Grasping the Interactive Logic of the Party’s Self-Revolution and Social Revolution

The Party’s self-revolution and social revolution are a dialectically unified, mutually reinforcing relationship; together they constitute the powerful driving force that sustains the continuous development of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Rooted in the New Era and the new journey, we must profoundly grasp the deep logic of their internal interaction: to provide endogenous impetus and political guidance for the social revolution through a thorough self-revolution, while at the same time using the practical achievements of the social revolution as the fundamental yardstick for testing the actual effectiveness of the Party’s self-revolution. Relying on the transmission mechanism of conduct-building, we must coordinately advance the enhancement of the Party’s capacity for self-purification and the comprehensive progress of society, achieving a dynamic balance and mutual promotion of the “dual revolutions.” This is an inevitable requirement and strategic choice for forever preserving the Party’s vitality and ensuring that the nation’s cause advances steadily and far.

党的自我革命与社会革命是辩证统一、相互促进的关系，两者共同构成推动中国特色社会主义事业持续发展的强劲驱动力。立足新时代新征程，必须深刻把握二者内在互动的深层逻辑：以彻底的自我革命为社会革命提供内源性动力与政治引领，同时以社会革命的实践成果作为检验自我革命实际成效的根本标尺。依托作风建设的传导机制，协同推进党的自我净化能力提升与社会的全面进步，实现“双重革命”的动态平衡与互促共进，这是永葆党的生机活力、确保国家事业行稳致远的必然要求与战略抉择。

Self-revolution has always been the key magic weapon for the Party to lead the social revolution. As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes: “Self-revolution means strengthening the bones and nourishing the marrow, expelling toxins and sterilizing, cutting off one’s own wrist to survive, and removing decay to regenerate new flesh; it means constantly clearing away the viruses that erode the Party’s healthy organism, continuously improving its own immunity, and preventing the ruin of the state and the Party.” [1]1 The “four dangers” (四种危险) refer to the dangers of mental slackness, lack of capacity,脱离群众 (divorce from the masses), and passive corruption, as identified by the CPC. The Party Central Committee with

自我革命始终是党引领社会革命的关键法宝。中国特色社会主义进入新时代，习近平总书记强调：“自我革命就是补钙壮骨、排毒杀菌、壮士断腕、去腐生肌，不断清除侵蚀党的健康肌体的病毒，不断提高自身免疫力，防止人亡政息。”以习近平同志为核心的党中央以刀刃向内的勇气推进全面从严治党，开展党的群众路线教育实践活动、“三严三实”专题教育、“两学一做”学习教育、“不忘初心、牢记使命”主题教育、党史学习教育、深入贯彻中央八项规定精神学习教育等，攻克了许多长期未解决的难题，办成了许多过去想办而未办成的大事，推动党和国家事业取得历史性成就。

In today’s world, changes unseen in a century are accelerating, and the Party faces the “four dangers” [1]1 The “four dangers” (四种危险) refer to the dangers of mental slackness, lack of capacity,脱离群众 (divorce from the masses), and passive corruption, as identified by the CPC. and the “four tests.” [2]2 The “four tests” (四大考验) refer to the tests of governance, reform and opening up, the market economy, and the external environment, as identified by the CPC. Internationally, world multipolarization and economic globalization are deepening, hegemonism and protectionism are on the rise, international competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. To lead the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in a complex environment, the Party must enhance its ability to respond to risks and challenges through self-revolution and seize the initiative in development. Domestically, China is at a critical juncture in comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization. Reform has entered uncharted waters, problems of unbalanced and inadequate development are prominent, and reform tasks in key areas are arduous. On the path forward, it is necessary to be vigilant in times of peace, prepare for a rainy day, and be ready to withstand major tests of high winds and choppy waters, or even treacherous waves. Only by deeply advancing the great new project of Party building in the New Era with the spirit of self-revolution can we provide a strong political guarantee for overcoming various risks and challenges and ensure that the cause of the Party and the state advances in the correct direction.

当今世界，百年未有之大变局正加速演进，党面临着“四种危险”和“四大考验”。从国际看，世界多极化、经济全球化深入发展，霸权主义、保护主义抬头，国际竞争日趋激烈，世界进入新的动荡变革期。党要在复杂环境中引领中华民族伟大复兴，必须通过自我革命提升应对风险挑战的能力，掌握发展主动权。从国内看，我国正处于以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业的关键时期，改革进入深水区，发展不平衡不充分问题突出，重点领域改革任务艰巨。在前进道路上，需要居安思危、未雨绸缪，准备经受风高浪急甚至惊涛骇浪的重大考验。只有以自我革命精神深入推进新时代党的建设新的伟大工程，才能为战胜各种风险挑战提供坚强政治保证，确保党和国家事业沿着正确方向前进。

The practical achievements of social revolution test the effectiveness of the Party’s self-revolution. Through self-revolution, the Party continuously improves its leadership capabilities and governance skills, driving social revolution to achieve historic accomplishments. These achievements themselves attest to the correctness and effectiveness of self-revolution. In the economic sphere, through reform and opening up and socialist modernization, China’s economic strength, scientific and technological strength, and comprehensive national power have been greatly enhanced. Its economic aggregate is firmly the second largest in the world, and its manufacturing scale ranks first in the world. On the battlefield of poverty alleviation, the Party led the people to lift all rural poor out of poverty under the current standard, remove all poverty-stricken counties from the list, eliminate absolute poverty and overall regional poverty, lift nearly 100 million poor people out of poverty, historically solve the problem of absolute poverty, and create a miracle in human poverty reduction. The achievement of these results is inseparable from the strong leadership of the Party and the cohesion and combat effectiveness brought by self-revolution, which powerfully verifies the strong efficacy of the Party’s self-revolution in solving major livelihood issues and achieving goals such as common prosperity.

以社会革命的实践成果检验党的自我革命成效。党通过自我革命不断提升领导能力和执政本领，推动社会革命取得历史性成就，这些成就本身即印证了自我革命的正确性与实效性。在经济领域，经过改革开放和社会主义现代化建设，我国经济实力、科技实力、综合国力大幅提升，经济总量稳居世界第二，制造业规模居世界第一。在脱贫攻坚战场，党带领人民实现现行标准下农村贫困人口全部脱贫，贫困县全部摘帽，消除了绝对贫困和区域性整体贫困，近1亿贫困人口实现脱贫，历史性解决绝对贫困问题，创造了人类减贫奇迹。这些成就的取得，离不开党的坚强领导和自我革命带来的凝聚力和战斗力，有力验证了党的自我革命在解决重大民生问题、实现共同富裕等目标上的强大效能。

Proceeding from reality, it is clear that the contradictions and problems arising from social development reflect the shortcomings of the Party’s own building. Some localities and individual cadres have exposed problems such as formalism and bureaucratism in their work. These problems reflect the chronic ills in the work of some Party members and cadres, such as weak awareness of the Party’s purpose and unrealistic work styles. To eliminate these chronic ills, our Party has advanced comprehensive and strict governance of the Party with the courage of self-revolution, effectively improved work styles, and continuously purified the political ecosystem by improving the institutional mechanisms for preventing and treating formalism and bureaucratism and the mechanisms for simultaneously investigating and rectifying misconduct and corruption. The Party’s advanced nature and integrity have been significantly enhanced.

从实际出发可知，社会发展中产生的矛盾问题折射出党的自身建设短板，一些地方和个别干部在工作中暴露出形式主义、官僚主义等问题。这些问题映射出部分党员干部宗旨意识淡薄、工作作风不实的工作积弊。为了消除这些积弊，我们党以自我革命的勇气推进全面从严治党，切实改进作风，通过健全防治形式主义、官僚主义制度机制，健全不正之风和腐败问题同查同治机制，不断净化政治生态，党的先进性和纯洁性显著增强。

In the process of advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, social revolution aims to build a scientific and complete institutional system and continuously improve the Party’s level of scientific, democratic, and law-based governance. This requires the Party, with the spirit of self-revolution, to improve the Party’s leadership institutional system, strengthen the Party’s overall leadership over all work, and continuously enhance its ability to set directions, plan overall situations, formulate policies, and promote reform. At the same time, it is necessary to deepen the reform of the Party’s building system, improve the system of intra-Party regulations, and promote the scientific and standardized advancement of Party building. In promoting high-quality development and creating a high quality of life, social revolution often focuses on solving problems of unbalanced and inadequate development to meet the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life. This requires the Party to strengthen its ability to lead economic and social development through self-revolution, base itself on the new stage of development, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, and promote sustained and healthy economic and social development. At the same time, it must always adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, continuously strengthen mass work, maintain close ties between the Party and the people, and gather the mighty force to achieve national rejuvenation.

在推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化进程中，社会革命旨在构建科学完备的制度体系，持续提高党科学执政、民主执政、依法执政水平。这需要党以自我革命精神完善党的领导制度体系，加强党对一切工作的全面领导，不断提升把方向、谋大局、定政策、促改革的能力；同时，要深入推进党的建设制度改革，健全党内法规制度体系，推动党的建设向科学化、规范化迈进。在推动高质量发展、创造高品质生活方面，社会革命时常聚焦于解决发展不平衡不充分问题，满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要。这要求党通过自我革命强化领导经济社会发展的能力，立足新发展阶段，完整、准确、全面贯彻新发展理念，加快构建新发展格局，推动经济社会持续健康发展。同时，始终坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，不断加强群众工作，密切党同人民群众的血肉联系，凝聚起实现民族复兴的磅礴力量。

The Party’s work style is an important manifestation of the Party’s nature, purpose, program, and line, and a concentrated display of the spiritual outlook of Party members and cadres. The Party’s work style is the Party’s image, which concerns the support of the people and the very survival of the Party. Work style building, as a key link connecting the Party’s self-revolution and social revolution, profoundly embodies the inherent unity of the two. From the dimension of self-revolution, work style issues are essentially issues of Party spirit and principle. Strengthening work style building means firming up ideals and convictions, tempering Party spirit cultivation, firmly establishing the “master switch” of worldview, outlook on life, and values, guiding Party members and cadres to strictly observe discipline and rules, forever maintain a clean and honest character, and realize the Party’s self-purification and self-improvement. From the dimension of social revolution, the work style of cadres directly concerns the Party’s image, policy implementation, and the effectiveness of social revolution. A fine work style can close the flesh-and-blood ties between the Party and the masses, gather the wisdom and strength of the masses, and jointly advance social revolution. Work style building acts like a hub, transforming the purity and advanced nature forged by self-revolution into a powerful practical force driving social revolution, enabling the two to interpenetrate and synergistically promote each other.

党的作风是党的性质、宗旨、纲领、路线的重要体现，是党员干部精神面貌的集中展示。党的作风就是党的形象，关系人心向背，关系党的生死存亡。作风建设作为贯通党的自我革命与社会革命的关键纽带，深刻体现着两者的内在统一。从自我革命维度看，作风问题本质上是党性原则问题。加强作风建设，就是要坚定理想信念，锤炼党性修养，筑牢世界观、人生观、价值观这个“总开关”，引导党员干部严守纪律规矩，永葆清廉本色，实现党的自我净化、自我完善。从社会革命维度看，干部作风直接关乎党的形象、政策落实和社会革命成效。优良作风能密切党同群众的血肉联系，凝聚群众智慧力量，合力推进社会革命。作风建设如同枢纽，将自我革命锻造的纯洁性、先进性转化为推动社会革命的强大实践力量，使两者相互贯通、协同促进。

Currently, the Party’s work style building still faces many challenges. Formalism and bureaucratism deviate from the ideological line of seeking truth from facts, leading to a mountain of documents and a sea of meetings, and superficial research. This not only reduces efficiency but also tends to mask deep-seated contradictions, weakens the targeted nature of self-revolution, and causes policies to “spin their wheels.” Hedonism and extravagance erode the ideological defenses of cadres, dissolve the Party’s combat effectiveness. A minority of people indulge in material pleasures and deviate from their original aspiration, seriously damaging public trust and shaking the mass base of social revolution. It must be clearly recognized that the “four forms of decadence” [3]3 The “four forms of decadence” (四风) is a common abbreviation for formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance, which are targets of the CPC’s rectification campaigns. violate the Party’s nature and purpose and are an important root cause of damage to Party-mass and cadre-mass relations. We should use work style building as a bridge to promote a positive interaction between self-revolution and social revolution. This is an inevitable requirement for advancing the great project of Party building in the New Era and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. Only by deepening work style building with the perseverance of “regularity” and “long-term” [4]4 “Regularity” and “long-term” (常 and 长) is a rhetorical device in Chinese political discourse emphasizing the need for both consistent frequency and sustained duration in work style building., breaking down chronic ills and strengthening institutional effectiveness, can we forever maintain the Party’s advanced nature and integrity, ensure that the Party always remains a strong leading core, lead the development of the times with strong cohesion and combat effectiveness, and unite and lead the people to continuously win new victories on the journey to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

当前，党的作风建设仍面临诸多挑战。形式主义、官僚主义背离实事求是思想路线，导致文山会海、调研虚浮，不仅降低效能，更易掩盖深层矛盾，弱化自我革命的针对性，造成政策“空转”。享乐主义、奢靡之风则侵蚀干部思想防线，消解党的战斗力，少数人沉溺物质享乐、背离初心，严重损害公信力，动摇社会革命的群众基础。必须清醒地认识到，“四风”问题违背党的性质和宗旨，是损害党群干群关系的重要根源。我们应以作风建设为桥梁，推动自我革命与社会革命良性互动，这是新时代推进党的建设伟大工程、发展中国特色社会主义的必然要求。我们唯有以“常”“长”二字的韧劲深化作风建设，破除积弊、强化制度效能，才能永葆党的先进性和纯洁性，确保党始终成为坚强领导核心，以强大凝聚力和战斗力引领时代发展，团结带领人民在实现中华民族伟大复兴的征程上不断夺取新的胜利。

(This paper is a phased result of the National Social Science Fund Major Project “Research on Common Prosperity in the Process of Chinese-Path Modernization” (24&ZD027))

（本文系国家社科基金重大项目“中国式现代化进程中的共同富裕问题研究”（24&ZD027）阶段性成果）

(The author is an Associate Researcher at the Institute of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者系中国社会科学院马克思主义研究院副研究员）

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