(1) The socialist reform is carried out on the premise of adhering to the socialist system, which is the main achievement of the socialist reform.
The basic premise of socialist reform is to adhere to the basic socialist system, which is the self-improvement of the socialist system. The establishment of the socialist system is the main achievement of socialist transformation, that is to say, it is through socialist transformation that China entered the primary stage of socialism from a new democratic society. Emphasizing that reform must adhere to the socialist direction is based on fully affirming the main achievements of socialist transformation as the historical premise of reform and establishing the fundamental socialist system as the historical starting point of reform, rather than denying this achievement. If we deny the socialist transformation and the fundamental system of socialism, the socialist reform will become water without a source and a tree without a root. The success of China's reform has benefited from its emphasis on adhering to the socialist direction of reform from the very beginning, while the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe are, in the final analysis, the reform has gone the wrong way and deviated from the socialist direction.
(2) The goals of socialist transformation and socialist reform are the same, both for the liberation and development of productive forces.
The primary goal of socialist modernization is to transform China from a backward agricultural country into an advanced industrial country, that is, to realize the industrialization of the country. In order to realize industrialization at an early date, it is necessary to change the old relations of production that do not meet the requirements of industrialization development and carry out socialist transformation of individual agriculture, handicrafts and capitalist industry and commerce. In fact, socialist transformation was put on the agenda and started in the process of industrialization. Practice has proved that the victory of socialist transformation has greatly liberated and developed productive forces, creating a prerequisite for large-scale socialist industrialization. In China, without socialist transformation, industrialization and modernization cannot be realized, let alone the direction of socialist development. Today's socialist reform, on the premise of adhering to the basic socialist system, is to reform the aspects and links of production relations and superstructure that are not suitable for the development of productive forces, establish a new socialist system full of vitality and vitality, better liberate and develop productive forces, and realize the industrialization of the country and the socialization, marketization and modernization of the economy. This goal is basically consistent with the fundamental direction of socialist transformation.
2. Socialist reform is the further development of the theory and practice of socialist transformation.
Affirming the correctness and success of the theory and practice of socialist transformation does not mean that it has no shortcomings and deviations. The socialist reform today is not only to correct these shortcomings and deviations, but also to deepen and develop the theory and practice of socialist transformation.
(1) The household contract responsibility system is a creative development of agricultural cooperative theory and practice.
From the basic completion of agricultural socialist transformation to the end of 1970s, China's agricultural collective economy mainly adopted the modes of public ownership of means of production, collective labor, unified management and unified distribution. Although it promoted the development of production for a period of time, excessive concentration and serious egalitarianism affected farmers' enthusiasm for production and directly hindered the development of agricultural productivity. Therefore, the first step of rural reform in China is to implement the household contract responsibility system. This is the creative development of agricultural cooperative theory and practice.
(1) initiated socialist agriculture with China characteristics.
China is a big agricultural country with a relatively low level of productivity. This situation of productivity is reflected in the scale of operation and does not have the objective inevitability of large-scale centralized operation. At the same time, China has a large population and little arable land. In order to make the best use of people and land, intensive cultivation is necessary, which requires decentralized, flexible and adaptable management methods, and the household contract responsibility system is adapted to this need. The household contract responsibility system is to hand over the right of production and management to farmers on the premise of adhering to the collective ownership of agricultural means of production, and realize the proper separation of ownership and management. This change in management mode has enabled all contractors to gain operational autonomy and become independent commodity producers and operators with full vitality and self-development ability.
(2) created a good form of distribution according to work.
Distribution according to work is the main way of personal income distribution under socialist conditions, and the household contract responsibility system is a good embodiment of the principle of distribution according to work. Compared with the distribution form according to work in the past, the remuneration of joint production has two remarkable characteristics: first, the basis of distribution is no longer mobile labor, but materialized labor; Second, labor remuneration and labor achievements are no longer indirectly combined through work points, but directly combined, so as to truly achieve more work and more pay, and less work and less pay. In this way, on the one hand, on the basis of promoting the development of productive forces, all farmers will become rich together, on the other hand, those who are good at management and hardworking will get rich first. This is the inevitable result of distribution according to work and the only way for all workers to get rich together.
Therefore, the rural socialist reform is neither a denial of agricultural socialist transformation, nor a return or retrogression of the old system, but an innovation of agricultural cooperative movement.
(2) Allowing and encouraging the development of non-public economy is the deepening and development of the understanding of ownership structure.
Public ownership economy is the foundation of socialist economic system. Therefore, it is very necessary to carry out socialist transformation of individual agriculture, handicraft industry and capitalist industry and commerce in those days and change private ownership of means of production into public ownership of means of production. The problem is that the existence and development of non-public ownership economy is still inevitable and reasonable when the level of productive forces in China is still very backward and public ownership of the means of production is the main body. In the later stage of socialist transformation, due to our simplistic choice and understanding of social and economic model and our eagerness to seek purity, we once pursued single public ownership regardless of the development level of productive forces, and eliminated the individual economy and private economy that had a positive effect on socialist development too simply and too hastily. This not only transcends the primary stage of socialism, but also brings inconvenience to people's lives, resulting in a series of problems that have long plagued and seriously affected socialist economic construction.
Historical experience and lessons tell us that in the primary stage of socialism, with socialist public ownership as the main body, individual economy and private economy will not only exist for a long time, but also develop to some extent. Today, an important task of China's socialist reform is to adjust and improve the ownership structure, establish the ownership structure of the means of production with public ownership as the main body and multiple ownership economies developing together in the primary stage of socialism in China, allow and encourage the development of the non-public economy and give play to its positive role in socialism. This is the need to adapt to the rapid development of China's productive forces and the development of socialist market economy, and it is also the need to directly solve the problems left over from socialist transformation and improve and develop the socialist economic system.
(3) The implementation of joint-stock system and joint-stock cooperative system is the deepening and development of public ownership.
In the socialist transformation, our choice and understanding of the realization forms of public ownership are often too simplistic, which is manifested in two aspects: First, we only pay attention to the two basic realization forms of collective ownership and ownership by the whole people, but fail to realize that there are other realization forms of public ownership. Second, taking collective ownership to ownership by the whole people as the process of the development of public ownership from low level to high level is actually taking the degree of public ownership as the standard of judgment, without realizing that the standard of judgment should proceed from reality. Now it seems that the forms of public ownership can and should be diversified, which is the need of the development of productive forces and market economy in the primary stage of socialism. In the process of socialist reform, we have corrected the long-standing misunderstanding and adopted various forms of public ownership, such as joint-stock system and joint-stock cooperative system, which are conducive to promoting the development of productive forces, improving the vitality of public ownership economy and strengthening the dominant position of public ownership.
3. Socialist reform is not a return to a new democratic society.
(1) There is an essential difference between the household contract responsibility system and "dividing fields and going it alone".
The household contract responsibility system has not changed the nature of collective ownership. Land, large-scale agricultural machinery, water conservancy facilities and other major agricultural means of production are still owned by the collective, so it is different from the previous "dividing fields and going it alone" and individual economy, only the change of management mode. It is a management mode of agricultural collective economy, that is, the means of production owned by the collective are no longer used and managed by the collective as in the past, but owned by the collective. This is only a reform of the management mode that does not adapt to the development of agricultural productive forces, rather than fundamentally denying the collective ownership of the means of production. Without the premise of collective ownership of the means of production established by the socialist transformation of agriculture, it is impossible to produce the household contract responsibility system.
(2) At the present stage, allowing and encouraging the existence and development of individual economy and private economy is not a retreat to the new democratic society.