{"id":6169,"date":"2026-02-11T18:16:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T18:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/?p=6169"},"modified":"2026-02-11T18:16:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T18:16:25","slug":"xi-jinpings-original-contribution-to-marxist-political-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/?p=6169&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Xi Jinping’s Original Contribution to Marxist Political Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Xi Jinping’s Original Contribution to Marxist Political Economy<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

“A New Form of Human Civilization” Concept Represents Comrade Xi Jinping’s Original Contribution to Marxist Political Economy<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

February 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authors: Xie Fusheng, Deputy Director of the National Research Center for the Political Economy of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics at Renmin University of China, and Professor at the School of Economics, Renmin University of China; Kuang Xiaolu, Assistant Professor at the School of Marxism, Tsinghua University.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taken from the original Article Title: The Conception of \u201cA New Form of Human Civilization\u201d by CPC and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abstract:<\/strong>  On the centenary of the Communist Party of China’s founding (2021), Comrade Xi Jinping proposed that Socialism with Chinese Characteristics has created a “New Form of Human Civilization,” which defined that Socialism with Chinese Characteristics as a new social formation. The concept of a “New Form of Human Civilization” addresses the historical challenge of enabling economically and culturally backward nations to absorb all the achievements of capitalist civilization while avoiding the catastrophic consequences of capitalist development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept of a “New Form of Human Civilization” represents an original contribution to Marxist political economy. This concept breaks through the traditional single-mono linear evolutionary theory of the “Five Forms of Social Formation,” synthesizes the Communist exploration of socialism, resolves a series of dilemmas in socialist modernization, and serves as a pivotal framework for constructing a 21st-century Marxist economic theory system. “Xi Jinping Economic Thought” marks a new leap in Marxist theory, following Marx’s political economy, Lenin’s Theory of Imperialism, and Mao Zedong’s Theory of New Democracy, representing the economics of 21st-century Marxism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A New Form of Human Civilization” Concept Represents Comrade Xi Jinping’s Original Contribution to Marxist Political Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (2012), the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has demonstrated far-sighted vision and comprehensive strategic leadership, creatively proposing a series of new concepts, ideas, and strategies, thereby forming Xi Jinping Thought on Socialist Economic Development with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main contributions of Xi Jinping\u2019s economic thought can be categorized into three types.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, enriches, develops, and recombines classical Marxist theories. Drawing on new practical experiences and integrating existing research findings, it explores new developmental laws. For example, the new development philosophy of “innovation, coordination, environmental friendliness, openness, and shared growth” represents a development and recombination of classical Marxist political economy theory as well as positive and negative developmental experiences both domestically and internationally. Second, endows classical Marxist theories with new connotations. In the light of new characteristics of our era, classical Marxist theories are imbued with fresh meanings and generate positive impacts. For instance, the idea of a community with a shared future for humanity constitutes a new development of Marx\u2019s theory of community, integrating traditional Chinese notions of \u201cGreat Unity\u201d (Datong), China\u2019s diplomatic practices, and the evolving global landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, it entirely possesses original contributions. These address major theoretical and practical issues\u2014raised but unanswered by Marx and Engels, attempted but incompletely resolved by communist leaders such as Lenin and Mao Zedong\u2014that must be confronted in the course of developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. Such contributions offer new interpretations aligned with contemporary features and practical demands, creating new scientific theoretical systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comrade Xi Jinping\u2019s groundbreaking proposition that socialism with Chinese characteristics has created a \u201cnew form of human civilization\u201d is the first to clarify, from the perspective of socio-economic formations, the social nature of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It resolves the historical question of whether economically and culturally backward countries can absorb all the achievements of capitalist civilization while avoiding its catastrophic consequences. This judgment\u2014never articulated or envisioned by classical Marxist theorists\u2014is an original contribution to Marxist political economy. Breaking free from the constraints of traditional dogma and synthesizing the CPC\u2019s long-term explorations, the concept of a \u201cnew form of human civilization\u201d clarifies the social character of underdeveloped socialist countries and addresses a series of theoretical and practical challenges in socialist modernization. It serves as the pivotal cornerstone for constructing a 21st-century Marxist economic theoretical system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) The Theory of a \u201cNew Form of Human Civilization\u201d Breaks Through the Dogma of Unilinear Development through Five Socio-Economic Formations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs man creates circumstances, so circumstances create man.\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Collected Works, Vol. 1 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2009), p. 545.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A country\u2019s socio-economic formation is a complex system shaped jointly by rational constructivist forces and spontaneous evolutionary dynamics. [Huang Kainan, \u201cA Comparison and Integration of Institutional Rational Constructivism and Spontaneous Institutional Evolution,\u201d Journal of Literature, History & Philosophy, No. 5 (2021).]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A country\u2019s socio-economic formation varies according to each nation\u2019s objective historical-cultural background and socio-economic conditions. While the \u201cfive socio-economic formations\u201d theory originally summarized and predicted transformations specific to Western Europe\u2014progressing sequentially from primitive communism, slavery, feudalism, capitalism, to communism\u2014\u201cfive socio-economic formations\u201d theory  later ossified into a rigid formula asserting that all human societies must follow this single linear path. This overlooks the \u201cunilinear and multilinear\u201d nature of socio-economic evolution. The model of socio-economic transformation discovered by Marx and Engels reflected the concrete historical conditions of Western Europe; it was not intended as a universal \u201chistorical-philosophical theory of general development,\u201d nor did it imply that \u201call nations, regardless of their historical circumstances, are destined to tread this same path.\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Collected Works, Vol. 3 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2009), p. 466.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike Western Europe\u2019s \u201cfive-stage\u201d trajectory, China has experienced four socio-economic formations: primitive society, slave society, feudal society, and semi-colonial, semi-feudal society. Today, under the leadership of the CPC, China is building a socialist socio-economic formation with Chinese characteristics\u2014an underdeveloped socialist society\u2014advancing toward a future communist socio-economic formation. In contrast, developed capitalist countries would transit simultaneously to socialism, constituting a developed socialist society or the initial stage of communism, eventually progressing to the higher phase of communism. As a representative of ancient Eastern civilization, Chinese civilization historically led the world during traditional times. However, after the West entered modern capitalist socio-economic formations through the Industrial Revolution, China\u2019s relative backwardness rendered it vulnerable to imperialist aggression, resulting in what President Xi Jinping described as \u201cnational humiliation, people\u2019s suffering, and civilizational decline.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cSpeech at the Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China,\u201d Qiushi, No. 14 (2021).]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communist Party of China<\/strong> fundamentally transformed China\u2019s semi-colonial, semi-feudal social character through revolutionary means. At different historical junctures, guided by analyses of China\u2019s basic national conditions and principal contradictions, the Party proactively restructured the superstructure and reshaped production conditions from the top down. Starting from scratch, Communist Party of China<\/strong> established an independent industrial system, innovatively proposed a socialist market economy, laid the material and institutional foundations for modern production, successfully forged a new path of Chinese-style modernization, and constructed a distinct socialist socio-economic formation with Chinese characteristics. Nevertheless, as Comrade Xi Jinping noted, \u201cWhile economically backward countries may leap over the \u2018Caudine Forks\u2019 in terms of social institutions, this does not mean they can necessarily bypass the \u2018Caudine Forks\u2019 of commodity economy in economic development.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cRe-examining the Development of Socialist Market Economy,\u201d Southeast Academic Research, No. 4 (2001).]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to general laws of human societal development, socialism with Chinese characteristics remains a nationally specific phenomenon occurring within a single country and still resides within a society based on \u201cdependence on things.\u201d Thus, it must fully leverage the market to transcend fundamental limitations rooted in \u201cpersonal dependence,\u201d using commodity exchange as a medium to establish universal social relations among individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Socialism with Chinese characteristics represents a dialectical transcendence of capitalism, demonstrating that economically and culturally backward countries can absorb the achievements of capitalist civilization while avoiding its disastrous consequences. As Trotsky observed, \u201cA backward country certainly absorbs the material and spiritual achievements of advanced countries, but this does not mean blindly imitating or replicating all prior developmental stages of the latter. Instead, by absorbing ready-made civilizational achievements, it can skip a series of transitional phases, leading to a unique overlapping of historical stages\u2014resulting in a trajectory that is overall disordered, complex, and hybrid.\u201d [Trotsky, History of the Russian Revolution (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2004), pp. 15\u201316.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Socialism with Chinese characteristics has positively absorbed Western capitalist civilizational achievements, dramatically compressing the temporal-spatial trajectory from traditional to modern society\u2014a compression of developmental stages characteristic of advanced capitalist countries. Yet, as it remains within a society of \u201cdependence on things,\u201d various forms of capital inevitably emerge in economic development, bringing attendant problems inherent to capital and its mode of production. This necessitates a correct understanding of capital\u2019s characteristics and behavioral patterns, exploring how to harness capital\u2019s positive roles under socialist market economy conditions while effectively curbing its negative effects. More broadly, the construction of this new socio-economic formation transcends Eurocentric limitations, offering a novel option for other nations and peoples who aspire to accelerate development while preserving their independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Theory of a \u201cNew Form of Human Civilization\u201d Synthesizes Explorations of Socialism by Marxists<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marx once remarked, \u201cThe anatomy of man is a key to the anatomy of the ape,\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Selected Works, Vol. 2 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2012), p. 705.] noting that \u201creflection on human life-forms\u2014and thus their scientific analysis\u2014always proceeds along a path opposite to actual development. Such reflection begins retrospectively, i.e., from the completed result of the developmental process.\u201d [Karl Marx, Capital, Vol. 1 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2004), p. 93.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is because \u201csimpler categories, though historically preceding more concrete ones, achieve their full depth and breadth only within a complex social form, whereas more concrete categories may have developed more fully in less developed social forms.\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Collected Works, Vol. 8 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2009), p. 27.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Comrade Xi Jinping stated, \u201cAs a long historical process, socialist society cannot possibly establish a perfect system of production relations immediately upon founding its basic institutions; it requires continuous maturation and refinement.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cOn the Contemporary Significance of the Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy,\u201d Fujian Forum (Social and Economic Edition), No. 1 (1997).]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept of a \u201cnew form of human civilization\u201d emerges precisely through this retroactive examination\u2014from the present to the past, from mature and fully developed forms back to immature and incomplete ones. \u201cNew form of human civilization\u201d concept integrates communists\u2019 century-long exploration of \u201cwhat socialism is and how to build it,\u201d summarizes the developmental practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, systematizes existing theoretical innovations in its construction, and abstracts the general determinants of its economic base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upholding the CPC\u2019s Centralized and Unified Leadership over Economic Work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leadership of the CPC is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Only by steadfastly strengthening the Party\u2019s centralized and unified leadership over economic work can we ensure that China\u2019s socialist economy advances in the correct direction\u2014neither reverting to the old, closed, and ossified path nor veering onto the erroneous road of \u201cchanging our red banners and red flags\u201d. Since human society remains in a developmental stage grounded in \u201cdependence on things,\u201d and capitalist forces retain considerable global strength, China\u2019s deep integration into the world economy constantly exposes it to the threat that \u201cany expansion of intercourse will eliminate local communism.\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Selected Works, Vol. 1 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2012), p. 166.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only unwavering adherence to the Party\u2019s centralized and unified leadership can safeguard the dominant position of public ownership and the leading role of the state-owned economy, preventing a slide into capitalist restoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domestically, despite historic economic achievements, China\u2019s productive forces remain limited. Developing a market economy is necessary to establish universal social relations among people and create conditions for their free and comprehensive development. However, this must occur under the overarching framework of CPC leadership and the socialist system, avoiding the \u201cold, closed, and ossified path,\u201d while upholding the superiority of China\u2019s socialist system and effectively guarding against the drawbacks of capitalist market economies. As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new era, economic work faces new changes and challenges. We must continuously improve the Party\u2019s institutional mechanisms for leading economic work, ensuring the Party\u2019s core leadership role in overseeing the overall situation and coordinating all parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navigating China\u2019s economic ship through turbulent global waters requires the Party to courageously carry out self-revolution and constantly enhance its capacity to lead economic work. Social revolution and the Party\u2019s self-revolution are dialectically unified: the arduous tasks and profound transformations of social revolution demand the Party maintain the consciousness and courage for self-revolution, which in turn leads and propels social revolution. Paramount is ideological Party-building: comprehensively implementing the Party\u2019s organizational line for the new era, advancing full and rigorous self-governance, and continuously improving the Party\u2019s governance capacity and leadership level. This ensures the entire Party maintains unified will, unified action, and consistent progress forward, providing a firm guarantee for upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era and realizing the \u201cTwo Centenary Goals.\u201d (2021, 2049)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upholding a People-Centered Development Philosophy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CPC has always adhered to the materialist conception of history, which holds that the people are the true driving force of history, and upheld its fundamental tenet of serving the people wholeheartedly, practicing a people-centered development philosophy. Since the 18th Party Congress, based on summarizing domestic and international developmental experiences (both positive and negative) and scientifically assessing China\u2019s economic situation, Comrade Xi Jinping has put forward the new development philosophy of innovation, coordination, environmental friendliness, openness, and shared growth\u2014centered on the people. This philosophy is not exclusive to the new development stage but embodies lessons from global developmental experiences and concretely manifests the people-centered development philosophy, permeating the entire period of socialism with Chinese characteristics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, innovation is the primary driver of development. Innovation involves \u201ctransforming the technical and social conditions of the labor process, thereby transforming the mode of production itself.\u201d On the one hand, it \u201ccontinuously drives forward the development of labor productivity\u2026 so that\u2026 society as a whole can appropriate and maintain general wealth with less labor time,\u201d enabling \u201cpeople to cease performing labor that objects could perform for them.\u201d [Karl Marx, Capital, Vol. 1 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2004), p. 366; Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Complete Works, Vol. 30 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 1995), p. 286.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, through \u201cdiscovering, creating, and satisfying new needs generated by society itself,\u201d it \u201ccultivates all human attributes and produces individuals endowed with the richest possible attributes, relations, and consequently, the broadest possible needs.\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Complete Works, Vol. 30 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 1995), p. 389.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, coordination is an intrinsic feature of economic development.<\/strong> At its core, coordinated development entails coordination in the material production process. Marx emphasized social production coordination, noting that \u201csome enterprises withdraw labor and means of production over extended periods without yielding any useful product,\u201d while others operate differently; thus, \u201cthe scale of the former must be determined so as not to impair the latter.\u201d [Karl Marx, Capital, Vol. 2 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2004), pp. 396\u2013397.] Concretely, spatial divisions of labor manifest as coordinated urban-rural and regional development, while interactions between economic base and superstructure appear as coordinated development of material and spiritual civilizations, and integrated development of economic and national defense construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, environmental\/ecological friendliness is the universal mode of economic development.<\/strong> While the capitalist mode of production transforms nature to serve human needs, overcoming \u201clocal human development and worship of nature,\u201d it neglects humanity\u2019s organic bond with nature. [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Complete Works, Vol. 30 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 1995), p. 390.] Green development requires producers to \u201crationally regulate their material interchange with nature\u201d and conduct this interchange \u201cwith minimal expenditure of energy, under conditions most worthy of and suited to their human nature,\u201d thereby creating a favorable ecological environment for the people and ensuring humanity\u2019s sustainable survival. [Karl Marx, Capital, Vol. 3 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2004), pp. 928\u2013929.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fourth, openness is the inevitable path of economic development. \u201cWith the realization of free trade and the establishment of the world market, along with the convergence of industrial production and corresponding living conditions, national divisions and antagonisms among peoples increasingly vanish.\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Selected Works, Vol. 1 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2012), p. 419.] Facing opportunities and challenges brought by economic globalization, we must seize every opportunity, cooperate to address all challenges, and steer globalization in a positive direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fifth, shared growth is the ultimate goal of economic development.<\/strong> Marx envisioned that in communist society, \u201cwith the abolition of class distinctions, all social and political inequalities arising from these distinctions will disappear of themselves.\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Selected Works, Vol. 3 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2012), p. 371.] Achieving this goal, however, requires a protracted historical process. Under the objective conditions of the primary stage of socialism, shared development manifests as gradual common prosperity, ensuring that \u201caccumulated labor becomes a means to expand, enrich, and elevate workers\u2019 lives\u201d and that the fruits of development benefit all people more equitably. [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Selected Works, Vol. 1 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2012), p. 415.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upholding the Basic Economic System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Classical Marxist political economy traditionally analyzes production, distribution, exchange, and consumption as interconnected moments. Applying dialectics, Marx further argued that these constitute an organic whole of social production and reproduction. In different socio-economic formations, specific modes of production\u2014and their corresponding relations of production and exchange\u2014determine the unique interrelations among production, distribution, exchange, and consumption. Economic relations within the base influence specific institutional forms in the superstructure: relations of production correspond to property relations or ownership systems; distribution relations correspond to distribution systems; and exchange relations correspond to economic operational systems. Together, they form a \u201ctripartite\u201d basic economic system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the socialist revolution and construction period, China\u2019s basic economic system took the form of \u201cpublic ownership + distribution according to work + planned economy,\u201d which accelerated heavy industrial development and established an industrial system but gradually hindered sustained economic growth. Since reform and opening-up, China\u2019s basic national conditions\u2014the primary stage of socialism\u2014have required leveraging market mechanisms for resource allocation under the prerequisites of Party leadership and socialist public ownership, deepening labor division, and establishing universal social relations. As productive forces develop, the Party has continuously refined the three components of the basic economic system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New Definition of China\u2019s basic economic system (October 2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After forty years of evolution, the Fourth Plenum of the 19th CPC Central Committee endowed the basic economic system with new content: public ownership as the mainstay alongside diverse forms of ownership; distribution according to work as the principal method alongside multiple distribution approaches; and the socialist market economy system. This system aligns with China\u2019s level of productive forces and reflects the inevitable requirements of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the historical stage of \u201cdependence on things.\u201d It is a great creation of the Party and the people, effectively driving China\u2019s economic growth in three ways: First, the coexistence of public ownership as the mainstay and diverse ownership forms fosters a competitive yet cooperative enterprise structure conducive to growth, promoting common development across ownership types. Second, the distribution system\u2014with distribution according to work as the mainstay alongside multiple approaches\u2014- which \u201cenables all members (persons) of society to develop, maintain, and exercise their abilities as fully as possible\u201d and \u201cmost effectively promotes production,\u201d mobilizing the initiative of all economic actors and achieving an organic unity of efficiency and equity. [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Selected Works, Vol. 3 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2012), p. 581.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, the dynamic socialist market economy provides an institutional foundation for growth.<\/strong> Integrating socialism and market mechanisms, China combines an effective market with a capable government, leveraging market allocation while effectively guarding against the pitfalls of capitalist market economies. The 2021 Central Economic Work Conference emphasized that various forms of capital inevitably exist in a socialist market economy, requiring the government to guide capital toward healthy, regulated development and prevent its unchecked expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upholding the Promotion of a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of building a community with a shared future for humanity represents a new development of Marx\u2019s theory of community and offers a novel theoretical framework for China\u2019s relationship with the global capitalist economic system. Marx held that \u201ceverything people struggle for is connected with their interests.\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Complete Works, Vol. 1 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 1995), p. 187.] According to the laws of socio-economic formation development, interest-based communities evolve sequentially: natural communities characterized by \u201cpersonal dependence,\u201d class-based interest communities grounded in \u201cdependence on things,\u201d and a human community defined by \u201cindividual comprehensive development and free personality.\u201d However, the capitalist mode of production can only produce a bourgeois interest community, with bourgeois states representing this community in the \u201cillusory form of a general community,\u201d essentially functioning as \u201ca committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Selected Works, Vol. 1 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 1995), pp. 164, 402.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lenin and Stalin proposed eliminating the bourgeois community through proletarian community-building, formulating imperialism theory based on ideological blocs to guide socialist foreign relations. In practice, the CPC recognized the mutual dependence and universal interconnectedness of nations, developing Marx\u2019s idea of interest communities beyond imperialism theory. Mao Zedong first introduced the concepts of \u201cintermediate zones\u201d and \u201cthree worlds,\u201d breaking the binary bloc paradigm and proposing that nations with different social systems could form interest communities. After the 1970s, Deng Xiaoping advanced the thesis of \u201cpeace and development,\u201d arguing that China\u2019s economic interest community with the capitalist world would neither undermine socialism nor hinder its strengthening, initiating the historic practice of opening-up and innovatively resolving how to build socialism within a capitalist world. Since 2012, Comrade Xi Jinping, viewing China\u2019s relationship with global capitalism from the perspective of humanity\u2019s shared destiny, systematically synthesized the CPC\u2019s foreign policy thought and drew on the Chinese ideal of \u201cGreat Unity,\u201d proposing the idea of a community with a shared future for humanity. Transcending class-based interest communities, it emphasizes shared interests and humanity\u2019s conscious capacity to collectively transform the world toward a genuine human community. This reflects the CPC\u2019s lofty values and answers critical historical questions: what kind of open economy should China develop, and how can humanity better build a shared world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upholding the Methodology of \u201cStability Together with Progress\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adhering to the methodology of \u201cstability with progress\u201d is an inevitable requirement of objective developmental laws and a development and application of Marxist contradiction analysis. Marxist philosophy\u2014dialectical and historical materialism\u2014finds its essence in contradiction analysis, as contradictions exist in all developmental processes and \u201cdetermine the life of all things and drive their development.\u201d [Mao Zedong, Selected Works, Vol. 1 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 1991), p. 305.] Every economic category embodies unity of opposites; abstract economic theory studies the transformation of categories into their opposites, which alters the nature of things and signifies progressive direction. Such transformations require prolonged historical periods, indicating the long-term coexistence of contradictory aspects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The methodology of \u201cstability with progress\u201d grasps contradictions by \u201cdiscerning opposition within unity.\u201d Here, \u201cstability\u201d refers to the relatively balanced coexistence of contradictory aspects, while \u201cprogress\u201d acknowledges their potential to transform in different directions\u2014recognizing both their \u201cmutual transformation under certain conditions\u201d and their \u201ccoexistence within a unity under certain conditions.\u201d [Mao Zedong, Selected Works, Vol. 1 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 1991), p. 330.] By discerning opposition within unity, this approach continuously advances development. \u201cStability with progress\u201d is a crucial principle of the CPC\u2019s governance and a methodological guide for economic work, ensuring stability while pursuing proactive advancement and avoiding impetuousness. Since reform and opening-up, the CPC has drawn lessons from the \u201cGreat Leap Forward\u201d and \u201cPeople\u2019s Commune Movement\u201d of the 1950s, correcting the utopian notion that socialism\u2019s primary stage could be bypassed without massive productive forces development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It deeply recognizes that \u201cachieving communism is a historical process realized through successive phased goals.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cSpeech at the 200th Anniversary of Marx\u2019s Birth,\u201d People\u2019s Daily, May 5, 2018.] In concrete economic work, contradictory aspects coexist and evolve dynamically: \u201cstability\u201d contains trends of \u201cprogress,\u201d creating a complex landscape. Economic development \u201cis always constrained by historical conditions, natural environment, geographical factors, etc.; there are no shortcuts, no overnight transformations\u2014only gradual, quantitative-to-qualitative, drip-by-drip changes.\u201d [Xi Jinping, Breaking Poverty (Fuzhou: Fujian People\u2019s Publishing House, 1992), p. 44.] The Party must adhere to a dialectical mindset of \u201cstability with progress\u201d and problem orientation, calibrate macroeconomic control, uphold bottom-line thinking, and promote sustained, healthy economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VI. Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposition of a \u201cnew form of human civilization\u201d by the CPC signifies the preliminary explanation of socialism with Chinese characteristics as a socio-economic formation. By abstracting its general determinants, it resolves the question of \u201cwhat socialism is\u201d; strategic policies formulated on this basis further answer \u201chow to build socialism,\u201d thereby addressing major theoretical challenges facing the Party and the state in socialist modernization. This concept greatly advances the CPC\u2019s understanding of socialism with Chinese characteristics\u2019 historical positioning, deepens comprehension of socialist and human societal development laws, and marks a cognitive leap from developmental stages to a new socio-economic formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, Mao Zedong\u2019s concept of an \u201cunderdeveloped socialism\u201d stage constitutes the \u201cprimary stage\u201d of socialist socio-economic formation.<\/strong> Just as Lenin designated communism\u2019s first initial phase as socialist socio-economic formation, the underdeveloped socialist stage can itself constitute a new socio-economic formation. China\u2019s socialist practice belongs to this underdeveloped stage, forming socialism with Chinese characteristics as a distinct socio-economic formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, this formation will include different developmental stages<\/strong>. Deng Xiaoping\u2019s \u201cprimary stage of socialism\u201d refers to the nearly century-long period \u201cfrom the basic completion of socialist transformation of private ownership of means of production in the 1950s to the basic realization of socialist modernization,\u201d constituting the primary stage of socialism with Chinese characteristics. [Party Literature Research Office of CPC Central Committee, Important Documents on 30 Years of Reform and Opening-Up (Vol. 1) (Beijing: Central Party Literature Press, 2008), p. 476.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comrade Xi Jinping further deepened this understanding, noting it is \u201cnot a static, unchanging, or stagnant phase, nor a spontaneous, passive stage that can be crossed effortlessly. Instead, it is a dynamic, proactive, vibrant process\u2014a stair-step progression of continuous advancement and accumulating quantitative changes approaching qualitative leaps.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cGrasping the New Development Stage, Implementing the New Development Philosophy, and Building a New Development Paradigm,\u201d Qiushi, No. 9 (2021).]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xi Jinping introduced the \u201cnew development stage\u201d\u2014spanning from 2035 (basic socialist modernization) to 2050 (a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful modern socialist country)\u2014expanding the connotation and extension of Deng\u2019s \u201cprimary stage.\u201d Xi Jinping also noted that building a modern socialist country is \u201ca requirement for China\u2019s socialism to advance from the primary to a higher stage,\u201d implying that post-mid-century, socialism with Chinese characteristics will enter a higher phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, the basic systems stipulated by the Fourth Plenum of the 19th CPC Central Committee (2018) constitute the pillars of this socio-economic formation and must be upheld long-term, changing only if the formation\u2019s fundamental nature transforms.<\/strong> The \u201cnew form of human civilization\u201d represents a \u201cterminological revolution\u201d in scientific socialism, bridging the gap between classical Marxist socialist theory and the concrete practice of building socialism in a single country. According to Marx and Engels, fully realized communism requires two conditions: material abundance and international support. Neither the Soviet Union nor China theoretically met these conditions; in practice, Soviet socialism ultimately abandoned public ownership for privatization and liberalization, posing a theoretical dilemma: Can China\u2019s socialist practice succeed? Can future communist society be built? For decades, the Party partially answered this through the theory of the primary stage of socialism, positioning China\u2019s practice as a preliminary phase toward communism\u2014but it left unresolved when and under what conditions this stage might be transcended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new term \u201cnew form of human civilization\u201d systematically addresses this question, by advancing scientific socialism theory: First, backward countries can build socialism as a new socio-economic formation\u2014which can be a society based on \u201cdependence on things\u201d\u2014absorbing capitalism\u2019s all achievements while overcoming its flaws\/disasters and while they can uphold fundamentals of socialism.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, this formation inherently contains contradictions between partial ownership of means of production and socialized production, defining its fundamental nature. Insisting solely on public ownership assumes communism can be entered without massive productive development\u2014a utopian view representing the \u201cold, closed, ossified path.\u201d Insisting solely on private ownership and market economy assumes socialism requires full capitalist development\u2014a mechanistic view representing the \u201cerroneous path of changing banners.\u201d Either path alters the formation\u2019s nature. Third, building socialism in a single country constitutes a crucial phase toward global communism\u2014an underdeveloped socialism. However, no matter how developed its productive forces become, this formation\u2019s fundamental nature cannot change through our unilateral efforts alone; only when several developed countries transit to socialism can the developed socialism be realized thus ultimately communism can be realized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Theory of a \u201cNew Form of Human Civilization\u201d Is the Pivot for Constructing 21st-Century Marxist Economics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe true content of every epoch-making system arises from the needs of the era that produced it.\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Complete Works, Vol. 3 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 1960), p. 544.] Building socialism in backward countries is a grand social practice requiring corresponding scientific theory. As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new era, facing new opportunities and challenges, theoretical demands grow urgent. Comrade Xi Jinping stated, \u201cWe must base ourselves on China\u2019s national conditions and developmental practice, deeply study new situations and problems in the world and Chinese economies, reveal new characteristics and laws, refine and summarize regularities in China\u2019s economic development, and elevate practical experience into systematic economic theory.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cContinuously Expanding the New Frontiers of Marxist Political Economy in Contemporary China,\u201d Qiushi, No. 16 (2020).] \u201cAs the era is the mother of thought, practice is the source of theory.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cSpeech at the 95th Anniversary of the CPC\u2019s Founding,\u201d Qiushi, No. 8 (2021).]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientific theories emerge from evolving practice. Less than a century after the First Industrial Revolution, Marx noted that \u201cno period of modern society has been as favorable for studying capitalist accumulation as the last twenty years\u2026 England, occupying the foremost position in the world market and where the capitalist mode of production is most fully developed, serves as the typical case.\u201d [Karl Marx, Capital, Vol. 1 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2004), pp. 746\u2013747; Vol. 3, p. 195.] Taking Britain as his model, he theoretically assumed \u201cthe laws of the capitalist mode of production unfold in pure form,\u201d analyzing capitalism\u2019s birth, development, and demise, identifying it as a specific historical socio-economic formation, introducing the new category of labor\u2019s dual character, transforming classical Marxist political economy, and founding Marxist political economy. Today, after over a century of socialist practice, China stands as socialism\u2019s exemplary nation. \u201cThe breadth and depth of today\u2019s changes and China\u2019s development far exceed what classical Marxist theorists estimated.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cSpeech at the 95th Anniversary of the CPC\u2019s Founding,\u201d Qiushi, No. 8 (2021).]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comrade Xi Jinping\u2019s \u201cnew form of human civilization\u201d clarifies the nature of socialism with Chinese characteristics as a new socio-economic formation\u2014guided by scientific socialism, coexisting alongside capitalism, and possessing a unique historical structure that generates specific economic laws. This new category elevates the practical experience of backward countries building socialism into theoretical abstraction, serving as the pivot for constructing 21st-century Marxist economics. Lenin stated, \u201cThe entire spirit and system of Marxism requires that every principle be examined (\u03b1) historically, (\u03b2) in relation to other principles, and (\u03b3) in connection with concrete historical experience.\u201d [Lenin, Selected Works, Vol. 2 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2012), p. 785.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Since the 18th Party Congress, facing profound domestic and international changes, General Secretary Xi Jinping has scientifically grasped global trends and China\u2019s developmental characteristics, making a series of important statements on socialist economic construction. Centered on \u201cnew form of human civilization,\u201d \u201cgrasping the new development stage,\u201d and \u201cbuilding a new development paradigm,\u201d these form an academic theoretical system of \u201cgeneral\u2013specific\u2013concrete\u201d: general theory manifests in specific developmental stages and further develops through solving real problems, embodying organic unity of theoretical, historical, and practical logic\u2014a product of integrating Marxist fundamentals with Chinese reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, \u201cnew form of human civilization\u201d constitutes the general theoretical level of 21st-century Marxist economics. This level abstracts the general determinants of socialism with Chinese characteristics\u2019 economic base, analyzes its pure economic form, takes material production as its object, and elucidates interrelations among economic categories to reveal its operational laws. Enterprises, as market entities, are \u201cmain participants in China\u2019s economic activities, primary providers of employment, and chief drivers of technological progress\u201d serving as basic units organizing material production. [Xi Jinping, \u201cSpeech at the Entrepreneurs\u2019 Forum,\u201d People\u2019s Daily, July 22, 2020.] Through cycles of purchasing, producing, and selling, they form extensive social relations\u2014labor relations, inter-firm relations, urban-rural\/regional relations, enterprise-ecology relations, enterprise-government relations, and international relations\u2014manifesting statistically as wages, profits, taxes, imports\/exports, etc. The dominant mode of production in a given period determines these social relations and economic categories, together forming a techno-economic system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid contradictions between social production and needs, enterprises innovate technologically and organizationally to meet social demands, driving mode-of-production transformation, altering underlying social relations, reshaping category interrelations, and forming new techno-economic systems\u2014creating a virtuous cycle where \u201cinvestment yields returns enterprises earn profits, employees receive income, and governments collect taxes\u201d propelling economic growth. [Xi Jinping, The Governance of China, Vol. 3 (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2020), pp. 238\u2013239.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, \u201cgrasping the new development stage\u201d constitutes the developmental stage level. Every socio-economic formation undergoes natural progression, divided into stages by evolving principal contradictions. This level studies how typical, dominant techno-economic systems operate at different stages, resolving contradictions while simultaneously generating new ones. Third, \u201cbuilding a new development paradigm\u201d constitutes the real-problem level. \u201cThe source of any theory is rich, vivid real life; its driving force is the practical need to resolve social contradictions and problems.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cArming the Whole Party with Marxism and Its Sinicized Innovative Theories,\u201d Qiushi, No. 22 (2021).] The ultimate purpose of theory-building is solving real problems. This level studies the principal contradiction of the current stage\u2014the new development stage\u2014and proposes policy recommendations to transform outdated techno-economic systems and construct a new development paradigm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its founding, the CPC has steadfastly upheld communist ideals and socialist beliefs, uniting and leading all ethnic groups through new-democratic revolution, socialist revolution and construction, reform and opening-up, and socialist modernization, ushering socialism with Chinese characteristics into a new era and creating a new socio-economic formation guided by scientific socialism\u2014socialism with Chinese characteristics. \u201cScientific socialism is by no means a rigid dogma.\u201d Socialism with Chinese characteristics \u201cis neither a simple continuation of China\u2019s historical-cultural template, nor a mechanical application of classical Marxist blueprints, nor a replica of other countries\u2019 socialist practices, nor a copy of foreign modernization models.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cSpeech at the 200th Anniversary of Marx\u2019s Birth,\u201d People\u2019s Daily, May 5, 2018.] It is a new form of human civilization. Determining a society\u2019s socio-economic nature is a prerequisite for Marxists to uncover social movement laws and a fundamental condition for communists to undertake socialist construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marx and Engels, focusing on capitalist economic relations, studied capitalism\u2019s operational laws, founded Marxist political economy, revealed capitalism\u2019s historical trajectory of emergence, development, and demise, and theoretically transformed socialism from utopia to science, clarifying general determinants of future society. Unlike capitalism\u2014whose socio-economic formation preceded its conceptual and theoretical articulation\u2014the construction of a new socialist formation unfolded under Marxist theoretical guidance. \u201cMarxism is a practical theory\u2026 not a dogma but a guide to action, which must develop with practice.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cSpeech at the 200th Anniversary of Marx\u2019s Birth,\u201d People\u2019s Daily, May 5, 2018.] Socialist practice, in turn, innovates Marxist theory. [Wei Xinghua, \u201cConscious, Planned Development Is an Objective Requirement and Key Feature of Socialism,\u201d Economic Review, No. 10 (2017)]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lenin analyzed capitalism\u2019s socio-economic nature in its monopolistic stage, discovered the law of uneven development in the world system, founded imperialism theory, proposed the possibility of socialist revolution in capitalism\u2019s weakest link, and put it into practice, establishing the world\u2019s first socialist state. Mao Zedong correctly analyzed modern China\u2019s semi-colonial, semi-feudal nature, clarified the revolution\u2019s targets, driving forces, character, and dual tasks, founded new-democratic theory, ended China\u2019s semi-colonial, semi-feudal history, established socialist basic systems through revolution and construction, and achieved the great leap of a poor, populous Eastern country into socialist society. Comrade Xi Jinping, synthesizing communists\u2019 wisdom, accurately grasping laws of human and socialist societal development, and correctly analyzing the socio-economic nature of socialism with Chinese characteristics\u2019 has proposed the novel judgment of a \u201cnew form of human civilization,\u201d clarifying socialism with Chinese characteristics as such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together with \u201cgrasping the new development stage\u201d and \u201cbuilding a new development paradigm,\u201d it forms a scientific academic theoretical system\u2014comprising \u201cChina\u2019s path, China\u2019s governance, and China\u2019s reasoning\u201d\u2014elevating communists\u2019 explorations of socialist socio-economic formation into systematic economic theory, pioneering 21st-century Marxist economics, and marking a new peak in Marxist development following Marx\u2019s political economy, Lenin\u2019s imperialism theory, and Mao\u2019s new-democratic theory. \u201cAs a nation wishes to stand at the pinnacle of science, it cannot do without theoretical thinking for a single moment.\u201d \u201cEvery major leap in human society and every significant advancement in human civilization owes itself to transformative knowledge and intellectual leadership in philosophy and social sciences.\u201d [Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Collected Works, Vol. 9 (Beijing: People\u2019s Publishing House, 2009), p. 437; Xi Jinping, \u201cSpeech at the Symposium on Philosophy and Social Sciences,\u201d People\u2019s Daily, May 19, 2016.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fundamental task of accelerating China\u2019s philosophy and social sciences lies in constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system, whose \u201cautonomy\u201d precisely stems from the \u201cnew form of human civilization.\u201d First, specific socio-economic formations are the foundational subjects of knowledge-system construction. \u201cThere is no pure philosophy or social science in the world. Great achievements in these fields arise from answering and solving major human and societal problems.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cSpeech at the Symposium on Philosophy and Social Sciences,\u201d People\u2019s Daily, May 19, 2016.] The dominant global knowledge system emerged after capitalism\u2019s rise, constructed around Western discourse to serve industrial capitalism\u2019s needs. [Yang Dong and Xu Xinyu, \u201cOutline for Constructing an Independent Chinese Knowledge System,\u201d Journal of Renmin University of China, No. 3 (2022).] Accordingly, China\u2019s independent knowledge system must center on the \u201cnew form of human civilization,\u201d taking China and the era as its reference points to serve socialism with Chinese characteristics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, the \u201cnew form of human civilization\u201d embodies distinct national characteristics, resonating with Marxist philosophy and serving as the fundamental guideline for constructing China\u2019s independent knowledge system. Unlike Western philosophy\u2019s focus on linear cause-effect relationships, Chinese philosophy emphasizes dynamic interrelations among nature, society, and change. [Zhang Dongsun, Knowledge and Culture (Beijing: Commercial Press, 1946), p. 99.] Traditional Chinese thought\u2014\u201cbeing and non-being give birth to each other; difficult and easy complete each other; long and short define each other; high and low incline toward each other; sound and voice harmonize with each other; front and back follow each other\u201d\u2014aligns with Marxism\u2019s principle of universal interconnection. Comrade Xi Jinping profoundly stated, \u201cThings in the world are always interconnected in various ways; we cannot view development in isolation or stasis, lest we fall into the trap of blind men touching an elephant or partiality.\u201d [Xi Jinping, \u201cUpholding Historical Materialism to Continuously Open New Horizons for Contemporary Chinese Marxism,\u201d Qiushi, No. 2 (2020).] This is the fundamental method for constructing China\u2019s independent knowledge system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, the \u201cnew form of human civilization\u201d dialectically transcends capitalist socio-economic formations, just as China\u2019s independent knowledge system reflects upon, develops, and breaks through the Eurocentric knowledge system. The CPC\u2019s century-long practice in building a \u201cnew form of human civilization\u201d contributes Chinese wisdom and solutions to global progress. China\u2019s independent knowledge system must revolve around this concept, \u201cgrounded in China\u2019s reality, solving China\u2019s problems, continuously promoting creative transformation and innovative development of China\u2019s fine traditional culture, and advancing knowledge, theory, and methodological innovation, so that China\u2019s philosophy and social sciences truly stand tall in the global academic community,\u201d answering China\u2019s, the world\u2019s, the people\u2019s, and the era\u2019s questions. [Xi Jinping, \u201cUphold Party Leadership, Inherit Our Red Genes, Root Ourselves in China, and Forge a New Path for World-Class Universities with Chinese Characteristics,\u201d People\u2019s Daily, April 26, 2022.]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Xi Jinping’s Original Contribution to Marxist Political Economy “A New Form of Human Civilization” Concept Represents Comrade Xi Jinping’s Original Contribution to Marxist Political Economy February 2022 Authors: Xie Fusheng, Deputy Director of the National Research Center for the Political Economy of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics at Renmin University of China, and Professor at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,30,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-en","category-socialism-en","category-uncategorized"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6170,"href":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6169\/revisions\/6170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marksizm.org.tr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}