The development of social history is the unity of gradual and leap, that is, the unity of continuity and discontinuity. The development of society always begins with quantitative change. In the quantitative change stage, the social outlook is generally stable, showing the continuity of its own development. When the accumulation of equivalent reaches a certain level, it will cause qualitative change and leap, and the new quality will replace the old quality, and the gradual process will be "interrupted", showing the discontinuity of development. The unity of continuity and discontinuity in the development history. Only by uninterrupted accumulation of quantity can there be an intermittent qualitative leap.
Adhering to the unity of continuity and discontinuity is of great theoretical and practical significance for us to correctly grasp the connections and differences between different stages in the historical process and adopt different methods to solve social contradictions at different stages. Mao Zedong said: "We are against the die-hards in the revolutionary ranks. Their thoughts can't keep up with the changed objective situation and show right opportunism in history.
These people can't see that the contradictory struggle has promoted the objective process, but their understanding is still in the old stage.
We also oppose "Left" empty talk. Their thoughts go beyond a certain development stage of the objective process, some regard fantasy as truth, while others reluctantly put the ideal with realistic possibility in the future into the present, leaving the practice of most people and the current reality, showing adventurism in action.
The progress and stumbling of social and historical process
The general trend of the development of human society is progress and rise; The road is tortuous, which is the unity of progressiveness and stumbling. In the process of historical development, new things deny old things, not simply abandoning old things, but abandoning old things.
Carry forward, deny and affirm, that is, dialectical negation. The positive things in the old things become the elements of the new things and become the components of the new things. Especially after a period of "positive-negative-negative negation", the food in the third stage has impacted the positive factors of the food in the first two stages and become a more advanced and perfect food. Therefore, the general trend of the development of things is forward and upward.
However, in the process of historical development, due to the complexity of the struggle between the two sides of the contradiction, as well as the inevitable limitations and repetitiveness of people's understanding, it is determined that the progress of things is not straight, but tortuous, showing wave-like development and spiral rise. Lenin said that history is not a sidewalk on Neva Street, so it can't be so straight. Mao Zedong said: "The road of revolution, like the road of everything in the world, is always tortuous, not straight."
Adhere to the historical view of unity of progressiveness and vacillation, and oppose both the theory of historical cycle and the theory of historical straight line. Adhere to the invincible historical dialectics of new things and firmly grasp the general trend of historical development; At the same time, consciously take the road of tortuous progress in practice.