Emancipate the Mind, Seek Truth from Facts and Unite as One in Looking to the Future

Deng Xiaoping's Important Speech at the Closing Meeting of the Central Working Conference on December 13, 1978. Contained in Vol. 2 of Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping. The speech is divided into four parts:

(1) Emancipating the mind is a vital political issue at present. In this first part, Deng Xiaoping pointed out that emancipating the mind, use our heads, seeking truth from the facts, unite as one in looking to the future, among these 4 issues the most important one is emancipation of the mind. Only when our minds are emancipated can we correctly take Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought as the guidance, solve the problems left over from the past and solve a series of new problems. This speech summarizes the heated discussions on the criterion of truth both inside and outside the Party in the past six months, and emphasizes that practice is the only criterion for testing truth. In fact, this debate (the criterion for testing truth) is also about whether to emancipate the mind and he emphasized that there would be no hope for developing the task of four modernizations without breaking the rigidity of the mind. He said: when everything has to be done by the book, when thinking turns rigid and blind faith is the fashion, it is impossible for a Party or a nation to make progress. Its life will cease, and that Party or nation will perish.” Only if we emancipate our minds, seek truth from facts, proceed from reality in everything and integrate theory with practice, can we carry out our socialist modernization programme smoothly, and only then can our Party further develop Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought.  In this sense, the debate on the criterion of truth is indeed a question of ideological line, a political issue and a question concerning the future and destiny of the Party and the country.

(2) Democracy is a major condition for emancipating the mind. In this part, Deng Xiaoping pointed out that one important condition for getting people to emancipate their minds and use their heads is genuine practice of the proletarian system of democratic centralism. At present, we need to emphasize democracy in particular. At present, we must lay particular stress on democracy, because for quite a long time democratic centralism was not genuinely practised: centralism was divorced from democracy and there was too little democracy.  To ensure people's democracy, we must strengthen our legal system. Democracy has to be institutionalized and written into law, so as to make sure that institutions and laws do not change whenever the leadership changes, or whenever the leaders change their views or shift the focus of their attention.

(3) Solving old problems will help people look to the future. In this part, Deng Xiaoping pointed out that the conference had solved some problems left over from the past and corrected a number of major injustices and wrongs. This is the need for emancipating the mind and for stability and unity. Its purpose is to help people turn their thoughts to the future and to smoothly shift the focus of the Party's work. The principle is “every wrong should be righted”. All wrongs done in the past should be corrected. He particularly stressed the need to correctly evaluate Mao Zedong personally and the Mao Zedong Thought, pointed out that the great contributions of Comrade Mao in the course of long revolutionary struggles will never fade, and that there would be no new China without Chairman Mao. Mao Zedong Thought is always the most precious spiritual wealth of our Party, army and people of all nationalities. We should understand and grasp the scientific principles of Mao Zedong Thought completely and accurately and develop it under the new historical conditions. The “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” has become a stage in the historical development of socialism in China. It must always be summarized, but there is no need to do it in a hurry. We should lead and educate all Party members, army commanders and people of all nationalities in China for understanding Comrade Mao Zedong's great achievements scientifically and historically.

(4) Study the new situation and tackle the new problems. In this part, Deng Xiaoping put forward that in order to look forward, we must study the new situation and tackle the new problems in good time; otherwise, there can be no smooth progress. In three fields especially, the new situation and new problems demand attention: methods of management, structure of management and economic policy. So far as methods of management are concerned, we should lay particular stress on overcoming bureaucratism. Our modernization programme and socialist cause will be doomed if we don't make them now. So far as the structure of management is concerned, the most important task at present is to strengthen the work responsibility system. Through strengthening the responsibility system and allotting rewards and penalties fairly, we should create an atmosphere of friendly emulation in which people vie with one another to become advanced elements, working hard and aiming high. In economic policy, I think we should allow some regions and enterprises and some workers and peasants to earn more and enjoy more benefits sooner than others, in accordance with their hard work and greater contributions to society. Deng Xiaoping advocated that these were major policies which can have an effect on the whole development of national economy and help the whole national economy to advance wave upon wave and help the people of all our nationalities to become prosperous in a comparatively short period. Deng Xiaoping emphasized that realizing the four modernizations is a great and profound revolution. Therefore, all Party comrades must be good at learning and the whole Party must start learning again,  and try to integrate the universal principles of Marxism with the concrete practice of our modernization drive. This speech re-established the ideological line of seeking truth from facts and became a declaration to open up a new path and a new era and was an initial step in the creation of the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

In fact, the speech became the theme report for the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the CPC which convened soon after, which laid an important foundation for realizing the epoch-making great turn that occurred in the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee.