[Reading Classics Theory]
Author: Qin Long (Professor, School of Marxism, Tianjin Normal University, researcher, Socialism with Chinese characteristics Theory System Research Center, Tianjin)
"Further grasping the law and general trend of historical development and always grasping the historical initiative of the development of the cause of the party and the state" is a clear requirement put forward by the General Secretary of the Supreme Leader for the whole party. Historical initiative is the subjective temperament and action character displayed by human beings in understanding the historical process, following the historical laws, conforming to the historical trend and taking the initiative to undertake the mission. It is also the practical consciousness of human beings "pursuing their own goals". Based on the social reality, Marxist classic writers made a series of explanations on how to grasp the historical initiative in the practice of proletarian revolution and human liberation. Reviewing and reviewing relevant expositions and their practical application is instructive for us to grasp the historical initiative, overcome difficulties and obstacles and win great victories in the new era.
Explain historical development with scientific practice view
Tracing back to the development of the history of thought, before Marx’s view of history came into being, the development of human history was often regarded as pre-existing, presupposed, or understood as the product of God and religion, or as the result of natural laws. For example, Hegel’s principle of "entity is subject" holds that the self-activity of absolute spirit is the entity of subject, which governs practice and the development of human society, and history is the product of absolute spirit; Feuerbach confused the difference between natural existence and social existence, and fell into idealism when he explained history a priori with idealized "quasi-essence". In short, from the perspective of traditional philosophy, although historical existence is endowed with dynamics, the ultimate form of historical development is still closed and determined. In this case, history has no "initiative".
Marx surpassed the previous historical thinking and speculative thinking, thoroughly criticized Feuerbach and all the old philosophies, and put forward that "all social life is practical in essence", taking practice as the premise and foundation for people to understand the world. Marx insisted that "practice should be explained not from ideas, but from material practice", because "all mysterious things that lead theory to mysticism can be reasonably solved in human practice and understanding of this practice". To understand history through "practice", on the one hand, history is no longer defined as the product of some abstract concept, but the open space and possible process constructed by human beings in practice. All history in the real world is generated and developed through practical activities, and history is dynamic and has differences. On the other hand, from the perspective of practice, the relationship between matter and spirit, thinking and existence is in a non-identity state in activities. In Marx’s view, it is this non-identity that constitutes the driving force of social development. In other words, historical development shows the initiative in breaking the identity in this formal logical sense. As Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out, "Thought and so on are subjective things, and doing or acting is subjective to objective things, which are all special initiatives of human beings. This kind of initiative is called ‘ Conscious initiative ’”。 Thus, taking practice as the logical fulcrum, the veil of historical development was unveiled. History is human’s practical activities, and it is the development of human’s practical activities in time and space sequence. Human social practice with the masses as the main body promotes the pace of historical progress and determines the stage and level of historical development.
History is the activity of people who pursue their own goals.
Marx pointed out: "History is just the activities of people who pursue their own goals." Historical materialism always examines the historical initiative in the dimension of human liberation and freedom realization. The communist party Declaration scientifically explains the evolution process of human social forms, reveals the historical trend that "the destruction of the bourgeoisie and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable", and that the change of human social forms is objective and inevitable regardless of human will. Through a profound analysis of the development prospect of human liberation and the historical mission of the proletariat, Marx expounded the dialectical unity of proletarian liberation and human liberation and put forward a scientific plan to eliminate capital rule. It is under the guidance of these scientific theories that the proletariat grasped the historical initiative and began the revolutionary practice of overthrowing capitalist rule and liberating all mankind.
Marx has a keen insight into the key position and role of the proletariat and the working people in social development and revolutionary struggle. In the French Civil War, he pointed out that the working class is "the only class with social initiative" and enthusiastically eulogized the "historical initiative spirit" of "Parisians soaring to the sky". As Lenin pointed out, "what Marx attaches most importance to is the historical initiative of the masses." In Marx’s view, "historical activities are the cause of the masses, and with the deepening of historical activities, it is bound to expand the ranks of the masses" and "the liberation of workers should be the business of the working class itself", and further pointed out that in the struggle against the joint forces of the proletariat, the proletariat "can only act as a class if it organizes itself into a political party different from all the old political parties established by the proletariat". Communist party, composed of advanced proletarian elements, "has no interests different from those of the whole proletariat", has a strong historical initiative, is "the most determined and always promoting part of the workers’ political parties in various countries", and at the same time "understands the conditions, process and general results of the proletarian movement", which can represent the future of the whole movement.With the rise and expansion of modern industry, the proletariat gradually got rid of geographical limitations, created huge productivity and endless wealth, and stood on the world historical stage with a strong sense of historical subject and historical initiative. The scientific practice of the proletariat fully proves that only the revolutionary forces that respect historical laws, conform to the general trend of historical development and take scientific theory as the guidance can fully grasp the historical initiative in revolutionary practice.
Grasp the historical initiative in the great practice of the new era
The General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "As long as we grasp the law of historical development and the general trend, seize the opportunity of historical change, follow the trend and work hard, we will be able to make better progress." At present, China is in the best development period since modern times, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical process. In the great practice of the new era, we should firmly grasp the historical initiative and take a good road to build a socialist modern country in an all-round way.
Take the initiative to attack in front of opportunities, without hesitation or wait and see. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we have promoted a series of transformative practices, achieved a series of breakthrough progress, and achieved a series of landmark achievements, providing a more perfect institutional guarantee, a more solid material foundation, and a more active spiritual strength for Chinese modernization. We should strengthen our awareness of opportunities, be good at grasping the direction, making good use of opportunities, creating conditions and controlling the overall situation from the development and changes of the situation and conditions, guide the people to scientifically understand and grasp the laws of economic and social development and modernization, and formulate a creative planning and policy system that reflects the times, grasps the regularity and leads the future in taking advantage of the trend.
Face up to difficulties, don’t shirk and don’t escape. The road to national rejuvenation is not smooth, and we must be ready to deal with all kinds of difficulties and challenges at any time. "History always advances, and history never waits for all hesitators, spectators, slackers and weak people." No matter what storms we encounter, we can’t stop moving forward. In the new era and new journey, we should deeply understand the new features and new requirements brought about by the major contradictions and changes in our society, and the new contradictions and new problems brought about by the complicated domestic and international environment. With the heroic spirit of "the more difficult it is, the more forward it is", we should fully mobilize the enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of the people, cope with major challenges and overcome major obstacles, and maintain the strategic initiative in accurately recognizing changes, scientifically adapting to changes and actively seeking changes.
Respond positively to risks without flinching or dodging. In the face of the complicated international situation, complex and sensitive surrounding environment and arduous tasks of reform, development and stability, we must not only guard against risks first, but also have ingenious ways to deal with and resolve risk challenges; It is necessary not only to fight a well-prepared battle to prevent and resist risks, but also to fight a strategic active battle to turn crises into opportunities. We should always keep a sense of being prepared for danger in times of peace, be cautious in treading on thin ice, be sensitive to Ye Zhiqiu, always observe the general trend and always think about the overall situation, consider and plan in advance the risks and problems that may be encountered, make strategic changes and strategic leaps in a timely manner, and firmly grasp the initiative in development.
The General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "Whether a country can be rich and strong, whether a nation can be revitalized, the most important thing is to see whether this country and this nation can conform to the trend of the times and grasp the initiative of historical progress." On the new journey, we must adhere to the guidance of the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era, base ourselves on scientific practice, respect the people’s dominant position, accurately grasp the regularity and interaction of the two overall situations, gain insight into the historical trend, enhance the historical initiative, and constantly write more splendid chapters of Socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.
(This article is the key project of the special major research project of ideological and political theory teachers in colleges and universities in 2022, "Strengthening ‘ Four self-confidences ’ Research on the Mining and Application of Chinese Excellent Traditional Cultural Resources in Education "[〔22JDSZZ02〕] Stage Achievements)
关于作者