What kind of social system a country or a nation chooses is closely related to its historical development trend and has its historical decisiveness. Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "People have raised such a question: If China takes the capitalist road instead of the socialist road, will the people of China stand up and China turn over? Let's look at history. China is still a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, which proves that the capitalist road is not feasible in China. China * * * producers adhere to Marxism, and Mao Zedong Thought, who insists on combining Marxism with China's reality, has taken its own road, that is, the road of encircling cities from rural areas, and the China Revolution has succeeded. " This argument fully shows that socialism is the inevitable choice of China's history.
1840 what kind of road China will take after the Opium War has become a question for advanced China people to think and explore. In order to strive for national independence and liberation, they sought the truth of saving the country and the people from the west, tried to do things according to the western capitalist system, transformed China, and pinned the hope of China's prosperity on the implementation and development of capitalism. From the Taiping Revolution led by Hong Xiuquan to the Reform Movement of 1898 led by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, and even the Revolution of 1911 led by Sun Yat-sen, all ended in failure. The Kuomintang once engaged in capitalism in the mainland, leaving behind a fragmented and riddled mess, which plunged China deeper and deeper into the semi-colonial and semi-feudal quagmire.
History tells us at the cost of blood that the capitalist road will not work in China. On the one hand, feudalism is unwilling to take the capitalist road. The history of feudal society in China lasted for two or three thousand years, and the most complete and stubborn feudal relations of production in the world were formed in China. Although the development of commodity economy in China feudal society gave birth to the seeds of capitalism, the feudal forces did not allow China to develop capitalism in order to consolidate feudal rule and safeguard political and economic interests. In modern China, feudal forces also colluded with imperialism and oppressed the development of capitalism in China. On the other hand, imperialist forces will not allow China to take the capitalist road. Comrade Mao Zedong once said: "Without the influence of foreign capitalism, China will gradually develop into a capitalist society." At the same time, as Comrade Mao Zedong said, "The purpose of imperialist powers invading China is by no means to turn feudal China into capitalist China." Their purpose is to occupy China's market, plunder China's resources, turn China into their semi-colony and colony, and repel and oppress China's national capitalism with strong economic power. They will never allow China to develop into an independent and prosperous capitalist country. The bourgeoisie in China does not have the conditions to establish a capitalist system. Because of their economic and political weaknesses, and because they have not completely severed their economic ties with imperialism and feudalism, they have no courage to completely oppose imperialism and feudalism, let alone the ability to overthrow feudal rule and imperialism and strive for national independence. Only by completely attaching themselves to international capitalism can they survive and develop. Therefore, relying on the strength of the China bourgeoisie, China will never become an independent capitalist country.
The capitalist road is impassable, and the old feudal rule cannot continue. Where is the way out for China? Just as the people of China were confused about saving the nation from extinction, the October Revolution brought us Marxism–Leninism. China's advanced elements saw from the victory of Russian October Revolution that China's new way out was not capitalism but socialism. The Communist Party of China (CPC) combined Marxism–Leninism's universal truth with the concrete practice of China revolution, and chose the socialist road for the people of China through the new-democratic revolution. This historic choice was found by the people of China through hardships and is the inevitable result of the development of social contradictions in China. Under the leadership of the * * * Production Party of China, the people of China overthrew the three mountains of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism, won the victory of the new-democratic revolution, and fundamentally changed the nature of China's semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.
After the victory of the new-democratic revolution, there were three ways out for China at that time: first, restricting the socialist state-owned economy, developing national capitalism and taking the capitalist road; Second, socialism and capitalism have nothing to do with each other and develop in parallel for a long time; Third, limit and transform capitalism, develop the socialist economy and take the socialist road. Of these three roads, the modern history of China has shown that the first one is impossible; In fact, the second way doesn't work either. There is no room for reconciliation between socialism and capitalism. Only the third way can conform to China's national conditions and the law of social development that production relations must adapt to the nature of productive forces. In addition, the new-democratic revolution laid the foundation for the people of China to choose this road. Politically, we have mastered the state power, established the leading position of the working class, and consolidated and strengthened the alliance of workers and peasants. Economically, by confiscating bureaucratic capital and transforming it into a socialist state-owned economy, the country's economic lifeline has been mastered, creating the most important conditions for realizing the socialist transformation of the means of production and completing the transformation from new democracy to socialism. Therefore, choosing the socialist road is the inevitable result of China's social, economic and political development since modern times.
In a word, the establishment, consolidation and development of the socialist system in China embodies the objective laws of modern social movements in China and is the greatest and most profound change in the history of China. Only socialism can save China, which is an inevitable conclusion drawn from the development of China's modern history 100 years. Therefore, Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "If we are not Marxists, do not fully believe in Marxism, or do not combine Marxism with China's own reality and follow our own path, the China Revolution will not succeed, and China will still be divided, independent and unified."
Second, face up to the socialist system: the socialist system has unparalleled advantages.
As the primary stage of socialism, socialist society is a brand-new social system aimed at the disadvantages of capitalism. The practical practice of socialist development proves that the socialist system has incomparable advantages.
First, the emergence of socialism has completely changed the social status of the oppressed and exploited people and the proletariat.
The rights of workers, peasants, intellectuals and all patriots to manage state and social affairs and their democratic rights are fundamentally guaranteed.
Second, socialism is not based on private ownership, but on public ownership.
Force, fundamentally solved the contradiction between socialization of production and private possession of means of production, thus opening up a broad road for the development of productive forces.
Third, socialism advocates the distribution mode with distribution according to work as the main body, constantly expanding social welfare, realizing social equality and avoiding polarization.
Fourth, the development of capitalism is based on internal exploitation and external plunder, destroying national enterprises in weak countries with low-priced goods and turning them into their own subsidiaries with powerful ships and guns, especially in unequal exchange with third world countries. Our socialism mainly relies on self-reliance, hard struggle, internal reform and opening to the outside world, making full use of local resources and constantly improving and developing ourselves.
Of course, because socialism is still in the practical stage, our above understanding of the superiority of socialism is still very traditional, incomplete and superficial. With the continuous development and perfection of socialism, we will have a new, more comprehensive and profound understanding of its superiority. According to the stand, viewpoint and method of Marxism, we must be based on the following premises in order to strengthen our determination and confidence in taking the socialist road and face up to the superiority of socialism:
1. Because socialism is a brand-new social system, there is no ready-made experience to follow. We need to practice, understand, practice and re-understand "what is socialism and how to build it". Therefore, we can't be a "prophet" in understanding its superiority, and Marxism has not been fully described, which requires us to constantly experience and summarize it in practice.
2. To measure and compare which social system is superior, we must never look at the existing level of economic development unilaterally without considering the historical conditions and social environment of specific countries, but should mainly look at whether it reflects the fundamental interests of the people, whether the relations of production meet the requirements of the development of social productive forces, and whether the status and life of the people have been improved. The practice of socialism has proved that these aspects are far incomparable to the capitalist system. Although the economic development level and scientific and technological level of developed capitalist countries are generally higher than those of socialist countries, this is caused by different social and historical conditions, the basis and starting point of their respective development, and it is by no means as some people say that socialism is not as good as capitalism.
3. The development history of socialism is relatively short compared with capitalism, and it is still in the early stage of practice and development. The capitalist system has a history of hundreds of years since the British bourgeois revolution, while the socialist system has a history of less than 100 years since the October Revolution of the first socialist country, and the socialist system in China has only been fully established for decades. Therefore, compared with capitalism, the development of socialism is not perfect and sufficient, and it is still in the primary stage, and its due advantages have not been fully revealed. We can't compare and measure things with hundreds of years of historical development experience with things with only decades of historical development experience.
4. Marx pointed out that "no matter what kind of social form, as long as all the productive forces it contains are not brought into play, it will never perish; The new and higher relations of production will never appear before its material conditions mature in the womb of the old society. "Therefore, the replacement of the old social system by the new social system, or the establishment and improvement of a social system, will never be a moment in history. This requires a long historical development process, and many unpredictable and unimaginable difficulties and risks will inevitably be encountered along the way, and it will not be smooth sailing. Comrade Deng Xiaoping said that consolidating and developing the socialist system requires the efforts of several generations, a dozen generations or even dozens of generations. We should fully estimate the long-term and arduous nature of building and developing socialism.
As long as it is based on the above premise, we will have an objective and fair understanding of the mistakes and even setbacks in the process of socialist development, and there will be no crisis of faith in the future and superiority of socialism.
Third, face up to great achievements: only socialism can develop China.
Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), what we inherited from old China was chaos. Industry is almost zero, food is not enough, inflation is rampant, and the economy is very chaotic. We solved the problems of food, employment, price stability and financial unification, and the national economy was quickly restored. On this basis, a large-scale economic construction was carried out. With what? Relying on Marxism, not socialism. People say, what kind of socialism do you engage in? We said that China could not engage in capitalism, but only socialism. If we take the capitalist road instead of the socialist road, China's chaotic state will not end and its poverty and backwardness will not change. Therefore, we have reiterated many times that we must adhere to Marxism and adhere to the socialist road. " "In the backward state of China, what road can we take to develop productive forces and improve people's lives? This goes back to the question of adhering to socialism or taking the capitalist road. If we take the capitalist road, we can make a few percent of the people in China rich, but it will never solve the problem that more than 90 percent of the people live well. Adhering to socialism and implementing the principle of distribution according to work will not lead to an excessive gap between the rich and the poor. In another two or three decades, China's productive forces will develop and will not be polarized. " This is what a generation of great men showed to the world: Only socialism can develop China.
We say that to measure whether a social system conforms to the interests of a country or a nation, the most fundamental thing is to see to what extent it promotes the development of social productive forces and the improvement of people's living standards.
From the establishment of the socialist system to the end of the "Cultural Revolution", our party made "Left" guiding ideology mistakes in the practice of leading socialist construction, and also experienced a period of serious setbacks, but the great achievements made were incomparable at any time in China's history. On the basis of poverty, independence, self-reliance and hard work have established a relatively complete industrial system and national economic system, laying a solid foundation for socialist modernization.
The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made a strategic decision to shift the focus of work to socialist modernization, which realized a turning point with far-reaching significance in the history of our party and country and "walked out of a Chinese-style modernization road", which became the conscious practice of China and party member in the new period. On the basis of summing up historical experience, the people of the Communist Party of China (CPC), represented by Comrade Deng Xiaoping, gradually formed the Party's basic line in the primary stage of socialism, paving the way for the construction of Socialism with Chinese characteristics. This is a road that centers on economic construction, vigorously develops productive forces, attaches great importance to socialist democratic politics and socialist spiritual civilization construction, and promotes the all-round development of society.
It is a road to adhere to comprehensive reform and opening up; It is a three-step road to modernization, which lasted for 70 years, spanning 200 years and 2000 years. By the middle of 2 1 century, modernization was basically realized and China was fully revitalized. Along this road, China's socialist modernization has made great achievements that attract worldwide attention. China has made outstanding achievements in economic construction, greatly improved people's living standards, advanced science and technology, consolidated national defense construction, comprehensively improved the quality of the population, made remarkable progress in building democracy and the legal system, and written a new chapter in its diplomatic career. The great concept of "one country, two systems" has been successfully realized. The people of the whole country have never been so refreshed and jubilant as they are today. China, with a population of more than one billion, has not only solved the problem of food and clothing, but also reached a well-off level on the whole. For thousands of years, people's dream of a carefree life has finally come true. This is a great victory of the socialist system and a new milestone in the history of the development of the Chinese nation. What does all this depend on? It depends on the leadership of China's * * * production party and the establishment, consolidation and development of the socialist system in China.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics's modernization road is the crystallization of long-term exploration by three generations of central leading collective of China's Party, which embodies the pursuit of modernization ideals by several generations of party member. This road has initially revitalized contemporary China, and the comprehensive revitalization of China in the future can only be achieved by taking the road of socialist modernization. This is the historical conclusion of China in modern times.