The Contemporary Value of *Capital* and the Theoretical Foundation of Xi Jinping’s Economic Thought

The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC stated: “Constantly writing new chapters in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times is the solemn historical responsibility of contemporary Chinese Communists.” *Capital* is a classic work of Marxism. What is its contemporary value? This is a question we need to seriously consider. In recent years, universities have gradually re-emphasized the teaching and research of Marxist political economy, and *Capital* has re-entered the economics classroom. But after all, *Capital* was written by Marx 157 years ago. What is its value for today? This will be a topic that is always new when revisited, and also a subject that Communists and all builders of socialism with Chinese characteristics need to continuously answer and refine their understanding of.

党的二十大报告提出：“不断谱写马克思主义中国化时代化新篇章，是当代中国共产党人的庄严历史责任。”《资本论》是马克思主义的经典之作，它的当代价值是什么，这是我们需要认真思考的问题。近些年来，高校逐渐重新重视马克思主义政治经济学的教学和研究，《资本论》也重新进入经济学的教学课堂中，但毕竟《资本论》是马克思在157年前写的，它对于今天的价值何在？这将是一个常问常新的话题，也是共产党人以及所有中国特色社会主义建设者们需要不断回答、不断完善认识的课题。

I. The Class Stand and People’s Stand of *Capital*

一、《资本论》的阶级性和人民性立场

On May 4, 2018, at the conference commemorating the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth, Xi Jinping delivered a speech stating: “*Capital*, published in 1867, is the most substantial and richest work of Marxism, hailed as the ‘Bible of the working class.’” “Marxism is the theory of the people… Before Marx, the theories that dominated society all served the ruling class. For the first time, Marxism stood on the side of the people to explore the path of human freedom and liberation.” Seeking liberation for the proletariat and pursuing the interests of the world’s people is the most distinctive stand of *Capital*. As long as class society still exists and human liberation has not yet been achieved, its spirit and value will never become outdated. What is the people’s stand, and how is it embodied? Using the people’s name and waving the people’s banner are tactics employed by the bourgeoisie and its political parties. But a genuine people’s stand must not only be expressed through theoretical thought and practical action, but also necessarily manifested through the thoughts and feelings of the class stand.

2018年5月4日，在纪念马克思诞辰200周年大会上习近平发表讲话说：“一八六七年问世的《资本论》是马克思主义最厚重、最丰富的著作，被誉为‘工人阶级的圣经’。”“马克思主义是人民的理论……在马克思之前，社会上占统治地位的理论都是为统治阶级服务的。马克思主义第一次站在人民的立场探求人类自由解放的道路”。为无产阶级求解放、为世界人民谋利益是《资本论》最鲜明的立场。只要阶级社会还存在、人类解放尚未实现，它的精神和价值是永不过时的。什么是人民性的立场，它如何体现？假借人民的名义，打着人民的旗号，是资产阶级及其政党使用的手段。而真正的人民立场既需要通过理论思想和实践行动来表达，也必然通过阶级性的思想感情表现出来。

The emotional expression of class character can be both simple and rational. Ordinary working people generally possess a simple class and people’s sentiment; it is genuine and valuable. But relying solely on this simple sentiment makes it difficult to recognize one’s own historical mission, to see clearly, and to safeguard the fundamental interests of the class and the people. Therefore, it is necessary to elevate simple sentiment into rational sentiment, and rational sentiment is acquired through the study and cultivation of scientific theory. Not only does the people’s stand require this rational sentiment, but the exploiting class also needs it to maintain its own class stand. Adam Smith became the founder of bourgeois political economy, revered by the Western bourgeoisie and academia for centuries, not only because he published *The Wealth of Nations* in 1776, the first work of British classical political economy. In *The Wealth of Nations*, he proposed the hypothesis of the rational economic man, arguing that human nature is self-interested, that pursuing personal interest is the sole motive for economic activity, and therefore economic activity is a public affair. But this theory was too blunt, lacking moral force. The reason Adam Smith won the acclaim of British high society was that he had already published *The Theory of Moral Sentiments* in 1759, establishing himself as a moral gentleman and a herald of modern European philosophy. He argued that humans require extremely high morality, need to acquire a moral self, and that virtue occupies the most central place in human life. Thus, as rational economic men, people can provide the greatest economic value to the entire society while engaging in entirely personal economic activities. This provided a moral fulcrum for the bourgeois economic theoretical system to gain a firm foothold in mainstream society. And *The Theory of Moral Sentiments* became the sentimental theory of bourgeois economics, expressing the rational emotional stand of the Western bourgeoisie. Out of the need to beautify “vulgar” affairs like economic activity, *The Wealth of Nations* first proposed the labor theory of value, whose rational components became one source of Marxist political economy.

阶级性的情感流露，有朴素的，也有理性的。一般劳动人民都有阶级的和人民的朴素情感，它是真实的也是可贵的。但仅有这种朴素的情感是难以认识自己的历史使命并看清楚和维护阶级和人民的根本利益。因此需要在朴素情感的基础上升华为理性的情感，而理性情感则是在科学理论的学习和熏陶中获得的。不仅人民的立场需要这种理性的情感，剥削阶级维护本阶级的立场也需要这种情感。亚当·斯密之所以成为资产阶级政治经济学的奠基人，受到西方资产阶级和学术界的几百年尊崇，并不仅仅是因为他于1776年发表了英国古典政治经济学的第一部著作《国富论》。在《国富论》中，他提出了理性经济人的假设，提出了人的本性是利己的，追求个人利益是从事经济活动的唯一动力，因此经济活动是一种公共事务。但这个理论太直白，缺乏道德力量。而亚当·斯密之所以能够赢得英国上流社会的喝彩，则是因为早在1759年就已经以欧洲近代哲学的吹鼓手的社会地位发表了《道德情感论》，已经把自己打扮成道德君子。他认为人是需要极高的道德性的，需要获得道德自我，德行在人的生活中占着最为核心的地位。因此作为理性的经济人，人们能在完全为个人的经济活动中为整个社会提供最大的经济价值。从而为资产阶级的经济理论体系在主流社会站稳脚跟提供了道德支撑点。而《道德情感论》就成为资产阶级经济学的情感论，它表达了西方资产阶级理性的情感立场。出于美化经济活动等“低俗”事务的需要，《国富论》最早提出了劳动价值论，它的合理成分，成为马克思主义政治经济学的一个来源。

The inner essence of the people’s stand is whom one serves and whose interests one represents. Lenin published a famous article called “Who Benefits?” which is the touchstone for distinguishing different stands. The criterion Lenin used to judge the stands of contending parties was: “Who directly defends certain views is not so important politically. What is important is whom these views, these proposals, these measures benefit.” Only by steadfastly upholding the interests of the people can one be said to hold the people’s stand; this is the inner essence of the people’s stand. Bourgeois scholars are accustomed to using various technical and instrumental methods to dress up economics as pure scholarship, impartial and seemingly without consideration of any particular interest. For example, the contemporary Western economic doctrine of “Pareto improvement” trumpets that the standard for optimal resource allocation and efficiency improvement is: letting a minority benefit while the interests of others are not harmed, and presenting this as an “impartial stand” and a purely scientific stand. This is actually a one-sided theory of capital, meant to deceive people. Regarding this, Xi Jinping pointed out: “The question of for whom is a fundamental and principled issue in philosophical and social science research. For whom do China’s philosophy and social sciences write books and establish theories? Do they serve the minority or the vast majority? This is a question that must be clarified. There is no pure and unadulterated philosophy or social science in the world. The great achievements of world philosophy and social science have all been created in the process of answering and resolving the major problems facing people and society.” Therefore, economic theory is not a pure discipline; it has a distinct stand. Especially since economics studies the increase, acquisition, and distribution of economic interests, its research tendencies and conclusions are inevitably stamped with the mark of “who benefits.” In the practice of economic construction, Xi Jinping elucidated the people-centered thought in *Capital*, pointing out: “Adhere to the people-centered development thought. Development for the people—this is the fundamental stand of Marxist political economy.” He also said this is not a “numbers game” or a “speed game,” but requires genuinely understanding and responding to the issues the common people care about. “What are the issues the people care about? Is food safe? Is the heating warm enough? Can smog be reduced a bit? Can rivers and lakes be a bit cleaner? Can waste incineration avoid harming health? Are elderly care services satisfactory? Can one afford to rent or buy a house?” It can be seen that Xi

人民立场的内在实质是为谁服务，代表谁的利益。列宁发表过一篇著名文章，叫《对谁有利》，这是区分不同立场的试金石。列宁判断争论双方的立场所使用的标准是：“谁直接维护某些观点，这在政治上并不那么重要。重要的是这些观点、这些提议、这些措施对谁有利。”只有坚持维护人民的利益，才是人民的立场，这就是人民立场的内在实质。资产阶级学者习惯于运用各种技术的、工具性的方法把经济学装扮成纯学术，不偏不倚，似乎并没有哪一方面的利益考量，例如当代西方经济学的“帕累托改进”学说，鼓吹最优资源配置和效率改进的标准是：让少数人得利，但其他人的利益并不受损，并把它视为“公正的立场”和纯粹科学的立场。这实际是资本的片面理论，是迷惑人的。对此，习近平指出：“为什么人的问题是哲学社会科学研究的根本性、原则性问题。我国哲学社会科学为谁著书、为谁立说，是为少数人服务还是为绝大多数人服务，是必须搞清楚的问题。世界上没有纯而又纯的哲学社会科学。世界上伟大的哲学社会科学成果都是在回答和解决人与社会面临的重大问题中创造出来的。”因此，经济学理论并不是纯粹的学问，它有着鲜明的立场，尤其是经济学研究的是经济利益增加与获得及其分配问题，它的研究倾向和结论更是带有“对谁有利”的烙印。在经济建设实践中，习近平阐发了《资本论》中的人民性思想，指出：“坚持以人民为中心的发展思想。发展为了人民，这是马克思主义政治经济学的根本立场。”他还说，这不是一个“数字游戏”或“速度游戏”，而是要实实在在地了解和关心老百姓关切的问题，回应这些问题。“人民群众关心的问题是什么？是食品安不安全、暖气热不热、雾霾能不能少一点、河湖能不能清一点、垃圾焚烧能不能不有损健康、养老服务顺不顺心、能不能租得起或买得起住房”。可见，习近平经济思想是践行《资本论》人民性立场的典范，是马克思主义政治经济学在当代的创新发展。当代中国经济学的研究发展肩负着光荣的使命，要在实现中国式现代化的进程中，脚踏祖国实际，研究中国问题，总结中国经验，讲好中国故事，把论文写在祖国大地上。中国经济学家追求的目标，主要应当是为人民谋福祉，为构建中国自主的经济学知识体系贡献才智，要实现这个目标，就应当满怀“以人民为中心”的情怀并站稳这一根本立场。

II. The Worldview and Methodology Contained in *Capital*

二、《资本论》蕴含的世界观和方法论

Dialectical materialism and historical materialism constitute the worldview and methodology of *Capital*, and they remain undated in today’s world. Proceeding from the materialist principle of the primacy of matter, Marx started from the reality of economic life rather than from idealist assumptions about human desires. Amid the vast world of capitalism, he identified the most ordinary and common thing—the commodity—and, applying the principles of materialist dialectics, abstracted from it a series of contradictory unities of opposites: use-value and value, concrete labour and abstract labour, wage-labour and surplus-value. He analysed the inner contradictions of the capitalist economic system and, from these inner contradictions, discovered the law by which the capitalist system necessarily transitions to a new social system. Engels said that once Marx discovered historical materialism, he applied it to his research in *Capital*. It scientifically demonstrates that the contradictions between productive forces and relations of production, and between the economic base and the superstructure, are precisely the basic contradictions that drive human society from lower to higher stages, from capitalism towards communism. Applying the principles of historical materialism, Marx analysed the transformation of labour-power into a commodity and the relationship between the price of labour-power and wages, discovered the law of capital’s exploitation of surplus-value, uncovered the inner contradiction between the private ownership of capital and socialised large-scale production, and demonstrated the historical tendency by which the capitalist system is inevitably replaced by the communist system.

辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义是《资本论》的世界观和方法论，这在当今世界也是不过时的。马克思基于世界的物质第一性原理，从经济生活的实际出发，而不是从唯心主义关于人的欲望假设出发，在资本主义大千世界中，找到商品这一最普通、最常见的事物，运用唯物辩证法原理，在商品中抽象出使用价值和价值、具体劳动和抽象劳动、雇佣劳动和剩余价值等一系列对立统一的矛盾事物，分析了资本主义经济体系的内在矛盾，并从这些内在矛盾中发现了资本主义制度必然向新的社会制度变迁的规律。恩格斯说，马克思一经发现历史唯物主义，就把它运用到《资本论》的研究中。它科学地论证了生产力与生产关系、经济基础和上层建筑的矛盾，正是这些基本矛盾推动了人类社会从低级向高级、从资本主义走向共产主义。运用历史唯物主义的原理，马克思分析了劳动力转化为商品，劳动力价格与工资的关系，发现了资本剥削剩余价值的规律，发现了资本的私人占有与社会化大生产的内在矛盾，论证了资本主义制度必然被共产主义制度取代的历史趋势。

From the history of the development of economics, economics cannot be separated from philosophy, because philosophy provides the most fundamental worldview and methodology for economic thinking. British classical political economy was derived from modern philosophy. Even today in the West, economics doctorates are Ph.D.s (Doctor of Philosophy), precisely because philosophy is the parent discipline of economics. Modern European philosophy advocates natural rights and human rights, holding that the pursuit of happiness and material interests is human nature—this is so-called humanism—but it despised economic activity, regarding it as vulgar. This reflected the situation in the early period of capitalism when the bourgeoisie could not yet fully grasp state power and bourgeois ideology had not yet attained a mainstream position. At that time, Adam Smith was also a philosopher, but he held that engaging in commercial transactions was human nature, that commercial transactions were a universal activity in which everyone participated and belonged to public affairs, and that managing public affairs necessarily entailed managing the state—a mission that naturally fell to the owners of capital. This was the theoretical basis Adam Smith provided for the British bourgeoisie to ascend the historical stage and take full control of state power; at the same time, he completed the separation of political economy from modern philosophy. From that point on, political economy became an independent discipline, and he became the founder of British classical political economy. Therefore, the economic research of Adam Smith and David Ricardo both contained rich philosophical thinking, especially Hegel’s dialectics. For example, in the labour theory of value, they both held that the essence of value is labour and that price is the form of expression of value—this is philosophical thinking about essence and appearance. However, the later students of British classical political economy did not inherit their teachers’ mantle; they abandoned dialectics and accepted the philosophical logic of metaphysics. In 1848, John Stuart Mill, a student of Ricardo, published *Principles of Political Economy*, proposing the theory of international equilibrium prices. Using the doctrine of reciprocal demand, he led later Western economics to study only the phenomenon of price, not the essence of the substance of value, gradually moving towards superficiality. By the late 19th century (1890), Alfred Marshall published *Principles of Economics*, mainly studying the supply curve from the supply side and proposing equilibrium price. Western economics, under the premise of the rational economic man hypothesis, developed into the current economic theory along the methodology of market supply and demand. In contrast, Marxist political economy is closely linked with historical materialism and dialectical materialism. Therefore, Marxist political economy and modern Western economics parted ways around the mid-19th century, approximately the 1840s.

从经济学的发展历史看，经济学是离不开哲学的，因为哲学提供了经济学思维最基础的世界观和方法论。英国古典政治经济学是从近代哲学里派生出来的。西方到现在，经济学博士都是哲学博士（Ph.D），就是因为哲学是经济学的母系学科。欧洲的近代哲学主张天赋人权，主张人的权利，认为人谋取幸福和物质利益是人的天性，这就是所谓的人本主义，但它鄙视经济活动，认为这是低俗的事情，这反映了资本主义初期资产阶级还不能掌握全部国家权力，资产阶级意识形态尚未取得主流地位的状态。那时，亚当·斯密也是哲学家，但他认为从事商业交易是人的天性，商业交易是一个人人都参与的普遍行为，属于公共事务，管理公共事务也必然要管理国家，这个使命自然就要由资本所有者来承担。这是亚当·斯密为英国资产阶级登上历史舞台掌握全部国家权力提供的理论依据，同时他也完成了政治经济学从近代哲学中的分离，从那时候起才有了政治经济学这一独立学科，他也成了英国古典政治经济学的鼻祖。因此，亚当·斯密、大卫·李嘉图的经济学研究都包含丰富的哲学思维，特别是黑格尔的辩证法。例如劳动价值论，他们都认为价值的本质是劳动，价格是价值的表现形式，这就是关于本质与现象的哲学思维。但是，英国古典政治经济学的后辈学生们没有继承其老师的衣钵，他们抛弃了辩证法，接受了形而上学的哲学思维逻辑。1848年李嘉图的学生约翰·穆勒的《政治经济学原理》提出了国际均衡价格论，用相互需求学说引导后来的西方经济学只研究价格现象，不研究价值实体的本质，逐渐走向表象化。到了19世纪晚期（1890年），马歇尔发表的《经济学原理》主要是从供给的角度研究了供给曲线、提出了均衡价格，西方经济学沿着理性经济人假设的前提下，市场的供给与需求这样一个方法论发展成了现在的经济学理论。而马克思主义政治经济学则紧紧地和历史唯物主义、辩证唯物主义联系在一起。因此，马克思主义政治经济学和西方现代经济学在19世纪中叶，大约1840年前后就分道扬镳了。

Mao Zedong attached great importance to the philosophical thinking in political economy research. In his commentary on the Soviet *Political Economy Textbook*, he said: “It is impossible for a writer without a philosophical mind to produce good economics. Marx was able to write *Capital*, and Lenin was able to write *Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism*, because they were also philosophers, with philosophical minds and the weapon of dialectics.” Deng Xiaoping, applying the principle of the unity of opposites and the identity of opposites in things, abstracted the concept of a socialist market economy from the phenomenon that capitalist countries also have planning and socialist countries also have markets, which became the basic theoretical guidance for China’s reform and opening up. Therefore, without the philosophical thinking of dialectical materialism, it is very difficult to understand why socialism can be combined with the market economy, why the dominant position of public ownership can coexist with multiple forms of ownership, and under what conditions capital can be allowed to exist and play its positive and favourable role. Xi Jinping also attaches great importance to using Marxist philosophical thought to guide economic work practice and explore the laws of economic construction. He has specifically expounded on the basic methodology of dialectical materialism. He said that dialectical materialism is the worldview and methodology of Chinese Communists, and that successive Party leaders, including Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao, have all made classic expositions on it: “We must study and master Marxist philosophy, and strive to enhance our ability to explore and solve basic problems in the new period.” In guiding the practice of economic construction, this is mainly manifested in the following aspects.

毛泽东高度重视政治经济学研究的哲学思维。他在评论苏联的《政治经济学教科书》时说：“没有哲学家头脑的作家，要写出好的经济学来是不可能的。马克思能够写出《资本论》，列宁能够写出《帝国主义论》，因为他们同时是哲学家，有哲学家的头脑，有辩证法这个武器。”邓小平运用对立统一和事物矛盾的同一性原理，从资本主义国家也有计划，社会主义国家也有市场的现象中抽象出社会主义市场经济的概念，成为中国改革开放的基本理论指导。因此没有辩证唯物主义哲学思维，就很难理解社会主义为什么能和市场经济相结合、公有制主体地位为什么能和多种所有制经济共同存在、在什么条件下可以允许资本存在并发挥它积极有利因素的一面。习近平也非常重视以马克思主义哲学思想来指导经济工作实践和探索经济建设规律，他专门阐述了辩证唯物主义的基本方法论。他说，辩证唯物主义是中国共产党人的世界观和方法论，毛泽东、邓小平、江泽民、胡锦涛等党的历代领导人都有经典论述，“要学习掌握马克思主义哲学，努力提高探索解决新时期基本问题的本领”。在指导经济建设实践中，其主要表现在以下几个方面。

First, adhere to the dialectics of systematic planning and overall coordination. *Capital* studies the capitalist economy as a complete system. The analysis from the circuit of commodity–money–capital, to the circuit of productive capital–commodity capital–money capital, and then to the circuit of total social capital, all embody the systematic nature of the research and analytical method. Xi Jinping applies the systematic method to the practice of socialist construction. He said: “Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee has adhered to systematic planning and coordinated advancement of all Party and state undertakings… In this process, the systems concept is a foundational way of thinking and working.” The 18th National Congress of the CPC summarised the overall layout of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics as the “Five-Sphere Integrated Plan” of economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction, and ecological civilisation construction. This summary reflects an understanding of the integrity and coordination of the development of things. “Later we proposed the ‘Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy’, and so on. All these reflect our deepening understanding of coordinated development and the methodological significance of materialist dialectics in solving China’s development problems.” Economic system reform cannot be separated from the coordination and cooperation of reforms in other fields; the superstructure must also adapt to changes in the economic base. Therefore, we must comprehensively deepen reform, highlighting the systematic, holistic, and synergistic nature of reform. Hence, the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC made arrangements for comprehensively deepening reform. At the same time, in advancing reform, we must fully consider the interest demands of different regions, different industries, and different groups, accurately grasp the convergence points and integration points of the interests of all parties, and ensure that the fruits of reform benefit all the people more and more fairly. In terms of the concept of economic development, the five new development concepts of innovation, coordination, greenness, openness, and sharing were put forward. These five concepts complement each other, cannot be separated from each other, and constitute a complete unity. In concept, they are unified; in practice, they require overall coordination. Therefore, they are also development concepts at a higher level.

第一，坚持系统谋划、统筹协调的辩证法。《资本论》把资本主义经济作为完整的系统进行研究，从商品—货币—资本的循环，生产资本—商品资本—货币资本的循环再到社会总资本的循环的分析，都体现了研究分析方法的系统性。习近平把系统方法运用到社会主义建设实践中，他说：“党的十八大以来，党中央坚持系统谋划、统筹推进党和国家各项事业……在这个过程中，系统观念是具有基础性的思想和工作方法。”党的十八大把中国特色社会主义事业总体布局总结为经济建设、政治建设、文化建设、社会建设、生态文明建设“五位一体”。这个概括体现了对事物发展的整体性和协调性的认识。“后来我们提出了‘四个全面’战略布局，等等。这些都体现了我们对协调发展认识的不断深化，体现了唯物辩证法在解决我国发展问题上的方法论意义。”经济体制改革离不开其他领域改革的配合协调，上层建筑也要适应经济基础变化的需要，因此要全面深化改革，要突出改革的系统性、整体性、协同性。因此，党的十八届三中全会作出了全面深化改革的部署。同时，在推进改革中，要充分考虑不同地区、不同行业、不同群体的利益诉求，准确把握各方利益的交汇点和结合点，使改革成果更多更公平惠及全体人民。在经济发展理念上，提出了创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享五个新发展理念，这五个理念相辅相成，互相不可割裂，构成完整的统一体，在理念上它是统一的，在实践上它需要统筹协调。因此它也是更高水平的发展理念。

Second, to recognise and grasp the law of the movement of contradictions in things. Marx’s *Capital* and Mao Zedong’s *On Contradiction* are both models for recognising and grasping the law of the movement of contradictions in things. Marx analysed the contradictions between use-value and value in commodities, between concrete labour and abstract labour, between commodities and money, and between money and capital, pointing out the universality of contradiction and the particularity of contradiction within the capitalist economy. On the basis of grasping the universality of contradictions in things, Mao Zedong also analysed the relationship between the principal contradiction and secondary contradictions, and between the principal aspect and secondary aspects of a contradiction. Relying on the philosophical principle of the universality and objectivity of the movement of contradictions in things, Xi Jinping has continuously strengthened his awareness of problems, adhered to a problem-oriented approach, and taken recognising and resolving contradictions as the breakthrough point for opening up the work situation. Based on the characteristic that China’s economic development would end the stage of extensive high-speed growth and begin a new stage, he made the judgement that China’s economic development had entered a New Normal, and pointed out that the characteristic of leading the economic New Normal is the shift of China’s economy towards high-quality development. Xi Jinping analysed the principal contradiction under the economic New Normal, pointing out: “Against the backdrop of the superimposition of three periods, the prominent problems affecting economic growth include aggregate problems, but structural problems are even more prominent. Under circumstances where effective supply cannot adapt to changes in the aggregate and structure of demand, to stabilise growth, while appropriately expanding aggregate demand and adjusting the demand structure, we must focus on strengthening supply-side structural reform, achieving a leap from low-level supply-demand balance to high-level supply-demand balance.” [4]4 “Gold and silver mountains” (金山银山) and “lucid waters and lush mountains” (绿水青山) are a Chinese political idiom. “Gold and silver mountains” metaphorically represents material wealth and economic development; “lucid waters and lush mountains” represents a healthy natural environment. Xi Jinping’s formulation asserts that the two are not contradictory but that a good environment is itself a form of wealth. In the new stage of development and in constructing the new pattern of development, Xi Jinping made the strategic plan of taking domestic circulation as the main body, with domestic and international circulations mutually promoting each other. Domestic circulation is a general characteristic of a large-country economy; this is both Xi Jinping’s summary and

第二，认识和把握事物矛盾运动的规律。马克思的《资本论》和毛泽东的《矛盾论》都是认识和把握事物矛盾运动规律的典范。马克思分析了商品中使用价值与价值、具体劳动与抽象劳动的矛盾、商品与货币的矛盾、货币与资本的矛盾，指出了矛盾的普遍性与资本主义经济中矛盾的特殊性。毛泽东在把握事物矛盾普遍性基础上，还分析了主要矛盾和次要矛盾、矛盾的主要方面和次要方面的关系。习近平依据事物矛盾运动普遍性、客观性的哲学原理，不断强化问题意识，坚持问题导向，把认识和化解矛盾作为打开工作局面的突破口。他根据我国经济发展将结束粗放型高速度增长阶段并开始新的阶段的特点，作出了我国经济发展进入新常态的判断，并指出引领经济新常态的特点是中国经济转向高质量发展。习近平分析了经济发展新常态下的主要矛盾，指出：“在三期叠加的大背景下，影响经济增长的突出问题有总量问题，但结构性问题更为突出。在有效供给不能适应需求总量和结构变化的情况下，稳增长必须在适度扩大总需求和调整需求结构的同时，着力加强供给侧结构性改革，实现由低水平供需平衡向高水平供需平衡的跃升。”在新发展阶段和构建新发展格局中，习近平作出了以国内大循环为主体、国内国际双循环相互促进的战略谋划。国内可循环是大国经济的一般特征，这既是习近平对大国经济发展一般规律的总结和揭示，也是对我国新发展阶段的前瞻指引。因此我国经济建设要以扩大内需为战略基点，同时不放弃外需，并由此提升国内国际双循环的水平，抓住了主要矛盾，经济循环就将产生质的飞跃。抓住主要矛盾不等于可以忽略次要矛盾或放弃次要矛盾，抓住供给侧结构性改革这条主线，也还需要在需求侧方面通过总量调控进行配合。因此，习近平说，在任何工作中，既要讲两点论，又要讲重点论，没有主次，不加区别，眉毛胡子一把抓，是做不好工作的。

Third, the economic-philosophical thinking of Xi Jinping’s Thought on Ecological Civilization originates from the theory of ground rent in *Capital*. In emphasizing green development, Xi Jinping put forward the famous dictum: “We must have both gold and silver mountains and lucid waters and lush mountains; lucid waters and lush mountains are gold and silver mountains.” This means that natural ecology also has value and can be transformed into capital and assets. How is this to be understood? Why does a natural ecology without human labor have value? This must be explained by applying the theory of absolute rent in *Capital*. The ecological environment, like land, is a resource factor, a condition for the development of productive forces. It has no substitute; it is unnoticed when used, but hard to recover when lost. This property is the same as the natural monopoly of land. We know that the factors constituting productive forces include laborers, instruments of labor (means of production), objects of labor (land, natural resources), as well as science and technology and management. In a general sense, human labor is the most important factor among the productive forces; it is the source of value creation. Although the object of labor is a secondary factor in the formation of productive forces, on the basis of the development of capitalist productive forces, land and natural resources become scarce factors, and the principal aspect of the contradiction transforms. Absolute rent arises from scarce land; this is compensation for scarce factors. Marx’s theory of absolute rent is precisely an application of dialectics. In a commodity market economy environment of human society, the ecological environment embodied in certain natural resources obtains a claim on the distribution of human surplus labor similar to capitalist “absolute rent,” except that the claim on rent belongs to the private owner of land, while the claim on the surplus labor of the ecological environment belongs to the public. Therefore, it is a form of natural wealth and ecological wealth. This claim on the distribution of surplus labor can also be traded in a market economy environment. Resource users legally obtain the right to use resources and bear the responsibility for compensation. Through the trading of compensation differentials among users, prices are discovered, giving rise to carbon emissions trading markets and exchange value, thereby transforming into economic wealth and social wealth. Protecting and improving the ecological environment requires human labor, which also adds new sources of value. Therefore, “protecting the ecological environment means protecting natural value and increasing the value of natural capital.” The Marxist political economy principles generated from the dialectical thinking between humans and nature endow the dictum “lucid waters and lush mountains are gold and silver mountains” with scientific theoretical meaning.

第三，习近平生态文明思想的经济哲学思维来源于《资本论》的地租理论。在强调绿色发展中，习近平提出了“既要金山银山，也要绿水青山；绿水青山就是金山银山”的名言。这就是说自然生态也有价值，而且可以转化为资本和资产。怎样理解这个问题，没有人类劳动的自然生态为什么会有价值？这就必须运用《资本论》的绝对地租理论来解释，生态环境与土地一样，是一种资源要素，是生产力发展的条件，它没有替代品，用之不觉，失之难存，这个性质与土地的自然垄断一样。我们知道，构成生产力的因素有劳动者、劳动工具（生产资料）和劳动对象（土地、自然资源）以及科学技术和管理等，从一般意义上说，人的劳动是生产力诸因素中最重要的因素，它是价值创造的来源，劳动对象虽然是生产力形成的次要因素，但是，在资本主义生产力发展的基础上，土地和自然资源成为稀缺要素，矛盾的主要方面转化了，稀缺土地中产生了绝对地租，这是对稀缺要素的补偿，马克思的绝对地租理论正是对辩证法的运用。在人类社会处于商品市场经济环境下，某些自然资源体现的生态环境获得了与资本主义“绝对地租”相似的人类剩余劳动分配的索取权，只不过地租的索取权属于土地私人所有者，而生态环境的剩余劳动索取权属于公众。因此它是一种自然财富、生态财富，这种剩余劳动分配的索取权在市场经济环境下，也可以交易。资源使用者依法取得资源的使用权和承担赔付的责任，通过赔付差额在使用者之间的交易发现价格，由此产生了碳排放交易市场和交换价值，从而转化为经济财富和社会财富。保护和改善生态环境，需要付出人类劳动，这也会增加新价值的来源，因此，“保护生态环境就是保护自然价值和增值自然资本”。在人与大自然辩证思维中产生的马克思主义政治经济学原理，赋予了绿水青山就是金山银山这句名言的科学理论含义。

III. The Living Soul of *Capital* Lies in Answering the Questions of the Times and the Questions of Practice

三、《资本论》活的灵魂是回答时代之问和实践之问

The era in which *Capital* was written was one in which the European working class was awakening, exploring the fate of its class, and seeking a way out for human liberation. This era urgently needed the enlightenment and guidance of scientific theory. Through its analysis of the internal contradictions of the capitalist mode of production, *Capital* exposed the secret of the exploitation of wage labor by capital, revealed the historical trend of the inevitable demise of the capitalist mode of production and the inevitable flourishing of communism, and inspired the fighting spirit of the working class to resist the old relations of production and superstructure. *Capital* also analyzed the overseas expansion of capitalism, which made capitalist productive forces global and markets world markets. Therefore, the contradiction between productive forces and relations of production, and the contradiction between the economic base and the superstructure, are also global. The movement and fate of the working class in one country are closely linked to the liberation movements of all nations of the world. Hence, the *Communist Manifesto* issued the call: “Workers of the world, unite!” *Capital* set forth a most fundamental task for the development direction of Marxist political economy: to answer the questions most concerning the people of different eras. The questions most concerning the people of different eras are constantly changing. Therefore, Engels said: “Political economy is therefore essentially a historical science. It deals with material which is historical, that is, constantly changing.” Moreover, it “is a historical product, and in different ages it takes completely different forms and has completely different content.” It can also be said that it is a living theory that answers the questions of the times and the questions of practice.

《资本论》写作的年代是欧洲工人阶级正在觉醒，正在探寻阶级的命运和寻找人类解放出路的时代，这个时代极需要科学理论的启蒙和指导。《资本论》通过对资本主义生产方式内在矛盾的分析，揭露了雇佣劳动被资本剥削的秘密，揭示了资本主义生产方式必然走向灭亡和共产主义必然兴盛的历史趋势，鼓舞了工人阶级反抗旧的生产关系和上层建筑的斗志。《资本论》还分析了资本主义向海外扩张，它使资本主义生产力成为世界性的，市场成为世界市场，因此生产力与生产关系的矛盾、经济基础和上层建筑的矛盾也是世界性的，一国工人阶级的运动和命运是和世界各民族的解放运动紧密联系的，因此《共产党宣言》发出了“全世界无产者联合起来”的呐喊。《资本论》为马克思主义政治经济学的发展方向提出了一个最基本的任务：这就是要回答不同时代的人民最关切的问题。不同时代的人民最关切的问题是不断变化的，因此恩格斯说：“政治经济学本质上是一门历史的科学。它所涉及的是历史性的即经常变化的材料”。而且它“是一种历史的产物，它在不同的时代具有完全不同的形式，同时具有完全不同的内容”。也可以说，它是一门回答时代之问和实践之问的鲜活理论。

*Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism* is the political economy of Lenin’s era; it inherits and develops the living soul of *Capital*. The question Lenin’s era had to answer was whether the socialist revolution had to await the maturation of revolutionary opportunities in the major capitalist countries of Europe, or whether the socialist revolution could first triumph in a single country, thereby inspiring the confidence of the people of the world in their struggle. *Imperialism* analysed the main features of the capitalist economy after it entered the monopoly stage, analysed the uneven political and economic development of world capitalism and the contradictions among capitalist countries over the scramble for interests, and made the scientific judgment that the socialist revolution could possibly achieve a breakthrough and first victory in the weakest link of the world capitalist chain, becoming a classic scientific work that answered the questions of the era and of practice. *On New Democracy* is the political economy of the Communist Party of China during the era of the New Democratic Revolution. It integrates the basic principles of Marxism with the practice of the Chinese revolutionary struggle and with the fine traditional Chinese culture. It had to answer how, in a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country, one could pass through the victory of the New Democratic Revolution and then turn to the socialist revolution, as well as the distinction between the New Democratic Revolution and the Old Democratic Revolution, and its connection with the world communist movement. Its political programme was to realise the people’s democratic dictatorship led by the working class (through the Communist Party), based on the worker-peasant alliance, and uniting all democratic parties and the people of all ethnic groups. Its three major economic programmes were: “the big banks, big industries, and big commerce shall belong to the state of this republic,” but without confiscating the private property of other capitalists, and without prohibiting the development of capitalist production that “cannot control the lifeblood of the national economy”; confiscating the land of the landlords and distributing it to the peasants who had no land or little land, turning the land into the private property of the peasants, and realising “land to the tiller.” This was the creation of New Democratic political economy on the basis of Chinese practice. As Xi Jinping said, Comrade Mao Zedong creatively put forward the New Democratic economic programme during the New Democratic period… this was our Party’s creative development of Marxist political economy.

《帝国主义论》是列宁时代的政治经济学，它继承和发扬了《资本论》的活的灵魂。列宁时代要回答的问题是，社会主义革命是否要等待欧洲主要资本主义国家革命时机的成熟，社会主义革命是否可以在一国首先胜利，从而鼓舞全世界人民的斗争信心。《帝国主义论》分析了资本主义经济进入垄断阶段后的主要特征，分析了世界资本主义政治经济发展的不平衡以及资本主义国家间争夺利益的矛盾，作出了社会主义革命有可能在世界资本主义最薄弱的链条取得突破并首先胜利的科学判断，成为回答时代之问、实践之问的经典科学。《新民主主义论》是中国共产党在新民主主义革命时代的政治经济学。它把马克思主义基本原理和中国革命斗争实践、中华优秀传统文化相结合，它要回答在一个半殖民地半封建社会的国家如何通过新民主主义革命的胜利再转向社会主义革命，而新民主主义革命与旧民主主义革命的区别，以及它与世界共产主义运动的联系；它的政治纲领是实现工人阶级（通过共产党）领导的、以工农联盟为基础、团结各民主党派和各族人民的人民民主专政，它的三大经济纲领是：“大银行、大工业、大商业，归这个共和国的国家所有”，但不没收其他资本主义的私有财产，不禁止“不能操纵国计民生”的资本主义生产的发展；没收地主的土地，分配给无地和少地的农民，把土地变为农民的私产，实现耕者有其田。这就是新民主主义政治经济学在中国实践基础上的创立。正如习近平所说，毛泽东同志在新民主主义时期创造性地提出了新民主主义经济纲领……是我们党对马克思主义政治经济学的创造性发展。

The theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics founded by Deng Xiaoping wrote a new chapter in the political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It had to answer the epochal and practical propositions of what socialism with Chinese characteristics is and how to build socialism with Chinese characteristics. In Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of the “Three Represents,” and the Scientific Outlook on Development, there are many major theoretical viewpoints of the political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics. After the “Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Reform of the Economic Structure” was passed in October 1984, Deng Xiaoping evaluated it, saying: “It has written a first draft of political economy, a political economy that integrates the basic principles of Marxism with the practice of Chinese socialism.” In 1992, Jiang Zemin, in his report to the 14th National Congress of the CPC, evaluated the Decision on the Reform of the Economic Structure passed by the Third Plenary Session of the 12th Central Committee, saying it “was a new development of Marxist political economy and provided new theoretical guidance for the comprehensive reform of the economic structure.”

邓小平创立的中国特色社会主义理论谱写了中国特色社会主义政治经济学的新篇章。它要回答什么是中国特色社会主义，怎样建设中国特色社会主义的时代命题和实践命题。在邓小平理论、“三个代表”重要思想、科学发展观中，都有许多中国特色社会主义政治经济学的重大理论观点。1984年10月《中共中央关于经济体制改革的决定》通过后，邓小平评价说：“写出了一个政治经济学的初稿，是马克思主义基本原理和中国社会主义实践相结合的政治经济学”。1992年，江泽民在十四大报告中评价十二届三中全会通过的关于经济体制改革的决定，“是对马克思主义政治经济学的新发展，为全面经济体制改革提供了新的理论指导”。

After the 18th National Congress of the CPC, socialism with Chinese characteristics entered a New Era. Xi Jinping summarised the successful experience of socialist economic construction with Chinese characteristics and formed Xi Jinping’s economic thought. This is the political economy of the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The epochal and practical propositions it must answer are how to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and turn to comprehensively building a modern socialist country, to advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization, and to realise the Party’s second centenary goal. Therefore, all major economic theoretical issues related to this theme, whether long-term or current, are propositions of political economy. Xi Jinping not only proposed at the Central Economic Work Conference that the major principles of the political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics must be upheld, but also repeatedly emphasised in discussions and seminars with experts the need to develop the political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We should consider why, when discussing the current economic situation and practical problems, Xi Jinping does not mention the analytical logic of Western economics, but instead emphasises the need to uphold the political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics. As he himself answered: “Nowadays, there are all kinds of economic theories, but the only foundation of our political economy can be Marxist political economy, and no other economic theory.” Western economics, premised on the assumption of the “rational economic man,” deduces the logical framework of macroeconomics (market equilibrium) and microeconomics (cost-benefit) to satisfy the goal of maximising capital returns. Although it certainly contains some reasonable elements that conform to the general laws of the market economy, it cannot serve as the main foothold for the construction of our country’s independent knowledge system of economics, and still less can it serve as the guiding ideology for our country’s economic construction practice. The political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a people-centered worldview; it both integrates with and constrains capital operation and the market economy. Therefore, the vast majority of issues in our country’s economic practice are issues of political economy, not purely economic issues of satisfying capital returns.

党的十八大以后，中国特色社会主义进入新的时代，习近平总结了中国特色社会主义经济建设的成功经验，形成了习近平经济思想，这是中国特色社会主义新时代的政治经济学。它要回答的时代之问和实践命题是，如何全面建成小康社会并转向全面建设现代化国家，以中国式现代化推进中华民族伟大复兴，实现党的第二个百年奋斗目标。因此，所有关于这个主题的、无论是长远的还是当前的重大经济理论问题，都是政治经济学的命题。习近平不仅在中央经济工作会议上提出，要坚持中国特色社会主义政治经济学的重大原则，而且在与专家座谈讨论中也反复强调要发展中国特色社会主义政治经济学。我们应当思考，为什么在讨论当下的经济形势和实际问题时，习近平不提西方经济学的分析逻辑，而强调要坚持中国特色社会主义政治经济学呢？正如他自己所回答的：“现在，各种经济学理论五花八门，但我们政治经济学的根本只能是马克思主义政治经济学，而不能是别的什么经济理论。”西方经济学以“理性经济人”的假设为前提，演绎出宏观经济学（市场均衡）和微观经济学（成本收益）的逻辑架构，以满足资本收益最大化的目标。其中固然包含某些符合市场经济一般规律的合理成分，但却不能作为我国经济学自主知识体系建设的主要立足点，更不能作为我国经济建设实践的指导思想。而中国特色社会主义政治经济学是以人民为中心的世界观，它与资本运行和市场经济既结合又约束，所以，我国经济实践的大量问题，都是政治经济学问题，而不是纯粹的满足资本收益的经济问题。

The questions of the era and of practice have a spatiotemporal concept; they are concretely manifested in the national form and ethnic form of different periods. *Capital* is the bible of the working class of the whole world, but the concrete things it describes clearly bear the characteristics of British economy and society. Marx said: “The typical locus of this mode of production is England. Therefore, in my theoretical exposition I mainly use England as an example.” This was because England at that time was a country where capitalist development was relatively early and relatively mature. The commodity exchanges he analysed, such as coats, linen, coffee, tea, wheat, and iron, were all common phenomena in the English market at that time. The names of money, such as gold, pound sterling, shilling, and pence, were also phenomena of English currency circulation. The weight units for wheat, the quarter, and for iron, the hundredweight, and for gold, the ounce, were all English. In Chapter 24 of *Capital*, Marx exposed and criticised the history of the English Enclosure Movement, dissecting the secret of primitive accumulation of capital. It can be seen that when *Capital* reveals universal truth, it does so through concrete national history and its forms. Engels also made a classic exposition on the indigenisation and nationalisation of Marxism. He said: “The practical application of these principles, as stated in the *Manifesto*, will always depend on the historical conditions existing at the time.” He also gave specific instructions to the European socialist workers’ parties guiding the American workers’ movement: “It must completely take off its foreign clothes and become a thoroughly Americanised party. It cannot expect Americans to come to it. It is a minority, and also immigrants; therefore, it should move towards the vast majority of native-born Americans. To achieve this, it must first learn English.” In the process of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, Mao Zedong was the first to put forward the task of “making Marxism concrete in China.” At the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the CPC in 1938, Mao Zedong put forward the theoretical proposition of “making Marxism concrete in China.” Shortly after, he pointed out: “Marxism must be realised through combining with the specific characteristics of our country and through a certain national form.” “Making Marxism concrete in China, so that in every one of its manifestations it carries the necessary Chinese characteristics, that is to say, applying it according to the characteristics of China, has become a problem that the whole Party urgently needs to understand and solve.” This understanding laid the ideological foundation for Mao Zedong to systematically create the theory of New Democracy that adapted Marxism to the Chinese context.

时代之问和实践之问具有时空概念，它具体表现为不同时期的国别形式和民族形式。《资本论》是全世界工人阶级的圣经，但它所表述的具体事物明显地带有英国经济社会的特征。马克思说：“这种生产方式的典型地点是英国。因此，我在理论阐述上主要用英国作为例证。”这是因为当时的英国是资本主义发展比较早和比较成熟的国家。他分析的商品交换，如上衣、麻布、咖啡、茶叶、小麦、铁，都是当时英国市场交易的普遍现象，货币名称如黄金、英镑、先令、便士，也是英国的货币流通现象，小麦的重量单位夸特和铁的重量单位英担、黄金的重量单位盎司等都是英国的。在《资本论》第24章中，马克思对英国圈地运动的历史进行了揭露和批判，剖析了资本原始积累的秘密。可见，在《资本论》揭示普遍真理时，是以具体的民族历史及其形式达到的。恩格斯也对马克思主义的本土化民族化有过经典论述，他说：“这些原理的实际运用，正如《宣言》中所说的，随时随地都要以当时的历史条件为转移。”他还针对欧洲社会主义工人党指导美国工人运动专门作出指示：“必须完全脱下它的外国服装，必须成为彻底美国化的党。它不能期待美国人向自己靠拢。它是少数，又是移民，因此，应当向绝大多数本地的美国人靠拢。要做到这一点，首先必须学习英语。”在马克思主义中国化过程中，毛泽东最早提出了“使马克思主义在中国具体化”任务，1938年党的六届六中全会上，毛泽东提出“使马克思主义在中国具体化”的理论命题。不久后，他指出：“马克思主义必须和我国的具体特点相结合并通过一定的民族形式才能实现。”“使马克思主义在中国具体化，使之在其每一表现中带着必须有的中国的特性，即是说，按照中国的特点去应用它，成为全党亟待了解并亟须解决的问题。”这个认识为毛泽东系统创立马克思主义中国化的新民主主义理论奠定了思想基础。

The specific characteristics of China that Mao Zedong pointed to include China’s precious historical and cultural heritage, which contains the consideration of integrating Marxism with Chinese history and culture. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Xi Jinping has engaged in deep reflection on the issue of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, gradually forming the important thought of the “Two Integrations.” In September 2014, he proposed: “The basic tenets of Marxism must be closely integrated with China’s specific realities, and a scientific approach should be taken toward traditional national culture.” In March 2021, he proposed: “Combine the promotion of fine traditional culture with the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and method, and unswervingly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” In July 2021, in his speech at the ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC, he formally proposed: “Uphold the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the fine traditional culture of the Chinese nation, use Marxism to observe the times, grasp the times, and lead the times, and continue to develop contemporary Chinese Marxism and Marxism in the 21st century!” In October 2022, Xi Jinping further pointed out in the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC: “The Chinese Communists have deeply realized that only by integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the fine traditional culture of the Chinese nation, and by adhering to the use of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, can we correctly answer the major questions posed by the times and by practice, and can we always maintain the vigorous vitality and strong dynamism of Marxism.” Xi Jinping has not only resolved the question of why the basic tenets of Marxism must be integrated with the fine traditional culture of the Chinese nation, but also resolved the question of how to achieve this integration, which is centrally manifested in the new thought of “creative transformation and innovative development.” Creative transformation means to transform, in accordance with the characteristics and requirements of the times, those connotations that still have reference value and their outdated forms of expression, endowing them with new contemporary connotations and modern forms of expression, and activating their vitality. Innovative development means to supplement, expand, and perfect the connotations of the fine traditional culture of the Chinese nation in accordance with the new progress and new developments of the times, enhancing its influence and appeal. The typical characteristics and examples of British economic history contained in *Capital* are the source of the CPC’s proposal that the theoretical innovation of Marxism must be integrated with the country’s fine traditional culture.

毛泽东指出的中国的具体特点就包括中国珍贵的历史文化遗产，蕴含着马克思主义与中国历史文化相结合的考虑。党的十八大以来，习近平对马克思主义中国化问题进行了深入思考，逐步形成了“两个结合”的重要思想。2014年9月，他提出：“马克思主义基本原理必须同中国具体实际紧密结合起来，应该科学对待民族传统文化。”2021年3月提出：“把弘扬优秀传统文化同马克思主义立场观点方法结合起来，坚定不移走中国特色社会主义道路。”2021年7月，他在庆祝中国共产党成立100周年大会上的讲话中正式提出：“坚持把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合，用马克思主义观察时代、把握时代、引领时代，继续发展当代中国马克思主义、21世纪马克思主义！”2022年10月，习近平在党的二十大报告中进一步指出：“中国共产党人深刻认识到，只有把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合，坚持运用辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义，才能正确回答时代和实践提出的重大问题，才能始终保持马克思主义的蓬勃生机和旺盛活力。”习近平不仅解决了马克思主义基本原理为什么要同中华优秀传统文化相结合的问题，而且也解决了如何实现结合的问题，这集中表现为“创造性转化、创新性发展”的新思想。创造性转化，就是要按照时代特点和要求，对那些至今仍有借鉴价值的内涵和陈旧的表现形式加以改造，赋予其新的时代内涵和现代表达形式，激活其生命力。创新性发展，就是要按照时代的新进步新进展，对中华优秀传统文化的内涵加以补充、拓展、完善，增强其影响力和感召力。《资本论》中蕴含的英国经济史的典型特征和例证，是中国共产党提出马克思主义的理论创新要与本国优秀传统文化相结合的思想来源。

IV. *Capital* Reveals the Laws of Operation of the Modern Economic System and Large-Scale Socialized Production

四、《资本论》揭示了现代经济体系和社会化大生产的运行规律

Marx regarded the capitalist economic system shaped by machine-based large-scale industry as the modern economic system. The object of analysis in *Capital* is the modern economic system, which takes the British capitalist economic system as its typical case. However, in the emergence and development of early European capitalism, Britain was not the sole leader. Why did Marx take Britain as the typical case of the capitalist economic system? From the perspective of world history, Spain first established colonies in the Americas and Africa, monopolized the world’s production of gold and silver, and became the most powerful colonial empire in the 16th century. In contrast, Britain at this time was still a poor island nation in Western Europe with a population of only 4 million, the most backward. At the end of the 16th century, 83% of the world’s precious metal production was owned by Spain. Yet Spain did not use this condition to develop and perfect its domestic real economy and industries; it could not even achieve self-sufficiency in primary industrial manufactured goods such as meat, wheat, and clothing. While Spain was content with obtaining overseas wealth and indulging in consumption, the British bourgeoisie focused on developing the domestic real economy and led the first Industrial Revolution. Relying on its domestic advantage in wool production, it developed a complete textile industry, which became a profitable “national industry” for Britain. Ultimately, Britain completed the Industrial Revolution around 1840 and established its position as the world’s industrial hegemon. In 1850, Britain’s production of metal products, steel, and textiles accounted for half of the world’s total, coal production accounted for two-thirds of the world’s, shipbuilding and railway mileage were also first in the world, and foreign trade volume accounted for 20% of the world’s, growing to 40% ten years later; at this time, Britain’s industrial output value accounted for 55%–60% of Europe’s and 40%–50% of the world’s, and the pound sterling thus became a world currency. Alongside the rapid development of the domestic economy and industry, Britain’s labor force also experienced unprecedented growth. Between 1541 and 1741, England’s population increased from 2.77 million to 5.57 million, doubling; by 1800, the population of England and Wales further increased to 8.89 million. The historical experiences and lessons of Britain and Spain illustrate the importance of a country’s real economy and domestic economic circulation.

马克思把机器大工业生产所塑造的资本主义经济体系看作现代经济体系，《资本论》的分析对象是现代的经济体系，它是以英国资本主义经济体系作为典型的。然而，早期欧洲资本主义的出现和发展，英国并不独领风骚，马克思为什么把英国作为资本主义经济体系的典型？从世界历史看，西班牙首先在美洲和非洲建立殖民地，垄断了世界的金银生产，成为16世纪世界上最强大的殖民帝国。反观此时的英国，还只是一个人口仅400万的西欧最落后的贫穷岛国。16世纪末，世界贵金属开采量中的83%都为西班牙所有。但西班牙却不利用这一条件发展并健全其国内的实体经济和产业，甚至在肉类、小麦和服装等初级工业制成品方面都无法自给自足。当西班牙满足于获得海外财富并肆意消费的时候，英国资产阶级专注于发展国内实体经济并引导了第一次工业革命。它依托其国内的羊毛生产优势发展出完整的纺织工业，并成为英国获利丰厚的“民族工业”。最终，英国在1840年左右完成工业革命，并确立了世界工业霸主地位。在1850年，英国的金属制品、钢铁产量和纺织品的生产量占世界一半，煤产量占世界2/3，造船业、铁路里程也都位居世界第一，对外贸易量占世界的20％，10年后增长至40％；而此时英国生产的工业产值占到欧洲的55％—60％，占世界的40％—50％，英镑也因此成为世界货币。 在国内经济和产业快速发展的同时，英国的劳动力也获得了空前的增加，1541—1741年间，英格兰人口由277万增加到557万，增加了一倍，1800年英格兰和威尔士的人口进一步增至889万人。英国和西班牙的历史经验和教训说明了一国实体经济和国内经济循环的重要性。

The history of world capitalist development shows that in the stage of primitive accumulation of capital, overseas colonial plunder played an important role. However, whether the capitalist economic system ultimately becomes the main socio-economic form of a country still depends on the domestic circulation of its real economy. Therefore, the dominance of the capitalist mode of production in an economy must first be based on the domestic market of the nation-state, and then expand to overseas markets. For any independent and mature economy, the real economy and domestic economic circulation are the foundation of its economic development and the basis for establishing its economic system. This is the principle behind *Capital*’s choice of Britain as the typical case for analyzing the capitalist economic system.

世界资本主义发展史表明，在资本主义原始积累阶段，海外殖民掠夺曾起到了重要作用，但是资本主义经济体系最终能否成为一个国家的主要社会经济形式，仍取决于其实体经济的国内循环。所以，资本主义生产方式在一个经济体占据统治地位必然是先以民族国家的国内市场为基础，然后再扩展到海外市场。对于任何独立成熟的经济体，实体经济和国内经济循环都是其经济发展的基础和经济体系建立的基础。这就是《资本论》选择英国作为分析资本主义经济体系典型的原理。

Xi Jinping’s economic thought integrates the basic principles of *Capital* concerning the operation of the modern economic system with the practice of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, thereby developing the Marxist theory of modern economic operation. After China’s economic development entered the New Normal, Xi Jinping clearly pointed out: “Revitalizing the real economy is the main task of supply-side structural reform, and supply-side structural reform must exert force and focus on revitalizing the real economy. No matter when economic development reaches, the real economy is the foundation of our country’s economic development and the root of our initiative in international economic competition. Our economy started with the real economy and must also move toward the future with the real economy.” This is a profound summary of the basic experience of New China’s economic construction, and also a profound summary of our country’s completion in a few decades of the industrialization process that took Western developed countries more than 200 years. In the process of supply-side structural reform, Xi Jinping emphasized the need to correct the three major imbalances: within the real economy’s internal structure, between the real economy and finance, and between real estate and the real economy, requiring an increase in the proportion of manufacturing in GDP. At the Fifth National Financial Work Conference in 2017, he again demanded that finance serve the real economy, stating that serving the real economy is the bounden duty of finance, the purpose of finance, and the fundamental measure to prevent financial risks. In 2021, the share of China’s manufacturing value-added in GDP rebounded from 26.29% in 2020 to 27.4%. The 14th Five-Year Plan and the Outline of Long-Range Objectives for 2035 emphasize the need to overcome the situation of the manufacturing sector’s share declining too early and too quickly, and to maintain the basic stability of the manufacturing sector’s share. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s economic thought, the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC proposed that to achieve the goal of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, it is necessary to build a modern industrial system, “persist in focusing the development of the economy on the real economy, promote new industrialization, and accelerate the building of a manufacturing powerhouse, a quality powerhouse, an aerospace powerhouse, a transportation powerhouse, a network powerhouse, and a digital China. Implement projects to rebuild the industrial foundation and tackle key major technical equipment, support the development of specialized and new enterprises that use special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products, and promote the high-end, intelligent, and green development of manufacturing.”

习近平经济思想把《资本论》关于现代经济体系运行的基本原理与中国特色社会主义建设实践相结合，发展了马克思主义的现代经济运行理论。在中国经济发展进入新常态后，习近平明确指出：“振兴实体经济是供给侧结构性改革的主要任务，供给侧结构性改革要向振兴实体经济发力、聚力。不论经济发展到什么时候，实体经济都是我国经济发展、我们在国际经济竞争中赢得主动的根基。我国经济是靠实体经济起家的，也要靠实体经济走向未来。”这是对新中国经济建设基本经验的深刻总结，也是对我国在几十年时间走完了西方发达国家200多年工业化进程的深刻总结。在供给侧结构性改革过程中，习近平强调要纠正实体经济内部结构、实体经济与金融、房地产与实体经济三大失衡现象，要求提高制造业在国内生产总值中的比重。在2017年全国第五次金融工作会议上再次要求金融要为实体经济服务，提出为实体经济服务是金融的天职，是金融的宗旨，也是防范金融风险的根本举措。2021年我国制造业增加值占GDP的比重从2020年的26.29%回升为27.4%。 “十四五”规划和2035年远景目标纲要强调，要克服制造业占比过早过快下降的局面，保持制造业比重基本稳定。在习近平经济思想指导下，党的二十大报告提出为了实现全面建设社会主义现代化国家的目标,要建设现代化产业体系，“坚持把发展经济的着力点放在实体经济上，推进新型工业化，加快建设制造强国、质量强国、航天强国、交通强国、网络强国、数字中国。实施产业基础再造工程和重大技术装备攻关工程，支持专精特新企业发展，推动制造业高端化、智能化、绿色化发展”。

Xi Jinping also, based on the basic principles of the operation of the modern economic system revealed in *Capital* and in light of the new circumstances in the domestic and international environment, proposed the construction of a “new development pattern with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other.” The history of the world economy shows that large economies all take domestic circulation as the mainstay; this is an objective law of economic development. Over the more than 70 years since the founding of New China, China’s economy has always taken domestic circulation as the mainstay. Even though in the 1990s there was a phenomenon of relatively high dependence on foreign trade, the driving force of economic growth was always dominated by domestic demand. After reform and opening up, the main body of domestic circulation absorbed external resource factors and integrated into the world market, but the passive characteristics of domestic and international circulations were relatively obvious, and the dependence on external conditions was relatively strong; therefore, the level of mutual reinforcement between domestic and international circulations was not high. The domestic circulation in the construction of the new development pattern, however, is to build a high-level, self-reliant and self-strengthening domestic circulation through innovation-driven development, while also absorbing foreign resources and factors. The focus is on enhancing endogenous driving forces and reliability, thereby raising the quality and level of domestic circulation, achieving mutual reinforcement between domestic and international circulations on a new level, and further promoting the joint construction of an open world economy.

习近平还依据《资本论》揭示的现代经济体系运行的基本原理，根据国内外环境的新形势，提出了要构建“以国内大循环为主体、国内国际双循环相互促进”的新发展格局。世界经济史表明，大经济体都是以国内循环为主体的，这是经济发展的客观规律。新中国70多年来，我国经济始终是以国内循环为主体，即便在20世纪90年代曾一度出现外贸依存度较高的现象，但经济增长的拉动始终是以内需为主导。改革开放后的国内大循环主体吸收了外部的资源要素并融入世界市场，但国内国际双循环的被动特征比较明显，对外部条件的依赖性较强，因此国内国际双循环相互促进的水平不高。而构建新发展格局中的国内大循环，是要通过创新驱动，建设高水平自立自强的国内大循环，同时也吸收国外的资源和要素，着力点是增强内生的动力和可靠性，从而提高国内大循环的质量和水平，达到在新的水平基础上的国内国际双循环相互促进，进一步推动共建开放型世界经济。

The analysis in *Capital* of the process of socialized reproduction under market economy conditions is both a pathological anatomy of the operation of the capitalist economic system and a physiological analysis of the mechanisms of other socialized reproduction under general market economy conditions. It provides a basic directional path for understanding the laws of socialist economic construction. *Capital* depicts the operation of the capitalist economic system, whose center is capital. In *Capital*, capital has a dual character. On the one hand, capital embodies a relation of production; when it combines with wage labor, it is the opposition of dead labor to living labor, and this opposition is the basis for the generation of surplus value. On the other hand, in the process of its turnover and circulation, capital constantly changes its form, continuously appearing in the forms of commodity capital, productive capital, and money capital in the process of turnover and circulation; at this time, capital is a factor of production. Historically, capital is an indispensable factor of production in a commodity economy and market economy. *Capital* profoundly depicts this dual character of capital, on the one hand revealing the internal contradictions of the capitalist mode of production, and on the other hand discovering the general laws of the operation of social reproduction under a market economy, thereby leaving us valuable theoretical insights for exploring the laws of socialist economic construction.

《资本论》关于市场经济条件下社会化再生产过程的分析，既是资本主义经济体系运行的病理学解剖，也是一般市场经济条件下其他社会化再生产机理的生理学分析，它为认识社会主义经济建设的规律性提供了基本的路径方向。《资本论》刻画的是资本主义经济体系的运行，它的中心是资本。在《资本论》中，资本具有双重性，一方面，资本体现一种生产关系，当它与雇佣劳动相结合时，它是死劳动与活劳动的对立，这种对立是剩余价值产生的基础。另一方面，资本在运行周转中，它不断变化自己的形态，不断以商品资本、生产资本和货币资本的形态出现在周转运行中，这时候资本是一种生产要素。从历史上看，资本是商品经济和市场经济必不可少的生产要素。《资本论》深刻地刻画了资本的这种双重性表现，一方面揭示了资本主义生产方式的内在矛盾，另一方面又发现了市场经济下的社会再生产运行的一般规律，从而为我们探寻社会主义经济建设规律留下了宝贵的理论认识。

The dual character of capital depicted in *Capital* provides a theoretical guide for us to understand the characteristics and behavioral laws of capital under socialist conditions. In 2022, when presiding over a collective study session of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee, Xi Jinping emphasized that capital is an important factor of production in the socialist market economy. Regulating and guiding the development of capital under the conditions of the socialist market economy is both a major economic issue and a major political issue, both a major practical issue and a major theoretical issue. It concerns upholding the basic socialist economic system, concerns the basic state policy of reform and opening up, concerns high-quality development and common prosperity, and concerns national security and social stability. It is necessary to deepen the understanding of the various types of capital in our country and their roles under the conditions of the new era, regulate and guide the healthy development of capital, and give play to its positive role as an important factor of production. As an important factor of production, capital is a tool for market allocation of resources and a means and method for developing the economy. Socialist countries can also utilize various types of capital to promote economic and social development. At the present stage, our country has various forms of capital, including state-owned capital, collective capital, private capital, foreign capital, and mixed capital, and these exhibit notable characteristics such as a significant increase in scale, greater diversification of subjects, accelerated speed of operation, and a large influx of international capital. We must focus on stimulating the vitality of various types of capital, including non-public capital, and give play to their positive role in promoting scientific and technological progress, flourishing the market economy, facilitating people’s lives, and participating in international competition, so that they always serve and be subordinate to the interests of the people and the state, contributing to the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. At the same time, how to regulate and guide the healthy development of capital under the socialist system is a major theoretical and practical issue that Marxist political economy in the New Era must study and resolve. Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to understand and grasp the various types of capital existing in our society and their roles historically, developmentally, and dialectically. It is necessary both to give play to the positive role of capital in promoting the development of social productive forces and also to recognize that capital has a profit-seeking nature; if it is not regulated and constrained, it will bring incalculable harm to economic and social development. Therefore, “traffic lights” must be set for the operation of capital. It is necessary to correctly handle the relationships between different forms of capital, distinguish them by nature, clarify their positioning, and regulate and guide the healthy development of various types of capital. In addition, it is necessary to correctly handle the issue of distribution between capital and interests. The socialist state nature of our country determines that we must adhere to the principle of distribution according to work as the mainstay and the coexistence of multiple modes of distribution, embodying the supremacy of the people in social distribution. It is necessary to focus on the inclusiveness of economic development and the fairness of primary distribution, both ensuring that capital participates in social distribution to obtain appreciation and development, and, more importantly, upholding the dominant position of distribution according to work, adhering to development for the people, development relying on the people, and development achievements shared by the people, and unswervingly taking the path of common prosperity for all the people.

《资本论》刻画的资本的双重性，为我们认识社会主义条件下资本的特性和行为规律提供了理论指南。2022年习近平在主持中央政治局集体学习时强调，资本是社会主义市场经济的重要生产要素，在社会主义市场经济条件下规范和引导资本发展，既是一个重大经济问题也是一个重大政治问题，既是一个重大实践问题也是一个重大理论问题，关系坚持社会主义基本经济制度，关系改革开放基本国策，关系高质量发展和共同富裕，关系国家安全和社会稳定。必须深化对新的时代条件下我国各类资本及其作用的认识，规范和引导资本健康发展，发挥其作为重要生产要素的积极作用。资本作为重要生产要素，是市场配置资源的工具，是发展经济的方式和手段，社会主义国家也可以利用各类资本推动经济社会发展。现阶段，我国存在国有资本、集体资本、民营资本、外国资本、混合资本等各种形态资本，并呈现出规模显著增加、主体更加多元、运行速度加快、国际资本大量进入等明显特征。我们要注重激发包括非公有资本在内的各类资本活力，发挥其促进科技进步、繁荣市场经济、便利人民生活、参与国际竞争的积极作用，使之始终服从和服务于人民和国家利益，为全面建设社会主义现代化国家、实现中华民族伟大复兴贡献力量。同时，在社会主义制度下如何规范和引导资本健康发展，这是新时代马克思主义政治经济学必须研究解决的重大理论和实践问题。习近平指出，要历史地、发展地、辩证地认识和把握我国社会存在的各类资本及其作用。既要发挥资本促进社会生产力发展的积极作用。同时，也要认识到，资本具有逐利本性，如不加以规范和约束，就会给经济社会发展带来不可估量的危害。因此对资本运行要设置“红绿灯”。要正确处理不同形态资本之间的关系，在性质上要区分，在定位上要明确，规范和引导各类资本健康发展。此外，还要正确处理资本和利益分配问题。我国社会主义的国家性质决定了我们必须坚持按劳分配为主体、多种分配方式并存，在社会分配中体现人民至上。要注重经济发展的普惠性和初次分配的公平性，既注重保障资本参与社会分配获得增殖和发展，更注重维护按劳分配的主体地位，坚持发展为了人民、发展依靠人民、发展成果由人民共享，坚定不移走全体人民共同富裕的道路。

The process of socialized large-scale production depicted in *Capital* is based on the laws of market economy operation with commodities and value as its foundation. Viewed from the perspective of the operation process at the level of productive forces, its operational mechanism is equally applicable to observing and analyzing socialized large-scale production under the conditions of the socialist market economy. The economic circulation process analyzed in *Capital* takes place under the conditions of a unified market within an economy. The capitalist mode of production first destroys some local closed small markets domestically, and then “large industry brings all the peoples of the world into connection with each other, uniting all local small markets into a world market.” [7]7 This is a paraphrase of a passage from Marx and Engels, *The Communist Manifesto*, Part I: Bourgeois and Proletarians. The original reads: “The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the entire surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connections everywhere. The bourgeoisie has, through its exploitation of the world market, given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country… In place of the old local and national seclusion and self-sufficiency, we have intercourse in every direction, universal inter-dependence of nations.” This unified large market is the basic support and important condition for socialized large-scale production. Xi Jinping creatively applied the basic principle from *Capital* that socialized large-scale production must rely on a unified large market. He pointed out: “The construction of the new development pattern takes domestic circulation as the mainstay on the basis of a unified national market; it does not mean that every locality engages in its own small circulation… It does not require every locality to engage in self-circulation within the province, city, or county… It cannot engage in ‘small and complete’ systems, and still less can it engage in regional blockades in the name of ‘internal circulation.’ Regions with conditions can take the lead in exploring effective paths conducive to promoting the construction of the national new development pattern, playing a leading and driving role.” Building a unified national market is both the basic support and inherent requirement for constructing the new development pattern, and an objective necessity for basing development on domestic demand and smoothing circulation. It requires creating and leading demand with high-quality supply, making the links of production, distribution, circulation, and consumption smoother, improving the efficiency of market operation, further consolidating and expanding the advantages of market resources, and making the construction of a super-large-scale domestic market a sustainable historical process. At the same time, it is also the main direction and a long-term process for perfecting the socialist market economy system. Therefore, the outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the 2035 Vision Goals take the construction of a unified national market as an important goal and task for perfecting the socialist market economy system. The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC also reaffirmed: “Build a unified national market, deepen market-oriented reforms of factors of production, and build a high-standard market system.”

《资本论》刻画的社会化大生产过程是以商品和价值作为基础的市场经济运行规律，就生产力层面的运行过程来看，其运行机理同样适用于观察和分析社会主义市场经济条件下的社会化大生产。《资本论》分析的经济循环过程是在一个经济体的统一市场条件下进行的。资本主义生产方式首先在国内摧毁一些地方性封闭的小市场，进而，“大工业便把世界各国人民互相联系起来，把所有地方性的小市场联合成为一个世界市场”。这种统一的大市场是社会化大生产的基本依托和重要条件。习近平创造性地运用了《资本论》关于社会化大生产必须依托统一大市场的基本原理，他指出：“构建新发展格局是以全国统一大市场基础上的国内大循环为主体，不是各地都搞自我小循环……不是要求各地都搞省内、市内、县内的自我循环……不能搞‘小而全’，更不能以‘内循环’的名义搞地区封锁。有条件的地区可以率先探索有利于促进全国构建新发展格局的有效路径，发挥引领和带动作用。”建设全国统一大市场既是构建新发展格局的基础支撑和内在要求，是立足内需，畅通循环的客观必然。要求以高质量供给创造和引领需求，使生产、分配、流通、消费各环节更加畅通，提高市场运行效率，进一步巩固和扩展市场资源优势，使建设超大规模的国内市场成为一个可持续的历史过程。同时它也是完善社会主义市场经济体制的主要方向和长期的过程。因此，“十四五”规划纲要和2035年远景目标把构建全国统一大市场作为完善社会主义市场经济体制的一个重要目标和任务。党的二十大报告也重申：“构建全国统一大市场，深化要素市场化改革，建设高标准市场体系。”

V. The Theoretical Innovation Spirit of *Capital*

五、《资本论》的理论创新精神

The three major components of Marxism originate respectively from German classical philosophy, British classical political economy, and French utopian socialism. The principles in *Capital* concerning the relationship between commodity value and labour also originate from the labour theory of value of Adam Smith and David Ricardo. However, Marx’s labour theory of value was not confined to the classical political economy’s analysis of the labour theory of value; rather, on the basis of critically absorbing their rational components, it innovatively developed the labour theory of value, thereby forming a scientific Marxist labour theory of value. Marx believed that Smith’s labour theory of value contained an internal contradiction: on the one hand, it correctly expressed the internal relations of capitalist production, which Marx called “the physiology of the bourgeois system”; on the other hand, it was merely a description of the external phenomena of capitalism. The latter became the theoretical premise of vulgar economics and various utilitarian economic theories. In the 1872 Postface to *Capital*, Marx profoundly pointed out: “In so far as Political Economy is bourgeois, i.e. in so far as it views the capitalist order as the absolute and ultimate form of social production, instead of as a historically transitional stage of development, it can only remain a science so long as the class struggle is latent or manifests itself only in isolated and sporadic phenomena.” “English classical political economy belongs to a period in which the class struggle was as yet undeveloped. Its last great representative, Ricardo … naïvely treats this antagonism as a natural law of society. In this way the bourgeois economic science has reached the limits beyond which it cannot pass.” It can be seen that the scientific character of economics is closely linked to the era and class standpoint, and is also closely linked to the methodology of thought. English classical economics, standing only on the standpoint of liberalism and individualism, provided an external description of the capitalist system, completely neglecting to reveal the internal structure of the sphere of capitalist production and its contradictions. Therefore, the theoretical innovation of *Capital* stands on the standpoint of the proletariat and the people, responding to the call of the times, establishing a logical connection from phenomena to essence. The core essence of establishing this logical connection is, as Marx said: “The theoretical conclusions of the Communists are in no way based on ideas or principles that have been invented, or discovered, by this or that would-be universal reformer.” “They merely express, in general terms, actual relations springing from an existing class struggle, from a historical movement going on under our very eyes.”

马克思主义的三大组成部分分别来源于德国古典哲学、英国古典政治经济学、法国空想社会主义。《资本论》中关于商品价值与劳动关系的原理也来源于亚当·斯密和大卫·李嘉图的劳动价值论。但是，马克思的劳动价值论并没有局限于古典政治经济学关于劳动价值论的分析，而是在批判地吸收它们合理成分的基础上创新发展了劳动价值论，从而形成了科学的马克思主义的劳动价值论。马克思认为，斯密的劳动价值论包含着内在矛盾，一方面它正确地表述了资本主义生产的内部关联，马克思称之为“资产阶级体系的生理学”；另一方面则只是对资本主义外在现象的描述。后者成为庸俗经济学和各种功利主义经济学的理论前提。马克思在《资本论》1872年跋中深刻指出：“只要政治经济学是资产阶级的政治经济学，就是说，只要它把资本主义制度不是看做历史上过渡的发展阶段，而是看做社会生产的绝对的最后的形式，那就只有在阶级斗争处于潜伏状态或只是在个别的现象上表现出来的时候，它还能够是科学。”“英国古典政治经济学是属于阶级斗争不发展的时期的，它的最后的伟大的代表李嘉图……他天真地把这种对立看做社会的自然规律。这样，资产阶级的经济科学也就达到了它的不可逾越的界限。”可见，经济学的科学性是与时代和阶级立场紧密相连的，而且与思想的方法论也是紧密相连的。英国古典经济学只是站在自由主义和个人主义立场上 对资本主义体系进行外在性描述，完全忽略了对资本主义生产领域的内部结构及其矛盾进行揭示。因此，《资本论》的理论创新是站在无产阶级和人民的立场上，响应时代的召唤，建立由现象到本质之间的逻辑联系。建立这种逻辑联系的核心要义，正如马克思所说：“共产党人的理论原理，决不是以这个或那个世界改革家所发明或发现的思想、原则为根据的。”“这些原理不过是现存的阶级斗争、我们眼前的历史运动的真实关系的一般表述。”

The essence of the spirit of theoretical innovation revealed by *Capital* is the spirit of integrating theory with practice and with one’s own history and culture. Mao Zedong integrated the basic principles of Marxism with the practice of the Chinese revolution and construction, creatively achieving a leap in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context in the specific form of Chinese culture. Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping integrated the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture, forming a new leap in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context. In Xi Jinping’s economic thought, there are not only valuable components that inherit and develop the thoughts and theories of previous leaders of the Communist Party of China; there are also the deepening and sublimation of the systematic integration of previous major theoretical viewpoints and concepts; and there are even more original theoretical viewpoints and important thoughts proposed in accordance with the new era, new goals, and new practice. To sum up, in Xi Jinping’s economic thought, those belonging to the basic economic theory of the primary stage of socialism include: the basic contradictions of socialist society and comprehensively deepening reform; the basic economic laws of socialism and the people-centered standpoint; the phased development of the principal contradiction of socialism; the basic economic system of socialism and the theory of capital; the new stage of development and the theory of Chinese-path modernization; the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and the national governance system; and the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over economic work. Those belonging to the theory of socialist economic development and economic regulation since the 18th National Congress of the CPC include: the new normal of economic development and the new development philosophy; high-quality development and supply-side structural reform; the real economy as the main focus of economic development; national strategies and the economic development law of the “Four Synchronizations”; [8]8 The “Four Synchronizations” (四化同步) refers to the coordinated development of industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization, a strategic concept in Chinese economic policy. scientific and technological innovation, strengthening and expanding the digital economy and new quality productive forces; the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability and the regulation of economic operations; establishing a holistic view of national security; and coordinating development and security. Those belonging to the theory of China’s promotion of building an open world economy since the 18th National Congress of the CPC include: the essence, characteristics, and future new direction of economic globalization; the scientific judgment of “changes unseen in a century in the world”; the objective laws of the new stage of China’s open economy development; the answer to China’s question and the world’s question in the “dual circulation” concept; and the contemporary values of an open world economy and a community with a shared future for mankind. Xi Jinping’s economic thought runs through the Marxist worldview and methodology, which is embodied in: adhering to materialism, proceeding from objective reality in everything; adhering to the dialectics of systematic planning and overall coordination; adhering to the historical materialism that the people create history and the laws of social development; recognizing and grasping the laws of the movement of contradictions in things; adhering to the “one divides into two” approach, recognizing the “dual nature” of things; following the laws of the interrelationship between the development of human society and the movement of the natural world; and adhering to the integration of the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture.

《资本论》所揭示的理论创新精神实质就是理论联系实际、联系本国自身的历史文化的精神。毛泽东把马克思主义的基本原理与中国革命和建设的实践相结合，以中国文化的具体形式创造性地实现了马克思主义中国化的飞跃，邓小平、江泽民、胡锦涛、习近平把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合，形成了马克思主义中国化的新飞跃。在习近平经济思想中，既有继承和发扬中国共产党前任领导人思想和理论的宝贵成分；也有将以往的重大理论观点和理念进行系统集成的深化和升华；更有依据新时代新目标新实践所提出的原创性理论观点和重要思想。归纳起来，在习近平经济思想中，属于社会主义初级阶段基本经济理论的有：社会主义社会基本矛盾和全面深化改革，社会主义基本经济规律和以人民为中心的立场，社会主义主要矛盾发展的阶段性，社会主义基本经济制度与资本理论，新发展阶段与中国式现代化理论，中国特色社会主义制度与国家治理体系，党对经济工作的集中统一领导。属于党的十八大以来社会主义经济发展和经济调控理论的有：经济发展新常态与新发展理念，高质量发展和供给侧结构性改革，实体经济是经济发展的主要着力点，国家战略和“四化同步”的经济发展规律，科技创新、做大做强数字经济和新质生产力，稳中求进总基调和经济运行调控，树立总体国家安全观，统筹发展与安全。属于党的十八大以来我国推动共建开放型世界经济理论的有：经济全球化的本质、特征和未来新方向，“世界百年未有之大变局”的科学判断，中国开放型经济发展新阶段的客观规律，“双循环”理念的中国之问、世界之问的答案，开放型世界经济和人类命运共同体的时代价值观。习近平经济思想贯穿了马克思主义的世界观方法论，它体现在：坚持唯物主义，一切从客观实际出发；坚持系统谋划、统筹协调的辩证法；坚持人民创造历史和社会发展规律的历史唯物主义；认识和把握事物矛盾运动的规律；坚持一分为二，认识事物的“两重性”；遵循人类社会发展与自然界运动相互关系的规律；坚持马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合。

Conclusion

结语

*Capital* is profound and extensive; studying it often yields new insights. Although 157 years have passed since its publication and human society has undergone earth-shaking changes, the general principles expounded in *Capital* remain, on the whole, entirely correct. But we must adopt a scientific attitude towards scientific theory. Engels said: “Marx’s whole way of thinking is not a doctrine, but a method. It offers no ready-made dogmas, but points to the starting point for further research and the method for that research.” He also said that our theory “is a historical product, which at different times takes on completely different forms and, at the same time, completely different content.” Xi Jinping’s economic thought is a contemporary Marxist theory founded in accordance with Engels’s teachings.

《资本论》博大精深，常学常新，尽管从它发表到今天已经过去了157年，人类社会发生了翻天覆地的变化，但《资本论》所阐述的一般原理整体来说仍然是完全正确的。但我们对待科学的理论必须有科学的态度。恩格斯说：“马克思的整个世界观不是教义，而是方法。它提供的不是现成的教条，而是进一步研究的出发点和供这种研究使用的方法。”他还说，我们的理论“是一种历史的产物，它在不同的时代具有完全不同的形式，同时具有完全不同的内容。”习近平经济思想就是按照恩格斯的教导所创立的当代马克思主义理论。

Source: *Studies on Marxism*, Issue 7, 2024

文章来源：《马克思主义研究》2024年第7期

Online Editor: Jing Mu

网络编辑：静穆