Common Prosperity: A “Chinese Solution” for Realizing Fairness and Justice

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all the people. Common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics and also a long historical process. We take the realization of the people’s aspiration for a better life as the starting point and goal of modernization, strive to uphold and promote social fairness and justice, work to promote common prosperity for all the people, and resolutely prevent polarization. Common prosperity is not only China’s practice concerning fairness and justice, but also a “signature concept” and core category in the theory of fairness and justice. The theoretical summation and systematic construction of common prosperity lay a solid theoretical foundation for advancing and realizing the “Chinese solution” for fairness and justice.

习近平总书记指出，中国式现代化是全体人民共同富裕的现代化。共同富裕是中国特色社会主义的本质要求，也是一个长期的历史过程。我们坚持把实现人民对美好生活的向往作为现代化建设的出发点和落脚点，着力维护和促进社会公平正义，着力促进全体人民共同富裕，坚决防止两极分化。共同富裕不仅是中国关于公平正义的实践，而且是有关公平正义理论的“标识性概念”和核心范畴。对共同富裕的理论总结和体系构建，为推进和实现公平正义的“中国方案”奠定坚实的理论基础。

The Great Practice of Socialist Fairness and Justice

社会主义公平正义的伟大实践

Fairness and justice have been a value ideal of human society since ancient times, a value yardstick for measuring comprehensive social progress, and a core theoretical issue in political philosophy. As an ideal and concept, fairness and justice are not empty, abstract notions divorced from reality, but are consistent with the historical process and essential requirements of social development. Fairness and justice are an essential requirement of socialism; socialist fairness and justice safeguard the fundamental interests of all the people, and the people-centered nature is the fundamental value orientation of socialist fairness and justice. The Communist Party of China adheres to guiding social practice with the basic theories of Marxism and the fundamental principles of materialism. Throughout the history of the establishment, construction, and development of socialism, it has consistently taken the contradiction between the people’s satisfaction of interests and the need for a better life on the one hand, and socialist production on the other, as the principal contradiction of society; it takes whether the people support, approve, are satisfied, and agree as the fundamental criterion for measuring the success or failure of all work; on the road to common prosperity, no one is to be left behind; it earnestly ensures that the masses have a greater sense of gain, happiness, and security.

公平正义是人类社会自古以来的价值理想，是衡量社会全面进步的价值尺度，也是政治哲学探讨的核心理论问题。作为一种理想理念，公平正义并不是远离实际的空洞的抽象概念，而是同社会发展的历史进程和本质要求相一致。公平正义是社会主义的本质要求，社会主义的公平正义维护全体人民的根本利益，人民性是社会主义公平正义的根本价值取向。中国共产党坚持以马克思主义基本理论和唯物主义基本原理来指导社会实践，在社会主义的建立、建设和发展的历史中，始终将人民的利益满足和美好生活的需要与社会主义生产之间不一致的矛盾作为社会的主要矛盾；把人民拥护不拥护、赞成不赞成、高兴不高兴、答应不答应作为衡量一切工作得失的根本标准；在共同富裕的路上，一个也不能掉队；切实保障人民群众有更多的获得感、幸福感和安全感。

Advancing and realizing common prosperity is the great practice of Chinese socialism concerning fairness and justice. First, winning the battle against poverty, eliminating absolute poverty, and consolidating the foundation for achieving common prosperity. Poverty is a chronic ailment of human society, and fighting poverty and shaking it off has always been a prominent challenge troubling global development and governance. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era, and the battle against poverty has achieved an absolute victory, historically eliminating absolute poverty, realizing the moderately prosperous life that was the millennia-old dream of the Chinese nation, creating a miracle in the history of human poverty reduction, and placing China’s development at a higher historical starting point. The comprehensive victory in the battle against poverty marks a solid major step forward by our Party on the road of uniting and leading the people to create a better life and achieve common prosperity.

推进和实现共同富裕，是中国社会主义有关公平正义的伟大实践。首先，打赢脱贫攻坚战，消除绝对贫困，夯实实现共同富裕的基础。贫困是人类社会的顽疾，反贫困、摆脱贫困一直是困扰全球发展和治理的突出难题。党的十八大以来，中国特色社会主义进入新时代，脱贫攻坚取得绝对性胜利，历史性地消除了绝对贫困，实现了中华民族千年梦想的小康生活，创造了人类减贫史上的奇迹，使我国发展站在了更高历史起点上。脱贫攻坚战的全面胜利，标志着我们党在团结带领人民创造美好生活、实现共同富裕的道路上迈出了坚实的一大步。

Second, endowing common prosperity with new epochal connotations and new requirements. The new connotations and new requirements are reflected in the richer content and clearer principles involved in common prosperity. The content of common prosperity is all-encompassing, including material abundance, spiritual enrichment, and other higher political and social requirements. When material abundance is satisfied and elevated to a considerable degree, the people’s aspiration for a better life raises higher demands. Not only does spiritual enrichment become a genuine internal requirement, but other factors such as democracy, the rule of law, fairness, justice, security, and the environment are also inevitable appeals and claims of common prosperity. As for principles, sharing and equality become clearer and more definite. Common prosperity means that all people share the fruits of social development, truly embodying the concept of justice as equality for all members of society. Common prosperity can only be realized in a socialist society. The capitalist theoretical conception and practice of fairness and justice can only be a matter of improvement, adjustment, and patching up under capitalist private ownership. Common prosperity is absolutely incompatible with capitalist inequality and polarization. The purpose of common prosperity is to continuously promote the all-round development of the individual, taking people’s needs as the key point of application and seeking and promoting development through the unity of the human scale and the material scale.

其次，赋予共同富裕以时代性的新内涵和新要求。新内涵和新要求体现为共同富裕所涉内容更加丰富，原则更加明确。共同富裕的内容是全方位的，包括物质丰裕、精神富裕以及其他政治、社会的更高要求。当物质丰裕在相当程度上得到满足和提升后，人民对美好生活的向往提出了更高的要求。不仅精神富裕上升为真实内在的要求，其他因素如民主、法治、公平、正义、安全、环境等也是共同富裕的必然诉求和主张。对于原则，共享和平等更加清晰明确。共同富裕是所有人共享社会发展成果，真正体现了社会全体成员平等的正义理念。共同富裕只有在社会主义社会才能得到实现。资本主义对公平正义的理论构想和实践，只可能是在资本主义私有制下的改良调试和修修补补。共同富裕与资本主义的不平等和两极分化绝不相容。共同富裕的目的是不断促进人的全面发展，以人的需要为关键落点、以人的尺度和物的尺度相统一来谋发展、促发展。

Third, relying on and leveraging the advantages of the socialist system. The socialist market economy system fully leverages the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, ensuring higher production efficiency; it leverages the government’s macro-control function to solve the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development through the concept of sharing. In his important speech at the opening ceremony of a seminar for leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial level on studying and implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must both create higher efficiency than capitalism and more effectively maintain social fairness, better achieving the mutual consideration, promotion, and unity of efficiency and fairness.” A multi-level distribution mechanism is constructed, fully leveraging the roles of primary distribution, redistribution, and tertiary distribution, effectively balancing the roles of all factors of production such as labor, technology, capital, and management in the market economy, and ensuring fair distribution. A minimum living standard guarantee system and framework is established, providing social members with basic employment security, old-age security, livelihood security, education and cultural services, and health security, ensuring that all people live a decent and satisfactory life. Comprehensive institutional guarantees and practices lay a solid institutional foundation for the realization of common prosperity.

再次，依靠和发挥社会主义制度优势。社会主义的市场经济体系充分发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用，保证了更高的生产效率；发挥政府的宏观调控作用，以共享理念破解发展不平衡不充分问题。习近平总书记在学习贯彻党的二十大精神研讨班开班式上发表重要讲话指出：“既要创造比资本主义更高的效率，又要更有效地维护社会公平，更好实现效率与公平相兼顾、相促进、相统一。”构建多层次的分配机制，充分发挥初次分配、再分配和三次分配的作用，有效平衡市场经济中劳动、技术、资本和管理等全要素的作用，确保分配的公平。构建最低生活保障制度和体系，为社会成员提供基本就业保障、养老保障、生活保障、教育和文化服务、健康保障，确保全体人民过上体面的满意的生活。全方位的制度保障和实践为共同富裕的实现奠定了坚实的制度基础。

Finally, formulating a clear and definite “roadmap” to ensure orderly advancement. Common prosperity is divided into two practical stages. The first is from 2020 to 2035, basically realizing socialist modernization, with “solid steps taken in common prosperity for all the people.” The second is from 2035 to the middle of this century, building China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful. By that time, “common prosperity for all the people will be basically realized, and our people will enjoy a happier and more secure life.” China’s stipulation of the essence of socialism, its stipulation of the content of common prosperity, its adherence to principles, its institutional guarantees, and its roadmap effectively realize the sharing of the benefits of social cooperation by all the people. Whether from basic theoretical understanding or from institutional practice, the advancement and practice of common prosperity greatly promote social fairness and justice.

最后，制定清晰明确的“路线图”确保有序推进。共同富裕分为两个实践阶段，一是从2020年到2035年，基本实现社会主义现代化，“全体人民共同富裕迈出坚实步伐”；二是从2035年到本世纪中叶，把我国建成富强民主文明和谐美丽的社会主义现代化强国。到那时，“全体人民共同富裕基本实现，我国人民将享有更加幸福安康的生活”。中国对社会主义本质的规定，对共同富裕内容的规定、原则的坚守、制度保障以及路线图，有力地实现了全体人民对社会合作利益的共享。无论从基本的理论认知还是从制度实践上，共同富裕的推进和实践大大促进了社会的公平正义。

The Theoretical Sublimation of Socialist Fairness and Justice

社会主义公平正义的理论升华

The great practice and achievements of common prosperity require the construction of our own theory of justice to summarize them. Contemporary China is undergoing the most extensive and profound social changes in its history, and is also carrying out the most grand and unique practical innovation in human history. Over more than 100 years, the Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people to achieve extraordinary accomplishments in socialist revolution, construction, and reform, completing a modernization process that took the West several hundred years, and socialist construction has also achieved changes and accomplishments visible to the world. Advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, developing whole-process people’s democracy, comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, historically solving the problem of absolute poverty, promoting common prosperity for all the people, and building a community with a shared future for mankind—these major practices and achievements concerning fairness and justice cannot be explained by the theoretical framework of any Western school of political philosophy, the theoretical model of any school of thought, or the theory of justice of any philosopher. The practices and achievements of contemporary China have already broken through the framework and boundaries of existing Western political philosophy and justice theory, urgently requiring our own theory to explain, summarize, and sublimate them, and to profoundly and comprehensively answer the questions of the new era.

共同富裕的伟大实践和成就需要构建起我们自己的正义理论来总结。当代中国正经历着我国历史上最为广泛而深刻的社会变革，也正在进行着人类历史上最为宏大而独特的实践创新。100多年来，中国共产党带领中国人民在社会主义革命、建设和改革中取得了非凡的成就，完成了西方几百年才能完成的现代化历程，社会主义建设也取得了世界有目共睹的变化和成就。推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化、发展全过程人民民主、全面建成了小康社会、历史性地解决了绝对贫困问题、促进全体人民共同富裕、构建人类命运共同体等，这些有关公平正义的重大实践和成就，用西方任何一个学派的政治哲学理论框架、任何一个流派的理论模型、任何一个哲学家的正义理论都无法解释。当代中国的实践及其成就早已突破现有西方政治哲学理论和正义理论的框架和边界，迫切需要我们自己的理论来解释、总结和升华，并深刻而全面回答新的时代问题。

Common prosperity is a conceptual category that condenses China’s major social practices and theoretical understandings concerning fairness and justice. Concepts are both a form of human thought and a product of human cognition. Common prosperity is the theoretical picture, conceptual system, and ideational framework through which we grasp a fair and just Chinese society. It not only marks our important practices of fairness and justice but also incorporates unique elements from Chinese philosophical thought, which has a history and cultural tradition spanning several millennia, into itself; it is an “original concept” and “signature concept” through which China expresses its ideas of fairness and justice. Common prosperity provides us with a conceptual system for constructing a Chinese theory of fairness and justice in a specialized, scholarly, and systematic manner. Fairness and justice are values and ideals pursued by all societies, but they are not empty; they are inseparable from their social practices and theoretical understandings. In the historical practice of socialism, the elimination of absolute poverty, the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society, the satisfaction of needs for a better life, the elimination of polarization, and the sharing of benefits together constitute the basic connotations of common prosperity as methods, purposes, principles, and ideas; and, taking common prosperity as the core category, they together construct a socialist theory of fairness and justice. Great social practices and their achievements, along with theoretical summaries and their systematic construction, have laid a solid scholarly and academic foundation for common prosperity and its fairness and justice. In the historical practice and theoretical construction of fairness and justice, common prosperity is undoubtedly a “Chinese solution” that China has contributed to the world by advancing and practicing fairness and justice.

共同富裕是凝结着中国有关公平正义的重大社会实践和理论认知的概念范畴。概念是人类的思维形式，又是人类的认识成果。共同富裕是我们把握中国公平正义社会的理论图景、概念系统和观念体系。它不仅标识着我们对公平正义的重要实践，而且将具有几千年历史文化和文明传统的中国哲学思想中的独特元素融入其中，是中国表征其公平正义思想的“原创性概念”和“标识性概念”。共同富裕为我们以专业化、学理化和体系化的方式构建中国的公平正义理论提供了概念系统。公平正义是所有社会都追求的价值和理想，但是公平正义并不是空洞的，而是同其社会实践和理论认知分不开。在社会主义的历史实践中，消除绝对贫困、全面建成小康社会、满足美好生活需要、消除两极分化以及利益共享，它们以方法、目的、原则以及理念等一起构成共同富裕的基本内涵，并将共同富裕作为核心范畴同其他概念一起构建了社会主义的公平正义理论。伟大的社会实践及其成就、理论的总结及其体系构建，为共同富裕及其公平正义奠定了坚实的学理和学术基础。在公平正义的历史实践和理论构建上，共同富裕无疑是中国推进和实践公平正义而为世界贡献的“中国方案”。

(The author is a professor at the School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China.)

（作者系中国人民大学哲学院教授）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧