A Profound Understanding of the Principled Contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, as the Marxism of contemporary China and the Marxism of the 21st century, is the latest theoretical achievement in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. It centrally embodies the essence of the era of the Chinese spirit, enriches and develops the fundamental principles of Marxism in many fields and aspects, and makes important principled contributions to Marxism.

习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想作为当代中国马克思主义、21 世纪马克思主义，是马克思主义中国化时代化的最新理论成果，集中体现了中国精神的时代精华，在诸多领域和各方面丰富和发展了马克思主义基本原理，对马克思主义作出了重要的原理性贡献。

I. How to Understand the Fundamental Principles of Marxism

一、如何理解马克思主义基本原理

To clarify the principled contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, one must first comprehensively grasp and profoundly understand the fundamental principles of Marxism. The so-called fundamental principles refer to the basic laws of universal significance in the natural and social sciences. These principles are derived through analysis and induction on the basis of extensive practice; they can both guide practice and have their correctness tested and confirmed by practice. Fundamental principles possess universality, stability, and essentiality. Starting from fundamental principles, other relatively specific laws can be deduced. Marxism is broad and profound, involving an extremely wide range of fields and content, and the fundamental principles it contains are also systematic and integrated. On the one hand, the three major components of Marxism—Marxist philosophy, Marxist political economy, and scientific socialism—are all permeated with the fundamental principles of Marxism. For example, Marxist materialism, the view of nature, dialectics, the view of practice, epistemology, the view of society, the view of history, and the view of values; Marxist labor theory of value and the theory of surplus value; the Marxist theory on the nature and mission of the proletariat, the theory on the nature and mission of the Communist Party, the classic thesis of the "two inevitables" [1]1 Karl Marx, *Grundrisse der Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie* (1857–1858)., the theory on the dictatorship of the proletariat, and the view of communism as a "free association of individuals" and the realization of the free and comprehensive development of the individual—all embody the fundamental principles of Marxism. On the other hand, the fundamental principles of Marxism are also reflected in other disciplinary fields besides these three major components, such as Marxist political science, Marxist jurisprudence, Marxist sociology, Marxist historiography, and Marxist journalism. Generally speaking, the fundamental principles of these other disciplinary fields can also be broadly encompassed within the principles of the three major components, but when it comes to each specific disciplinary field, these fundamental principles play a very important role as origins, cornerstones, and supports. Furthermore, it must be recognized that the fundamental principles of Marxism are hierarchical. For example, historical materialism, as the Marxist view of history, certainly belongs to the fundamental principles of Marxism, but historical materialism, as a comprehensive fundamental principle, contains many relatively specific principles, such as the principle of the movement of the basic contradictions of society, the principle of the succession of social formations, the principle of class struggle, the principle of the historically creative role of the masses, and the principle of world history. Further, these relatively specific principles can themselves be further divided into even more specific principles. For instance, the principle of the movement of the basic contradictions of society can be further divided into the principle of the determining role of productive forces and the reactive role of relations of production, and the principle of the determining role of the economic base and the reactive role of the superstructure. The reason for making this distinction is, first, that the fundamental principles of Marxism themselves contain this hierarchical structure, and second, that based on this distinction, the principled contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era can be better understood. It should be recognized that comprehensive principles like historical materialism reveal the deep essence and basic laws of human society, are rich and profound in content, and constitute one of Marx's two great discoveries in his lifetime. Directly engaging in comprehensive and systematic principled innovation at this foundational level is extremely difficult. The innovative development of the fundamental principles of Marxism by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is concentrated at the relatively specific or even more specific principle levels of Marxism. It is through the innovative development of these two levels of principles that it ultimately enriches the entire system of principles of Marxism.

要明确习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的原理性贡献，首先要全面把握和深刻理解马克思主义基本原理。所谓基本原理，是指自然科学和社会科学中具有普遍意义的基本规律，这些原理在大量实践的基础上，经过分析、归纳而得出，既能指导实践，其正确性也能为实践所检验与确定。基本原理具有普遍性、稳定性、本质性，从基本原理出发，可以推演出其他相对具体的规律。马克思主义博大精深，涉及的领域与内容极为广泛，包含的基本原理也是系统化、体系化的。一方面，马克思主义的三大组成部分，即马克思主义哲学、马克思主义政治经济学、科学社会主义都贯穿着马克思主义基本原理。比如，马克思主义的唯物论、自然观、辩证法、实践观、认识论、社会观、历史观、价值观，马克思主义的劳动价值论和剩余价值理论，马克思主义关于无产阶级性质与使命的理论、关于共产党性质与使命的理论、关于“两个不可避免”的经典论断、关于无产阶级专政的理论、关于共产主义作为“自由人联合体”以及实现人的自由全面发展的观点，都体现着马克思主义基本原理。另一方面，马克思主义基本原理还体现在除这三大组成部分的其他学科领域，比如马克思主义政治学、马克思主义法学、马克思主义社会学、马克思主义历史学、马克思主义新闻学等。一般而言，这些其他学科领域的基本原理也都可以笼统地涵括在三大组成部分的原理中，但具体到每一个学科领域，这些基本原理则起到了非常重要的原点、基石与支撑作用。此外，还必须认识到，马克思主义基本原理是分层级的。例如，唯物史观作为马克思主义的历史观当然属于马克思主义基本原理，但唯物史观作为一个整全性的基本原理又包含很多相对具体的原理，比如社会基本矛盾运动的原理、社会形态更替的原理、阶级斗争的原理、人民群众历史创造性作用的原理、世界历史的原理等。进而言之，这些相对具体的原理也可以再进一步划分为更加具体的原理。例如，社会基本矛盾运动的原理可以进一步划分为生产力的决定作用与生产关系的反作用关系的原理，经济基础的决定作用与上层建筑的反作用关系的原理。之所以做这种区分，一是因为马克思主义基本原理本身就包含这种层级结构，二是基于这种区分，可以更好地理解习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的原理性贡献。应该认识到，像唯物史观这样的整全性原理揭示了人类社会的深层本质、基本规律，内容丰富而深刻，是马克思终其一生的两大发现之一，直接在这个基础性层次上全面、系统地进行原理性创新是极其困难的。习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想对于马克思主义基本原理的创新发展集中在马克思主义相对具体或更加具体的原理层级，其是通过对这两个层级原理的创新发展最终丰富了马克思主义的整个原理体系。

II. How to Understand Principled Contributions

二、如何理解原理性贡献

The basic principles of Marxism reveal the fundamental laws of nature, human society, and human thought; they possess objectivity, inevitability, and universality. Correspondingly, the principled contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era are concentrated in the principles of understanding the world, rather than in the policies and methods of transforming the world and changing reality. In this regard, policy innovations and methodological innovations cannot be regarded as the principled contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Although the practical significance of these aspects is extremely important and their content is highly innovative, they belong to the realm of practice and must be premised on an understanding of the objective essence and developmental laws of things before they can be formulated. Without the principled contributions

马克思主义基本原理是对自然界、人类社会与人类思维基本规律的揭示，具有客观性、必然性、普遍性，与此相应，习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的原理性贡献集中体现在认识世界的原理方面而非改造世界、变革现实的政策与方法方面。就此而言，不能把政策性创新、方法性创新作为习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的原理性贡献。尽管这些方面的现实意义十分重大，内容也富有创新性，但其属于实践领域，必须以对于事物客观本质与发展规律的认识为前提才能制定。如果没有习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想在认识世界方面的原理性贡献，改造世界的政策与方法也难以提出。也正是因为习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的原理性贡献集中体现在认识世界方面，体现在对于相关规律认识的深化，其与原创性贡献才有所区别。原创性贡献当然也是一种创新，但并非所有的原创性贡献都属于原理性贡献。只有揭示事物深层本质与基本规律、具有普遍意义的原创性贡献才属于原理性贡献。即使是新的理论观点，但如果达不到对事物深层本质与基本规律认识的高度，也不属于原理性创新，至于实践领域的原创性政策与方法，正如刚才所述，也不应属于原理性创新。习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想对马克思主义基本原理的创新发展大致分为三种情形。第一种情形是马克思主义相关原理的内容已经较为明确与丰富，习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想在此基础上做进一步的拓展创新。这种情形下，接续发展的特点非常明显。第二种情形是马克思主义相关原理的内容虽有但不多，经典著作中论述也较为缺乏，而习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想大大填补了这一原理的空白，使这一原理大大地充实与丰满起来。这种情形下，开创发展的特点非常明显。第三种情形是马克思主义原理已经存在，但其所指的是社会历史的长远发展规律与趋势，在当代中国语境下无法实现，甚至与当代中国的现实语境形成鲜明对比。比如，按照马克思主义政党原理，消灭资本主义私有制是共产党的历史使命，这在理想意义上是不错的，但很明显不适合中国国情。在理论与现实无法对接甚至存在巨大张力的情况下，习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想必须基于现实，实现对原理的突破性创新。这种突破性创新不是发生于哲学领域，而是主要发生在政治经济学与科学社会主义领域，比如对社会主义市场经济的定位等。判断习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的原理性贡献必须依据一定的标准。原理性贡献的判断标准或判断依据主要是以下三条。第一，对规律的进一步揭示与阐发。原理性贡献对共产党执政规律、社会主义建设规律、人类社会发展规律在某些领域与方面作了进一步揭示与阐发，对某些领域、某些方面规律的认识有质的提升，整体上深化了对这三大规律的认识。第二，实践的普遍指导意义。新的原理性认识作为对规律与本质的新揭示，不仅适用于当代中国，而且对于社会主义国家、对于广大发展中国家、对于发达资本主义国家，对于整个人类发展与全球进步在某些领域和方面都具有广泛而深刻的指导意义。第三，重要的理论地位。原理性创新在习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想中处于十分重要的地位，是这一思想的重要支撑点或关键创新点，对于整个思想的构建发挥着举足轻重的作用。

III. The Main Content of the Fundamental Contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

三、习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的原理性贡献的主要内容

Specifically, the fundamental contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era are mainly reflected in the following aspects.

具体而言，习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的原理性贡献主要体现在以下几个方面。

First, in the Marxist theory of productive forces, the principled contributions are mainly concentrated in two points: one is the viewpoint on new quality productive forces, and the other is the discourse on ecological productive forces. New quality productive forces and ecological productive forces are intrinsically related but not entirely identical, so they are discussed separately here. According to the basic principles of Marxism, productive forces are the most active and revolutionary factor driving social progress. Marx once pointed out that "science is included among these productive forces," [1]1 Karl Marx, *Grundrisse der Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie* (1857–1858). elaborating on the significance of science for the development of productive forces, but Marx did not and could not indicate which stage the high development of science and technology would reach, nor how such high development of science and technology would specifically promote the progress of productive forces. The concept of "new quality productive forces" proposed by Xi Jinping effectively answers the above questions amid the tide of the fourth technological revolution of humanity. Unlike traditional productive forces, new quality productive forces represent a kind of energy-level leap in the evolution of productive forces. They are productive forces in which scientific and technological innovation plays a leading role and which meet the requirements of high-quality development. They are productive forces in the digital age that are more integrative and embody new connotations, with digitalization, networking, and intelligence as their basic characteristics. Compared with traditional productive forces, the entirely new qualitative state of new quality productive forces is embodied in three aspects: first, new laborers who master information and digital technologies; second, new objects of labor mainly consisting of new materials, new substances, and data resources; and third, high-tech means of labor with the digital-intelligent transformation of labor tools at their core. Forming new quality productive forces is not only the unavoidable choice for China's economic and social development in the New Era but also the necessary path for the economic and social development of the entire world. This kind of new quality productive forces will inevitably give rise to new industries, new products, and new forms of business, thereby causing tremendous changes in the entire human relations of production, social structure, and superstructure. The proposal of the concept of new quality productive forces centrally embodies the connotation of advanced productive forces in the digital age, grasps the latest laws and trends in the development of human productive forces, and scientifically answers the question of how the digital technology revolution acts on the various elements of productive forces to generate a new quality, thereby greatly enriching and expanding the Marxist theory of productive forces. Marxism holds that humans are born and nurtured in the natural environment and are a part of nature, and that human economic behavior must respect the laws of nature. In response to the phenomenon of forest destruction in Mesopotamia, Greece, and Asia Minor, Engels pointed out: "But let us not, however, flatter ourselves overmuch on account of our human victories over nature. For each such victory nature takes its revenge on us." [2]2 Friedrich Engels, *Dialectics of Nature* (1883). Xi Jinping has further enriched and developed the Marxist theory on the relationship between humans and nature, emphasizing that "humans and nature are a community of life." This important discourse provides a theoretical premise for correctly understanding the relationship between economic development and ecological environmental protection. On this basis, Xi Jinping not only pointed out that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," [3]3 A well-known slogan in Chinese environmental policy, first articulated by Xi Jinping in 2005 when he was Party secretary of Zhejiang Province. clarifying that the ecological environment is also economic wealth and greatly deepening the understanding of the law of the relationship between the ecological environment and economic wealth, but also pointed out that "protecting the ecological environment is protecting productive forces, and improving the ecological environment is developing productive forces," and that "protecting the ecological environment is protecting natural value and increasing natural capital, and is protecting the potential and staying power of economic and social development, so that lucid waters and lush mountains can continuously play their ecological and economic-social benefits," [4]4 Xi Jinping, speech at the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, May 2018. clarifying the inherent attribute of the ecological environment as productive forces, taking a good ecological environment as a necessary element and strong support for the development of productive forces, pointing out a new path for the coordinated progress of development and protection, expounding the basic laws of socialist and even the entire human ecological economic development, greatly developing the Marxist theory of ecological productive forces, and opening up a new realm of the Marxist theory on the relationship between humans and nature. Second, in the Marxist theory of economic institutions, the principled contribution is centrally embodied in the new positioning of the socialist market economy system. According to the basic principles of Marxism, the economic system refers to the general term for various economic rules and measures established or confirmed by the ruling class of a country to reflect the development requirements of the dominant relations of production in society, and is the standard for distinguishing different socio-economic formations in human history. Capitalist society implements the economic system of a market economy, following the logic of capital, while communist society, which replaces capitalist society, has highly developed productive forces and implements the economic system of a product economy, with the means of production owned by society and products distributed according to need. This is regarded as a basic principle of Marxist political economy and scientific socialism. Theoretically speaking, in terms of the sequential replacement of capitalism and communism as two major social formations, this principle is certainly valid. However, real socialist countries are all built on the social foundation of underdeveloped productive forces. The tension between theory and reality determines that the ruling parties of socialist countries cannot rigidly adhere to the classical theories of Marxism but must develop and innovate them. As far as socialism with Chinese characteristics is concerned, Deng Xiaoping first pointed out in his "Southern Talks": "A planned economy is not equivalent to socialism, because there is also planning under capitalism; a market economy is not equivalent to capitalism, because there is also a market under socialism. Planning and the market are both economic means." [5]5 Deng Xiaoping, "Excerpts from Talks Given in Wuchang, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shanghai" (January–February 1992), known as the "Southern Talks." On this basis, the report of the 14th National Congress of the CPC [6]6 The 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in October 1992, formally adopted the goal of establishing a socialist market economy. explicitly set the establishment of a socialist market economy system as the goal of China's economic system reform and emphasized that the socialist market economy system is combined with the basic system of socialism. However, combination does not mean that the socialist market economy system is inherent in the basic system of socialism, especially the basic economic system. From the 15th National Congress to the 19th National Congress of the CPC, our Party regarded upholding and improving the basic economic system of public ownership playing a dominant role and diverse forms of ownership developing side by side as the basic economic system of the primary stage of socialism in China, without incorporating the socialist market economy system into it. In this regard, the socialist market economy system had not yet gained full recognition in socialist ideology. Based on the historical trend of the vigorous development of the socialist market economy and the inherent needs of the development of productive forces in the primary stage of socialism, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC [7]7 The Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC, held in October 2019. elevated the socialist market economy system to China's basic socialist economic system. The basic economic system is the most fundamental stipulation of the social economy in relations of production, has long-term and stable characteristics, and has a decisive impact on the attributes of the economic system and the mode of economic development. From the initial classical Marxist theory that communist society would eliminate the market economy system, to Deng Xiaoping's "planning and the market are both means," to the establishment of the reform goal of the socialist market economy system, and then to the elevation of the socialist market economy system to the basic socialist economic system, the understanding of the market economy has been continuously deepened, and the understanding of "what is socialism and how to build socialism" has been continuously deepened. This deepening of the understanding of the law has achieved a subversive innovation of the principles of Marxist political economy and scientific socialism. It not only has important practical significance but also has long-term historical significance. It will have a very profound impact not only on the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics but also on the development of world socialism as a whole. Third, in the Marxist view of democracy, the principled contribution is embodied in the proposal of the theory of whole-process people's democracy. The people's democratic view is a basic principle of scientific socialism, Marxist political science, and jurisprudence. Although Marx never deliberately constructed a theory of democracy, his exposure and criticism of capitalist democracy based on historical materialism, and his thinking and elaboration on the issue of proletarian democracy, contain a scientific understanding of the essence and laws of democracy. In the Marxist view, democracy is a historical category. Although bourgeois democracy overthrew feudal autocracy and played a huge historical role, its essence is bourgeois democracy, not proletarian democracy. For the proletariat to achieve liberation and free development, it must go through three stages: political liberation, economic liberation, and social liberation. Political liberation means that under the leadership of the Communist Party, through proletarian revolution, the proletariat rises to become the ruling class and wins political democracy. Economic liberation means using the power of the new regime to carry out economic and social transformation, "to wrest, by degrees, all capital from the bourgeoisie, to centralize all instruments of production in the hands of the State, i.e., of the proletariat organized as the ruling class; and to increase the total of productive forces as rapidly as possible," [8]8 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The Communist Manifesto* (1848), Chapter II. thereby realizing the economic democracy of the proletariat. With the completion of the transformation and entry into communist society, social liberation is finally realized, the subjectivity of each individual is fully respected and universally exerted, and true democracy is completely realized. Although it reveals the historical and class nature of democracy and the true realization of democracy in communist society, Marx mainly explained it from the level of theoretical principles. Due to the limitations of the times and practice, he could not and was unable to analyze real socialist democracy. What real socialist democracy should look like and what laws of development it has require practical exploration and theoretical innovation by later generations. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, guided by the Marxist view of democracy and summarizing the valuable experience of democratic construction in real socialist countries, Xi Jinping has put forward the major concept of whole-process people's democracy. Whole-process people's democracy focuses on improving the institutional system for the people to be the masters of the country, expanding the people's orderly political participation, and ensuring that the people lawfully carry out democratic elections, democratic consultations, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision. It realizes the unity of process democracy and outcome democracy, procedural democracy and substantive democracy, direct democracy and indirect democracy, and people's democracy and the will of the state. It is a democracy of full chains, all-round coverage, and full participation, and is the broadest, most genuine, and most effective socialist democracy. The proposal of whole-process people's democracy clarifies what kind of democracy real socialist countries should build and how to build democracy, deepens the understanding of the universal laws of the development of socialist democratic politics, and also profoundly reveals the laws and trends of the development of human social democracy as a whole, thereby greatly enriching and developing the Marxist view of democracy at the principled level. Fourth, in the Marxist view of governance, the principled contribution is embodied in the proposal of the theory of modernization of national governance. According to the theoretical logic of Marxism, in the transitional stage from the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat to communist society, on the one hand, the self-organizing nature and autonomy of society gradually increase. For example, when discussing the Paris Commune in *The Civil War in France*, Marx repeatedly emphasized the social self-governing nature of the Commune. "The Communal Constitution would have restored to the social body all the forces hitherto absorbed by the state parasite feeding upon, and clogging the free movement of, society." "The Commune — it was the reabsorption of the state power by society, as its own living forces instead of as forces controlling and subduing it; it was the people's resumption of the state power into their own will, the substitution of their own forces for the organized forces of their suppression." [9]9 Karl Marx, *The Civil War in France* (1871), Section III. On the other hand, the state has not yet completely withered away. In this situation, the handling of public affairs inevitably presents a situation of multi-subject collaborative governance among the state, social organizations, and citizens under conditions of continuously increasing social autonomy. As for the new society, it is the complete autonomous self-governance of social members. Marx's relevant discussions reveal the macroscopic laws and trends of human social governance, but how real socialist countries should govern is almost a completely new topic. On the basis of summarizing the experience and lessons of governance in China and abroad, Xi Jinping has put forward the theory of modernization of national governance. Xi Jinping pointed out: "To advance the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity means to adapt to the changes of the times, to reform the systems, mechanisms, laws, and regulations that no longer meet the requirements of practical development, and to continuously construct new systems, mechanisms, laws, and regulations, making all aspects of the system more scientific and more complete, and realizing the institutionalization, standardization, and proceduralization of the governance of Party, state, and social affairs. More attention should be paid to the construction of governance capacity, to enhance the awareness of acting in accordance with systems and laws, to be adept at using systems and laws to govern the country, to transform the advantages of various systems into the effectiveness of managing the country, and to improve the Party's level of scientific governance, democratic governance, and law-based governance." [10]10 Xi Jinping, "Explanation of the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform" (November 2013). The modernization of governance is no longer limited to the expansion of the field of modernization, but prominently emphasizes the systematic, comprehensive, and effective construction of institutions running through all fields of modernization, emphasizes the effective modernization of institutions, emphasizes the organic unity of rule of law, rule of virtue, autonomy, and co-governance, and links the governance system with governance capacity. This not only greatly deepens the understanding of the laws of governance by the Communist Party and the laws of socialist construction but also, to a large extent, greatly deepens the understanding of the laws of human social development. This is because, for human society to successfully realize modernization and promote its own development and effective governance, it must attach great importance to the axis and core dimension of institutional construction; this is an objective law independent of human will. The theory of modernization of governance formally introduces and applies the concept of governance to Marxism. With the help of this theory, on the one hand, the governance thoughts of Marxist classical writers can be deeply explored; on the other hand, the universal laws of national governance in contemporary human society can be grasped. This theory should be regarded as a major principled innovation that fills a gap. Fifth, in the Marxist theory of development, the principled contribution is embodied in explicitly taking security as an inherent element of development and proposing to coordinate development and security. Marxist classical writers mainly analyzed the internal mechanisms and basic laws of human social development from the perspective of historical materialism, emphasizing that productive forces are the driving force of social development, emphasizing the obstructive role of backward class forces, relations of production, and superstructure on social development, emphasizing that class struggle is the direct driving force of class society development, and emphasizing the liberation of the proletariat and the free development of the individual. It can also be said that Marxist classical writers thought about the issue of human social development at a macroscopic and abstract theoretical level. As human society has developed to the contemporary era, the issue of security has become increasingly prominent as a new major topic. Not only does a country's development face various severe risks and challenges, but human development also faces more and more risk factors and uncertainties. Currently, the connotation and extension of security are richer than at any time in history, the temporal and spatial fields are broader than at any time in history, and internal and external factors are more complex than at any time in history. In this sense, the current era can be called the era of risk, contemporary society can be called the risk society, and the contemporary world can be called the risk world. Under these circumstances, it is impossible to promote development in all aspects without considering security factors. Security factors have gradually become an inherent and ontological factor of development. Based on this, since the New Era, Xi Jinping has explicitly proposed a holistic approach to national security, emphasizing that "security is the prerequisite for development, and development is the guarantee of security," pointing out that it is necessary to "adhere to coordinating development and security, adhere to giving equal importance to development and security, and achieve a positive interaction between high-quality development and high-level security," [11]11 Xi Jinping, report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, October 202 and to ensure a new development pattern with a new security architecture. At the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022, Xi Jinping proposed for the first time the Global Security Initiative: to uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security; to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries; to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; to take the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously; to resolve differences and disputes between countries peacefully through dialogue and consultation; and to coordinate the maintenance of security in both traditional and non-traditional domains. [12] The above "six upholdings" are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, forming a dialectically unified organic whole. Among them, upholding the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security is the conceptual guide; upholding respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries is the basic prerequisite; upholding adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter is the fundamental guideline; upholding the serious consideration of the legitimate security concerns of all countries is an important principle; upholding the peaceful resolution of differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation is the necessary path; and upholding the coordinated maintenance of security in both traditional and non-traditional domains is an inherent requirement. Xi Jinping's discourse profoundly reveals the intrinsic relationship of the organic unity and inseparability of security and development from the two dimensions of domestic development and human development, clarifies the connotation, mechanism, and laws of security development, greatly develops the Marxist view of development, and greatly deepens the understanding of the laws of socialist construction and the laws of human social development. Sixth, in the Marxist theory of world history, the principled contribution is embodied in the proposal of the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind. In classic works such as *The German Ideology* and *The Communist Manifesto*, Marx and Engels profoundly expounded the theory of world history and the theory of the communist "association of free individuals." According to the Marxist theory of world history, capitalism first created world history, and communism can only be realized as a "world-historical existence." The world history of capitalism is dominated by capital, and due to its insurmountable internal contradictions, it will inevitably be replaced by the communist "great harmony society." In communist society, not only can each individual achieve free development, but the entire social relations are highly optimized and harmonious. "In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class antagonisms, we shall have an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all." [13] The "association of free individuals" reflects the historical prospect of a classless society. However, under the current situation where the global capitalist system and the socialist system coexist, and where human society faces many common severe challenges and is increasingly sharing a common destiny and being closely interconnected, "what kind of world to build and how to build this world" has become a new major issue of the times concerning the future and destiny of humanity. Against this historical background, Xi Jinping, with a correct view of history, a correct view of the overall situation, and a correct view of roles, and with a global vision, has put forward the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind as a vision for world order. A community with a shared future for mankind takes the common values of all humanity of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom as the correct conceptual guide, and includes a new view of cooperation, a new view of civilization, a new view of development, a new view of security, and a new view of governance. The new view of cooperation refers to a view of cooperation based on openness, integration, mutual benefit, and win-win outcomes. The new view of civilization refers to a view of civilization based on equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness. The new view of development refers to a view of development based on innovation, coordination, greenness, openness, and sharing. The new view of security refers to a view of security based on commonality, comprehensiveness, cooperation, and sustainability. The new view of governance refers to a view of global governance based on extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. The construction of a community with a shared future for mankind takes the changing world, the predicament of the West, and the international overall situation as its problem domain, promotes countries with different social systems, different ideologies, different historical cultures, and different levels of development to share interests, rights, and responsibilities in international affairs, effectively solves the governance deficit, trust deficit, peace deficit, and development deficit facing the international community, profoundly grasps the laws of human social development, and is the Chinese wisdom and Chinese solution contributed to the construction of world order. Seventh, in the Marxist theory of Party building, the principled contribution is embodied in proposing to deeply advance the Party's self-revolution and lead social revolution with the Party's self-revolution. The view of revolution is a basic view of Marxism. Marxist classical writers mainly emphasized economic revolution, political revolution, social revolution, class revolution, including cultural revolution. Regarding Party building, although Marx and Engels profoundly expounded the advanced character, political stance, discipline and style, lofty ideals, revolutionary program, and internationalist spirit of the Marxist political party in works such as *The Communist Manifesto*, laying the theoretical foundation of the Marxist theory of Party building, after all, they did not have the practice of a communist party leading and governing, and coupled with the limitations of their research energy and focus areas, they did not conduct very in-depth research and discussion on the laws of Party building. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, based on the Marxist theory of Party building and summarizing the experience and lessons of Marxist political party building, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, grounded in the great practice of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, profoundly summarized the historical experience of the Party's century-long struggle, focused on the major issue of the times of "what kind of long-term governing Marxist political party to build and how to build a long-term governing Marxist political party," focused on the new requirements of building the world's strongest political party, proposed to deeply advance the Party's self-revolution, and adhered to leading great social revolution with great self-revolution. Self-revolution emphasizes "turning the blade inward," with the purpose of comprehensively enhancing the Party's ability to purify itself, improve itself, reform itself, and enhance itself, ensuring that the Party never changes its nature, never changes its color, and never changes its flavor, and continuously consolidating its long-term governing position. Deeply advancing the Party's self-revolution and adhering to leading social revolution with the Party's self-revolution profoundly reveals the secret of the century-old Party maintaining its youthful vitality and continuously moving from victory to victory, effectively solves the worldwide problem of self-supervision that has always existed in the governance of world political parties, including Marxist political parties, cracks the "Goldbach conjecture" of political party governance and national governance, finds for our Party the second answer to the "historical cycle" [14] of rise and fall, greatly enriches the Marxist theory of revolution, and greatly deepens the understanding of the laws of building a Marxist ruling party. Eighth, in the Marxist view of the essence of socialism, the principled contribution is embodied in proposing that "the leadership of the Party is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics." For real socialism, how to understand the essence of socialism is the most basic and prerequisite issue. In the view of Marxist classical writers, the understanding of the essence of the new society is multi-dimensional, such as the establishment of public ownership, the high development of productive forces, the free and comprehensive development of each individual, and the highly optimized and harmonious social relations, but they did not regard the leadership of the Marxist political party as an essential feature, because the ideal communist society has no political parties or state. Looking back at the century-long history of our Party, although it has always attached great importance to and continuously emphasized the leadership of the Party, before the 18th National Congress of the CPC, either the purely public ownership and planned economy institutional structure was regarded as the essential feature of socialism, or the essence of socialism was grasped from the perspective of realistic functions such as liberating and developing productive forces, putting people first, and social harmony, without incorporating the leadership of the Party into the dimension of the essence of socialism. With the continuous development of socialism with Chinese characteristics, with the continuous advancement of the process of Chinese-path modernization, especially since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the internal and external environments facing China's reform and development have become increasingly complex. The Party's ability to set the direction, plan the overall situation, formulate policies, promote reform, expand opening up, prevent risks, and ensure security decisively determines whether socialism with Chinese characteristics can overcome difficulties and continue to achieve brilliance, and whether its functions can be further exerted and its superiority can be continuously reflected. Under these circumstances, the extreme importance and indispensability of the Party's leadership for socialism with Chinese characteristics itself have been further and continuously highlighted. It is in this sense that Xi Jinping explicitly pointed out that the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the greatest advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and the Communist Party of China is the highest political leadership force. [15] The proposal of this major judgment indicates that for socialism with Chinese characteristics, the leadership of the Party is not a variable but a constant, and is the most critical, most core, most intrinsic, and most essential factor and constant. It indicates that the understanding of the leadership position of the Party is increasingly deepened, the understanding of the leadership role of the Party is increasingly deepened, and the grasp of the leadership function of the Party is increasingly profound. This major judgment elevates the understanding of the essence of socialism to the height of the leading subject, is a profound summary of the laws of the development of real socialism, and enriches and develops the theory of the essence of socialism and the Marxist principle of political party leadership. The above analysis shows that Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, closely combining the conditions and practical requirements of the new era, has deepened the understanding of the laws of governance by the Communist Party, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of human social development with a completely new vision, has made specific and profound principled innovations to Marxism, has made pioneering, comprehensive, and historic contributions to the great development of Marxism in contemporary China and the 21st century, and has opened up a new realm of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

其一，在马克思主义的生产力理论方面，原理性贡献主要集中在两点，一是关于新质生产力的观点，二是关于生态生产力的论述。新质生产力与生态生产力内在相关，但又不完全一致，所以在此分开论述。按照马克思主义基本原理，生产力是推动社会进步最活跃、最革命的要素。马克思曾指出“在这些生产力中也包括科学”，阐述了科学对于生产力发展的重要意义，但马克思没有也不可能指出科学技术的高度发展会达到哪一个阶段，以及这种科学技术的高度发展究竟如何推动生产力的进步，而习近平提出的“新质生产力”这一概念则在人类第四次科技革命的大潮中有效回答了以上问题。有别于传统生产力，新质生产力代表生产力演化中的一种能级跃迁，是科技创新在其中发挥主导作用、符合高质量发展要求的生产力，是数字时代更具融合性、更体现新内涵的生产力，以数字化、网络化、智能化为基本特征。与传统生产力相比，新质生产力的全新质态体现在三个方面：一是掌握信息化与数字化技术的新劳动者，二是以新材料、新物质和数据资源等为主要内容的新劳动对象，三是以劳动工具的数智化为核心的高新科技劳动资料。形成新质生产力不仅是新时代中国经济社会发展的不二选择，也是整个世界经济社会发展的必由之路。这种新质生产力必将催生新产业、新产品和新业态，从而引起整个人类生产关系、社会结构与上层建筑的巨大变迁。新质生产力概念的提出集中体现了数字时代先进生产力的内涵，把握住了人类生产力发展的最新规律与趋势，并且科学回答了数字技术革命如何作用于生产力的各要素，使之生成新质的问题，从而大大丰富和拓展了马克思主义的生产力理论。马克思主义认为，人在自然环境中孕育而生，是自然界的一部分，人类经济行为必须尊重自然规律。针对美索不达米亚、希腊、小亚细亚等地毁坏森林的现象，恩格斯指出：“但是我们不要过分陶醉于我们人类对自然界的胜利。对于每一次这样的胜利，自然界都对我们进行报复。”习近平进一步丰富和发展了马克思主义关于人与自然关系的理论，强调“人与自然是生命共同体”。这一重要论述为正确认识经济发展和生态环境保护之间的关系提供了理论前提。在此基础上，习近平不仅指出“绿水青山就是金山银山”，明确了生态环境同时也是经济财富，大大深化对生态环境与经济财富之间关系的规律性认识，而且指出“保护生态环境就是保护生产力，改善生态环境就是发展生产力”，“保护生态环境就是保护自然价值和增值自然资本，就是保护经济社会发展潜力和后劲，使绿水青山持续发挥生态效益和经济社会效益”，明确了生态环境作为生产力的内在属性，把良好生态环境作为生产力发展的必备要素和有力支撑，指明了发展和保护协同共进的新路径，阐述了社会主义乃至整个人类生态经济发展的基本规律，大大发展了马克思主义生态生产力理论，开辟了马克思主义人与自然关系理论新境界。其二，在马克思主义的经济制度理论方面，原理性贡献集中体现在对社会主义市场经济体制的新定位。按照马克思主义基本原理，经济制度是指国家的统治阶级为了反映在社会中占统治地位的生产关系的发展要求，确认或建立的各种经济规则和措施的总称，是区分人类历史上不同社会经济形态的标准。资本主义社会实行的是市场经济的经济制度，遵循的是资本的逻辑，而代替资本主义社会的共产主义社会，生产力高度发达，实行的是产品经济的经济制度，生产资料为社会所有，产品按需分配。这被视为马克思主义政治经济学和科学社会主义的一条基本原理。从理论上讲，就资本主义与共产主义作为两大社会形态的依次更替而言，这一原理当然是成立的。但现实社会主义国家都是建立在生产力不发达的社会基础之上，理论与现实的张力决定了社会主义国家的执政党不可能固守马克思主义的经典理论，而必须对之进行发展创新。就中国特色社会主义而言，邓小平在“南方谈话”中首先指出：“计划经济不等于社会主义，资本主义也有计划；市场经济不等于资本主义，社会主义也有市场。计划和市场都是经济手段。”在此基础上，党的十四大报告明确把建立社会主义市场经济体制作为我国经济体制改革的目标，并强调社会主义市场经济体制是同社会主义基本制度结合在一起的。但结合并不意味着社会主义市场经济体制就是内在于社会主义基本制度特别是基本经济制度的。自党的十五大至十九大，我们党都是把坚持和完善公有制为主体、多种所有制经济共同发展作为我国社会主义初级阶段的基本经济制度，而没有把社会主义市场经济体制纳入进来。就此而言，社会主义市场经济体制在社会主义意识形态上还没有获得完全的认可。基于社会主义市场经济蓬勃发展的历史趋势，基于社会主义初级阶段生产力发展的内在需求，党的十九届四中全会把社会主义市场经济体制上升为我国社会主义基本经济制度。基本经济制度是社会经济在生产关系中最基本的规定，具有长期性和稳定性，对经济制度属性和经济发展方式具有决定性影响。从马克思主义经典理论最初的共产主义社会要消灭市场经济制度，到邓小平的“计划与市场都是手段”，到确立社会主义市场经济体制的改革目标，再到把社会主义市场经济体制上升为社会主义基本经济制度，对市场经济的认识在不断深化，对“什么是社会主义、如何建设社会主义”的认识在不断深化。这种规律认识的深化实现了对马克思主义政治经济学与科学社会主义原理的颠覆性创新，不仅具有重要的现实意义，也具有长远的历史意义，不仅对中国特色社会主义的发展，而且对整个世界社会主义的发展都将产生极为深刻的影响。其三，在马克思主义的民主观方面，原理性贡献体现在全过程人民民主理论的提出。人民民主观是科学社会主义、马克思主义政治学和法学的基本原理。马克思虽从未刻意建构民主理论，但他基于唯物史观对资本主义民主的揭露与批判，对无产阶级民主问题的思考与阐释，蕴含着对民主本质及其规律的科学认识。在马克思主义看来，民主是一个历史范畴，资产阶级民主虽然推翻了封建专制，发挥了巨大的历史作用，但其实质是资产阶级的民主而不是无产阶级的民主。无产阶级要获得解放与自由发展，必须经历政治解放、经济解放与社会解放三个阶段。政治解放就是在共产党的领导下通过无产阶级革命使无产阶级上升为统治阶级，争得政治民主。经济解放就是借助于新政权的力量进行经济社会的改造，“一步一步地夺取资产阶级的全部资本，把一切生产工具集中在国家即组织成为统治阶级的无产阶级手里，并且尽可能快地增加生产力的总量”，从而实现无产阶级的经济民主。随着改造的完成，进入共产主义社会，社会解放最终得以实现，每个人的主体性得到了充分尊重与普遍发挥，真正的民主得以彻底实现。虽然揭示了民主的历史性、阶级性以及民主在共产主义社会的真正实现，但马克思主要是从理论原理层面进行阐释，由于时代与实践的限制，他无法也不可能对现实社会主义的民主进行分析。现实社会主义的民主应该是什么样子，具有什么样的发展规律需要后人进行实践探索与理论创新。党的十八大以来，以马克思主义民主观为指导，总结现实社会主义国家民主建设的宝贵经验，习近平提出了全过程人民民主的重大理念。全过程人民民主注重健全人民当家作主制度体系，扩大人民有序政治参与，保证人民依法实行民主选举、民主协商、民主决策、民主管理、民主监督，实现了过程民主和成果民主、程序民主和实质民主、直接民主和间接民主、人民民主和国家意志相统一，是全链条、全方位、全覆盖的民主，是最广泛、最真实、最管用的社会主义民主。全过程人民民主的提出明确了现实社会主义国家应该建设什么样的民主，以及民主如何建设的问题，深化对社会主义民主政治发展普遍规律的认识，同时也深刻揭示了整个人类社会民主发展的规律与趋势，从而在原理层面大大丰富和发展了马克思主义的民主观。其四，在马克思主义的治理观方面，原理性贡献体现在国家治理现代化理论的提出。按照马克思主义的理论逻辑，在无产阶级专政建立之后向共产主义社会的过渡阶段，一方面，社会的自组织性与自主性逐渐增强。比如，马克思在《法兰西内战》中论及巴黎公社时多次强调公社的社会自治性质。“公社体制会把靠社会供养而又阻碍社会自由发展的国家这个寄生赘瘤迄今所夺去的一切力量，归还给社会机体。”“公社——这是社会把国家政权重新收回，把它从统治社会、压制社会的力量变成社会本身的充满生气的力量；这是人民群众把国家政权重新收回，他们组成自己的力量去代替压迫他们的有组织的力量。”另一方面，国家也还没有完全消亡。在这种情况下，对于公共事务的处理就必然呈现为在社会自治性不断增强的条件下，国家、社会组织与公民多主体协同共治的状况。至于新社会，则是社会成员完全的自主自治。马克思的相关论述揭示了人类社会治理的宏观规律与趋势，但现实社会主义国家应该如何治理却几乎是一个全新的课题。在总结中外国家治理经验教训的基础上，习近平提出了国家治理现代化的理论。习近平指出：“推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化，就是要适应时代变化，既改革不适应实践发展要求的体制机制、法律法规，又不断构建新的体制机制、法律法规，使各方面制度更加科学、更加完善，实现党、国家、社会各项事务治理制度化、规范化、程序化。要更加注重治理能力建设，增强按制度办事、依法办事意识，善于运用制度和法律治理国家，把各方面制度优势转化为管理国家的效能，提高党科学执政、民主执政、依法执政水平。”治理现代化不再局限于现代化领域的拓展，而是突出强调贯穿于现代化各领域的制度的系统、全面、有效建设，强调制度的有效现代化，强调法治、德治、自治与共治的有机统一，并且将治理体系与治理能力相关联，不仅大大深化了对共产党执政规律、社会主义建设规律的认识，很大程度上也大大深化了人类社会发展规律的认识。这是因为，人类社会要成功实现现代化，推进自身发展与有效治理，就必须高度重视制度建设这一中轴与核心维度，这是不以人的意志为转移的客观规律。治理现代化的理论将治理概念正式引入与应用于马克思主义，借助这一理论，一方面可以深入挖掘马克思主义经典作家的治理思想，另一方面可以把握当今人类社会国家治理的普遍规律。这一理论应该属于填补空白式的重大原理性创新。其五，在马克思主义的发展理论方面，原理性贡献体现在明确将安全作为发展的内在要素，提出统筹发展与安全。马克思主义经典作家主要是从唯物史观的角度来分析人类社会发展的内在机制与基本规律，强调生产力是社会发展的原动力，强调落后的阶级力量、生产关系、上层建筑对于社会发展的阻碍作用，强调阶级斗争是阶级社会发展的直接动力，强调无产阶级解放与人的自由发展。也可以说，马克思主义经典作家是在宏观的抽象理论层面思考人类社会发展问题的。人类社会发展至当代，安全问题作为一个新的重大课题日益凸显。不仅一个国家的发展面临各种严峻的风险与挑战，人类发展也面临越来越多的风险因素和不确定性。当前安全内涵和外延比历史上任何时候都要丰富，时空领域比历史上任何时候都要宽广，内外因素比历史上任何时候都要复杂。在此意义上，当今时代可称为风险时代，当代社会可称为风险社会，当代世界可以称为风险世界。在这种情况下，推进各方面的发展就不可能不考虑安全因素，安全因素逐渐成了发展的内在要素与本体性因素。基于此，新时代以来，习近平明确提出了总体国家安全观，强调“安全是发展的前提，发展是安全的保障”，指出要“坚持统筹发展和安全，坚持发展和安全并重，实现高质量发展和高水平安全的良性互动”，以新安全格局保障新发展格局。在博鳌亚洲论坛 2022 年年会开幕式上，习近平首次提出全球安全倡议：要坚持共同、综合、合作、可持续的安全观；坚持尊重各国主权、领土完整；坚持遵守联合国宪章宗旨和原则；坚持重视各国合理安全关切；坚持通过对话协商以和平方式解决国家间的分歧和争端；坚持统筹维护传统领域和非传统领域安全。上述“六个坚持”彼此联系、相互呼应，是辩证统一的有机整体。其中，坚持共同、综合、合作、可持续的安全观是理念指引，坚持尊重各国主权、领土完整是基本前提，坚持遵守联合国宪章宗旨和原则是根本遵循，坚持重视各国合理安全关切是重要原则，坚持通过对话协商以和平方式解决国家间的分歧和争端是必由之路，坚持统筹维护传统领域和非传统领域安全是题中应有之义。习近平的论述从国内发展和人类发展两个维度深刻揭示了安全与发展有机统一、不可分割的内在关系，明确了安全发展的内涵、机制与规律，大大发展了马克思主义发展观，大大深化了对社会主义建设规律与人类社会发展规律的认识。其六，在马克思主义的世界历史理论方面，原理性贡献体现在人类命运共同体理念的提出。在《德意志意识形态》《共产党宣言》等经典著作中，马克思、恩格斯深刻阐发了世界历史理论以及共产主义的“自由人联合体”理论。按照马克思主义的世界历史理论，资本主义首次开创了世界历史，而共产主义也只有作为“世界历史性的存在”才有可能实现。资本主义的世界历史由资本主导，由于其不可克服的内在矛盾，必然会最终被共产主义的“大同社会”所代替。在共产主义社会中，不仅每个人都可以实现自由发展，而且整个社会关系高度的优化和谐。“代替那存在着阶级和阶级对立的资产阶级旧社会的，将是这样一个联合体，在那里，每个人的自由发展是一切人的自由发展的条件。”“自由人联合体”反映着无阶级社会的历史远景，而在当代全球资本主义制度与社会主义制度并存的情况下，在整个人类社会面临很多共同严峻挑战，越来越命运与共、休戚相关的情况下，“建设一个什么样的世界、如何建设这个世界”成为一个新的关乎人类前途命运的重大时代课题。在这种历史背景下，习近平以正确的历史观、大局观和角色观，胸怀天下，提出了构建人类命运共同体的世界秩序构想。人类命运共同体以和平、发展、公平、正义、民主、自由的全人类共同价值作为正确理念指引，包括新的合作观、新的文明观、新的发展观、新的安全观、新的治理观。新的合作观是指开放、融通、互利、共赢的合作观。新的文明观是指平等、互鉴、对话、包容的文明观。新的发展观是指创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享的发展观。新的安全观是指共同、综合、合作、可持续的安全观。新的治理观是指共商共建共享的全球治理观。人类命运共同体的构建，以世界变局、西方困局、国际大局为问题域，推动不同社会制度、不同意识形态、不同历史文化、不同发展水平的国家在国际事务中利益共生、权利共享、责任共担，有效破解了国际社会面临的治理赤字、信任赤字、和平赤字、发展赤字，深刻把握了人类社会发展规律，是为世界秩序构建贡献的中国智慧与中国方案。其七，在马克思主义建党学说方面，原理性贡献体现在提出深入推进党的自我革命，以党的自我革命引领社会革命。革命的观点是马克思主义的基本观点。马克思主义经典作家主要强调经济革命、政治革命、社会革命、阶级革命包括文化革命。对于党的建设，虽然马克思、恩格斯在《共产党宣言》等著作中深刻阐述了马克思主义政党的先进品格、政治立场、纪律作风、崇高理想、革命纲领以及国际主义精神，奠定了马克思主义建党学说的理论基础，但其毕竟没有共产党领导与执政的实践，再加之研究精力与关注领域所限，对于党的建设规律并没有十分深入地研究与论述。党的十八大以来，依据马克思主义建党学说，总结马克思主义政党建设的经验教训，以习近平同志为核心的党中央立足全面从严治党的伟大实践，深刻总结党百年奋斗的历史经验，围绕“建设什么样的长期执政的马克思主义政党、怎样建设长期执政的马克思主义政党”的重大时代课题，着眼于建设世界上最强大政党的新要求，提出深入推进党的自我革命，坚持以伟大自我革命引领伟大社会革命。自我革命强调“刀刃向内”，目的就是全面增强党自我净化、自我完善、自我革新、自我提高的能力，确保党不变质、不变色、不变味，不断巩固长期执政地位。深入推进党的自我革命，坚持以党的自我革命引领社会革命，深刻揭示了百年大党永葆青春活力、不断从胜利走向胜利的奥秘，有效解决了世界政党执政包括马克思主义政党执政一直存在的自我监督的世界性难题，破解了政党治理与国家治理的“哥德巴赫猜想”，为我们党找到了跳出治乱兴衰“历史周期率”的第二个答案，极大丰富了马克思主义革命学说，极大深化了对马克思主义执政党建设规律的认识。其八，在马克思主义的社会主义本质观方面，原理性贡献体现在提出“党的领导是中国特色社会主义最本质的特征”。对于现实社会主义而言，如何认识社会主义本质是最为基础的前提性问题。在马克思主义经典作家那里，对新社会本质的理解是多维度的，比如公有制的建立、生产力的高度发达、每个人的自由全面发展与社会关系的高度优化和谐，但并没有将马克思主义政党的领导视为本质特征，因为理想的共产主义社会没有政党与国家。纵观我们党百余年历程，尽管高度重视并不断强调党的领导，但在党的十八大以前，或者将纯粹公有制与计划经济的制度结构视为社会主义的本质特征，或者着重从解放与发展生产力、以人为本、社会和谐等现实功能维度来把握社会主义本质，也没有将党的领导纳入社会主义本质的维度中。随着中国特色社会主义的不断发展、随着中国式现代化进程的不断推进，特别是党的十八大以来，中国改革发展所面临的内外部环境日益错综复杂，党把方向、谋大局、定政策、促改革、扩开放、防风险、保安全的能力如何，决定性地关系到中国特色社会主义能否攻坚克难、接续辉煌，关系到其功能能否进一步发挥、优越性能否持续体现。这种情况下，党的领导对于中国特色社会主义本已有的极端重要性、不可或缺性进一步持续凸显。正是在这个意义上，习近平才明确指出，中国特色社会主义最本质的特征是中国共产党领导，中国特色社会主义制度的最大优势是中国共产党领导，中国共产党是最高政治领导力量。这一重大判断的提出，表明对于中国特色社会主义而言，党的领导并非一个变量，而是一个常量，并且是最为关键、最为核心、最为内在、最为本质的因素与常量，表明对于党的领导地位的认识愈益深入，对于党的领导角色的认识愈益深化，对于党的领导功能的把握愈益深刻。这一重大判断将对社会主义本质的理解进一步提升到领导主体的高度，是对现实社会主义发展规律的深刻总结，丰富和发展了社会主义本质理论和马克思主义政党领导原理。以上分析表明，习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想紧密结合新的时代条件和实践要求，以全新的视野深化了对共产党执政规律、社会主义建设规律、人类社会发展规律的认识，对马克思主义作出了具体而深刻的原理性创新，为马克思主义在当代中国与 21 世纪的大发展作出了开创性、全面性、历史性贡献，开辟了马克思主义中国化时代化的新境界。

Online editor: You Heng

网络编辑：有恒