With the development of human society for thousands of years, people have been fantasizing about establishing a system to eliminate human exploitation and achieve equality, and fantasizing about "socialism." There have been various schools of socialism since ancient times. Marx and Engels critically inherited the outstanding achievements of utopian socialism by using historical materialism and surplus value theory, and founded scientific socialism on the basis of workers' movement practice, which turned socialism from utopian to scientific.
Different from utopian socialism, Marx and Engels' conclusion that socialism will inevitably replace capitalism is not subjective imagination, nor is it the result of resorting to morality and law. They believe that "moral anger, no matter how reasonable, can never be regarded as evidence by economic science, but only as a symbol." (Selected Works of Marx and Engels, 2nd Edition, Volume 3, page 492) They started with the analysis of the contradictions existing in capitalist reality. Put forward the future socialist system. As Lenin summarized, "Communism originated from capitalism, it developed in capitalism historically, and it is the result of social forces produced by capitalism." (Complete Works of Lenin, 2nd Edition, Volume 3 1, Page 8 1) With the development of capitalism and the accumulation of capital, production is becoming more and more socialized. Capitalist production makes labor socialized, many scattered production processes are integrated into one social production process, the social ties between producers are increasingly consolidated, and the whole national economy is linked into a whole. This nature of productive forces objectively requires the society to possess the means of production and adjust the whole national economy. However, the possession of the means of production by private capitalists hinders this. Every kind of production is run by individual capitalists, who do whatever they want and grab social products for their own use. Therefore, the mode of production and the form of possession are irreconcilable contradictions, and the mode of production and the form of possession are opposite. This constitutes the basic contradiction of capitalism-the contradiction between the sociality of production and private capitalist possession. This contradiction cannot be solved within the scope of the capitalist system. The only way out is to turn private capitalism's possession of the means of production into public ownership. That is, the socialist form of possession. In Marx's words: "The monopoly of capital has become the shackles of the mode of production that prospers together with this monopoly. The centralization of the means of production and the socialization of labor have reached the point where they are incompatible with their capitalist shell. This shell will be blown up. The death knell of capitalist private ownership will ring. Those who are deprived will be deprived. " (page 269) It can be seen that the law of capitalist development itself makes the socialist system inevitable, and the substitution of capitalism by socialism is an objective law that cannot be transferred by human will. Marx made this scientific conclusion over 100 years ago. After more than a century of development, capitalism has indeed undergone great changes. However, no matter how much changes have taken place, the basic contradiction of capitalism not only still exists. Moreover, the scope of action is expanding and the sharpness is increasing. Therefore, Marx's assertion that socialism will inevitably replace capitalism is not out of date and will never be out of date. It is the fundamental theoretical basis for strengthening the correctness and historical inevitability of the socialist road and the socialist belief.
The emergence and development of a series of socialist countries in the 20th century show that Marx's above assertion is scientific and prescient. At the beginning of the 20th century, the great October Revolution broke out in Russia, the weak link of imperialist rule, and the first socialist country in the world, the Soviet Union, was born. Since then, socialism has changed the course of world history from ideal to reality. The cause of world socialism has developed rapidly. After World War II, many countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America established socialist systems. This is a period of victory for socialism. The socialist practice in this period has made great progress in exploring and ensuring people's political equality and being masters of their own affairs, eliminating the system of exploiting others, eliminating polarization and disparity between the rich and the poor, and building new ideological and moral culture. Practice has proved that socialism is the correct way to guide the proletariat and working people oppressed by the world exploitation system to change their destiny, gain social liberation and build a happy life.
However, we should also be soberly aware that the history of socialism is still very short from the perspective of world historical process, and it is still in the initial stage of practice and development on the whole. We should also see that the socialist countries born since the October Revolution are basically backward countries in economy, politics and culture. It will take a long development process to completely change this backward appearance after the establishment of the basic socialist system. It will inevitably encounter many unpredictable and unimaginable difficulties and risks on its way forward, and it will not be smooth sailing. We must fully estimate the long-term and arduous nature of building and developing socialism. Consolidating and developing the socialist system requires long-term hard work. Because socialism is a brand-new social system and there is no ready-made experience to follow, we need to practice and understand "what is socialism and how to build it". If we practice and re-recognize, mistakes and setbacks may occur in this process. Once there are mistakes and setbacks, we must face them squarely, sum up experience and learn lessons seriously, so as to better advance the socialist cause and never shake our socialist beliefs.
Socialism is advancing in twists and turns. It is an objective law of historical development that the socialist system replaces the capitalist system. However, this is a long and complicated process. The laws of social development and natural development are objective and independent of human will, but their realization processes are different in principle. The realization of natural laws often does not require people to participate in practical activities, and the laws of social development are different. It is a common trend of people's various practical activities, which must be realized through people's practice. In any society, because people's interests are different, the direction of their practical activities is often inconsistent. In class society, the conflict of interest between opposing classes is manifested as class struggle. Therefore, the law of social development must be realized through class struggle here. In the class struggle, due to various subjective and objective factors, the contrast of class power will change in one way or another, which determines that the process of understanding the law of social development is not straight, and there will inevitably be twists and turns. However, no matter how many twists and turns occur, the development trend determined by social laws will not change, and it will open a way for itself in the long and tortuous struggle process and finally be realized. We have experienced the turbulent waves like the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and we still firmly believe that the world will sail to the other side of communism along the course guided by the October Revolution.
The drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe are the result of the abandonment of the socialist road by the parties in these countries, so it is not to prove the failure of socialism, but to prove the error of the line they followed.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the political situation in eastern European countries of the Soviet Union changed dramatically, and the social system changed from socialism to capitalism, which even led to the tragic situation that communist party of the Soviet Union was banned and the Soviet Union disintegrated. This is the greatest tragedy in the history of the international communist movement. Why did the Soviet Union, a socialist country that has developed for more than 70 years, see the restoration of capitalism? Is there any hope for socialism? Is Marxism still ineffective? Some kind people have all kinds of doubts and puzzles, and they are also worried about the future of world socialism. Even some of our cadres in party member have different degrees of "crisis of faith". This exists objectively, and we can't admit it. We must correctly analyze the causes of the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, clarify these doubts and puzzles, and then strengthen our socialist beliefs.
There are many reasons for the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, both external and internal. The reason why the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe have developed to this point today is that the hostile forces in the West are pursuing the strategy of peaceful evolution, which can never be underestimated. However, the external cause is only the condition of change, and the internal cause is the basis of change. There are also many domestic factors that caused the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The question is, what is the fundamental and decisive factor, that is, what is the most fundamental reason for the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe? ..
How to evaluate the Soviet model socialism, the so-called "Stalin model"? Some scholars talk about the "Stalin model", which is often derogatory or even totally negative, as if it were a wrong and sinful thing. In fact, it needs a scientific and realistic analysis. From the institutional point of view, the "Stalin model" contains two levels of content: the first is the basic system that reflects the essential characteristics and basic principles of the socialist socio-economic form. This is the first and decisive. We must fully affirm the content of the basic socialist system in the Stalin model. 70 years of socialist practice in the Soviet Union showed that they adhered to the ruling position of * * * and established a Soviet regime led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. Implement extensive democracy for the proletariat and other working people, exercise dictatorship over the bourgeoisie and all hostile forces, and rely on the dictatorship of the proletariat to defend the socialist system; Establish socialist public ownership in the form of ownership by the whole people and collective ownership of the means of production, so as to make it dominant in the national economy, and implement the principle of distribution according to work on this basis, thus creating preconditions for eliminating exploitation, eliminating polarization and gradually realizing common prosperity; In the ideological field, adhere to the proletarian world outlook-the guiding position of Marxism–Leninism. These are the manifestations of the essential characteristics of socialism, which meet the objective requirements of the social nature of productive forces and reflect the inevitable trend of historical development, and can never be denied. In 1956, the article "Re-discussion on the Historical Experience of Proletarian Dictatorship" was published. Our party once summarized these contents as the basic experience of Soviet revolution and construction, and pointed out that these experiences are
The second is the concrete realization form of the essential characteristics and basic principles of socialism, that is, the specific political and economic system and operating mechanism, and the specific principles, policies and measures. This is the second and subordinate content. The content of this level in Stalin's model needs specific analysis. Some are right and some are wrong. Some of them are right under the specific national conditions of the Soviet Union, but moving to other countries is wrong. In the article "On Ten Major Relationships", Comrade Mao Zedong adopted this concrete analytical attitude towards the experience of the Soviet Union. He proposed that we should learn from the experience of the Soviet Union and take China's own road, that is to say, we should combine the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the specific national conditions of China, and explore the concrete realization forms of socialism under the specific conditions of China. We cannot copy the Soviet model as it is. Building socialism with China characteristics is based on this. We need to pay attention to the historical analysis of this level. More often, under certain historical conditions, a certain system and a certain policy are correct and necessary, but with the change of objective conditions, reforms must be carried out. Take the economic system as an example. Since the late 1920s, a highly centralized planned economy system has been implemented. This system met the requirements of the development of productive forces in the international and domestic environment at that time, had its historical origin and played a positive role in history. With the expansion of economic scale and the complexity of economic structure, especially in the face of new scientific and technological revolution and intensive economic growth, this economic system has not adapted to the development of productive forces. One of the great mistakes in socialist practice in the Soviet Union is that, under the circumstance that the economic system has restrained the development of productive forces, it failed to carry out reforms in time, or only adopted some tinkering and improvement measures within the scope of the original system, thus causing economic stagnation and causing people's dissatisfaction. The lessons of the Soviet Union show that there is no way out without reform under changing objective conditions.
Considering the two aspects of the "Stalin model" together, we have to admit that the socialism of the Soviet model is basically correct, but there are also many shortcomings that cannot be copied. "On the Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat" once pointed out: "If we must say anything about Stalinism, we can only say that communism is the first thing, and Marxism-Leninism is the main aspect; Second, it has some extremely serious mistakes that must be completely corrected and violate Marxism-Leninism. " The Stalin model should also be analyzed in this way.
Let's analyze this problem from the achievements of socialist construction in the Soviet Union. Take economic construction as an example. People often use the phrase "the economy is not doing well" to summarize the socialist practice in the Soviet Union. This is not convincing. Speaking of the Soviet economy, I have to say two words. The first sentence: Great achievements have been made in socialist construction in the past 70 years. Tsarist Russia was once a country with extremely backward economy. The total industrial output value of 19 13 is only 6.9% of that of the United States. By the time Gorbachev came to power in 1985, the total industrial output value of the Soviet Union was equivalent to 80% of that of the United States, and more than 20 major industrial and agricultural products ranked first in the world (including oil, steel, cement, wood, tractors and fertilizers, etc.). As far as the overall economic strength is concerned, the Soviet Union jumped from the fourth in Europe and the fifth in the world to Europe 1 and the second in the world, becoming a superpower after the United States. Speaking of the economic comparison between the Soviet Union and the United States, we should also see such an objective factor, that is, during the two world wars, the territory of the Soviet Union was the main battlefield and the economy was seriously damaged. World War I reduced industrial production by 36% and World War II by 23%. For about 20 years, the construction has not been carried out normally. However, the United States has never been ravaged by war. Not only did the war not destroy the American economy, it should be said that the United States made a fortune from the war. Under the objective conditions of completely different adversity, the economic gap between the Soviet Union and the United States has been greatly narrowed, which is a manifestation of the superiority of socialism. The second sentence: The Soviet Union made many mistakes in its economic work. During the socialist industrialization in the 1930s, too much emphasis was placed on the development of industry, and farmers were dug up very hard at the expense of agriculture. After the war, with the relaxation of the international situation, the national economic structure failed to be adjusted in time, and agriculture and light industry were seriously backward. In addition, after the mid-1960s, the Soviet Union did not have the opportunity to fundamentally reform the planned economic system. Therefore, after the mid-1970s, economic development was stagnant, market supply was tight, and people's lives improved slowly, which became an important factor in the Soviet Union's political upheaval. However, looking at the Soviet economy in an all-round way, we should point out that achievements are the first and the main, and problems are the second and the secondary. Simply saying that the economy is not good is not realistic.
In order to correctly evaluate the socialist practice in the Soviet Union, it is necessary to reread Comrade Mao Zedong's relevant expositions. As early as 1956, in response to the anti-communist and anti-socialist wave triggered by Khrushchev's total denial of Stalin, Comrade Mao Zedong clearly pointed out: "It is impossible for any nation not to make mistakes, not to mention that the Soviet Union is the first socialist country in the world, and it has been so long that it is impossible not to make mistakes. The mistakes made by the Soviet Union are just like those made by Stalin. It is partial and temporary in nature. " "The mainstream, main aspects and most of the Soviet Union are correct." He advocated "opening up the revolution and construction of the Soviet Union" and "their main and rich things are good and useful; Some things are wrong. " (The Complete Works of Mao Zedong, Vol.7, p.91page) This realistic and comprehensive dialectical evaluation still applies today.
To sum up, in the socialist practice of countries in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the basic socialist system they established is correct, but the specific political and economic system and operating mechanism are insufficient and need to be reformed; Their achievements in socialist construction are basic and major, and the problems are secondary and secondary. Therefore, we cannot assert that the Soviet model socialism is a failure, nor can we assert that socialism is not superior because of the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
So, why did these countries have political upheaval and capitalist restoration? The socialist cause of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries was destroyed by the wrong line pursued by the party leaders. Let's take the Soviet Union as an example. Gorbachev destroyed the first socialist country in the world. The Soviet Union has rich infrastructure and industrial base, rich resources and people with high cultural quality. But the most fundamental reason for its disintegration is that Gorbachev abandoned the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism and socialism, including the abolition of the party's leadership and abandonment.
Who is Gorbachev? According to a speech given by 1999, he said that "the purpose of his life is to destroy communism, which imposes unbearable dictatorship on the people". He admitted that "only by occupying the highest position can he make the greatest contribution to this", so he "made unremitting efforts to climb up". After the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, he proudly declared: "I have eliminated communism in all socialist countries in the Soviet Union and Europe". This is the annihilation of communism in Europe. "His greatest regret is that communism in China has not been eliminated." If communism in China collapses, the world will go further on the road of peace and justice. "It is self-evident that such a fanatical anti-communist and anti-socialist becomes the general secretary of the Central Committee of CPSU, what route he will pursue and what results he will lead to.
After Gorbachev came to power, he put forward "new thinking" and promoted the humane democratic socialist line. Humane democratic socialism is an anti-Marxist bourgeois trend of thought. In terms of social system, it is a capitalist system with some improvements; Historically, it is a bridge between socialism and capitalism in socialist countries.
How did the humane democratic socialist line lead to the subversion of the socialist system and the restoration of the capitalist system?
First, give up * * * leadership and implement a multi-party system. Gorbachev believes that adhering to * * * leadership means advocating "ruling the country by the party" instead of "ruling the country by the people", which runs counter to the idea that the people are masters of the country. He denied that * * * represented the will and interests of the working class and the broad masses of working people, and regarded the party's leadership as "bureaucratic autocracy" and "administrative orders", so he demanded to give up the party's leadership. Make * * * a political organization that competes for political power on an equal footing with various political forces (including anti-communist and anti-socialist forces). He advocated the multi-party system, emphasizing that the Party does not seek monopoly, and allows "various political organizations and factions expressing various political will to compete freely", and * * * should "seek a recognized seat" in this competition.
The second is to attack the dictatorship of the proletariat and advocate a "country of the whole people." Gorbachev regards the dictatorship of the proletariat, which deprives class enemies of democracy and freedom, as the root of "separation of people from political power and politics", which is "autocracy" and "dictatorship". He used the mistakes made in the history of socialist countries as an excuse to describe the dictatorship of the proletariat as a system that violated humanitarianism, undemocratic and terror. Gorbachev declared: "I can't accept the following suggestions and opinions, that is, we need dictatorship, and only a certain dictatorship can save us." I commend Khrushchev's theory of "a country for all". The ultimate goal of his reform is to "fully enrich human rights" and make it conform to the conclusion of "a country for all".
Third, deny the dominant position of public ownership of the means of production and implement privatization. Marx and Engels clearly declared in the * * * Declaration that "* * people can sum up their theory in one sentence: eliminate private ownership". (Selected Works of Marx and Engels, 2nd Edition, p. 286 1 Volume) Public ownership of the means of production is dominant in the economy. Gorbachev totally denied this basic principle and criticized public ownership as "economic monopoly", which hindered people from freely choosing the form of ownership and realizing human value, so he demanded the privatization of public ownership economy. He put forward "non-nationalization" on the pretext that there are problems in the realization form of ownership by the whole people, that is, the mode of operation. Under the slogan of "abolishing the monopoly of state ownership", the property of state-owned enterprises will be delegated to individuals. He believes that only privatization can "overcome the alienation between people and means of production", "restore social justice", "realize personal interests" and "ensure social stability".
Fourth, deny the guiding position of Marxism and advocate ideological pluralism. Gorbachev believes that taking Marxism–Leninism as the guiding ideology is a "spiritual monopoly", which hinders people's freedom of thought and must "abandon ideological restrictions, dogmatism and intolerance of different views and ideas". He advocates ideological pluralism and thinks that society needs "free competition" of various ideologies. "Resolutely oppose any form of occupation and monopoly of public opinion tools" and allow all parties and political groups to freely publicize their political opinions through television, radio and newspapers.
It can be seen that humane democratic socialism and scientific socialism are fundamentally opposed. Although it is under the banner of socialism, it denies and abandons the essential characteristics and basic principles of socialism, so it is essentially anti-socialism.
By analyzing the process and causes of the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, we can see that mistakes and shortcomings in socialist practice are important factors in the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, because they provide opportunities for hostile forces to incite the masses, create turmoil and seize power in chaos. Therefore, we must conscientiously sum up their lessons, carry out reforms in time, and strive to do a good job in domestic work, especially in developing the economy, in order to gain a firm foothold. Be in an invincible position However, these mistakes and shortcomings are not the decisive factors of the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and there is no direct and inevitable causal relationship between them. The fundamental reason for the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe is that the leaders of these ethnic political parties have taken a wrong route, abandoned the fundamental principles of Marxism and abandoned the socialist road. The drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe did not prove the failure of socialism, but proved the mistake of the line pursued. This is the fundamental lesson we should learn from the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Adhere to socialism.
The drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe are indeed the biggest setback for the socialist cause in the world, which has caused socialism to fall into a low tide in the world. However, this is only a twist in the long river of historical development, which cannot change the objective law that socialism will inevitably replace capitalism. As Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "I firmly believe that there will be more people in favor of Marxism in the world. Because Marxism is a science, it reveals the law of the development of human society by using historical materialism. Feudal society replaces slave society, capitalism replaces feudalism, and socialism will inevitably replace capitalism after a long development process. This is an irreversible trend of social and historical development, but the road is tortuous. During the hundreds of years when capitalism replaced feudalism, how many dynasties were restored? Therefore, in a sense, temporary recovery is also a regular phenomenon that is difficult to completely avoid. Some countries have experienced serious twists and turns, and socialism seems to have been weakened. However, the people have gone through exercise and learned lessons from it, which will push socialism towards a healthier direction. So, don't panic, don't think that Marxism has disappeared, gone and failed. How can this be! " (Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Volume 3, pp. 383-382)
Qian Fan crossed the side of the sunken ship, and Wan Muchun was in front of the diseased tree. On the basis of summing up the lessons of the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the proletariat and the working people will be more mature and will certainly make socialism better. The past of severe winter is spring, and victory must belong to the hope of mankind-the cause of socialism and communism. We are full of confidence in this.