The Cultural Foundations and Practical Requirements of a People-Centered Approach

Adhering to a people-centered development philosophy is the fundamental stance of China’s economic development and an important component of Xi Jinping’s economic thought. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has insisted on integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese culture, creatively proposing a people-centered development philosophy. This scientifically answers the fundamental questions of whom development is for, whom it relies on, and who shares in its fruits. Grasping the cultural foundations and practical requirements of a people-centered approach from the perspective of the Second Integration helps us deeply understand the profound wisdom of traditional Chinese culture and better promote people’s livelihood security and high-quality economic development in practice.

坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，是我国经济发展的根本立场，是习近平经济思想的重要内容。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央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，创造性提出以人民为中心的发展思想，科学回答了发展为了谁、发展依靠谁、发展成果由谁共享的根本问题。从“第二个结合”的视角把握以人民为中心的文化底蕴和实践要求，有利于我们深入理解中华优秀传统文化的深厚智慧，在实践中更好推动民生保障和经济高质量发展。

The Marxist view of the people and traditional Chinese people-oriented thought have different origins, but they exhibit a high degree of compatibility and are internally interlinked. Marxism is the theory of the people, and the people-centered nature is the essential attribute of Marxism. Marx and Engels attached great importance to the subject status and historical role of the people, profoundly revealing that “history is the activity of the masses” and clearly stating that “the proletarian movement is the independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority.” They envisioned a future society where “production will be aimed at the enrichment of all people” and “all people will enjoy the benefits created by everyone,” ultimately achieving the free and comprehensive development of the individual. Traditional Chinese people-oriented thought has a long history and is broad and profound. Whether it is the governing concept that “the people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is stable, the state is at peace,” the political proposition that “the people are the most important, the state is secondary, and the ruler is the least,” the timeless warning that “water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it,” the statecraft principle of “enriching the people as the starting point,” or the familial-national sentiment of “being the first to worry about the world’s troubles and the last to enjoy its pleasures,” along with policy measures such as rectifying officialdom, building water conservancy, and reducing corvée labor and taxes—all these highlight the wisdom of ancient thinkers centered on respecting, stabilizing, and enriching the people. These ideas undergo a “chemical reaction” with Marxism at multiple levels, including views on history, practice, development, and methodology, giving rise to a new, organically unified cultural form.

马克思主义人民观与中国传统民本思想来源不同，但二者存在高度的契合性，彼此是内在融通的。马克思主义是人民的理论，人民性是马克思主义的本质属性。马克思、恩格斯高度重视人民的主体地位和历史作用，深刻揭示了“历史活动是群众的活动”，鲜明指出“无产阶级的运动是绝大多数人的、为绝大多数人谋利益的独立的运动”，并设想在未来社会中“生产将以所有的人富裕为目的”“所有人共同享受大家创造出来的福利”，最终实现人的自由而全面的发展。中国传统民本思想源远流长、博大精深。无论是“民惟邦本，本固邦宁”的施政理念，“民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻”的政治主张，“水能载舟，亦能覆舟”的千古警训，还是“富民为始”的治国之道，抑或是“先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐”的家国情怀，整顿吏治、兴修水利、轻徭薄赋的政策举措等，都彰显出古代先哲以敬民、安民、富民等为要旨的思想智慧。这些思想与马克思主义在历史观、实践观、发展观和方法论等多个层面产生“化学反应”，造就了一个有机统一的新的文化形态。

Entering the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping, responding to the historical trend and the expectations of the people, both insists on observing, grasping, and leading the era with the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and method, and requires promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional Chinese culture, proposing the adherence to a people-centered development philosophy. This important thought both inherits and innovates the Marxist people’s stance, enriching and developing the historical materialist view of the masses with new connotations, and, through dialectical sublation, absorbs the rational core of traditional Chinese people-oriented thought, making a contemporary transformation and innovative expression in the new era context. Specifically, in terms of connotation, it emphasizes “development for the people, development relying on the people, and development achievements shared by the people,” clearly embodying the organic unity of development purpose, development impetus, and development value. In terms of status, it emphasizes that “the country is the people, and the people are the country” and “the era is the examiner, we are the examinees, and the people are the graders,” establishing the people’s status as the subject of the historical process, the subject of national governance, the subject of value and interest, the subject of development impetus, and the subject of supervision and evaluation. In terms of orientation, it emphasizes that “the people’s aspiration for a better life is our goal,” and the Communist Party of China always stands with the people, thinks with them, and works with them, achieving a “two-way journey” of Party spirit and popular sentiment. In terms of approach, it emphasizes that “eliminating poverty, improving people’s livelihood, and achieving common prosperity are the essential requirements of socialism,” requiring deepening reform and promoting development from the perspective of the people’s overall, fundamental, and long-term interests. In terms of sentiment, it emphasizes “I will have no self, and I will not fail the people,” using just eight words to succinctly articulate the ideals, beliefs, and spiritual realm of Chinese Communists. It can be said that the cultural foundation of “adhering to a people-centered approach” is both a historical legacy and a contemporary treasure, containing the spiritual strength and practical requirements for promoting development.

进入新时代，习近平总书记顺应历史潮流和人民期盼，既坚持用马克思主义的立场、观点、方法观察时代、把握时代、引领时代，又要求推动中华优秀传统文化创造性转化和创新性发展，提出坚持以人民为中心的发展思想。这一重要思想既继承与创新了马克思主义人民立场，以新的内涵丰富和发展了历史唯物主义群众史观，又在辩证扬弃中汲取中国传统民本思想的合理内核，在新的时代语境下作出当代转化与创新表达。具体而言，在内涵上，强调“发展为了人民、发展依靠人民、发展成果由人民共享”，鲜明体现了发展目的、发展动力、发展价值的有机统一。在地位上，强调“江山就是人民、人民就是江山”“时代是出卷人，我们是答卷人，人民是阅卷人”，确立了人民历史进程主体、国家治理主体、价值利益主体、发展动力主体、监督评价主体的地位。在取向上，强调“人民对美好生活的向往就是我们的奋斗目标”，中国共产党始终同人民站在一起、想在一起、干在一起，实现党心和民心的“双向奔赴”。在途径上，强调“消除贫困、改善民生、实现共同富裕，是社会主义的本质要求”，要求从人民的整体利益、根本利益、长远利益出发深化改革促发展。在情怀上，强调“我将无我，不负人民”，用短短8个字言简意赅地道出了中国共产党人的理想信念和精神境界。可以说，“坚持以人民为中心”的文化底蕴既是历史的遗产，也是当代的富矿，背后蕴含着推动发展的精神力量和实践要求。

This requires development to firmly grasp the value fulcrum and coordinate economic development with people’s livelihood security. The traditional governance wisdom that “governing has constant principles, but benefiting the people is fundamental” shows that development and people’s livelihood are closely linked. It is necessary to grasp the organic connection between the construction of a modern economic system and the development of people’s livelihood, effectively transforming economic development achievements into improvements in people’s welfare. Through sound public services, fair social security, and sustained income growth, the foundation of social stability should be consolidated, thereby creating new economic growth points in the process of ensuring and improving people’s livelihood, achieving a synchronized and dynamic unity of economic development and livelihood improvement.

这要求发展要牢牢把握价值支点，统筹好经济发展和民生保障。传统“治国有常，而利民为本”的治理智慧表明，发展与民生是紧密相连的。要把握现代化经济体系建设与民生发展之间的有机联系，将经济发展成果切实转化为民生福祉的提升。通过健全的公共服务、公平的社会保障和持续的收入增长，筑牢社会稳定的根基，进而在保障和改善民生中打造新的经济增长点，实现经济发展和民生改善同频共振、动态统一。

This requires focusing on the starting point and end point of development, closely combining investment in things with investment in people. The ancient maxim that “achievements are accomplished by talent, and careers are expanded by talent” tells us that human development is the core element of thriving endeavors. Therefore, Chinese-path modernization must transcend mere investment in material capital and insist on combining investment in things with investment in people. By building a multi-level, full-cycle support system, more fiscal funds and public resources should be directed toward people’s livelihood areas, strengthening both investment in “things” related to people’s livelihood and investment in “people” that promotes comprehensive human development. This will enable the “modernization of things” to more effectively support the “modernization of people,” and the “modernization of people” to more fully empower the “modernization of things,” achieving “comprehensive enrichment of things” and “comprehensive development of people.”

这要求聚焦发展的出发点和落脚点，把投资于物和投资于人紧密结合起来。“功以才成，业由才广”的古训告诉我们，人的发展是事业兴旺的核心要素。因此，中国式现代化实践必须超越单纯对物质资本的投入，坚持投资于物和投资于人相结合。通过构建多层次、全周期的支持系统，将更多财政资金和公共资源投向民生领域，既强化与民生相关的“物”的投资，又重视推动人的全面发展的“人”的投资，推动“物的现代化”更有效地支撑“人的现代化”、“人的现代化”更充分地赋能“物的现代化”，实现“物的全面丰富”和“人的全面发展”。

This requires anchoring the main direction and solidly promoting common prosperity to achieve more obvious substantive progress. The social ideal of “when the great way prevails, the world is for all” and the historical mirror of “not worrying about scarcity but about inequality” profoundly reveal the significance of promoting common prosperity. In the practice of the New Era, promoting common prosperity for all people must be placed in a more important position, properly handling the relationships between making the “cake” bigger and dividing it well, efficiency and fairness, material prosperity and cultural-ethical progress, doing one’s best and acting within one’s capacity, and so on. At the same time, adhering to a problem-oriented and goal-oriented approach, it is necessary to address pain points in areas such as education, employment, healthcare, elderly care, and childcare, solve the urgent and difficult problems of the people, continuously ensure and improve people’s livelihood, and promote social fairness and justice.

这要求锚定主攻方向，扎实推进共同富裕取得更为明显的实质性进展。“大道之行，天下为公”的社会理想和“不患寡而患不均”的历史镜鉴，深刻揭示了促进共同富裕的重要意义。在新时代实践中，必须把促进全体人民共同富裕摆在更加重要的位置，处理好做大“蛋糕”与分好“蛋糕”、效率与公平、物质富裕与精神富裕、尽力而为与量力而行等方面的关系。同时，坚持问题导向、目标导向，抓住教育、就业、医疗、养老、育儿等领域的痛点，解决好人民群众急难愁盼问题，不断保障和改善民生，促进社会公平正义。

(The author is a researcher at the Zhejiang Provincial Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era)

（作者系浙江省习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心研究员）