development revealed by historical materialism, the classical writers [1] envisioned the production and distribution of wealth in a future socialist society: namely, social production aimed at the prosperity of all people, which ensures not only material wealth but also spiritual wealth that allows for the free and comprehensive development of every person's abilities. Using the plain language familiar to every Chinese household, "common prosperity" combines the beautiful yearning of the Chinese people for a "Great Unity" (Datong) [2] society since ancient times with the laws of human social development revealed by Marxism. The Party has always regarded common prosperity as the essence of socialism and the goal, direction, and principle of social development. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has published a series of important discourses on the New Development Philosophy, poverty alleviation, the comprehensive realization of a moderately prosperous society, and Chinese-path modernization. On the basis of practical innovation, and by applying the Marxist methodology of "integrality" (zongtixing), he has upheld and developed Marxist political economy, comprehensively and systematically expounded on the major proposition of common prosperity, and clarified its scientific connotations. Common prosperity is a conceptual category abstracted from various aspects of human social activity. As an integral category, "integrality" is its defining feature—a feature derived directly from the integral methodology [3] maintained by Marxism.
(1) Common prosperity is the social practical totality (zongti) of the production and distribution of wealth
By using the practice of labor as a medium to grasp the relationships formed between man and nature, and man and society, General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on common prosperity closely link the comprehensive development of the person and the all-round progress of society with common prosperity for all people. Individuals in specific historical stages—separated by region, social stratum, ability level, and income level—cannot be detached from the practice of creating social wealth through social labor. The "comprehensively developed person" refers to all people in social existence; it is not a conceptual abstraction, but the general totality of the human "species-essence" (Gattungswesen) as pointed out by Marx. Therefore, common prosperity is the prosperity of all people. Rooted in the practice of creating wealth through labor, General Secretary Xi Jinping’s discourses use an integral category to express the comprehensiveness, ubiquity, and universal nature of common prosperity. Whether they are low-to-middle income earners or high-income earners, regardless of which factor of production they use to obtain income distribution, all groups will gain a sense of fulfillment from the practice of common prosperity. Therefore, General Secretary Xi Jinping particularly emphasizes that common prosperity is not the prosperity of a few, nor is it a rigid egalitarianism [4]; rather, it is about encouraging all people to achieve prosperity through hard work and innovation [3].
(2) Common prosperity is a historical integral process that unifies ideal goals and historical stages
From a historical dimension, common prosperity is a long-term historical process of reaching an ideal goal. In different historical stages, common prosperity—as an integral process—continuously realizes the comprehensive development of the person. Any historical stage is an inseparable and unsurpassable component of common prosperity. While the overall levels of material and spiritual wealth vary significantly across different stages, they all constitute the practical process of common prosperity. Under this integral historical category, General Secretary Xi Jinping has objectively summarized the positive and negative experiences of common prosperity practices in the two stages—before and after the Reform and Opening-up began [5]—following the establishment of our socialist system. He emphasized that we must uphold the basic socialist system as the fundamental direction for common prosperity, and that we must break away from the planned system and egalitarianism while also adhering to the basic socialist economic system [4]. For over a hundred years, the struggles of the Communist Party of China have been a practice of advancing common prosperity across different historical stages of the development of productive forces. Especially on the basis of the historic achievement of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society and resolving the problem of absolute poverty—a problem that had persisted for millennia—General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "We have now reached a historical stage where we must make solid progress toward common prosperity." [5] Solidly promoting common prosperity is a historical necessity; we cannot afford to wait, yet we must not act with undue haste. The specific requirements for common prosperity must not transcend the historical stage of the development of productive forces. Comparing the level of productive forces in China with some developed Western countries, it is clear they are at different historical stages. Therefore, the logic of criticizing or questioning China's cause of common prosperity based on gaps in per capita income and public welfare levels is flawed. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Some developed countries have undergone industrialization for hundreds of years, but due to their social systems, the problem of common prosperity remains unresolved to this day; instead, the gap between the rich and the poor is becoming increasingly severe." [6] It can be judged that some developed Western countries are walking a wrong historical path that Marx once critiqued.
(3) Common prosperity is an integral existence in which the economic and social systems and their various levels are interdependent and interacting
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Common prosperity for all people is an integral concept that applies to the whole of society. We should not divide it into urban and rural blocks, or eastern, central, and western regional blocks, proposing separate indicators for each; we must view it from a global perspective." [7] From a global perspective, human society is an integral existence generated with material production and life as its base. The subsystems and various levels that make up the social totality are interdependent and interacting. If the internal gap within a whole continues to widen and the relationship becomes seriously unbalanced, it is clearly detrimental to achieving common prosperity in an integral sense. When specifically planning the strategic deployment of common prosperity, General Secretary Xi Jinping first emphasized the balance, coordination, and inclusiveness of development. To achieve common prosperity for society as a whole, we must overcome and resolve the gaps between China's regions, sectors, urban and rural areas, and industries, and overcome the lack of coordination between spiritual and material civilization. Under this principle, General Secretary Xi Jinping further pointed out the reform path for forming an "olive-shaped" [6] income distribution structure among the three major income groups [8]. Currently, the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development in China remains prominent, and the gap between urban-rural regional development and income distribution is still large. While the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation has strongly promoted economic development, we must proceed from the social totality, take note of negative impacts, and respond to and solve them effectively.
Using an integral methodology, General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on common prosperity have provided theoretical expositions and practical responses to a series of major issues regarding overall social progress and the comprehensive development of the person triggered by the production and distribution of wealth. Starting from the integrality of labor practice, the historical process, and the economic and social systems, he has constructed a complete scientific category of common prosperity.
II. Creatively Developing the Wealth Theory of Marxist Political Economy, Providing a Theoretical Foundation of Contemporary Marxist Political Economy for Common Prosperity
(1) Creatively elucidating the scientific basis for achieving prosperity through hard work and innovation, and pointing out the key role of the laborer's subjectivity and capacity enhancement in the creation and distribution of wealth
Marx pointed out that wealth is nothing more than the manifestation of human activity [9]. In a market economy, commodities are the social form of wealth, and use-value constitutes the material content of wealth [10]. In a socialist country, the realistic meaning of wealth is the "better life" [7] associated with every person. "The needs of the people are diverse, multi-layered, and multi-faceted. They look forward to better education, more stable jobs, more satisfactory incomes, more reliable social security, higher levels of medical and health services, more comfortable living conditions, a more beautiful environment, and a richer spiritual and cultural life." [11] All beautiful things in the world are achieved through struggle. General Secretary Xi Jinping highly affirms the subjective status and role of laborers in the process of common prosperity, emphasizing that to solidly advance common prosperity, we must encourage achieving prosperity through hard work and innovation [12].
The process of wealth creation is the labor process itself; it is a purposeful activity of producing use-values, involving the action and mobilization of various factors of production. Labor is not the only element of wealth creation; capital, land, technology, and management are all factors in wealth creation. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s discourses on common prosperity creatively develop Marxist wealth theory. While upholding the species-essence of labor and the subjectivity of the laborer, they properly handle the unified relationship between labor and other factors in the production process. Labor, capital, technology, and even data factors are interdependent and mutually promoting in the creation of more wealth, yet they also compete with each other as wealth is distributed according to their degree of contribution.
With social progress and economic development, the combination of various wealth-creation factors shows two trends: first, with the concentration and socialization of capital, science is increasingly applied consciously to technology, land is increasingly utilized in a planned manner, and the instruments of labor are increasingly transformed into instruments of labor that can only be used in common. All means of production are increasingly economized because they are used as the means of production for combined, social labor [13]. Second, the production factors that play a decisive role in the increase of wealth are increasingly shifting from tangible general material factors to invisible factors such as management, technology, and knowledge. The owners of these factors will become the center of modern wealth creation [14]. Scientific and technological innovation and progress play an important role in improving the level of productive forces. For the wealth creation driven by technological progress to benefit human development and common prosperity for all, the contribution of laborers in the wealth creation process must be increased. Synchronized with technological progress, we must improve the skills of laborers and enhance the level of human capital in the whole of society.
Based on Marxist wealth theory, the production and distribution of wealth are two closely linked processes: "making the cake bigger" and "dividing the cake well." The distribution of wealth must first resolve the distribution of the conditions of production; the remaining part is used for income distribution, including compensation for the reproduction of labor power and the surplus. The mechanisms or institutional arrangements for wealth increase must allow the productivity of all factors to be fully unleashed. Income distribution cannot be limited to "distribution according to work" [按劳分配]; it also includes the distribution of surplus. When factors participate in the sharing of surplus, we must not only pay attention to the distribution involving material factors like capital and land, but also focus on the distribution involving the participation of laborers' factors [15].
After the establishment of the basic socialist system, how to create wealth to meet the needs for a better life is a key issue in the creative development of Marxist wealth theory. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s discourses on common prosperity have developed Marxist wealth theory and summarized the principle of encouraging prosperity through hard work and innovation. "Encouraging prosperity through hard work and innovation and upholding the basic economic system" can allow all sources of social wealth to flow fully and allow the vitality of various factors such as labor, capital, technology, and management to burst forth. With social and technological progress, the role of laborers' abilities in wealth enhancement will grow larger. Accordingly, in the structure where factors receive remuneration according to their contribution, the share of surplus shared by laborers will grow larger as well.
(2) Creatively developing Marxist wealth theory to provide a scientific basis for high-quality development to promote common prosperity
Wealth theory is a fundamental issue in economics. The wealth theory of modern Western economics differs from Marxist wealth theory in both standpoint and theoretical tasks. Western economic wealth theory posits that the value of wealth lies in satisfying subjective human needs; it does not distinguish between value and use-value, and thus fails to clearly differentiate between the theory of value and the theory of wealth. Classical economics and modern Western economics superficially unify the contribution of factors to wealth production with their contribution to wealth distribution. Under this view, wealth is fully distributed among the owners of production factors according to the magnitude of their "contribution," which conceals the inequality of rights between owners of different factors such as capital, labor, and land, and masks the inequality of wealth distribution predicated on ownership. The logic used by modern Western economic wealth theory to explain distribution is starkly inconsistent with the reality of massive inequality in wealth distribution and severe polarization between the rich and the poor.
Modern Western economic wealth theory holds that income transfers to improve the utility of low-income earners help increase the overall welfare level of society. This theory further proposes theories of income distribution regulation and welfare policy designs through the state's fiscal distributive function. Western wealth theory and welfare systems fail to fundamentally recognize the laborer’s contribution to the social surplus or their right to distribution; they have also created the absurd phenomenon where some people can receive wealth distribution without working. This theory, which fundamentally denies the status and role of the laborer, stifles the initiative and creativity of laborers in creating wealth, leading a significant portion of laborers to lose labor as their essential human attribute [8]. The welfare system distorts some laborers into "lazybones" [9]; such theoretical and institutional designs are fundamentally detrimental to stimulating the "full flow of the springs of social wealth" [10].
The starting point and ultimate goal of Marxist wealth theory are both centered on human development. The role and status of laborers in the production and distribution of wealth are effectively enhanced, their wisdom and innovative activities raise the level of productive forces, and the proportion of the social surplus possessed by the laboring class as a whole continues to increase. While upholding the principal status of laborers within wealth theory, we draw lessons from the welfare systems of developed Western countries. By using the state's secondary distribution to apply social wealth toward improving laborers’ education, health, and work capacities, we establish a welfare system focused on wealth production capacity. This transcends the welfare systems of developed Western countries, which focus merely on wealth distribution to alleviate the contradictions of the wealth gap.
Developing Marxist wealth theory under the conditions of the primary stage of socialism provides a political-economic foundation for the transition of common prosperity from a theoretical necessity to a practical possibility. With common prosperity as the goal, we liberate and develop socialist productive forces, thereby forming a socialist theory of economic development that transcends modern Western development theories. General Secretary Xi Jinping has noted that we must "promote common prosperity amid high-quality development," identifying the developmental principle for achieving common prosperity. The New Development Concept is the core content of Xi Jinping Economic Thought; the goal of implementing the New Development Concept to achieve high-quality development is highly consistent with the goal of achieving common prosperity. This people-centered development resolves the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing need for a better life. An economic development theory built on Marxist wealth theory and the theory of productive forces truly recognizes the key role of laborers’ knowledge and abilities in technological progress and in increasing the wealth and welfare levels of the entire society, escaping the dead end of the contradiction between capital and labor found in Western development theories.
Economic development theory aimed at common prosperity differs significantly from development theories derived from the experiences of developed capitalist countries; the two possess entirely different developmental standpoints, goals, drivers, and paths. Based on the wealth theory and the theory of the reproduction and circulation of total social capital in Marxist political economy, socialist economic development must place greater emphasis on the balance, coordination, and inclusiveness of development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that in the developmental approach to solidly promoting common prosperity, the primary task is to focus on the balance, coordination, and inclusiveness of economic development. This specifically manifests as handling the balance, coordination, and inclusiveness of income distribution among the three major groups (low, middle, and high income), as well as the balanced, coordinated, and inclusive development between urban and rural areas and various regions.
The socialist wealth theory guiding common prosperity is also the foothold of socialist economic development theory. On one hand, it is based on the reality that the level of social productive forces remains in the primary stage of socialism, and that the historical process is still in the stage of "material dependence" [11]. Clearly, labor is not the sole decisive factor in creating wealth; factors such as capital, land, and technology still play indispensable roles, and it remains necessary to continuously accumulate material factors like capital and technology to improve labor productivity. On the other hand, socialist economic development theory is based on the specific historical stage and institutional conditions of a socialist state. Socialist economic development based on common prosperity and socialist wealth theory necessarily requires upholding the basic economic system. Not only must we allow the factors that create wealth to satisfy the need for a better life to "flow fully," but we must also avoid the situation where "the rich accumulate millions while the poor eat husks" [12]. We must uphold the primary role of public ownership while allowing multiple forms of ownership to develop together, and uphold the primary role of distribution according to work while allowing multiple modes of distribution to coexist—a system where factors of production participate in distribution according to their contribution.
The system in which public ownership is the mainstay ensures that social wealth accumulation continuously increases public capital, which is widely distributed across the key sectors and links of social production. Since the beginning of the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has creatively developed the theory of the Party’s unified leadership and strengthened the system of Party leadership. Centralized political leadership has further strengthened the leading capacity of public capital to expand social reproduction and create social wealth. It effectively guides the social attributes of non-public capital in creating wealth for the needs of a better life. While the socialist nature of public capital guides and strengthens the social attributes of non-public capital, it also improves the conditions for both non-public capital and laborers to jointly participate in creating social wealth and improving development—for instance, by providing necessary infrastructure and industrial foundations, improving the status of laborers relative to capital in the production and distribution of wealth, and empowering laborers to share more material conditions from wealth distribution that help enhance their productive capacity. The "all-society" attribute of public capital can balance the developmental rights of different groups in developed and underdeveloped regions, guiding social wealth toward underdeveloped regions and rural groups, narrowing the gap in development opportunities, improving developmental conditions, and guiding non-public capital to invest in the large-scale socialized production of underdeveloped and rural areas.
III. Innovating the Discourse System for Promoting Common Prosperity: Combining the Basic Tenets of Marxism with China’s Specific Realities and Excellent Traditional Culture to Popularize and Practicalize Common Prosperity Theory
(1) Discursive Innovation in the Connotation of Common Prosperity
General Secretary Xi Jinping has noted: "Common prosperity is the prosperity of all the people; it is a prosperity in which the people's material and spiritual lives are both enriched. It is not the prosperity of a few, nor is it uniform egalitarianism." By combining the ideal goal of a communist society—envisioned by Marx and Engels as the free and comprehensive development of every individual—with the actual conditions of China’s current level of productive forces, he has provided a prescriptive explanation of the connotation of common prosperity and revealed its scientific substance. Common prosperity is prosperity for all; this is an essential requirement of socialism, and we must never allow a situation where productive forces develop but wealth becomes polarized. Common prosperity is comprehensive prosperity; we must never allow a situation where, after the development of productive forces, the people lose their spiritual character as the subjects of labor. Common prosperity is not prosperity based on equal distribution; we cannot return to the old path of "it makes no difference whether one works more or less" [13] found under the planned economy system.
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s formulation of the scientific connotation of common prosperity concretizes the requirements of the "species-essence" of labor [14] and implements it through the practice of wealth creation and human development. The free and comprehensive development of individuals points to the value goal and standpoint of common prosperity, establishing its ultimate objective and the fundamental socialist direction of its practice. This is fundamentally different from the wealth production in developed Western countries, which is capital-centered and profit-driven. Prosperity for all people stimulates the subjectivity and initiative of every member of society, representing a respect for human essence. Common prosperity is a holistic category: common prosperity between urban and rural areas, between leading and lagging regions, and between different industries and groups. Individuals in any specific locale are indispensable members of the holistic category of common prosperity. Comprehensive prosperity and prosperity for all are balanced and inclusive; they respect the rights, qualifications, and internal motivations of every individual as a subject of development. Regarding the connotation of common prosperity, General Secretary Xi Jinping has provided expositions on many occasions, using popular discourse to explain its holistic, global, and long-term nature, showing that it concerns every member of society so that every individual, organization, and region can feel they are both strivers for and beneficiaries of common prosperity.
(2) Discursive Innovation in the Principles of Common Prosperity
The principle of "encouraging prosperity through hard work and innovation" neither denies nor depreciates the contribution of capital, land, natural resources, and other factors to wealth creation; rather, it highlights the principal status of the laborer and their decisive role in the process of wealth creation. This principle incorporates innovation into the category of labor, expanding the extension of labor and affirming that innovation is a special and high-level form of labor. Entering an era where innovation drives economic development, this high-level form of labor plays an even more crucial role in raising the level of productive forces. By including innovation within labor, the status of entrepreneurs and scientific researchers—who possess innovative elements and play innovative roles—is affirmed as that of laborers. This greatly expands the ranks of the laboring class, adding advanced elements that represent the direction of advanced productive forces. Income obtained through intellectual innovation will also effectively improve the social distribution of income in favor of laborers and increase the proportion of labor income in wealth distribution, helping to expand the middle-income group and form an olive-shaped income and social structure.
The principle of "upholding the basic economic system" stimulates various ownership subjects to jointly create wealth. Policies such as the "Two Unswervinglys" [15] are vivid manifestations of China's theoretical and practical innovation in the socialist market economy and have gained deep public support. Upholding the basic economic system uses concise discourse to reiterate the Party’s principles of supporting and guiding the non-public sector under the socialist system, highlighting the essential socialist requirement of "those who get rich first leading and helping those who follow."
The principle of "doing one's best while acting within one's means" [16] emphasizes that while the state provides public welfare to create the conditions and environment for human development, the initiative of the laborers as subjects must be exerted. As China actively promotes common prosperity while its overall productive forces are still lower than those of developed countries, we must draw lessons from Western public welfare systems while remaining clearly aware of their limitations—namely, their fundamental neglect of the people's subjectivity. Solidly promoting common prosperity should ground national public welfare policies in the enhancement of human developmental capacity, rather than mere consumption and enjoyment. If we were to mechanically copy the welfare systems of developed capitalist countries and make public welfare promises that exceed the level of productive forces, it would severely dampen the initiative of laborers and damage overall social fairness, inevitably falling into the "welfarist" trap of "nurturing lazybones," which would ultimately bring a heavy burden to society.
(3) Discursive Innovation in the Laws of Common Prosperity
Using a "cake" as a metaphor for wealth, "making the cake" and "dividing the cake" represent the production and distribution of wealth. Capitalist society once created far more total wealth than any previous historical stage. However, common prosperity is the essential requirement of socialism. The production and distribution of wealth in a socialist society differ from capitalism in that the cake must not only be made larger but also divided more fairly. Only by unifying the two aspects of "making the cake bigger" and "dividing the cake well" can we reflect the essential requirements and institutional advantages of socialism.
"Making the cake bigger" is the prerequisite for "dividing the cake well." The essence of socialism is to liberate and develop the productive forces, with economic and social development centered on the people to satisfy their ever-growing needs for a better life. The reason we must "make the cake bigger" is that the level of productive forces for creating wealth in the primary stage of socialism is not yet high enough and is markedly lower than that of developed capitalist countries. After the comprehensive realization of a moderately prosperous society (xiaokang society), social wealth is still a considerable distance from the level of prosperity for all. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that we must still explore and accumulate experience on the question of how to become prosperous. Science and technology are the primary productive forces, innovation is the primary driver, and talent is the primary resource. The continuous improvement of the productive forces that create wealth ultimately depends on laborers who are hard-working and innovative.
Only by "dividing the cake well" can we further "make the cake bigger." "Making the cake bigger" is not the ultimate end; rather, it is through "dividing the cake well" that we truly embody the subjective status of laborers in the creation of wealth and ultimately realize the free and well-rounded development of individuals. Marxist wealth theory posits that the laborer is the living factor that wields and governs capital elements, occupying the dominant position in the production process where various factors of production combine to create wealth. The distribution of wealth must reflect the requirement of continuously enhancing the status and capabilities of the laborer. Only by consolidating the subjective status of the laborer in the production and distribution of wealth can the relationship between the two be unified. Efficiency and equity are mutually reinforcing; equity in wealth distribution can promote efficiency in wealth production. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "High-quality development requires high-quality laborers. Only by promoting common prosperity, increasing the income of urban and rural residents, and enhancing human capital can we improve total factor productivity and consolidate the motivational foundation for high-quality development." [37] High-quality development is likewise inseparable from common prosperity because the capabilities of high-quality laborers are closely linked to "dividing the cake well." We must increase the proportion of labor income in primary distribution, while the secondary distribution of public finance must provide high-quality public services such as education, training, and healthcare to enhance the developmental capacity of all types of laborers and the human capital of the entire society.
"Making the cake bigger" and "dividing the cake well" answer the political economy of common prosperity through the basic logic of Marxist wealth theory. This popular yet profound discourse reveals the essential difference between socialism and capitalism regarding the laws of wealth. Capitalist productive forces can "make the cake bigger," but capitalist relations of production cannot "divide the cake well," to the extent that the gap between rich and poor continues to widen even at highly developed levels of wealth productivity. Socialist productive forces can "make the cake bigger," and socialist relations of production can further rectify the relationship between laborers and other factors of production—especially capital, natural resources, and data—in the distribution of wealth. This places greater emphasis on the long-term improvement of laborers' capabilities within the production process, creates a developmental environment for all types of laborers to exercise their abilities, and leans social wealth surpluses toward improving developmental conditions and capacities, truly realizing the organic unity of "making the cake bigger" and "dividing the cake well," and of efficiency and equity.
IV. Inheriting and Developing Marxist Social Formation Theory, Realizing the Unity of Comprehensive Social Progress and Well-rounded Human Development, and Constructing the Theoretical and Practical Path for a New Form of Human Civilization
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on common prosperity answer the common need for a beautiful society and the free, well-rounded development of individuals from both theoretical and practical perspectives. They point out the developmental direction for human society in the 21st century, for socialism with Chinese characteristics, and for Chinese-path modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has identified common prosperity as one of the overarching goals guiding Chinese-path modernization, unifying well-rounded human development with comprehensive social progress, and guiding our country in resolving the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing need for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development.
(1) The important thesis on solidly promoting common prosperity creatively reveals the superiority of the socialist system in leading to a new form of social civilization
Marxism is a doctrine concerning the liberation of all humanity; it established the theory of social formations that reveals the laws of human social development and scientifically proved that "capitalism's demise is inevitable" and "socialism's victory is inevitable." In the 21st century, the cause of world socialism hit a low point, and Western scholars even put forward assertions such as the "end of history." Whether to persist in socialism, how to persist in it, and how to correctly understand the massive gap between the level of human development and social progress in socialist societies versus developed capitalist countries—these are theoretical and practical questions that world socialism, and specifically socialism with Chinese characteristics, must answer.
The Communist Party of China has always adhered to the socialist system, regarding the liberation and development of productive forces, the elimination of polarization, and the ultimate realization of common prosperity as the essential requirements of socialism. Common prosperity is the original meaning of the future society envisioned by Marxism, and it is also the social ideal of the Chinese nation for thousands of years. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on common prosperity have once again placed common prosperity in an even more prominent position in both theory and practice. Theoretically, General Secretary Xi Jinping has constructed the scientific category of common prosperity using a holistic methodology. Fundamentally, common prosperity belongs to the category of historical materialist social formation theory; it is a scientific category for us to scientifically identify the realistic gap and developmental trends between socialism and capitalism in terms of economic and social developmental formations.
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on common prosperity highly unify the socialist liberation and development of productive forces with the continuous improvement of socialist relations of production. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that solidly promoting common prosperity requires "encouraging prosperity through hard work and innovation" and "adhering to the basic economic system," [38] allowing the source of wealth creation to flow fully, especially by stimulating the initiative of laborers—particularly innovators—and allowing some people to get rich first while simultaneously avoiding the emergence of polarization between the rich and the poor. In contrast, a few developed capitalist countries, after centuries of industrialization, still haven’t solved the problem of polarization; rather, the gap between rich and poor continues to widen, society is in turmoil, and the middle class is collapsing. The fundamental reason is that the capitalist social welfare system has never resolved the subjective status of laborers in the creation of wealth. From the holistic requirements of common prosperity, the vast material wealth of developed capitalist countries cannot hide the fact that a small minority possesses immense wealth while the majority can only obtain a portion of their means of subsistence through the redistribution of social welfare, maintaining their status as objects of "effective demand" for commodities; there is no talk of the free and well-rounded development of individuals or comprehensive social progress. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that "common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism," taking the solid promotion of common prosperity as the fundamental path for well-rounded human development and comprehensive social progress. This fundamentally establishes the "combination" of Marxism with China’s specific realities and scientifically points out the socialist direction of advancing toward a new form of human civilization.
(2) The important thesis on solidly promoting common prosperity creatively reveals the inevitability of Chinese-path modernization leading toward a new form of social civilization
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era. After achieving the First Centenary Goal—namely, the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society—how should the Party lead all the people to continue striving toward higher social formation goals? What kind of formation is the social formation following the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society? General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on common prosperity have anchored the new historical coordinates of our country’s development. Solidly promoting common prosperity, continuously creating a better life, and gradually realizing common prosperity for all the people are major strategic choices as our country moves from the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society to the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country.
A prominent feature of common prosperity as a holistic category is its basis in the "species-essence" [17] of human labor. Humans are the subjective creators of social wealth and also the subjects whose needs are met by social wealth. After the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society, "the people's needs for a better life are becoming increasingly broad. Not only have their requirements for material and cultural life grown higher, but their demands for democracy, the rule of law, fairness, justice, security, and the environment are also increasing." [39] Promoting the well-rounded development of individuals and comprehensive social progress is an inevitable requirement for meeting the people's ever-growing need for a better life and is the realistic goal pursued by common prosperity. While presiding over the 27th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Entering the new stage of development, to fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, we must pay greater attention to the issue of common prosperity. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee planned for common prosperity with longer-term goals in mind, proposing the goal of 'achieving more obvious and substantive progress in common prosperity for all the people.' Common prosperity itself is an important goal of socialist modernization." [40] "Paying greater attention to common prosperity" is a new feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics entering the New Era and a new task as various undertakings in our country enter the new stage of development.
Another feature of common prosperity as a holistic category is its existence as a totality based on material life, from which internal subsystems and various interdependent and interacting levels of the system are generated. Common prosperity itself is an important goal and characteristic of Chinese-path modernization. The process of promoting well-rounded human development through common prosperity is synchronized with the process of comprehensively building a modern socialist country and comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Essentially, it is about promoting well-rounded human development and the progress of human civilization in the process of building socialist material, political, spiritual, social, and ecological civilizations. The common prosperity we promote is not a local or isolated phenomenon; it is a process of practical creation in which all elements of social operation—including contemporary Chinese political institutions, social culture, social governance, and social policy—are coordinated and advanced comprehensively. This is both a historic undertaking to comprehensively promote and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and a great feat in creating a new form of human civilization, which will profoundly change and influence the new development and progress of human civilization.
As a holistic category, common prosperity is a process in which the whole moves forward continuously. This process includes differences between individuals and localities; it is a total process composed of countless realistic differences. General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly pointed out: "My general view is that, like the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society, common prosperity for all the people is an overarching concept for the whole of society. We should not divide it into urban and rural blocks, or into eastern, central, and western regional blocks, and set separate indicators for each; we must look at it from the perspective of the whole." [41] "In comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, not a single person should be left behind; on the road to common prosperity, not a single person should fall behind." [42] Common prosperity after the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society is not a localized or individual social development phenomenon, but a holistic and overarching form of social development and social life. The historical process of common prosperity is highly unified with the process of Chinese-path modernization. We must see that common prosperity is achieved gradually, but we must also see that it is comprehensive. If individuals fall behind in common prosperity, it is not true high-quality common prosperity. To unify differences into the gradually advancing process of Chinese-path modernization, we still need to "achieve greater results in how to achieve prosperity" and ensure that those "who become rich first lead those who lag behind."
(3) Building a demonstration zone for common prosperity through high-quality development creatively reveals the feasibility of provincial-level practice in Chinese-path modernization to expand into new forms of social civilization
As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new stage of development, the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing need for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development remains widespread. Under such historical conditions, how can a major country with a huge population and vast differences in regional endowments actively resolve the "three major gaps" [18] and unify strategic goals with practical paths for common prosperity? General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly grasped the comprehensive, systematic, and incremental characteristics of common prosperity. He personally planned, set the themes, deployed, and promoted the major strategic decision to "build a demonstration zone for common prosperity through high-quality development," using provincial-level exploration of Chinese-path modernization to expand the diverse possibilities leading to a new form of civilization.
Under the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping, the construction of the Zhejiang Demonstration Zone for Common Prosperity has accurately grasped the essential characteristics of common prosperity as a holistic category. Promoting well-rounded human development and comprehensive social progress is an inevitable requirement for the people's ever-growing need for a better life, and the pursuit of common prosperity is the fundamental content of this comprehensively progressive and beautiful life. The Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Supporting Zhejiang's High-Quality Development and Construction of a Common Prosperity Demonstration Zone also explicitly point out that common prosperity in the New Era "is for all the people, through hard work and mutual assistance, to generally achieve a life of affluence and abundance, spiritual self-confidence and self-reliance, a livable and workable environment, social harmony and amity, and universal and affordable public services, realizing well-rounded human development and comprehensive social progress, and sharing the fruits of reform and development and a happy, beautiful life." [43]
The construction of the Demonstration Zone has enriched the practical connotations of common prosperity—the social form of a "beautiful society of common prosperity" is a more advanced social form following the completion of the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. First, the "beautiful society of common prosperity" is a social form in which Socialism with Chinese Characteristics moves toward a higher stage. The construction of the Demonstration Zone must explore how, under the leadership of the Party and within the process of Chinese-path modernization, to progressively advance from low-level common prosperity toward high-quality common prosperity. Second, the "beautiful society of common prosperity" is a social form characterized by a spiral upward progression where high-quality development, modernization, and common prosperity mutually reinforce one another. The construction of the Demonstration Zone must explore taking the lead in promoting common prosperity on a track of high-quality development, enhanced competitiveness, and pioneering modernization, promoting a new balance between efficiency and equity. Third, the "beautiful society of common prosperity" is a social form with a more optimized social structure and more complete institutional mechanisms. The construction of the Demonstration Zone must explore social transformation to form a pattern of regional and urban-rural integration, an olive-shaped social structure [19], and a new mechanism where "those who get rich first lead those who come later." Fourth, the "beautiful society of common prosperity" is a social form characterized by the comprehensive elevation of civilization. The construction of the Demonstration Zone must explore the realization of a social form defined by the universal spiritual richness of the people, the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and a harmonious, amicable, and upward-striving society. Fifth, the "beautiful society of common prosperity" is a social form characterized by the high-quality sharing of public services across the entire life cycle. The construction of the Demonstration Zone must solve the world-class conundrum of the high-quality sharing of public services, taking the lead in achieving high-level results in "care for the young, education for the student, rewards for the laborer, medical treatment for the sick, support for the elderly, housing for the dweller, and assistance for the vulnerable" [46].
Building upon the general guiding opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, Zhejiang has profoundly grasped the connotations and requirements for reshaping this new social form and has clarified the strategic positioning of the Common Prosperity Demonstration Zone. First, it is a pioneer zone for high-quality development and high-quality life, exploring effective paths to achieve high-quality development ahead of others, ensuring that the income growth of urban and rural residents is more coordinated with economic growth, and better meeting the populace’s demand for high-quality and diverse lifestyles. Second, it is a leading zone for coordinated urban-rural and regional development, improving institutional mechanisms for urban-rural integration and coordinated regional development, accelerating the equalization of basic public services, and taking the lead in exploring paths to realize coordinated urban-rural development. Third, it is an experimental zone for the reform of the income distribution system, upholding the principle that distribution according to work remains the mainstay while multiple modes of distribution coexist, and narrowing the income distribution gap while continuously raising the income levels of urban and rural residents. Fourth, it is a demonstration zone for a civilized, harmonious, and beautiful homeland, striving to build a happy and beautiful home where the people’s spiritual life is enriched, social civilization progresses, and man and nature coexist in harmony [47].
Zhejiang’s high-quality development in constructing the Common Prosperity Demonstration Zone has already achieved positive results. It has formed a set of typical experiences across seven areas, including: upholding and strengthening the Party’s leadership, high-quality development, narrowing the urban-rural gap, narrowing the regional development gap, narrowing the income gap, and promoting the equalization of basic public services. It uses the vision of "two mores, two riches, and six haves" to summarize the theoretical and institutional achievements of the "beautiful society of common prosperity": "more rewards for more work; material wealth and spiritual richness; excellent care for the young, superior education for the student, quality medical treatment for the sick, healthy support for the elderly, suitable housing for the dweller, and effective assistance for the vulnerable." This makes the results of the construction of the Common Prosperity Demonstration Zone visible, tangible, and perceptible.
Conclusion
Common prosperity is the fundamental goal of Marxism and the essential requirement of socialism. However, the classical writers did not provide a realistic plan for the future society. Developed capitalist countries have a history of industrialization spanning two or three hundred years and have created massive accumulations of wealth, yet they face severe crises of polarization and social fragmentation. After our country eliminated absolute poverty and completed the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects during the primary stage of socialism, the Party Central Committee placed the solid promotion of common prosperity in a more prominent position, proposing that more obvious and substantive progress must be achieved. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, and especially since the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important expositions centering on the solid promotion of common prosperity. These have profoundly revealed the historical inevitability of solidly promoting common prosperity, deeply explained the scientific connotations and theoretical foundations of common prosperity, and provided a comprehensive and systematic deployment of strategic goals, advancement principles, and high-quality development paths to realize common prosperity within the process of Chinese-path modernization. This responds to the questions of the times, the questions of the people, and the questions of the world.
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on common prosperity answer the major issues of human social development regarding the production and distribution of wealth from both theoretical and practical dimensions. They construct the holistic category of common prosperity, creatively develop Marxist wealth theory, and form a socialist economic development theory that guides high-quality development toward common prosperity in accordance with the historical stage and institutional conditions of socialism. Furthermore, they popularize and practicalize this holistic category and common prosperity theory into a new discourse system. The original expositions, creative theories, and practices concerning the major proposition of common prosperity have moved common prosperity from being a conceptual fundamental goal and essential requirement toward being gradually implemented as a visible, tangible, and perceptible beautiful social form in reality.