Grasping the Specific Connotations and Profound Basis of the “People’s Needs for a Better Life”

As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a New Era, China’s principal social contradiction has undergone a major transformation from “the contradiction between the ever-growing material and cultural needs of the people and backward social production” to “the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development.” The connotation and extension of the people’s needs are constantly expanding, the level of needs is continuously rising, and the diversity of needs is steadily enriching. These needs are no longer confined to material abundance and spiritual fulfillment in the traditional sense; rather, needs in the political, legal, cultural, moral, health, and ecological spheres have also increased without abatement. How to scientifically understand the specific connotations of the “people’s needs for a better life” is of extremely great significance for effectively resolving the problems of imbalance and inadequacy, thereby advancing the continuous satisfaction of the people’s needs for a better life.

中国特色社会主义进入新时代，我国的社会主要矛盾实现了由“人民日益增长的物质文化需要同落后的社会生产之间的矛盾”到“人民日益增长的美好生活需要和不平衡不充分的发展之间的矛盾”的重大转变。人民群众需要的内涵和外延在不断扩大，需要的层次不断提高、需要的多样性不断丰富，其不仅局限于传统语境下的物质生活富足和精神生活充盈，而且在政治、法治、文化、道德、健康、生态等方面的需要也有增无减。如何科学理解“人民美好生活需要”的具体内涵，对于有效解决不平衡、不充分问题，从而推进不断满足人民美好生活需要具有极为重大的意义。

The Specific Connotations of the “People’s Needs for a Better Life”

“人民美好生活需要”的具体内涵

The people’s needs for a better life are based on rich and diverse material needs. Material things are the foundation of civilization. The satisfaction of rich, multi-level material needs is the foundation and key to satisfying the people’s needs for a better life. The satisfaction of material needs is not only related to the realization of the people’s needs for a better life but also to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. With the development of more than forty years of reform and opening up, the people’s living standards have been greatly improved, and at the same time, the people’s demands have been further enriched and elevated. First, there is the issue of richer, higher-level material needs. Under the circumstances where a moderately prosperous society has been built in all respects and the people’s basic living needs have been met, richer, higher-level material needs are inevitably required. Attention must be paid to the richness, efficiency, coordination, and greenness of material production on the supply side; greater emphasis must be placed on the supply of public goods in the field of people’s livelihood, so that children are cared for, the young are educated, the able-bodied have work, the sick are treated, the elderly are supported, everyone has a place to live, and the weak are assisted. [1]1 This phrase, “幼有所育、学有所教、劳有所得、病有所医、老有所养、住有所居、弱有所扶” (yǒu suǒ yù, xué yǒu suǒ jiào, láo yǒu suǒ dé, bìng yǒu suǒ yī, lǎo yǒu suǒ yǎng, zhù yǒu suǒ jū, ruò yǒu suǒ fú), is a standard formulation from CPC policy documents outlining basic public services and social security guarantees for all citizens. Second, there is the issue of fairness in richer, higher-level material needs. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee has adopted a series of major measures to further narrow the gap between rich and poor, making tremendous efforts on the issue of narrowing the wealth gap and demonstrating an unwavering resolve to the world. Third, there is the issue of the reasonableness of richer, higher-level material needs. Although richer, higher-level material needs are the prerequisite foundation for a better life, one must guard against slipping into the quagmire of the false needs and luxury needs of capitalist society that Marx criticized. [2]2 Marx’s critique of “false needs” appears in his early writings, notably in the *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844*, where he distinguishes between genuine human needs and those artificially created by capitalist production and commodity fetishism. Faced with the temptations of hedonism, consumerism, and materialism, people’s material needs should be guided rationally to prevent going to extremes on the issue of richer, higher-level material needs.

人民美好生活需要以丰富多样物质性需要为基础。物质是文明的基础，丰富的、多层次的物质需要满足是人民美好生活需要满足的基础和关键，物质性需要的满足不仅关系到人民美好生活需要的实现，更关系到中华民族的伟大复兴。改革开放四十多年的发展，人民群众的生活水平得到了很大程度的提升，同时人民的需求也进一步丰富与提升。一是更加丰富、更高水平的物质性需要问题。在全面建成小康社会、人民基本生活需要得到满足的情况下，就必然要求更加丰富的、更高水平的物质性需要。重视供给端物质生产的丰富性、高效性、协调性、绿色性；更加重视民生领域公共产品供给，使得幼有所育、学有所教、劳有所得、病有所医、老有所养、住有所居、弱有所扶。二是更加丰富、更高水平的物质性需要的公平性问题。党的十八大以来，为进一步缩小贫富差距，党中央采取了一系列重大措施，在缩小贫富差距的问题上做出了巨大努力，并向世人展现了坚定不移的决心。三是更加丰富、更高水平的物质性需要的合理性问题。更加丰富、更高水平的物质性需要虽然是美好生活需要的前提基础，但要防止滑入马克思所批判的资本主义社会虚假需要、奢侈需要的泥潭之中。面对享乐主义、消费主义、物质主义的诱惑，在人的物质需要问题上更应当进行合理引导，防止在更加丰富、更高水平的物质需要问题上走向极端。

The people’s needs for a better life are elevated by spiritual needs at the social level. As a synthesis of material and spiritual existence, natural and social existence, the particularity of human beings is manifested in their transcendence of material and natural levels into the spiritual and social realms. Reflected in the dimension of human needs, the particularity of human nature determines that people inevitably have strong spiritual needs that distinguish them from animals. It can be said that spiritual needs, as an important driving force for the progress of human civilization, are a significant component of the people’s needs for a better life. When General Secretary Xi Jinping elaborated on the Chinese characteristics of Chinese-path modernization at the 20th National Congress of the CPC, he profoundly pointed out that it is “a modernization where material civilization and cultural-ethical progress are coordinated.” [3]3 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022. Xi Jinping’s report to the congress elaborated on the five characteristics of Chinese-path modernization, including the coordination of material and cultural-ethical progress. China is in a critical period of marching toward the Second Centenary Goal. [4]4 The “Second Centenary Goal” refers to the goal of building China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful by the middle of the 21st century (the centenary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 2049). It is necessary to firmly grasp the main direction of economic construction and push the development of material civilization to a higher level; it is also necessary to attach great importance to satisfying the people’s spiritual needs and building their spiritual world. This itself is a specific requirement of the people’s better life.

人民美好生活需要以社会层面的精神性需要为提升。人作为物质性存在与精神性存在、自然性存在与社会性存在的集合体，其特殊之处就体现于超越于物质、自然层面的精神性与社会性。反映到人的需要层面，人的本质的特殊性决定了人必然会有着区别于动物的、强烈的精神性需要。可以说，精神性需要作为人类文明进步的重要动力，是人民美好生活需要的重要构成内容。习近平总书记在党的二十大上阐释中国式现代化的中国特色时深刻指出，“物质文明与精神文明相协调的现代化”。中国正处于向第二个百年奋斗目标迈进的关键时期，既要牢牢把握住经济建设的主方向，将物质文明的发展推向更高水平；也要高度重视人民群众的精神需要满足和精神世界建设，这本身就是人民美好生活的具体要求。

The Profound Basis for Satisfying the “People’s Needs for a Better Life”

满足“人民美好生活需要”的深刻依据

The proposal of the “people’s needs for a better life” has profound theoretical foundations and the practical logic of the development requirements of the New Era. It contains the value tenets of Marxism, embodies the essential requirements of socialism, is rooted in the reality of China’s economic and social development, conforms to the original aspiration and founding mission of the CPC, and reflects the high degree of unity between following the laws of development and pursuing the goals of the people.

“人民美好生活需要”的提出，有着深刻的理论依据和新时代发展要求的实践逻辑，内含着马克思主义的价值宗旨，体现社会主义的本质要求，根植于中国经济社会发展实际，符合中国共产党的初心使命，体现合规律性与合目的性的高度统一。

The “people’s needs for a better life” embody the value tenets of Marxism. From the perspective of value logic, Marxism reveals the loftiest value pursuit of human society, namely the free liberation and comprehensive development of all humanity. Objectively speaking, the realization of people’s free liberation and comprehensive development can, in essence, be understood as the specific satisfaction of people’s needs. The people’s needs for a better life are not only an accurate judgment by Chinese Marxism of the phased historical tasks of socialism but also a theoretical generalization, adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, of classical Marxism’s value pursuit of “people’s free liberation and comprehensive development.” From the perspective of inheritance and development, the two categories have a high degree of theoretical commonality. The realization of the value pursuit of “people’s free liberation and comprehensive development” should be premised on the satisfaction of the “people’s needs for a better life”; conversely, the satisfaction of the “people’s needs for a better life” will create historical conditions for the realization of the value pursuit of “people’s free liberation and comprehensive development.” If Marxism regards the comprehensive development of people and the free liberation of all humanity as the highest value pursuit, then satisfying the people’s needs for a better life is the phased value pursuit of Marxism.

“人民美好生活需要”体现了马克思主义的价值宗旨。从价值逻辑来看，马克思主义展现了人类社会最崇高的价值追求，即全人类的自由解放和全面发展。客观来看，人的自由解放和全面发展的实现在本质上都可以理解为人的需要的具体满足。人民美好生活需要既是中国化马克思主义对社会主义阶段性历史任务的准确判断，也是对经典马克思主义关于“人的自由解放和全面发展”价值追求的中国化、时代化理论概括。从继承性与发展性的角度来看，两个范畴具有高度的理论共通性。“人的自由解放和全面发展”价值追求的实现，应该以“人民美好生活需要”的满足为前提；而“人民美好生活需要”的满足又会为“人的自由解放和全面发展”价值追求的实现创造历史条件。如果说马克思主义将人的全面发展和全人类的自由解放作为最高价值追求；那么，满足人民美好生活需要就是马克思主义的阶段性价值追求。

The “people’s needs for a better life” are an essential embodiment of socialism. Deng Xiaoping pointed out, “The essence of socialism is to liberate and develop the productive forces, eliminate exploitation and polarization, and ultimately achieve common prosperity.” [5]5 This is a direct quotation from Deng Xiaoping’s talks during his southern tour in 1992, which became a foundational definition of the essence of socialism in CPC theory. Based on the contradictory movement between productive forces and relations of production, this scientifically reveals the essence of socialism from two major aspects: the fundamental task and the development goal. That is, the fundamental task is “to liberate and develop the productive forces,” and the development goal is “to eliminate exploitation and polarization, and ultimately achieve common prosperity.” In the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has carried out an innovative interpretation of the essence of socialism, adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, clearly pointing out that “eliminating poverty, improving people’s livelihood, and achieving common prosperity are the essential requirements of socialism.” [6]6 This formulation appears in Xi Jinping’s speeches on poverty alleviation and common prosperity, notably in the context of the battle against absolute poverty (2015-2020). It can be seen that continuously promoting common prosperity for all the people is an inherent requirement of the people’s better life and also a specific content of the people’s better life. The “people” in the “people’s needs for a better life” require all the people, which satisfies the “common” requirement of common prosperity, and it is a deep integration of multiple categories of needs and different levels of needs, such as material needs and spiritual needs, individual needs and social needs. At the same time, the “people’s needs for a better life” inevitably require highly developed productive forces, and inevitably require the absence of exploitation, equality, and fairness. Satisfying the people’s needs for a better life embodies the essential requirements of socialism.

“人民美好生活需要”是社会主义的本质体现。邓小平指出，“社会主义的本质，是解放生产力，发展生产力，消灭剥削，消除两极分化，最终达到共同富裕”，这是立足于生产力与生产关系的矛盾运动，从根本任务和发展目的两大方面对社会主义本质进行了科学揭示，即根本任务是“解放生产力和发展生产力”，发展目标是“消灭剥削、消除两极分化、最终达到共同富裕”。新时代，习近平总书记对社会主义本质进行了中国化时代化的创新阐释，明确指出，“消除贫困、改善民生、实现共同富裕，是社会主义的本质要求”。可见，不断推进全体人民共同富裕是人民美好生活的内在要求，也是人民美好生活的具体内容，“人民美好生活需要”中“人民”要求是全体人民群众，这满足的是共同富裕的“共同”要求，而且是物质需要与精神需要、个体需要与社会需要等多种需要类别、不同需要层次的深度融合。同时，“人民美好生活需要”必然要求生产力高度发达，而且必然要求没有剥削、平等公正，满足人民美好生活需要体现的是社会主义的本质要求。

The “people’s needs for a better life” are the embodiment of the original aspiration of the CPC in the New Era. Seeking happiness for the people is the original aspiration and founding mission of the CPC. As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has further clarified, “The people’s aspiration for a better life is our goal.” [7]7 This is a well-known statement by Xi Jinping, first made in his speech at the press conference following his election as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee on November 15, 2012. The history of the CPC’s struggle is, in fact, a history of leading the people to continuously satisfy their needs and realize their happiness. The proposal of the “people’s needs for a better life” originates from the historical practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The transformation of the principal social contradiction driven by the development of social productive forces defines its content and essence. Over the more than forty years of reform and opening up, the continuous adjustment and optimization of relations of production have greatly released the potential of productive forces. China’s comprehensive national strength has significantly increased, and its developmental achievements have laid a solid material foundation for satisfying the people’s needs for a better life, pushing China’s economic and social development into a brand-new stage. During these more than forty years of reform and opening up, the people’s needs for a better life are transitioning from the stage of “whether there is or isn’t” at the beginning of reform and opening up to the stage of “whether it is beautiful or not” and “whether it is good or not” after building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The people are paying more attention to their sense of gain, happiness, and security in real life. It can be said that the goal of satisfying the people’s needs for a better life runs through the entire cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and is an inevitable requirement of the practical development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

“人民美好生活需要”是新时代中国共产党的初心体现。为人民谋幸福是中国共产党的初心使命，中国特色社会主义进入新时代，习近平总书记进一步明确，“人民对美好生活的向往，就是我们的奋斗目标。”中国共产党的奋斗史实际上就是一部领导人民不断满足其需要、实现人民幸福的历史。“人民美好生活需要”的提出源于中国特色社会主义的历史实践，社会生产力发展推动的社会主要矛盾转化规定了其内容实质。在改革开放的四十多年中，生产关系的不断调整优化极大程度地释放了生产力发展潜力，我国的综合国力明显增强，其发展成就为满足人民美好生活需要奠定了坚实的物质基础，推动中国经济社会发展进入到了一个崭新阶段。在改革开放的四十多年间，人民群众对于美好生活的需要正在由改革开放之初的“有没有”向全面建成小康社会后的“美不美”“好不好”的阶段迈进。人民群众更加注重现实生活中的获得感、幸福感、安全感。可以说，人民美好生活需要的满足这一奋斗目标贯穿于中国特色社会主义事业始终，是中国特色社会主义实践发展的必然要求。

[Fund Project: Phased results of the National Social Science Fund Major Project “Research on the Experience of Upholding People Supremacy in the Century-Long Struggle of the Communist Party of China,” which interprets the spirit of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC (22ZDA009); phased results of the Jilin University “Chinese-Path Modernization Road and New Forms of Human Civilization” Philosophy and Social Science Research Innovation Team Project (2022CXT08)]

【基金项目：研究阐释党的十九届六中全会精神国家社科基金重大项目“中国共产党百年奋斗中坚持人民至上经验研究”阶段性成果（22ZDA009），吉林大学“中国式现代化道路与人类文明新形态”哲学社会科学研究创新团队项目阶段性成果(2022CXT08)】

[Project supported by the China Internet Development Foundation’s China Positive Energy Online Communication Special Fund]

【中国互联网发展基金会中国正能量网络传播专项基金资助支持项目】

Author: Han Xiping (Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Jilin University, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor); Du Du (Doctoral Student, School of Marxism, Jilin University)

作者：韩喜平（吉林大学党委副书记、教授、博士生导师）；杜都（吉林大学马克思主义学院博士研究生）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧