The Generative Logic and Practical Principles of Chinese-Path Modernization

The Communist Party of China has led the people in successfully forging the path of Chinese-path modernization, creating a new form of human civilization. Chinese-path modernization provides a new option for humanity to realize modernization. To profoundly answer why Chinese-path modernization can offer humanity a new choice for achieving modernization, an important prerequisite is to deeply understand the generative logic of Chinese-path modernization, so as to better advance the construction of Chinese-path modernization in China and its recognition in the world. Based on the distinctive features and essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization, and from the perspective of historical materialism, Marx’s theory of the social organism provides a theoretical explanation for the generative logic of Chinese-path modernization. Applying Marx’s theory of the social organism to analyze Chinese-path modernization is conducive to clarifying the practical principles of Chinese-path modernization and is of great significance for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization.

中国共产党领导人民成功走出中国式现代化道路，创造了人类文明新形态。中国式现代化为人类实现现代化提供了新选择。深刻回答中国式现代化为什么能够为人类实现现代化提供新选择，一个重要前提就是要深刻理解中国式现代化的生成逻辑，这样才能更好推进中国式现代化的中国构建和世界认同。根据中国式现代化的鲜明特色和本质要求，从历史唯物主义的角度看，马克思社会有机体理论为中国式现代化的生成逻辑提供了理论阐释。运用马克思社会有机体理论对中国式现代化进行分析，有利于明确中国式现代化的实践原则，对以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业具有重要意义。

I. The Continuous Operation of the Social Organism Drives the Process of Modernization in Human Society

一、社会有机体不断运行推动人类社会现代化发展进程

Human society is an organic whole composed of multiple elements. The continuous development of the social organism drives the progress of human society, and an important marker of this is the emergence and development of modernization. The theory of the social organism is an important component of historical materialism, providing us with a key to scientifically understanding and constructing modernization.

人类社会是由多种要素共同构成的一个有机整体。社会有机体不断发展推动人类社会进步，其重要标志就是现代化的产生与发展。社会有机体理论是唯物史观的一个重要内容，为我们科学认识现代化、建设现代化提供了一把钥匙。

1. The Holistic Development of the Various Elements of the Social Organism Lays the Foundation for Modernization

1.社会有机体各要素整体性发展为现代化奠定基础

Human society is an organic whole formed by the interconnection and interaction of various elements and links. Marx pointed out: “At a certain stage of development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production or—this merely expresses the same thing in legal terms—with the property relations within the framework of which they have operated hitherto. From forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution. The changes in the economic foundation lead sooner or later to the transformation of the whole immense superstructure.” Marxism holds that the structure of human society internally contains the levels of productive forces–relations of production and economic base–superstructure, involving the basic spheres of human society, encompassing the natural environment, producers, objects of production, instruments of production, law, thought, morality, art, philosophy, and other aspects, concentratedly expressed as the holistic development of elements in the economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological fields. From the perspective of the fields of human practical activity, the economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological elements of the social organism precisely reflect the main aspects of the development of human modernization. On the basis of analyzing the structural elements of the social organism, Marx elucidated that the fundamental driving force of social development and change lies in the movement of the basic contradiction between productive forces and relations of production, and between economic base and superstructure. In the process of resolving the basic contradictions of society, human society continuously moves forward.

人类社会是一个由各个要素和环节相互联系、相互作用构成的有机整体。马克思指出：“社会的物质生产力发展到一定阶段，便同它们一直在其中运动的现存生产关系或财产关系（这只是生产关系的法律用语）发生矛盾。于是这些关系便由生产力的发展形式变成生产力的桎梏。那时社会革命的时代就到来了。随着经济基础的变更，全部庞大的上层建筑也或慢或快地发生变革。”马克思主义认为，人类社会结构内在包含着生产力-生产关系、经济基础-上层建筑几个层次，涉及人类社会的基本领域，囊括自然环境、生产者、生产对象、生产工具、法律、思想、道德、艺术、哲学等多个方面，集中表现为经济、政治、文化、社会、生态等各领域要素的整体性发展。从人的实践活动领域来看，社会有机体的经济、政治、文化、社会、生态等各要素恰恰体现了人类现代化发展的主要方面。马克思在分析社会有机体结构要素的基础上，阐明了社会发展变化的根本动力在于生产力和生产关系、经济基础和上层建筑的基本矛盾运动，在解决社会基本矛盾的过程中人类社会不断向前发展。

Marx pointed out: “This organic system itself, as a totality, has its own presuppositions, and its development towards totality consists precisely in subordinating all elements of society to itself, or in creating out of itself the organs which it still lacks.” From a horizontal perspective, the social organism, in the course of its development, incorporates more and more elements into itself; the more it develops, the stronger its holism becomes. The transition of humanity from primitive communities to the free association of individuals, and from regional history to world history, are typical manifestations. In a certain sense, the modernization of human society is precisely the result of the combined action of the economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological elements of the social organism; the continuous development of modernization precisely reflects the systematic and holistic characteristics of the social organism. From a vertical perspective, the development of the social organism exhibits a certain creativity. It is precisely because of the holistic development of the various elements of the social organism, effectively promoting the continuous progress of human material civilization, political civilization, cultural-ethical progress, social civilization, and ecological civilization, that modernization can be achieved. It can be said that the process of the development and transformation of the social organism is also a process of continuous innovation and breakthrough in modernization; the emergence and development of the three industrial revolutions in human history profoundly illustrate this point. Whether in terms of horizontal element composition or vertical expansion and advancement, the social organism exhibits the characteristic of holistic development, which provides a systematic and holistic perspective for human society to realize modernization.

马克思指出：“这种有机体制本身作为一个总体有自己的各种前提，而它向总体的发展过程就在于：使社会的一切要素从属于自己，或者把自己还缺乏的器官从社会中创造出来。”从横向上看，社会有机体在发展过程中会把越来越多的要素纳入其中，越向前发展整体性越强。人类从原始共同体迈向自由人联合体，从地域性历史向世界历史的转变就是典型体现。在一定意义上讲，人类社会的现代化正是社会有机体经济、政治、文化、社会、生态等各要素综合作用的结果，现代化的不断发展恰恰体现了社会有机体的系统性、整体性特征。从纵向上看，社会有机体的发展表现出一定的创造性。正是由于社会有机体各要素的整体性发展，有效推动人类物质文明、政治文明、精神文明、社会文明、生态文明不断进步，才能迈向现代化。可以说，社会有机体发展变革的过程也是现代化不断创新与突破的过程，人类历史上三次工业革命的产生与发展深刻说明了这一点。无论是横向上的要素构成还是纵向上的拓展推进，社会有机体都呈现了整体性发展的特点，这为人类社会实现现代化提供了系统性、整体性的思维视角。

Looking back at history, the process of modernization construction in various countries is deeply coupled with the development process of the social organism. The holistic development of the various elements of the social organism has laid the foundation for human society to realize modernization; modernization is a result of the overall development of the social organism. This tells us that modernization construction must deeply understand and grasp the holism of the social organism; the development of modernization must be a holistic progress. At the same time, the various elements of the social organism are dynamically growing and changing, possessing developmental transformability. There is no once-and-for-all optimal state for the structural model of the social organism; its inherent contradictions determine that in the process of modernization construction, we need to continuously adjust and optimize according to actual conditions. It can be said that modernization is a manifestation of humanity’s pursuit of civilizational progress in the process of the holistic development of the various elements of the social organism; modernization construction must deeply understand and grasp the holism and developmental transformability of the social organism.

回顾历史，各国的现代化建设历程与社会有机体发展过程深度耦合，社会有机体各要素整体性发展为人类社会实现现代化奠定了基础，现代化是社会有机体整体发展的一个结果。这告诉我们，现代化建设必须深刻认识和把握社会有机体的整体性，现代化发展一定是一种整体性的进步。同时，社会有机体各要素是动态生长变化的，具有发展变革性。社会有机体的结构模式不存在一劳永逸的最佳状态，其内在矛盾决定了我们在现代化建设过程中需要根据实际情况不断进行调整和优化。可以说，现代化是社会有机体各要素整体发展过程中人类追求文明进步的体现，现代化建设必须深刻认识和把握社会有机体的整体性和发展变革性。

2. The Comprehensive Production of the Social Organism Provides the Driving Force for the Development of Modernization

2.社会有机体全面生产为现代化发展提供动力

From the perspective of its operational mechanism, human society is an organic unity of various productions and reproductions. Comprehensive production, as the operational mechanism of the social organism, drives social development. By elaborating historical materialism, Marx profoundly discussed the theory of comprehensive production of the social organism, clarifying that human society is an organic unity of the interaction of material production, spiritual production, the reproduction of human beings themselves, the reproduction of social relations, and the reproduction of the relationship between humans and nature, and that it is in a state of dynamic development. From the perspective of the evolution of social formations, the comprehensive production of the social organism has promoted the progress of human civilization and driven the process of modernization.

从运行机制来看，人类社会是各种生产和再生产的有机统一体，全面生产作为社会有机体的运行机制，推动社会发展。马克思通过阐释唯物史观，深刻论述了社会有机体全面生产理论，阐明了人类社会是物质生产、精神生产、人类自身再生产、社会关系再生产以及人与自然关系再生产等相互作用的有机统一体，并且处于动态发展的过程中。从社会形态演进的角度来看，社会有机体全面生产促进了人类文明进步，推动了现代化进程。

In the stage of personal dependence, “human productive capacity develops only within narrow confines and on isolated points”; material production is very underdeveloped, the reproduction of human beings themselves is also at a low level, the production of social relations is bound within narrow social scopes such as blood relations, geographical relations, and patriarchal relations, and spiritual production is monopolized by the aristocratic ruling class; the capacity and conditions for comprehensive production of the entire social organism are very limited. However, this comprehensive production of the social organism created a developed agricultural civilization; human society experienced leaps from primitive society to slave society to feudal society, which played a foundational role for subsequent modernization.

在人的依赖性阶段，“人的生产能力只是在狭小的范围内和孤立的地点上发展着”，物质生产很不发达，人类自身再生产也处于较低水平，社会关系生产被束缚在血缘关系、地缘关系和宗法关系等狭隘社会范围内，精神生产被贵族统治阶级垄断，整个社会有机体全面生产的能力和条件十分有限。但是，这种社会有机体全面生产创造了发达的农业文明，人类社会经历了从原始社会、奴隶社会到封建社会的跃升，这对之后的现代化具有奠基性作用。

In the stage of material dependence, the West took the lead in achieving major innovative breakthroughs in science, technology, and industry, giving rise to large-scale machine production and the corresponding industrial revolution, greatly enhancing material productive forces. With the enrichment of material goods, human physical strength and intellectual capacity were enhanced, promoting the reproduction of human beings themselves. In terms of spiritual production, the bourgeoisie, using “reason” as a weapon, fiercely criticized the feudal autocratic system and religious theology, giving rise to bourgeois thought centered on democracy, freedom, equality, and fraternity. With the opening of new sea routes, human history gradually became world history; the scope of human interaction broke through geographical boundaries, and the production of social relations expanded accordingly. The comprehensive production of the social organism drove the transformation of human society from traditional agricultural civilization to modern industrial civilization, producing comprehensive social changes centered on industrialization; humanity thereby inaugurated modernization and expanded it in the process of world history. However, in the stage of material dependence, the comprehensive production of the social organism is dominated by the logic of capital, and capitalist modernization has insurmountable limitations.

在物的依赖性阶段，西方率先在科技和产业方面有了重大创新性突破，产生了大机器生产和与之相应的工业革命，物质生产力极大提升。随着物质资料的丰富，人的体力和智力得到增强，促进了人类自身再生产。在精神生产方面，资产阶级以“理性”为武器，对封建专制制度和宗教神学进行猛烈批判，催生了以民主、自由、平等、博爱等为核心的资产阶级思想。随着新航路的开辟，人类历史逐渐成为世界历史，人们的交往范围突破了地域界限，社会关系生产也随之扩大。社会有机体全面生产推动人类社会从传统农业文明向现代工业文明转化，产生以工业化为核心的全面社会变革，人类由此开创了现代化并在世界历史进程中得以拓展。然而，在物的依赖性阶段，社会有机体全面生产受资本逻辑主导，资本主义现代化有其无法克服的局限性。

In the future stage of free individuality, the comprehensive production of the social organism will form an optimal resultant force to drive modernization. In a communist society or the social form of an association of free individuals, the various elements of the social organism will no longer be enslaved by things; material productive capacity will be markedly enhanced, material goods will be extremely abundant, people will have more free time to engage in spiritual production, effectively promoting the reproduction of human beings themselves, the spatiotemporal boundaries of social intercourse will be broken, social relations will undergo a qualitative transformation, and people will attain genuine freedom and equality. More importantly, at this stage the comprehensive production of the social organism will promote the genuine resolution of contradictions among human beings, nature, and society, making the healthy and sustainable development of the relationship between humans and nature possible. The stage of “free individuality, which is founded on the universal development of individuals and on their subordination of their communal, social productivity as their social wealth” [n1] will thoroughly cast off all forms of dependency relations that fetter modernization, and modernization will truly serve the free and comprehensive development of human beings.

在未来的自由个性阶段，社会有机体全面生产将形成最佳合力推动现代化发展。在共产主义社会或自由人联合体的社会形态中，社会有机体各要素不再被物所奴役，物质生产能力显著增强，物质资料极大丰富，人们将有更多自由时间从事精神生产，有效促进人类自身再生产，社会交往的时空界域被打破，社会关系实现质的改变，人们将获得真正的自由平等。更重要的是，在这一阶段社会有机体全面生产将推动人、自然、社会之间的矛盾得以真正解决，人与自然关系的健康可持续发展成为可能。“建立在个人全面发展和他们共同的、社会的生产能力成为从属于他们的社会财富这一基础上的自由个性”阶段，将彻底摆脱各种依赖关系对现代化的束缚，现代化真正为人的自由全面发展服务。

3. The developmental trend of the social organism defines the goal and direction of modernization

3.社会有机体的发展趋势明确现代化目标方向

From the perspective of developmental trend, the social organism is an open and inclusive organic unified system; it is not closed and rigid, but possesses the developmental characteristics of openness and integration. Marx and Engels pointed out in *The German Ideology*: “The more the original isolation of separate nationalities is destroyed by the developed mode of production and intercourse and the division of labor between various nations naturally brought forth by these, the more history becomes world history.” [n2] The transformation of human history into world history is a natural historical process that does not depend on the subjective will of human beings. Driven by world history, the localized mode of production of the social organism gradually transforms into a world-historical mode of production; the openness of the various elements of the social organism correspondingly increases; the one-sidedness and limitations of nations are broken; intercourse among countries becomes increasingly close; humanity increasingly becomes a community with a shared future; “the old local and national seclusion and self-sufficiency are replaced by an intercourse in every direction, a universal interdependence of nations. And as in material, so also in intellectual production.” [n3] The typical manifestation of this trend of openness and integration in the social organism is economic globalization. As economic globalization advances in depth, the degree of openness of the social organism deepens and the trend toward integration becomes more pronounced, effectively promoting the process of human societal modernization. For example, the expansion of production and trade promotes the growth of world wealth; the spread of science and technology advances the industrialization process of various countries; the exchange and mutual learning of different cultures promotes the fusion of civilizations; the formation of world literature creates more spiritual products, and so on.

从发展趋势上看，社会有机体是一个开放包容的有机统一系统，并不是封闭僵化的，具有开放性和一体化的发展特征。马克思恩格斯在《德意志意识形态》中指出：“各个相互影响的活动范围在这个发展进程中越是扩大，各民族的原始封闭状态由于日益完善的生产方式、交往以及因交往而自然形成的不同民族之间的分工消灭得越是彻底，历史也就越是成为世界历史。”人类历史向世界历史转变是不以人的主观意志为转移的自然历史过程。在世界历史的推动下，社会有机体地域性的生产方式逐渐转化为世界历史性的生产方式，社会有机体各要素的开放程度也随之增加，民族的片面性和局限性被打破，各国交往日益密切，人类越来越成为命运共同体，“过去那种地方的和民族的自给自足和闭关自守状态，被各民族的各方面的互相往来和各方面的互相依赖所代替了。物质的生产是如此，精神的生产也是如此”。社会有机体这种开放性、一体化发展趋势的典型体现就是经济全球化。随着经济全球化向纵深推进，社会有机体开放程度越来越深、一体化趋势愈加凸显，有效促进了人类社会现代化进程。譬如，生产贸易的扩大促进了世界财富增长、科技的传播推动了各国工业化历程、不同文化交流互鉴促进了文明融合、世界文学的形成创造了更多的精神产品等。

Driven by economic globalization, the social organism manifests a trend of open development. Countries move toward modernization in an environment of expanding openness, and the spatial scope of modernization grows ever larger; in this process, modernization gradually acquires a world-historical significance. Thus, the realization of modernization becomes a global phenomenon; countries, whether actively or passively, are integrated into the process of modernization construction, and modernization exhibits a trend of integration, such as industrialization in the economy, humanization in culture, and urbanization in social life. From this perspective, the goal and direction of modernization construction must be open and inclusive, not closed and narrow; it must be about common progress, not selfish and exclusive; modernization in its genuine sense must also be capable of benefiting all of humanity. Because of differences in national conditions, social cultures, and customs, the elements of the social organism in each country have developmental disparities, and the modernization of each country will inevitably manifest different forms and characteristics. The structural combination of the various elements of the social organism is the result of the independent choice of the people of each country based on their own realities; this determines the diversity of modernization models.

社会有机体在经济全球化驱动下呈现出开放发展的趋势，各国在不断扩大开放的环境中走向现代化，并推动现代化空间发展范围越来越大，现代化在这一过程中也逐渐具有了世界性意义。由此，实现现代化成为一个全球性现象，各国或主动或被动地融入现代化建设历程，现代化呈现出一体化的发展趋势，如经济上的工业化、文化上的人性化、社会生活上的城市化等。从这一层面上讲，现代化建设的目标方向一定是开放包容而非封闭狭隘的，一定是共同进步而非自私排他的，真正意义上的现代化也一定能够造福全人类。由于国情、社会文化风俗等不同，各国社会有机体要素具有发展差异，各国现代化也必然会呈现不同样态和特征。社会有机体各要素的结构组合，是由各国人民根据自身实际自主选择的结果，这决定了现代化模式的多样性。

II. Chinese-Path Modernization Is the Concrete Practice of Marx’s Theory of the Social Organism in China

二、中国式现代化是马克思社会有机体理论在中国的具体实践

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC: “On the basis of long-term exploration and practice since the founding of the People’s Republic of China and especially since reform and opening up, and through theoretical and practical innovation breakthroughs since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, our Party has successfully advanced and expanded Chinese-path modernization.” [n4] This reveals the historical coordinates and generative logic of Chinese-path modernization, and elucidates the internal logic of its development. Looking back at history, the realization of modernization is inseparable from the development of the various forms of production of the social organism, the exertion of the people’s subjective force, the resolution of the principal social contradictions, the harmonious unity of the relationship between humans and nature, and the pursuit of social ideal value goals. Based on the characteristics and essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization, it can be seen that Chinese-path modernization is a creative application and development of Marx’s theory of the social organism, and a practical manifestation of Marx’s theory of the social organism in China.

习近平总书记在党的二十大报告中指出：“在新中国成立特别是改革开放以来长期探索和实践基础上，经过党的十八大以来在理论和实践上的创新突破，我们党成功推进和拓展了中国式现代化。”这揭示了中国式现代化的历史坐标和生成脉络，阐明了中国式现代化发展的内在逻辑。回顾历史，实现现代化离不开社会有机体各种生产的发展、人民主体性力量的发挥、社会主要矛盾的解决、人与自然关系的和谐统一、社会理想价值目标的追求。基于中国式现代化的特色和本质要求，可以看出，中国式现代化是对马克思社会有机体理论的创造性运用和发展，是马克思社会有机体理论在中国的实践展现。

1. A Huge Population Scale Is the Result of Promoting the Comprehensive Production of the Social Organism

1.人口规模巨大是推动社会有机体全面生产发展的结果

Marx’s theory of the social organism tells us that human society is an organic unity of comprehensive production, including material production, spiritual production, the reproduction of human beings themselves, the reproduction of social relations, and the reproduction of the relationship between humans and nature. The various forms of production of the social organism are interdependent and mutually constraining. “According to the materialist conception, the determining factor in history is, in the final analysis, the production and reproduction of immediate life. But this production itself is of a twofold kind. On the one hand, the production of the means of subsistence, of food, clothing, shelter and the tools necessary for that; on the other hand, the production of human beings themselves, the propagation of the species.” [n5] Among these, the production and reproduction of human beings themselves is the foundation of human survival and development. The production and reproduction of human beings themselves includes not only what is needed to sustain the body’s physiological functions, but also the pursuit of social intercourse, morality, art, self-realization, and so on; it is a dual process of production and construction of human beings themselves in terms of both physical strength and intelligence, involving the optimization and enhancement of population quantity and population quality. This makes the production of material goods, spiritual production, the production of social relations, and the production of the relationship between humans and nature indispensable links in promoting the free and comprehensive development of human beings. The production of human beings themselves is organically unified with the production of other elements of the social organism, forming a total resultant force of the comprehensive production of the social organism, driving humanity to continuously progress in the economy, politics, culture, society, and ecological civilization, and promoting the emergence and development of modernization. In the process of promoting the comprehensive production of the social organism, China has paid close attention to the reproduction of human beings themselves, a major matter concerning the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, continuously optimizing population quantity and improving population quality, and actively promoting the overall development of the comprehensive production of the social organism. This has ultimately created the distinctive feature that Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of a huge population scale, which is a profound practice of Marx’s theory of the social organism.

马克思社会有机体理论告诉我们，人类社会是物质生产、精神生产、人类自身再生产、社会关系再生产以及人与自然关系再生产等全面生产的有机统一体，社会有机体各种生产之间是彼此依存、相互制约的关系。“根据唯物主义观点，历史中的决定性因素，归根结底是直接生活的生产和再生产。但是，生产本身又有两种。一方面是生活资料即食物、衣服、住房以及为此所必需的工具的生产；另一方面是人自身的生产，即种的繁衍。”其中，人自身的生产和再生产是人类生存和发展的基础。人自身的生产和再生产既包括维系身体生理机能所需，也包括社会交往、道德、艺术、自我实现等方面的追求，是人本身在体力和智力方面的双重生产和建构过程，涉及人口数量和人口质量的优化提升，这就使得物质资料生产、精神生产、社会关系生产以及人与自然关系的生产成为促进人的自由全面发展不可或缺的环节。人自身的生产与社会有机体其他要素的生产是有机统一的，形成了社会有机体全面生产总的合力，推动人类在经济、政治、文化、社会、生态文明等方面不断进步，促进了现代化的产生和发展。中国在推动社会有机体全面生产过程中，深切关注人自身的再生产这一事关中华民族发展的大事，不断优化人口数量和提升人口质量，积极推动社会有机体全面生产整体发展，最终造就了中国式现代化是人口规模巨大的现代化这一显著特征，这是对马克思社会有机体理论的深刻实践。

The Communist Party of China attaches great importance to the issue of population development, continuously refining its population development strategy, thereby providing favorable conditions for advancing socialist modernization. In the early period after the founding of New China, the Party’s first generation of central collective leadership, with Comrade Mao Zedong at its core, in order to promote production and improve the people’s quality of life, on the one hand actively developed medical and health undertakings, raising the people’s level of health and thus increasing the population; on the other hand, it strengthened educational reform, expanded the people’s opportunities to receive education, raised the people’s level of education, and improved population quality, which laid an important foundation for raising the quality of China’s population. In the early 1970s, family planning was comprehensively implemented in both urban and rural areas. After reform and opening up, the Communist Party of China, deeply summing up the positive and negative experiences since the founding of New China, designated family planning as a basic state policy and wrote it into the Constitution. “After decades of effort, the transformation of the type of population reproduction from ‘high birth rate, low death rate, high growth rate’ to ‘low birth rate, low death rate, low growth rate’ was achieved, powerfully supporting the cause of reform and opening up and socialist modernization.” [6]6 Citation from a CPC document on population development. At the same time, nine-year compulsory education was universalized, and by 2008 free compulsory education was fully implemented. These measures notably improved the quality of population development, providing favorable conditions for China’s modernization. As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered a New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core deeply grasped the major impact of population changes on China’s modernization, emphasizing that “population development is a major matter concerning the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation; we must strive to raise the overall quality of the population, and support Chinese-path modernization with high-quality population development.” [7]7 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s remarks on population and modernization. To promote high-quality population development, reform and innovation in education and health undertakings were continuously deepened, and population work continuously achieved new transformations and new results. “China’s population and fertility policy has shifted from focusing on regulating quantity to improving quality, stabilizing total numbers, optimizing structure, and smoothing mobility.” [8]8 Citation from a CPC policy document on population and fertility. This reflects our Party’s adjustment and optimization of the social organism in the process of modernization. At the same time, we must clearly recognize that, for the present and for a long time to come, the basic national condition of China’s huge population will not fundamentally change. We must face squarely this notable characteristic of a massive population scale, fully consider the coordination and unity of the various elements of the social organism, and effectively advance the development of Chinese-path modernization.

中国共产党高度重视人口发展问题，不断完善人口发展战略，为推动社会主义现代化建设提供了有利条件。新中国成立初期，以毛泽东同志为核心的党的第一代中央领导集体为了促进生产，提升人民生活质量，一方面，积极发展医疗卫生事业，提高了人民生命健康水平，使得人口数量增加；另一方面，加强教育改革，扩大人民群众受教育机会，提升人民群众受教育程度，提高了人口素质，这为我国提高人口质量奠定了重要基础。20世纪70年代初，在城乡全面推行计划生育。改革开放后，中国共产党深刻总结新中国成立以来正反两方面经验，把计划生育确定为基本国策并写入宪法，“经过几十年努力，实现了人口再生产类型从‘高出生、低死亡、高增长’向‘低出生、低死亡、低增长’的转变，有力支撑了改革开放和社会主义现代化事业”。同时，普及九年义务教育，到2008年全面实施免费义务教育等，这些举措显著改善了人口发展质量，为我国现代化建设提供了有利条件。中国特色社会主义进入新时代，以习近平同志为核心的党中央深刻把握人口变化对我国现代化建设的重大影响，强调“人口发展是关系中华民族伟大复兴的大事，必须着力提高人口整体素质，以人口高质量发展支撑中国式现代化”，为促进人口高质量发展，不断深化教育卫生事业改革创新，人口工作不断实现新变革、取得新成效，“我国人口和生育政策由调节数量为主向提升素质、稳定总量、优化结构、畅通流动转变”。这体现了我们党在现代化建设过程中对社会有机体的调整优化。同时，我们必须清醒地认识到，在当前及未来很长一段时间内，我国人口众多的基本国情不会根本改变，我们要正视人口规模巨大这一显著特征，充分考虑社会有机体各要素的协调统一，有效推进中国式现代化发展。

2. Common prosperity for all the people is a profound manifestation of respect for the principal position of the people

2.全体人民共同富裕是尊重人民主体地位的深刻体现

The main force driving social change is the masses of the people; the development of the social organism cannot be separated from the exertion of the people’s main force. Marx pointed out in *The Poverty of Philosophy*: “Of all the instruments of production, the greatest productive power is the revolutionary class itself.” [9]9 Marx, *The Poverty of Philosophy* (1847). The so-called “revolutionary class” is the masses of the people. As the practical subject of the social organism, the masses of the people are of vital importance to modernization. Marx revealed the essence of the unfair distribution of wealth and products brought about by the operation of the capitalist social organism, recognizing that the value appeal of the free and comprehensive development of human beings is concealed within a social system dominated by capital, and that the logic of capital suppresses the principal position of the people. Therefore, he advocated establishing a communist society that abolishes private ownership and eliminates polarization. In such a society, production will aim at the enrichment of all, distribution will be according to need, the free and comprehensive development of human beings will be realized, and the principal position of the people will be fully manifested.

推动社会变革的主体力量是人民群众，社会有机体发展离不开人民主体力量的发挥。马克思在《哲学的贫困》中指出：“在一切生产工具中，最强大的一种生产力是革命阶级本身。”所谓“革命阶级”即人民群众，人民群众作为社会有机体的实践主体，对现代化建设至关重要。马克思揭示了资本主义社会有机体运行所带来的财富占有和产品分配不公的实质，认识到人的自由全面发展的价值诉求被掩盖在资本统治的社会体系中，资本逻辑对人民主体地位形成压制，因此主张建立一个消灭私有制、消除两极分化的共产主义社会，在其中，生产将以所有人的富裕为目的，各尽所能，按需分配，实现人的自由全面发展，充分彰显人民主体地位。

Marxism holds that “man is the essence, the foundation of all human activity and all human conditions.” [10]10 Marx, *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844* (paraphrased). Human development constitutes the core of the entire movement and development of the social organism; the people are the true subject driving the development of social history. In its modernization efforts, the Communist Party of China fully respects the principal position of the people, exerts the main force of the people, and advocates common prosperity. After the founding of New China, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their main representative, led the people to complete the socialist revolution, established the basic socialist system, and laid the institutional foundation for common prosperity. Mao Zedong once pointed out that the purpose of implementing the socialist system was to make China richer and stronger, and that “this richness is a common richness, this strength is a common strength, and everyone has a share.” [11]11 Mao Zedong, speech on socialist transformation (1950s). After reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping clarified that common prosperity is an inherent requirement of China’s socialist modernization, emphasizing that “the greatest superiority of socialism is common prosperity. This is something that embodies the essence of socialism.” [12]12 Deng Xiaoping, remarks on socialism and common prosperity (1990s). At the same time, he creatively proposed “letting some get rich first, driving others to get rich later, and ultimately achieving common prosperity.” This is the result of the Communist Party of China respecting the principal position of the people in promoting the development of the social organism, and it is conducive to preventing polarization. In the process of reform and opening up, our Party fully respected the people’s initiative, promoted rural reform centered on the household contract responsibility system and urban economic system reform centered on expanding enterprise autonomy, greatly stimulating the creativity of the Chinese people and the vitality of social development. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has adhered to a people-centered development philosophy, “insisting on taking the realization of the people’s aspiration for a better life as the starting point and落脚点 [13]13 “落脚点” (luòjiǎodiǎn) – literally “point where one sets foot”; in political discourse, it means the ultimate goal or point of arrival. of modernization, striving to maintain and promote social fairness and justice, striving to promote common prosperity for all the people, and resolutely preventing polarization.” [14]14 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC (2022). From completing targeted poverty alleviation to implementing rural revitalization, it has realized the millennia-old dream of the Chinese nation of a moderately prosperous society, historically solved the problem of absolute poverty, and consolidated the foundation for realizing the modernization of common prosperity for all the people.

马克思主义认为，“人是本质、是人的全部活动和全部状况的基础”。人的发展构成整个社会有机体运动发展的核心，人民是推动社会历史发展的真正主体。中国共产党在现代化建设中充分尊重人民主体地位，发挥人民主体力量，主张共同富裕。新中国成立后，以毛泽东同志为主要代表的中国共产党人带领人民完成社会主义革命，建立了社会主义基本制度，为共同富裕奠定了制度基础。毛泽东曾指出，实行社会主义制度的目的就是要让中国更富更强，而且“这个富，是共同的富，这个强，是共同的强，大家都有份”。改革开放后，邓小平指明共同富裕是我国社会主义现代化的应有之义，强调“社会主义最大的优越性就是共同富裕。这是体现社会主义本质的一个东西”，同时创造性地提出“以先富带后富，最终达到共同富裕”。这是中国共产党在推动社会有机体发展中尊重人民主体地位的结果，有利于防止两极分化。在改革开放进程中，我们党充分尊重人民首创精神，推进以家庭联产承包责任制为主要内容的农村改革和以扩大企业自主权为主要内容的城市经济体制改革，极大激发了中国人民的创造力和社会发展活力。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，“坚持把实现人民对美好生活的向往作为现代化建设的出发点和落脚点，着力维护和促进社会公平正义，着力促进全体人民共同富裕，坚决防止两极分化”，从完成精准扶贫到实施乡村振兴，实现了小康这个中华民族的千年梦想，历史性地解决了绝对贫困问题，为实现全体人民共同富裕的现代化夯实了基础。

3. The coordination of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress is an inherent requirement for resolving the principal contradiction in society

3.物质文明和精神文明相协调是解决社会主要矛盾的内在要求

The social organism is a systemic existence; its dynamic development is a process of contradictory movement, reflecting the dialectical unity of understanding the world and transforming it. The contradictions between productive forces and relations of production, and between the economic base and the superstructure, are the basic contradictions of society. The basic contradictions of society are the fundamental driving force for the overall operation of the social organism. In actual social life, the basic contradictions of society often manifest as specific social contradictions, and these specific contradictions largely stem from the insufficiency and imbalance in the development of various elements such as society, economy, politics, and ideology and culture. This is the manifestation of the basic contradictions of society in specific social fields. Therefore, to promote the development of the social organism, we must not only recognize the importance of the basic contradictions of society, but also, on this basis, recognize the various specific contradictions in society, especially the principal contradiction in society. Within the system of social contradictions, the principal contradiction in society occupies a dominant position. Due to changes in the principal contradiction in society, the social organism will also change accordingly. Changes in the principal contradiction in society are directly related to the development status of the various elements of the social organism and determine the development model and specific characteristics of modernization. For example, the initiation of Western modernization was closely related to the contradiction between the bourgeoisie and the feudal lords; the reason China initiated modernization in modern times was also related to the intensification of the principal contradiction in society at that time. In the process of resolving the principal contradiction in society, various countries promote the continuous development of their own modernization.

社会有机体是一个系统性存在，其动态发展是一个矛盾运动的过程，体现了认识世界和改造世界的辩证统一关系。生产力和生产关系、经济基础和上层建筑的矛盾是社会基本矛盾，社会基本矛盾是推动社会有机体整体运行的根本动力。在实际社会生活中，社会基本矛盾往往表现为具体的社会矛盾，而这些具体矛盾很大程度上来源于社会、经济、政治、思想文化等各要素发展的不充分、不平衡，这是社会基本矛盾在社会具体领域的体现。因此，推动社会有机体发展，我们不仅要认识社会基本矛盾的重要性，而且要在此基础上认识社会中的各种具体矛盾，尤其是社会主要矛盾。在社会矛盾系统中，社会主要矛盾处于支配地位。由于社会主要矛盾的变化，社会有机体也会相应地发生变化。社会主要矛盾的变化与社会有机体各要素的发展状况直接相关，决定现代化的发展模式和具体特征。例如，西方现代化的开创与资产阶级和封建主阶级的矛盾密切相关，中国近代之所以开启现代化也同当时社会主要矛盾的激化有关。各国在解决社会主要矛盾的过程中，推动自身现代化不断发展。

Chinese-path modernization is a modernization in which material civilization and cultural-ethical progress are coordinated. After the founding of New China, our Party, by completing the remaining tasks of the democratic revolution, leading the work of national economic recovery, and discarding the old and establishing the new in education, science, culture, and health undertakings, gave the people’s material life and spiritual outlook a completely new appearance. In 1956, the Eighth National Congress of the Party [15]15 The Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in September 1956, was the first Party congress after the basic completion of socialist transformation. clearly defined the principal contradiction in our country as “already the contradiction between the people’s demand for an advanced industrial country and the reality of a backward agricultural country, already the contradiction between the people’s need for rapid economic and cultural development and the inability of the current economy and culture to meet the people’s needs.” Our Party, by vigorously developing social productive forces and taking measures in various aspects such as the economy, politics, culture, and society to resolve this contradiction with great effort, laid the foundation for the realization of socialist industrialization. After reform and opening up, the “Resolution on Certain Historical Issues of the Party Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China” [16]16 Adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee in June 1981, this resolution provided a comprehensive assessment of the Party’s history since 1949, including the Cultural Revolution. provided a standardized formulation of the principal social contradiction: “After the basic completion of the socialist transformation, the principal contradiction to be resolved in our country is the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing material and cultural needs and backward social production.” To resolve this contradiction, we clearly shifted the focus of the Party’s and the state’s work to socialist modernization centered on economic construction, and while gradually improving the people’s material life, we proposed strengthening cultural-ethical progress, clearly adhering to the policy of “grasping with both hands, both hands must be firm.” [17]17 A policy formulation from the reform and opening-up era, meaning that material civilization and cultural-ethical progress must be advanced simultaneously and with equal emphasis. As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, the principal contradiction in our society has transformed into the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. Our Party has always been committed to promoting modernization in the process of resolving the principal social contradiction, “continuously enriching the material foundation of modernization, continuously consolidating the material conditions for the people’s happy life, while vigorously developing advanced socialist culture, strengthening education in ideals and convictions, inheriting Chinese civilization, and promoting the comprehensive enrichment of things and the all-round development of people.”

中国式现代化是物质文明和精神文明相协调的现代化。新中国成立后，我们党通过完成民主革命的遗留任务、领导国民经济恢复工作、对教育科学文化卫生事业除旧布新等，使人民的物质生活和精神面貌焕然一新。1956年，党的八大明确我国的主要矛盾“已经是人民对于建立先进的工业国的要求同落后的农业国的现实之间的矛盾，已经是人民对于经济文化迅速发展的需要同当前经济文化不能满足人民需要的状况之间的矛盾”。我们党通过大力发展社会生产力，在经济、政治、文化、社会等各方面采取措施下大力气解决这个矛盾，为实现社会主义工业化奠定了基础。改革开放后，《关于建国以来党的若干历史问题的决议》对社会主要矛盾作了规范表述：“在社会主义改造基本完成以后，我国所要解决的主要矛盾，是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。”为解决这一矛盾，我们明确将党和国家的工作重点转移到以经济建设为中心的社会主义现代化建设上来，在逐步改善人民物质生活的同时提出要加强精神文明建设，明确坚持“两手抓、两手都要硬”的方针。中国特色社会主义进入新时代，我国社会主要矛盾已经转化为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。我们党始终致力于在解决社会主要矛盾的过程中推动现代化建设，“不断厚植现代化的物质基础，不断夯实人民幸福生活的物质条件，同时大力发展社会主义先进文化，加强理想信念教育，传承中华文明，促进物的全面丰富和人的全面发展”。

4. Harmony between humanity and nature is a scientific adherence to the law of reproduction of the relationship between humanity and nature

4.人与自然和谐共生是对人与自然关系再生产规律的科学遵循

In Marx’s view, humanity is first of all a natural being; “Man lives on nature—means that nature is his body, with which he must remain in continuous intercourse if he is not to die. That man’s physical and spiritual life is linked to nature means simply that nature is linked to itself, for man is a part of nature.” [18]18 Karl Marx, *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844*. Nature is the basic condition for human survival and development, the material prerequisite for the existence and development of the social organism; without nature, there is no human history. Engels profoundly expounded the interdependent relationship between humanity and nature, pointing out: “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.” [19]19 Friedrich Engels, *Dialectics of Nature*. Marx’s theory of the social organism tells us that the relationship between humanity and nature concerns the future of humanity. Only by following the scientific law of the reproduction of the relationship between humanity and nature and adhering to the principle of harmony and unity between humanity and nature can modernization be effectively promoted; otherwise, humanity’s harm to nature will ultimately endanger humanity itself. Under the dominance of the logic of capital, Western countries mostly followed a path of “pollute first, treat later” in the process of advancing modernization, destroying the relationship between humanity and nature and paying a heavy price for it, such as the Los Angeles photochemical smog incident, the London smog incident, and the Minamata disease incident in Japan. The reproduction of the relationship between humanity and nature directly affects the process of human civilization and determines the state of modernization development. Chinese-path modernization insists on respecting nature, conforming to nature, and protecting nature, transcending the past economic growth model of destructive development of nature in the process of social development, forging a path of modernization development with Chinese characteristics, manifesting the characteristic of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, and embodying the Chinese Communist Party’s scientific adherence to the law of reproduction of the relationship between humanity and nature.

在马克思看来，人首先是一种自然存在物，“人靠自然界生活。这就是说，自然界是人为了不致死亡而必须与之处于持续不断的交互作用过程的、人的身体。所谓人的肉体生活和精神生活同自然界相联系，不外是说自然界同自身相联系，因为人是自然界的一部分”。自然是人类赖以生存发展的基本条件，是社会有机体存在和发展的物质前提，离开了自然就没有人类历史。恩格斯曾深刻阐述了人类与自然界的相互依存关系，他指出：“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。”马克思社会有机体理论告诉我们，人与自然的关系关乎人类未来，只有遵循人与自然关系再生产的科学规律，坚持人与自然和谐统一的原则，才能有效推动现代化发展，否则，人类对自然的伤害最终会危及人类自身。西方国家在资本逻辑的主导下，在推进现代化过程中大多数走的是一条“先污染后治理”的路子，破坏了人与自然的关系，为此付出了沉重代价，如洛杉矶光化学烟雾事件、伦敦烟雾事件、日本水俣病事件等。人与自然关系的再生产直接影响着人类文明进程，决定着现代化发展状况。中国式现代化坚持尊重自然、顺应自然、保护自然，超越了过去在社会发展过程中对自然破坏式开发的经济增长模式，走出了一条具有中国特色的现代化发展道路，彰显了人与自然和谐共生的特征，体现了中国共产党对人与自然关系再生产规律的科学遵循。

After the founding of New China, Mao Zedong took overall consideration of socialist modernization construction and the protection of nature, treating ecological and environmental protection as an important task to be grasped. In 1955, Mao Zedong issued the call to “green the motherland”; to prevent and control industrial pollution, the policy of “comprehensive utilization of industrial waste” was established. Although phenomena such as the “Great Leap Forward” [20]20 A mass mobilization campaign launched in 1958 aiming to rapidly industrialize China, which led to severe economic difficulties and ecological damage. and “smelting steel in a big way” [21]21 A specific component of the Great Leap Forward, in which millions of peasants were mobilized to produce steel in backyard furnaces, causing waste and environmental harm. that violated the laws of nature occurred during this period, our Party promptly summed up experiences and lessons, and in 1973 convened the first National Conference on Environmental Protection, putting forward the environmental protection work policy of “comprehensive planning, rational layout, comprehensive utilization, turning harm into benefit, relying on the masses, everyone taking action, protecting the environment, and benefiting the people.” After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, [22]22 Held in December 1978, this plenary session marked the beginning of the reform and opening-up policy under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership. our Party, based on the reality of reform and opening up, made population control, resource conservation, and environmental protection important contents of China’s socialist modernization construction, and designated environmental protection as a basic national policy of our country. After the Fourth Plenary Session of the Thirteenth Central Committee of the Party, [23]23 Held in June 1989, this plenary session confirmed Jiang Zemin as the core of the Party leadership after the Tiananmen Jiang Zemin proposed that “the essence of protecting the environment is protecting productive forces,” and formulated and implemented the strategy of sustainable development. On this basis, Hu Jintao advocated establishing a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable development concept, coordinating the harmonious development of humanity and nature, and incorporating the construction of an ecological civilization into the overall layout of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, [24]24 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC: The third plenary session of a Party congress typically focuses on economic reform and development; the 20th Central Committee’s Third Plenary Session was held in July 2024. the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has grasped the construction of an ecological civilization with unprecedented intensity, adhering to the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, [25] strengthening ecological and environmental protection in all aspects, all regions, and all processes, emphasizing that humanity and nature are a community of life, and the consciousness and initiative of the whole Party and the whole country in promoting green development have been significantly enhanced. This reflects that in the New Era our Party’s grasp of the development principles of the social organism has become more scientific, its understanding of the laws of modernization construction has gradually deepened, effectively promoting the innovative development of Chinese-path modernization.

新中国成立后，毛泽东将社会主义现代化建设和保护自然统筹考虑，把生态环境保护作为一项重要任务来抓。1955年，毛泽东发出“绿化祖国”的号召；为防治工业污染，确立了“综合利用工业废物”的方针。虽然这一时期出现了“大跃进”“大炼钢铁”等违背自然规律的现象，但我们党及时总结经验教训，于1973年召开了首次全国环境保护会议，提出了“全面规划、合理布局、综合利用、化害为利、依靠群众、大家动手、保护环境、造福人民”的环境保护工作方针。党的十一届三中全会后，我们党立足改革开放实际，将控制人口、节约资源和保护环境作为我国社会主义现代化建设的重要内容，并将环境保护确定为我国的一项基本国策。党的十三届四中全会后，江泽民提出“保护环境的实质就是保护生产力”，制定并实施了可持续发展战略。在此基础上，胡锦涛主张树立全面、协调、可持续的发展观，统筹人与自然和谐发展，并将生态文明建设纳入中国特色社会主义事业总体布局。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央以前所未有的力度抓生态文明建设，坚持绿水青山就是金山银山的理念，全方位、全地域、全过程加强生态环境保护，强调人与自然是生命共同体，全党全国推动绿色发展的自觉性和主动性显著增强。这体现了新时代我们党对社会有机体发展原则的把握更加科学，对现代化建设规律的认识逐渐深化，有效促进了中国式现代化的创新发展。

5. Taking the path of peaceful development is a vivid practice of the ideal value goals of human society

5.走和平发展道路是对人类社会理想价值目标的生动实践

The law of development of human society shows that social progress is a process advancing from a lower stage to a higher stage. With the continuous development of the social organism, humanity can gradually break free from the stage of “relations of personal dependence” under the natural economy and the stage of “relations of material dependence” under the commodity economy, ultimately advancing towards the stage of “free individuality” for humanity, that is, communist society; modernization is precisely conceived and developed in this process. From the perspective of axiology, Marx, through a profound analysis of the social organism of class society, especially capitalist society, exposed the selfish essence of bourgeois values that place individual interests above social and collective interests, and criticized the phenomena of war, deception, killing, and unequal trade that accompany capitalism in its pursuit of modernization. As Marx said: “Capital comes into the world dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt.” [26] Marx’s theory of the social organism contains humanity’s beautiful longing for an ideal society. The future communist society is an ideal society without exploitation or oppression, where everyone is equal and fraternal, and peace is realized. This is consistent with the value pursuit of modernization truly desired by humanity, and has value compatibility in terms of peace and development. Chinese-path modernization is a modernization that takes the path of peaceful development, “seeking its own development while firmly safeguarding world peace and development, and better safeguarding world peace and development through its own development,” [27] full of beautiful aspirations for world peace and development, and is a vivid practice of the ideal value goals of human society.

人类社会发展规律表明，社会的进步是一个从低级阶段迈向高级阶段的过程。随着社会有机体的不断发展，人类能够逐渐摆脱自然经济条件下“人的依赖关系”和商品经济条件下“物的依赖关系”阶段，最终朝着人的“自由个性”阶段即共产主义社会迈进，现代化正是在此过程中得以孕育和发展的。从价值论的角度看，马克思通过对阶级社会尤其是资本主义社会有机体的深刻剖析，揭露了资产阶级价值观把个人利益凌驾于社会和集体利益之上的私欲本质，批判了资本主义在追求现代化过程中所伴随的战争、欺骗、杀戮、不平等贸易等现象。正如马克思所言：“资本来到世间，从头到脚，每个毛孔都滴着血和肮脏的东西。”马克思社会有机体理论蕴含着人类对理想社会的美好憧憬，未来的共产主义社会是一个没有剥削和压迫、人人平等友爱、实现和平的理想社会，这与人类真正期望的现代化价值追求是一致的，在和平与发展方面具有价值契合性。中国式现代化是走和平发展道路的现代化，“在坚定维护世界和平与发展中谋求自身发展，又以自身发展更好维护世界和平与发展”，饱含对世界和平与发展的美好愿望，是对人类社会理想价值目标的生动实践。

The Communist Party of China has adhered to an independent path of peaceful development. After the founding of New China, Chinese Communists, with the goal of achieving socialist modernization, proposed the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence with seeking common ground while reserving differences as their spiritual core, actively engaged in exchanges and cooperation with Third World countries, resolutely struggled against hegemonism, effectively safeguarded the interests of developing countries, and made important contributions to maintaining world peace and development. After reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping calmly analyzed the international situation, judged the times and proposed that peace and development are the themes of the contemporary era, making the securing of a relatively long-term international peaceful environment and a favorable surrounding environment the goal and task of diplomatic work, thereby providing favorable conditions for China’s modernization. At the turn of the century, Jiang Zemin advocated respecting the diversity of world civilizations, promoting multipolarity in the international configuration and democratization of international relations, demonstrating through concrete actions China’s confidence and determination to safeguard world peace and promote common development, adding new impetus to China’s modernization in the 21st century. Hu Jintao firmly seized the important period of strategic opportunity, proposed implementing a mutually beneficial and win-win opening-up strategy, and advocated building a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity, creating a favorable external environment for China’s modernization development. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has comprehensively advanced major-country diplomacy

中国共产党坚持走独立自主的和平发展道路。新中国成立后，中国共产党人以实现社会主义现代化为目标，提出了以求同存异为精神内核的和平共处五项原则，积极同第三世界国家开展交流合作，坚决同霸权主义作斗争，有力维护了广大发展中国家利益，为维护世界和平与发展作出了重要贡献。改革开放后，邓小平冷静分析国际形势，审时度势地提出和平与发展是当今时代主题，把争取一个较长时期的国际和平环境和良好的周边环境作为外交工作的目标和任务，为我国现代化建设提供了有利条件。世纪之交，江泽民主张尊重世界文明多样性，推动国际格局多极化与国际关系民主化，以实际行动昭示了中国维护世界和平、促进共同发展的信心和决心，为21世纪中国现代化建设增添了新动力。胡锦涛紧紧抓住重要战略机遇期，提出实施互利共赢的开放战略，主张建设持久和平、共同繁荣的和谐世界，为中国现代化发展营造了良好外部环境。党的十八大以来，习近平总书记全面推进中国特色大国外交，积极推动构建人类命运共同体，在现代化建设中积极展现负责任大国担当，努力维护世界和平与发展。习近平总书记强调：“我国不走一些国家通过战争、殖民、掠夺等方式实现现代化的老路，那种损人利己、充满血腥罪恶的老路给广大发展中国家人民带来深重苦难。”中国式现代化打破了对外扩张掠夺的西方现代化老路，奉行互利共赢的开放战略，坚持共商共建共享，为人类对现代化道路的探索贡献了中国方案。

III. Important Insights from Marx’s Theory of the Social Organism for the Development of Chinese-Path Modernization

三、马克思社会有机体理论对中国式现代化发展的重要启示

Starting from historical materialism, Marx’s theory of the social organism scientifically grasps the laws of human social development, dynamically examines the whole of human society on the basis of human practical activity, and manifests characteristics such as autonomous selectivity, holism, developmental-transformative nature, and openness. It holds important revelatory significance for the development of Chinese-path modernization.

马克思社会有机体理论从历史唯物主义出发，科学把握人类社会发展规律，以人的实践活动为基础动态考察整个人类社会，体现了自主选择性、整体性、发展变革性和开放性等特征，对中国式现代化发展具有重要启示意义。

1. The autonomous selectivity of the social organism requires that advancing Chinese-path modernization must uphold the leadership of the Party

1.社会有机体的自主选择性要求推进中国式现代化必须坚持党的领导

The operation of the social organism cannot be separated from human practical activity; its dynamic development is a process of the unity of the subjective and the objective, embodying the dialectical unity of understanding and transforming the world. Following the laws of social development, people can understand and transform the social organism according to their own will, causing the social organism to assume different forms. This transformative effect indicates that the human subject itself possesses autonomous selectivity regarding the form of the social organism. The path to modernization is not singular; achieving modernization must adhere to the dialectical unity of historical determinism and subjective selectivity, and must never copy or mechanically apply the models of other countries.

社会有机体的运行离不开人的实践活动，其动态发展是一个主观和客观相统一的过程，体现了认识世界和改造世界的辩证统一关系。人们遵循社会发展规律，能够按照自我意志认识和改造社会有机体，使社会有机体呈现不同样态。这种改造作用表明人类主体自身具有对社会有机体形式的自主选择性。通往现代化的道路不是单一的，实现现代化必须坚持历史决定性与主体选择性的辩证统一，绝不能照搬照抄别国模式。

Chinese-path modernization is a socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China. It possesses both the common characteristics of modernization in all countries and Chinese characteristics based on its own national conditions. This is the result of the conscious transformation of the social organism by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, embodying the unity of conformity with laws and conformity with purposes. Looking back at history, the fundamental reason why Chinese-path modernization has achieved great successes and reversed the historical fate of backwardness and vulnerability to beatings since modern times is the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China and the advantages of the socialist system. Although Western capitalist modernization has advanced the process of human civilization, in the stage of dependence on things, “it did not enable the human subject to gain true independence, but rather plunged it into a new kind of compulsion of non-autonomous external necessity.” Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, Chinese-path modernization has broken the myth that “modernization equals Westernization,” providing a new choice for humanity to achieve modernization. On the new journey, we must implement Party leadership in all areas and aspects of socialist modernization to ensure the correct direction of our country’s socialist modernization. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Party leadership determines the fundamental nature of Chinese-path modernization.” Only by unwaveringly upholding Party leadership can Chinese-path modernization have a bright future and flourish; otherwise, it will deviate from its course, lose its soul, and even commit subversive errors.

中国式现代化是中国共产党领导的社会主义现代化，既有各国现代化的共同特征，也有基于自身国情的中国特色，这是中国共产党领导中国人民对社会有机体自觉改造的结果，体现了合规律性与合目的性的统一。回顾历史，中国式现代化之所以能够取得伟大成就、扭转近代以来落后挨打的历史命运，最根本是因为中国共产党的坚强领导和社会主义制度的优势。虽然西方资本主义现代化推动了人类文明进程，但在物的依赖性阶段，“并未使人类主体获得真正的独立，而是使他陷入一种新的非自主性的外在必然性的强制之中”。在中国共产党的领导下，中国式现代化打破了“现代化=西方化”的迷思，为人类实现现代化提供了新的选择。新征程上，我们要把党的领导落实到社会主义现代化建设各领域各方面各环节，确保我国社会主义现代化建设正确方向。正如习近平总书记所指出的，“党的领导决定中国式现代化的根本性质”。只有毫不动摇坚持党的领导，中国式现代化才能前景光明、繁荣兴盛，否则就会偏离航向、丧失灵魂，甚至犯颠覆性错误。

2. The holism of the social organism requires adhering to a systematic concept to promote Chinese-path modernization in a coordinated and holistic manner

2.社会有机体的整体性要求坚持以系统观念整体协调推进中国式现代化

Whether viewed from the dimensions of constituent elements, operational mechanisms, or developmental trends, the social organism manifests as a holistic existence. Marxism examines human society from a totalizing perspective, emphasizing the interdependent and mutually constraining relationships among the various elements of society. It contains a systematic concept and provides systematic thinking for the modernization of human society. In the process of understanding and transforming the world, people must not only fully consider various elements but also pay attention to the functioning of the overall structural functions of these elements, properly handling the relationship between the whole and the parts. Today, with the deepening of economic globalization, the dysfunction of any single element of the social organism may lead to an overall imbalance in modernization. The holism of the social organism requires that we must grasp Chinese-path modernization within an overall system and adhere to a systematic concept to promote it in a coordinated and holistic manner.

无论从构成要素、运行机制还是发展趋势的维度看，社会有机体都体现为一种整体性存在。马克思主义以总体性眼光考察人类社会，强调社会各要素彼此之间相互依存、彼此制约的关系，蕴含着系统观念，为人类社会现代化提供了系统思维。人们在认识和改造世界的过程中，既要充分考虑各种要素，也要注重各要素整体性结构功能的发挥，处理好整体和局部的关系。如今，经济全球化深入发展，社会有机体任何一个要素的失范都可能导致现代化的总体性失衡。社会有机体的整体性要求我们必须将中国式现代化放在一个整体系统中去把握，坚持以系统观念整体协调推进中国式现代化。

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Advancing Chinese-path modernization is a systematic project that requires overall consideration, systematic planning, and holistic advancement.” The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, when studying the further comprehensive deepening of reform and the advancement of Chinese-path modernization, further emphasized that we should “adhere to a systematic concept, properly handle major relationships such as those between the economy and society, the government and the market, efficiency and fairness, vitality and order, and development and security, and enhance the systematic, holistic, and coordinated nature of reform.” The emphasis on these major relationships profoundly reveals the systematic characteristics of advancing Chinese-path modernization. The holism of Marx’s theory of the social organism enlightens us that advancing Chinese-path modernization must adhere to a systematic concept and a holistic perspective, focusing on systemic integration. In the comprehensive production process of the social organism, we must holistically advance the construction of the economy, politics, culture, society, and ecological civilization of socialism with Chinese characteristics; accelerate the construction of a new development pattern and strive to promote high-quality development; develop whole-process people’s democracy to ensure the people’s position as masters of the country; adhere to the path of socialist cultural development with Chinese characteristics to enrich the people’s spiritual world; ensure and improve people’s livelihoods through development to achieve common prosperity for all people; and promote green development to foster harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. By adjusting and improving the various elements of the social organism—economy, politics, culture, society, and ecology—and their interrelationships, we can promote the systematic and coordinated development of Chinese-path modernization and better create a new form of human civilization.

习近平总书记指出：“推进中国式现代化是一个系统工程，需要统筹兼顾、系统谋划、整体推进。”党的二十届三中全会在研究进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化问题时进一步强调，应“坚持系统观念，处理好经济和社会、政府和市场、效率和公平、活力和秩序、发展和安全等重大关系，增强改革系统性、整体性、协同性”。对这些重大关系的强调，深刻揭示了推进中国式现代化所具有的系统性特征。马克思社会有机体理论的整体性启示我们，推进中国式现代化必须坚持系统观念、全局观念，注重系统集成。在社会有机体全面生产过程中，整体推进中国特色社会主义经济、政治、文化、社会、生态文明等各方面的建设，加快构建新发展格局，着力推动高质量发展；发展全过程人民民主，保障人民当家作主；坚持中国特色社会主义文化发展道路，丰富人民精神世界；在发展中保障和改善民生，实现全体人民共同富裕；推动绿色发展，促进人与自然和谐共生。通过调整完善社会有机体经济、政治、文化、社会和生态等各要素及其相互关系，进而推进中国式现代化系统协调发展，更好创造人类文明新形态。

3. The developmental-transformative nature of the social organism requires that Chinese-path modernization must adhere to reform and innovation

3.社会有机体的发展变革性要求中国式现代化必须坚持改革创新

Marx pointed out: “The present society is no solid crystal, but an organism capable of change and constantly in the process of change.” Through this metaphor, Marx aimed to illustrate that human society is a dynamically developing organic whole. Marx’s theory of the social organism reveals that human society is in a constant process of movement and change, possessing a developmental-transformative nature. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, our country’s modernization has achieved great successes, but it also faces many deep-seated contradictions. Only by adhering to reform and innovation can we continuously resolve the various contradictions and problems in the process of modernization.

马克思指出：“现在的社会不是坚实的结晶体，而是一个能够变化并且经常处于变化过程中的有机体。”马克思借助这一比喻旨在说明人类社会是一个动态发展的有机整体。马克思社会有机体理论揭示了人类社会处于不断运动变化的过程，具有发展变革性。新中国成立以来，我国现代化建设取得了伟大成就，但也面临不少深层次矛盾。只有坚持改革创新，才能不断解决现代化过程中的各种矛盾和问题。

As a modernization on a scale of enormous population, the reality of our country’s population of over 1.4 billion determines that we must consider human production and reproduction themselves and optimize the population structure; common prosperity for all the people manifests the essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and we must push relations of production to adapt to the development of productive forces and the superstructure to adapt to the economic base; to promote the coordination of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, we must handle well the relationship between material production and spiritual production; to strive to realize a modernization in which humanity and nature coexist in harmony, we must persist in protecting the ecological environment; to take the path of peaceful development in modernization, we need to contribute our strength to safeguarding world peace and development. Only by deepening reform and innovation, making every effort to resolve deep-seated institutional and mechanistic obstacles, maintaining the healthy and coordinated development of all aspects of the social organism, and striving to let the sources that create social wealth flow fully, can we better adapt to the changes in our country’s principal contradiction, continuously strengthen the momentum and vitality of socialist modernization, and push Chinese-path modernization to advance steadily and far.

作为人口规模巨大的现代化，我国14亿多人口的现实国情决定必须考虑人类自身生产和再生产，优化人口结构；全体人民共同富裕彰显了中国特色社会主义的本质要求，我们必须推动生产关系适应生产力的发展，上层建筑和经济基础相适应；要推动物质文明和精神文明相协调，就必须处理好物质生产和精神生产的关系；要努力实现人与自然和谐共生的现代化，必须坚持保护生态环境；走和平发展道路的现代化，需要我们为维护世界和平与发展贡献力量。只有深入推进改革创新，着力破解深层次体制机制障碍，保持社会有机体各方面健康协调发展，努力让创造社会财富的源泉充分涌流，才能更好适应我国社会主要矛盾变化的情况，不断增强社会主义现代化建设的动力和活力，推动中国式现代化行稳致远。

4. The openness of the social organism requires that advancing Chinese-path modernization should unswervingly expand opening up

4.社会有机体的开放性要求推进中国式现代化应坚定不移扩大开放

As history has developed to the present day, international society has increasingly become a community with a shared future in which you have me and I have you. This requires that, in carrying out our own country’s modernization construction, we actively respond to the common concerns of the people of all countries, strengthen international exchange and cooperation, and not take the old path of some countries that achieved modernization through war, colonization, plunder, and the like. “Chinese-path modernization has been continuously advanced in the course of reform and opening up, and it will surely open up broad prospects in reform and opening up.” Opening up is the distinctive hallmark of Chinese-path modernization. At a time when our country’s development has entered a period in which strategic opportunities and risks and challenges coexist and uncertain and unpredictable factors increase, we should deeply reflect on the openness of the social organism, unswervingly expand opening up, and better advance the development of Chinese-path modernization.

历史发展到今天，国际社会越来越成为一个你中有我、我中有你的命运共同体。这就要求我们在进行本国现代化建设时，要积极回应各国人民普遍关切，加强国际交流与合作，不走一些国家通过战争、殖民、掠夺等方式实现现代化的老路。“中国式现代化是在改革开放中不断推进的，也必将在改革开放中开辟广阔前景。”开放是中国式现代化的鲜明标识。在我国发展进入战略机遇和风险挑战并存、不确定难预料因素增多的时期，我们应深度思考社会有机体的开放性，坚定不移扩大开放，更好推进中国式现代化发展。

“The Communist Party of China is a party that seeks happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, and it is also a party that seeks progress for humanity and harmony for the world.” Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has continuously deepened foreign

“中国共产党是为中国人民谋幸福、为中华民族谋复兴的党，也是为人类谋进步、为世界谋大同的党。”党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央不断深化对外交往，坚定不移扩大开放，坚定奉行互利共赢的开放战略，为人类现代化发展贡献了中国智慧和中国方案。推动构建人类命运共同体，充分反映了世界人民对现代化发展的新要求；中国式现代化创造了人类文明新形态，蕴含着中国人民愿同世界人民携手开创人类更加美好未来的目标愿景，体现了中国在谋求自身现代化发展中促进各国共同进步的使命担当。面对波谲云诡的国际形势，推进中国式现代化必须坚定不移扩大开放，这既是我国现代化建设的鲜明态度，也是新时代的战略抉择。

Web editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗