Adhering to the Marxist Stance in the Study of Ideological Issues

Ideological issues are of vital importance to the survival and development of a political party, a country, and a nation. Ideological issues occupy an important position throughout the entire history of the development of Marxism.

意识形态问题对一个政党、一个国家、一个民族的生存发展至关重要。意识形态问题在整个马克思主义发展史中具有重要地位。

A history of the development of Marxism is a history of the development of ideological theory. Rich ideological thought is contained in many classic works such as *The German Ideology*, *The Communist Manifesto*, *Capital*, *Anti-Dühring*, *Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy*, and *Materialism and Empirio-Criticism*; this is also the case among the theorists of the Second International, Franz Mehring, Paul Lafargue, and Plekhanov, and among the Western Marxists Lukács, Gramsci, the Frankfurt School, and Althusser; in the theoretical achievements of Marxism, the importance of ideological issues is likewise self-evident. Why, then, do ideological issues occupy such an important position throughout the entire history of the development of Marxism? From the perspective of their historical genesis, without Marx’s critique of German ideology and ideology in general, there would have been no emergence of historical materialism. It is precisely on this basis that Marx thoroughly drew a line of demarcation from the idealist conception of history, which regards consciousness as the source of social reality, and raised the curtain on the exposition of the basic principles of historical materialism. From the perspective of content and structure, the theory of ideology constitutes a basic and indispensable component of Marxism. From the perspective of research approach, a thorough and systematic exploration of ideological issues is an important aspect of deepening the study of Marxist theory. Whether it is exploring the dialectical relationship between ideology and the economic base, or exploring the history and structure of ideology and the relationships among its various forms, or exploring the function of socialist ideology, these are all issues that the study of Marxist theory cannot avoid.

一部马克思主义的发展史就是一部意识形态理论的发展史。在《德意志意识形态》《共产党宣言》《资本论》《反杜林论》《路德维希·费尔巴哈和德国古典哲学的终结》《唯物主义和经验主义批判》等许多经典著作中都蕴含着丰富的意识形态思想；在第二国际理论家弗兰茨·梅林、保尔·拉法格、普列汉诺夫那里，在西方马克思主义者卢卡奇、葛兰西、法兰克福学派以及阿尔都塞那里也是如此；在马克思主义理论成果中，意识形态问题的重要性同样是不言而喻的。那么，为什么意识形态问题在整个马克思主义发展史中具有重要的地位呢？从生成历史上看，没有马克思对德意志意识形态和一般意识形态的批判，也就没有历史唯物主义的产生。正是以此为基础，马克思彻底划清了与把意识当作社会现实之源的唯心史观的界限，拉开了阐述历史唯物主义基本原理的序幕。从内容结构上看，意识形态学说是构成马克思主义的一个基本的、不可或缺的组成部分。从研究路径来看，深入系统地探讨意识形态问题，是深化马克思主义理论研究的一个重要方面。无论是探讨意识形态与经济基础之间的辩证问题，还是探讨意识形态的历史、结构以及意识形态诸种形式之间的关系问题，或是探讨社会主义意识形态的功能问题等，都是马克思主义理论研究无法回避的问题。

Adhering to the Marxist stance can provide a scientific perspective for analyzing ideological issues. For a long time, within theoretical circles, people have regarded “critique” as the key to understanding the Marxist theory of ideology, and have held that the core of the Marxist theory of ideology is ideological critique. This view has some validity. Because, within Marx’s theoretical horizon, ideology was from beginning to end regarded by Marx as a product of ideas and “false consciousness” distorted by the bourgeoisie, as something inherent in the material structure of capitalist society itself. Analyzed from the thread of history, Marx’s adoption of a “critical” attitude toward ideology was not accidental, but was the result of a materialist transformation of the critical philosophy inaugurated by Kant and a positive response to the proletarian revolutionary struggles of his era. However, we must recognize that “critique” is not the sole tendency of Marx’s theory of ideology; it is merely that, due to the needs of the practical struggle of the proletariat, this perspective on understanding ideological issues was excessively addressed in Marx’s classic texts. In fact, taking ideology as the object of critique and defining it as “false consciousness” or “inverted ideology” is only the logical starting point for the construction of the Marxist theory of ideology. There is another, more important aspect: ideology also possesses “functional” value. Marx’s overall critique of bourgeois ideology, through the general exposition of ideology by historical materialism—that is, “the ideological superstructure”—aimed at constructing a new “system of thought belonging to the proletariat.” This is the true essence of the Marxist theory of ideology. Thus, from “false ideas and concepts” to “the system of thought of the proletariat,” from the “critical” nature of ideology to the “functional” nature of ideology, together they constitute the totality of the Marxist theory of ideology. This is the “ideological legacy” Marx left us, providing Marxists with a scientific perspective for studying ideological issues.

坚持马克思主义立场可以为分析意识形态问题提供科学的视角。长期以来，在理论界，人们一直把“批判性”看作理解马克思主义意识形态学说的关键，并认为马克思主义意识形态学说的核心就是意识形态批判，这种观点有一定的道理。因为，在马克思的理论视域中，意识形态自始至终都被马克思看作一种被资产阶级扭曲了的思想观念和“虚假意识”的产物，看作资本主义社会本身的物质结构所固有的东西。从历史的线索来分析，马克思对意识形态采取“批判性”态度并不是偶然的，而是对康德所开创的批判哲学进行唯物主义改造和对其所处时代无产阶级革命斗争积极回应的结果。但是，我们一定要认识到，“批判性”并不是马克思意识形态学说的唯一倾向，只是由于无产阶级革命实践的需要，这一理解意识形态问题的视角在马克思的经典文本中被过多涉及罢了。实际上，把意识形态作为批判的对象，定义为“虚假的意识”或“颠倒的意识形态”，这只是马克思主义意识形态理论建构的逻辑起点，还有更为重要的一个方面，那就是意识形态还具有“功能性”价值。马克思对资产阶级意识形态的整体性批判，经由历史唯物主义对意识形态的一般性阐述，即“观念的上层建筑”，目的在于构建一种新的属于“无产阶级的思想体系”，这才是马克思主义意识形态学说的真谛之所在。由此，从“虚假的思想观念”到“无产阶级的思想体系”，从意识形态的“批判性”到意识形态的“功能性”，共同构成了马克思主义意识形态学说的总体。这是马克思留给我们的“意识形态遗产”，为马克思主义者研究意识形态问题提供了科学的视角。

Adhering to the Marxist stance in the study of ideological issues also has an even more important practical reason: Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology for the establishment of our Party and the founding of our country. During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, in order to advance the New Democratic Revolution toward victory, continuously strengthening the propaganda and guidance of Marxist theory and deeply criticizing various reactionary ideas and erroneous concepts became important content of the Party’s ideological work. After the founding of New China, Comrade Mao Zedong clearly pointed out that our country’s ideology is “a socialist ideology guided by Marxism-Leninism,” but that class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie in the ideological sphere would continue to exist, and we must still actively carry out ideological struggle in the ideological sphere. This is both a result of Comrade Mao Zedong’s inheritance of the ideological theories of Marx and Lenin and a result of creative development based on China’s concrete reality. Since reform and opening up, the Party has attached great importance to the guiding position of Marxism in our country’s ideological sphere. Through the great discussion on the criterion of truth [1]1 The great discussion on the criterion of truth: A nationwide debate in 1978 over whether “practice is the sole criterion for testing truth,” which helped break the ideological shackles of the Cultural Revolution and paved the way for reform and opening up. and the establishment of the Four Cardinal Principles [2]2 The Four Cardinal Principles: The four fundamental principles for socialist construction in China, articulated by Deng Xiaoping in 1979: upholding the socialist path, the people’s democratic dictatorship, the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought., the ideological confusion in our country’s ideological sphere was fundamentally clarified. Entering the 21st century, the Communist Party of China, integrating historical experience and lessons from the construction of socialist ideology, gradually formed a scientific and mature ideological theory guided by Marxism, opening up a new realm for the development of Marxist theory in contemporary China. We not only correctly handled the relationship between ideological construction and the development of the socialist market economy under the conditions of reform and opening up, but also integrated ideological construction with the construction of political civilization, gradually establishing an ideological work mechanism characterized by “scientific development,” “people-orientation,” and “social harmony.”

坚持意识形态问题研究的马克思主义立场，还有一个更为重要的现实原因，就是马克思主义是我们立党立国的根本指导思想。新民主主义革命时期，为了推进新民主主义革命走向胜利，不断加强马克思主义理论的宣传和引导，深入批判各种反动思想和错误观念成为党的意识形态工作的重要内容。新中国成立后，毛泽东同志明确指出，我国的意识形态是“以马克思列宁主义为指导的社会主义意识形态”，但是在意识形态领域无产阶级和资产阶级之间的阶级斗争还将继续存在，我们必须仍然在意识形态领域积极开展思想斗争。这既是毛泽东同志对马克思和列宁意识形态学说继承的结果，又是根据中国具体实际创造性发展的结果。改革开放以来，党高度重视马克思主义在我国意识形态领域的指导地位。通过关于真理标准问题的大讨论和四项基本原则的确立，从根本上澄清了我国意识形态领域的思想混乱。进入21世纪以来，中国共产党结合社会主义意识形态建设中的历史经验教训，逐渐形成了一种以马克思主义为指导的科学的成熟的意识形态理论，开拓了马克思主义理论在当代中国发展的新境界。我们不仅正确地处理了改革开放条件下意识形态建设与发展社会主义市场经济的关系问题，而且把意识形态建设与政治文明建设结合起来，使以“科学发展”“以人为本”“社会和谐”为特征的意识形态工作机制逐渐被确立起来。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has established and upheld the fundamental system of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological sphere, improved the responsibility system for ideological work, and insisted on guiding cultural development with core socialist values. This has brought about comprehensive and fundamental changes in the situation in our country’s ideological sphere, providing a strong ideological guarantee and powerful spiritual force for creating a new situation in the cause of the Party and the state in the New Era. On the one hand, it has clearly criticized erroneous views such as “historical nihilism,” clarified principled positions on a series of fundamental issues, cleared up theoretical right and wrong, and continuously developed the positive and improving trend in the ideological sphere; on the other hand, it has elevated the importance the Chinese Communists attach to ideological work to a new height, demonstrating the powerful vitality of Marxism. All of this fully reflects the extreme importance and practical urgency of adhering to the Marxist stance in studying ideological issues.

党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央确立和坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位的根本制度，健全意识形态工作责任制，坚持以社会主义核心价值观引领文化建设，使我国意识形态领域形势发生了全局性、根本性转变，为新时代开创党和国家事业新局面提供了坚强的思想保证和强大的精神力量。一方面，旗帜鲜明地批判了“历史虚无主义”等错误观点，就一系列根本性问题阐明了原则立场，廓清了理论是非，使意识形态领域向上向好的态势不断发展；另一方面，把中国共产党人对意识形态工作的重视提升到一个新的高度，使马克思主义展示出强大的生命力。这些都充分体现了坚持马克思主义立场研究意识形态问题的极端重要性和现实紧迫性。

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗