Understanding Common Prosperity in Step with the Times

Common prosperity is the essence of socialism; taking the socialist path means gradually achieving common prosperity. Today, as we have completed the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, are striving to modernize the national governance system, have embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects, and are advancing toward the Second Centenary Goal, we must understand common prosperity comprehensively and accurately, and must keep pace with the times in both content and form.

共同富裕是社会主义的本质，走社会主义道路，就是要逐步实现共同富裕。在全面建成小康社会、全力推进国家治理现代化、迈上全面建设社会主义现代化国家新征程、向第二个百年奋斗目标进军的今天，要全面准确理解共同富裕，在内容与形式上必须要与时俱进。

Common Prosperity Adapted to the Better Life of the New Era

适应新时代美好生活的共同富裕

The people’s aspiration for a better life is the starting point and ultimate goal of our modernization drive, and it is also the anchor point for our understanding of common prosperity. Since China entered the New Era, and especially after completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, we have historically bid farewell to material shortages and poverty, and a better life has become a genuine and dominant need of the broad masses. But we must understand that the common prosperity people envision today differs greatly in both content and form from what it was thirty or forty years ago, and even has a qualitative difference. When materials were in severe shortage and the problem of food and clothing had not yet been solved, people’s main attention was focused on how to obtain and possess basic means of subsistence. Even if the differences among them were not large, the actual feelings could be very acute, and the desire for equal distribution of limited material resources was very strong. Today, after completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and especially as the Engel coefficient has declined and the basic living expenses of most families are not very different, the nature of the problem has changed. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s per capita disposable income was 171 yuan in 1978 and reached 35,189 yuan in 2021; the Engel coefficient for urban residents was 28.6% and for rural residents 32.7%. This means that the wealth structure and consumption structure of urban and rural residents have both undergone a qualitative leap. Although, whether in rural or urban areas, specific special reasons can cause some families to fall into severe poverty—a situation that exists even in developed countries—because the number of such families is small, the state can solve the problem through special subsidy policies. Therefore, in terms of the general trend, the core or focus of understanding and realizing common prosperity today is no longer to eliminate the opposition between rich and poor, but gradually to solve the problem of the degree of affluence. Correspondingly, on the one hand, people’s needs at the level of spiritual life are increasing and improving; on the other hand, the differences between different regions and different lifestyles are becoming prominent. The combination of these two factors makes the actual feelings of the subjects and the judgments based on statistical data show a large gap or asynchrony.

人民对美好生活的向往是我们现代化建设的出发点和落脚点，也是我们理解共同富裕的锚定点。中国进入新时代，特别是全面建成小康社会之后，历史性地告别了物资短缺和贫困，美好生活就成为广大人民群众真切的优势性需要。但我们要明白，今天人们心目中的共同富裕，无论从内容还是形式上都与三四十年前有了很大不同，甚至有质的差别。在物资十分短缺、生活温饱问题尚未解决之时，人们的主要注意力就集中在如何获得、占有基本生活资料上，即使彼此之间的差别并不大，但实际感受却会很尖锐，对有限的物资资源实现均分的意念也会非常强烈。在全面建成小康社会的今天，尤其是随着恩格尔系数降低、大多数家庭基本生活支出所差不大的条件下，问题的性质就发生了变化。国家统计局数据显示，我国人均可支配收入1978年为171元，2021年达到了35189元，城镇居民恩格尔系数为28.6%，农村为32.7%，这意味着城乡居民的财富结构和消费结构都发生了质的飞跃。尽管无论在农村还是城市，由于具体的特殊原因会导致一些家庭陷入严重贫困，这种情况即使在发达国家也会存在，但由于其数量很少，国家通过特殊补助政策就能予以解决。因此，从总的趋势上看，现在理解和实现共同富裕的核心或重点，已经不再是消除贫富对立，而是逐渐解决富裕程度之间的问题。与之相应，一方面是人们精神生活层面的需求在增加和提高，另一方面是不同地区不同生活样式之间的差别凸显了出来。二者叠加综合，使得主体的实际感受与基于统计数据的判断之间出现较大的差距或不同步。

Common Prosperity Based on the Socialist Market Economy

基于社会主义市场经济的共同富裕

The greatest innovation of the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics is that it overturns the traditional dogma and superstition that a market economy equals capitalism, and achieves a reasonable combination of socialism and the market economy. The success of Chinese-path modernization has, to a considerable extent, proved the historical rationality and superiority of the socialist market economy. The central authorities have repeatedly stressed that China is still in the primary stage of socialism, and that we must unswervingly adhere to the “basic economic system” of “upholding the dominant position of public ownership and the development of diverse forms of ownership together, and upholding the distribution system in which distribution according to work is dominant and multiple modes of distribution coexist,” strive to maintain and promote social fairness and justice, and strive to gradually achieve common prosperity through high-quality development. All of this is based on the basic premise of the socialist market economy.

中国特色社会主义理论的最大创新，是颠覆了传统认为市场经济等于资本主义的教条和迷信，实现了社会主义与市场经济的合理结合。中国式现代化的成功，在相当程度上证明了社会主义市场经济的历史合理性和优越性。中央反复强调我国依然处于社会主义初级阶段，要毫不动摇地“坚持公有制为主体、多种所有制经济共同发展，坚持按劳分配为主体、多种分配方式并存的分配制度”的“基本经济制度”，着力维护和促进社会公平正义，着力通过高质量发展逐步实现共同富裕，这些都是建立在社会主义市场经济这个基本前提上的。

Adhering to the “Two Unswervinglys” and gradually achieving common prosperity through high-quality development is both an inherent requirement of the socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics and the correct path to common prosperity. High-quality development requires many conditions, but the most fundamental and most important one is to adhere to the socialist market economy. It is precisely because of the cellular vitality and the enthusiasm of various entities stimulated by the socialist market economy, the rationality and efficiency of resource allocation formed by the market’s competition and cooperation mechanisms, and the state’s macro-control, that we have achieved today’s great successes. Conversely, without the socialist market economy, high-quality development would be impossible. Adhering to the “Two Unswervinglys” is precisely the inherent basic requirement of the socialist market economy. We must fully recognize that the socialist market economy is by no means socialism + market economy, but rather the Chinese Communist Party’s major innovative answer to the “historical question” of “what is socialism and how to build socialism.” Therefore, the socialist market economy is a strategic policy that needs to be upheld for the long term.

坚持“两个毫不动摇”，通过高质量发展逐步实现共同富裕，既是中国特色社会主义市场经济的内在要求，也是实现共同富裕的正确道路。高质量发展固然需要很多条件，但最根本最主要的还是坚持社会主义市场经济这一条。正是由于社会主义市场经济所激发出来的细胞活力和各种主体的积极性，市场的竞争和合作机制所形成的资源配置合理性及其效率，以及国家的宏观调控，才有了我们今天的巨大成就。反过来，离开社会主义市场经济就不可能有高质量发展。坚持“两个毫不动摇”正是社会主义市场经济的内在基本要求。我们必须充分认识到，社会主义市场经济绝不是社会主义+市场经济，而是中国共产党对“什么是社会主义、如何建设社会主义”的这个“历史之问”的重大创新性回答。因此，社会主义市场经济是一项需要长期坚持的战略方针。

Common Prosperity That Strives to Expand and Enhance the Richness of Sharing

努力扩大和提高共享丰富性的共同富裕

Clear property rights and legal protection are basic requirements and basic laws of the market economy. The socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics naturally cannot violate this law; on the contrary, it must be strengthened and improved through deepening reform. Without this, it would be impossible to implement the strategic goal of gradually achieving common prosperity through high-quality development. This is one aspect of the issue. The other aspect of the issue is that we cannot focus only on the distribution and possession of wealth; we also need to understand the problem of common prosperity from the perspective of the value realization of wealth and its overall social effects, and from the perspective of human development and talent production.

产权明晰和法律保障是市场经济的基本要求，也是基本规律。中国特色社会主义市场经济当然不能违背这一规律，相反还要通过深化改革予以加强和完善，非如此无法落实以高质量发展逐步实现共同富裕的战略目标，这是问题的一个方面。问题的另一方面是，我们不能把目光仅局限于财富的分配和占有上，还需要从财富的价值实现和整体社会效应的角度，从人的发展和人才生产的角度，去理解共同富裕问题。

Viewing and understanding common prosperity from the perspective of value realization and consumption-enjoyment means that our vision is not limited to staring at the amount of “private goods” distributed to ourselves, but also looks at the richness of “public goods” that can be shared, formed by society and provided by the government. In other words, the richer the public goods, the higher the level of public services, the more things and channels people can share, and the higher the degree of common prosperity in society. We should guide people to include in the vision of common prosperity the great convenience in transportation and communication, the shared welfare provided by social security and cultural development, and the ecological benefits formed by environmental improvement—these public welfare benefits actually enjoyed by the general public. Then, people’s happiness index and recognition of a better life will undoubtedly be greatly improved. As for various policies to rescue the weak and help the poor, they are originally an important part of public policy.

从价值实现和消费—享受的角度看待和理解共同富裕，我们的眼光就不限于只是盯着分配到自己手里的“私人物品”的多少，还要看社会形成和政府提供的可以共享的“公共物品”的丰富程度。换句话说，公共物品越是丰富，公共服务水平越高，人们可以共享的东西和渠道越多，社会共同富裕的程度就越高。我们应引导人们把交通、交往方面的极大便利、社会安全和文化发展提供的共享的福利、环境改善形成的生态利益等，这些社会大众所实际享受的公共福利都纳入共同富裕的视野。那么，人们的幸福指数、对美好生活的认同无疑会大大提高。至于各种救弱济贫政策，本来也是公共政策的重要内容。

In the current era, talent has become the most important resource and a key factor in international competition. All countries focus on cultivating, attracting, and making good use of talent. Common prosperity achieved by expanding and enhancing the richness of sharing, especially using digital technology to share existing scientific, technological, and cultural achievements, provides good social conditions for talent cultivation. Downplaying excessive attention to, excessive sensitivity to, and unreasonable evaluation of the gap in wealth distribution and possession broadens the policy space and creates a good cultural atmosphere for attracting, retaining, and making good use of talent. This is of particular significance for our realization of Chinese-path modernization and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation today. We must see that China is a populous country but not yet a strong country in terms of talent; the cultivation and use of talent must be continuously strengthened. We must understand the great practical significance of the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education and the strategy of strengthening the country through talent from the historical height of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and deeply understand the great historical significance of the “Three Favorables” standard. Only by uniting all forces that can be united, mobilizing all positive factors that can be mobilized, and forming the greatest synergy can we achieve high-quality sustainable development, which is the correct path to common prosperity.

当今时代，人才成为最重要的资源，是国际竞争的关键因素，各国都注重培养人才、吸引人才、用好人才。通过扩大和提高共享丰富性而实现的共同富裕，尤其是利用数字技术实现既有科技文化成果的共享，为人才培养提供良好的社会条件，而淡化对财富分配—占有差距的过度关注、过度敏感以及不合理评价，则为吸引人才、留住人才、用好人才拓宽了政策空间并营造了良好的文化氛围。这一点对于我们今天实现中国式现代化、实现中华民族伟大复兴具有特别重要的意义。我们必须看到，中国是人口大国，却并非人才强国，人才培养和使用方面还要不断加强。要从中华民族伟大复兴的历史高度理解科教兴国、人才强国战略的重大现实意义，深刻理解“三个有利于”标准的重大历史意义，只有团结一切可以团结的力量，调动一切可以调动的积极因素，形成最大的合力，才能实现高质量的持续发展，才是走向共同富裕的正确道路。

(The authors are a professor at the Institute of Marxist Philosophy, Shanxi University, and a doctoral student at the School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China.)

（作者系山西大学马克思主义哲学研究所教授；中国人民大学哲学院博士研究生）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧