The Theory of The Nature of Socialism

In 1992, Deng Xiaoping put forward in his Southern Talks that “the essence of socialism is to liberate and develop productive forces, eliminate exploitation and polarization, and finally achieve common prosperity.” This new theoretical generalization provides a solid theoretical foundation for exploring how to adhere to and improve socialism with Chinese characteristics. The scientific connotation of the theory of socialist essence emphasizes that liberating and developing productive forces is the material premise and fundamental way to consolidate and develop the system of socialism, and is the embodiment of the fundamental requirements and superiority of socialism. Only socialism can create more favorable conditions for the development of productive forces. Eliminating exploitation and polarization is to ensure that the fruits of production development belong to the people and create conditions for the sustainable development of productive forces and the realization of common prosperity. Eliminating exploitation and polarization is a process that adapts to the development of productive forces, but we must adhere to and develop public ownership of means of production and ensure the dominant position of public ownership in the primary stage of socialism. The ultimate goal of socialism is to achieve common prosperity.

The theory of socialist essence reveals the essence of socialism from the perspective of the unity of productivity and production relations, and embodies the greatest superiority of socialism. The three aspects of the theory of socialist essence are interrelated, mutually conditional and closely coordinated, which are an inseparable unity and jointly promote the all-round development and progress of socialism.

Deng Xiaoping grasped the fundamental problem of “what socialism is and how to build it”, abandoned the previous thought of developing socialism by blindly expanding the scope of public ownership and improving the degree of public ownership and other production relations, and summarized the essence of socialism from the perspective of combining productivity with production relations for the first time, which not only adhered to the basic principle of scientific socialism, but also conformed to the actual situation of China’s primary stage of socialism, and raised our understanding of socialism to a new scientific level. The theory of socialist essence inherits and develops Marxist scientific socialism theory, and provides an important standard for judging the right from wrong of Reform and Opening-up.