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, as well as a characteristic feature of the ideal society and the "beautiful life" (美好生活) of humanity; yet, to date, no country in human history has truly realized common prosperity. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, through 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 major theoretical and practical issues regarding common prosperity. He has delivered a series of important discourses that constitute major judgments on the historical stage of our country's economic and social development, a profound grasp of the foundations of the Party's long-term governance, a scientific summation of the driving forces of high-quality development, long-term thinking on the foundations of social harmony, and a high-level generalization of the important features of Chinese-path modernization.
These discourses have achieved a new leap in our Party's understanding of the important experiences of governing the country, 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 pushed 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 and constructed a theoretical system, a discourse system, and a strategic framework for practice. They have creatively developed the wealth theory of Marxist political economy, enriched and developed the Marxist theory of social formations, and represent an original contribution to Marxism, advancing 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 holistic category of common prosperity.
General Secretary Xi Jinping 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, in any historical stage, any social system, and any country, the creation and distribution of wealth remains a major issue that has yet to reach its ideal goal. Based on the laws of human social development revealed by historical materialism, 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 abundance but also spiritual prosperity that allows for the free and comprehensive development of every person's abilities. "Common prosperity" (共同富裕) uses simple language familiar to every Chinese household to combine the beautiful yearning of the Chinese people for a "Great Unity" (大同) [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, General Secretary Xi Jinping has published a series of important discourses on the New Development Philosophy, poverty alleviation, the realization of a moderately prosperous society in all respects (全面小康), and Chinese-path modernization. On the basis of practical innovation, he has applied the Marxist holistic methodology to uphold and develop Marxist political economy, comprehensively and systematically expounding the major proposition of common prosperity and clarifying its scientific connotations. Common prosperity is a conceptual category abstracted from the practice of various aspects of human social activity; as a holistic category, totality is its defining characteristic—a characteristic that stems directly from the holistic methodology maintained by Marxism.
(1) Common prosperity is the social practice totality of wealth production and distribution. By using labor practice as a medium to grasp the relationships formed between man and nature and between 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 the common prosperity of all the people. In any specific historical stage, individuals—who differ across regions, social strata, ability levels, and income levels—cannot be separated from the practice of creating social wealth through social labor. The "comprehensive development of the 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. Consequently, common prosperity is the prosperity of all people. Relying on the practice of creating wealth through labor, General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on common prosperity use a holistic category to express its comprehensive, popularized, and universal nature. Whether they are low-to-middle income earners or high-income earners, regardless of which factor of production they rely on for income distribution, all groups will gain a "sense of fulfillment" (获得感) from the practice of common prosperity. Therefore, General Secretary Xi Jinping specifically emphasized that common prosperity is not the prosperity of only a few, nor is it a "uniform" egalitarianism; rather, it is about encouraging all people to achieve prosperity through hard work and innovation [3].
(2) Common prosperity is a holistic historical process that unifies ideal goals with 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 a holistic process—continuously realizes the comprehensive development of the person. Any historical stage is an inseparable and insurmountable stage and component of common prosperity. While the overall levels of material and spiritual wealth of common prosperity differ significantly in different stages, they are all part of the practical process of common prosperity. Within this holistic historical category, General Secretary Xi Jinping objectively summarized the positive and negative experiences of the practice of common prosperity during the two periods—before and after the Reform and Opening-up began [3]—since the establishment of our country's socialist system. He emphasized that we must uphold the basic socialist system as the fundamental direction of common prosperity, and while we must break away from the planned system and egalitarianism, we must also persist in the basic socialist economic system [4].
The struggle of the Communist Party of China for over a hundred years has been the practice of advancing common prosperity at different historical stages of the development of productive forces. Particularly on the basis of the historic achievement of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society and solving the thousand-year problem of absolute poverty, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We have now reached a historical stage in which we must make solid progress toward common prosperity" [5]. Promoting common prosperity with solid steps is a historical necessity; we cannot wait, but we also cannot be overly anxious. The specific requirements for common prosperity must not transcend the historical stage of the development of productive forces. Comparing the levels of productive forces in China and some Western developed countries, the two are clearly in different historical stages. Therefore, the logic of criticizing or questioning China's cause of common prosperity based on the gap in per capita income and public welfare levels is flawed. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "Some developed countries industrialized for hundreds of years, but due to their social systems, the problem of common prosperity remains unsolved even today, and the gap between rich and poor has actually become increasingly severe" [6]. It can be judged that some Western developed countries are walking a wrong historical path that Marx once critiqued.
(3) Common prosperity is a holistic existence in which the economic and social systems and all levels within those systems are interdependent and interact. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The common prosperity of all people is a holistic concept. It applies to the whole of society. We must not divide it into a ticket for the city and a ticket for the countryside, or separate tickets for the Eastern, Central, and Western regions and propose different indicators for each; we must look at it from the global perspective" [7]. Looking from a global perspective, human society is a holistic existence generated with material production and life as its base. The subsystems and hierarchical levels that make up the social whole are interdependent and interactive. If the internal gap within a whole continues to widen and the relationship becomes seriously unbalanced, it is clearly detrimental to achieving overall common prosperity.
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 in China's development between regions, departments, urban and rural areas, and industries, and overcome the lack of coordination between spiritual civilization and material civilization. Under this principle, General Secretary Xi Jinping further pointed out the reform path of forming an "olive-shaped" income distribution structure via three major income groups [8]. [4] Currently, the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development in China is still prominent, and the gaps between urban and rural regional development and income distribution remain large. The new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation has powerfully driven economic development; we must start from the social whole, take note of the negative impacts therein, and respond to and solve them effectively.
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on common prosperity apply the holistic methodology to theoretically elaborate and practically respond 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. Departing from the totality of labor practice, historical processes, and the economic-social system, he has constructed a systematically complete scientific category of common prosperity.
II. Creatively developing the wealth theory of Marxist political economy, laying 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 subject status of laborers and the improvement of laborers' abilities in wealth creation and distribution. 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 is the material content that constitutes wealth [10]. In a socialist country, the real meaning of wealth is the "beautiful life" related to every individual. "The needs of the people are characterized by diversity, multiple levels, and multiple aspects. They long for 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]. Everything beautiful in the world is achieved through struggle. General Secretary Xi Jinping highly affirms the subject 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.
The process of wealth creation is the labor process itself; it is a purposeful activity to manufacture use-values, involving the role and mobilization of various factors of production. Labor is not the only factor in wealth creation; capital, land, technology, and management are all factors in the creation of wealth. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on common prosperity have creatively developed Marxist wealth theory. Under the premise of adhering to the species-essence of labor and the subject status of the laborer, he has properly handled the unified relationship between labor and other factors in the production process. Labor, capital, technology, and even data factors are mutually dependent and promote each other to create more wealth; at the same time, they 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-creating factors shows two trends: first, with the concentration and socialization of capital, science is increasingly consciously applied to technology, land is increasingly utilized in a planned way, and the instruments of labor are increasingly transformed into instruments that can only be used in common. All means of production are increasingly economized by being used as the means of production for combined, social labor [13]. Second, the production factors that play a decisive role in wealth enhancement are increasingly shifting from tangible general material factors to intangible 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 technological progress play an important role in improving the level of productive forces. For the wealth creation driven by technological progress to be conducive to human development and the common prosperity of all the people, we must improve the degree of contribution of laborers in the process of wealth creation. 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 solve the distribution of the conditions of production; the remaining part is used for income distribution, including compensation for the reproduction of labor and the surplus. The mechanism or institutional arrangement for wealth enhancement should ensure that the productivity of all factors is fully exerted. Income distribution cannot be limited to distribution according to work (按劳分配); it also includes the distribution of the surplus. When factors participate in the sharing of the surplus, we must not only focus on the distribution involving material factors such as capital and land, but more importantly, focus on the distribution involving the participation of the labor factor [15].
After the establishment of the basic socialist system, how to create wealth to meet the needs for a beautiful life is a key issue in the creative development of Marxist wealth theory. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on common prosperity have developed Marxist wealth theory, summarizing from it 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 in creating wealth. With social and technological progress, the role of laborers' abilities in wealth enhancement will become increasingly significant. Correspondingly, in a structure where factors receive remuneration according to their contribution, the share of the surplus shared by laborers will grow larger.
(2) Creatively developing Marxist wealth theory to provide a scientific basis for high-quality development in promoting common prosperity.
Wealth theory is a fundamental issue of economics; however, the wealth theory of modern Western economics and Marxist wealth theory differ in their positions and possess distinct theoretical tasks. Western economic wealth theory holds that the value of wealth lies in satisfying the subjective needs of individuals, failing to differentiate between value and use-value, and thus fails to clearly distinguish between value theory and wealth theory. Classical and Western economics superficially unify the contribution of factors to wealth production with their contribution to wealth distribution, whereby wealth is fully distributed among the owners of production factors according to the magnitude of their "contribution." This conceals the inequality of rights among owners of different factors such as capital, labor, and land, and masks the inequality of wealth distribution predicated on ownership. The explanatory logic of modern Western wealth theory regarding distribution is seriously inconsistent with the reality of massive inequality in wealth allocation among factor owners and the severe polarization between rich and poor.
Modern Western wealth theory suggests that income transfers, by improving the utility of low-income earners, help raise the overall welfare level of society. Building on this, the theory proposes theoretical frameworks and welfare policy designs to regulate income distribution through the distributive function of national finance. However, Western wealth theory and welfare systems fail to fundamentally recognize the laborer's contribution to social wealth surplus or their right to distribution. Furthermore, they have created the absurd phenomenon where a portion of the population can receive wealth distribution without working. Such a theory, by fundamentally denying the status and role of the laborer, stifles the initiative and creativity of laborers in creating wealth, leading a significant portion of them to lose labor as their essential human attribute. The welfare system distorts some laborers into "lazybones" [5]; such theoretical and institutional designs are fundamentally unfavorable to stimulating the full "fountain of social wealth to flow" [6].
The starting point and ultimate goal of Marxist wealth theory is human development. In this framework, the role and status of laborers in wealth production and distribution are tangibly improved; the wisdom and innovative activities of laborers raise the level of productive forces; and the proportion of social wealth surplus held by the laborer collective continues to rise. While maintaining the subjectivity of the laborer within wealth theory, we draw lessons from the welfare systems of developed Western countries. By utilizing national 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 nations, which focus on wealth distribution merely to alleviate the contradictions of the wealth gap.
Developing Marxist wealth theory under the conditions of the primary stage of socialism provides the political economy 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 economic development theory that transcends the development theories of modern Western economics. General Secretary Xi Jinping has noted that we must "promote common prosperity through high-quality development," [7] specifying the developmental principles for achieving common prosperity. The New Development Philosophy is the core content of Xi Jinping Thought on Economy; the purpose of implementing this philosophy 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. This economic development theory, built on the foundations of 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 overall wealth and welfare of society. It escapes the dead end of the contradiction between capital and labor found in Western development theories. An economic development theory aimed at common prosperity is markedly different from development theories derived from the experiences of developed capitalist countries; the two possess entirely different developmental positions, goals, drivers, and paths. Based on Marxist political economy’s wealth theory and the theory of the reproduction and circulation of total social capital, socialist economic development must pay greater attention to the balance, coordination, and inclusiveness of development. General Secretary Xi Jinping, in outlining the developmental approach to solidly promoting common prosperity, emphasized that the priority is to focus on the balance, coordination, and inclusiveness of economic development. This specifically manifests in handling the balance and coordination of income distribution among the three major groups (low, middle, and high income), and in handling the balanced, coordinated, and inclusive development between urban and rural areas and different regions.
The socialist wealth theory guiding common prosperity is also the foothold of socialist economic development theory. On one hand, 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," [8] labor is clearly not the only 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 such as capital and technology to improve labor productivity. On the other hand, socialist economic development theory is grounded in the specific historical stage and institutional conditions of a socialist state. Socialist economic development, rooted in common prosperity and socialist wealth theory, inevitably requires upholding the basic economic system. Not only must we allow the factors that create wealth to meet the needs of a better life to "flow fully," but we must also avoid the situation where "the rich accumulate millions while the poor eat husks and chaff." [9] We must uphold the dominance of public ownership while allowing multiple forms of ownership to develop together, and maintain the system where distribution according to work is the mainstay while multiple modes of distribution coexist, allowing production factors to participate in distribution based on their contribution. The system of public ownership as the mainstay ensures that social wealth accumulation continues to increase public capital, which is widely distributed in 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 attribute of non-public capital in creating wealth for the needs of a better life. While the socialist attribute of public capital guides and strengthens the social attribute of non-public capital, it also improves the conditions for both non-public capital and laborers to jointly participate in creating social wealth. This includes providing necessary infrastructure and industrial foundations, improving the status of laborers relative to capital in wealth production and distribution, and empowering laborers to share more material conditions from wealth distribution that facilitate the enhancement of production capacity. The society-wide attribute of public capital can balance the development rights of different groups in developed and underdeveloped regions, guiding social wealth toward underdeveloped areas and rural groups, narrowing the gap in development opportunities, improving development conditions, and guiding non-public capital to invest in the socialized large-scale production of underdeveloped and rural regions.
III. Innovating the Discourse System for Promoting Common Prosperity: Combining the Basic Tenets of Marxism with China’s Specific Realities and Fine Traditional Culture to Popularize and Practicalize Common Prosperity Theory
(1) Discourse Innovation in the Connotation of Common Prosperity
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "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 a monolithic egalitarianism." [10] By combining the communist ideal of the free and comprehensive development of every individual as envisioned by Marx and Engels with the realistic 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 meaning. Common prosperity is prosperity for all people; this is a fundamental requirement of socialism, and we must never allow a situation where productive forces develop but the gap between rich and poor polarizes. Common prosperity is comprehensive prosperity; we must never allow a situation where, after productive forces develop, 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" [11] from the era of the planned economy. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s formulation of the scientific connotation of common prosperity concretizes the requirements of the "species-essence" [12] of labor and implements them in the practice of wealth creation and human development. The free and comprehensive development of the individual specifies the value goal and position of common prosperity, establishes its ultimate objective, and points out the fundamental socialist direction for the practice of common prosperity. This is fundamentally different from the wealth production of developed Western countries, which is capital-centered and profit-driven. Prosperity for all people stimulates the subjectivity and enthusiasm of every member of society and constitutes respect for the essence of the human being. Common prosperity is an aggregate category: common prosperity between urban and rural areas, common prosperity between front-running and late-starting regions, and common prosperity between different industries and groups. Individuals in any specific locality are indispensable members of the aggregate category of common prosperity. Comprehensive prosperity and prosperity for all are balanced and inclusive types of prosperity that respect every individual’s status, rights, and internal drive as a subject of development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has expressed the connotation of common prosperity on many occasions, using a popular discourse to elaborate its holistic, global, and long-term nature, showing that it concerns every member of society and allows every individual, organization, and region to feel that they are both strivers for and beneficiaries of common prosperity.
(2) Discourse Innovation in the Principles of Common Prosperity
The principle of "encouraging prosperity through hard work and innovation" neither denies nor disparages the contribution of capital, land, natural resources, and other factors to wealth creation; rather, it highlights the subjective status of the laborer and the decisive role of the laborer 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 vital role in raising the level of productive forces. By including innovation within labor, we affirm the status of entrepreneurs and scientific researchers—who possess innovative factors and play an innovative role—as laborers. This greatly expands the ranks of laborers, adding advanced elements that represent the direction of advanced productive forces. Income obtained through intellectual innovation will tangibly improve the social distribution of income toward laborers and increase the proportion of laborer 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 multiple ownership subjects to jointly create wealth. Policies such as the "Two Unswervinglys" [13] are vivid embodiments of the theoretical and practical innovations of China's socialist market economy and have gained deep public support. By upholding the basic economic system, the Party uses concise discourse to reiterate its principles of supporting and guiding the non-public sector under the socialist system, highlighting the fundamental socialist requirement of "those who get rich first leading and helping those who lag behind."
The principle of "doing one's best while acting within one's means" emphasizes that the state provides public welfare to create the conditions and environment for human development, while at the same time, the initiative of the laborers as subjects must be exerted. As China actively promotes common prosperity while its overall level of productive forces is still lower than that of developed countries, we must, while drawing lessons from Western public welfare systems, clearly recognize the limitations of those systems which fundamentally ignore the subjectivity of the people. Solidly promoting common prosperity should ground the state’s public welfare policies in the enhancement of human development capabilities, rather than purely in consumption and enjoyment. If we mechanically copy the welfare systems of developed capitalist countries and make public welfare policies and promises that exceed the level of productive forces, it will seriously dampen the enthusiasm of laborers and the overall fairness of society, inevitably falling into the trap of welfarism that "breeds lazybones," eventually bringing a heavy burden to society.
(3) Discourse 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 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 those in a capitalist society, manifesting in the fact that the cake must not only be made larger but also be divided well. Unifying the two aspects of "making the cake bigger" and "dividing the cake well" is the core requirement and institutional advantage of socialism.
"Making the cake bigger" is the prerequisite for "dividing it well." The essence of socialism is to liberate and develop productive forces, centering economic and social development 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. Even after comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, social wealth is still a long way from the level required for prosperity for all. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that we must still explore and accumulate experience on the question of how to become wealthy. 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 work hard and innovate.
Only by “dividing the cake well” can we further “make the cake bigger.” “Making the cake bigger” is not the ultimate end; rather, we must use a “good division of the cake” to 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 points out that the laborer is the living factor that wields and masters capital elements, occupying the dominant position in the production process where combinations of production factors create wealth. The distribution of wealth must reflect the requirement for the continuous elevation of the laborer’s status and capability. Only when the subjective status of the laborer in the production and distribution of wealth is consolidated can the relationship between wealth production and distribution be unified. Efficiency and fairness promote each other: fairness in wealth distribution can stimulate efficiency in wealth production. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “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 dynamic foundation for high-quality development.” [34] High-quality development is likewise inseparable from common prosperity because the capabilities of high-quality laborers are closely linked to a good division of the cake. 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 help all types of laborers improve their developmental capabilities and to enhance the human capital of the entire society.
“Making the cake bigger” and “dividing the cake well” answer the political economy of common prosperity from the fundamental logic of Marxist wealth theory. This popular yet profound discourse reveals the essential difference between socialism and capitalism regarding the laws governing wealth. Capitalist productive forces can “make the cake bigger”; however, capitalist relations of production cannot “divide the cake well,” such that even at highly developed levels of wealth productivity, the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen. Socialist productive forces can “make the cake bigger,” and socialist relations of production can further correct the relationship between laborers and other production factors—especially capital, natural resources, and data—in wealth distribution. This approach highlights the long-term enhancement of laborers’ abilities during the production process, creates a developmental environment for all types of laborers to exercise their abilities, and tilts social wealth surpluses toward improving developmental conditions and capabilities, truly realizing the organic unity of “making the cake bigger” and “dividing the cake well,” as well as the unity of efficiency and fairness.
IV. Inheriting and developing Marxist social formation theory, realizing the unity of comprehensive social progress and well-rounded individual 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—both theoretically and practically—the common need for a beautiful society and the free, well-rounded development of individuals. They point out the developmental direction for human society in the 21st century, the direction of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the direction of Chinese-path modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has placed common prosperity as one of the overarching goals leading Chinese-path modernization, unifying well-rounded individual development and comprehensive social progress, and guiding our country in resolving the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development.
(1) The important judgment on solidly promoting common prosperity creatively reveals the superiority of the socialist system in leading toward a new form of social civilization.
Marxism is the doctrine concerning the liberation of all humanity; it established the social formation theory that reveals the laws of human social development and scientifically proved that “the demise of capitalism is inevitable” and “the victory of socialism is inevitable.” In the 21st century, the cause of world socialism fell into a low ebb, and Western scholars even advanced assertions such as “the end of history.” Whether to persist in socialism, how to persist in socialism, and how to correctly understand the massive gap between the level of individual development and social progress in socialist societies compared to developed capitalist countries—these are theoretical and practical questions that world socialism, and socialism with Chinese characteristics, must answer.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) has always persisted in the socialist system, taking 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 [35], and it has also been the social ideal of the Chinese nation for thousands of years. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on common prosperity once again place common prosperity in an even more prominent position both theoretically and practically. Theoretically, General Secretary Xi Jinping has constructed the scientific category of common prosperity using a totality 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 forms.
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 “persisting in the basic economic system” [35], allowing the source of wealth creation to flow fully. This is especially true for stimulating the initiative of laborers—particularly innovators—allowing some people to become prosperous first while simultaneously avoiding the emergence of wealth polarization. Conversely, a few developed capitalist countries, after centuries of industrialization, have still failed to solve the problem of polarization. Instead, 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 social status of laborers as creators of wealth. Viewed through the holistic requirements of common prosperity, the immense material wealth of developed capitalist countries cannot hide the fact that a tiny minority possesses vast wealth while the majority can only obtain a portion of their means of subsistence through the redistribution of social welfare, remaining mere objects of “effective demand” as commodities. This falls fundamentally short of the free and well-rounded development of the individual and 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 individual 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 judgment 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 in all respects—how should the Party lead all the people to continue striving toward higher goals of social formation? What kind of form will the social formation take after the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society? General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on common prosperity have anchored our country’s new historical coordinates. Solidly promoting common prosperity, continuously creating a better life, and gradually realizing common prosperity for all people is a major strategic choice for our country as we move from the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society into a new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country.
A prominent feature of common prosperity as a holistic category is its basis in the human species-essence of 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 higher requirements been placed on material and cultural life, but demands in the areas of democracy, rule of law, fairness, justice, security, and the environment are also increasing day by day” [36]. Promoting the well-rounded development of the individual and the comprehensive progress of society is an inevitable requirement for meeting the people’s growing needs for a better life and 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: “In 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 an eye toward more distant goals, proposing the objective that ‘more obvious and substantial progress be made in the common prosperity of all people.’ Common prosperity is itself an important goal of socialist modernization” [37]. “Paying greater attention to common prosperity” is a new characteristic of socialism with Chinese characteristics entering the New Era and a new task for all our country's undertakings entering the new stage of development.
Another feature of common prosperity as a holistic category is its existence as a totality where internal subsystems and various levels of the system—generated on the basis of material life—are interdependent and interact with one another. Common prosperity itself is an important goal and characteristic of Chinese-path modernization. The process of promoting well-rounded individual development through common prosperity is a process that is simultaneous and integrated with the comprehensive building of a modern socialist country and the comprehensive promotion of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In essence, it aims to promote the well-rounded development of individuals and drive 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 social operational elements—such as contemporary China’s political system, social culture, social governance, and social policy—are coordinated and advanced comprehensively. This is both a historic undertaking to comprehensively advance 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 of the whole moving forward continuously. This process includes differences among individuals and localities; it is a total process composed of countless realistic differences. General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out: “My general view is that, like the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society, the common prosperity of all people is a holistic concept. It is for the whole of society. It should not be divided into a city piece and a rural piece, or an eastern, central, and western region piece, with each setting its own indicators. It must be viewed from the overall perspective” [38]. “In the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society, not a single person can be left behind; on the road to common prosperity, not a single person can fall behind” [39]. Common prosperity after the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society is not a localized or isolated social development phenomenon, but a holistic and global social development and form of social life. The historical process of common prosperity is highly unified with the process of Chinese-path modernization. We must see both that common prosperity is realized gradually and that common prosperity is comprehensive. If anyone falls behind in common prosperity, it is not truly high-quality common prosperity. To unify differences into the gradually advancing process of Chinese-path modernization, we still need to “achieve greater things in how to become prosperous” and have “those who become rich first lead those who come after.”
(3) Building a common prosperity demonstration zone through high-quality development creatively reveals the feasibility of the provincial-level practice of Chinese-path modernization in expanding new forms of social civilization.
As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new stage of development, the contradiction between the people’s growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development remains widespread. Under such historical conditions, how can a large country with a huge population and massive differences in local endowments actively resolve the “three major gaps” [14] and unify strategic goals with practical paths for common prosperity? General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly grasped the comprehensive, systemic, and gradual characteristics of common prosperity. He personally planned, set the theme, deployed, and promoted the major strategic decision to “build a common prosperity demonstration zone through high-quality development,” using provincial-level exploration of Chinese-path modernization to expand various possibilities for leading toward a new form of civilization.
Under the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping, the construction of the Zhejiang Common Prosperity Demonstration Zone has accurately grasped the essential characteristics of common prosperity as a holistic category. Promoting the well-rounded development of individuals and the comprehensive progress of society is an inevitable requirement of the people’s growing needs for a better life, and the fundamental content of this comprehensively progressive better life is the pursuit of common prosperity. 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 clearly pointed out: Common prosperity in the New Era “means that through hard work and mutual assistance, all people generally achieve material prosperity and abundance, spiritual self-confidence and strength, an environment that is pleasant to live and work in, social harmony and amity, and universal and inclusive public services, realizing the well-rounded development of individuals and the comprehensive progress of society, and sharing the fruits of reform and development and a happy, beautiful life.”
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 higher-level social form following the full completion of a moderately prosperous society in all respects [15]. 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 to progressively advance from low-level common prosperity to high-level common prosperity under the leadership of the Party and within the process of Chinese-path modernization. Second, the "Beautiful Society of Common Prosperity" is a social form in which high-quality development, modernization, and common prosperity mutually reinforce each other in a spiral ascent. The construction of the Demonstration Zone must explore how to take the lead in promoting common prosperity on the track of high-quality development, the enhancement of competitiveness, and the pioneering of modernization, thereby 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 refined systems and mechanisms. The construction of the Demonstration Zone must explore social transformation to form an integrated urban-rural pattern, an olive-shaped social structure [16], and a new mechanism where "those who become wealthy first lead those who lag behind." 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 in which the people enjoy universal spiritual richness, the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature, and a harmonious, amicable, and upward-striving society. Fifth, the "Beautiful Society of Common Prosperity" is a social form where high-quality public services are shared excellently across the entire life cycle. The construction of the Demonstration Zone must solve the global challenge of providing excellent shared public services, taking the lead in achieving high-level results in "childcare for the young, education for the student, remuneration for the worker, medical care for the sick, support for the elderly, housing for the dweller, and assistance for the vulnerable" [17].
Building upon the general Guiding Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, Zhejiang has profoundly grasped the connotations and requirements of reshaping a new social form and has clarified the strategic positioning of the Common Prosperity Demonstration Zone. First is a "Pioneering Area for High-Quality Development and High-Quality Life," exploring effective paths to achieve high-quality development, promoting greater coordination between the growth of urban and rural residents' incomes and economic growth, and better meeting the populace's demand for high-quality and diversified lifestyles. Second is a "Leading Area for Coordinated Urban-Rural and Regional Development," improving systems and mechanisms for urban-rural integration and regional coordination, accelerating the equalization of basic public services, and taking the lead in exploring paths to achieve coordinated urban-rural and regional development. Third is a "Pilot Area for Income Distribution System Reform," upholding the principle of distribution according to work as the mainstay while allowing multiple distribution modes to coexist, narrowing the income distribution gap while continuously raising the income levels of urban and rural residents. Fourth is a "Showcase Area for a Civilized, Harmonious, and Beautiful Home," striving to become a happy and beautiful home where people's spiritual lives are rich, society is civilized and progressive, and humanity coexists in harmony with nature.
The construction of the Demonstration Zone for High-Quality Development and Common Prosperity in Zhejiang has already achieved positive results, forming a set of typical experiences across seven areas, including: upholding and strengthening the leadership of the Party, 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. The theoretical and institutional outcomes of the "Beautiful Society of Common Prosperity" are summarized through the vision of "Two Mores, Two Riches, and Six Have-nots" (translated as the "Two Mores, Two Riches, and Six Provisions"): "more pay for more work, material wealth, spiritual richness, excellent childcare, superior education, quality medical care, healthy eldercare, suitable housing, and effective assistance." These make the achievements of the construction of the Common Prosperity Demonstration Zone visible, tangible, and perceptible.
Conclusion
Common prosperity is a fundamental goal of Marxism and an essential requirement of socialism. However, the classical authors did not provide a practical blueprint for the future society. Developed capitalist countries have a history of industrialization spanning two to three centuries and have created immense wealth accumulation, yet they face serious crises of polarization and social fragmentation. After our country eliminated absolute poverty and fully 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 should be achieved. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, and especially since the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important expositions centered on the solid promotion of common prosperity. These profoundly reveal the historical necessity of solidly promoting common prosperity, explain the scientific connotations and theoretical foundations of common prosperity, and provide a comprehensive and systematic deployment of the strategic goals, guiding principles, and high-quality development paths for achieving common prosperity within the process of Chinese-path modernization. These expositions respond to the "questions of the era, the questions of the people, and the questions of the world."
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on common prosperity answer the major question of human social development regarding the production and distribution of wealth from both theoretical and practical perspectives. They construct the holistic category of common prosperity, creatively develop Marxist wealth theory, and form a socialist economic development theory for guiding high-quality development and promoting common prosperity that accords with the historical stage and institutional conditions of socialism. Furthermore, they popularize and operationalize 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 driven its evolution from a conceptual fundamental goal and essential requirement into a visible, tangible, and perceptible beautiful social form in reality.