The Party’s Work Style Determines the Success or Failure of the Party and the Nation’s Undertakings

Since the advent of the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has taken the improvement of the Party’s work style as the entry point and focal point of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, and as an important component of the overall plan for advancing Party building in the New Era. As the Party’s time in power lengthens and the domestic and international environments it faces undergo profound changes, problems of work style manifest themselves with increasing complexity. The superimposition of issues such as the “Four Tests” [1]1 The “Four Tests” refer to the tests of governance, reform and opening up, the market economy, and the external environment. and the “Four Dangers” [2]2 The “Four Dangers” refer to the dangers of spiritual slackness, insufficient capability,脱离群众 (divorce from the masses), and passive corruption. further underscores the extreme importance of work style improvement.

新时代以来，习近平总书记把党的作风建设作为全面从严治党的切入点和着力点，作为推进新时代党的建设总体布局的重要组成部分。随着党执政时间的增加和所面临国内外环境的深刻变化，作风问题就越复杂地表现出来。“四大考验”“四种危险”等问题的叠加，更加突出了作风建设的极端重要性。

The Party’s work style concerns Party spirit

党的作风关乎党性

The Party’s work style is a quality and a force of character displayed by Party members and leading Party cadres in their actions in all aspects of work, life, study, and so forth. “The force of character is concentratedly embodied in our Party’s fine work style.” General Secretary Xi Jinping points out that the essence of work style problems is problems of Party spirit; work style reflects image and quality; work style is the form; work style is the Party’s image; what it embodies is Party spirit, and what plays the decisive role is also Party spirit. General Secretary Xi has grasped the essence of work style, elevating the work style problems of leading Party cadres to the level of Party spirit, seeing the individual’s Party spirit from their personal work style problems, and directly pointing to the essence of the issue. As an objective reality and external manifestation, the Party’s work style can be seen and felt by the masses through various occasions, channels, and facts. Therefore, from the perspective of the masses, the Party’s work style is also the Party’s image. At root and in essence, Party spirit determines the Party’s work style and image; Party spirit is internal and invisible, but it plays the key and decisive role. Work style and image are external, the embodiment and expression of Party spirit in the various external actions of Party members and leading Party cadres in work, life, study, and so forth. Precisely because problems arise in an individual’s Party spirit, problems arise in their work style. Hence, Party spirit is the root, while work style and image are the form; if Party spirit is strong and correct, the Party’s work style and image will be correct and good. “Some work style problems that people regard as commonplace are often precisely the problems that cause fatal damage to the Party’s public credibility and the Party’s image.” Party spirit is closely related to faith and ideals and convictions. For Communists, whether they can solve work style problems is a very important yardstick for measuring their faith in Marxism, their conviction in socialism and communism, and their loyalty to the Party and the people. The strength or weakness of Party spirit is manifested in whether one can uphold Marxism as the guiding ideology, take communism as the highest ideal, and take serving the people wholeheartedly as the fundamental purpose. Furthermore, Party spirit is also related to the Party’s advanced nature and purity, and thereby to the Party’s creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness. The Party’s work style and image are the embodiment of the Party’s advanced nature and purity. The masses most detest unhealthy tendencies; correcting unhealthy tendencies, resolutely eliminating the negative factors that affect the Party’s advanced nature and purity, and winning the people’s trust and support with a fine work style and strict Party discipline will ensure the Party’s advanced nature and purity, and the stronger the Party’s creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness in undertaking its endeavors. Conversely, if the Party’s work style is incorrect, it is not only a departure from Party spirit but also affects the Party’s advanced nature and purity, thereby impacting the Party’s creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness. Therefore, the essence of the Party’s work style lies in Party spirit; a correct Party work style, a good image, and the Party’s advanced nature and purity are important manifestations of strong Party spirit, important supports and foundations for the Party’s creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness, and the fundamental guarantee that the Party does not degenerate, change its color, or lose its flavor, and that its capabilities are robust.

党的作风就是党员、党员领导干部在工作、生活、学习等方方面面的行动中表现出的一种品质和人格力量。“人格力量集中体现为我们党的优良作风。”习近平总书记指出，作风问题的本质是党性问题，作风反映的是形象和素质，作风是形，作风是党的形象，体现的是党性，起决定作用的也是党性。习近平总书记抓住了作风的本质，将党员领导干部的作风问题上升到了党性的高度，从个人作风问题看到了个人的党性，直指问题本质。党的作风作为一种客观实际和外在表现，人民群众能通过各种场合、渠道和事实等看到和感受到党的作风，所以从人民群众的角度而言，党的作风也是党的形象。从根源和本质上来讲党性决定党的作风和形象，党性是内在的、看不见的，但起关键和决定性作用。作风和形象是外在的，是党性在党员、党员领导干部工作、生活、学习等各种外在行动中的体现和表现。正因为个人党性出现了问题才会导致其作风出现问题，所以党性是本，作风和形象是形，党性强和正，党的作风和形象才会正和好。“人们认为习以为常的一些作风问题，往往就是对党的公信力、党的形象带来致命破坏的问题。”而党性与信仰、理想信念密切相关，对共产党人来讲，能不能解决好作风问题，是衡量对马克思主义信仰、对社会主义和共产主义信念、对党和人民忠诚的一把十分重要的尺子。党性的强弱体现为能否坚持马克思主义的指导思想、能否以共产主义为最高理想和以全心全意为人民服务为根本宗旨。此外，党性还关系到党的先进性和纯洁性，进而关系到党的创造力、凝聚力和战斗力。党的作风和形象是党的先进性和纯洁性的体现。人民群众最痛恨不正之风，纠治不正之风，坚决清除影响党的先进性和纯洁性的消极因素，以优良作风和严明党纪赢得人民的信赖和拥护，党的先进性和纯洁性就能得到保证，党干事创业的创造力、凝聚力和战斗力就越强。反之，党的作风不正，不仅是对党性的背离，还会影响党的先进性和纯洁性，进而使党的创造力、凝聚力和战斗力受到影响。因此，党的作风的本质在于党性，党的作风正、形象好和党的先进性与纯洁性是党性强的重要体现，是党创造力、凝聚力、战斗力的重要支撑和重要基础，是党不变质、不变色、不变味和本领过硬的根本保证。

The Party’s work style concerns the will of the people

党的作风关乎人心向背

The core of work style problems is the relationship between the Party and the masses. Strengthening and improving the Party’s work style has at its core maintaining the Party’s flesh-and-blood ties with the masses. From the Party’s own perspective, the Party’s work style concerns Party spirit, the Party’s image, the Party’s advanced nature and purity, and so on. If its role and nature are understood within the context of Party-mass and cadre-mass relations, then the Party’s work style problems will inevitably affect the quality of Party-mass and cadre-mass relations and the masses’ evaluation of the Party. Some seemingly minor work style problems can directly affect the masses’ evaluation of Party members and leading Party cadres; these “small matters” will be regarded by the masses as indicating problems with the Party’s work style and the Party’s image.

作风问题的核心是党同人民群众的关系问题，加强和改进党的作风建设，核心是保持党同人民群众的血肉联系。党的作风从党自身的角度讲是党性、党的形象和党的先进性、纯洁性等问题，如果放在党群干群关系中来认识其作用和性质的话，那么党的作风问题必然会关系到党群干群关系的好坏和人民群众对党的评价。一些看起来不大的作风问题会直接影响人民群众对党员、党员领导干部的评价，这些“小事”会被人民群众视为党的作风、党的形象有问题。

The work style of leading Party cadres has a direct impact on Party-mass and cadre-mass relations. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes, “Problems in work style are by no means small matters. If unhealthy tendencies are not resolutely corrected and are allowed to develop, they will, like an invisible wall, separate our Party from the masses, and our Party will lose its foundation, its lifeblood, and its strength.” Therefore, the “small matters” of a very small number of leading Party cadres can directly affect Party-mass and cadre-mass relations, influence the masses’ evaluation of the Party, and the will of the people. Whether it is central leading cadres or local leading cadres, if the work style of leading cadres is not solid, the Party style and social atmosphere cannot be good, the Party’s image cannot be good, Party-mass and cadre-mass relations cannot be good, and the masses’ evaluation of the Party cannot be good. As a Marxist political party in long-term power and a party serving the people wholeheartedly, the Communist Party of China must always maintain flesh-and-blood ties with the masses. If it neglects work style improvement and loses the support of the masses, it risks losing popular support and even state power. Popular support is the greatest politics; the country is the people. The Party’s future and destiny ultimately depend on the will of the people. If it cannot breathe the same air, share the same fate, and be heart-to-heart with the people, the Party’s governance will be like water without a source, a tree without roots.

党员领导干部的工作作风会对党群干群关系产生直接影响，习近平总书记强调，“工作作风上的问题绝对不是小事，如果不坚决纠正不良风气，任其发展下去，就会像一座无形的墙把我们党和人民群众隔开，我们党就会失去根基、失去血脉、失去力量”。因此，极少数党员领导干部的“小事”会直接影响党群干群关系，影响人民群众对党的评价和人心的向背。无论是中央领导干部还是地方领导干部，只要领导干部的作风不过硬，党风社风就不可能好，党的形象就不会好，党群干群关系就不会好，人民群众对党的评价就不会好。作为一个长期执政的马克思主义政党和全心全意为人民服务的政党，中国共产党必须始终保持同人民群众的血肉联系。如若不重视作风建设，丧失人民群众的支持，就有失去民心、丧失政权的危险。民心是最大的政治，江山就是人民，党的前途和命运最终取决于人心向背，不能同人民同呼吸、共命运、心连心，党的执政就如同无源之水，无本之木。

The Party’s work style concerns the Party’s long-term governance capability

党的作风关乎党的长期执政能力

If the Party’s work style is not properly handled in the first two stages—that is, in terms of the Party’s image, the Party’s advanced nature and purity, and Party-mass and cadre-mass relations—and is allowed to develop, it will inevitably and irreversibly move to the most serious third stage, affecting the Party’s long-term governance capability, and over time affecting and determining the Party’s survival or extinction and the success or failure of the nation’s undertakings. However, this risk can be prevented and corrected. As long as we make sufficient efforts to vigorously improve work style in terms of constancy and duration, strictness and practicality, depth and detail, and prevent its development, the risk can be avoided. The Party’s long-term governance capability needs to be guaranteed and realized by the Party’s own robust capabilities. Among all the factors affecting the Party’s long-term governance, determining the Party’s survival or extinction and the success or failure of the nation’s undertakings, work style problems are undoubtedly a key and extremely important factor.

党的作风如果在前两个阶段，即在党的形象，党的先进性与纯洁性和党群干群关系等方面处理不好，任其发展，最终就会不可避免地走向最严重的第三个阶段，即影响党的长期执政能力，久而久之影响和决定党的生死存亡和国家事业的成败。但这种风险是可以被阻止和纠治的。只要在常和长、严和实、深和细上下足功夫狠抓作风建设，阻止其发展就可避免风险。党的长期执政能力需要依靠党自身过硬的本领来保障和实现。在影响党长期执政、决定党的生死存亡和国家事业成败的所有因素中，作风问题无疑是一个关键且极其重要的因素。

At present, in the period of peaceful prosperity and development under the Party’s long-term governance, Party cadres are prone to a mentality of complacency and slackness after prolonged peace, and prone to work style problems such as lack of enterprise, mediocre governance, and lazy governance. Moreover, such work style problems have a strong character of stubbornness, repetitiveness, and long-term persistence, and are prone to various hidden and mutated new forms. Therefore, on the issue of improving work style, we cannot retreat, nor is retreat possible. We must maintain the tenacity of constant effort and the patience of long-term effort, seek normalcy through persistence, and ensure long-term effectiveness through institutional building. Forming a fine work style cannot be accomplished in one fell swoop or overnight. Hence, the improvement of the Party’s work style is a self-revolution by the Party on the issue of work style. The longer the Party is in power, the more it needs to advance the improvement of the Party’s work style with the political character of self-revolution. Improving the Party’s work style is precisely the political self-awareness of the Party in facing its own problems and turning the blade inward. Only by always maintaining the dauntless spirit of revolutionaries can we persistently improve work style over the long term, thereby improving the Party’s long-term governance capability, standing firm in the face of risks that affect and determine the Party’s survival or extinction and the success or failure of the nation’s undertakings, overcoming the risks brought by long-term governance, breaking out of the historical cycle [3]3 The “historical cycle” refers to the cyclical pattern of rise and fall in Chinese dynastic history, which the CPC aims to break out of through self-revolution and other means., always ensuring the Party maintains a fine work style and political advantage, achieving “the original aspiration unchanged despite the vicissitudes of time, and the true character undimmed after weathering storms,” and ultimately realizing the great goal of long-term governance. Therefore, on the major issues of the Party’s long-term governance capability, the Party’s survival or extinction, and the success or failure of the nation’s undertakings, work style improvement rooted in Party spirit is the first threshold for establishing clear rules for the vast majority of Party members and leading cadres and breaking hidden rules. It is the principle of the Party insisting that Party discipline be placed ahead of the law, that discipline be stricter than the law, and that discipline precede the law. Only by first forming a general climate of promoting healthy practices within the Party and prioritizing the use of discipline to govern all Party members can we better consolidate the foundation for the Party’s long-term governance, the Party’s survival or extinction, and the success or failure of the nation’s undertakings, provide the prerequisite conditions for the Party and the state to “accomplish some new things,” and enable the Party to win the trust of the people and not lose their hearts.

当前，在党长期执政的和平繁荣发展时期，党员干部容易出现承平日久、精神懈怠的心态，容易出现不思进取、庸政懒政的作风问题。不仅如此，这种作风问题具有较强的顽固性、反复性和长期性，容易有各种隐性和变异的新形式。所以，在改进作风问题上，我们不能退，也退不得，必须保持常抓的韧劲、长抓的耐心，在坚持中见常态，制度建设要长效，形成优良作风不可能毕其功于一役、一蹴而就。因此，党的作风建设是党在作风问题上的一场自我革命，党越是长期执政就越需要以自我革命的政治品格推进党的作风建设，改进党的作风正是党正视自身问题和刀刃向内的政治自觉。只有始终保持革命者的大无畏精神才能长期改进作风建设，进而改进党的长期执政能力，在影响和决定党的生死存亡和国家事业成败的风险面前站稳脚跟，克服长期执政带来的风险，跳出历史周期率，始终使党保持优良作风和政治优势，做到“历经沧桑而初心未改，饱经风霜而本色依旧”，最终实现长期执政的伟大目标。因此，在党的长期执政能力、党的生死存亡和国家事业成败的重大问题上，根植于党性的党风建设是为广大党员、领导干部立明规矩、破除潜规则的第一道门槛，是党坚持党的纪律挺在前面、纪严于法、纪在法前的原则，只有首先在党内形成弘扬正气的大气候，优先用纪律管住全体党员才能更好地为党的长期执政、为党的生死存亡和国家事业的成败夯实根基，为党和国家“办好一些新的事提供前提条件”，才能让党取信于民、不失人心。

(The author is a vice dean and associate professor of the Key Marxist Academy of Shanxi Province and the Marxist Academy of Shanxi Normal University.)

（作者系山西省重点马克思主义学院、山西师范大学马克思主义学院副院长、副教授）