Socialist Political Civilization

The sum of a progressive process, state of progress politically formed and positive results achieved that are compatible with material production by the people under the leadership of the ruling Party in a socialist country guided by Marxism. Its basic connotation includes the organic unity of the leadership of the Communist Party, guaranteeing the position of people as the masters of the country, and governing the country by law. The core and essence of promoting socialist political progress is to develop a high degree of socialist democracy, and ensure that the ideal goal of the majority of the people being the masters of the country can be realized. After the 4th Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee, Jiang Zemin put forward the requirement of promoting socialist political progress to push socialism with Chinese characteristics to a new historical stage. In 2002, the 16th CPC National Congress emphasized the need to continuously promote the coordinated development of socialist material progress, political progress, and cultural and ideological progress, and determined the development of socialist democratic politics and promoting socialist political progress as an important goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way. The new Party constitution adopted by the 16th CPC National Congress also made provisions on promoting socialist political progress. This is the first time in the Party’s documents that the CPC clearly made arrangements for promoting socialist political progress, which, together with promoting socialist material progress and cultural and ideological progress, was identified as the three major goals of socialist modernization. Political progress has strong class, regional and national characteristics. Socialist political progress is completely different from other forms of political progress. The leadership of the Party is the fundamental guarantee for guaranteeing the position of people as the masters of the country and governing the country by law. The Communist Party of China’s ruling is to lead and support the position of people as the masters of the country, and to safeguard and realize the fundamental interests of the people. Guaranteeing the position of people as the masters of the country is the core and essential requirement of socialist political progress, as well as the essential connotation of the socialist rule of law. Governing the country by law is the basic strategy of the Communist Party of China leading the people to govern the country, and the concentrated expression of socialist political progress. The main tasks of promoting socialist political progress are to actively and steadily advance the reform of the political system, expand socialist democracy, improve the socialist legal system, build a socialist country ruled by law, and consolidate and develop a democratic, united, lively, stable and harmonious political situation while adhering to the “Four Cardinal Principles”. The main contents of promoting socialist political progress are: adhere to and improve the socialist democratic system, strengthen the construction of the socialist legal system, reform and improve the Party’s leadership and governance methods, reform and improve the decision-making mechanism, deepen the reform of the administrative management system, and promote the judicial system reform, deepen the reform of the cadre and personnel system, strengthen the restriction and supervision of power, and maintain social stability, etc.

The overall requirements for promoting socialist political progress: First, for the development of socialist democratic politics, the most fundamental thing is to organically unify the adherence to the Party’s leadership, guaranteeing the position of people as the masters of the country, and governing the country by law; secondly, the political system reform must be conducive to strengthening the vitality of the Party and the country, give play to the characteristics and advantages of the socialist system, fully mobilize the enthusiasm and creativity of the people, maintain national unity, national solidarity and social stability, and promote economic development and overall social progress; thirdly, we must persist in starting from national conditions, summarize our own practical experiences, and embark on China’s own political development road, while learning from the beneficial achievements of human political progress. We shall never copy the Western political system model but shall focus on strengthening system construction, and achieve the institutionalization, standardization and proceduralization of socialist democratic politics.