Rectifying the “One-Size-Fits-All” Chronic Malady with a Correct Outlook on Political Performance

General Secretary Xi Jinping has criticized some localities and

习近平总书记曾批评一些地方和部门贯彻落实党中央决策部署不到位，指出有的“简单化、‘一刀切’，照抄照搬、上下一般粗”。当前是“十五五”开局起步的关键时期，有力有效贯彻落实党中央决策部署至关重要。然而，少数地方和部门在具体工作中，看似贯彻落实雷厉风行、态度坚决，实则脱离客观实际、违背发展规律、漠视群众诉求，存在“一刀切”问题。这与树立和践行正确政绩观的要求背道而驰，必须旗帜鲜明亮剑纠治。

“One-size-fits-all” is a chronic malady in grassroots governance that is difficult to cure and recurs after correction; it is a typical manifestation of formalism and bureaucracy. For example, some regions, disregarding actual conditions, blindly launch related industrial parks, only to end up with few enterprises moving in and large tracts of land lying idle for long periods; some regions engage in a “carbon charge” [1]1 “Carbon charge” (碳冲锋) refers to a rushed, campaign-style approach to achieving carbon peak targets, often involving abrupt and disruptive measures. or campaign-style “carbon reduction,” simply and crudely shutting down lawful energy consumption and production enterprises; and so on. These various forms of “one-size-fits-all” problems cause pro-people policies to become distorted and lose their flavor, and measures beneficial to the people to be implemented at a discount. This not only dampens the enthusiasm of grassroots Party members and cadres for starting undertakings and working hard, hinders the innovative vitality of grassroots governance, but also damages the credibility of the Party and government, erodes the people’s sense of gain, and lays hidden dangers that constrain high-quality development. The manifestations of the “one-size-fits-all” problem differ, but the root cause is the same; its crux lies in emphasizing uniform standards while neglecting individual differences, emphasizing rigid implementation while neglecting adaptation to local conditions, emphasizing task accountability while neglecting the actual effectiveness of governance, and being accustomed to using one template to manage the entire region and one method to ensure implementation.

“一刀切”是基层治理久治不愈、纠而复生的顽疾，是形式主义、官僚主义的典型表现。比如，有的地区不顾实际，盲目上马有关产业园，最终入驻企业寥寥无几，大片土地长期闲置；有的地区搞“碳冲锋”、运动式“减碳”，简单粗暴关停合法能源消费和生产企业；等等。这些形形色色的“一刀切”问题，让惠民政策走形变味、利民举措落地打折，不仅消磨基层党员干部干事创业热情、阻碍基层治理创新活力，更损害党和政府公信力、侵蚀群众获得感，埋下制约高质量发展的深层隐患。“一刀切”问题表现各异而病灶同源，其症结在于重统一标准、轻个体差异，重刚性落实、轻因地制宜，重任务交账、轻治理实效，习惯于用一套模板管全域、一种方式抓落实。

The repeated failure to stop “one-size-fits-all” appears to be a problem of working methods and capability, but in essence, it is a loosening and deviation in the ideological “master switch” of the outlook on political performance. First, the original aspiration of serving the people has faded. A small number of Party members and cadres separate and oppose “being responsible to superiors” and “being responsible to subordinates,” placing personal advancement, gain and loss, and career promotion first, while putting the people’s welfare and long-term well-being behind. Second, there is a lack of capability for scientific policy implementation. Facing the new tasks of striving for the “15th Five-Year Plan” [2]2 The “15th Five-Year Plan” (十五五) refers to China’s national economic and social development plan for the period 2026-2030., some Party members and cadres do not understand the new situation, cannot use new methods, and are unfamiliar with new approaches; they can only mechanically copy and apply directives from higher levels, ultimately using “one-size-fits-all” to cope and get by. Finally, there are still shortcomings in the assessment and supervision system. Duplicative, multi-headed, and layer-upon-layer inspection, supervision, and assessment from higher levels exhaust grassroots Party members and cadres. Because “one-size-fits-all” is quick to show results, easy to account for, and safe from blame, it has become a choice for some Party members and cadres, breeding a bad atmosphere of lazy governance, slack administration, and mechanical implementation.

“一刀切”屡禁不止，看似是工作方法问题、能力本领问题，本质是政绩观这个思想“总开关”出现了松动偏差。首先是为民造福的初心淡化。少数党员干部将“对上负责”与“对下负责”割裂对立，把个人进退得失、仕途升迁放在首位，把群众冷暖安危、长远福祉抛在脑后。其次是科学施策的本领欠缺。面对奋进“十五五”的新任务，一些党员干部不懂新形势、不会新办法、不熟新路子，只能机械照抄照搬上级部署，最终用“一刀切”应付交差。最后是考核监督体系仍有短板。上级多头重复、层层加码的督查检查考核，让基层党员干部疲于奔命，“一刀切”因其见效快、交差易、免责稳，成了一些党员干部的选择，滋生了懒政怠政、机械落实的不良风气。

General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: “A correct outlook on political performance requires us to proceed from reality and act according to objective laws, and through scientific decision-making and hard work, create achievements that stand the test of practice and history, truly benefit the people, and are recognized by the masses.” From developing a “semi-suburban” economy [3]3 “Semi-suburban” economy (半城郊型经济) refers to an economic development model that combines the characteristics of both urban and rural economies, leveraging proximity to a city. according to local conditions in Zhengding, Hebei, to deeply cultivating and persistently working with the spirit of “a weak bird flying first” and “dripping water wears through stone” in Ningde, Fujian, to scientifically planning and implementing the “Thousand Village Demonstration and Ten Thousand Village Renovation Project” [4]4 The “Thousand Village Demonstration and Ten Thousand Village Renovation Project” (千万工程) was a major rural environmental improvement and development initiative launched in Zhejiang Province in 2003. in Zhejiang, Comrade Xi Jinping, in his local governance practice, consistently adhered to a correct outlook on political performance, did not engage in “one-size-fits-all,” marching in lockstep, or homogenization, providing profound insights and important practical guidance for the vast number of Party members and cadres in the New Era to accurately implement policies and pragmatically promote development.

习近平总书记深刻指出：“正确政绩观要求我们坚持从实际出发、按规律办事，通过科学决策和实干苦干，创造经得起实践和历史检验、真正造福人民、得到群众公认的业绩。”从在河北正定因地制宜发展“半城郊型”经济，到在福建宁德秉持弱鸟先飞、滴水穿石精神深耕实干、久久为功，再到在浙江科学谋划实施“千万工程”，习近平同志在地方从政实践中，始终坚持正确政绩观，不搞“一刀切”、齐步走、同质化，为新时代广大党员干部精准落地政策、务实推动发展提供了深刻启示和重要的实践遵循。

To rectify the deep-seated malady of “one-size-fits-all,” we must deeply study and thoroughly understand General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on establishing and practicing a correct outlook on political performance, adhere to rectifying the source and targeting the treatment, and comprehensively correct deviations and improve quality and efficiency in all dimensions—ideology, methods, capability, and mechanisms. At the ideological level, cultivate a political character of seeking truth from facts and persistent effort, discard erroneous ideas of seeking quick success, being impetuous and rash, and lazy governance, solidify the value foundation of a correct outlook on political performance, and prioritize actual conditions over documents and actual results over progress. At the methodological level, do a good job of investigation and research, “asking the woodcutter when entering the mountains and asking the fisherman when entering the waters” [5]5 “Asking the woodcutter when entering the mountains and asking the fisherman when entering the waters” (入山问樵、入水问渔) is a Chinese idiom meaning to seek advice from those with local knowledge and experience., regularly go down to the front lines of industry, grassroots, and people’s livelihoods, identify blockages and difficulties, clarify priorities, promote the interconnection between top-level design and grassroots exploration, make macro policies fit grassroots realities, make higher-level directives match local endowments, and make governance measures conform to the people’s expectations. At the capability level, continuously improve political capability, investigation and research capability, scientific decision-making capability, reform and tackling-hard-problems capability, emergency response capability, mass work capability, and implementation capability, solve the dilemma of being unable to innovate and afraid to break through, and enhance the ability to creatively implement the decisions and deployments of higher levels. At the institutional level, improve the political performance assessment and evaluation system, make good use of the assessment “baton,” support and protect Party members and cadres who dare to innovate and are pragmatic and responsible, and ensure that the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee take root, blossom, and bear fruit.

纠治“一刀切”沉疴积弊，必须深学细悟习近平总书记关于树立和践行正确政绩观的重要论述，坚持正本清源、靶向施治，从思想、方法、能力、机制方面，全方位纠偏正向、全维度提质增效。在思想层面，涵养求真务实、久久为功的从政品格，摒弃急功近利、浮躁冒进、懒政怠政的错误思想，筑牢正确政绩观的价值根基，不唯文件、只唯实情，不唯进度、只唯实效。在方法层面，抓好“入山问樵、入水问渔”的调查研究，常态化下沉产业一线、基层一线、民生一线，摸清堵点难点、厘清轻重缓急，推动顶层设计与基层探索相互贯通，让宏观政策贴合基层实际、让上级部署适配地方禀赋、让治理举措顺应群众期盼。在能力层面，不断提高政治能力、调查研究能力、科学决策能力、改革攻坚能力、应急处突能力、群众工作能力、抓落实能力，破解不会创新、不敢突破的履职困境，提升创造性落实上级决策部署的能力水平。在机制层面，完善政绩考核评价体系，用好考核指挥棒，为敢于创新、务实担当的党员干部撑腰鼓劲、保驾护航，推动党中央决策部署落地生根、开花结果。