The great rejuvenation of China

2. All-round human development is the value pursuit of socialism

In the era in which Marx lived, he based on the cruel reality of capitalist man-made servitude, explored the enslavement and restraint of human beings by solidified social relations, and emphasized that only by relying on the high development of productive forces can we fundamentally overcome this limitation, and finally realize the active abandonment of human self-alienation, that is, realize the free and comprehensive development of human beings.

The all-round development of man or the well-rounded development of man is not a product of nature and pure nature, but a product of social history. Of course, the all-round development of man is not a fixed, established and static ideal goal, but a generation process in the process of eternal movement, change and development. To point out this qi is to prevent a mechanical, dogmatic, and rigid understanding of the all-round development of man, which will lead to the degeneration of originally alive, vibrant and dynamic theories into illusory and ethereal “utopian illusions” or lifeless blunt dogmas. At every stage of the historical development of society, the all-round development of man is being realized to varying degrees. Contradictions and problems belonging to this era will emerge in every era, and at the same time, the resolution of these contradictions and problems will lay the foundation for resolving the contradictions and problems of that era to a higher degree in the future, thereby promoting the all-round development of society and people. In the course of the historical development of this universal connection, humanity will continue to approach comprehensive development.

To understand the Marxist theory of comprehensive human development from a historical perspective, the key is to explore the specific characteristics of human nature and the realistic path to promote comprehensive human development in the process of historical development. Similarly, only by understanding the Marxist theory of comprehensive human development from the perspective of history and development can we better grasp the inheritance and development of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. After more than 40 years of reform and opening up, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has not only clearly declared that “the people’s yearning for a better life is our goal”, but also emphasized adhering to the “people-centered” development thinking and the new development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, unswervingly regarded development as the first priority of the party’s governance and rejuvenation of the country, persisted in liberating and developing social productive forces, and promoted sustained and healthy economic and social development. The people’s living standards have achieved a historic leap; the people’s sense of gain, happiness and security in the reform and development has been significantly improved, from the beginning of reform and opening up, more attention has been paid to material survival and development, and gradually transitioned to all-round and diversified development in economy, politics, culture, society and ecology, and the all-round development of people has been greatly valued and realistically realized. This is an important symbol of socialism with Chinese characteristics entering a new era. The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China formally wrote the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China on “promoting all-round human development”, and further emphasized that in the process of realizing the “two centenary goals” and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, it is necessary to promote the construction of a “community with a shared future for mankind” and “make new and greater contributions to mankind.” China Aerospace Studies Institute 123 Translation published Fall 2023Basic Issues of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era All this fully demonstrates that contemporary Chinese communists have always insisted on writing the promotion of all-round human development on the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, insisted on embodying the promotion of all-round human development in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and insisted on implementing the promotion of all-round human development in practical actions that benefit the Chinese people and even the people of the world.

3. Promote all-round human development while promoting all-round social progress

Comprehensive human development is inseparable from all-round social progress. In the new era, to promote the all-round development of people, we must focus on the whole and make efforts in various aspects.

First, adhere to the people-centered development thinking. Development is a prerequisite for solving all our problems. Only by concentrating on development and focusing on the people’s growing yearning for a better life can we achieve, safeguard and develop the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people. Compared with developed countries, the development of China’s productive forces is still at a medium level on the whole, and unbalanced and insufficient development has become the main bottleneck to meet the people’s growing needs for a better life. In the new era, we must adhere to the people-centered value orientation, always regard development as the first priority for the party to govern and rejuvenate the country, and strive to solve the problem of unbalanced and insufficient development, and strive to solve problems such as the large gap between residents’ income and the relatively difficult life of some people. It is necessary to comprehensively deepen reform, especially the reform of the income distribution system, fundamentally eliminate the deep-seated institutional obstacles that affect social fairness and justice, increase the income of low-income people, and strive to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas, regions and industries.

Second, strive to achieve high-quality economic development. The quality and level of economic development determine the degree of all-round human development. Failure to pay attention to changes in the structure and level of social needs, especially the reality of increasing high-quality consumption brought about by the improvement of consumption levels, will lead to the inability to fully meet the needs of the people in the imbalance between supply and demand, and it will be difficult to achieve comprehensive human development. In the new era, compared with the new needs of the people, there is still a gap between the quality and efficiency of China’s economic development. To meet the people’s growing needs for a better life, we must strive to realize the transformation from a high-speed growth stage to a high-quality development stage, promote China’s economy to maintain medium-high speed growth and move towards a medium-to-high-end level, not only fully meet people’s material needs, but also lay a solid foundation for meeting people’s high-level and diversified needs.

Third, constantly explore the path to realize the all-round development of people. Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must stimulate the creativity and development vitality of the whole society, and strive to achieve higher quality, more efficient, fairer and more sustainable development!“1 One of the most important points is to give human development a more “comprehensive” and “concrete” meaning. Whether it is to promote the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, or to realize a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful modern socialist country, the fundamental purpose is to realize human modernization and comprehensive human development, so that people can obtain comprehensive and equal social relations, fully enjoy the due rights such as the right to survival, security, development, participation, etc., and constantly activate and release people’s initiative. It is necessary to persist in promoting the overall layout of the “five-in-one” and the “four comprehensive” strategic layout in a coordinated manner, comprehensively improve the level of material, political, spiritual, social and ecological civilization, and then promote the overall improvement of the level of comprehensive human development. At the same time, we should actively promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, promote the construction of a world of lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness, inclusiveness, cleanliness and beauty, jointly create a better future for mankind, and make positive contributions to the all-round development of mankind.