An Analysis of Lenin’s Strategy for Socialist Moral Education

A state cannot flourish without virtue, and a person cannot stand without virtue; the foundation of educating people lies in establishing virtue. Emphasizing moral education is a fine tradition of the Communist Party of China and is also the moral guarantee and code of success for the CPC in leading China to achieve its standing up, growing rich, and becoming strong. The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC [n1] clearly listed the implementation of the citizen moral construction project, promoting the understanding of great virtue, observance of public virtue, and strictness in private virtue, and raising the people’s moral standards and cultural-ethical level as the Party’s strategic tasks, further clarifying the strategic significance of socialist moral education. In the New Era [n2], how to advance the development of China’s socialist moral education in accordance with the requirements of the new era and cultivate new generations capable of shouldering the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation [n3] is a new task facing the Party, and its smooth progress cannot be separated from scientific theoretical guidance. Lenin was the founder of the world’s first socialist state and also a theorist who combined Marxist moral principles with the historical mission of the proletarian revolution and construction, conducting in-depth explorations of socialist moral education from the interactive dimension of theory and practice. Although he did not directly use the concept of socialist morality, he named the first stage of communist society socialist society and also used the concept of communist morality for the first time, which already contained the proposition of socialist morality. In particular, he systematically explored how Marxist political parties in economically and culturally backward countries could advance the practice of socialist moral education to cultivate a new generation of people who are comprehensively developed, fully trained, capable of doing all kinds of work, and able to build a communist society, forming a strategic thought on socialist moral education. These thoughts still shine with the light of wisdom today. In the New Era, exploring Lenin’s strategic thought on socialist moral education is of great theoretical and practical significance for comprehensively understanding the profound connotation and target requirements of new generations in the socialist era, grasping the historical initiative spirit, enhancing theoretical confidence and consciousness in cultivating new generations, cultivating socialist builders and successors who are comprehensively developed morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically, and labor-wise, and achieving the goal of a strong socialist modernized education country.

国无德不兴，人无德不立，育人的根本在于立德。注重道德教育是中国共产党的优良传统，也是中国共产党领导我国实现由站起来、富起来到强起来的道义保障和成功密码。党的二十大报告明确将实施公民道德建设工程，推动明大德、守公德、严私德，提高人民道德水准和文明素养列为党的战略性任务，进一步明确了社会主义道德教育的战略意义。新时代，如何依据新的时代要求推进我国社会主义道德教育事业发展，培育堪当民族复兴大任的时代新人作为党面临的一项全新课题，其顺利开展离不开科学的理论指导。列宁是世界上第一个社会主义国家的缔造者，也是将马克思主义道德原则与无产阶级革命和建设的历史使命相结合，从理论与实践互动维度对社会主义道德教育问题展开深入探索的理论家。虽然他没有直接使用社会主义道德这一概念，但他将共产主义社会的第一阶段命名为社会主义社会，还首次使用了共产主义道德这一概念，其中已经内含了社会主义道德的命题。尤其是他围绕经济文化落后国家的马克思主义政党如何推进社会主义道德教育实践，以培育全面发展、受到全面训练、会做一切工作、能够建设共产主义社会的新一代人问题，展开了系统探索，形成了社会主义道德教育方略思想。这些思想至今仍闪耀着智慧的光芒。新时代，对列宁的社会主义道德教育方略思想展开探讨，对于全面认识社会主义时代新人的深刻内涵和目标要求，把握历史主动精神，增强时代新人培育的理论自信与自觉，培养德智体美劳全面发展的社会主义建设者和接班人，实现社会主义现代化教育强国目标，都具有重要的理论与现实意义。

I. Adhering to Taking the Masses as the Main Body, Actively Mobilizing the Masses to Devote Themselves to the Cause of Socialist Moral Education

一、坚持以群众为主体，积极发动群众投身社会主义道德教育事业

In Lenin’s view, the socialist cause is the cause of the masses of the people; the masses of the people are the main body of socialist construction and also the main body of socialist moral education. Adhering to taking the masses as the main body, awakening the people’s consciousness of resisting the old morality, stimulating their enthusiasm for building socialist morality, and actively mobilizing the masses to participate are undoubtedly necessary prerequisites for successfully advancing socialist moral education. As he pointed out, if the builders in the era of serfdom numbered in the hundreds, and the builders of the state in the era of capitalism numbered in the thousands or tens of thousands, then the socialist revolution “requires tens of millions of people to actively, directly, and practically participate in state management to be completed”; “the larger the scale and the broader the scope of historical activity, the greater the number of people participating in this activity; conversely, the more profound the transformation we want to implement, the more we must make people care about this transformation and adopt a conscious attitude, and the more we must make hundreds of thousands or millions of people convinced of the necessity of this transformation.” During the period of the proletarian revolution, facing the historical task of how to achieve victory for the proletarian revolution in Russia, where capitalism had developed to a certain extent but was not fully developed and the proletarian forces were weak, he directed his work focus toward the vast majority of the working masses, who constituted the majority of the population, intending to unite and win over the masses to strengthen revolutionary forces and achieve the goals of the proletarian revolution. He believed that ideas can only become a material force when they grasp the masses, and only by instilling socialist consciousness, including morality, into the worker masses and arming their minds can ideas grasp the masses and be transformed into revolutionary forces, advancing the victory of the socialist revolution. After the victory of the October Revolution [n4], with the stabilization of the Soviet regime, Lenin regarded the support of the working masses as the source of the Bolsheviks’ strength and the invincibility of the world communist movement, and profoundly pointed out: the reason Russia was able to achieve victory in the October Revolution and the Civil War [n5] was inseparable from the Marxist political party’s emphasis on “mobilizing the enthusiasm, initiative, and heroic spirit of the masses, concentrating the aroused revolutionary energy on the most important tasks at hand,” which highlighted the mass-based moral education main line. It was precisely the socialist moral forces such as “the heroism, self-sacrifice, and rare tenacity shown in the struggle by the Red Army soldiers who shed blood on the front lines and the workers and peasants who endured great suffering, especially the industrial workers who suffered even greater hardships than in the early days of capitalist slavery over the past three years,” that enabled the proletariat to achieve revolutionary victory and successfully defend political power. Especially in the face of “the capitalism that has been killed rotting among us, polluting the air, poisoning our lives, and tightly entangling the fresh, young, and vibrant things with a dense net of old, corrupt, and dead things,” and using means such as education, newspapers, literature, art, and religion to spread bourgeois ideology, influencing, paralyzing, and even poisoning the masses, causing socialism to face the potential danger of “turning back, returning to the power of the capitalists,” Lenin pointed out that the key to solving the problem lies in arming and grasping the masses. He emphasized that “the basic task of educators and the vanguard of this struggle, the Communist Party, is to help cultivate and educate the working masses, enabling them to overcome the old habits and customs left over by the old system, the deeply rooted private-property habits and customs among the masses,” and to use the socialist ideological system to defeat the bourgeois ideological system, firmly occupying the moral and spiritual fields, in order to fundamentally resolve the problem. To better advance socialist moral education and defend the fruits of the October Revolution, he further emphasized the main body status of the masses. He not only pointed out that only by having the worker and peasant masses cooperate with revolutionary enthusiasm voluntarily and sincerely, jointly implementing calculation and supervision over the rich, swindlers, loafers, and hooligans, could the spread of capitalist old morality and old habits and their erosion of the socialist body be curbed, but also emphasized that only by mobilizing as many masses as possible to participate in this struggle could the detestable creed of “every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost,” which had more or less infected and corroded everyone in the old capitalist society, be overthrown, and these remnants of the vile capitalist society, these dregs of humanity, these incurable, rotten, dead parts, and these “infectious diseases, plagues, and ulcers” left to socialism by capitalism, be eliminated.

在列宁看来，社会主义事业是人民群众的事业，人民群众是社会主义事业建设的主体，也是社会主义道德教育的主体。而坚持以群众为主体，唤醒人民反抗旧道德的意识，激发其建设社会主义道德的热情，积极发动群众参与，无疑是成功推进社会主义道德教育的必要前提。正如他指出的，如果说农奴制时代的建设者是几百人，资本主义时代国家的建设者是几千人几万人，那么社会主义革命则“要有几千万人积极地、直接地、实际地参加国家管理才能完成”,“历史活动的规模愈大、范围愈广，参加这种活动的人数就愈多，反过来说，我们所要实行的改造愈深刻，就愈要使人们关心这种改造并采取自觉的态度，就愈要使成百万成千万的人都确信这种改造的必要性”。无产阶级革命时期，面对在资本主义有一定发展但发展并不充分、无产阶级力量薄弱的俄国如何取得无产阶级革命胜利的历史课题，他将工作重心指向占社会人口绝大多数的广大劳动群众，意在团结和争取群众壮大革命力量，完成无产阶级革命目标。他认为，思想只有掌握群众才能变成物质力量，而只有将包括道德在内的社会主义意识灌输给工人群众，武装群众头脑，才能使思想掌握群众转化为革命力量，推进社会主义革命胜利。十月革命胜利后，随着苏维埃政权的稳定，列宁将劳动群众的拥护视作布尔什维克的力量所在和全世界共产主义运动不可战胜的根源，并深刻指出：俄国之所以能够取得十月革命和卫国战争的胜利，离不开马克思主义政党注重“发挥群众的热情、积极性和英勇精神，把鼓起的革命干劲集中用于当前最重要的任务”这种凸显群众的道德教育主体路线，也正是“在前线流血牺牲的红军战士和饱经苦难的工农，特别是这三年来大多遭受了比资本主义奴隶制初期更大苦难的产业工人，在斗争中表现出了英雄主义、自我牺牲精神和罕见的坚韧不拔的精神”等社会主义道德力量，才使无产阶级取得了革命胜利，成功捍卫了政权。尤其是面对“被打死的资本主义在我们中间腐烂发臭，污染空气，毒化我们的生活，用陈旧的、腐败的、死亡的东西的密网死死缠住新鲜的、年轻的、生气勃勃的东西”,且利用教育、报刊、文学、艺术、宗教等手段传播资产阶级思想，影响、麻痹甚至毒害群众，使社会主义面临“开倒车，回复到资本家的政权”的潜在危险，列宁指出，解决问题的关键在于武装和掌握群众，强调“教育工作者和共产党这个斗争的先锋队的基本任务，就是帮助培养和教育劳动群众，使他们克服旧制度遗留下来的旧习惯、旧风气，那些在群众中根深蒂固的私有者的习惯和风气”,用社会主义思想体系去战胜资产阶级思想体系，牢固占领道德和精神领域，才能从根本上化解问题。而为了更好地推进社会主义道德教育，捍卫十月革命的胜利果实，他更是突出强调群众的主体地位，不仅指出只有使工农群众怀着满腔的革命热情自觉自愿、诚诚恳恳地实行合作，共同对富人、骗子、懒汉和流氓实行计算和监督，才能遏制资本主义旧道德旧习气的泛滥及其对社会主义肌体的侵扰，还强调只有发动尽可能多的群众参与到这场斗争中，才能打倒“人人为自己，上帝为大家”这种资本主义旧社会中使每个人或多或少受到浸染和腐蚀的可恶信条，才能清除万恶的资本主义社会的这些残余、人类的这些渣滓，这些无可救药的、腐烂的、坏死的部分以及这些由资本主义遗留给社会主义的“传染病、瘟疫和溃疡”。

II. Adhering to a Goal-Oriented Approach, Deeply Understanding the Target Requirements of Socialist Moral Education

二、坚持目标导向，深谙社会主义道德教育的目标要求

Socialist moral education is a complex social project, and only by grasping the principal contradiction [n6], adhering to a goal-oriented approach, and clarifying the target requirements can the basic focus and direction of action for advancing this educational cause be found. This is also the basic line of thought Lenin adopted in dealing with the issue of socialist moral education. Regarding what kind of socialist moral education to advance, Lenin mainly put forward the following target requirements:

社会主义道德教育是一个复杂的社会性工程，而只有抓住主要矛盾，坚持目标导向，明确目标要求，才能找到推进该教育事业的基本着力点和行动方向。这也是列宁在处理社会主义道德教育问题上的基本思路。围绕推进怎样的社会主义道德教育问题，列宁主要提出以下目标要求：

First, cultivating the working masses’ consciousness of being masters of their own affairs. Lenin believed that, unlike in the old society, “the vigorous, creative socialism is created by the masses of the people themselves,” and that the socialist cause is the people’s own cause. For Party members and the masses to recognize their role as masters and their subjective position in socialist construction is a necessary prerequisite for advancing the cause of socialist moral education. That is to say, only by educating the broad working masses to consciously shoulder the responsibility and mission of promoting socialist moral education in the posture of masters can the educational cause proceed steadily and far. After the establishment of Soviet power, faced with the major task of how to rapidly concentrate the nation’s strength to promote socialist construction under severe conditions such as domestic economic difficulties and a shortage of managerial personnel, Lenin paid particular attention to cultivating the socialist moral consciousness of the working masses, especially their consciousness of being masters. He pointed out, “The strength of a country lies in the consciousness of the masses. Only when the masses know everything, can judge everything, and consciously do everything, does the country have strength.” He also called on the working masses to manage the country themselves, taught them to establish a consciousness of being masters, and issued a warning: “If you do not unite yourselves, if you do not take all the affairs of the country upon yourselves, no one can help you.” He also emphasized, “Without attracting more strata of the people to participate in social construction, without arousing the initiative of the broad masses of the people who have been sleeping all along, there can be no talk of revolutionary reform.” In production and distribution, Lenin took as a key propaganda task “how to make the conscious worker feel that he is not only the master of his own factory, but also a representative of the state, so that he feels his responsibility.” These expositions collectively express the ideological understanding that placing the cultivation of the masses’ consciousness of being masters in an important position is essential for advancing socialist moral education.

其一，培育劳动群众的主人翁意识。列宁认为，与旧社会不同，“生气勃勃的创造性的社会主义是由人民群众自己创立的”,社会主义事业是人民自己的事业。党员群众认清自身在社会主义建设中的主人翁角色和主体性地位，是推进社会主义道德教育事业发展的必要前提。也就是说，只有教育广大劳动群众以主人翁的姿态自觉肩负起推动社会主义道德教育的责任与使命，教育事业才能行稳致远。苏维埃政权建立后，面对在国内经济困难、管理人才匮乏等严峻条件下，如何迅速集中全国力量以推动社会主义建设的重大任务，列宁特别注重对劳动群众的社会主义道德意识，尤其是主人翁意识的培育。他指出，“一个国家的力量在于群众的觉悟。只有当群众知道一切，能判断一切，并自觉地从事一切的时候，国家才有力量”,还呼吁劳动群众自己管理国家，教导他们树立主人翁意识，并提出告诫，“如果你们自己不团结起来，不把国家的一切事务自己担当起来，谁也帮不了你们”,还强调，“不吸引更多的人民阶层参加社会建设，不激发一直沉睡的广大人民群众的积极性，就谈不上什么革命的改革”。在生产分配中，列宁将“如何使觉悟的工人感觉到自己不仅是自己工厂的主人，而且是国家的代表，使他们感觉到自己的责任”作为重点宣传任务。这些论述集中表达了将培养群众的主人翁意识置于推进社会主义道德教育重要地位的思想认识。

Second, cultivating the masses’ collectivist consciousness. Collectivism is the moral guarantee of the superiority and practical effectiveness of the communist system, and also an important channel for enhancing the masses’ identification with the communist value orientation. Making the cultivation of the masses’ collectivist consciousness an important link in advancing socialist moral education was a consistent proposition of Lenin. He pointed out that the proletariat’s “interests of the cause should be placed above any personal relations or factional relations, above any ‘beautiful’ memories,” and that in order to exchange for social interests and the victory of socialism, one should bravely set aside the interests of small groups and guilds, and even at special moments bravely sacrifice all personal interests. Especially in the face of interference from bourgeois moral maxims such as “serving people usually has a reward” and “you give out in order to earn back” during socialist construction, Lenin pointed out that building communist morality requires striving to eliminate the accursed maxim “every man for himself, the devil takes the hindmost,” to overcome the habitual view of labor as a mere job, “where all labor should be remunerated according to a fixed standard,” to oppose the psychology and habit of “I earn my money, and everything else has nothing to do with me,” to help cultivate and educate the masses to overcome the old habits and customs left over from the old system and those deeply rooted private-owner habits and customs among the masses, and to strive to permeate collectivist maxims such as “all for one, one for all” and “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” into the masses’ consciousness, habits, and daily routines. This also highlights Lenin’s emphasis on cultivating the masses’ collectivist consciousness.

其二，培育群众的集体主义意识。集体主义是共产主义制度优越性和实践有效性的道义保障，也是增强党员群众对共产主义价值导向认同的重要渠道。将培育群众的集体主义意识作为推进社会主义道德教育的重要环节，是列宁的一贯主张。他指出，无产阶级“事业的利益应当高于任何私人关系或者派别关系，高于任何‘美好的’回忆”,为了换取社会利益及社会主义胜利就应当勇于抛开小集团和行会的利益，甚至在特殊时刻勇于牺牲一切个人利益。尤其面对社会主义建设中，“给人效力通常都有报偿”“付出去是为了赚回来”等资产阶级道德信条的干扰，列宁指出，构建共产主义道德就要努力消灭“人人为自己，上帝为大家”这一可诅咒的准则，克服将劳动视为一种差事，“凡是劳动都理应按一定标准付给报酬的习惯看法”,反对“我赚我的钱，其他一切都与我无关”的心理和习惯，帮助培养和教育群众克服旧制度遗留下来的旧习惯旧风气以及那些在群众中根深蒂固的私有者的习惯与风气，努力把“大家为一人，一人为大家”“各尽所能，按需分配”等集体主义准则渗透到群众的意识中、习惯中和生活常规中。这也凸显了列宁对培育群众集体主义意识的重视。

Third, cultivating the masses’ consciousness of emulating models. Models themselves embody specific moral pursuits and value orientations, and possess unique exemplary effects and guiding functions. Cultivating the masses’ consciousness of emulating models and enhancing their awareness of models was a basic proposition of Lenin regarding the goals and requirements of socialist moral education. After the establishment of Soviet power, faced with the practical requirement of how to concentrate the nation’s strength to achieve rapid economic recovery and development under the severe conditions of Russia’s economic difficulties, Lenin pointed out, “The power of example has for the first time been able to exert its widespread influence.” He stressed the need to value the power of models, and by cultivating the masses’ consciousness of emulating models, to mobilize the broad masses to devote themselves to the socialist modernization cause. He believed that the exemplary role of the proletariat, setting an example by its own conduct under the premise of holding state power, was the key reason for the Soviet regime’s major achievements and for the masses’ voluntary entry into the Party during the most difficult and dangerous moments of Soviet power. He also believed that only by organizing and uniting all youth, strengthening their consciousness of emulating models, and making them models of education and discipline in struggle, could the bourgeoisie’s attacks at any time be effectively countered. At the same time, to promote the development of socialist moral education, Lenin emphasized the use of successful socialist practices and examples that could meet the masses’ needs and play an exemplary role. He not only regarded “Communist Saturday voluntary labor” as a “great initiative” and the “actual beginning” of communism, but also advocated that Communist Party members “set an example of truly communist labor, i.e., unpaid labor” to influence and drive non-Party masses. He also emphasized the exemplary effect of model farms and communes, praised and publicized good behavior, and criticized and condemned bad phenomena, so as to strengthen the masses’ consciousness of emulating models and advance the process of socialist moral education by leveraging the guiding and exemplary function of models for the masses.

其三，培育群众的榜样意识。榜样本身蕴含着特定的道德追求和价值导向，具有独特的示范效力和引领功能。培育群众的榜样意识，提升群众的榜样觉悟，是列宁对社会主义道德教育目标要求的基本主张。苏维埃政权建立后，面对如何在俄国经济困难的严峻形势下集中全国力量实现迅速恢复和发展经济的现实要求，列宁指出，“榜样的力量第一次有可能表现自己的广大影响”,要重视榜样的力量，通过培育群众榜样意识带动广大群众投身社会主义现代化事业。他认为，无产阶级在掌握国家政权的前提下以身作则的榜样示范作用是苏维埃政权能取得重大成就和人民在苏维埃政权最困难最危险的时刻志愿入党的关键原因；还认为，只有将全体青年都组织和团结起来，强化其榜样意识，使之在斗争中成为有教养和守纪律的榜样，才能有效应对资产阶级的随时进攻。同时，为了推动社会主义道德教育开展，列宁强调对能够满足群众需要的、发挥榜样示范作用的社会主义成功实践和实例的运用，不仅将“共产主义星期六义务劳动”视为“伟大的创举”和共产主义的“实际开端”,而且倡导共产党员“作出真正的共产主义劳动即无报酬劳动的榜样”来影响和带动非党员群众；还强调模范生产和公社的示范效应，表彰宣传好行为，批评谴责坏现象，以通过发挥榜样对群众的引领和示范功能，强化群众榜样意识，推进社会主义道德教育进程。

Fourth, cultivating the masses’ correct consciousness of internationalism and patriotism. In Lenin’s view, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie have fundamentally different understandings of patriotism and internationalism. Proletarian patriotism reflects an emotion toward one’s motherland and its destiny, while internationalism reflects the proletariat’s love for and support of the revolutionary cause of the proletariat in other countries. Both are moral norms that the proletarian masses should accept, and they are also the goals and requirements of socialist moral education. In his view, proletarian patriotism and internationalism are unified. To become an internationalist Social Democrat, “one should not think only of one’s own nation, but place the interests of all nations, the universal freedom and equality of all nations, above one’s own nation,” and “use international consciousness, the comradely sentiment of all proletarians striving for the ideal of comradely sentiment for all people, to oppose nationalist deception.” Only by developing one’s own country’s revolutionary movement and revolutionary struggle through “selfless” work, and by supporting the same struggle in all countries without exception through propaganda, sympathy, or material aid, is true patriotism. This is the moral quality that the proletarian masses should possess, and it is also the goal and requirement of socialist moral education.

其四，培育群众正确的国际主义与爱国主义意识。在列宁看来，无产阶级与资产阶级关于爱国主义和国际主义的认识具有根本的不同。无产阶级的爱国主义反映的是对祖国及其命运的情感，国际主义反映的是无产阶级对其他国家无产阶级革命事业的热爱和拥护，两者都是无产阶级群众应当接受的道德规范，也是社会主义道德教育的目标要求。在他看来，无产阶级的爱国主义与国际主义是相统一的，要成为一个社会民主党人的国际主义者，“就不应当只为本民族着想，而应当把一切民族的利益、一切民族的普遍自由和平等置于本民族之上”,要“用国际意识，用全体无产者的同志情谊以争取所有的人的同志情谊的理想，来反对民族主义的欺骗”。只有用“忘我”的工作来发展本国的革命运动和革命斗争，并毫无例外地用宣传、同情或物质来支持所有国家的同样的斗争才是真正的爱国主义。这是无产阶级群众应当具备的道德素养，也是社会主义道德教育的目标要求。

Fifth, cultivating the masses’ consciousness of loyalty to the communist cause. Lenin believed that communist morality “is derived from the interests of the class struggle of the proletariat,” “is subordinated to the interests of the class struggle of the proletariat,” and “serves to destroy the old society of exploiters and to unite all working people around the proletariat, which is building a new society of communists,” bearing a distinct class character and historicity. In his view, loyalty to the communist cause is not only a spiritual quality that inspires the masses to overcome difficulties, fear no sacrifice, and persist in struggle, but also an action requirement for continuous struggle against the “enemies” of communism. It was precisely because the proletariat was loyal to the communist system without landlords, exploiters, or capitalists that the Russian workers endured hunger and cold, suffered hardships, and made unprecedented, conscious and voluntary sacrifices, thereby preserving the newborn socialist political power. Cultivating the masses’ boundless loyalty to the communist cause is both the basic prerequisite for enabling the masses to struggle for the consolidation of the communist cause and the objective requirement of socialist moral education. Lenin also emphasized that the party of the revolutionary working class “does not seek an increase in the number of members, but pays attention to improving the quality of members and purging ‘those who have wormed their way into the party’”; only by expelling from the party “those who want to ‘reap’ benefits from the status of members of the ruling party but are unwilling to shoulder the heavy burden of selfless work for communism” can those truly loyal to the communist cause be retained, and can the vanguard and exemplary role of the proletarian party be guaranteed. At the same time, he pointed out that a sincere communist must dare to implement a policy that is firm, ruthless, unwavering, and fearless, and must never waver or flinch; otherwise, “by lacking independent judgment, hesitating, and being indecisive, one will commit the crime of betrayal just like an open traitor.”

其五，培育群众对共产主义事业的忠诚意识。列宁认为，共产主义道德“是从无产阶级阶级斗争的利益中引申出来的”,“是服从于无产阶级阶级斗争的利益的”,“是为摧毁剥削者的旧社会、把全体劳动者团结到创立共产主义者新社会的无产阶级周围服务的”,带有鲜明的阶级性和历史性。在他看来，忠诚于共产主义事业不仅是一种激励群众努力攻坚克难、不怕牺牲、坚持奋斗的精神品格，也是对共产主义的“敌人”不断斗争的行动要求。正是因为无产阶级忠诚于没有地主、剥削和资本家的共产主义制度，俄国工人才忍饥挨冻、饱经苦难，作出了空前未有的、自觉自愿的牺牲，从而保住了新生的社会主义政权。培育群众对共产主义事业的无限忠诚，既是使群众为巩固共产主义事业而斗争的基本前提，也是社会主义道德教育的目标要求。列宁还强调，革命工人阶级的党“不追求党员数量的增加，而注意党员质量的提高和清洗‘混进党里来的人’”,只有把“党内那些一心想从执政党党员的地位‘捞到’好处而不愿肩负为共产主义忘我工作的重担的人”从党内驱逐出去，才能让真正忠诚于共产主义事业的人留下，才能保障无产阶级政党先锋模范作用的发挥。同时他指出，一个真诚的共产党人，必须要勇于实行强硬无情、坚定不移和英勇无畏的政策，决不能动摇不定，决不能畏缩不前，否则“就会由于自己缺乏主见、犹豫不决和优柔寡断，而像一个公开的叛徒一样犯下叛变的罪行”。

III. Adhering to Breaking the Old and Establishing the New, Strengthening the Construction of the Socialist Moral Education Environment

三、坚持破旧立新，加强社会主义道德教育环境建设

The unfolding of educational practice is always inseparable from the specific environment’s functions of setting off, rendering, nurturing, and reinforcing. Creating a healthy and uplifting educational environment that reflects the educational orientation and is conducive to educational goals is an inherent requirement and basic guarantee for achieving educational objectives, and it directly affects the overall situation and success or failure of socialist moral education. Regarding the question of what kind of educational environment should be built to promote the realization of the goals of socialist moral education, Lenin adhered to the ideological methodology of breaking the old and establishing the new, and mainly put forward the following understandings.

教育实践的展开总是离不开特定环境的烘托、渲染、熏陶与强化功能。打造健康向上的、反映教育导向和有益于教育目标的教育环境，是促进教育目标实现的题中之义和基本保障，也会直接影响社会主义道德教育的全局和成败。围绕建设怎样的教育环境以促进社会主义道德教育目标的实现问题，列宁坚持破旧立新的思想方法论，主要提出以下认识。

First, actively criticize and discard the old bourgeois morality, and break old habits. Lenin believed that proletarian morality, as the ideology of the proletariat, reflects the interests and demands of the proletariat and “serves to free human society from the exploitation of labor.” Bourgeois old morality, on the other hand, proceeds from bourgeois interests, deriving from concepts that are superhuman and supra-class, a kind of extreme individualism and egoism, whose purpose is to safeguard the interests of landlords and capitalists, to fetter the minds of workers and peasants, and to fool them. It is characterized by distinct deceptiveness, absurdity, and harmfulness. Therefore, these two kinds of morality are fundamentally opposed. In the old bourgeois society, “either you rob others, or others rob you; either you work for others, or others work for you; you are either a slave owner or a slave” – this is the basic basis on which bourgeois morality unfolds, and this old ethos is precisely the fetter for building socialist morality. Lenin also believed that the goal of socialist “political culture and political education is to cultivate genuine communists, enabling them to have the ability to overcome lies and prejudices, to help the working masses overcome the old order, and to build a country without capitalists, without exploiters, and without landlords”; this is also the original intention of socialist moral education. Therefore, advancing socialist moral education requires consolidating the position of socialist ideology, actively criticizing and discarding the old bourgeois morality, and breaking old habits. This is not only an inevitable choice for defending the socialist political power in a situation where bourgeois egoism, individualism, and other psychological habits and concepts have seriously affected the masses’ enthusiasm for consolidating and building socialism, and where socialism faces the danger of bourgeois restoration, but also a need to overcome the resistance of numerous remnants of small production and the enormous habitual forces and conservative forces associated with these remnants, to transform the “educated people” cultivated by old bourgeois morality, who are characterized by “laziness, carelessness, sloppiness, haste, a fondness for replacing action with discussion, replacing work with empty talk, starting everything but leaving it half-finished,” and to make them into people who are meticulous, thrifty, do not steal, do not loaf, and observe communist discipline. On this basis, Lenin not only regarded helping to cultivate and educate the working masses to overcome old habits and old customs as the basic task of educators and the Communist Party, but also emphasized that the Communist Party, the Soviet organs leading cultural and educational work, and all Communist Party members in the trade unions “should pay more attention to waging an ideological struggle against petty-bourgeois influences, trends, and tendencies within the trade unions,” and reiterated that in order to counter the strengthening of capitalism during the New Economic Policy period, “it is very necessary to intensify the resistance to petty-bourgeois influence on the working class,” so as to provide a healthy environment for the development of socialist moral education through actively criticizing and discarding the old bourgeois morality and breaking old bourgeois habits.

其一，积极批判和摒弃资产阶级旧道德，破除旧习气。列宁认为，无产阶级道德作为无产阶级意识形态，反映着无产阶级利益要求，是“为人类社会摆脱对劳动的剥削服务的”。而资产阶级旧道德则是从资产阶级利益出发，从超人类和超阶级的概念中引申出来的一种极端个人主义和利己主义，其目的是维护地主和资本家的利益，禁锢工农头脑、愚弄工农，具有鲜明的欺骗性、荒谬性和有害性。因此，这两种道德在根本上是相对立的。在资产阶级旧社会，“不是你掠夺别人，就是别人掠夺你；不是你给别人做工，就是别人给你做工；你不是奴隶主，就是奴隶”正是资产阶级道德展开的基本依据，而这种旧风气却是建设社会主义道德的羁绊。列宁还认为，社会主义“政治文化、政治教育的目的是培养真正的共产主义者，使他们有本领战胜谎言和偏见，能够帮助劳动群众战胜旧秩序，建设一个没有资本家、没有剥削者、没有地主的国家”,这也是社会主义道德教育的初衷。因此，推进社会主义道德教育就需要夯实社会主义意识形态阵地，积极批判和摒弃资产阶级旧道德，破除旧习气。这不仅是在资产阶级利己主义和个人主义等心理、习惯和观念已经严重影响到群众巩固和建设社会主义的积极性、使社会主义面临资产阶级复辟危险的情况下捍卫社会主义政权的必然选择，也是克服无数小生产残余的反抗以及与这些残余相联系的巨大的习惯势力和保守势力，改造资产阶级旧道德培养的、以“懈怠、大意、马虎、草率、急躁，喜欢用讨论代替行动，用空谈代替工作，干什么事都是开一个头但又半途而废”为特点的“有学问的人”,并使之成为精打细算、节俭办事、不偷懒、不盗窃、遵守共产主义纪律的人的需要。基于此，列宁不仅将帮助培养和教育劳动群众克服旧习惯旧风气作为教育工作者和共产党的基本任务，还强调共产党、领导文化教育工作的苏维埃机关以及工会全体共产党员“都应当更加重视同工会中的小资产阶级的影响、思潮和倾向进行思想斗争”,并重申为了对抗新经济政策时期资本主义的加强，“加紧抵制小资产阶级对工人阶级的影响是十分必要的”,以通过积极批判和摒弃资产阶级旧道德，破除资产阶级旧习气，为社会主义道德教育发展提供健康环境。

Second, strengthen Marxist propaganda and education to create a new atmosphere. Lenin believed that Marxism is both the sole rigorous worldview of the proletariat and the “weapon of truth” for its own emancipation, as well as the guiding principle for socialist moral education. Only when the broad masses fully understand, identify with, and accept Marxism, especially the values of socialism and communism, can they participate in and advance the development of socialist moral education. The successful advancement of socialist moral education must be premised on actively promoting Marxist propaganda and creating a new atmosphere of social thought and public opinion dominated by Marxism. To strengthen Marxist propaganda and education and create a new atmosphere to promote the development of socialist moral education, during the period of proletarian revolution Lenin proposed that Marxism be earnestly studied and emphasized the propagation of Marxism among the working masses, aiming to stimulate the revolutionary fighting spirit of the masses and achieve revolutionary victory by constructing a social ethos guided by Marxism. To effectively promote Marxist propaganda and assist socialist moral education, he not only put forward the proposition of “inculcating” Marxist scientific theory into the workers, arguing that “the cause of writing must become a part of the entire proletarian cause,” but also, under the conditions of the dictatorship of the proletariat, emphasized the principled demand that “publications must become Party publications,” in order to strengthen Marxist theoretical armament. In propaganda, Lenin advocated that Party members “must be good at using every small matter to explain to everyone their own socialist convictions and their own democratic demands, to explain to everyone the world-historical significance of the proletariat’s liberation struggle,” and “at the same time not conceal their socialist convictions for a single minute,” stressing that “deepening and expanding work and influence among the masses must be carried out constantly,” and reiterating that the Social Democratic Party “under no circumstances and in no situation should refuse to use even the smallest legal opportunity to organize the masses and propagate socialism.” After the victory of the October Revolution, in order to advance socialist moral education to unify thought, build consensus, and promote socialist construction, Lenin particularly emphasized the importance of Marxist propaganda and education. He not only opposed the absurd view of the old society that politics and education were separate, emphasizing that “daily propaganda and agitation must have a truly communist character,” clarifying the Marxist direction of propaganda, and advocating that “the entire communist propaganda must ultimately be implemented in the practical guidance of national construction.” To more effectively promote communist propaganda, Lenin stressed that propaganda content should be adjusted according to the shift in practical themes, propaganda strategies should be determined by targeting the different characteristics of the propaganda audience, propaganda work should be combined with the interests of the masses, and propaganda strategies should be selected in alignment with interest needs, in order to raise the level of communist understanding and ideological identification among Party members and the masses. He also proposed that under socialist conditions, the press should become a propaganda weapon and ideological vehicle for promoting socialist moral education, and a “primary tool” for strengthening the conscious discipline of the working people and changing the old, completely useless capitalist work methods or lazy methods, aiming to create a healthy environment conducive to the development of socialist moral education by leveraging the functions of the Marxist press to criticize evil and promote good, point out current ills, guide values, and shape thought.

其二，强化马克思主义宣传教育，营造新氛围。列宁认为，马克思主义既是无产阶级唯一严格的世界观和实现自身解放的“真理武器”,也是社会主义道德教育的行动指南。广大群众只有对马克思主义，尤其对社会主义、共产主义价值理念充分了解、认同和接受，才能参与其中，推进社会主义道德教育开展。社会主义道德教育的成功推进，要以积极推动马克思主义宣传，营造马克思主义主导的社会思想舆论新氛围为前提。为了强化马克思主义宣传教育，营造新氛围以推动社会主义道德教育开展，在无产阶级革命时期，列宁提出，要认真研究马克思主义，并强调在工人群众中宣传马克思主义，意在通过构筑马克思主义引导的社会风尚，激发群众的革命斗志，实现革命胜利。而为了有效推动马克思主义宣传，助力社会主义道德教育，他不仅提出了要将马克思主义科学理论“灌输”给工人的主张，认为“写作事业应当成为整个无产阶级事业的一部分”,还强调在无产阶级专政条件下，“出版物应当成为党的出版物”的原则性要求，以强化马克思主义理论武装。在宣传中，列宁主张党员“要善于利用每一件小事来向大家说明自己的社会主义信念和自己的民主主义要求，向大家解释无产阶级解放斗争的世界历史意义”,“同时一分钟也不隐瞒自己的社会主义信念”,强调“深化和扩大对群众的工作和影响必须经常进行”,重申社会民主党“在任何场合，在任何情况下都不应当拒绝利用哪怕是最小的合法机会来组织群众和宣传社会主义”。十月革命胜利后，为了推进社会主义道德教育以统一思想、凝聚共识，推动社会主义建设，列宁尤其强调马克思主义宣传教育的重要意义。他不仅反对旧社会政治与教育相脱节的荒谬观点，强调“日常的宣传和鼓动必须具有真正的共产主义性质”,明确宣传的马克思主义方向，主张“整个共产主义宣传归根到底要落实到实际指导国家建设”。为了更加有效地推动共产主义宣传，列宁强调，要依据实践主题的转换调整宣传内容，要切中宣传对象的不同特点确定宣传策略，宣传工作要与群众利益相结合，对标利益需要选择宣传策略，以提升党员群众的共产主义认识水平和思想认同度。他还提出，在社会主义条件下，报刊应当成为促进社会主义道德教育的宣传武器和思想载体，成为加强劳动者的自觉纪律、改变资本主义陈旧且完全无用的工作方法或偷懒方法的“首要工具”,意在通过发挥马克思主义报刊的批恶扬善、针砭时弊、价值引导和思想塑造功能，营造有益于社会主义道德教育发展的健康环境。

Third, emphasize the moral education function of mass organizations such as trade unions, the Communist Youth League, and schools, and strengthen new social customs. Lenin believed that under socialist conditions, mass organizations such as trade unions, the Communist Youth League, and schools, as bearers, shapers, and exemplars of the socialist image, are both the organizers and practitioners of socialist moral education and platforms for the broad masses to experience and perceive the socialist moral atmosphere and value orientation. They have an important function in strengthening new socialist moral customs and enhancing socialist moral cognition. Promoting socialist moral education necessarily requires emphasizing the moral education function of mass organizations such as trade unions, the Communist Youth League, and schools, and strengthening new social customs. First, actively leverage the function of trade unions in shaping socialist moral customs. Lenin believed that socialist trade unions, as important links connecting the Party and the working masses, are not only organizations for education, absorption, and training, but also schools for learning management and presiding over the economy, “schools of communism,” bearing the mission and responsibility of propagating socialist ideas and manifesting socialist value goals, and are an important channel for creating a socialist moral atmosphere and promoting the shaping of the environment for socialist moral education. Especially during the period of the New Economic Policy [9]9 The New Economic Policy (NEP) was a policy adopted by the Soviet government in 1921, replacing War Communism, which allowed limited market mechanisms and private enterprise while the state retained control of key industries, as a temporary measure to revive the economy after the civil war., facing the encroachment of old habits left over from the bourgeoisie on socialist construction, Lenin further highlighted the function of trade unions in shaping the moral education environment. He not only emphasized the necessity for all Party members to engage in ideological struggle within the trade unions against petty-bourgeois influences, factions, and tendencies, but also advocated using the daily work of trade unions to persuade and educate the masses, guiding the masses to consciously accept the Party’s leadership and socialist goals, playing the role of a “transmission belt” connecting the vanguard of the proletariat and the masses, cultivating the masses’ emotional recognition and value identification with socialism, and assisting the development of socialist moral education. Second, manifest the function of the Communist Youth League in strengthening socialist moral customs. In Lenin’s view, the Communist Youth League, as an important organization for educating, training, and cultivating youth, and also an important bridge connecting the Party with youth, naturally has the important function of transmitting socialist values and creating an environment for socialist moral education. To manifest the function of the Communist Youth League in strengthening socialist morality, he proposed that the Communist Youth League should not only “in the process of learning, organizing, uniting, and struggling, cultivate its members and those they lead into communists,” but also “should make the entire cause of training, educating, and teaching modern youth a cause of cultivating communist morality in youth,” because “only by linking every step of one’s training, education, and upbringing with the general struggle of all working people against the exploiters can one live up to the name of the Communist Youth League.” Third, emphasize the function of socialist schools in forging the moral education environment. Lenin believed that schools themselves bear specific political missions. Bourgeois schools are essentially tools of bourgeois rule, and after the proletariat seizes power, these schools should transform their role, becoming “tools for destroying this rule and completely eliminating the division of society into classes” and “tools of the dictatorship of the proletariat.” He pointed out that schools “should not only spread general communist principles, but also spread the ideological, organizational, and educational influence of the proletariat among the semi-proletarian and non-proletarian strata of the working masses, in order to facilitate the complete suppression of the resistance of the exploiters and the realization of the communist system.” At the same time, schools should also impart basic knowledge to youth, cultivate them into learned people, and “should make people become participants in the struggle to eliminate exploiters during their studies.” Only by closely combining every step of school activities, as well as training, education, and upbringing, with the struggle of all working people against exploiters, and promoting the integration of moral education and knowledge education, can socialism be consolidated and developed. In short, in Lenin’s view, socialist schools are not only important places for imparting knowledge, but also important positions for value guidance, ideological dissemination, and moral education, and even more so important platforms for creating a socialist moral education environment and strengthening new social customs.

其三，注重工会、共青团、学校等群团组织的道德教育功能，强化新风尚。列宁认为，在社会主义条件下，工会、共青团和学校等群团组织作为社会主义形象的承载者、塑造者和示范者，既是社会主义道德教育的组织者和践行者，也是广大群众体悟、感知社会主义道德氛围和价值导向的平台，具有强化社会主义道德新风尚、增强社会主义道德认知的重要功能。推动社会主义道德教育就必须注重工会、共青团、学校等群团组织的道德教育功能，强化新风尚。一是积极发挥工会的社会主义道德风尚塑造功能。列宁认为，社会主义工会作为联系党和工人群众的重要纽带，既是教育的组织、吸收和训练的组织，也是学习管理和主持经济的学校，是“共产主义的学校”,具有宣传社会主义理念、彰显社会主义价值目标的使命职责，是营造社会主义道德风尚、推进社会主义道德教育环境塑造的重要渠道。尤其在新经济政策时期，面对来自资产阶级遗留的旧习气对社会主义建设的侵扰，列宁更是突出工会塑造道德教育环境的功能，不仅强调全体党员在工会中同小资产阶级的影响、流派和倾向进行思想斗争的必要性，还主张利用工会日常工作说服和教育群众，引导群众自觉接受党的领导和社会主义目标，发挥联结无产阶级先锋队和群众的“传送带”作用，培育群众对社会主义的情感认知和价值认同，助力社会主义道德教育发展。二是彰显共青团的社会主义道德风尚强化功能。在列宁看来，共青团作为教育、训练和培养青年的重要组织，也是党联系青年的重要桥梁，自然具有传递社会主义价值、营造社会主义道德教育环境的重要职能。为了彰显共青团的社会主义道德强化功能，他提出，共青团不仅要“使团员青年在学习、组织、团结和斗争的过程中把他们自己和那些以他们为带头人的人都培养成共产主义者”,还“应该使培养、教育和训练现代青年的全部事业，成为培养青年的共产主义道德的事业”,因为“只有把自己的训练、培养和教育中的每一步骤同参加全体劳动者反对剥削者的总斗争联系起来，才符合共产主义青年团这一称号”。三是注重社会主义学校的道德教育环境锻造功能。列宁认为，学校本身承载着特定的政治使命。资产阶级学校实质上是资产阶级统治的工具，而在无产阶级掌握政权后，这些学校就应当转变角色，“变为摧毁这种统治和完全消灭社会阶级划分的工具”和“无产阶级专政的工具”。他指出，学校“不仅应当传播一般共产主义原则，而且应当对劳动群众中的半无产者和非无产者的阶层传播无产阶级在思想、组织、教育等方面的影响，以利于彻底镇压剥削者的反抗和实现共产主义制度”。同时，学校也应当传授基本知识给青年，把他们培养成为有学识的人，并“应当使人们在学习期间就成为铲除剥削者这一斗争的参加者”。只有把学校活动以及培养、教育和训练的每一步骤同全体劳动者反对剥削者的斗争密切结合起来，推动道德教育与知识教育的融会贯通，社会主义才能巩固和发展起来。总之，在列宁看来，社会主义学校不仅是知识传授的重要场所，也是价值观引导、思想传播和道德教育的重要阵地，更是营造社会主义道德教育环境、强化新风尚的重要平台。

IV. Adhere to systematic thinking and scientifically coordinate the practical layout of socialist moral education

四、坚持系统思维，科学统筹社会主义道德教育实践布局

Socialist moral education is not one-dimensional or linear, but a complex, multi-dimensional social systematic project involving task requirements in many aspects. Adhering to systematic thinking, scientifically coordinating the practical layout of socialist moral education, and achieving multi-faceted efforts and multi-pronged approaches constitute the distinctive feature of Lenin’s thought on socialist moral education.

社会主义道德教育并非单维的、线性的，而是一个复杂、多维的社会系统工程，涉及多方面的任务要求。而秉持系统思维，科学统筹社会主义道德教育实践布局，实现多方发力、多管齐下则构成了列宁社会主义道德教育思想的鲜明特色。

First, taking youth as the strategic foundation. Youth represent the future; they are both the main force for building communism and the reserve army for the cause of socialist moral education. If the moral cultivation and education of the new generation of socialism are not strengthened, the goal of socialist moral education cannot be accomplished. On this basis, Lenin took youth as the strategic foundation for socialist moral education and issued the call to study communism. First, he mobilized youth to study communist culture. Lenin pointed out, “In a country that is illiterate, it is impossible to build a communist society,”[10]10 V. I. Lenin, *Collected Works*, vol. 39, p. 309. because as long as illiteracy exists, it is difficult to speak of political education, and “only by understanding all the wealth created by humanity to enrich one’s own mind can one become a communist.”[11]11 Ibid., vol. 31, p. 283. In his view, communism emerges from the sum total of human knowledge; only by fully absorbing the beneficial knowledge of human society, opposing the “old school” characterized by “rote learning” and serving the interests of the bourgeoisie, and being adept at selecting from it what is necessary for communism, can socialism and its moral education acquire the necessary conditions. He also pointed out that the old society’s procrastination and corruption were “ailments that no military victory or political reform could cure,”[12]12 Ibid., vol. 33, p. 57. and could only be remedied by raising the level of culture. Only by enabling the broad masses of youth to continuously study communist culture and eliminate illiteracy can the cause of socialist moral education have successors and be effectively advanced. Second, he insisted on combining the cultivation of youth with the struggle against exploitation. Lenin believed that the complete separation of books from the practice of life was “one of the greatest evils left to us by the old capitalist society”[13]13 Ibid., vol. 31, p. 272. and also a defect of the old bourgeois morality. “It is extremely incorrect to understand communist expositions solely from books”;[14]14 Ibid., p. 272. if divorced from work and struggle, this book knowledge “can be said to be worthless.”[15]15 Ibid., p. 273. Communist morality is essentially a morality opposed to exploiters, and also a morality opposed to egoistic psychology and values; the communist’s “entire morality lies in this united, disciplined, and conscious mass struggle against the exploiters.”[16]16 Ibid., p. 293. The struggle to consolidate and advance the cause of communism is both the foundation of communist morality and the foundation for carrying out communist cultivation, education, and training of youth. Cultivating communist youth is by no means simply a matter of instilling into youth various beautiful-sounding words and precepts about morality, but rather combining the training, cultivation, and education of youth with the ongoing struggle of the working people against the exploitation of the old society. Only in this way can the defects of old bourgeois morality be overcome and the development of socialist moral education be advanced.

其一，将青年作为战略基点。青年代表未来，既是建设共产主义的主力军，又是社会主义道德教育事业的后备军，如果不加强对社会主义新一代人的道德培养和教育，社会主义道德教育目标就不能完成。基于此，他将青年作为社会主义道德教育的战略基点，并发出了学习共产主义的倡议。一是发动青年学习共产主义文化。列宁指出，“在一个文盲的国家里是不能建成共产主义社会的”,因为只要还存在文盲现象，就很难谈得上政治教育，而“只有了解人类创造的一切财富以丰富自己的头脑，才能成为共产主义者”。在他看来，共产主义是从人类知识的总和中产生出来的，只有充分吸收人类社会有益知识，反对那种以“读死书”、符合资产阶级利益需要为特征的“旧学校”,并善于从中挑选出共产主义所必需的东西，社会主义及其道德教育才能具备必要条件。他还指出：旧社会那种拖拉作风和贪污行为是“任何军事胜利和政治改革都无法治好的毛病”,只能用提高文化水平来医治。只有使广大青年不断学习共产主义文化，消除文盲，社会主义道德教育事业才能后继有人，切实推进。二是坚持青年培养同反剥削斗争相结合。列宁认为，书本与生活实践完全脱节是“资本主义旧社会留给我们的最大祸害之一”,也是资产阶级旧道德的缺陷。“单从书本上来领会关于共产主义的论述，是极不正确的”,如果离开工作、离开斗争，这些书本知识“可以说是一文不值”。共产主义道德本质上是反对剥削者的道德，也是反对利己主义心理和价值观的道德，共产主义者的“全部道德就在于这种团结一致的纪律和反对剥削者的自觉的群众斗争”。为巩固和推进共产主义事业而斗争，既是共产主义道德的基础，也是开展对青年的共产主义培养、教育和训练的基础。培养共产主义青年，决非简单地向青年灌输关于道德的各种美丽动听的言辞和准则，而是要将青年的训练、培养和教育同劳动者不断进行的反对旧社会剥削的斗争相结合。唯此，才能克服资产阶级旧道德缺陷，推进社会主义道德教育发展。

Second, taking the advancement of communist ideal and faith education as the practical starting point. In Lenin’s view, communist ideals and faith are not only the emotional support, willpower guarantee, and ideological driving force that sustain the masses in building socialism and communism, but also a solid spiritual guarantee that inspires the masses to identify with the requirements and principles of socialist morality and promotes the development of moral education. In Marxist theory, since socialism is the first stage of communism, and communism is the inevitable trend of socialist development, the communist party can only cultivate the masses’ communist ideals and faith, enabling them to establish emotional support, value identification, and conscious action toward socialism and communism, so that socialist moral education can obtain strong driving force and ideological guarantee. On this basis, Lenin clearly pointed out, first, that the masses should be made to recognize the long-term nature of achieving communism. He believed that in a country like Russia, which was economically and culturally backward, eliminating classes and achieving communism could by no means be accomplished in a short period. If driving out the tsar took only a few days, driving out the landlords could be done in a few months, and driving out the capitalists was likewise not very difficult, but “to eliminate classes is incomparably more difficult.”[17]17 Ibid., vol. 31, p. 94. Although after the October Revolution, Russia established a socialist political power, “people do not become saints just because a revolution has occurred,”[18]18 Ibid., vol. 33, p. 110. and “there is no Great Wall between the working class and the old bourgeois society.”[19]19 Ibid., p. 110. The workers building the new society had not yet become “new people” and had not yet cleansed themselves of the filth of the old world, and “standing in this knee-deep filth”[20]20 Ibid., p. 110. was an objective fact. People’s ideological and moral qualities still retained strong traces of the old society, and there was still a considerable gap between them and the requirements of socialism and communism. Therefore, if one were to attempt prematurely to achieve what could only be realized when communism was fully developed and mature, “this would be no different from asking a four-year-old child to learn higher mathematics.”[21]21 Ibid., vol. 31, p. 95. Moreover, the tortuous nature of achieving communism was inevitable; the notion that “world history will move forward smoothly and step by step, without occasionally experiencing large leaps backward”[22]22 Ibid., vol. 27, p. 148. was “undialectical, unscientific, and theoretically incorrect.”[23]23 Ibid., p. 148. Only by enabling the masses to fully recognize the long-term and tortuous nature of achieving communism, to be mentally prepared for a long struggle against old ideas and old morality, and to avoid rashness and impatience, can socialist moral education concentrate its efforts and advance steadily. Second, the masses should be made to firmly believe in the inevitability of achieving communism. Although the process of achieving communism is long, and shortcomings, errors, and mistakes are unavoidable, the trend of humanity moving toward communism is certain and unwavering. Only by enabling the masses to recognize and identify with the inevitability of achieving communism can socialist moral education obtain solid belief support and conscious action. On this basis, during the period of socialist revolution, he emphasized that although the revolutionary situation was severe and complex, “we have every reason to look to the future with the utmost firmness and confidence.”[24]24 Ibid., vol. 27, p. 514. After the victory of the October Revolution, although the Soviet regime faced severe tests from both internal and external troubles, he firmly believed that communism was neither remote nor outdated, and Party members should set a model of faith for the masses. As he said, “Communists should know that the future ultimately belongs to them”;[25]25 Ibid., vol. 31, p. 396. building socialism must never “be frightened by the enormous difficulties and the mistakes that are inevitable at the beginning of an extremely arduous undertaking.”[26]26 Ibid., vol. 33, p. 61. Whoever is afraid of the difficulties in socialist construction, or is frightened by difficulties and becomes pessimistic, disappointed, or panicked when seeing them, “is not a socialist.”[27]27 Ibid., p. 61. At the same time, he repeatedly emphasized that the proletarian masses should be energetic and full of confidence in socialist construction; no matter how difficult the situation, they must maintain the enthusiasm of the proletariat, “just as the Red Army created miracles on the bloody front line in the struggle against the imperialists and their lackeys, so too on the peaceful labor front”[28]28 Ibid., vol. 31, p. 396. to “prove that we are all capable of fulfilling the tasks entrusted to us.”[29]29 Ibid., p. 396. By cultivating the masses’ communist ideals and faith, and consolidating emotional and willpower support, the development of socialist moral education was thereby assisted.

其二，将推进共产主义理想信念教育作为实践起点。在列宁看来，共产主义理想信念不仅是支撑群众建设社会主义、共产主义的情感依托、意志保障和思想动力，也是激励群众认同社会主义道德要求和原则，推动道德教育发展的坚实精神保障。在马克思主义理论中，由于社会主义是共产主义的第一阶段，而共产主义则是社会主义发展的必然趋势。因此，共产党只有培育起群众的共产主义理想信念，使群众树立对社会主义、共产主义的情感依托、价值认同和行动自觉，社会主义道德教育才能获取强劲的动力支撑和思想保障。基于此，列宁明确指出，一是使群众认清实现共产主义的长期性。他认为，在俄国这样一个经济文化落后国家要消灭阶级、实现共产主义，绝非短期可以完成的。如果说赶走沙皇总共用了几天的工夫，赶走地主在几个月内就能做到，赶走资本家同样也不是很困难的事情，但是“要消灭阶级就无比困难了”。虽然十月革命后，俄国建立了社会主义政权，但“人们并不因为发生了革命而变成圣人”,“在工人阶级和资产阶级旧社会之间并没有一道万里长城”。建设新社会的工人还未变成“新人”,且尚未清除掉旧世界的污泥，而“站在这种没膝的污泥里面”是客观事实。人们的思想道德素质仍保留着浓厚的旧社会痕迹，与社会主义、共产主义要求之间还有较大差距，因此如果目前就企图提前实现将来共产主义充分发展和成熟的时候才能实现的东西，“这无异于叫四岁的小孩去学高等数学”。况且，实现共产主义的曲折性在所难免，那种设想“世界历史会一帆风顺、按部就班地向前发展，不会有时出现大幅度的跃退”的认识，是“不辩证的，不科学的，在理论上是不正确的”。而只有使群众充分认识到实现共产主义的长期性和曲折性，做好同旧思想旧道德长期斗争的思想准备，不冒进、不浮躁，社会主义道德教育才能凝神聚力、稳步推进。二是使群众坚定实现共产主义的必然性。虽然实现共产主义过程漫长，而且缺点、错误和失误不可避免，但人类走向共产主义的趋势确定不移。只有使群众认识并认同实现共产主义的必然性，社会主义道德教育才能获得坚实的信念支撑和行动自觉。基于此，在社会主义革命时期，他强调，虽然革命形势严峻复杂，但“我们有一切根据来极其坚定地和充满信心地展望未来”。十月革命胜利后，尽管苏维埃政权面临内忧外患的严峻考验，但他坚信，共产主义并非渺茫，更未过时，党员应该为群众树立信念标杆。正如他所言，“共产党人应当知道，未来终究是属于他们的”,建设社会主义绝不能“被巨大的困难和极艰巨的事业开始时难免会犯的错误所吓倒”,谁害怕社会主义建设中的困难，谁被困难吓倒或是见了困难就悲观失望、张皇失措，“谁就不是社会主义者”。同时他一再强调，无产阶级群众在社会主义建设中要精力充沛、信心十足，无论情况怎样困难，都要保持无产阶级的热忱，“像红军在流血战线上同帝国主义者及其走狗进行斗争时那样，在和平的劳动战线上也创造出奇迹来”以“证明我们大家能够胜任我们所肩负的任务”。以通过培育群众共产主义理想信念，筑牢情感和意志支撑的方式，助力社会主义道德教育发展。

Third, making discipline-building a strategic guarantee. Lenin proposed: “The social organisation of labour under serfdom rested on the discipline of the knout, on the extreme ignorance and degradation of the labouring people, who were robbed and insulted by a handful of landowners. The social organisation of labour under capitalism rested on the discipline of hunger, and, notwithstanding all the progress of bourgeois culture and bourgeois democracy, the vast mass of the labouring people in the most advanced, civilised and democratic republics remain ignorant and downtrodden wage-slaves or oppressed peasants, who are robbed and insulted by a handful of capitalists. The social organisation of labour under communism, the first stage of which is socialism, rests on the free and conscious discipline of the working people themselves who have thrown off the yoke of the landowners and capitalists, and this discipline becomes more and more independent as social development progresses.” Communist discipline “grows out of the material conditions of large-scale capitalist production”; its essence is discipline that trusts the organisation of workers and poor peasants, comradely discipline, discipline that shows great respect for people, and discipline that gives play to initiative and creativity in struggle. Lenin pointed out that united discipline and the conscious mass struggle against the exploiters, and setting an example of being educated and disciplined in that struggle, constitute the whole of socialist morality. Advancing socialist moral education necessarily entails making the building of socialist discipline a strategic support, and focusing on constructing the following forms of discipline: First, actively constructing comradely discipline. Lenin believed that in a country like Russia, where workers lacked management experience and scientific and technical personnel were relatively scarce, building socialism by force alone would not work; it was also necessary to use bourgeois talent and experts. Only if the proletariat is organised, disciplined and authoritative, capable of “making all bourgeois experts submit to it and take part in its work”, and by establishing comradely discipline with these experts, expanding its influence over all other people, making them realise that returning to the old society is impossible and that working together with the Communists is the only way out, can it create an environment where bourgeois experts and ordinary masses work together, transform the old psychology and old habits of bourgeois experts, and lay a solid emotional foundation for socialist moral education. Second, establishing labour discipline. Lenin believed that in the construction of socialism, “without a single will uniting the entire working people into an economic machine that works with the precision of clockwork, neither the railways, nor transport, nor large-scale machinery and enterprises can function normally.” Accordingly, he pointed out: “Socialism is the product of large-scale machine industry. If the working people who are building socialism cannot make their various institutions work as large-scale machine industry should, then there can be no talk of building socialism.” It can be said that, for Lenin, only through the constraining and guiding role of labour discipline could the licentious, undisciplined and anarchic spontaneous forces and labour habits of the bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie be overcome, achieving the close coordination and unity of action among the masses required by large-scale industry. Promoting the building of labour discipline is naturally an inherent part of the practice of socialist moral education. In the early days of Soviet power, Lenin believed: “The corrupting effect of high salaries affects both the Soviet government (especially in a period of drastic change, when a certain number of adventurers and swindlers inevitably worm their way into it, and various incompetent or shameless people among the committee members are also happy to play the role of ‘stars’ — stars of embezzlement of public property) and the masses of workers, this is indisputable. But every sensible and honest worker and poor peasant will agree with our practice and will realise that it is impossible to get rid of the legacy of capitalism at one stroke; to save the Soviet Republic from paying a ‘tribute’ of 50 or 100 million rubles (the tribute we pay for our backwardness in organising universal accounting and supervision from below), we must organise ourselves, tighten the discipline of our ranks, and purge from our ranks all those who ‘preserve the legacy of capitalism’ and ‘cling to capitalist traditions’ — that is, all idlers, parasites, and embezzlers of public property (now all land, all factories, all railways are the ‘public property’ of the Soviet Republic).” In this sense, building strong labour discipline is undoubtedly an effective way to strengthen socialist moral norms and a crucial link in consolidating the foundation of socialist moral education practice. Third, establishing iron Party discipline. Lenin pointed out that in a country like Russia, which was economically and culturally backward, to eliminate small commodity producers, “they cannot be expelled, they cannot be suppressed, we must live in harmony with them; we can (and must) transform them, re-educate them, and this can only be done through very long, very slow, very careful organisational work.” However, the spontaneous forces embedded in the bourgeoisie and small commodity producers, which are fundamentally incompatible with the discipline of the proletariat and the requirements of socialism, especially the habits, inclinations and moods of small private owners, will inevitably exist and even run rampant for a period of time, and will “operate internally, using all harmful elements, all weaknesses to bribe, to encourage indiscipline, laxity and chaos”, all of which will manifest themselves directly or indirectly in social life, threatening the Party and socialist construction. Therefore, only by giving full play to iron Party discipline can the proletariat constrain and eliminate the old bourgeois morality and habits within the Party, defend the socialist cause, and provide a solid organisational line of defence for advancing the process of socialist moral education.

其三，将纪律建设作为战略保障。列宁提出：“农奴制的社会劳动组织靠棍棒纪律来维持，劳动群众极端愚昧，备受压抑，横遭一小撮地主的掠夺和侮辱。资本主义的社会劳动组织靠饥饿纪律来维持，在最先进最文明最民主的共和国内，尽管资产阶级文化和资产阶级民主有很大的进步，广大劳动群众仍旧是一群愚昧的、受压抑的雇佣奴隶或被压迫的农民，横遭一小撮资本家的掠夺和侮辱。共产主义的社会劳动组织——其第一步为社会主义——则靠推翻了地主资本家压迫的劳动群众本身自由的自觉的纪律来维持，而且愈向前发展就愈要靠这种纪律来维持”。共产主义纪律是“从资本主义大生产的物质条件中生长起来的”,其实质是信任工人和贫苦农民的组织性的纪律、同志的纪律、对人非常尊重的纪律以及在斗争中发挥独创性和主动性的纪律。列宁指出，团结一致的纪律和反对剥削者自觉的群众斗争以及在斗争中作出有教养和守纪律的榜样，是社会主义者的全部道德。推进社会主义道德教育，必然将推动社会主义纪律建设作为战略支撑，并着重构建以下几种纪律形式：一是积极构建同志式的纪律。列宁认为，在俄国这样一个工人管理经验不足、科技人才相对短缺的国家建设社会主义，单靠暴力是行不通的，还要使用资产阶级的人才和专家。无产阶级只有有组织、有纪律、有威望，能够“使一切资产阶级专家服从自己并参加自己的工作”,通过同这些专家建立同志式的纪律，扩大自身对其他一切人的影响，让他们意识到回到旧社会已不可能，同共产党人一起工作才是唯一出路，才能营造资产阶级专家同普通群众共同劳动的环境，才能改造资产阶级专家的旧心理和旧习性，打牢社会主义道德教育的情感基础。二是建立劳动纪律。列宁认为，在社会主义的建设中，“如果没有统一的意志把全体劳动者结合成一个像钟表一样准确地工作的经济机关，那么无论是铁路、运输、大机器和企业都不能正常地进行工作”。据此，他指出：“社会主义是大机器工业的产物。如果正在实现社会主义的劳动群众不能使自己的各种机构像大机器工业所应该做的那样进行工作，那么也就谈不上实现社会主义了。”可以说，在列宁那里，只有通过劳动纪律的约束和引领作用，才能克服资产阶级和小资产阶级放荡、散漫以及各自为政的自发势力和劳动习惯，实现大工业发展所要求的劳动的群众密切配合和步调一致。推进劳动纪律建设自然也是推进社会主义道德教育实践的题中之义。在苏维埃政权建立初期，列宁就认为：“高额薪金的腐化作用既影响到苏维埃政权(尤其在急剧变革的情况下，不会没有相当数量的冒险家和骗子混入这个政权，他们和各种委员当中那些无能的或者无耻的人，也是乐意充当‘明星’——盗窃公产的‘明星’的),也影响到工人群众，这是无可争辩的。可是，每一个有头脑的正直的工人和贫苦农民都会同意我们的做法，都会认识到：要一下子摆脱资本主义的遗毒是办不到的；要使苏维埃共和国免除5000万或1亿卢布的‘贡赋’(因我们在组织全民计算和自下而上的监督工作上的落后而付出的贡赋),就只有组织起来，整顿自己队伍的纪律，清除自己行列中一切‘保存资本主义遗产’、‘拘守资本主义传统’的人，即清除一切懒汉、寄生虫、公产盗窃者(现在一切土地、一切工厂、一切铁路都是苏维埃共和国的‘公产’)。”在这个意义上，构建强有力的劳动纪律无疑是强化社会主义道德规范的有效方式，也是筑牢社会主义道德教育实践基石的重要环节。三是树立铁的政党纪律。列宁指出：在俄国这样经济文化落后国家，消灭小商品生产者，“不能驱逐，不能镇压，必须同他们和睦相处；可以(而且必须)改造他们，重新教育他们，这只有通过很长期、很缓慢、很谨慎的组织工作才能做到”。但是，嵌在资产阶级和小商品生产者身上的、与无产阶级的纪律性和社会主义要求根本抵触的自发势力，尤其是小私有者的习惯、意向和情绪，必然会在一段时间内存在甚至猖獗，且还在“内部进行活动，利用一切有害分子、一切弱点来进行收买，来助长无纪律、自由散漫和混乱现象”,都或直接或间接地在社会生活中表现出来，威胁党和社会主义建设。因此，无产阶级只有充分发挥铁的政党纪律，才能约束和摒除党内资产阶级旧道德旧习气，捍卫社会主义事业，为推进社会主义道德教育进程提供坚实的组织防线。

Fourth, making the promotion of communist labour education a practical foundation. In Lenin’s view, labour is a key channel for people to perceive and experience specific production and social relations, and also an important channel for people to familiarise themselves with social norms and standards, and adjust their self-cognition and behavioural habits within a given labour atmosphere. It itself contains rich implicit moral requirements and serves as the practical foundation for carrying out socialist moral education. He believed that “communist labour … is voluntary labour, labour without quotas, labour without expectation of reward, labour without conditions of remuneration, labour performed according to the habit of working for the common good, according to the conscious requirement (which has become a habit) of working for the common good”, not for personal gain, but for selfless dedication to society and the collective. This is the basic requirement of communist morality and the goal orientation of socialist moral education. “Communist Saturday voluntary labour” [30]30 “Communist Saturday voluntary labour” (共产主义星期六义务劳动) refers to the voluntary, unpaid labour performed by workers on Saturdays during the Russian Civil War, initiated by Communist Party members and supporters, which Lenin hailed as a concrete manifestation of communist consciousness and a crucial step in building a new, socialist morality and labour discipline. is precisely a typical form of communist labour. This labour, characterised by disregarding personal得失 [gain and loss], courage in self-sacrifice and self-dedication, can fully achieve the goal that “the product does not belong to the labourer himself or his ‘near ones’, but to their distant relatives, that is, to the whole of society”. This is not only “the beginning of communism”, but also “communism in living reality”, and an important guarantee of the invincibility of communism. It not only reflects the spirit of communist labour, but also provides a rare practical window for the masses to comprehend communist living habits, morality and labour customs, and is naturally an important channel for socialist moral education.

其四，将弘扬共产主义劳动教育作为实践依托。在列宁看来，劳动是人们感知和体验特定生产和社会关系的关键渠道，也是人们在既定的劳动氛围中熟悉社会规范和准则，调适自我认知和行为习惯的重要渠道，本身蕴含着丰富的隐性道德要求，是开展社会主义道德教育的实践依托。他认为，“共产主义劳动……是自愿的劳动，是无定额的劳动，是不指望报酬、不讲报酬条件的劳动，是按照为公共利益劳动的习惯、按照必须为公共利益劳动的自觉要求(这已成为习惯)来进行的劳动”,不是为个人私利，而是为社会和集体的无私奉献。这是共产主义道德的基本要求，也是社会主义道德教育的目标导向。“共产主义星期六义务劳动”正是共产主义劳动的典型形式，该劳动以不计个人得失、勇于自我牺牲、自我奉献为特点，完全可以实现“产品不归劳动者本人及其‘近亲’所有，而归他们的远亲即归全社会所有”的目标。这不仅是“共产主义的开始”,还是“活生生的现实当中的共产主义”,更是共产主义不可战胜的重要保障。其不仅反映着共产主义劳动精神，也为广大群众体悟共产主义生活习惯、道德和劳动风尚提供了难得的实践窗口，自然也是社会主义道德教育的重要渠道。

V. Adhering to Scientific Guidance, Strengthening the Political Leadership and Organisational Exemplary Function of the Communist Party

五、坚持科学引领，强化共产党的政治领导与组织示范功能

The cause of socialist moral education is a long-term, complex and systematic strategic project, directly concerning the future and destiny of socialism. Its steady progress, however, is inseparable from a “general hub” capable of overall planning and coordinating all parties, setting the direction, unifying the overall situation, gathering people’s hearts, consolidating strength, and shaping the image. In Lenin’s view, this general hub is the Communist Party. Adhering to the scientific leadership of the Communist Party is not only the political prerequisite and organisational support for successfully advancing socialist moral education, but also the directional guarantee and vanguard example for effectively promoting this education.

社会主义道德教育事业是一项长期性、复杂性和系统性的战略工程，直接关乎社会主义的前途和命运，但其稳步推进离不开一个能够总揽全局、协调各方，能够把方向、统大局、聚人心、凝力量、树形象的“总枢纽”。在列宁看来，这个总枢纽就是共产党。坚持共产党的科学领导，既是成功推进社会主义道德教育的政治前提和组织依托，也是有效推进这一教育的方向保障和先锋示范。

Lenin believed that the communist party is the vanguard composed of the most conscious, most advanced, and most active part of the working class. Only the communist party can achieve the unity, education, and organization of the vanguard of the proletariat and all working masses; only it can resist the inevitable petty-bourgeois wavering among these masses, as well as the inevitable recurrence of various narrow trade-unionist prejudices, traditions, and bad habits within the proletariat; only it can realize leadership over all joint actions of the entire proletariat; and only it can unify will, unify action, coordinate and integrate various forces, and ensure that socialist moral education advances effectively in the correct direction. If one “does not correctly understand the role of the communist party in relation to the non-party proletariat, and the role of the communist party and the non-party proletariat in relation to the entire mass of working people, that is a fundamental theoretical violation of communism.” [31]31 V. I. Lenin, “The Tasks of the Youth Leagues,” *Collected Works*, vol. 31, p. 283. Therefore, when discussing work and organizational construction, the question of recognizing the leading role of the party must never be neglected. Especially on educational issues, including socialist moral education, Lenin emphatically stressed that the General Political Education Committee, as an important institution for carrying out national education, must place the open recognition of the political leadership of communism first in its work. For Lenin, the communist party is a party whose goal is to realize communism; it possesses incomparable advanced nature and is itself a banner of socialism and communism. Whether the communist party itself can maintain its advanced nature directly concerns not only whether its vanguard role can be realized, whether its organizational and guiding functions can be manifested, and whether the broad masses can establish identification with the socialist image, values, and goals, but also the fundamental question of whether the party can use its glorious socialist image, advanced ideas, and exemplary actions to influence, drive, and create a good social atmosphere, thereby providing a model guarantee for socialist moral education.

列宁认为，共产党是工人阶级中最有觉悟、最先进、最积极的部分所组成的先锋队，只有共产党才能实现对无产阶级和全体劳动群众的先锋队的团结、教育和组织，才能抵制这些群众中不可避免的小资产阶级动摇性，以及无产阶级中不可避免的种种行业狭隘性或行业偏见传统及恶习的复发，实现对全体无产阶级一切联合行动的领导，才能统一意志、统一行动，协调统筹各种力量，确保社会主义道德教育沿着正确方向有效推进。如果“不正确地理解共产党对非党无产阶级的作用以及共产党和非党无产阶级对全体劳动群众的作用，就是在理论上根本违背共产主义”。因此在讨论工作和组织建设的时候，决不能忽视承认党的领导作用问题，尤其在包括社会主义道德教育在内的教育问题上，列宁突出强调，政治教育总委员会作为开展国民教育的重要机构，要在工作中将公开承认共产主义的政治领导放在首位。在列宁那里，共产党是以实现共产主义为奋斗目标的党，具有无可比拟的先进性，本身就是社会主义、共产主义的一面旗帜。共产党自身能否保持先进性，不仅直接关乎其先锋队作用能否实现，其组织引导功能能否彰显，广大群众能否对社会主义形象、价值和目标建立认同，还关系到党能否用社会主义光辉形象、先进思想和模范行动影响、带动并营造良好的社会风尚，为社会主义道德教育提供示范保障的根本性问题。

To maintain the advanced nature of the communist party in order to advance socialist moral education, first, the entry threshold for party membership must be strictly controlled. In Lenin’s view, strictly controlling the entry threshold for party membership is the first step in forging a strong party organization. Only those who sincerely support socialism and communism, who are truly loyal to the workers’ state, honest working people, and genuine representatives of the masses who suffered oppression under capitalist society, are the true sources of communist party members. Only by doing everything possible to absorb all the outstanding elements from among the workers and peasants into the party can we prevent careerists, sycophants, and shrewd operators from sneaking into the party and tarnishing the party’s image of advanced nature. That is to say, only by enabling the party to maintain its vanguard nature can reliable and strong organizational guarantees be provided for socialist moral education. Second, attention must be paid to purging unqualified personnel from within the party. Lenin pointed out that communist party members should be the vanguard of the proletariat; “we do not want members who are only in name, even if they are given to us for free.” The communist party is “the ruling party that relies on a healthy and strong advanced class; it must be good at purifying its own ranks.” Only by being good at purifying the party’s ranks can the party become “a class vanguard far stronger than before” and become “a vanguard that has closer ties with its own class and is more capable of leading its own class to victory amid numerous difficulties and dangers.” If party members who propagate anti-party views are not purged, the party will inevitably disintegrate first ideologically and then materially, seriously harming the party’s development. Therefore, in order to maintain the advanced image of the communist party, it is necessary to expel from the party deceivers, bureaucratized elements, disloyal elements, wavering members, and Mensheviks who, though having “changed their appearance,” remain the same at heart, thereby preserving the party’s advanced exemplary nature and laying a solid foundation of ideological identification for enhancing the socialist image and advancing socialist moral education. Third, attention must be paid to improving the quality and ability of party members. Lenin believed that the advanced nature of the communist party is embodied in the advanced nature of its members. To maintain the advanced nature of the communist party, we must start by enhancing the advanced nature of the members themselves, especially by making study an important mission of party members. In view of this, he not only issued the important initiative that the task of party members in reforming state organs is “first, to study; second, to study; and third, to study,” but also made maintaining the party’s consolidation, firmness, and purity, and enhancing the title and role of party members, a key task of the party. He advocated that party members should go to the front line of production and participate in social production practices such as “Communist Saturday voluntary labor,” in order to forge the vanguard capabilities and will of party members, highlight the vanguard image of the communist party and the leading role of advanced organizations, and thereby ensure that socialist moral education advances in the correct direction.

保持共产党的先进性以推进社会主义道德教育，一要严把入党关。在列宁看来，严把入党关是锻造坚强党组织的第一步。只有那些真心拥护社会主义、共产主义，真正忠于工人国家的人、正直的劳动者以及在资本主义社会受过压迫的群众的真正代表，才是共产党员的真正来源。只有尽力把工农群众中所有优秀分子吸纳到党内，才能防止一些野心家、趋炎附势和巧于经营的人混进党内，玷污党的先进性形象。也就是说，只有使党保持自身的先锋队性质，才能为社会主义道德教育提供可靠而坚强的组织保障。二要注重对党内不合格人员的清洗。列宁指出，共产党员应当是无产阶级先锋队，对于“徒有其名的党员，就是白给，我们也不要”。共产党是“以健康的强有力的先进阶级作为依靠的执政党，要善于清洗自己的队伍”。只有善于清洗党的队伍才能使党成为“比以前坚强得多的阶级先锋队”,成为“同本阶级有更紧密的联系、更能在重重困难和危险中引导本阶级走向胜利的先锋队”。假如对那些宣传反党观点的党员不进行清洗，党就不可避免地会首先在思想上、然后在物质上瓦解，严重危害党的发展。因此，为了维护共产党的先进性形象，必须把党内的欺骗分子、官僚化分子、不忠诚分子、不坚定的党员以及虽“改头换面”但内心依然故我的孟什维克清除出去，从而保持党的先进示范性，为提升社会主义形象、推进社会主义道德教育奠定坚实的思想认同基础。三要注重党员素质和能力的提升。列宁认为，共产党的先进性是由党员先进性体现的。保持共产党的先进性，必须从提升党员自身的先进性着手，尤其将学习作为党员的重要使命。鉴于此，他不仅发出革新国家机关党员的任务“第一是学习，第二是学习，第三还是学习”的重要倡议，还将维护党的巩固性、坚定性、纯洁性，提升党员的称号和作用作为党的关键任务，倡导党员要走向生产第一线，参加“共产主义星期六义务劳动”等社会生产实践的锻炼，以锻造党员先锋队能力和意志，凸显共产党的先锋队形象和先进组织的领导作用，从而确保社会主义道德教育沿着正确方向推进。

In summary, it can be seen that Lenin’s thought on socialist moral education is both systematic and profound. Although it inevitably bears a distinct Russian character and the imprint of its era, it reveals the general requirements, methods of thinking, and focal points of action for advancing socialist moral education in economically and culturally backward countries. It contains rich contemporary implications and has important theoretical and practical significance for our comprehensive understanding of the profound connotation and target requirements of the new socialist-era person, for enhancing the theoretical confidence and consciousness of China’s socialist moral education, for advancing the cultivation of new socialist-era persons and the construction of civic morality in the New Era, and for realizing the goal of building China into a strong socialist educational country through modernization.

综上可见，列宁社会主义道德教育思想是系统的，也是深入的。虽然其不可避免地带有鲜明的俄国色彩与时代印记，但它揭示了经济文化落后国家推进社会主义道德教育的一般要求、思维方法和行动着力点，蕴含着丰富的当代启示意义，对于我们全面认识社会主义时代新人的深刻内涵和目标要求，提升我国社会主义道德教育的理论自信与自觉，推进时代新人培育以及新时代公民道德建设，实现社会主义现代化教育强国目标等，都具有重要的理论与现实意义。

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心