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 development of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Standing in the New Era and on the new journey, we must deeply grasp the deep logic of their internal interaction: to provide endogenous impetus and political guidance for social revolution through thorough self-revolution, while at the same time using the practical achievements of social revolution as the fundamental yardstick for testing the actual effectiveness of self-revolution. Relying on the transmission mechanism of work style improvement, 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 is the power engine of social revolution. The contradictory movement of productive forces and relations of production is the fundamental driving force of social development. The proletarian party, as the representative of advanced productive forces and relations of production, shoulders the historical mission of promoting the evolution of human society toward communist society. The revolutionary character of the proletarian party determines that self-revolution is the core driving force for promoting social revolution. The Communist Party of China has combined the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities, forming a unique theoretical system of self-revolution: Comrade Mao Zedong put forward the “Two Musts”[1]1 The “Two Musts” refers to Mao Zedong’s call at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee in 1949 that the whole Party must remain modest, prudent, and free from arrogance and rashness, and must preserve the style of hard struggle., building an ideological line of defense for the ruling party to resist risks; Comrade Deng Xiaoping emphasized that the Party must use the spirit of criticism and self-criticism to perfect itself, pointing the direction for Party building in the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization; General Secretary Xi Jinping creatively proposed the major proposition of “the Party’s self-revolution,” pointing out that “courage in self-revolution is a distinctive mark that distinguishes our Party from other political parties,” elevating the theory of Party building to a new height. From the classic expositions of Marx and Engels, to the practical interpretations of Lenin, and then to the theoretical innovations and practical explorations of the CPC in different historical periods, the inheritance and innovation of theory have built a solid theoretical foundation for self-revolution to lead social revolution.

自我革命是社会革命的动力引擎。生产力和生产关系的矛盾运动是推动社会发展的根本动力。无产阶级政党作为先进生产力和生产关系的代表，肩负着推动人类社会向共产主义社会演进的历史使命。无产阶级政党的革命性决定了自我革命是推动社会革命的核心动力。中国共产党把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合，形成了独具特色的自我革命理论体系：毛泽东同志提出“两个务必”，为执政党抵御风险筑牢思想防线；邓小平同志强调党要用批评和自我批评的精神进行自我完善，为改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新时期党的建设指明方向；习近平总书记创造性提出“党的自我革命”重大命题，指出“勇于自我革命是我们党区别于其他政党的显著标志”，将党的建设理论提升至新高度。从马克思恩格斯的经典论述，到列宁的实践阐释，再到中国共产党在不同历史时期的理论创新与实践探索，理论的传承与创新构建起自我革命引领社会革命的坚实理论基石。

Since the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has advanced comprehensive and strict governance of the Party with the courage to turn its blade inward, carrying out the Party’s mass line education and practice campaign, the “Three Stricts and Three Honests”[2]2 The “Three Stricts and Three Honests” (严以修身、严以用权、严以律己，谋事要实、创业要实、做人要实) is a requirement for Party officials to be strict in self-cultivation, use of power, and self-discipline, and to be solid in planning, starting undertakings, and conducting oneself. special education, the “Two Studies, One Action”[3]3 “Two Studies, One Action” (学党章党规、学系列讲话，做合格党员) refers to studying the Party Constitution and Party regulations, studying the series of important speeches of Xi Jinping, and becoming a qualified Party member. learning and education, the “Don’t forget the original aspiration, keep the founding mission in mind”[4]4 “Don’t forget the original aspiration, keep the founding mission in mind” (不忘初心、牢记使命) is a theme education campaign launched in 2019 to reinforce the Party’s founding mission of serving the people and rejuvenating the nation. theme education, the Party history learning and education, and the in-depth study and implementation of the Eight-Point Regulations learning and education, overcoming many long-standing unresolved difficulties and promoting historic achievements in the cause of the Party and the state.

新时代以来，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，攻克了许多长期没有解决的难题，推动党和国家事业取得历史性成就。

Today, the changes unseen in a century in the world are accelerating, and the “Four Tests”[5]5 The “Four Tests” (四大考验) are the tests of governance, reform and opening up, the market economy, and the external environment. and “Four Dangers”[6]6 The “Four Dangers” (四种危险) are the dangers of mental slackness, incompetence, disconnection from the people, and corruption. facing the Party remain severe. From an international perspective, world multipolarity 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. From a domestic perspective, China is in a critical period of comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization. Reform has entered a deep-water zone, problems of unbalanced and inadequate development are prominent, and reform tasks in key areas are arduous. On the road ahead, we need to be mindful of potential dangers and prepare for the worst, ready to withstand major tests of high winds, choppy waters, and 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 right direction.

当今世界百年未有之大变局正加速演进，党面临的“四大考验”“四种危险”依然严峻。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。

Social revolution is the external test of self-revolution. The practical achievements of social revolution are an intuitive yardstick for testing the effectiveness of the Party’s self-revolution. Through self-revolution, the Party continuously improves its leadership capacity and governing ability, promoting historic achievements in social revolution. These achievements themselves confirm the correctness and effectiveness of self-revolution. In the economic field, after reform and opening up and socialist modernization, China’s economic strength, scientific and technological strength, and comprehensive national power have greatly increased; its total economic output ranks second in the world, and its manufacturing scale and foreign exchange reserves rank first in the world. On the battlefield of poverty alleviation, the Party led the people to lift nearly 100 million rural poor out of poverty, historically solving the problem of absolute poverty and creating a miracle in human poverty reduction. The achievement of these results is inseparable from the Party’s strong leadership and the cohesion and combat effectiveness brought by self-revolution, powerfully verifying the strong efficacy of the Party’s self-revolution in solving major livelihood issues and achieving common prosperity.

社会革命是自我革命的外部检验。社会革命的实践成果，是检验党的自我革命成效的直观尺度。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、外汇储备居世界第一。在脱贫攻坚战场，党带领人民实现近1亿农村贫困人口脱贫，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，有力地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。

The problems exposed in the practice of social revolution provide precise targets for the Party’s self-revolution. The contradictions and problems arising in social development often reflect the shortcomings of the Party’s own construction. In the fight against corruption, the corrupt phenomena that once existed eroded the Party’s body and the foundation of people’s trust. Our Party, with the firm determination to “confine power to the cage of institutions,” advanced comprehensive and strict governance of the Party with the courage of self-revolution, strengthened power supervision, tightened the institutional system, and continuously purified the political ecology, significantly enhancing the Party’s advanced nature and integrity. Problems exposed in work, such as formalism and bureaucratism, reflect the weak sense of purpose and unrealistic work style of some Party members and cadres. Our Party resolutely rectifies such long-standing abuses, guiding Party members and cadres to establish a correct outlook on political performance and return to the fundamental principle of serving the people. Courage in self-revolution is the most distinctive quality of our Party and also its greatest strength. The problems exposed in social revolution become the “wind vane” of the Party’s self-revolution, guiding the Party to constantly adjust the focus and direction of self-revolution.

社会革命实践中暴露的问题，为党的自我革命提供了精准标靶。社会发展中产生的矛盾问题，常折射出党的自身建设短板。在反腐败斗争中，一度存在的腐败现象侵蚀了党的肌体和人民信任的根基。我们党以“把权力关进制度的笼子里”的坚定决心，以自我革命的勇气推进全面从严治党，强化权力监督，严密制度体系，不断净化政治生态，使党的先进性和纯洁性显著增强。形式主义、官僚主义等工作中暴露的问题，反映出部分党员干部宗旨意识淡薄、工作作风不实等问题，我们党坚决整治此类积弊，引导党员干部树立正确政绩观，回归服务人民的根本。勇于自我革命是我们党最鲜明的品格，也是我们党最大的优势。社会革命中暴露的问题成为党的自我革命的“风向标”，引导党不断调整自我革命的重点和方向。

The goals of social revolution determine the tasks and focus of the Party’s self-revolution. Realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the historical mission of the Communist Party of China in the New Era. This grand goal requires the Party to enhance its capabilities and qualities through self-revolution to meet the needs of the times. 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 perfect 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 must deepen the reform of the Party’s construction system, improve the system of intra-Party regulations, and push Party building toward scientific and standardized development. In promoting high-quality development and creating a high quality of life, social revolution focuses on solving the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development and meeting the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life. This requires the Party, through self-revolution, to strengthen its ability to lead economic and social development, 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 thinking, continuously strengthen mass work, maintain close ties between the Party and the people, and gather the mighty force for realizing national rejuvenation.

社会革命的目标，决定着党的自我革命的任务与重心。实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦，是新时代中国共产党的历史使命，这一宏伟目标要求党必须通过自我革命提升能力素质，以适应时代发展的需求。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，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。

Taking work style improvement as the bond to realize the benign interaction of the “dual revolutions.” 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 survival of the Party. Work style improvement, as the key bond linking the Party’s self-revolution and social revolution, profoundly embodies the internal unity of the two. From the dimension of self-revolution, the essence of work style problems is the problem of Party spirit principles. Strengthening work style improvement means firming up ideals and convictions, tempering Party spirit, building a solid “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 people, gather the wisdom and strength of the masses, and jointly advance social revolution. Work style improvement acts like a hub, transforming the purity and advanced nature forged by self-revolution into a powerful practical force for promoting social revolution, enabling the two to interpenetrate and promote each other in coordination.

以作风建设为纽带，实现“双重革命”良性互动。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。

At present, the Party’s conduct 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, as well as superficial investigations and research. This not only reduces efficiency but also more easily conceals deep-seated contradictions, weakens the targeted nature of self-revolution, and causes policies to “spin their wheels.” Hedonism and extravagance erode cadres’ ideological defenses, dissipate the Party’s combat effectiveness; a minority of people indulge in material pleasures and deviate from the original aspiration and founding mission, seriously damaging public credibility and shaking the mass base of social revolution. Therefore, we must clearly recognize that the problem of the “Four Forms of Decadence” [7]7 The “Four Forms of Decadence” (四风) refers to formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance, a target of the Party’s mass-line education campaign launched in 2013. violates the Party’s nature and purpose and is an important root cause of damage to Party-mass and cadre-mass relations. To eradicate these stubborn ills, we must deepen conduct building with the courage to turn the blade inward: first, strengthen ideological soul-forging, deepen theoretical armament and Party spirit education, guide cadres to firmly establish a correct outlook on political performance and values, and resist the “Four Forms of Decadence” at the source; second, strengthen the cage of institutions, improve regular supervision, strictly enforce discipline and accountability, adopt a “zero tolerance” attitude toward disciplinary violations, continuously purify the political ecosystem, and lay a solid foundation for the benign interaction between self-revolution and social revolution.

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。因此，我们必须清醒地认识到，“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。破除顽疾，必须以刀刃向内的勇气深化作风建设：一要强化思想铸魂，深化理论武装与党性教育，引导干部树牢正确政绩观和价值观，从根源抵制“四风”；二要筑牢制度的笼子，健全常态监督，严格执纪问责，对违纪行为“零容忍”，持续净化政治生态，为自我革命与社会革命的良性互动筑牢坚实基础。

Taking conduct building as a bridge to promote the benign interaction between self-revolution and social revolution and realize the organic unity of the “dual revolution” is the essential requirement for advancing the great project of Party building in the New Era and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. Only by deepening conduct building with the perseverance of the two characters “regular” and “long-term” [8]8 The phrase “regular” and “long-term” (常、长) is a slogan, eradicating accumulated ills and strengthening institutional effectiveness, can we forever maintain the Party’s advanced nature and purity, 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.

以作风建设为桥梁，推动自我革命与社会革命良性互动，实现“双重革命”的有机统一，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本质要求。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 article 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）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧