Abstract: China's Marxism is the product of combining Marxism with China's reality. The content of integration is Marxism and China reality, and the process of integration is to insist on using Marxism to guide the integration and interaction between China reality and China reality, and the result of integration is to solve the practical problems in China.
19381June14th, Mao Zedong said in "On the New Stage" of the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China: "The China of Marxism makes it have the characteristics of China in every performance, that is to say, it has become an urgent problem for the whole party to understand and solve according to the characteristics of China." [1](P659) put forward the proposition of "China Marxism" for the first time. Mao Zedong further pointed out: "The so-called concrete Marxism is the national form of Marxism, that is, applying Marxism to the specific struggle in the specific environment of China, rather than applying it abstractly ... Talking about Marxism without China characteristics is just abstract and empty Marxism." At that time, Mao Zedong used the concept of "combination" to explain "Marxism in China". Today, the academic circles have paid great attention to the essence of Marxism in China, and made many explanations, mainly including "combination theory", "content form theory", "interaction theory", "unity theory" and "process theory". Analyzing these viewpoints is actually not beyond the category of "combinatorial theory". In fact, the academic mainstream also holds the view of "combination", and the scientific connotation of Marxism in China is the combination of Marxism and China's reality.
First, the content of combination: Marxism and China reality.
When we talk about the China of Marxism and the combination of Marxism and China reality, we have actually pointed out the basic content of the China of Marxism, that is, the combination of Marxism and China reality. To understand the connotation of Marxism in China, we must first understand the content of Marxism and the reality of China.
1. Marxism
What is Marxism? Lenin 19 14 pointed out in Karl Marx: "Marxism is the system of Marx's viewpoints and theories." [2] This concept is too simple, the content is too narrow, and it does not meet the needs of combining Marxism with the specific reality of various countries. 1938, Stalin pointed out in the conclusion of A Concise Course on the History of the Communist Party of China: "Marxist theory is a science about social development, a science about the workers' movement, a science about proletarian revolutionaries, and a science about the construction of a capitalist society." [3] 1950, Stalin supplemented and revised the previous definition in Marxism and Linguistics: "Marxism is a science about the laws of natural and social development, a science about the revolution of the oppressed and exploited masses, a science about the victory of socialism in various countries, and a science about building a productive society." [4] This explanation is recognized as the most authoritative view, and it is also the most frequently used view in today's academic circles. In the history of China's * * * production party, there are also many expressions about Marxism, such as "Marxist theory", "universal truth of Marxism" and "basic principles of Marxism". The internal structure of the Marxist system can be divided into multiple levels, so which level of Marxism should be combined with the reality of China?
(1) From the vertical theoretical structure, Marxism can be divided into three levels: world outlook methodology, basic principles and concrete conclusions. In fact, Stalin's view of Marxism can still be abstracted as "the theory of applying materialist dialectics to benefit the vast majority of people". "For the benefit of the vast majority of people" is the world outlook, and "materialist dialectics" is the methodology. The world outlook without the guarantee of materialist dialectics can only be a fantasy; Without the guidance of the world outlook of "working for the interests of the overwhelming majority", "materialist dialectics" is likely to go to the opposite side of the interests of the overwhelming majority. It can be seen that the world outlook and materialistic dialectical methodology for the benefit of the vast majority of people are the essential core of Marxist theory and the fundamental difference between Marxism and various non-Marxism. This is the core level in the connotation of Marxism.
Marx and Engels applied materialist dialectics to the field of historical development and founded historical materialism. Applying materialist dialectics to the economic field, Marxist political economy was founded; Applying materialist dialectics to the social field, scientific socialism was founded; They also summed up rich basic principles of Marxism in the fields of military affairs, literature and art, and human studies. In addition, Marxists in various countries have summed up a series of theories in the process of solving their own practical problems by using Marxist world outlook methodology and basic principles, enriching and developing the treasure house of Marxist basic principles. These basic principles are summed up by Marxists on the basis of practice, and they are the perfect combination of the world outlook and materialist dialectical methodology for the benefit of the vast majority of people. They are the important support of Marxist theory building and belong to middle-level theory.
Marx and Engels made a series of concrete conclusions according to the actual situation of European social development at that time. Marxists from all over the world have also summed up some concrete conclusions in the process of solving their own practical problems by using Marxist world outlook methodology and Marxist basic principles, which greatly enriched and developed the treasure house of Marxist theory. These concrete conclusions are the lowest and smallest units.
(2) From the horizontal theoretical structure, Marxism can be roughly divided into three levels: the original theory of Marx and Engels, Marxism in socialist countries and Marxism in today's capitalist countries.
The first is the theoretical system founded by Marx and Engels. On the basis of criticizing and inheriting German classical philosophy, British classical political economy and French utopian socialism, Marx and Engels established Marxist theory by using materialist dialectics around the world outlook that benefits the vast majority of people. Its theoretical system includes Marxist philosophy, political economy and scientific socialism. Second, the Marxist theory of socialist countries includes the Marxist theory of the Soviet Union, the Marxist theory of Eastern European countries, and the Marxist theory developed by China, Korea, Cuba, Laos and Viet Nam in combination with their own reality. These theories are summarized by materialist dialectics under the guidance of Marxist world outlook, and they are for the benefit of the overwhelming majority of the people. They are mainly manifested in the enrichment and development of the basic principles of Marxism, and the concrete analysis and conclusions made on China's reality belong to the category of Marxism. The third is the Marxist theory in today's capitalist countries. There are still a large number of Marxist believers and researchers in today's capitalist countries. They used Marxist world outlook and methodology to analyze the actual situation of their country and the development trend of the world, and made a series of achievements in Marxist theoretical research. The former and the latter are actually the relationship between trees and branches.
2. China is actually
What is reality? The concept of "reality" has two meanings in Chinese: one refers to the real situation, and the other refers to people's actions, that is, people's practice. [5] From here, we can see that the scope of "reality" is far greater than the scope of "practice", which includes not only the practice of people at all times and in all countries, but also the ideological reality of people at all times and in all countries. When we talk about combining Marxism with China's reality, we mean combining it with China's thought and practice, and with China's history and reality. This paper discusses it from two angles: historical practice and traditional culture, realistic practice and realistic thought.
(1) Historical practice and traditional culture.
China's 5,000-year history of civilization is a rich history of social practice. In the long history of thousands of years, the Chinese nation has experienced the baptism of several major events and achieved fruitful material results in economic, political and cultural fields. The acquisition of these material achievements not only met the needs of people at that time, but also became the starting point for the development of productive forces in the primary stage of socialism today. When we study and transform China's practical practice with Marxism, we must proceed from the existing material starting point and foundation, that is to say, we must conduct corresponding research on historical practice.
The material achievements formed by the Chinese nation in the long history of thousands of years have also created the thoughts of contemporary people. The inheritance of material achievements has caused the continuation of people's thoughts, and because of the relative independence of consciousness, even if the original material foundation disappears, people's original thoughts may continue in the new historical period. The accumulation and development of these thoughts have formed a rich traditional culture of China. The traditional culture of China not only affects the historical practice of contemporary people, but also deeply affects people's ideology today. To combine Marxism with the reality of China, we must study the traditional culture of China.
(2) Practical practice and realistic thoughts.
Practice is an important part of China's reality. At present, China is and will be in the primary stage of socialism for a long time, and the productive forces are not developed enough. Restricted by the level of productivity, China can only implement the basic economic system with public ownership as the main body and multiple ownership economies developing together, and the basic distribution system with distribution according to work as the main body and multiple modes of distribution coexisting. This is the biggest reality in China. In addition, China is still in the era of globalization, and we are committed to developing productive forces, but at the same time we have to deal with various challenges from the international community. To combine Marxism with the reality of China, we must fully understand the national conditions of China and the actual situation of China.
People's realistic thoughts are also an important part of China's reality. Based on the regional differences in productivity development, the existence of non-public economy in the basic economic system and the existence of non-distribution according to work in the basic distribution system, people's thoughts show differences and diversity. There are many non-Marxist viewpoints, and there are some wrong and decadent ideas. How to respect differences, tolerate diversity and resist the influence of erroneous and decadent ideas needs to strengthen the analysis and research on people's ideological situation.
Second, the process of combination: combinatorial interaction
The localization of Marxism in China needs to highlight not only the respective contents of Marxism and China's reality, but also the process of their combination. Formally, the process of combining Marxism with China's reality is the interaction between the main content of Marxism and China's reality. In content, it is the interaction and mutual integration between the main content of Marxism and China's reality; In essence, it insists on guiding the interaction between Marxism and Marxism in China and China.
1. Insist on guiding China's reality with Marxism.
(1) Why do you insist on the practical guidance of Marxism to China?
Marxism needs to be combined with reality to have vitality. A theory divorced from reality is an empty theory. As a scientific system, Marxism comes from reality and must be used to guide reality. Only in this way can it be enriched and developed. Adhering to the guiding position of Marxism in China is the need for the development of Marxism in China. The guiding position of Marxism in China is the historical choice of China people. Ever since the Opium War 1840, people with lofty ideals in China have been determined to change the status quo in China. Revolutionary movements under the guidance of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Westernization Movement, the Reform Movement of 1898 and the Revolution of 1911 all ended in failure, and the failure of these movements also declared the bankruptcy of these theories in China. After the October Revolution in Russia, Marxism began to spread to China from Japan and Russia. Under the guidance of Marxism, the China Revolution began to take on a new look. Under the guidance of Marxism, the people of China, led by the Production Party of China, overthrew the three mountains, achieved national independence and people's liberation, and are now struggling to make the country prosperous and the people rich. Marxism has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. It can be seen that the guiding position of Marxism was formed in history.
(2) How to adhere to the practical guidance of Marxism to China.
Firmly believe in Marxism. The Marxist world outlook and materialist dialectical methodology for the benefit of most people will never be out of date; The background of today's world era has not fundamentally changed, and most of the basic principles of Marxism are generally applicable; The specific conclusions on some specific issues have changed due to the changes of specific conditions, but they are still of reference value to China. Firmly believing in Marxism means firmly believing that Marxism will not be out of date and truly adhering to its guiding position.
Understand Marxism completely and accurately. A complete understanding of Marxism means adhering to the Marxist world outlook and methodology, the basic principles based on the Marxist world outlook and methodology, the concrete conclusions based on the Marxist world outlook and methodology, and the Marxist theoretical system composed of the Marxist world outlook and methodology. In the process of Marxism in China, we should not regard the part as a whole, nor should we artificially split the complete system of Marxism. Of course, the Marxist theoretical system also includes the enrichment and development of Marxist theoretical system by Marxists all over the world. The sinicization of Marxism in China cannot ignore the theoretical achievements of the development of Marxism in various countries. An accurate understanding of Marxism means an accurate understanding of the language of Marxism, an accurate analysis of the background and specific environment of the emergence of Marxist theory, and no artificial separation of the relationship between Marxism and concrete practice. Insisting on a complete and accurate understanding of Marxism is the premise of Marxism in China.
Flexible use of Marxism. We should not hesitate to creatively use Marxism as a guide to solve practical problems in China, and look for ready-made answers in the theoretical system of Marxism. When we can't find the specific theory that China actually needs in the theoretical system of Marxism, we should use the methodology of Marxist world outlook to form a new basic principle or concrete conclusion of Marxism in China.
2. Realistic Marxism in China
(1) chose to apply Marxist theory from the reality of China.
According to the actual situation in China, choose the appropriate basic principles and concrete conclusions of Marxism. The basic principles and concrete conclusions of Marxism always have certain conditions. When the actual environment in China has not changed much from the conditions under which these basic principles and concrete conclusions are produced, we can directly transplant them to use on this basis, or make some appropriate modifications to use them according to the actual needs of China. Especially in some important historical beginnings in China, there is no other way to learn from it. Only by selectively applying the basic principles and concrete conclusions of Marxism can we make as few detours as possible.
No matter how China actually changes, the core theory of Marxism must be adhered to. First of all, adherence to basic principles and specific conclusions should focus on adherence to the core. When applying the basic principles and concrete conclusions of Marxism in China, we need the guidance of Marxist world outlook and methodology to ensure that the application of these basic principles and concrete conclusions does not deviate from the correct direction of "working for the interests of the majority". Secondly, there is no theory that China actually needs in the basic principles and concrete conclusions of Marxism. Even if the basic principles and concrete conclusions conflict with China's reality, we need to adhere to the guidance of Marxist world outlook methodology. Marxist world outlook methodology is highly abstract, and China's actual complexity also determines that it cannot be directly applied in most occasions. This requires starting from the reality of China, applying Marxist world outlook methodology, summing up and searching for new basic principles and methods in line with the reality of China.
(2) Applying Marxism to transform the reality of China.
Criticize and inherit China traditional culture with Marxism. Because of its popular national form, China traditional culture is more easily accepted by people, and it is more likely to influence people's thoughts and behaviors. There are rich treasures in China's traditional culture, and many excellent elements still have strong practical significance. There are inevitably a lot of dross in it, which will have a negative impact on people's words and deeds in the long run. How to select the essence from the rough, discard the false and retain the true, truly make the past serve the present, critically inherit the traditional cultural heritage, and judge its value with the Marxist world outlook of "for the benefit of the majority", we need to choose its methods with materialist dialectical methodology.
Guiding China's practice with Marxism. Practice without theoretical guidance is blind practice. China's practical activities can not be separated from the guidance of Marxism. The fundamental purpose of China's practice is to benefit most people. Without this goal, it will deviate from the Marxist value orientation. Sticking to the goal of benefiting most people in slogan, but adopting idealistic or metaphysical methods in action will eventually lead to deviation from the goal of benefiting most people. Adhering to the guidance of Marxism to China's practice means persisting in transforming China's practice with Marxist world outlook methodology and China's practice with a complete Marxist theoretical system.
Leading social thoughts with Marxism. In the report of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, it was pointed out: "Actively explore effective ways to lead social thoughts with the socialist core value system, and actively do ideological work, which not only respects differences and embraces diversity, but also effectively resists the influence of various mistakes and decadent ideas." Stick to the goal of working for the benefit of most people. When all kinds of mistakes and decadent ideas affect the interests of most people, we need to resolutely resist them with Marxist viewpoints, methods and systems. When the non-mainstream thoughts fail to affect the interests of most people, we need to use Marxist viewpoints, methods and systems, respect differences and tolerate diversity, so as to maximize the enthusiasm of individuals.
Third, the result of integration: solving the practical problems in China.
The most fundamental purpose of theory is to return to reality, give guidance to reality and transform our reality. China-oriented Marxism is a combination of Marxism and China's reality, and its most fundamental purpose is to solve the practical problems in China. Some basic principles and concrete conclusions of Marxism can be directly used to transform the reality of China, while China Marxism can also be produced in the process of integration to guide the transformation of the reality of China. In other words, combining Marxism with China's reality can produce two great achievements: theory and practice.
Theoretical achievements. After Marxism was introduced into China, it was combined with the reality in China, and the forming process of China Marxism began. In this sense, the process of China Marxism is the process of the formation and development of Marxism in China. At the same time, after many quantitative and qualitative changes, a series of China-oriented Marxism was formed, namely, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, Theory of Three Represents and Scientific Outlook on Development. Guided by the methodology of Marxist world outlook and proceeding from the reality of China, they summarized and formed a large number of concrete conclusions and basic principles, which enriched the theoretical system of Marxism. China Marxism not only belongs to the Marxist theoretical system with Marxist world outlook methodology as its core, but also has theoretical contents different from the original basic principles and concrete conclusions of Marxism, enriching and developing the Marxist theoretical system.
Actual effect. Since the introduction of Marxism into China, Marxism has been combined with the reality of China, and the process of transforming China's social practice has begun. Under the guidance of Marxism, the China Communist Party led the people to establish the new China, established the socialist system, and transformed people's thinking. The traditional culture of China presented itself to people with a brand-new look. In the past 30 years of reform and opening up, under the guidance of Marxism, China has achieved fruitful results in economy, politics, culture and society. These achievements are not only the result of partial Marxism directly acting on China's reality, but also the result of combining Marxism with China's reality, that is, China Marxism acting on China's practice. The ultimate goal of China Marxism is to solve the practical problems in China.