Chai Baoyong: Developing Whole-Process People's Democracy is an Essential Requirement of Chinese Modernization
Looking across the history of modern development worldwide, modernization has always been accompanied by democracy. Modernization provides the material and intellectual foundations for democracy, while democracy constitutes one of the goals and the very essence of modernization; the developmental state of democratic politics directly influences the forward direction and realization of modernization. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC proposed that developing whole-process people’s democracy is one of the essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization. This delineates the vision for democratic politics pursued by Chinese-path modernization from the critical dimension of socialist democratic political construction. Accurately understanding the profound internal connection between whole-process people's democracy and Chinese-path modernization helps us better grasp the forward direction of Chinese-path modernization and the goals and characteristics of whole-process people's democracy, thereby allowing us to better grasp the mission and tasks of the Communist Party of China on the new journey of the New Era.
Whole-process people's democracy and Chinese-path modernization contain shared value principles
Whole-process people’s democracy and Chinese-path modernization are theoretical innovations achieved by the Chinese Communists in the New Era through the scientific application of Marxism to answer the questions of the times. They are summaries of practical experience based on historical materialism and encapsulate important value judgments made by the Party based on China's national conditions and its own goals of struggle.
Whole-process people's democracy and Chinese-path modernization fully express the Party's respect for and protection of the people's status as the subjects of history. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that "the essence of modernization is the modernization of people." For a century, driven by the Party's mission as determined by its nature as a political party, the CPC has consistently stood on the side of the people to explore schemes for national construction and social development. It has correctly recognized and grasped the objective laws that must be followed to achieve modernization, accurately proposing and successfully completing goals and tasks in every historical period. Continuously and effectively responding to the people’s ever-increasing expectations for a better life constitutes the logical starting point for all undertakings of Chinese-path modernization. Consequently, Chinese-path modernization preeminently implements the people-centered development philosophy, emphasizing that the masses are not only the primary force advancing the modernization process but also the primary beneficiaries of the fruits of modernization. It stresses that the interests and demands of the masses must be vividly and concretely manifested through all aspects of the work of the Party and the state; this is also the foundation upon which the development of whole-process people's democracy becomes an essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization.
Whole-process people’s democracy and Chinese-path modernization demonstrate the essential connotation and developmental direction of the Chinese spirit. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "To realize the Chinese Dream, we must promote the Chinese spirit. This consists of the national spirit centered on patriotism and the spirit of the times centered on reform and innovation." The history of human civilization's development continuously validates this law: the construction of political systems and the establishment of developmental paths can only achieve success if they are rooted in a country's own cultural traditions and national spirit, and can only achieve sustained development through continuous reform and innovation. Whole-process people's democracy and Chinese-path modernization are rooted in China’s splendid history and culture, creatively inheriting and developing value concepts such as arduous struggle [1], independence and self-reliance, braving hardships and dangers, and uniting as one like a fortress [2]. At the same time, both are the crystallization of the times and theoretical distillations of the Party's efforts to advance with the times and break new ground in reform, reflecting the value pursuits and shared vision held by the people under the Party's leadership for a century. Rooted in the nation and keeping pace with the times, the powerful force released by the Chinese spirit inspires the Chinese people to move forward with courage and perseverance, thereby maintaining cultural confidence and strategic focus throughout the great practice of whole-process people's democracy and Chinese-path modernization.
Whole-process people’s democracy and Chinese-path modernization together embody the civilizational responsibility of promoting the common values of all humanity. The fruits of modernization should not be enjoyed exclusively by a few countries, nor should the criteria for success in modernization be decided by a few countries. China has spent several decades completing the industrialization process that Western developed countries took centuries to traverse. Amidst intense social changes, China did not experience the social instability that late-developing countries are prone to encounter during modernization; it created not only a miracle of rapid economic development but also a miracle of long-term social stability. The CPC has proposed promoting the common values of all humanity—peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom. These value elements are woven through and internalized within the vivid practice of whole-process people's democracy and Chinese-path modernization, demonstrating China's civilizational responsibility in promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. This has greatly encouraged the confidence of the vast number of developing countries to independently explore their own democratic systems and modernization paths.
Whole-process people's democracy interprets Chinese-path modernization from the dimension of political agency
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, based on a profound grasp of the laws governing the development of socialist democratic politics, has creatively proposed the political concept of developing whole-process people's democracy. Whole-process people's democracy embodies the political characteristics and democratic requirements of Chinese-path modernization, highlighting its value orientation and practical requirements from the perspective of the people as masters of the country [3].
Whole-process people's democracy highlights the people-centered stance of Chinese-path modernization. "Modernization" itself implies a leap in human self-understanding from the classical to the modern, manifesting profound transformations in the methods and goals by which humans handle natural and social relations. Modernization in its true sense needs to present a dynamic trend of human civilization evolving toward higher standards, rather than a cold, mechanical replacement of social developmental forms. Marxism provided a systematic critique of how the capitalist mode of production leads to imbalance and unsustainability in human and social development, and argued how an advanced socialist system can achieve a foundation of the people where all aspects are comprehensively and harmoniously developed. As a democratic functional mechanism characterized by a "full chain, all-encompassing, and full coverage," whole-process people's democracy involves every field and link of economic and social development. It emphasizes protecting the rights and interests of the masses for comprehensive development, thus aligning with the specific requirements emphasized by Chinese-path modernization, such as common prosperity for all, the coordination of material and spiritual civilizations [4], and the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
Whole-process people's democracy reveals the deep-seated drivers of the success of Chinese-path modernization. Chinese-path modernization is a great undertaking of development initiated under the leadership of the CPC and belonging to all Chinese people. The leadership of the CPC is the core marker and key factor that distinguishes Chinese-path modernization from the developmental paths of other countries. The modernization led by the Party is for the purpose of realizing the people's status as masters of the country. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out in On the People's Democratic Dictatorship: "Only when there is a people's state is it possible for the people to use democratic methods on a nationwide and total scale to educate and transform themselves." The comprehensive leadership of the Party fully organizes and mobilizes the subjective strength of the masses, which is the fundamental reason why Chinese-style democracy can form a whole-process operational mechanism. At the same time, as an important way to uphold and strengthen the Party's comprehensive leadership in the New Era, whole-process people's democracy ensures, on the one hand, that the masses have a stable and orderly political environment and sufficient political conditions to advance the various undertakings of Chinese-path modernization; on the other hand, it promotes great unity among the masses in all fields under the Party's leadership, driving the formation of a broad consensus and a powerful synergy conducive to advancing Chinese-path modernization.
Whole-process people's democracy provides a scientific solution for addressing the risks and challenges in the process of Chinese-path modernization. China has a large population, a weak starting base [5], large regional differences, and a complex social environment, facing modernization difficulties rarely seen in the world. People's democracy is the lifeblood of socialism and the prerequisite for Chinese-path modernization to overcome all difficulties and continuously achieve new victories. Furthermore, the institutional design of whole-process people's democracy fully demonstrates Chinese wisdom. Through a systematic, comprehensive, and interconnected mechanism of complete democratic practice, it can lead the masses to conduct extensive consultations on various problems encountered during development and reach a unified understanding, thereby providing a profound foundation of public will for Chinese-path modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Democracy is not an ornament to be put on display, but an instrument for addressing the issues that concern the people." The value concepts and mechanism designs of whole-process people's democracy are effective and creative, capable of fully stimulating the vitality of social development and leveraging the wisdom and talents of the masses in all fields, thus effectively promoting the development of Chinese-path modernization.
Chinese-path modernization marks the practical path for developing whole-process people's democracy
Chinese-path modernization continuously places new and higher requirements on the quality and efficiency of economic and social development. At this new historical juncture, whole-process people's democracy should take modernization goals as its developmental orientation and continuously cultivate comparative advantages.
Continuously improving the institutional system of whole-process people's democracy through the layout of modernization. Democratic systems and procedures bear the distinct marks of their era. They need to be continuously refined and optimized around the updated and higher practical needs of the people's production and life, avoiding the problem of insufficient implementation of democracy caused by incomplete, mismatched, or imprecise institutional systems. Chinese-path modernization is a global, long-term, and systematic project. To uphold and improve the institutional system of whole-process people's democracy, we should start from the top-level design and strategic deployment of Chinese-path modernization, establish and improve more types and more functional democratic systems and procedural arrangements, and strengthen the effective linkage of the whole-process people's democracy institutional system to gather powerful democratic strength for the overall advancement of Chinese-path modernization.
Continuously clarifying the core topics of whole-process people's democracy through modernization goals and tasks. The setting of the democratic agenda is an important link in political practice, and the operation of democratic systems and mechanisms often centers on specific political topics. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, when expounding on the mission and tasks of the CPC on the new journey in the New Era, clearly defined the profound connotations and essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization and proposed the goals and tasks for fully building a modern socialist powerhouse in the coming period. Various institutional arrangements and work measures for whole-process people's democracy should enhance their practical relevance, always focusing on key topics in the process of Chinese-path modernization and taking the planning of the cause of the Party and the people as the developmental orientation. When fermenting, discussing, and solving specific related topics in various fields and at various levels, we should closely integrate the development requirements of Chinese-path modernization to integrate the rich democratic resources beneficial to social progress to the greatest extent.
Comprehensively enhancing the effectiveness of whole-process people's democracy through modernized governance capacity. Democracy and governance are interconnected in political practice. From the original connotation of governance, democracy is seen as a key element in judging whether a state of governance has truly been achieved. From the practical value of democracy, governance is an important field where the political functions of democracy are released, and governance capacity is also an important scale for testing whether democratic systems and mechanisms are scientific. The modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, as an important aspect of Chinese-path modernization, points the way for strengthening the practical effectiveness of whole-process people's democracy. To empower whole-process people's democracy through modernized governance capacity, we should enhance the ability of participants in democracy to use democratic systems to solve practical problems, while focusing on training the masses and public authority subjects in their capacity to participate in democratic governance, shaping the values of whole-process people's democracy through value guidance, education, and training.
Deeply expanding the implementation space for whole-process people's democracy through modern information technology. While the revolution in information technology has driven a tremendous leap in human productive forces, it has also profoundly changed the scope, content, and form of the people's production, life, and social interaction. The technological progress accompanying the process of Chinese-path modernization provides a source of power for enriching the practical connotations of whole-process people's democracy. First, using internet technology and new media platforms as carriers to fully implement the online mass line [6] and build a democratic participation mechanism that integrates online and offline efforts. Second, increasing the level of intelligence and digitalization in the operational procedures of whole-process people's democracy and building more convenient and diverse channels for democratic participation. Third, organically integrating modern information technology into the specific implementation processes of democratic elections, democratic consultation, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision to improve the operational efficiency of whole-process people's democracy.