Grasping the Theoretical Foundation of the “Ideological and Political Leading Force”

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, “The education powerhouse we aim to build is a socialist education powerhouse with Chinese characteristics, which should possess a strong ideological and political leading force, talent competitiveness, scientific and technological support, livelihood security, social synergy, and international influence.” The ideological and political leading force is an important factor reflecting the socialist attributes of an education powerhouse. Taking the enhancement of the ideological and political leading force as a key focus in building an education powerhouse in the New Era has a profound theoretical foundation. Classical Marxist writers attached great importance to the political attributes of education and provided rich and profound explanations on how the proletarian party strengthens ideological and political leadership through education. Reviewing these discussions helps us deeply understand the core essence of the ideological and political leading force and accurately grasp the significance and methods of enhancing it.

习近平总书记指出，“我们要建成的教育强国，是中国特色社会主义教育强国，应当具有强大的思政引领力、人才竞争力、科技支撑力、民生保障力、社会协同力、国际影响力”。思政引领力是体现教育强国社会主义属性的重要因素。将增强思政引领力作为新时代教育强国建设的重要着力点，具有深刻的理论基础。马克思主义经典作家高度重视教育的政治属性，围绕无产阶级政党以教育强化思想政治引领问题进行了丰富而深刻的阐释。重温有关论述，有助于我们深入理解思政引领力的核心要义、准确把握提升思政引领力的重要意义和路径方法。

Education Has Distinct Political Attributes

教育具有鲜明的政治属性

Political attributes are one of the important attributes of education, and doing educational work well must be closely linked to political realities and needs. In 1920, at the All-Russian Conference of Political Education Directors of Provincial and County Education Departments, Lenin criticized the views that education is “non-political” and “does not discuss politics,” pointing out that these are deceptions of the masses, and he unequivocally emphasized, “Unlike those past lies, we cannot but openly raise the issue and publicly acknowledge that education cannot but be linked to politics.”

政治属性是教育的重要属性之一，做好教育工作必须紧密联系政治实际和政治需要。1920年，在全俄省、县国民教育局政治教育委员会工作会议上，列宁批评了教育“不问政治”、教育“不讲政治”的观点，指出这是对群众的欺骗，并旗帜鲜明地强调，“与过去那些谎言不同，我们不能不公开提出问题，公开承认教育不能不联系政治”。

Politics has a constraining effect on education. In class society, education is profoundly influenced by the mode of social production and the ideology of the ruling class, possessing distinct class character. Class relations and political systems affect educational concepts, content, methods, etc., and changes in class relations and political systems inevitably lead to changes in education. For example, in medieval Europe, because “the clergy had a monopoly on knowledge education, education itself was permeated with a theological character,” while modern Western bourgeois educational concepts are “the product of bourgeois relations of production and property relations.” Education in socialist society, by contrast, is education that conforms to the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people and pursues the comprehensive development of individuals and the overall progress of society. Precisely based on this deep understanding of the political attributes of education, Marx and Engels clearly stated in the *Communist Manifesto*, “The communists have not invented the influence of society on education; they merely seek to change its character.”

政治对教育具有制约作用。在阶级社会，教育受到社会生产方式和统治阶级意识形态的深刻影响，具有鲜明的阶级性。阶级关系、政治制度影响着教育理念、内容、方式等，阶级关系、政治制度的变化必然引起教育的变革。比如，中世纪欧洲由于“僧侣获得了知识教育的垄断地位，因而教育本身也渗透了神学的性质”，近代西方资产阶级的教育观念是“资产阶级的生产关系和所有制关系的产物”，而社会主义社会的教育则是符合最广大人民根本利益、追求实现人的全面发展和社会全面进步的教育。正是基于对教育政治属性的深刻理解，马克思、恩格斯在《共产党宣言》中明确指出，“共产党人并没有发明社会对教育的作用；他们仅仅是要改变这种作用的性质”。

Education has an active counter-effect on politics. Although constrained by the social political structure, education is not passively subject to it but has an active counter-effect. Under normal circumstances, the ruling class guides people to accept the mainstream ideology of a particular society through social indoctrination, forming political concepts and political identification adapted to a specific political system, thereby helping to maintain political rule and social stability. At the same time, education can also powerfully promote social political change. In 1905, analyzing the current situation and tasks of the Russian revolution, Lenin pointed out, “The success of the revolution depends on attracting broader strata of the people to the cause of freedom, on educating them, and on organizing them.” In fact, it was precisely the Bolsheviks, represented by Lenin, who emphasized and practiced mass education, which propelled the October Revolution to ultimate victory. The close relationship between education and politics enlightens us that in building an education powerhouse, we must focus on the important role of ideological guidance and political education, and strengthen the construction of the ideological and political leading force.

教育对政治具有能动的反作用。尽管受制于社会政治结构，但教育并不是消极地受其制约，而是具有能动的反作用。通常情况下，统治阶级通过社会教化引导人们接受特定社会的主流意识形态，形成适应特定政治制度的政治观念与政治认同，从而助力维护政治统治和社会稳定。同时，教育还能有力推动社会政治变革。1905年，列宁在分析俄国革命的现状和任务时指出，“革命的成功取决于把人民中更广阔的阶层吸引到自由事业方面来，取决于教育他们，组织他们”。事实上，正是以列宁为代表的布尔什维克党人对群众教育的重视与实践，推动十月革命最终走向胜利。教育与政治的密切关系启示我们，建设教育强国，必须注重发挥思想引导、政治教育的重要作用，强化思政引领力建设。

Enhancing the Ideological and Political Leading Force Is an Important Task of Education

增强思政引领力是教育的重要任务

Based on a scientific grasp of the requirements for the growth and development of the proletariat and the mission of the proletarian party to lead and promote socialist revolution and construction, classical Marxist writers fully discussed the great significance of strengthening ideological and political education and reinforcing ideological leadership, emphasizing that the proletarian party must never neglect this important task at any time.

马克思主义经典作家在科学把握无产阶级成长发展要求、无产阶级政党领导推动社会主义革命和建设使命任务的基础上，充分论述了加强思想政治教育、强化意识形态引领的重大意义，强调无产阶级政党任何时候都不能忽视这一重要任务。

Enhancing the ideological and political leading force is an inevitable requirement for consolidating socialist ideology and advancing the development of the socialist cause. In the view of classical Marxist writers, the Marxist party must always attach great importance to risks and challenges in the ideological sphere and to the construction of the ideological and political leading force. At the same time, only by strengthening the ideological education and political leadership of the masses can we gather immense strength to promote the socialist construction cause. When considering the issues of Russian socialist construction, Lenin proposed that “training the masses for socialist construction” requires placing the “educational task” “in the forefront,” guiding the working and peasant masses to grow into “true communists” and to devote themselves wholeheartedly to the cause of socialist construction.

增强思政引领力，是巩固社会主义意识形态、推进社会主义事业发展的必然要求。在马克思主义经典作家看来，马克思主义政党必须始终高度重视意识形态领域风险挑战，高度重视思政引领力建设。同时，只有加强对人民群众的思想教育和政治引领，才能为推动社会主义建设事业凝聚磅礴力量。列宁在思考俄国社会主义建设问题时提出，“为社会主义建设训练群众”，必须将教育任务“提到首位”，引导工农劳动群众成长为“真正的共产主义者”，并全身心投入社会主义建设事业当中。

Enhancing the ideological and political leading force is an inevitable requirement for upholding the Party’s leadership over ideological and political education work, unifying thought, and rallying people’s hearts. Regarding how the General Committee for Political Education should organize and carry out political education work, Lenin unequivocally emphasized the need to strengthen Party leadership, stating, “In the work of this body, the political leadership of the Communist Party should first of all be openly acknowledged.” The key to the Party’s effective leadership in carrying out ideological and political education work lies in cultivating a team of teachers who support the Party’s leadership and possess firm convictions. When discussing the issue of promoting political education work, Lenin regarded cultivating “a new army of educators” as an important task, emphasizing that this educational army “should maintain close ties with the Party and its ideology, implement the Party’s spirit,” and strive to “rally the worker masses around itself, educate them in the spirit of communism, and make them care about what the communists are doing.”

增强思政引领力，是坚持党对思想政治教育工作的领导，统一思想、凝聚人心的必然要求。列宁曾就政治教育总委员会如何组织开展政治教育工作问题旗帜鲜明地指出要加强党的领导，强调“在这个机构的工作中首先应该公开承认共产党的政治领导”。党有效领导开展思想政治教育工作，关键在于培养一支拥护党的领导、具有坚定信仰的教师队伍。在谈论推动政治教育工作问题时，列宁将培养“一支新的教育大军”视为重要任务，强调这支教育大军“应该同党和党的思想保持紧密联系，贯彻党的精神”，努力“把工人群众团结在自己的周围，以共产主义的精神教育他们，使他们关心共产党员所做的事情”。

Enhancing the ideological and political leading force is an inevitable requirement for improving the ideological and political quality of the masses and educating and guiding the broad masses to consciously align with the Party Central Committee in thought and politics. In his work *Literature of the Exile*, Engels criticized the Russian populist Tkachev’s view opposing revolutionary masses’ dedication to self-improvement and self-study, and affirmed the practice of the editors of the magazine *Vperyod!* [Forward!] in advocating that Russian revolutionary youth “diligently devote themselves to self-improvement and self-education.” Only by effectively forming and continuously improving the motivational and guarantee mechanisms for the educated to engage in self-education, and enhancing the subjective consciousness of the educated in self-education and self-improvement, can the content of ideological and political education truly be internalized into the ideological and political quality of the educated, and can the goal and task of enhancing the ideological and political leading force through education be truly realized.

增强思政引领力，是增强人民群众的思想政治素质，教育引导广大民众自觉在思想上、政治上同党中央保持一致的必然要求。恩格斯在《流亡者文献》中批评了俄国民粹主义者特卡乔夫反对革命群众致力于自我提高、自我学习的观点，肯定了《前进！》杂志编辑提倡俄国革命青年“兢兢业业地致力于自我提高和自我教育”的做法。只有切实形成并不断完善受教育者进行自我教育的动力机制和保障机制，增强受教育者自我教育、自我提升的主体自觉，思想政治教育内容才能真正内化为受教育者的思想政治素质，以教育增强思政引领力的目标任务才能真正实现。

Striving to Enhance the Ideological and Political Leading Force in Building an Education Powerhouse

在教育强国建设中着力提升思政引领力

The fundamental task of education is to foster virtue and nurture people [立德树人]. One of the purposes of building an education powerhouse is to use a strong ideological and political leading force to educate and guide people to strive unremittingly for national rejuvenation. To effectively enhance the ideological and political leading force in the practice of building an education powerhouse, sustained efforts must be made in multiple aspects, including Party leadership, curriculum development, and team building.

教育的根本任务是立德树人。建设教育强国的目的之一，是以强大思政引领力教育引导人们为实现民族复兴不懈奋斗。在教育强国建设实践中切实增强思政引领力，要从党的领导、课程锻造、队伍建设等多个方面持续发力。

Improve the institutional mechanisms for the Party’s leadership over ideological and political education work. Adhering to and strengthening the Party’s leadership over ideological and political education work with a sound system is the fundamental guarantee for ensuring that educational work adheres to the correct political direction and effectively enhances the ideological and political leading force. Specifically, focus on strengthening Party building leadership, prioritize the Party’s political construction, firmly grasp the leadership and initiative in ideological and political education work, and always ensure that ideological and political education work proceeds in the correct political direction; improve the leadership system and working mechanisms, perfect the grand ideological and political work pattern of unified leadership by Party committees, joint management by the Party and government, coordination by propaganda departments, division of responsibilities among relevant departments and people’s organizations, and participation by the entire Party and society; comprehensively implement the responsibility system for ideological work, strengthen the main responsibilities of Party committees (leading Party groups) at all levels, place the solid and effective conduct of ideological and political education work in an important position within all Party work, implement it with a nail-spirit tenacity, and continuously open up new prospects for ideological and political education in the New Era.

健全党领导思想政治教育工作的体制机制。以完善的制度坚持和加强党对思想政治教育工作的领导，是确保育人工作坚持正确政治方向、有效增强思政引领力的根本保证。具体来讲，注重强化党建引领，把党的政治建设摆在首位，牢牢掌握思想政治教育工作的领导权和主动权，始终保证思想政治教育工作沿着正确政治方向前行；完善领导体制和工作机制，完善党委统一领导、党政齐抓共管、宣传部门组织协调、有关部门和人民团体分工负责、全党全社会共同参与的思想政治工作大格局；全面落实意识形态工作责任制，强化各级党委（党组）主体责任，把做实做好思想政治教育工作放到党的各项工作的重要位置，以钉钉子精神狠抓落实，不断开创新时代思政教育新局面。

Forge the key course for fostering virtue and nurturing talent. The ideological and political course is the key course for implementing the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing talent. In strengthening the leading force of ideological and political education in the construction of an education power, the construction of the ideological and political course must be grasped and implemented as a top priority in the Party’s leadership of educational work. To this end, we should always adhere to the guiding position of Marxism, insist on the synchronous advancement of ideological and political course construction and the Party’s innovative theoretical arming, and accelerate the construction of a curriculum and textbook system with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as its core content; take the world-renowned achievements of socialism with Chinese characteristics, especially the great transformations since the New Era, as the content support, and take fine traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture as the strength foundation, skillfully using the power of practice and the power of culture to explain the principles of the ideological and political course deeply, thoroughly, and vividly, effectively improving the pertinence and attractiveness of the ideological and political course; continuously expand the space and positions of online education, deeply advance the integrated construction of ideological and political education in universities, middle schools, and primary schools, and promote the coordinated progress of curriculum-based ideological and political education and the ideological and political curriculum.

锻造好立德树人关键课程。思政课是落实立德树人根本任务的关键课程。在教育强国建设中着力增强思政引领力，必须把思政课建设作为党领导教育工作的重中之重抓实抓好。为此，应始终坚持马克思主义指导地位，坚持思政课建设与党的创新理论武装同步推进，加快构建以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为核心内容的课程教材体系；以中国特色社会主义取得的举世瞩目成就尤其是新时代以来的伟大变革为内容支撑，以中华优秀传统文化、革命文化和社会主义先进文化为力量根基，善用实践的力量、文化的力量把思政课道理讲深讲透讲活，切实提高思政课的针对性和吸引力；不断拓展网络育人的空间和阵地，深入推进大中小学思想政治教育一体化建设，推动课程思政与思政课程同向同行。

Strengthen the construction of the talent team for ideological and political education. The key to fostering virtue and nurturing talent lies in teachers. Vigorously promote the spirit of educators, widely publicize the typical deeds of outstanding teachers through media and public platforms, and encourage the team of ideological and political course teachers and counselors to take model educators as examples, striving to be “great masters” who unify “classroom teachers” and “moral guides”; strengthen the construction of teacher ethics and conduct, fully implement the professional conduct standards for teachers in the New Era, take teacher ethics performance as the primary requirement for teacher evaluation and management, and adhere to “zero tolerance” for violations of teacher ethics; optimize teacher incentive and guarantee mechanisms, improve the professional attractiveness and stability of ideological and political education work, thereby fully leveraging the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of teachers, and effectively promoting the work of fostering virtue and nurturing talent to improve quality and efficiency.

加强思想政治教育人才队伍建设。立德树人的关键在教师。大力弘扬教育家精神，通过媒体和公共平台广泛宣传优秀教师典型事迹，激励广大思政课教师队伍和辅导员队伍以模范教育家为榜样，努力做“经师”和“人师”相统一的“大先生”；加强师德师风建设，全面落实新时代教师职业行为准则，将师德表现作为教师评价和管理的首要要求，坚持师德违规行为“零容忍”；优化教师激励和保障机制，提高思想政治教育工作的职业吸引力和稳定性，从而充分发挥教师的积极性、主动性、创造性，切实推动立德树人工作提质增效。

(The author is a lecturer at the School of Marxism, Wuhan University of Technology, and a researcher at the Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in Hubei Province.)

（作者系武汉理工大学马克思主义学院讲师，湖北省中国特色社会主义理论体系研究中心研究员）

Online editor: Zhang Jian

网络编辑：张剑