Establish and Improve a Long-Term Mechanism for Cultural-Ethical Progress

During the recent Dragon Boat Festival, various locations across the country, relying on New Era Civilization Practice Centers (stations, sites) that cover both urban and rural areas, organized a rich variety of activities, reflecting the new atmosphere and new achievements of cultural-ethical progress in the New Era. [1]1 The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, commemorating the ancient poet Qu Yuan. Socialist cultural-ethical progress is a systematic project that requires sustained and persistent effort. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, a series of important discourses by General Secretary Xi Jinping have scientifically answered a host of major theoretical and practical questions concerning cultural-ethical progress in the New Era, deepened our Party’s understanding of the laws governing socialist cultural-ethical progress, and constitute an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. [2]2 Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is a component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, formally articulated at a national conference on cultural and ideological work in 2023. General Secretary Xi Jinping recently issued an important directive on cultural-ethical progress work, emphasizing the need to strengthen organizational leadership, deepen reform and innovation, extensively mobilize social participation, and form a long-term mechanism for cultural-ethical progress in which all departments work together and assume their respective responsibilities. This is both a profound summary of our country’s historical experience in cultural-ethical progress and an important requirement put forward in light of the new situation and new tasks, pointing the way forward and providing methodological pathways for promoting high-quality development of cultural-ethical progress on the new journey of the New Era.

前不久的端午节期间，全国各地依托覆盖城乡的新时代文明实践中心（所、站），组织开展丰富多彩的活动，折射出新时代精神文明建设的新气象新作为。社会主义精神文明建设是久久为功的系统工程，需要锲而不舍、一以贯之地抓好。党的十八大以来，习近平总书记作出的一系列重要论述，科学回答了新时代精神文明建设的一系列重大理论和实践问题，深化了我们党对社会主义精神文明建设的规律性认识，是习近平文化思想的重要组成部分。习近平总书记近日对精神文明建设工作作出重要指示强调，要加强组织领导，深化改革创新，广泛动员社会参与，形成齐抓共管的精神文明建设长效机制。这既是对我国精神文明建设历史经验的深刻总结，也是根据新形势新任务提出的重要要求，为新时代新征程推动精神文明建设高质量发展指明了前进方向、提供了方法路径。

Summarize and Carry Forward Valuable Historical Experience

总结发扬宝贵历史经验

A person cannot stand without spirit, and a country cannot be strong without spirit. The rise of a country and the rejuvenation of a nation require both powerful material forces and powerful spiritual forces. Forming a long-term mechanism for cultural-ethical progress in which all departments work together and assume their respective responsibilities is a profound summary and refinement of our Party’s historical experience in socialist cultural-ethical progress since reform and opening up, and especially since the 18th National Congress of the CPC.

人无精神不立，国无精神不强。一个国家的崛起、一个民族的复兴需要强大的物质力量，也需要强大的精神力量。形成齐抓共管的精神文明建设长效机制，是我们党对改革开放以来特别是党的十八大以来社会主义精神文明建设历史经验的深刻总结和提炼升华。

After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC, our Party made the historic decision to shift the focus of the Party and state work to economic construction and implement reform and opening up. While emphasizing socialist material progress, it also recognized the extreme importance of cultural-ethical progress. [3]3 The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, held in December 1978, marked the beginning of China’s reform and opening-up era under Deng Xiaoping. The Resolution on the Guiding Principles for Socialist Cultural-Ethical Progress adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 12th Central Committee of the CPC proposed that “strengthening cultural-ethical progress is not only the task of ideological, cultural, and educational departments, but also the task of all fronts and all departments,” indicating that cultural-ethical progress must be jointly managed by all parties. With the deepening of our country’s reform and opening up and the development of the socialist market economy, socialist cultural-ethical progress faced a more open and more complex internal and external environment. The Resolution on Several Important Issues Concerning Strengthening Socialist Cultural-Ethical Progress adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 14th Central Committee of the CPC further emphasized that “building socialist cultural-ethical progress is long-term and complex” and that “cultural-ethical progress must be persistently pursued.” Subsequently, the Central Spiritual Civilization Steering Committee and its offices, as well as their local counterparts at all levels, were successively established, and the civilization steering committees at all levels played an important role in coordinating and integrating the forces of all parties in building cultural-ethical progress. Entering the new century, facing the rapid economic and social development of our country, the independence, selectivity, variability, and differences in people’s ideological activities became markedly enhanced. Cultural-ethical progress required broader participation of social forces and more normalized institutional mechanisms. A leadership system and working mechanism was established, characterized by “unified leadership by Party committees, joint management by Party and government groups, organization and coordination by civilization steering committees, respective responsibilities by relevant departments, and active participation by the whole society,” forming a favorable situation in which the entire Party and the whole society jointly care for and support cultural-ethical progress.

党的十一届三中全会后，我们党作出把党和国家工作中心转移到经济建设上来、实行改革开放的历史性决策，在重视社会主义物质文明建设的同时，也认识到精神文明建设的极端重要性。党的十二届六中全会通过的《中共中央关于社会主义精神文明建设指导方针的决议》提出“加强精神文明建设，不单是思想文教部门的任务，而且是各条战线和一切部门的任务”，表明精神文明建设必须齐抓共管。随着我国改革开放的深入和社会主义市场经济的发展，社会主义精神文明建设面临更加开放、更加复杂的内外环境。党的十四届六中全会通过的《中共中央关于加强社会主义精神文明建设若干重要问题的决议》进一步强调，“建设社会主义精神文明是长期的、复杂的”“精神文明建设必须常抓不懈”。随后，中央和地方各级精神文明建设指导委员会及办公室相继成立，各级文明委在统筹协调各方力量建设精神文明过程中发挥了重要作用。进入新世纪，面对我国经济社会的快速发展，人们思想活动的独立性、选择性、多变性、差异性明显增强，精神文明建设需要更广泛的社会力量参与、更常态的制度机制，建立了“党委统一领导、党政群齐抓共管、文明委组织协调、有关部门各负其责、全社会积极参与”的领导体制和工作机制，形成全党全社会共同关心支持精神文明建设的良好局面。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, from an overall and strategic perspective, has promoted the coordinated development of material progress and cultural-ethical progress, placed cultural-ethical progress in an important position, deployed a series of important tasks, and coordinated the promotion of civilization cultivation, civilization practice, and civilization creation, ensuring the implementation of all aspects of cultural-ethical progress work. A series of documents were issued, including the Opinions on Cultivating and Practicing Core Socialist Values, the Opinions on Promoting the Institutionalization of Volunteer Services, the Guiding Opinions on Deepening Mass Civilized Creation Activities, and the Implementation Outline for Civic Moral Construction in the New Era, transforming some basic moral norms into legal norms. Through the joint efforts of all parties, the field of cultural-ethical progress has undergone comprehensive, profound, and fundamental changes. The civilized quality of the people and the level of social civility have significantly improved, and the people’s spiritual outlook has become more uplifted, providing strong spiritual support for forging ahead on the new journey.

党的十八大以来，中国特色社会主义进入新时代。以习近平同志为核心的党中央从全局和战略高度，推动物质文明和精神文明协调发展，把精神文明建设摆在重要位置，部署一系列重要工作，统筹推动文明培育、文明实践、文明创建，抓好精神文明建设各项工作。推出《关于培育和践行社会主义核心价值观的意见》《关于推进志愿服务制度化的意见》《关于深化群众性精神文明创建活动的指导意见》《新时代公民道德建设实施纲要》等一系列文件，把一些基本道德规范转化为法律规范。在各方面共同努力下，精神文明建设领域发生全面、深刻、根本性的变化，人民文明素养和社会文明程度显著提升，精神面貌更加昂扬，为奋进新征程提供强大精神支撑。

Fully Reflect the Characteristics of the Times and the Laws of Development

充分体现时代特征发展规律

Cultural-ethical progress has the characteristics of the times and laws of development. Forming a long-term mechanism for cultural-ethical progress in which all departments work together and assume their respective responsibilities is a scientific response to the characteristics of the times, development trends, and practical requirements.

精神文明具有时代特征和发展规律。形成齐抓共管的精神文明建设长效机制，是对时代特征、发展趋势、实践要求的科学回应。

An inevitable choice to respond to what the people desire. Entering the New Era, the principal contradiction in our society has been transformed. The better life the people aspire to is not only a material life of “well-stocked granaries and adequate food and clothing” but also a social atmosphere of “knowing etiquette and knowing honor and disgrace.” [4]4 The phrase “well-stocked granaries and adequate food and clothing” and “knowing etiquette and knowing honor and disgrace” is a classical allusion from the ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian’s *Records of the Grand Historian*. Currently, there are still gaps in the level of cultural-ethical progress between urban and rural areas and between regions, and phenomena such as moral anomie and lack of integrity still exist in some fields. Forming a long-term mechanism for cultural-ethical progress in which all departments work together and assume their respective responsibilities can integrate resources from all sides, coordinate forces from all parties, focus on solving the problems of imbalance between material progress and cultural-ethical progress and insufficient development of cultural-ethical progress, and continuously meet the people’s growing needs for a better life.

回应人民所盼的必然选择。进入新时代，我国社会主要矛盾发生转化，人民向往的美好生活，不仅是“仓廪实衣食足”的物质生活，而且还向往“知礼节知荣辱”的社会风气。当前，我国城乡、区域之间精神文明建设水平尚有差距，部分领域道德失范、诚信缺失等现象依然存在。形成齐抓共管的精神文明建设长效机制，能够整合各方资源，协调各方力量，着力解决物质文明与精神文明发展不平衡、精神文明发展不充分的问题，不断满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要。

An inherent requirement to adapt to the needs of the times. Cultural-ethical progress is a complex systematic project, involving multiple aspects such as ideology and morality, cultural construction, and social customs, integrated into various fields of economy, politics, culture, society, and ecological civilization construction, and running through all links of reform, development, and stability. With the development of the times and social progress, the interconnectedness between various fields of our country’s economy and society and various aspects of cultural-ethical progress has further strengthened. Cultural-ethical progress requires coordination and cooperation among various departments, fields, and links. Adhering to a systematic approach, building a long-term mechanism for cultural-ethical progress in which all departments work together and assume their respective responsibilities, incorporating Party committees, governments, social organizations, enterprises, and citizens into the system of cultural-ethical progress, and innovating coordination and linkage mechanisms, can only then promote civilization cultivation, civilization practice, and civilization creation in a coherent manner, achieving joint construction, joint governance, and shared benefits.

适应时代所需的内在要求。精神文明建设是一项复杂的系统工程，涉及思想道德、文化建设、社会风尚等多个方面，融入经济、政治、文化、社会、生态文明建设各个领域，贯穿改革发展稳定各个环节。随着时代发展和社会进步，我国经济社会各领域、精神文明各方面的联动性进一步增强，精神文明建设需要各个部门、各个领域、各个环节之间的协同配合。坚持系统观念，构建齐抓共管的精神文明建设长效机制，将党委、政府、社会组织、企业、公民等都纳入精神文明建设系统之中，创新协同联动机制，才能贯通推进文明培育、文明实践、文明创建，实现共建共治共享。

A strategic move to follow the laws of development. Cultural-ethical progress, in the final analysis, is the construction of people’s thoughts and souls, focusing on cultivating socialist builders with a correct worldview, outlook on life, and values. It is neither a temporary achievement nor can it be accomplished overnight. Using culture to educate people, continuously enriching people’s spiritual world, and promoting the comprehensive development of people is a process of subtle influence and gradual progress. Moreover, in the current era of highly developed information technology, the penetration and influence of Western ideology will be long-term and complex. All this determines the importance and arduousness of cultural-ethical progress. The construction of systems and mechanisms is more fundamental, comprehensive, and stable. Building a long-term mechanism for cultural-ethical progress in which all departments work together and assume their respective responsibilities means using institutional mechanisms to overcome the “passing fad” phenomenon caused by “campaign-style” governance, promoting sustained and persistent efforts in cultural-ethical progress, and achieving good results.

遵循发展规律的战略之举。精神文明建设，说到底是人的思想建设、灵魂建设，聚焦的是造就具有正确世界观、人生观、价值观的社会主义建设者，既非一时之功，也不可能一蹴而就。以文化人、以文育人，不断丰富人民精神世界，促进人的全面发展，是一个润物无声、循序渐进的过程。而且，当今时代，信息技术高度发达，西方意识形态的渗透影响将是长期的、复杂的。这都决定了精神文明建设的重要性和艰巨性。制度和机制建设更带有根本性、全局性、稳定性。构建齐抓共管的精神文明建设长效机制，就是以制度机制克服“运动式”治理导致的“一阵风”现象，推动精神文明建设久久为功、善作善成。

Persistently Form a Strong Joint Force

持之以恒形成强大合力

“All departments work together and assume their respective responsibilities” emphasizes forming a joint force and collaborative governance, while “long-term mechanism” reflects sustained and persistent effort. Establishing and improving a long-term mechanism for cultural-ethical progress in which all departments work together and assume their respective responsibilities, overall, involves through institutional innovation, subject coordination, and resource integration, building consensus and forming a joint force, so that the flower of civilization blooms persistently on the land of China, providing a strong ideological guarantee, powerful spiritual strength, and rich moral nourishment for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.

“齐抓共管”强调形成合力、协同治理，“长效机制”体现持之以恒、绵绵用力。建立健全齐抓共管的精神文明建设长效机制，总体而言是通过制度创新、主体协同、资源整合，凝聚共识、形成合力，让文明之花在中华大地上持久绽放，为强国建设、民族复兴提供坚强的思想保证、强大的精神力量、丰润的道德滋养。

Strengthen organizational leadership and form a working joint force. The Party plays the core leadership role of commanding the overall situation and coordinating all parties. The key to building material progress lies in the Party, and the key to building cultural-ethical progress also lies in the Party. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that “Party committees at all levels must shoulder their own responsibilities and earnestly do a good job in all aspects of cultural-ethical progress work.” Under the unified leadership of the Party committee, it is necessary to strengthen the “one chessboard” awareness, strengthen organization and coordination, establish a working system in which Party and government departments and people’s organizations such as trade unions, the Communist Youth League, and women’s federations work together and assume their respective responsibilities, gather and form a joint force to promote cultural-ethical progress, and solve the problems of each acting on its own and scattered resources. It is necessary to improve the assessment and evaluation mechanism, take the effectiveness of cultural-ethical progress as an important indicator for measuring work performance, promote leading cadres at all levels to effectively assume the leadership responsibility for cultural-ethical progress, and ensure that all tasks of cultural-ethical progress are effectively implemented.

加强组织领导，形成工作合力。党发挥总揽全局、协调各方的领导核心作用。建设物质文明关键在党，建设精神文明关键也在党。习近平总书记强调，“各级党委要担负好自己的责任，切实抓好精神文明建设各项工作”。在党委统一领导下，要强化“一盘棋”意识，加强组织协调，建立党政各部门和工会、共青团、妇联等人民团体齐抓共管、各负其责的工作体制，凝聚形成推进精神文明建设的合力，破解各自为战、资源分散的难题。要完善考核评价机制，把精神文明建设成效作为衡量工作业绩的重要指标，推动各级领导干部切实担负起精神文明建设的领导责任，确保精神文明建设的各项任务得到有效落实。

Deepen reform and innovation, stimulate momentum and vitality. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC [5]5 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC: A major meeting of the Communist Party of China’s top leadership, held in July 2024, focused on deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization. made reform deployments, requiring the improvement of the ideological work responsibility system, promoting the institutionalization and normalization of ideal and belief education, and improving and innovating the working mechanisms for cultural cultivation, cultural practice, and cultural creation, which will use institutional guarantees to effectively promote the quality and efficiency of cultural-ethical progress. It must also be noted that the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered a critical period, and cultural-ethical progress faces many new situations and new problems. Only by actively promoting innovation in concepts, content, means, and methods can we continuously adapt to the requirements of the development of the times and ensure that cultural-ethical progress always maintains vigorous vitality and strong momentum. We must firmly establish a people-centered work orientation, strive to meet the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the people, and promote common prosperity in the people’s spiritual life. Combining the development of the times with the actual needs of the people, we should create more excellent works that meet the people’s cultural needs and strengthen the people’s spiritual strength, increasing society’s spiritual and cultural wealth. Fully utilize modern information technologies such as the Internet, big data, and artificial intelligence to empower cultural-ethical progress, create new platforms and new carriers, and improve the effectiveness and influence of cultural-ethical progress. In forms that the masses are happy to see, extensively carry out rich and varied cultural-ethical creation activities, enhancing the appeal and infectiousness of cultural-ethical progress.

深化改革创新，激发动力活力。党的二十届三中全会作出改革部署，要求完善意识形态工作责任制，推动理想信念教育常态化制度化，改进创新文明培育、文明实践、文明创建工作机制等，将以制度保障有力推动精神文明建设提质增效。还要看到，世界百年未有之大变局加速演进，中华民族伟大复兴进入关键时期，精神文明建设面临许多新情况新问题。只有积极推进理念、内容、手段、方法创新，才能不断适应时代发展的要求，确保精神文明建设始终保持蓬勃生机和旺盛活力。要牢固树立以人民为中心的工作导向，努力满足人民群众不断增长的精神文化需求，促进人民精神生活共同富裕。结合时代发展和人民群众的实际需求，创作更多满足人民文化需求和增强人民精神力量的优秀作品，增加社会的精神文化财富。充分运用互联网、大数据、人工智能等现代信息技术赋能精神文明建设，打造新平台、新载体，提高精神文明建设的实效性和影响力。以群众喜闻乐见的形式，广泛开展丰富多彩的精神文明创建活动，增强精神文明建设的吸引力和感染力。

Mobilize social participation, gather wisdom and strength. Cultural-ethical progress is the cause of hundreds of millions of people themselves and requires broad participation from the whole society. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Work departments for cultural-ethical progress should play a role in overall planning, coordination, guidance, and supervision, mobilizing broad participation from all sectors of society.” Only by fully mobilizing the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of the broad masses of the people, encouraging enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, and other entities to participate in cultural-ethical progress, so that everyone becomes a participant, practitioner, and promoter of cultural-ethical progress, can a good situation of co-construction, co-governance, and sharing be formed. Actively encourage and guide enterprises, social organizations, charitable institutions, etc., to participate in cultural-ethical progress through investment, cooperation, donations, and other means. Actively cultivate and develop various types of volunteer service organizations, improve the volunteer service system, and encourage more people to participate in volunteer service activities. Strengthen publicity and education, actively guide the broad masses to establish the awareness that “everyone is an envoy of civilization,” start from themselves, start from the small things around them, consciously practice the core socialist values, make civilized behavior a daily routine, and create a strong atmosphere of the whole society jointly participating in cultural-ethical progress.

动员社会参与，汇聚智慧力量。精神文明建设是亿万人民群众自己的事业，需要全社会广泛参与。习近平总书记指出，“精神文明建设工作部门要发挥统筹、协调、指导、督促作用，动员社会各界广泛参与”。只有充分调动广大人民群众的积极性、主动性、创造性，鼓励企事业单位、社会组织等各类主体参与精神文明建设，让人人都成为精神文明建设的参与者、实践者、推动者，才能形成共建共治共享的良好局面。积极鼓励和引导企业、社会组织、慈善机构等通过投资、合作、捐赠等方式参与精神文明建设。积极培育和发展各类志愿服务组织，完善志愿服务体系，鼓励更多人参与志愿服务活动。加强宣传教育，积极引导广大群众树立“人人都是文明使者”的意识，从自身做起，从身边小事做起，自觉践行社会主义核心价值观，让文明行为成为生活日常，营造全社会共同参与精神文明建设的浓厚氛围。

(The author is Dean of the School of Marxism at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and a Distinguished Researcher at the Beijing Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era)

（作者系北京邮电大学马克思主义学院院长、北京市习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心特约研究员）

Online Editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心