Theory of the Fundamental Contradictions of Society

Marxist theory on the contradictions between the productive forces and the relations of production and between the economic foundation and the superstructure and their motion and development. The idealist conception of history reduced the driving forces of development of society to intellectual forces and was incapable of revealing the true secret of the development of society. The materialist conception of history did not stop at the superficial phenomena of historical development but delved into the interior of society and sought the fundamental contradictions that determine the development of society, and holds that the fundamental contradictions of society are the fundamental driving force of development of society. The theory of the fundamental contradictions of society was put forth by Marx and Engels. The idea of the fundamental contradictions of society was first explained in the book The German Ideology. In 1959, in Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Marx dealt with the contradictory relations between the productive forces and the relations of production and between the economic foundation and the superstructure more comprehensively and systematically, and revealed the objective law of development of human society. Lenin has uphold and developed Marx and Engels’ theory of the fundamental contradictions of society and applied it to the practice of socialist revolution. In On Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People and other works, Mao Zedong clearly summarized the contradictions between the productive forces and the relations of production and between the economic foundation and the superstructure as the fundamental contradictions of society, and dealt with the nature, characteristics and expression of the fundamental contradictions of society as well as the fundamental guideline for resolving contradictions.

The theory of the fundamental contradictions of society holds that in the social production of their existence, men inevitably enter into definite relations, which are independent of their will, namely relations of production appropriate to a given stage in the development of their material forces of production. The sum total of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which arises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness. The contradictions between the productive forces and the relations of production and between the economic foundation and the superstructure are the fundamental contradictions of society, they permeate the process of development of society from beginning to end and acts as the fundamental driver of the development of society. Among the relations between the productive forces and the relations of production and between the economic foundation and the superstructure, the productive forces are the most vibrant and most revolutionary factor, the material basis of social existence and development, and the ultimate driving force of development of human society. Yet, the contradiction between the productive forces and the relations of production determines the contradiction between the economic foundation and the superstructure. Productive forces and the economic foundation are the content, the relations of production and the superstructure are the form, the content determines the form, and the form reacts upon the content. The relations of production have to correspond to the state of the productive forces and the superstructure has to correspond to the state of the economic foundation. When the relations of production correspond to the productive forces and the superstructure corresponds to the development of the economic foundation, the development of the productive forces will be promoted; when the relations of production do not correspond to the productive forces and the superstructure does not correspond to the economic foundation, the development of the productive forces will be hindered, which would call for a revolution in the old relations of production, and an era of social revolution begins. The contradictions between the productive forces and the relations of production and between the economic foundation and the superstructure are present in all social formations and permeate each social formation from beginning to end, they determine and condition the existence and development of other contradictions of society and are the fundamental driving force of development of society. The development of human society is a constant development from the lower to the higher in the contradictory movement between the productive forces and the relations of production and between the economic foundation and the superstructure. In class society, the fundamental contradictions of society manifest themselves, in a concentrated manner, as class contradictions and class struggle, and the nature of the contradictions is antagonistic. In socialist society, since society as a whole has abolished the system of exploitation and exploiting classes, the fundamental contradictions of society are no longer resolved by the form of class antagonism, rather, it is achieved by leading reforms upon a definite plan, relying on the strength of the socialist system. The theory of the fundamental contradictions of society is a theoretical ground and guide for identifying and solving various social problems, and a theoretical weapon for handling major social problems. Xi Jinping emphasized that we must study and master the analytical method of fundamental contradictions of society, and deeply understand the importance and urgency of comprehensively deepening reform, and only then can we comprehensively grasp the basic image and development direction of the whole society and understand that reform and opening up only have a progressive tense, not a perfect tense.