China “Proves That Marxism Works”: The 100th Anniversary Document

Sure, and the moon is made of green cheese! ChiCom Marxism works as well as any other Marxism bringing slavery and death to millions.

From Bitter Winter

By Massimo Introvigne

“Historical” document shows the CCP is disturbed by both Western opinions that it is no longer Marxist and feelings in China that it is becoming too much Marxist.

Presented with much fanfare as the main document of the CCP’s 100th anniversary, a long text on “The CCP: Its Mission and Contributions” has been published on August 26 by the Propaganda Department (now renamed in English the “Publicity Department”) of the Party’s Central Committee. That it has been published both in Chinese and in English, which recently is not often the case for CCP documents, is in itself important.

The document, besides celebrating the achievements and victories of the CCP in 100 years, appears to have been devised to counter two allegations, which mightily disturb President Xi Jinping. The first, which comes from Western media and some Western scholars, is that the CCP is no longer Marxist. The second, which is more present within China but also scares some foreign investors, is that the CCP under Xi Jinping is becoming again too much Marxist, which may eventually damage Chinese economy and the value of foreign investments.

The most interesting parts of the document are those answering these two allegations. The text reiterates what Xi Jinping emphasizes every week: that the CCP is Marxist, Communist, and Leninist, and that those who raise doubts about it lie.

“Marxism, the document says, is the single guiding ideology, the very soul of the CPC, and the banner under which it strives. Fundamentally, the strength of the Party and the strength of Socialism with Chinese characteristics are attributable to the fact that Marxism works.”

Marxism, the CCP says, works because it is the only ideology that has been able to scientifically identify how the world, society, and humans function. “Marxism reveals the universal laws of the natural world, human society, and the human mind.” Additionally, “a key feature of Marxism is that it not only defines the ideals of Communism, but also specifies the ways and means by which they can be achieved.” The CCP is loyal to Marx not only (as some argue) when it comes to the ideals, but also when it chooses the means to achieve these ideals. CCP leaders, from Mao to Xi, have been literally faithful to Marx’s precepts, the document proclaims. “Never have they wavered in their commitment, deviated from its goals, or abandoned it in favor of other options.” They have constantly “used Marxism as a powerful ideological weapon to seek the truth, understand the world and its laws, and transform it,” just as Marx mandated.

“At the fundamental level, the CPC’s successes can be attributed to its mastery of powerful theoretical weapons to correctly understand, scientifically analyze, and effectively solve problems by applying the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and methodology. Experience has proved that the CPC’s choice of Marxism is correct.” And Marx’s recipes are still correct and, if correctly applied, infallible “in the 21st century.”

Some, however, particularly in West, maintain that the CCP abandoned Marxism when it introduced elements of private property in China after Mao’s death. After all, didn’t Marx teach that the essence of Communism is the elimination of private property? Not exactly, the document answers. A good Marxist knows that Marx distinguished between two stages of the revolution, Socialism and Communism. Only in the Communist phase will the total elimination of private property be achieved. In the Socialist stage, some private property remains, and it is the task of a Communist Party to analyze the changing circumstances and defining how much of it should be kept or re-introduced. What is essential, and distinguishes a Socialist from a non-Socialist society, is that the owners of private property, including those who can be called rich, do not escape the “strict control of the Communist Party” and do not have the power to determine economic policy, which remains “centralized” and in the firm hands of the Central Committee.

“While China has achieved remarkable successes as a result of a dedicated effort made over many years, the document explains, it is still in the primary stage of Socialism, and will long remain so.” It has not yet entered the Communist stage, and indeed no Communist society (as opposed to Socialist) has been created in human history so far. No less than the old Soviet Union, and in fact more, China claims to be a Socialist country en route to Communism.

“After the founding of the People’s Republic, the CCP applied itself to learning from the Soviet Union. Encountering problems with the Soviet model, it began to explore its own path for building Socialism,” the text says. That the Soviet model had problems was proved that the fact that the Soviet Union collapsed. Unlike the Soviet Communist Party, the document notes, the CCP is still firmly in power, because both of its flexibility in applying Marxism to changing economic circumstances and its non-flexibility in keeping all parts of society under the strong grip of the Central Committee.

Having dealt with those who claim that the CCP is not, or no longer, Marxist because some of its members are billionaire capitalists, the document addresses the concerns of those who are afraid that, with the “common prosperity” campaign and other measures aimed at introducing more Socialism in the Chinese economy and society, the Party under Xi Jinping is becoming too much Marxist, which may compromise the economic achievements of the post-Mao era, make the lives of the rich in China less comfortable, and scare away foreign investors.

The CCP, the document says, acknowledges that it “makes mistakes,” and since the times of Chairman Mao has introduced a system of self-criticism and self-corrections, which includes, as the text aptly reminds its readers, severe punishment of those who deviate. It is possible that in the management of the economy, mistakes have been made, with the results that some rich became too rich, some believed they could escape the control of the Central Committee, and some deviated from the Socialist path. The “common prosperity” campaign is here to rectify these mistakes.

However the document, and much more the press conference that introduced it and several initiatives organized for its promotion, try to dismiss the idea that Xi Jinping, like Robin Hood, will now steal from the Chinese rich to give to the Chinese poor. It will not happen, said Han Wenxiu, deputy director of the Central Finance Office, at the press conference. This is just common prosperity “misinterpreted by some Western media.”

Common prosperity, Han said, “is a dynamic process that cannot be achieved overnight,” and will achieve its aims “mostly” by making the poor richer than by making the rich poorer. Yet, concerns about how common prosperity will work in China have not been raised by “Western media” only. It is mostly the Chinese rich who are scared by the “back to Socialism” campaign started by Xi Jinping.