Feng Hao and Xin Xiangyang: Chinese Modernization Embodies the Advanced Nature of Scientific Socialism
Scientific socialism is the vital theoretical foundation of Chinese-path modernization, and Chinese-path modernization is the organic integration of the basic principles of scientific socialism with the practice of modernization in China. In February 2023, during an opening address at a seminar for newly elected members and alternate members of the Central Committee, as well as principal leading officials at the provincial and ministerial levels, focusing on the study and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping proposed a major thesis: "Chinese-path modernization embodies the advanced nature of scientific socialism." The formulation of this thesis possesses logical necessity and a practical foundation; it represents a major ideological innovation in the history of scientific socialism, carrying rich essential meaning and theoretical content.
I. Chinese-path Modernization is the Latest Major Achievement of Scientific Socialism
Chinese-path modernization possesses a distinct originality, providing a more concrete manifestation of the basic principles of scientific socialism and expanding our understanding of scientific socialism. First, regarding social production and distribution, scientific socialism advocates for organizing production on the basis of public ownership of the means of production to truly adapt to the requirements of large-scale socialized production. Production is no longer an endless pursuit of surplus value but is aimed at meeting the needs of all members of society. In response to the anarchy of capitalist production, it proposes the planned regulation of social production and the implementation of the principle of distribution according to work. Second, regarding the historical mission of the proletariat and the proletarian party, scientific socialism holds that the realization of communism is a process requiring the conscious and long-term struggle of the proletariat. The highest form of proletarian struggle is the proletarian revolution. The revolution must be led by a proletarian party, with the aim of establishing a state under the dictatorship of the proletariat: "Between capitalist and communist society there lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one into the other. Corresponding to this is also a political transition period in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat." Third, regarding the relationship between humanity and nature, scientific socialism rejects the incessant demands placed upon nature by the capitalist mode of production and advocates for the transformation and utilization of nature in accordance with natural laws to achieve a state of harmony with nature. Fourth, regarding the construction of proletarian political power, scientific socialism advocates that after the proletariat grasps state power, it must vigorously develop the productive forces and create a society with high levels of material and spiritual civilization, gradually liberating people from their dependence on objects under the conditions of a commodity economy and transitioning toward communism characterized by the free and well-rounded development of the individual. These basic principles of scientific socialism elucidate the historical laws of the evolution of human society and point out the inevitable direction of the development of human modernization—socialist modernization. The theory of Chinese-path modernization is a regularized understanding and an innovative answer, based on new practices, to the questions of what socialist modernization is and how to build it.
Chinese-path modernization persists in the socialist direction and remains people-centered, embodying the advanced nature of scientific socialist theory. Scientific socialism emphasizes allowing the social character of the means of production to be truly and fully realized so that production truly serves human needs; this is a vital manifestation of its advanced nature. Engels pointed out: "Once society has taken possession of the means of production, product-production is eliminated, and therewith the mastery of the product over the producer. Anarchy in social production is replaced by systematic, definite organization. The struggle for individual existence disappears. Then for the first time man, in a certain sense, is finally marked off from the rest of the animal kingdom, and emerges from mere animal conditions of existence into really human ones." On this basis, humanity finally becomes the master of itself—a free people. Furthermore, "to accomplish this act of universal emancipation is the historical mission of the modern proletariat. To thoroughly comprehend the historical conditions and thus the very nature of this act, to impart to the now oppressed proletarian class a full knowledge of the conditions and of the meaning of the momentous act it is called upon to perform, this is the task of the theoretical expression of the proletarian movement, scientific socialism." Chinese-path modernization puts the people first and prevents the disorderly expansion and "barbaric growth" of capital. It prevents the swelling of materialism, the growth of spiritual decadence, and the greedy extraction of nature. This is an advanced modernization that reflects the essential requirements of scientific socialism.
Chinese-path modernization follows a path of independence and peaceful development. The advancement of modernization requires prerequisites, of which the material base is a vital component. The acquisition of initial accumulation can occur through two diametrically opposed methods: internal peaceful accumulation or external plunder. Capitalist modernization followed a path of colonial plunder. Western capitalist countries that achieved modernization before the First World War seized vast amounts of wealth from Eastern nations through war, colonization, and plunder, using it to establish modern enterprises and achieve industrialization, urbanization, and the modernization of science and technology. The vast number of developing countries suffered deeply from this bloody and sinful path to modernization. However, Western scholars often intentionally avoid these historical facts when constructing modernization theories, even going so far as to continuously beautify the so-called "way to success" of Western modernization. Scientific socialism resolutely opposes colonial plunder and emphasizes that socialist modernization must never follow the Western path of colonial expansion. Chinese-path modernization continuously achieves modernization through the method of peaceful development.
However, Western bias and anxiety regarding China’s peaceful development and growth have persisted. Professor Graham Allison of Harvard University proposed the "Thucydides Trap" [1], intending to show that the rise of an emerging power will inevitably challenge the status of an established power, and that the established power, to maintain its position, will inevitably take measures to contain and suppress it, making conflict or even war between the two ultimately unavoidable. Based on this, some Western politicians and scholars believe that China's rise will also find it difficult to escape the "curse" of conflict and war. In response, in January 2014, during an exclusive interview with the inaugural issue of the American journal World Post, Xi Jinping pointed out that we should all strive to avoid falling into the "Thucydides Trap"; the claim that a strong country must seek hegemony does not apply to China, as China does not possess the genes for such actions. This conclusion possesses profound historical logic. Chinese-path modernization is rooted in Chinese civilization, which inherently contains the "genes" of "harmony without uniformity" (he er bu tong), "harmony among all nations" (xie he wan bang), and "viewing the world through the lens of the world" (yi tian xia guan tian xia). It possesses a "prominent peaceful nature," which "fundamentally determines that China will always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. It determines that China will continuously pursue exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations rather than cultural hegemony; it determines that China will not impose its own values and political systems on others; and it determines that China will insist on cooperation rather than confrontation, and will never engage in 'clique-building' (dang tong fa yi) to exclude those who differ." [2] Historically, China occupied a leading global position for a long time without leaving a record of colonizing or invading other countries. Furthermore, in modern times, the Chinese nation experienced a tragic history of colonial invasion, humiliation, and plunder by Western powers—the country suffered, the people were disgraced, and our civilization was obscured. The journey out of colonial plunder toward modernization has been full of wind and rain, blood and tears. We know the hardships of this path deeply; therefore, we will never bring colonization and plunder to other countries, nor will we ever initiate conflict or war against them. Moreover, Marxism aims for the emancipation of all humanity. The Communist Party of China, guided by Marxism, can truly seek development for humanity and the "Great Harmony" (Da Tong) for the world [3], possessing a true world-historical perspective and internationalist spirit. It has not only innovatively proposed concepts like the New Model of Major-Country Relations and a community with a shared future for humanity, but more importantly, it advances and develops these concepts in practice. It can be seen that the "Thucydides Trap" is not an objective reality or a historical necessity, but a subjective misjudgment—a manifestation of the mindset of excluding others and zero-sum games. Chinese-path modernization thoroughly shatters the so-called "Thucydides Trap," opening a vast space for developing countries to move toward modernization.
Chinese-path modernization has created a new form of human civilization. In the historical evolution of civilization, humanity has created numerous civilizational forms. In terms of historical necessity, the background of the times, and practical logic, the theory of Chinese-path modernization inherits and develops Chinese civilization and socialist civilization, while absorbing and drawing on the achievements of other civilizations worldwide, thereby creating a new form of human civilization. The new form of human civilization created by Chinese-path modernization was opened and developed upon the profound foundation of over 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. The unique worldview, values, and perspectives on history, civilization, democracy, and ecology it contains are precisely the result of inheriting and developing traditional Chinese concepts such as the "unity of heaven and humanity" (tian ren he yi) in cosmology, "the world is for the public" (tian xia wei gong) in its view of the world, "sound governance and social harmony" (zheng tong ren he) in its view of political achievement, "discarding the old to bring forth the new" (ge gu ding xin) in its view of history, and "honesty and harmony" (jiang xin xiu mu) in its social outlook. It is the modern civilization of the Chinese nation. The new form of human civilization created by Chinese-path modernization is the civilizational form of socialism with Chinese characteristics; it is the concrete unfolding of the socialist civilizational form in contemporary China. The founders of Marxism theoretically outlined the general silhouette of the socialist civilizational form, and the Soviet modernization model gave it a concrete presentation. However, that model failed to achieve the goals of comprehensive social progress and the well-rounded development of the individual, causing the light of socialist civilization to dim for a time. Chinese-path modernization upholds the fundamentals and breaks new ground regarding the basic principles of scientific socialism, creating a new form of human civilization and allowing socialist civilization to radiate with renewed vigor and vitality. Human civilization continues and develops through interaction and mutual learning, a fact that is even more evident in the stage of "world history." Chinese-path modernization has created a new form of human civilization precisely through the process of exchange and mutual learning with other world civilizations. It has absorbed the excellent achievements of other civilizations, solved many difficult problems of human social development, provided a Chinese solution for humanity’s exploration of better social systems, and will surely "greatly enrich the garden of world civilizations" through mutual learning with other global civilizations.
II. Chinese-path Modernization Embodies the Essential Requirements of Scientific Socialist Values
Value propositions are the axiological manifestation of basic principles and core concepts. Scientific socialism is not only a scientific truth but also possesses rich and profound value propositions, which serve as the scientific foundation for the unique values of Chinese-path modernization.
From the economic perspective, scientific socialism emphasizes the realization of the free and well-rounded development of the individual on the basis of great material wealth. Therefore, Chinese-path modernization emphasizes that material abundance is a fundamental requirement of socialist modernization. The CPC takes economic construction as the center to advance Chinese-path modernization, liberating and developing the productive forces through continuous reform and creating social wealth. With a great sense of historical responsibility and historical initiative, the Party resolutely won the battle against poverty, enabling the Chinese nation to thoroughly eliminate absolute poverty for the first time in thousands of years. We have sought truth from facts and emancipated our minds, viewing the market economy system as an effective means of resource allocation and integrating it with socialism to form the socialist market economy system. This avoids both the rigidity and lack of developmental motivation caused by the over-concentration of power in the Soviet socialist modernization model, and the cyclical economic crises and polarization of Western capitalist modernization. It achieves the organic integration of an "efficient market" and a "capable government," pursuing a state of "perfection" (zhi yu zhi shan) [4] in their relationship—a dynamic balance between vitality and order, and between efficiency and fairness. The advancement of modernization requires us to construct a development pattern of dual circulation, with domestic circulation as the mainstay. The entry of 1.4 billion people into modernization as a whole is an unprecedented undertaking that will fundamentally change the global landscape of modernization and will inevitably encounter unprecedented difficulties and obstacles. Strengthening the internal drive and reliability of domestic circulation and improving the quality and level of international circulation constitutes the solid foundation for the steady and sustained progress of Chinese-path modernization. This requires us to promote comprehensive material abundance so that people's material lives become increasingly high-quality. Starting from improving the quality of supply, we must advance supply-side structural reform, enhance the adaptability of the supply structure to changes in demand, and improve supply levels to better meet the needs of the masses. We must put the people first, treat their livelihoods as the fundamental concern, and promote high-quality development, always taking the satisfaction of the people's needs as the starting point and goal of high-quality development to improve their standards of living.
From a political perspective, Chinese-path modernization not only embodies a unique view of democracy but also enriches and develops the value propositions of scientific socialism. A survey of the world's modernization processes reveals that democracy is a core component of modernization, with democratization and modernization advancing in tandem. Scientific socialism maintains that, fundamentally, democracy is a state system [5] and possesses systemic attributes. Therefore, the goal of Chinese-path modernization is not capitalist democracy or narrow Western "ballot-box democracy," but a higher form of socialist democracy. People's democracy is the lifeblood of socialism; without people’s democracy, there would be no Chinese-path modernization. The basic economic system—in which public ownership plays the dominant role and diverse forms of ownership develop together, and the distribution system where distribution according to work is the mainstay alongside multiple distribution modes—acts together with the foundational political system of the People's Congress system and the three basic political systems [6] to ensure from multiple dimensions that the people's right to be masters of the country is truly realized. Democracy is also a mode of governance and a value concept. Chinese-path modernization upholds the values of democracy and freedom. In the process of modernization, it transcends purely procedural Western democracy by taking consultative democracy as a basic democratic form. It has formed and continuously promoted whole-process people's democracy, realizing the most extensive, direct, and fundamental democratic and civil rights and freedoms across all fields and links. The democratic values of Chinese-path modernization are people-centered, adhere to the mass line [7] of historical materialism, and firmly believe that the masses are the decisive force driving historical development. They emphasize unleashing the pioneering spirit of the masses and mobilizing their initiative, injecting a powerful and enduring impetus into Chinese-path modernization. The democratic values of Chinese-path modernization hold that democracy is not a decorative ornament but is to be used to build consensus, solve problems, and meet the people's growing needs for a better life. The evaluation criteria for democracy should be subjective, diverse, and grounded in reality; it should be judged comprehensively by a country’s own people based on actual conditions, rather than being determined by the discourse hegemony of certain nations.
From a cultural perspective, the scientific socialist view of culture is formed on the foundation of the materialist conception of history. It is essentially a proletarian view of culture, maintaining that culture is the result of the objectification of essential human powers, and that culture or spiritual life is the necessary path toward the free and well-rounded development of the individual. Chinese-path modernization adheres to a value concept of universal benefit and abundance, emphasizing the realization of common prosperity in the spiritual life of all people. By providing high-quality cultural products to meet the people's growing spiritual and cultural needs, and by making basic public culture universally accessible, it enriches the people's spiritual lives and achieves the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilizations. Cultural creation must serve the masses. We insist on putting social benefits first while unifying social and economic benefits, focusing on the social function of cultural products to convey truth, goodness, and beauty, and to guide people in strengthening their moral judgment and sense of moral honor. Chinese-path modernization attaches great importance to solving prominent problems in the people's spiritual life. Its emphasis on enriching the people's spiritual world is continuously overcoming the dilemmas and defects of Western modernization, such as the inflation of material desires caused by the excessive pursuit of material enjoyment and the ideological polarization caused by excessive individualism. The cultural values of Chinese-path modernization emphasize both the satisfaction of cultural needs and the cultivation of spiritual strength. It strengthens the people's spiritual power for collective struggle while satisfying their diverse cultural needs; and in the process of strengthening this spiritual power, it satisfies the people's sense of cultural fulfillment and happiness, achieving an organic unity between the satisfaction of the subject's cultural needs and the construction of their spiritual strength.
From a social perspective, scientific socialism established its own concept of fairness and justice through its critique of the injustice of capitalist society. It holds that fairness and justice are not abstract or eternal, but historical, concrete, and evolving. Fairness and justice should not be limited to the political sphere but should be reflected in economic, social, and all other fields. The ultimate goal of proletarian fairness and justice is the realization of the liberation of all humanity. Fairness and justice are also the core value concepts upheld by Chinese-path modernization in the social sphere, emphasizing that "we must use the promotion of social fairness and justice and the enhancement of the people's well-being as a mirror to examine our institutional mechanisms and policy regulations in all aspects. Wherever there is a problem that does not conform to the promotion of social fairness and justice, that is where reform is needed; whichever field or link has prominent problems, that is where the focus of reform lies." Through the continuous deepening of reform, we must break through the "iron barriers" of entrenched interests and other phenomena and mechanisms that hinder the realization of social fairness and justice, ensuring that social wealth is distributed more fairly and equitably. We must correctly handle contradictions among the people under the new circumstances. Currently, our society is in a critical stage of leaping over the "middle-income trap" and advancing toward high-income country status. Conflicts and disputes triggered by interest issues such as the wealth gap, labor-capital relations, education, and medical care still tend to increase. Contradictions among the people [8] remain an important factor affecting social stability. We must correctly grasp the laws and characteristics of these contradictions under the new circumstances, improve effective mechanisms for their proper handling, and ensure that the rights and interests of the masses are treated fairly, their benefits are effectively protected, and their human dignity is given greater respect. People's livelihoods are the most immediate and practical interest concerns of the masses. In terms of ensuring and improving livelihoods, Chinese-path modernization insists on doing its utmost to provide basic public services in the areas of greatest concern to the people, having built the world's largest education, social security, and healthcare systems. At the same time, we must act within our means; the intensity of our policies must be compatible with the primary stage of socialism. People's living standards should be improved gradually based on economic development and financial capacity, avoiding the "middle-income trap" and the "welfarism trap."
From an ecological perspective, scientific socialism holds that humanity and nature are in a relationship of dialectical unity and organic coordination; humans should transform and utilize nature rationally according to objective laws. Under the capitalist mode of production, the antagonistic relationship between humanity and nature is irreconcilable. Only by changing this mode of production, within a socialist or communist society, can the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature be truly realized. Chinese-path modernization maintains that the ecological environment is universally beneficial and non-exclusive; a good ecological environment is the fairest public product. We must coordinately promote the prosperity of the people, the strength of the country, and the beauty of the environment. Chinese-path modernization emphasizes the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature and the provision of more high-quality ecological products. It links the ecological environment with social productive forces, proposing that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" and that "protecting the ecological environment is protecting productive forces, and improving the ecological environment is developing productive forces." This thoroughly elucidates the relationship between the environment and productive forces, emancipating people's thinking. It raises ecological issues to the level of the nation and civilization, putting forward the profound judgment that "when the ecology flourishes, civilization flourishes; when the ecology declines, civilization declines." We uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity, demonstrating China's responsibility and action in global ecological construction. On September 22, 2020, at the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Xi Jinping solemnly announced to the world: "China will aim to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060." The time frame for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality in China is significantly shorter than that taken by developed countries.
III. Chinese-path Modernization Manifests the Advanced Nature of a Marxist Party Required by Scientific Socialism
A vital manifestation of the advanced nature of a Marxist party lies in its emphasis that the party has no special interests of its own. The Manifesto of the Communist Party states: "The Communists do not form a separate party opposed to the other working-class parties. They have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole." A proletarian party represents the direction of human development and is the most selfless and fearless of parties. Whether Chinese-path modernization succeeds depends crucially on the leadership of the Party. Since its founding, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has been committed to seeking happiness for the people and rejuvenation for the nation. Following the founding of the People’s Republic of China, it further began a painstaking exploration of China's path to modernization through theoretical innovation and practical creation. Mao Zedong’s theory of New Democracy clarified that the prospect for China's modernization was socialist modernization, rather than capitalist modernization, stating that we "can by no means establish a capitalist society of the European or American type." It was the first to systematically and comprehensively put forward a program for China's modernization—the New Democratic Program. This program depicted modernization goals not only in the economic field but also in the political and cultural fields. It first proposed that the fundamental path to China's modernization was industrialization, noting that the task of the working class under the Party's leadership was "not only to struggle for the establishment of a New Democratic state, but also to struggle for China's industrialization and the modernization of agriculture." During the period of socialist revolution and construction, the completion of the "One Industrialization and Three Transformations" [9] socialist transformation laid the fundamental basis for maintaining the socialist direction of Chinese-path modernization, and the proposal of the "Four Modernizations" [10] pointed out the specific direction for the construction of Chinese-path modernization. Reform and opening up provided a broader space for our Party to conduct theoretical explorations of Chinese-path modernization. In response to Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ōhira's question about what the realization of the Four Modernizations by the end of the century would mean for China, Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "The Four Modernizations we want to achieve are Chinese-style Four Modernizations. Our concept of the Four Modernizations is not the same as yours; rather, it is a 'family of moderate prosperity' (xiǎokāng zhī jiā)." This combined a core concept from traditional culture with modernization, imbuing modernization with Chinese characteristics. In practice, we shifted the focus of the Party and the state's work to economic construction, established the socialist market economy system, and achieved a historic breakthrough in total economic volume. Entering the New Era, our Party formally proposed the path of Chinese-path modernization, summarized its Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, strategic arrangements, and major principles, and initially constructed a theoretical system for Chinese-path modernization, providing it with a fundamental guide. In practice, we have continuously advanced the comprehensive deepening of reform, achieving historical changes, systemic restructuring, and holistic reshaping in many fields, thereby enhancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity.
The exploration over many years fully proves that "The leadership of the Party directly relates to the fundamental direction, future destiny, and ultimate success or failure of Chinese-path modernization." This judgment embodies the requirements for the advanced nature and purity of a Marxist party and also develops Marxist party theory. First, fundamentally, the Party's leadership determines the fundamental nature of Chinese-path modernization. The CPC led the people in establishing the basic socialist system and the political system where the people are masters of the country. It is these systems that determine the socialist nature of Chinese-path modernization. As long as we firmly follow the path of socialist modernization, we will certainly not make subversive mistakes and will lead the way to a bright future for global modernization. Second, in terms of direction, the Party's leadership ensures that Chinese-path modernization remains anchored to its struggle goals and makes steady progress. Our Party determines short-term and long-term goals based on following the objective laws of modernization and continuously elevating the successful experience of modernization practice into theory. Finally, as a source of power, the Party’s leadership stimulates strong momentum for building Chinese-path modernization. Our Party stimulates momentum through the reform of systems and mechanisms, releases vitality through the maturation and standardization of institutions, and taps into potential through opening up. The Party's leadership pools the horizontal power for building Chinese-path modernization—the power of 1.4 billion people, the power of all ethnic groups, and the power of progressive forces overseas.
Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Chinese-path modernization is continuously resolving the dilemma—frequently encountered by developing nations—of having independence without modernization, or having modernization without independence, thereby providing a new answer for developing countries seeking independent modernization. Fundamentally, this is because the CPC has no special interests of its own. At the ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC, Xi Jinping emphasized that our Party "does not have any special interests of its own, and it has never represented the interests of any interest group, any power bloc, or any privileged stratum." The report to the 20th CPC National Congress proposed the "Three Resolutes": namely, to "resolutely investigate and punish corruption where political and economic issues interweave; resolutely prevent leading officials from becoming spokespersons or agents for interest groups and power blocs; and resolutely govern the problem of collusion between officials and businesses that undermines the political ecosystem and the environment for economic development, showing no leniency."
The proposal of these "Three Resolutes" is set against a profound realistic background. Amidst the prosperity of the socialist market economy, the volume of capital has grown precipitously. Simultaneously, due to the disorderly expansion and wild growth of capital, the degree of capital's infiltration into the Party's internal political life, and the intensity and concealment of its erosion of Party members and officials, are both continuously increasing. The possibility remains that Party members and officials may be "hunted" [11] or corrupted, becoming spokespersons or agents for interest groups. Interest groups, power blocs, and privileged strata compete with the people for profit; their existence harms social fairness and justice and obstructs the modernization process. If Party members and officials—consciously or unconsciously—become agents for these groups, various vested interest groups will form, the Party will come to have its own special interests, and Chinese-path modernization will be abandoned halfway. Therefore, the CPC ensures the Party has no special interests of its own, thereby ensuring that Chinese-path modernization persists over the long term to achieve lasting results.
IV. Chinese-path Modernization Embodies the Essential Stipulations of Scientific Socialism Regarding the New Future Society
Modernization is a unity of a collection of processes and a collection of goals. The goals pursued by Western modernization follow an a priori logic, encompassing free markets, "constitutional" democracy, the separation of powers, multi-party competition, and civil society. These are regarded as the "standard answers" for modernization, or even the "end of history," and are continuously and forcibly marketed to the whole world. In essence, this type of modernization is a capital-led, West-centric modernization. While it brings about revolutionary growth in social productive forces, it also brings about the alienation of human beings, the fragmentation of society, the radicalization of thought, the low efficiency of governance, and the exclusivism of subjects under the command of the logic of capital. Clearly, this is not a model that is universally applicable [12].
Scientific socialism has its own answers regarding the future society and the developmental goals of modernization. "In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class antagonisms, we shall have an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all." Marx believed that the "fundamental principle" of a higher social form than capitalism is "the full and free development of every individual." Engels further explained this using a sentence from the program of the Socialist Alliance in northern England at the time: "Our aim is to establish a socialist system, which will provide healthy and useful work for all, provide an ample material life and leisure time for all, and provide truly full freedom for all." An affluent life, leisure time, meaningful work, and well-rounded development—this is the vision of scientific socialism for the future society. It is the most advanced social system for humanity and the concentrated expression of all beautiful human ideals.
The goals of Chinese-path modernization are the reified pursuit of scientific socialism's vision for the future society. Building a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful is the goal pursued by Chinese-path modernization by the middle of this century. From the perspective of the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan," formulating the blueprint for modernization goals in a phased and perceptible manner constitutes a correct understanding and mastery of the social organism, as well as a correct understanding and utilization of the laws of socialist modernization. This goal of a great modern power truly adheres to being people-centered. It unfolds around meeting the people's ever-growing needs for a better life, respecting the principal position of the masses, and stimulating the people's creative power. It integrates the modernization of the human being throughout the construction of a great modern power, embodying the conception of the future society found in scientific socialism. Precisely because of this, Xi Jinping pointed out: "Our country is the largest socialist country in the world. When our country has built itself into a great modern socialist country—becoming the first in the world to successfully build a great modern power not by following the path of capitalism but by following the path of socialism—the great social revolution led by our Party among the Chinese people will demonstrate its historical significance even more fully."
In its practical progression, the advanced nature of Chinese-path modernization is also reflected in the following: it must manifest the advantages of socialist large-scale socialized production—creating higher production efficiency and more developed social productive forces than capitalism—while also manifesting the essential requirements of socialism—effectively maintaining social fairness. Chinese-path modernization is a modernization that achieves the organic unity of efficiency and fairness. Regarding the issue of efficiency, a critical point is the utilization of capital. As an important factor of production, capital can guide the aggregation and allocation of various production factors, thereby achieving exponential growth. However, the pursuit of profit by capital can lead to disorderly expansion and wild growth, capturing political power and causing polarization. Therefore, it is necessary to set "traffic lights" for capital, guiding and regulating its healthy development, and forming a Chinese solution for the modernization of capital governance, so that capital better serves the development of productive forces, the creation of social wealth, and the enhancement of the people's wellbeing. Regarding the issue of fairness, a critical point is the distribution system. On the basis of its unique mode of production, Chinese-path modernization has formed a system of distribution with Chinese characteristics. Primary distribution adheres to the principle of "distribution according to work" as the mainstay, while allowing multiple modes of distribution to coexist; secondary distribution persists in fulfilling the government's regulatory functions; and tertiary distribution persists in encouragement and guidance through voluntary action, giving play to the collectivist spirit, the spirit of being masters of the country, and the spirit of dedication in socialist society, thereby promoting a more fair and just allocation of overall social wealth.
Chinese-path modernization pursues the well-rounded development of the human being, effectively preventing the emergence of the "one-dimensional man" or the "soul-less man" that occurs in the process of Western modernization dominated by the logic of capital. Beginning with the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, the process of Western modernization was accompanied by the liberation of individuality and respect for the individual. This was a necessity of capital development and a result of capital development, possessing significant historical progressive meaning. However, humans who were liberated from hierarchy and autocracy and escaped personal dependence did not move toward the "realm of freedom"; instead, they moved toward dependence on things, becoming fettered and alienated by capital. Human liberation remained incomplete. The capitalist mode of production caused relatively isolated and local worlds to truly move toward the process of world history, and the social attributes of human beings were highlighted as never before. However, the excessive pursuit of the self and freedom under the capitalist mode of production has made humans unprecedentedly isolated: "The period in which this view of the isolated individual is produced is the very period of the hitherto most developed social relations (from this standpoint, general relations)." This contradiction cannot be resolved in capitalist society; therefore, Western modernization cannot achieve well-rounded human development. Chinese-path modernization pursues the well-rounded development of the human being, which can achieve not only common prosperity in the material life of all people but also common prosperity in their spiritual life. Politically, the universality and authenticity of the people's political rights are guaranteed, the breadth and depth of the people's participation in political activities are enhanced, and the fair and just distribution of the fruits of political civilization is realized. Ultimately, through the free and well-rounded development of the individual, the self-management of every person will be achieved.
Looking across the history of the world socialist movement, although many socialist countries have made arduous efforts in modernization, none has so far succeeded in building a great modern socialist country for various reasons. Some were quite effective in their construction but then "changed their flags and banners" [13]; others are still struggling to explore and have not yet found a successful path. The reason is that they were unable to consistently adhere to the basic principles of scientific socialism. Chinese-path modernization under the leadership of the CPC unswervingly adheres to the principles of scientific socialism. It follows the general laws of modernization while also possessing individual characteristics that conform to China's reality. It profoundly embodies the advanced essence of scientific socialism and provides Chinese wisdom and a Chinese solution for the modernization efforts of the vast number of developing countries.