The Two Dimensions of Marx’s Thought on Democracy and Their Practical Embodiment

When exploring the theoretical framework of democracy, it can be divided into two levels: first, the theoretical foundation, which focuses on investigating the philosophical basis of democracy, demonstrating the legitimacy and rationality of democracy, and excavating the intrinsic value of democracy; this part is designated as “substantive democracy.” Second, the theory at the practical level, which studies in detail the structure of the democratic political system, plans the steps for implementing democracy, analyzes the process of democratic operation, and deeply discusses the formulation of democratic laws and regulations; this part is generally regarded as “realizing the authenticity of democracy.” In Marx’s conception of democracy, he deeply analyzed the substance of democracy, emphasizing that its core is the rule of the majority, and how to put this rule of the majority into practice constitutes the dimension of authenticity. This dimension is constructed in Marx’s thought through the disenchantment of bourgeois democracy and the preservation of the truth in the practice of proletarian democracy. The former can be seen as an exploration of value orientation, while the latter is a practical guide at the technical level. Such a division enables us to understand both the deep meaning of democracy and to grasp the actual path to realizing democracy; the two complement each other, forming a complete theoretical system of democracy.

在探讨民主的理论框架时，可以将其划分为两个层面：首先是理论的根基，它侧重于探究民主的哲学依据，论证民主的正当性和合理性，挖掘民主的内在价值，这一部分被赋予了“实质性的民主”之名。其次是实践层面的理论，它详细研究民主政治体制的架构，规划实施民主的步骤，解析民主运作的过程，深入讨论民主法规的制定，这部分通常被视作“实现民主的真实性”。在马克思的民主观念里，他深入剖析了民主的实质，强调其核心是多数人的治理，而如何将这种多数人的统治付诸实践，即真实性维度。这一维度在马克思思想中通过对资产阶级民主的祛魅，对无产阶级民主实践的存真中构建起来。前者可以看作是一种价值导向的探索，后者则是技术层面的实践指南。这样的划分，使我们既能理解民主的深层意义，也能掌握实现民主的实际路径，两者相辅相成，构成了一个完整的民主理论体系。

I. The Substantive Dimension of Marx’s Thought on Democracy

一、马克思民主思想的实质性维度

The substantive dimension of Marx’s thought on democracy encompasses the essence, ontology, and truth of his democratic thought, constituting its profound theoretical core and revealing the intrinsic nature and laws of democracy. Accurately grasping the substance of Marx’s thought on democracy directly affects the implementation of the practical principles of Marxist people’s democracy.

马克思民主思想的实质性维度包含其民主思想的本质、本体与本真，构成其深邃的理论内核，揭示了民主的内在本质和规律。准确把握马克思民主思想的实质，直接影响着贯彻马克思主义人民民主的实践准则。

(I) Essence: State System

（一）本质：国家制度

Democracy is the only possible embodiment of the concept and essence of the state; this view is built upon Marx’s profound understanding of the nature of the state. From Marx’s perspective, the state is not an abstract entity independent of the socio-economic base, but rather the embodiment of the socio-economic base in certain political and legal forms. The essence of the state system lies in its being a product of the people’s activity, the political expression of real social relations. Therefore, “true democracy” should reflect the will of the people and embody the general interests of society. In *Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right*, Marx systematically settled theoretical accounts with Hegel’s rational view of the state, criticizing Hegel’s “historical misplacement” of subordinating civil society to the political state, and concluding that civil society determines the political state. The essence of the democratic system is not abstract principles of freedom and equality, but the class substance closely linked to the economic relations of a specific period. “The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life.” [1]1 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s speech at the Central Conference on Work Related to People’s Congresses, October 2021. The substantive dimension reveals the profound connection between democracy and the economic base; therefore, the degree of realization of democracy depends on the economic condition and degree of liberation of the broad masses of the people. That is to say, only when the economic base undergoes transformation can the democratic system truly realize its essence. In *The Civil War in France*, Marx, taking the Paris Commune as an example, pointed out that a revolution led by the proletariat can provide the possibility for realizing substantive democracy. The main task of social reform is to turn state affairs into the people’s affairs, to transform the state machine from an instrument of dictatorship for the minority into a true public servant of the people. Only through the liberation of the proletariat can true democracy be realized, because only under these circumstances can the state transform from a tool of class rule into an institution serving the entire people. Although the Commune did not fully realize communism, it demonstrated the potential for the working people to directly participate in political decision-making.

民主制是国家概念和本质的唯一可能的体现，这一观点建立在马克思对国家性质的深刻理解之上。在马克思的视角中，国家并不是一个独立于社会经济基础之上的抽象存在，而是社会经济基础在一定政治和法律形式中的体现。国家制度的本质在于它是人民活动的产物，是真实社会关系的政治体现。因此，“真正的民主制”应当反映人民的意志，体现社会的普遍利益。在《黑格尔法哲学批判》中，马克思对黑格尔理性国家观进行系统的理论清算，批判了黑格尔把市民社会从属于政治国家的“历史错位”，得出了市民社会决定政治国家的结论。民主制度的本质并非抽象的自由和平等原则，而是与特定时期的经济关系密切相关的阶级实质。“物质生活的生产方式制约着整个社会生活、政治生活和精神生活的过程。” 实质性维度揭示了民主与经济基础的深刻联系，因此，民主的实现程度取决于广大人民的经济状况和解放程度。也就是说，只有在经济基础得到变革的情况下，民主制度才能真正实现其本质。在《法兰西内战》中，马克思以巴黎公社为例，指出无产阶级领导的革命可以为实现实质性民主提供可能。社会改革的主要任务，是使国家事务变成人民的事务，使国家机器从少数人的专政工具变成真正的人民公仆。只有通过无产阶级的解放，才能实现真正的民主，因为只有在这种情况下，国家才能从阶级统治的工具转变为服务于全体人民的机构。尽管公社并未完全实现共产主义，但它展示了劳动人民直接参与政治决策的潜力。

(II) Ontology: People’s Democracy

（二）本体：人民民主

In Marx’s thought on democracy, people’s democracy constitutes the ontological foundation of the substantive dimension. Although Marx emphasized that democracy is the essence of any state system, he did not affirm the independent status of the state; on the contrary, Marx repeatedly tells us that the people constitute the actual state. “The state system is here after all only a determinate moment in the existence of the people; the political system itself does not constitute the state.” [2]2 Reference to Deng Xiaoping’s 1980 speech “On the Reform of the System of Party and State Leadership,” which called for expanding democracy in political, economic, and social life. This excludes the abstract state from his political theory. “In democracy, the state system itself appears only as one determination, that is, the self-determination of the people.” [3]3 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC, October 2017. This self-determination is not only the source of legitimacy for democracy but also the locus of its vitality; it emphasizes the subjectivity of democracy, that is, the people are the subject of democracy, not passive objects of control.

在马克思的民主思想中，人民民主构成了实质性维度的本体论基础。马克思虽然强调民主制是任何国家制度的本质，但是他并不肯定国家的独立地位，相反地，马克思反复要告诉我们的是，人民构成了现实的国家。“国家制度在这里毕竟只是人民的一个定在环节，政治制度本身并不构成国家。” 这就把抽象国家排除在了他的政治理论之外。“在民主制中，国家制度本身只表现为一种规定，即人民的自我规定。”这种自我规定性不仅是民主的合法性源泉，也是其生命力所在，它强调了民主的主体性，即人民是民主的主体，而非被动的受制者。

Feuerbach, by recognizing that the essence of religion is the externalization of man, achieved the sublation of religion; Marx elucidates that through true democracy, as a re-determination of the political alienation of man, all previous forms of the state are sublated. Contrary to Hegel, who discussed state sovereignty starting from the idea of the state, Marx believed that the question of state sovereignty should be examined starting from the real subject, i.e., the activity of man. “Sovereignty, the idealism of the state, exists naturally as a person, as a ‘subject,’ and naturally as many persons, as many subjects, because no single individual can contain the whole sphere of personality within himself, and no single subject can contain the whole sphere of subjectivity within itself.” [4]4 Marx and Engels, *Manifesto of the Communist Party*. The citizen of the state, as the person who determines the universal, is the legislator, the subject of state sovereignty. Proceeding from the premise that the activity of the real subject, i.e., many people, constitutes the foundation of the state, Marx pointed out that only popular sovereignty is the truth of state sovereignty. Because in democracy, political life loses its mystery and otherworldliness, once again becoming a part of the people’s social life, thus achieving the identity of political life and social life.

费尔巴哈通过认识宗教的本质是人的外化，而达到扬弃宗教；马克思则阐明，通过真正的民主制，作为对人的政治异化的再定，而扬弃一切从前的国家形式。与黑格尔从国家理念出发论述国家主权相反，马克思认为，应该从现实的主体即人的活动出发考察国家的主权问题。“主权，国家的理想主义，作为人、作为‘主体’而存在，自然是作为许多人、作为许多主体而存在的，因为任何单个的人都不能把人格的整个领域容纳于自身，任何单个的主体都不能把主观性的整个领域容纳于自身。” 国家公民作为规定普遍东西的人，就是立法者，就是国家主权的主体。从现实主体即许多人的活动构成国家的基础这一前提出发，马克思指出，只有人民主权才是国家主权的真理。因为在民主制中政治生活失去了自己的神秘性和彼岸性，重新成为人民社会生活的一部分，从而实现了政治生活和社会生活的同一。

Marx recognized the concept of “the people” in the dialectical relationship between his political experience at the time and his understanding of the ideas of utopian socialists and communists; this concept expresses the overall interests of society, rather than particular estate interests or private interests. Marx reached conclusions diametrically opposed to Hegel’s views regarding the political potential of the working class (Hegel denied the “rabble” the capacity to create history due to their lack of education and their principled hostility to the state—a result of their propertylessness). In Marx’s view, true executive power should belong to the people; it is the people’s management of their own public affairs.

马克思在当时的政治经验和他对空想社会主义者和共产主义者的思想的了解这一辩证关系中认识到“人民”的概念，这个概念表达了社会的总体利益，而不是个别的等级利益和私人利益。马克思在劳动阶级的政治潜力方面得出与黑格尔的观点截然相反的结论（黑格尔由于“贱民”的无教养和原则上敌视国家——这是他们无财产的结果——而否认他们具有创造历史的力量）。在马克思看来，真正的行政权应该属于人民，是人民对自己公共事务的管理。

(III) Truth: Human Emancipation

（三）本真：人的解放

Marxist thought on democracy consistently regards the masses of the people as the creators of history, understanding democracy as the means and path for the masses to achieve their own emancipation. In Marx’s early political philosophy, “human emancipation” often appears alongside “political emancipation.” Marx pointed out that although political emancipation is a great progress for society, “political emancipation itself is not human emancipation.” [5]5 This is a paraphrase of Marx’s argument in *The Poverty of Philosophy* (1847) and other works on the necessity of proletarian organization. What is referred to here as “political emancipation” is democracy in the political sphere. Marx discerned that although the democratic polity theoretically embodies the equality of persons advocated by Christianity—that is, equality before the law and the sharing of political rights—this is merely a superficial, limited equality. It fails to deeply analyze and resolve the exploitation and injustice in the economic sphere; on the contrary, it may solidify the alienation of man in a new form. Marx emphasized that political emancipation, although formally guaranteeing equality and freedom, does not actually touch the foundations of social relations. It is essentially a derivative product of the bourgeois revolution, confined within the capitalist social system, aimed at correcting the unequal distribution of political rights, but failing to eradicate inequality and exploitation in the economic sphere. Therefore, he regarded political emancipation as the initial and incomplete stage of total human emancipation. Political emancipation itself remains a formal and partial emancipation; true human emancipation must transcend this. Marx criticized the idealist conception of history of the Young Hegelians, arguing that “political emancipation” cannot be achieved simply by abolishing religion; rather, fundamental changes must be realized in economic and social relations.

马克思主义民主思想，始终把人民群众作为历史的创造者，将民主理解为人民群众实现自身解放的手段和路径。在马克思早期的政治哲学中，“人的解放”常常与“政治解放”一并出现。马克思指出，政治解放虽然是社会的一大进步，但是“政治解放本身并不就是人的解放”。这里说的“政治解放”，就是政治领域里的民主。马克思洞察到，虽然民主政体在理论层面体现了基督教所倡导的人格平等，即法律面前人人平等以及政治权利的共享，但这仅仅是一种表面的、有限的平等。它未能深入剖析和解决经济领域的剥削与不公，反而可能将人的异化现象以一种新的形态固化下来。马克思强调，政治上的解放，尽管在形式上保障了平等与自由，实际上并未触及社会关系的根基。它本质上是资产阶级革命的衍生品，局限在资本主义社会体系内，旨在纠正政治权利的分配不均，而未能根除经济领域内的不平等与剥削。因此，他视政治解放为人类全面解放的初始且不彻底的阶段。政治解放本身仍然是形式上的和片面的解放，真正的人类解放要超越这一点。马克思批判青年黑格尔派的唯心史观，认为不能单纯靠废除宗教的办法来实现“政治解放”而是要在经济和社会关系上实现根本变革。

Human emancipation cannot be realized in a class society with exploitation. Marx criticized the alienation of human beings under the capitalist mode of production, pointing out that in capitalist society, labor becomes a commodity, human activity is abstracted into the exchange value of labor power, and relations between people are reified. In the conception of communist society, human labor will return to its essence and become a means for the all-round development of the individual; this is precisely the authentic manifestation of the substantive dimension of democracy. The socialist revolution abolishes bourgeois private property and implements public ownership of the means of production. On the basis of jointly enjoying different forms of ownership and control over the means of production, all the people have the right to participate in managing the affairs of the state. “When, in the course of development, class distinctions have disappeared, and all production has been concentrated in the hands of a vast association of the whole nation, the public power will lose its political character.” [1]1 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s speech at the Central Conference on Work Related to People’s Congresses, October 2021. Socialist democracy, as the highest type of democracy in human history, when it develops to the point of being truly complete, will disappear along with the withering away of the state; all public power will lose its political character, and the social return of public power will be truly realized.

人的解放在有剥削的阶级社会里是不可能实现的，马克思批判了资本主义生产方式对人的异化，指出在资本主义社会中，劳动成为商品，人的活动被抽象为劳动力的交换价值，导致人与人的关系物化。在共产主义社会的构想中，人的劳动将回归其本质，成为人全面发展的手段，这正是民主实质性维度的本真体现。社会主义革命消灭了资产阶级私有制，实行生产资料公有制，全体人民有权在共同享有对生产资料不同形式的所有权、支配权的基础上，参加管理国家事务工作。“当阶级差别在发展进程中已经消失而全部生产集中在联合起来的个人的手里的时候，公共权力就失去政治性质。”社会主义民主作为人类历史上最高类型的民主，发展到真正完全的程度时，民主也就随着国家的消亡而消失，一切公权力就失去了政治性质，真正实现了公权力的社会回归。

II. The Dimension of Authenticity in Marx’s Thought on Democracy

二、马克思民主思想的真实性维度

Marx, a man of practice, was committed to changing the world. For his substantive analysis to be transformed into actual political processes and political actions, specific operational principles are needed to ensure that these democratic values can be realized and can guide the political life and political processes of society. Through his critique of bourgeois democracy, Marx revealed its formal hypocrisy and substantive limitations; by summarizing the practical experience of proletarian democracy, he proposed a form of democracy that truly realizes popular sovereignty and social justice; by constructing the conditions and forms for the realization of a democratic system, he emphasized that the realization of democracy must depend on specific economic, social, and legal conditions.

具有实践性的马克思，致力于改变世界，其实质性分析要变为实际的政治过程和政治行为，需要有具体的操作原则来保证这些民主的价值能够得到实现，能够指导社会的政治生活和政治过程。马克思通过对资产阶级民主的批判，揭示了其形式上的虚伪性和实质上的局限性；通过总结无产阶级民主的实践经验，提出了一种真正实现人民主权和社会公平的民主形式；通过构建民主制度的实现条件和形式，强调民主的实现必须依赖于具体的经济、社会和法律条件。

(I) Disenchantment: A Critical Analysis of Bourgeois Democracy

（一）祛魅：对资产阶级民主的批判分析

Modern Western democratic politics grew out of the economic and cultural soil of capitalism and inherently adapted to the economic requirements and political propositions of capitalism. Marx made a profound analysis of capitalist society, arguing that bourgeois democratic politics is only formally and legally completed, while the entire economic structure of society does not provide a guarantee for the genuine realization of democratic politics. In the actual socio-economic process, the phenomena of man exploiting man and man oppressing man still exist widely in capitalist society. Genuine democracy in society depends on the abolition of private property and the realization of public ownership of the means of production. Only when he undertook the critique of capital did Marx truly penetrate to the depths of history, form a critical analysis that sees through capitalist society, and achieve the “disenchantment” of “democracy.”

西方近代民主政治是在资本主义的经济文化土壤上生长出来的，本身适应了资本主义的经济要求和政治主张。马克思对资本主义社会作了深刻的分析，认为资产阶级的民主政治只在形式法制上完成了，而整个社会的经济结构并没有为民主政治的真正实现提供保障。在实际的社会经济过程中，人剥削人、人压迫人的现象在资本主义社会还广泛存在。社会的真正民主有赖于废除私有制，实现生产资料的公有制。只有在展开资本批判的时候，马克思才真正走向历史的深处，并形成了透视资本主义社会的批判分析，实现了对“民主”的祛魅。

The Limitations of Representative Democracy. According to Marx’s analysis of society and the state, constitutional forms (such as representative government) are essentially secondary because they are merely reflections of the economic base. Whether it is the American parliamentary system or the Prussian monarchy, their ultimate purpose is invariably to maintain the stability of private property rights and the capitalist social system. Those seemingly democratic institutional frameworks actually conceal the reality of economic inequality and class oppression in capitalist society. Representative democracy tends to regard democracy as the “external manifestation” of the state, yet ignores that democracy should be an expression of the state’s intrinsic attribute, that is, the people should directly exercise state sovereignty and participate in social governance.

代议民主制的局限性。根据马克思社会—国家的分析，宪政形式（如代议制政府）在本质上是次要的，因为它们只是经济基础的反映。无论是美国的议会制还是普鲁士的君主制，其最终目的无一例外地维系着私有财产权益与资本主义社会体制的稳定。那些外在看似民主的制度架构，实质上掩饰了资本主义社会中经济不平等与阶级压迫的实质。代议民主制倾向于将民主视为国家的“外在表现”，却忽视了民主应是国家内在属性的体现，即人民应直接行使国家主权并参与社会治理。

An Analysis of the Substance of “Universal Suffrage.” Marx believed that universal suffrage, “like the whole people, is, in the present sense, an illusion.” [2]2 Reference to Deng Xiaoping’s 1980 speech “On the Reform of the System of Party and State Leadership,” which called for expanding democracy in political, economic, and social life. Universal suffrage itself cannot guarantee democracy. Elections are hypocritical because the voting process is manipulated by the bourgeoisie, becoming a game for the few rich and powerful. “The nature of elections does not depend on this name, but on the economic base, on the economic relations among the voters.” [3]3 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC, October 2017. Universal suffrage theoretically grants equal voting rights to all citizens, but in practice, the actual distribution of power and the social structure render this equality illusory.

“普选”的实质分析。马克思认为，普选权“像全民这样的东西，在目前的意义上是幻想”。普选权本身并不能保障民主。选举是虚伪的，因为投票过程被资产阶级操纵，成为少数富人和权贵的游戏。“选举的性质并不取决于这个名称，而是取决于经济基础，取决于选民之间的经济联系。”普选权在理论上赋予了全体公民平等的选举权，但在实践中，实际的权力分配和社会结构使得这种平等变得虚幻。

The Mechanical Separation of “Separation of Powers.” Marx believed that the “separation of powers” system in bourgeois democracy is essentially a clever design for class rule, not a master key for realizing democracy. “It is not at all a matter of the executive power being opposed to the legislative power, and the constitutional principle of separation of powers is not applicable at all… Two independent sovereign powers cannot simultaneously exercise their functions side by side in one country… The struggle between two supreme powers must be resolved by material force.” [4]4 Marx and Engels, *Manifesto of the Communist Party*. The separation of parliament, administration, and judiciary merely divides the state machine into several mutually opposing parts, making it more convenient to oppress the people rather than to guarantee freedom. This separation ensures the stability of the ruling class to a certain extent but does not eliminate power inequality and class oppression. The checks and balances of power should not be limited to different institutions but should lie in the people’s direct monitoring and participation in power.

“三权分立”的机械分割。马克思认为，资产阶级民主中的“三权分立”制度本质上是阶级统治的巧妙设计，而非实现民主的万能钥匙。“根本不是执行权与立法权相对立，而且宪法的分权原则根本不适用……两个独立自主的权力机关不可能同时肩并肩地在一个国家里行使职权。……两个最高权力机关之间的斗争必须用物质力量来解决。”议会、行政和司法的分立，只是将国家机器分成了几个相互对立的部分，从而更方便于压迫人民，而不是为了保障自由。这种分立在一定程度上确保了统治阶级的稳定，但并没有消除权力的不平等和阶级压迫。权力的制衡不应仅限于不同机构之间，而应在于人民对权力的直接监控和参与。

(II) Preserving the True: A Summary of Proletarian Democratic Practice

（二）存真：对无产阶级民主实践的总结

Marx did not systematically expound on socialist democratic politics in a dedicated work, but he paid great attention to a special form of political power fundamentally different from capitalist states—the Paris Commune. “The Commune gave the republic the foundation of truly democratic institutions.” [5]5 This is a paraphrase of Marx’s argument in *The Poverty of Philosophy* (1847) and other works on the necessity of proletarian organization. By summarizing the experiences and lessons of the democratic practice of the Paris Commune, Marx revealed the true essence of proletarian democratic practice.

马克思并没有专门就社会主义民主政治作过系统的论述，然而却极大地关注了一个与资本主义国家有着本质区别的特殊政权形式——巴黎公社。“公社给共和国奠定了真正民主制度的基础。”马克思通过总结巴黎公社民主实践的经验和教训，揭示了无产阶级民主实践的真谛。

First, “the political form at last discovered under which to work out the economical emancipation of Labor” [6]6 The Paris Commune (1871) was a revolutionary workers’ government that briefly ruled Paris; Marx analyzed it in *The Civil War in France* as a model for the dictatorship of the proletariat. lays the premise for democracy. The people being masters of the country cannot coexist with “their permanent social enslavement,” [7]7 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Conference Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Karl Marx,” May 4, 2018. so the Commune had to eradicate the economic foundation on which classes depend. Without economic emancipation, “the Commune would be an impossibility and a delusion.” [8]8 Xi Jinping, “Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,” October 16, 2022. Second, “breaking the modern state power… and substituting for it a genuine autonomy” [9]9 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Ceremony Marking the Centenary of the Communist Party of China,” July 1, 2021. establishes the democratic system. Through his investigation of the phenomenon of the state in history, Marx revealed the essence of the exploiting-class state, thereby clarifying the attitude the proletariat should adopt towards it: “The working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery and wield it for its own purposes.” [10]10 “Theory of society and the state” (社会—国家论) refers to the Marxist framework analyzing the relationship between civil society and the political state. For the proletariat to realize democracy, it must first destroy the old state machinery. Third, “the tendency of the people’s management system realized by the people themselves” [11]11 This is a paraphrase of a well-known Marxist aphorism; the exact source is not standard in Marx’s published works. clarifies the subject of democracy. The Commune “was to be a working, not a parliamentary, body, executive and legislative at the same time.” [12]12 Karl Marx, *The Civil War in France* (1871). It abolished the parliamentary system based on the bourgeois separation of powers and realized the “self-government” of the working class, indicating the direction of the people’s realization of self-management. Fourth, “safeguarding against the state and the organs of the state turning from servants of society into masters of society” [13]13 Karl Marx, *The Civil War in France* (1871). clarifies the role of democracy. In the system of the Paris Commune, democracy was no longer intermittent—that is, “not once in three or six years deciding which member of the ruling class was to misrepresent the people in parliament” [14]14 Karl Marx, *The Civil War in France* (1871).—but was permanent, meaning that public servants and managers must serve the people at all times, otherwise they could be recalled at any moment.

第一，“劳动在经济上获得解放的政治形式”奠定民主的前提。人民当家作主与“他们永久不变的社会奴隶地位”是不可能并存的，所以，公社要铲除阶级赖以存在的经济基础。没有经济上的解放，“公社体制就没有存在的可能，就是欺人之谈”。第二，“初步破坏这个机器，代之以真正的自治”确立民主的制度。马克思通过对历史上国家现象的探讨，揭示剥削阶级国家的本质，从而明确无产阶级对它采取的态度：“工人阶级不能简单地掌握现成的国家机器，并运用它来达到自己的目的。”无产阶级要实现民主，必须首先破坏旧的国家机器。第三，“人民自己实现的人民管理制度的发展方向”明确民主的主体。公社“既是行政机关，同时也是立法机关”。废除了资产阶级三权分立为基础的议会制度，实现了工人阶级的“自治”，这种自治表明人民实现自我管理的发展方向。第四，“防止国家和国家机关由社会公仆变为社会主人”明晰民主的角色。在巴黎公社体制中，民主不再是间歇性的即“不是为了每三年或六年决定一次由统治阶级中什么人在议会里当人民的假代表”，而是经常性的即作为公仆管理人员必须时时刻刻为人民服务否则就会随时罢免。

(III) Construction: The Realization of the Authenticity of Marx’s Thought on Democracy

（三）建构：马克思民主思想的真实性实现

Marx refused to speculate on the details of future socialist society and its institutional arrangements, resolutely placing democratic action within the context of historical development. Eric Hobsbawm pointed out that “political decisions are embedded in the framework of historical change, which does not depend on political decisions,” [15]15 Eric Hobsbawm, *How to Change the World: Marx and Marxism, 1840–2011* (2011). emphasizing that what should be inherited from Marx are the general principles for facing future society. The realization of the authenticity of Marx’s thought on democracy is not a specific dogmatic plan but the construction of general principles of democracy.

马克思拒绝猜测未来的社会主义社会及其制度安排的细节，坚决把民主的行动放到历史发展的环境下。埃里克·霍布斯鲍姆指出“政治的决定嵌入在历史变革的框架内，而历史变革的框架则不依赖政治的决定”，强调从马克思那里所要继承的是面对未来社会的一般原则。马克思民主思想的真实性实现不是具体的教条的方案而是民主一般原则的构建。

1. Form of Realization: The Unity of a New Type of Democracy and a New Type of Dictatorship

1.实现形式：新型民主与新型专政相统一

Marx pointed out that only the proletariat can shoulder the historical mission of realizing communism and elaborated on this process: “to form the proletariat into a class, to overthrow the bourgeois supremacy, to conquer political power by the proletariat.” [1]1 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s speech at the Central Conference on Work Related to People’s Congresses, October 2021. In the society of this period, “it is not a society that has developed on its own foundations, but one that is just emerging from capitalist society, and which therefore in every respect, economically, morally, and intellectually, still bears the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it emerges.” [2]2 Reference to Deng Xiaoping’s 1980 speech “On the Reform of the System of Party and State Leadership,” which called for expanding democracy in political, economic, and social life. Therefore, the dictatorship of the proletariat is necessary; it must persist until the economic base on which class existence rests is destroyed, and it must create the conditions for the elimination of classes and class antagonisms. Marx clearly stated that the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat during this transitional period must necessarily take a democratic form. “The dictatorship of the proletariat should combine the democratic transformation of mass political life with measures to prevent the defeated ruling class from engaging in counter-revolutionary activities.” [3]3 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC, October 2017. In Marx’s conception, the dictatorship of the proletariat is transitional; with the elimination of class distinctions and the development of social productive forces, the dictatorship will ultimately transform into a classless, universal democracy.

马克思指出只有无产阶级能够肩负起实现共产主义的历史使命并将这个过程进行了阐述：“使无产阶级形成为阶级，推翻资产阶级的统治，由无产阶级夺取政权。”在这个时期的社会，“它不是在它自身基础上已经发展了的，恰好相反，是刚刚从资本主义社会中产生出来的，因此它在各方面，在经济、道德和精神方面都还带着它脱胎出来的那个旧社会的痕迹”。因此，无产阶级专政是必要的，它必须坚持到阶级存在的经济基础被破坏为止，它必须创造消灭阶级和阶级对立的条件。马克思明确指出这个过渡时期的无产阶级专政国家必然采取民主的形式。“无产阶级专政应该把大众政治生活的民主改造与那些防止失败的统治阶级进行反革命活动的措施结合起来。”在马克思的构想中，无产阶级专政是过渡性的，随着阶级差别的消除和社会生产力的发展，专政最终会转化为无阶级的、普遍的民主制。

2. The Force of Realization: The Unity of the Leadership of the Communist Party and the Principal Force of the Proletariat

2.实现力量：共产党领导与无产阶级主体力量相统一

Material conditions and the economic base provide the possibility for social change, but real change must depend on the proactive action and struggle of the proletariat. This proactive political participation and the exertion of subjective force constitute the path for the proletariat to pursue self-emancipation and social transformation. The embodiment of the proletariat’s subjectivity in the democratic process is mainly manifested in three aspects: First, democratic revolution. “The first step in the revolution by the working class is to raise the proletariat to the position of ruling class, to win the battle of democracy.” [4]4 Marx and Engels, *Manifesto of the Communist Party*. The proletariat overthrows the rule of the bourgeoisie through revolutionary action. Second, democratic participation. The subjective force of the proletariat in the democratic system is reflected in their direct participation in political decision-making and social management. This direct participation is not only for the purpose of winning political rights but also for realizing public ownership of the means of production, thereby eliminating class oppression and social inequality. Third, political organization. The proletariat needs to establish its own political organization—a workers’ party—through organization and mobilization, forming a unified political force to promote social change.

物质条件和经济基础提供了社会变革的可能性，但真正的变革必须依赖于无产阶级的主动行动和斗争。这种主动的政治参与和主体性力量发挥是无产阶级追求自我解放与社会变革的路径。无产阶级在民主进程中主体性的体现主要表现在：一是民主革命。“工人革命的第一步就是使无产阶级上升为统治阶级，争得民主。”无产阶级通过革命行动，推翻资产阶级的统治。二是民主参与。无产阶级在民主制度中的主体性力量，体现在他们直接参与政治决策和社会管理。这种直接参与不仅是为了争取政治权利，更是为了实现生产资料的公有制，从而消除阶级压迫和社会不平等。三是政治组织。无产阶级需要通过组织和动员，建立自己的政治组织——工人政党，形成统一的政治力量，推动社会变革。

The inevitably victorious working class must and will organize itself politically into a “party.” The protection of the interests of the majority can only be achieved by establishing a completely independent party organization that belongs to itself and represents its own interests, thereby unifying the actions of the entire proletariat. Marx pointed out: “It is necessary for the proletariat to organize itself thus into a party.” [5]5 This is a paraphrase of Marx’s argument in *The Poverty of Philosophy* (1847) and other works on the necessity of proletarian organization. In his view, the leadership of the Communist Party is not only the key to the proletariat achieving revolutionary victory by acting as a class but also the fundamental guarantee for the proletariat to establish a democratic regime. According to Marx’s theory, smashing the existing power structure and building a service-oriented government that truly returns power to the people is a huge project of government transformation. This requires comprehensive reform and reconstruction in economic, political, and social aspects. In this process, the effective leadership of the proletarian party is of utmost importance.

必然胜利的工人阶级必须且将会在政治上组织起来成为“政党”，多数利益的保障，只有通过建立完全属于自己的、代表自身利益的独立政党组织，以统一整个无产阶级的行动才能实现。马克思指出：“无产阶级这样组织成为政党是必要的。”在他看来，共产党的领导不仅是无产阶级作为阶级而行动取得革命胜利的关键，而且是无产阶级建立民主政权的根本保障。按照马克思的理论，打碎现有的权利结构，建设一个服务型的政府，真正把权利还给人民。这是一个巨大的政府转型工程，这需要从经济、政治、社会各个方面进行全面的改革和重构，在这一过程中，无产阶级政党的有效领导至关重要。

3. The Mechanism of Realization: The Unity of Perfecting Institutional Procedures and Advancing People’s Supervision

3.实现机制：完善制度程序与推进人民监督相统一

Marx’s thought on democracy is not satisfied with theoretical empty talk; it places greater emphasis on the practice of democratic concepts and institutional design. Marx criticized those rigid, formalized democratic systems and called for the establishment of democratic mechanisms that can continuously progress with social development. As the practical carrier of Marxist democratic thought, the democratic system is constantly innovated and improved. The completeness of democratic practice depends not only on a mature institutional framework and procedural design but also on the active participation and supervision of the people. Marx highly affirmed the operational principles and mechanisms of the Paris Commune, such as social servants, a cheap government, and the openness of government affairs. [6]6 The Paris Commune (1871) was a revolutionary workers’ government that briefly ruled Paris; Marx analyzed it in *The Civil War in France* as a model for the dictatorship of the proletariat. Only when the people actively intervene and fulfill their supervisory duties can the democratic mechanism operate smoothly and effectively resist the degeneration of power and the breeding of corruption. People’s supervision is not only participation in public affairs but also the continuous optimization and self-repair of the democratic mechanism.

马克思民主思想不满足于理论的空谈，更注重民主理念的实践和制度设计。马克思批判了那些固化的、形式化的民主制度，并呼吁建立能够随着社会发展而不断进步的民主机制。民主制度作为马克思主义民主思想的实践载体不断创新与完善。民主实践的完整性不仅依赖于成熟的体制架构与程序设计，更离不开民众的积极参与与监督。马克思高度肯定巴黎公社的社会公仆、廉价政府以及政务公开化的运行原则和运行机制。唯有当民众积极介入并履行监督职责，民主机制才能顺畅运行，同时有效地抵御权力的蜕变与腐败的滋生。人民监督不仅是对公共事务的参与，更是对民主机制的持续优化和自我修复。

III. People’s Democracy: The Unity of Authenticity and Substantiality

三、真实性和实质性相统一的人民民主

At the conference commemorating the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth, Xi Jinping pointed out: “To study Marx, we must study and practice Marxist thought on people’s democracy.” [7]7 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Conference Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Karl Marx,” May 4, 2018. Marx’s thought on democracy integrates a profound insight into the substantiality and authenticity of democracy, reflecting a deep elucidation of the content and form, process and essence, value and principle of socialist people’s democracy. This dual understanding, complementing each other within Marx’s theoretical framework, jointly constructs a three-dimensional thought on democracy, laying the theoretical foundation for the democratic construction of socialist countries established later. Whole-process people’s democracy perfectly integrates the substantiality and authenticity of Marx’s democratic thought. It not only embodies the people-centered nature of the socialist state but also actively gains support through the construction of corresponding national institutions. It is a new creation of Marx’s democratic thought in China’s democratic value concepts and national political practice.

习近平在纪念马克思诞辰200周年大会上指出：“学习马克思，就要学习和实践马克思主义关于人民民主的思想。” 马克思的民主思想，融合了对民主实质性和真实性的深刻洞察，体现对社会主义人民民主的内容与形式、过程与实质、价值与原则的深刻阐发。这种双重理解在马克思的理论构架中，相得益彰，共同构筑了一个立体的民主思想，为后来建立的社会主义国家民主建设奠定了理论基础。全过程人民民主，完美地融合了马克思民主思想的实质性与真实性，它既体现了社会主义民主“以人民为中心”的国家性质，又积极通过相应的国家制度建设来获得支撑，是马克思民主思想在中国的民主价值理念和国家政治实践上的新创造。

(I) At the National Level: Developing Whole-Process People’s Democracy in Conformity with Chinese-Path Modernization

（一）国家层面：发展全过程人民民主与中国式现代化相适应

Marx’s analysis shows that democratic politics does not exist independently; it is always closely related to factors such as the economic base of society, relations of production, and class structure. As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a New Era, China has embarked on a new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country. Against this backdrop, Xi Jinping pointed out in the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC the need to advance “further improvement in the institutionalization, standardization, and proceduralization of whole-process people’s democracy” in the process of Chinese-path modernization, pointing the way forward for the development of socialist people’s democracy in the New Era. [8]8 Xi Jinping, “Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,” October 16, 2022. Chinese-path modernization “not only has the common characteristics of modernization in all countries but also has Chinese characteristics based on its own national conditions.” [9]9 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Ceremony Marking the Centenary of the Communist Party of China,” July 1, 2021. The form of the state determines the essence of democracy, and the growth of democracy serves national construction and national development. China’s democracy has gradually taken shape in the long-term struggle and exploration for socialist modernization. The logic of China’s democratic growth can only be understood from the logic of China’s modern state construction. Promoting whole-process people’s democracy must be in conformity with Chinese-path modernization. In the process of Chinese-path modernization, the development of whole-process people’s democracy should be optimized to realize the people being the masters of the country.

马克思的分析表明，民主政治并不是独立存在的，它始终与社会的经济基础、生产关系、阶级结构等因素密切相关。中国特色社会主义进入新时代，中国开启了全面建设社会主义现代化强国新征程。在这一时代背景下，习近平在党的二十大报告中指出要在中国式现代化进程中推进“全过程人民民主制度化、规范化、程序化水平进一步提高”，为新时代社会主义人民民主实践发展指明了前进方向。中国式现代化“既有各国现代化的共同特征，更有基于自己国情的中国特色”。国家的形态决定民主本质，民主成长服务于国家建设和国家发展。中国的民主，是在追求社会主义现代化的长期奋斗和探索中逐步形成的，中国民主成长的逻辑只有从中国现代国家建设的逻辑中才能得到理解。推进全过程人民民主必须与中国式现代化相适应，在中国式现代化进程中，优化全过程人民民主的发展，实现人民当家作主。

Although the principles and values of democratic politics have a basic framework, there is no unified political form of democratic politics in the development of real life. Correctly understanding and accurately grasping China’s basic national conditions based on the basic spirit and principles of democratic politics, drawing on the experiences and lessons from the development process of democratic politics in various countries, and advancing the development of China’s democratic politics according to our historical-social-cultural setting is the logical necessity of the core content of Marx’s democratic thought—the theory of society and the state. [10]10 “Theory of society and the state” (社会—国家论) refers to the Marxist framework analyzing the relationship between civil society and the political state. The basic national condition that China is still in the primary stage of socialism has not changed, which determines the specific path and form of democratic development. People’s democracy at this stage must be combined with China’s actual situation and development needs. Only on the basis of sustained economic growth and continuous improvement in people’s living standards can the authenticity and substantiality of democracy be guaranteed. Political form is the system and mode of operation of rights designed by the people to adapt to social movements and solve social contradictions. In the process of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, it is necessary to continuously innovate democratic systems and practical forms and explore new forms of democracy that suit China’s national conditions. Through institutional innovation, ensure that the people’s democratic rights are effectively protected and promote social fairness and justice.

民主政治的原则和价值虽然有基本的架构，但是在现实生活的发展中民主政治并没有统一的政治形态。依据民主政治的基本精神和原则，正确认识和准确把握我国的基本国情，吸取各国民主政治发展历程中的经验教训，根据我们的历史—社会—文化设定，推进我国的民主政治发展，是马克思民主思想核心内容社会—国家论的逻辑必然。我国仍处于社会主义初级阶段的基本国情没有变，这决定了民主发展的特定路径和形式。人民民主在这一阶段必须结合中国的实际情况和发展需求。只有在经济持续增长、人民生活水平不断提高的基础上，民主的真实性和实质性才能得到保障。政治形式是人民为适应社会运动和解决社会矛盾而设计的权利运行的体制和方式。在全面建设社会主义现代化国家的过程中，需要不断创新民主制度和实践形式，探索符合中国国情的新型民主形式。通过制度创新，确保人民的民主权利得到切实保障，推动社会公平正义。

(II) At the People’s Level: Enhancing the Breadth of People’s Participation and Strengthening Their Awareness and Capacity for Political Participation

（二）人民层面：提高人民参与广泛性与强化参政意识与能力

As the creators of history, the people’s principal position in democratic practice is the cornerstone of Marx’s thought on democracy and the most direct manifestation of its value orientation. “The state is an abstraction. The people alone are concrete.” [11]11 This is a paraphrase of a well-known Marxist aphorism; the exact source is not standard in Marx’s published works. This concept originates from the historical materialist view on the decisive role of the masses in historical development, emphasizing that the state should faithfully reflect the will of the people, making it a carrier for realizing the substance of democracy. Therefore, the people’s participation in political life is not merely a theoretical right but a necessary practice for constructing a truly democratic society.

人民作为历史的创造者，其在民主实践中的主体地位是马克思民主思想的基石，也是其价值取向的最直接体现。“国家是抽象的东西。只有人民才是具体的东西。”这一观念源自唯物史观关于人民群众在历史发展中的决定性作用，强调国家应当忠实反映人民的意愿，使之成为实现民主实质的载体。因此，人民在政治生活中的参与并非理论上的权利，而是构建真正民主社会的必要实践。

Whole-process people’s democracy transcends mere electoral democracy; it is “a democracy of full chains, all-encompassing and full coverage, the broadest, most genuine, and most effective socialist democracy.” [1]1 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s speech at the Central Conference on Work Related to People’s Congresses, October 2021. In the practice of whole-process people’s democracy, the subjectivity of the people is manifested not only at the most genuine level of institutional design—ensuring complete institutional procedures and the people’s participatory practice—but also in the broadest dimension of participation, namely full-chain, all-encompassing, and full-coverage democratic participation, as well as in the most effective outcome, namely the close integration of the Party’s propositions, the will of the state, and the people’s wishes. Under the socialist system, the leadership of the Party is an important guarantee for whole-process people’s democracy, and the Party’s propositions reflect the fundamental interests of the broad masses of the people. Through consultative democracy, public participation, and other channels, the Party’s decision-making process is closely integrated with the people’s wishes, ensuring that the will of the state can embody the people’s common vision. This model of democracy effectively prevents the hollowing out of democratic forms; while safeguarding the substance of democracy, it also strengthens the substantive content of democratic forms, thereby achieving an all-encompassing, multi-dimensional development of democracy.

全过程人民民主超越了单一的选举民主，“是全链条、全方位、全覆盖的民主，是最广泛、最真实、最管用的社会主义民主”。在全过程人民民主的实践中，人民的主体性不仅表现在制度设计的最真实层面上，即确保完整的制度程序和人民的参与实践，还体现在最广泛的参与维度，即全链条、全方位、全覆盖的民主参与，以及最管用的效果，即党的主张、国家意志与人民意愿的紧密融合。在社会主义体制下，党的领导是全过程人民民主的重要保障，党的主张反映了广大人民的根本利益。通过协商民主、民众参与等途径，党的决策过程与人民的意愿紧密结合，确保国家意志能够体现人民的共同愿景。这种民主模式有效地防止了民主形式的空洞化，它在维护民主实质的同时，也强化了民主形式的实质内涵，从而实现民主的全方位、多维度发展。

Marxist thought on people’s democracy also requires the expansion and deepening of the subjects of democratic participation. This encompasses not only granting citizens equal political participation rights but also, through education, cultivation, and advocacy, aiming to enhance the democratic consciousness and political efficacy of the general public. Such expansion and deepening are intended to build a more comprehensive and robust foundation for democratic participation, thereby laying a solid popular foundation and knowledge support for realizing a democratic system of full participation by the entire people.

马克思主义人民民主思想还要求对民主参与的主体进行拓展和深化。这不仅涵盖了给予公民平等的政治参与权利，更进一步通过教育、培育与倡导，旨在提升社会大众的民主意识与政治效能。这样的扩展与深化旨在构建一个更全面且有力的民主参与基础，从而为实现全民全程参与的民主制度奠定稳固的民众根基与知识支撑。

(III) Social Level: Coordinately Advancing the “Five-Sphere Integrated Plan” and the Dynamic Balance of the Institutional System

（三）社会层面：统筹推进“五位一体”与制度体系动态平衡

Marx’s democratic thought holds that the forms and institutions of democracy are determined by the socio-economic base. It emphasizes that democracy is not merely an institutional arrangement in the political sphere but a comprehensive development process encompassing multiple fields such as the economy, society, and culture. Since reform and opening up, China’s political construction has placed great emphasis on the multi-dimensional development of democracy. When Deng Xiaoping addressed the reform of the Party and state leadership system, he required that socialist democracy should be embodied in the democratization of political life, the democratization of economic management, and the democratization of social life. [2]2 Reference to Deng Xiaoping’s 1980 speech “On the Reform of the System of Party and State Leadership,” which called for expanding democracy in political, economic, and social life. Although the political development of modern states follows its own developmental logic, it is certainly closely connected with fields such as society and culture. For example, in economic development, the masses of the people can participate in the formulation and implementation of macroeconomic policies through multiple channels, thereby making economic development more aligned with the people’s interests and needs. In cultural development, whole-process people’s democracy respects and guarantees cultural diversity, encouraging the masses of the people to participate in cultural innovation and inheritance, thereby enriching the connotation of socialist culture and enhancing the country’s cultural soft power. Therefore, in the development of socialist democratic politics with Chinese characteristics, it is necessary not only to advance democratic political construction within the “Five-Sphere Integrated Plan” overall layout but also to take into account and continuously promote progress in democracy in the fields of economy, culture, society, and ecology.

马克思民主思想认为，民主的形式和制度决定于社会经济基础。它强调民主不仅仅是政治领域的一种制度安排，更是涵盖经济、社会和文化等多个领域的全面发展过程。改革开放以来，我国政治建设就十分注重民主的多维度发展，邓小平在围绕党和国家领导制度改革时就要求社会主义民主应体现为政治生活的民主化、经济管理的民主化和社会生活的民主化。现代国家的政治发展虽然遵循自身的发展逻辑，但一定是与社会、文化等领域之间有着密切的关联。比如，在经济发展方面，人民群众可以通过多种渠道参与到宏观经济政策的制定与实施之中，从而使得经济发展更加符合人民的利益和需求。在文化建设方面，全过程人民民主尊重和保障文化多样性，鼓励人民群众参与到文化创新与传承中，从而丰富社会主义文化的内涵，提升国家文化软实力。因此，在中国特色社会主义民主政治的发展中，不仅要推进“五位一体”总体布局中的民主政治建设，同时也要能够兼顾并不断推进民主在经济、文化、社会、生态等领域的进步。

In contemporary China, the advancement of whole-process people’s democracy emphasizes the systematic nature of institutional construction. The three aspects—Party leadership, the people being the masters of the country, and law-based governance—form a closed systematic cycle. Fundamentally, the advancement of Chinese-path modernization and the development and deepening of the practice of the whole-process people’s democracy system are established on the “political cornerstone” of the leadership of the Communist Party of China. This system, rooted in Marxist party theory, has been gradually formed by the Communist Party of China through its century-long struggle practice. It guarantees the realization of people’s democracy and also provides solid organizational guarantees and a political foundation for advancing Chinese-path modernization. “The people being the masters of the country is the essential feature of socialist democratic politics.” [3]3 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC, October 2017. This important assertion not only answers the question of what socialist democracy is but also emphasizes the extreme importance of the people being the masters of the country for socialist democracy. By advancing law-based governance, establishing and perfecting the rule-of-law system, providing stable institutional guarantees for democracy, enabling the people’s will to be reflected through law, and providing clear normative foundations for national decision-making and governance, social justice is maintained and long-term national stability and security are promoted. These practices of institutional construction embody the requirements of the systematic nature of the democratic system. However, the systematic nature of institutional construction needs continuous exploration and improvement in practice. Facing new challenges such as globalization and informatization, we need to continuously optimize the design of the democratic system in the interaction between theory and practice, enhance its adaptability and innovative capacity, so as to realize the innovative application of Marx’s democratic thought in contemporary China and promote the continuous development of socialist democratic politics.

在当代中国，全过程人民民主的推进注重制度构建的系统性。党的领导、人民当家作主和依法治国这三个方面是一个可以闭合的系统性循环。从根本而言，中国式现代化的推进和全过程人民民主制度实践的发展与深化，是建立在中国共产党领导这块“政治基石”的基础之上的。这一制度，根植于马克思主义政党理论，是中国共产党在百年奋斗实践中逐步形成的。它保障了人民民主的实现，也为推进中国式现代化提供了坚实的组织保障和政治基础。“人民当家作主是社会主义民主政治的本质特征。”这一重要论断，既回答了什么是社会主义民主的问题，也强调了人民当家作主对社会主义民主而言的极端重要性。通过推进依法治国，建立健全法治体系，为民主提供稳定的制度保障，使得人民的意愿能够通过法律得以体现，国家的决策和治理也有了明确的规范依据，从而维护社会公正，促进国家长治久安。这些制度建设的实践，体现了民主制度系统性的要求。然而，制度构建的系统性需要在实践中不断探索和完善。面对全球化、信息化等新的挑战，我们需要在理论与实践的互动中，不断优化民主制度设计，增强其适应性和创新能力，以实现马克思民主思想在当代中国的创新应用，推进社会主义民主政治的不断发展。

Source: Theoretical Perspectives, September 30, 2024

文章来源：《理论视野》2024年9月30日

Online Editor: Jing Mu

网络编辑：静穆