The Value Implications and Effectiveness Guarantees of Whole-Process People’s Democracy

Democracy is a common value of all humanity and an unremitting value pursuit of the Chinese Communists. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC proposed “improving the institutional system for whole-process people’s democracy.” Whole-process people’s democracy is not only a concept but also a practical reality supported by a systematic institutional framework. The proposal of whole-process people’s democracy and its development within China’s institutional system not only inherits the value core of the Marxist view of democracy but also provides multiple guarantees for the exertion of democratic effectiveness and the manifestation of the essence of democracy.

民主是全人类的共同价值，是中国共产党人不懈的价值追求。党的二十届三中全会提出“健全全过程人民民主制度体系”。全过程人民民主不仅是一种理念，而且是有着系统制度支撑的现实实践。全过程人民民主的提出及其在中国制度体系下的展开，不仅承继马克思主义民主观价值内核，也为民主效能的发挥、民主精义的彰显提供了多重保障。

Inheriting the Value Core of the Marxist View of Democracy

承继马克思主义民主观价值内核

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Respecting the principal position of the people and ensuring that the people are the masters of the country is the consistent stance of our Party.” In the concept of whole-process people’s democracy, “people’s democracy” signifies the subjectivity of the people, indicating the value orientation of putting the people first; “whole-process” reveals the practical form of democracy, indicating its characteristics of being all-encompassing, full-chain, and full-coverage.

习近平总书记指出：“尊重人民主体地位，保证人民当家作主，是我们党的一贯主张。”在全过程人民民主这一概念中，“人民民主”意味着人民的主体性，标示着人民至上的价值取向；“全过程”则揭示了民主的实践样态，标示着其全方位、全链条和全覆盖的现实特质。

Regarding the value implications of whole-process people’s democracy, this concept connects with the consensus characteristics of the concept of democracy, meaning that the people, as a plural entity, are the ultimate owners of public power, rather than a small privileged stratum controlling the operation of public power and the allocation of public resources. At the same time, in the works of the classical Marxist writers, when examining specific state systems within the framework of democracy, the state system “itself only appears as a determination, namely, the self-determination of the people,” and is the “specific content of the people.” Regarding the state system as the “determination” and “specific content” of the people essentially means the rule of the people, which is no different from the value core of democracy. The classical Marxist writers believed that for the “self-determination of the people” to be truly realized, it requires not only the breadth of the subjects of democratic participation and the scope of coverage but also a full-chain procedure, that is, embedding the value of democracy throughout the entire process of the operation of public power; otherwise, the subjectivity of the people cannot be realized. In this sense, whole-process people’s democracy, as a specific form of the creative development of people’s democracy, itself inherits the classical Marxist expression of democracy. At the same time, according to the Marxist view of democracy, only when whole-process people’s democracy is placed within the framework of the state system can its specific development and operation have solid institutional support and broad public participation, and the original value of democracy—popular sovereignty—be manifested to the greatest extent.

就全过程人民民主的价值意蕴来看，这一理念接通了关于民主概念的共识性特征，即意味着作为复数形态的人民是公共权力的终极所有者，而不是由少数特权阶层掌握公共权力的运作与公共资源的配置；同时，在马克思主义经典作家那里，把具体的国家制度放在民主制中去考察，其“本身只表现为一种规定，即人民的自我规定”，是“人民的特定内容”，把国家制度视为人民的“规定”与“特定内容”，其实质上就是人民的统治，这与民主的价值内核并无二致。马克思主义经典作家认为，“人民的自我规定”要真正得以实现，不仅需要民主参与的主体与覆盖的范围具有广泛性，也需要程序上的全链条，即将民主的价值贯穿公共权力运作的全过程，否则人民的主体性就无以实现。从这个意义上说，全过程人民民主作为人民民主创造性展开的具体样态，其本身就承继了马克思主义对民主的经典表述；同时，按照马克思主义民主观，全过程人民民主只有置于国家制度框架下，其具体展开与运作才有坚实制度支撑和广泛民众参与，民主的本源价值——人民主权，才能得到最大程度的彰显。

Guaranteeing the Breadth of Participating Subjects

保障参与主体的广泛性

As a specific form of people’s democracy, the “people” in whole-process people’s democracy embodies the essential attributes of democracy. An effective democratic system must create institutional channels for broad participation by the people, so that public decision-making, public management, and the governance of public affairs reflect the will of the vast majority of society, and it is the “greatest common divisor of society” [1]1 “Greatest common divisor of society” (社会最大公约数) is a metaphor frequently used in Chinese political discourse to denote the broadest possible consensus or shared interests among all social groups. rather than the will of a minority that plays a decisive role.

作为人民民主的具体展开形态，全过程人民民主中的“人民”体现了民主的本质属性，有效的民主制度必须创设制度通道让人民广泛参与，使公共决策、公共管理和公共事务的治理体现社会最大多数人的意志，是“社会最大公约数”而不是少数人的意愿在其中起决定性作用。

Western representative democracy is fundamentally different from people’s democracy. “Pluralistic politics” is merely its superficial phenomenon; in essence, it is a political game controlled by a small privileged stratum. The political participation of the vast majority of society is confined to a narrow scope, their interests are excluded from the public agenda, and the people’s power is left vacant.

西式代议制民主与人民民主有着本质区别，“多元政治”只是其表面现象，它在实质上是少数特权阶层控制的政治游戏，社会大多数人的政治参与被限定在狭小范围，其利益被排除在公共议程之外，人民的权力被空置。

The key reason why whole-process people’s democracy can avoid the vacancy of the people’s power lies in our institutionalized system that guarantees the participation of the broadest masses of the people, such as the system of people’s congresses, the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, the system of regional ethnic autonomy, and the system of grassroots self-governance. [2]2 The system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, the system of regional ethnic autonomy, and the system of grassroots self-governance are three of the four basic political systems in China, alongside the system of people’s congresses. Especially in the institutional integration of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC regarding further comprehensively deepening reform, it not only emphasizes strengthening the construction of the system of people being the masters of the country, improving the mechanism for consultative democracy, and improving the system for grassroots democracy, but also proposes improving the work pattern of the grand united front. [3]3 The “grand united front” (大统战工作格局) refers to the Party’s strategy of uniting all possible forces, including non-Communist parties, intellectuals, ethnic minorities, religious figures, and overseas Chinese, to achieve common political goals. These institutions accommodate the broadest subjective forces of political participation, including both organized subjects, such as political parties, governments, market organizations, and social organizations, and non-organized subjects, such as the broad masses at the grassroots level and individual citizens. The breadth of participating subjects powerfully interprets and supports the inclusiveness and aggregative nature of the concept of the people, and the principal position of the people has clear organizational support and institutional guarantees.

全过程人民民主之所以能避免人民权力被空置，关键在于我们有保证最广大人民参与的制度化体系，如人民代表大会制度、新型政党制度、民族区域自治制度以及基层群众自治制度等。特别是在党的二十届三中全会关于进一步全面深化改革的制度集成中，不仅强调要加强人民当家作主制度建设、健全协商民主机制、健全基层民主制度，还提出要完善大统战工作格局。这些制度容纳了最广泛的政治参与主体性力量，既包括组织化的主体，如政党、政府、市场组织和社会组织等，也包括非组织化主体，如基层广大群众、公民个体。参与主体的广泛性，有力诠释和支撑了人民概念的包容性和聚合性，人民主体性地位有了明确的组织支撑和制度保障。

Guaranteeing the Completeness of Process Links

保障过程环节的完整性

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “If the people only have the right to vote but not the right to participate widely, and if the people are only awakened when voting and fall into a dormant period after voting, such democracy is formalistic.” A classic theory of Western democracy is Schumpeter’s replacement of the core question of democracy from “who rules” to “who is elected to rule,” distorting democracy into “electing the ruler.” [4]4 Joseph Schumpeter, in his work *Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy* (1942), redefined democracy as a competitive struggle for the people’s vote, reducing it to an electoral method for selecting leaders. Thus, the democracy implemented is simplified into a procedural and technical issue of selecting rulers. In essence, for the people’s interests to be effectively expressed, safeguarded, and realized, it absolutely cannot rely solely on “elections,” and elections cannot encompass all of people’s political life.

习近平总书记指出：“人民只有投票的权利而没有广泛参与的权利，人民只有在投票时被唤醒、投票后就进入休眠期，这样的民主是形式主义的。”西方民主的一个经典理论，就是熊彼特把民主的核心问题从“由谁统治”置换成了“选举谁来统治”，将民主异化为“选主”，这样推行的民主就简化为挑选统治者的程序性、技术性问题。实质上，人民利益要得到有效表达、维护与实现，绝对不能仅仅靠“选举”，选举也并不能涵盖人们全部的政治生活。

It is in this sense that whole-process people’s democracy is not a “one-time consumption” electoral game, nor an intermittent electoral activity, but is embodied in the entire process of democratic practice links such as democratic elections, democratic consultation, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision. These democratic practice links are interrelated, mutually supportive, and mutually coordinated, concretely and realistically reflected in all aspects of people’s political life, enabling the masses to truly feel the essence of socialist democracy where the people are the masters of the country, vividly portraying the “people” characteristic in the operation of public power. In the political system design that ensures the operation of whole-process people’s democracy, there are not only complete electoral systems at various levels, such as elections for Party congresses, people’s congresses, and workers’ congresses, but also institutional arrangements for democratic consultation, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision. For example, the system of consultative democracy supports the extensive, multi-tiered, and institutionalized development of consultative democracy. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC proposed to “improve the system of consultative democracy, enrich the forms of consultation” and “improve the mechanisms for the adoption, implementation, and feedback of consultative outcomes.” These institutional arrangements well reflect the transcendence of the “full-chain” characteristic of whole-process people’s democracy over the “fragmented” characteristic of Western democracy.

正是在这个意义上说，全过程人民民主不是“一次性消费”的选举游戏，更不是间歇性的选举活动，而是体现在民主选举、民主协商、民主决策、民主管理、民主监督等全流程的民主实践环节之中。这些民主实践环节相互关联、相互支撑、相互配合，具体地、现实地体现在人民政治生活的方方面面，使人民群众切切实实地感受到当家作主的社会主义民主本质，生动刻画了公共权力运作过程中的“人民”特性。在保证全过程人民民主运转的政治制度设计中，既有完备的各层面的选举制度，如党代会、人代会和职代会的选举，更有民主协商、民主决策、民主管理和民主监督等方面的制度安排；再如协商民主制度就支撑了协商民主广泛、多层、制度化发展。党的二十届三中全会提出要“完善协商民主体系，丰富协商方式”“完善协商成果采纳、落实、反馈机制”等，这些制度安排很好体现了全过程人民民主的“全链条”对西方民主的“断点式”特征的超越。

Guaranteeing the Comprehensiveness of Coverage Scope

保障覆盖范围的全面性

In Western democratic politics, due to the monopolistic and narrow nature of its representative democracy, coupled with its high operational costs, democracy not only becomes an institutional device for safeguarding and realizing the interests of a minority but is also strictly confined to the electoral field, thereby excluding the masses from rich political life and the process of public affairs governance.

在西方民主政治中，由于其代议制民主运作的垄断性与狭隘性，加上其运转的高成本，不仅使民主成为维护与实现少数人利益的制度装置，更是将民主严格限定在选举领域，从而将大众排除在丰富的政治生活和公共事务治理过程之外。

From a normative perspective, the establishment of the principal position of the people cannot be reflected only in elections; it should also have a place in broader political and social life. Therefore, its sphere of action and scope of coverage should be comprehensive, and its specific operation should connect with daily public life, thus possessing the characteristics of being localized and accessible. This is because “democracy is not an ornament, nor is it used as a display; it is used to solve the problems that the people need to solve.” [5]5 This is a direct quote from Xi Jinping’s speech at the Central Conference on Work Related to People’s Congresses in October 2021. If democracy is not linked to the satisfaction of people’s daily public needs, the resolution of public governance difficulties, and the realization of their own rights and interests, it will deviate from the essential meaning of “popular sovereignty” in democracy.

从规范层面上说，人民主体地位的树立不能仅体现在选举之中，而是应该在更广泛的政治生活与社会生活中也有一席之地，因而其作用的领域、覆盖的范围应具有全面性，其具体运作应与日常的公共生活相接通，从而具有在地性与可及性的特点。因为“民主不是装饰品，不是用来做摆设的，而是要用来解决人民需要解决的问题的”。如果民主不同人们日常的公共需求满足、公共治理难题的解决和自身权益的实现关联起来，就会背离民主“人民主权”的精髓要义。

It is precisely based on this that General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must continue to advance the construction of whole-process people’s democracy, concretely and realistically embodying the people being the masters of the country in the policies and measures of the Party’s governance of the country, concretely and realistically embodying it in the work of all aspects and at all levels of the Party and state organs, and concretely and realistically embodying it in the work of realizing the people’s aspiration for a better life.” [6]6 This quote is from Xi Jinping’s speech at the Central Conference on Work Related to People’s Congresses in October 2021. Therefore, the proposal and institutionalized practice of whole-process people’s democracy transcend the narrow scope of mere elections, incorporating the public needs of the people in the economic, political, cultural, social, and other fields, as well as the greatest common divisor of their interests, into its operational track, thereby more comprehensively safeguarding the people’s real interests.

正是基于此，习近平总书记指出：“我们要继续推进全过程人民民主建设，把人民当家作主具体地、现实地体现到党治国理政的政策措施上来，具体地、现实地体现到党和国家机关各个方面各个层级工作上来，具体地、现实地体现到实现人民对美好生活向往的工作上来。”所以，全过程人民民主的提出及其制度化实践，超越了单纯选举的狭小范围，将人民在经济、政治、文化、社会等领域的公共需求和其利益的最大公约数纳入其运行轨道，从而更为全面地保障人们的现实利益。

Guaranteeing the Effectiveness of Institutional Operation

保障制度运转的有效性

As the most extensive, most genuine, and most effective democracy, the values inherent in whole-process people’s democracy need to be further released, and its characteristics of being full-chain, all-encompassing, and full-coverage need to be manifested. Apart from relying on the voluntary participation of the broad masses, this is even more inseparable from the leadership of the ruling Party, that is, in the process of developing whole-process people’s democracy, it is necessary to achieve the organic unity of the Party’s leadership, the people being the masters of the country, and law-based governance.

全过程人民民主作为最广泛、最真实、最管用的民主，其所蕴含的价值要进一步释放，其全链条、全方位、全覆盖的特性要得以彰显，除了靠广大民众自觉自愿的参与外，更离不开执政党的领导，即在发展全过程人民民主过程中要做到党的领导、人民当家作主和依法治国的有机统一。

As a Marxist political party, the Communist Party of China takes the people’s character as its essential attribute, and its nature and orientation are highly consistent with the value essence of democracy. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Without democracy, there is no socialism, no socialist modernization, and no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” It is precisely on this basis that, in advancing whole-process people’s democracy, the leadership and guidance of the ruling party, which represents the interests and demands of the people, are indispensable. On the one hand, through the ruling party’s value guidance, institutional design, policy arrangements, organizational mobilization, and exemplary leadership, the value essence and institutional effectiveness of whole-process people’s democracy are further released on a larger and broader scale. Thus, the Party’s leadership is an important guarantee for the effective operation of whole-process people’s democracy. On the other hand, the Party, by promoting the effective construction and operation of the whole-process people’s democracy system—that is, by safeguarding and realizing the democratic rights and interests of the broadest masses of the people—continuously expands and enhances its influence and recognition. Thus, the whole-process people’s democracy system is an important institutional guarantee for the effectiveness of the Party’s comprehensive leadership. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC not only proposed that “developing whole-process people’s democracy is an essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization” but also pointed out that “the Party’s leadership is the fundamental guarantee for further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization,” and specifically proposed “following the Party’s mass line well in the New Era.” [7]7 The mass line is a core working method of the CPC, requiring Party members and cadres to “come from the masses, go to the masses,” gathering their opinions and translating them into policy. “In the New Era” refers to the period since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, marked by Xi Jinping’s leadership and the official designation of “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.” This actually clarifies the mutually supportive and empowering relationship between the Party’s comprehensive leadership system and the whole-process people’s democracy system.

中国共产党作为马克思主义政党，人民性是其本质属性，其性质定位与初心使命高度契合民主的价值精义。习近平总书记指出：“没有民主就没有社会主义，就没有社会主义的现代化，就没有中华民族伟大复兴。”正是基于此，在推进全过程人民民主过程中，离不开代表人民利益诉求的执政党的引领和主导。一方面，通过执政党的价值引领、制度设计、政策安排、组织动员以及带头示范等，将全过程人民民主的价值精义和制度效能在更大更广范围内进一步释放，可见，党的领导是全过程人民民主运转有效性的重要保障；另一方面，党通过推动全过程人民民主制度体系的有效建构与运转，即通过保障、实现最广大人民的民主权益进而不断扩展、增进影响力和认同度，可见，全过程人民民主制度体系是党全面领导有效性的重要制度保证。党的二十届三中全会不仅提出“发展全过程人民民主是中国式现代化的本质要求”，也指出“党的领导是进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化的根本保证”，特别提出要“走好新时代党的群众路线”，这实际上指明了党的全面领导制度体系与全过程人民民主制度体系之间互相支撑、赋能的关系。

(Author: Luo Feng, Professor and Vice President of the Party School of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPC, and Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Shanghai Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era)

（作者：罗峰，系中共上海市委党校副校长、教授，上海市习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心副主任兼秘书长）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧