Comrade Supreme Leader pointed out: Marxism is the "True Classics" of communist party people. If we don’t study the "True Classics" well, we will always think about "learning from the West", which will delay major events! Emphasizing that Marxism is the "true classics" of communist party people and asking communist party people to read their own "true classics" fully embodies the relationship between communist party people and the "body" and "soul" of Marxism. We must, in accordance with the requirements of the Supreme Leader, profoundly understand and grasp the power of Marxist truth and write a new chapter in Socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.
Today, on the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth and the 170th anniversary of the communist party Declaration, some people are still thinking about "learning from the West", and even say that Marxism is political, official and non-academic, so it has no academic content. This is really a strange talk. We communist party people should learn the "true classics" of Marxism well, take improving the academic nature of Marxist theoretical research as the starting point, study and study the classic works of Marxism, and strive to master the Marxist stand, viewpoints and methods as our own housekeeping skills.
Marxism is of course political. It was born for the political struggle of the working class, and non-political Marxism has never existed. As for official Marxism, it didn’t always exist, but it only appeared after the working class gained political power. In socialist countries, Marxism is official because it is in a leading position in socialist ideology and defends the socialist system ideologically and theoretically. In socialist China, Marxism is the guiding ideology of our party, representing the will of the state and the fundamental interests of the people. Can it be an unofficial ideology? If Marxism becomes an unofficial and super-political so-called value-neutral theory, it is an incredible thing. It should be noted that in socialist countries, if Marxism is marginalized or even its guiding position in the party and the state is cancelled, it is a road of self-destruction. Because if communist party abandons or deviates from the guidance of Marxism, he will inevitably accept all kinds of bourgeois ideas. The drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union are living examples. Comrade Supreme Leader emphasized: "History is the best teacher. It faithfully records the footprints of every country and also provides inspiration for the future development of every country." The lesson is still there, and Yin Jian is not far away. The Communist Party of China (CPC) will never make the same mistake again.
It has been suggested that returning to the study of Marx’s classic works means returning to pure academic research. This is a specious statement. The distinctive political nature of Marxism stems from the political nature of Marx’s classic works. Marx’s classic works have distinct political nature and clear class nature, and Marx studies and writes for the working class and human liberation. Marx is a revolutionary first, which determines that Marx’s classic works cannot be non-political, so the study of Marx’s classic works is also political. As long as we read the anti-Marxism conclusions drawn by some western scholars out of context from Marx’s classic works, it is not difficult to find that there can be two different positions and attitudes in the study of Marx’s classic works. Marx’s classic works are the ideological weapon of communist party people, not the "ivory tower" beyond politics. We should seriously study and study Marx’s classic works, master and master the basic principles of Marxism, and then analyze and solve problems with Marxist standpoints, viewpoints and methods.
Lenin said that it is impossible for a society built on class struggle to have a "just" social science. Some people think that western scholars are just and innocent, not narrow-minded to class, and only seek truth. This is really a naive and kind wish. On the contrary, some serious western scholars don’t see it this way. For example, Solo, an American economist and Nobel laureate in economics, said: "Social scientists, like others, also have class interests, ideological tendencies and all kinds of value judgments. However, all social science research, different from the study of material mechanics or chemical molecular structure, is related to the above-mentioned (class) interests, ideology and value judgment. " It should be said that this is frank and true. In a class society and a society where classes exist, as Lenin said, "no one alive can stand on this or that class." In the contemporary western world, it is difficult to find pure and non-political social science works. For example, Hayek’s The Road to Slavery, Fukuyama’s The End of History, Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations, etc., which are purely academic but not political? Why does the political nature of Marxism hinder academics and become the basis for some people to try to expel it from the academic field?
In the eyes of some people, there is nothing academic about studying Marxism. Only studying the works of a great thinker at home and abroad is called academic research. This is a misunderstanding of what is academic. Of course, the study of famous thinkers at home and abroad is highly academic, which requires in-depth study by specialized personnel and correct interpretation and interpretation of their thoughts in order to inherit their wisdom. This is the reason why the CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core attaches great importance to the creative transformation and innovative development of Chinese excellent traditional culture. It can be said that in contemporary philosophy and social sciences, Marxism is not only highly political, but also highly academic, because it is a theory based on revealing the universal law of world development and the law of human social development.
Marx and Engels paid special attention to the academic nature of their own research. Engels said, "Since socialism became a science, people are required to treat it as a science, that is, to study it." When talking about the study of Marx’s Das Kapital, he also said, "Political economy is not a cow that supplies us with milk, but a science that needs to work earnestly and enthusiastically for it." Marx and Engels devoted their lives to the creation of Marxist scientific theory, which is the most arduous and difficult academic work in human history. The voluminous books and manuscripts they left behind proved this point with irrefutable facts. It should be said that the study of Marx and Marx’s thoughts, even a high-level researcher, is difficult to fully grasp this rich ideological system with all his life energy.
Since the emergence of Marxism, the study of Marxism has gradually become a prominent school. Not only Marxist revolutionaries and theorists study Marxism deeply, but also opponents of Marxism study Marxism. Neither Marxists nor scholars who disagree with or even oppose Marxism can circumvent Marx and Marxism. Marxism is an academic treasure house and a lofty academic peak of philosophy and social sciences. Of course, the study of Marxist theory is not naturally academic. The academic nature of a theory and the academic level of researchers cannot be equated. In fact, in any discipline, the level of researchers is uneven, with peaks, plains and valleys. There are great scholars in every subject, and there are also people with average or no achievements. This has nothing to do with the academic nature of the subject, but with the personal qualifications, conditions and efforts of the researchers. Marxist theoretical workers should strive to improve the academic gold content of their research and teaching while enhancing their political awareness. Many successful researchers have done this. As long as we are not biased, we can see that the level of Marxist theoretical research and ideological and theoretical courses is improving year by year, and the academic content of published works and academic papers is also increasing. Of course, there is still a long way to go compared with the requirements of theoretical innovation and practical development, and the vast number of Marxist theoretical workers still need to make continuous efforts.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) has always attached great importance to the academic issues of Marxist theoretical research. This is because the academic level of Marxist research must be improved by adhering to the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, sticking to the position of socialist ideology, vigorously fighting back against anti-Marxist ideological trends, and improving people’s ability to correctly understand social problems and distinguish various wrong ideological trends. In the field of Marxist research, it is useless to rely solely on slogans, just as it is impossible to defeat the enemy without bullets in the gun. Only a thorough theory can be the most convincing, and only by mastering Marxist theory can we master a thorough theory. To truly consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, we communist party people must read the "True Classics" of Marxism, explore Marxism as a science and study it as an academic, and constantly improve our academic level. We should seriously study the classic works of Marxism and master the basic principles of Marxism. In particular, we should thoroughly study the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era, and make real efforts to understand and do it. The higher the gold content and academic nature of Marxist research results, the more convincing it will be. If a wrong view in the field of specialized courses will affect students’ knowledge level, then a wrong view in the field of Marxist research may affect people’s life. On every major theoretical and practical issue, Marxist theorists must have a clear-cut stand, correct views and academic content.Any nonsense and carelessness will not work.
Ridiculous, unintelligible, not academic but worthless "waste money." At present, for the study of Marxism in China, academic research should have dual characteristics: first, it should be problem-oriented, based on reality, and capture the major problems encountered in adhering to and developing Socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. So-called academic research without problem consciousness and research is worthless. Second, the research and analysis of the problem must rise to theory. Since it is a theory, of course, we must use concepts, of course, there will be logical arguments, and there can be no theoretical analysis without concepts and logical arguments. Comrade Mao Zedong specifically discussed what is theoretical research and what is a theorist in Rectifying the Party’s Style. He said, "What kind of theorist do we want? It is necessary for such theorists who can correctly explain the practical problems in history and revolution according to Marxism–Leninism’s position, viewpoints and methods, and give scientific explanations and theoretical explanations on China’s economic, political, military and cultural issues. " It can be seen that Marxist research is both theoretical and practical, as well as political and academic. The unity of theory and practice is what we in communist party advocate. (Author: Chen Xianda, a first-class professor at China Renmin University)
