In the wave of informationization, marketization, internationalization and modernization; Socialism with Chinese characteristics insists on seeking truth from facts, putting people first, attaching importance to people's livelihood, and developing socialist economy from the perspective of improving people's living standards and actual needs; Socialism with Chinese characteristics implements a socialist market economic system; Socialism with Chinese characteristics insists on developing socialist democratic politics in order to expand inner-party democracy and carry forward people's democracy and implement democratic and scientific decision-making. All these constitute a comprehensive breakthrough in the Soviet model. At the beginning of the new era, Deng Xiaoping led the whole party to reform from the level of system model, and gradually opened up the road of Socialism with Chinese characteristics.
On the principle difference between Socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Soviet model, the following aspects are emphasized here.
First of all, there are differences in principles between Socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Soviet model in dealing with the class struggle in socialist society and how to build a new society.
After the proletariat gained political power, its domestic policy was "generally speaking, it does not advocate the line of intensifying class struggle, on the contrary, it implements the policy of alleviating class struggle to a certain extent", in other words, it is the line of "consolidating the whole society, that is, opposing social division", that is, the line of "supporting domestic peace". (Selected Works of Bukharin, Volume I, People's Publishing House 198 1 Edition, pp. 294-295, 343) This important thought expounded by Bukharin in 1923+00 was almost consistent in the Bolshevik Party in Russia at that time. But after Lenin's death, in a series of inner-party struggles and social movements, Stalin took a completely opposite route. As a result, a large number of old Bolsheviks have all become "enemies of the people", and a large number of cadres, intellectuals and the people have been suppressed. Purging has continued, especially the "great repression" in the 1930s and the large-scale "cleansing" after the war. Although as early as after the end of the civil war and at the beginning of the new economic policy, Lenin put forward the problem of shifting the "focus of work" from large-scale class struggle to "peaceful" cultural organization, that is, economic construction. (The Complete Works of Lenin, Vol. 43, 2nd Edition, p. 367) However, after Stalin came to power, the class struggle was greatly enlarged.
In the first 20 years after the founding of New China, although Mao Zedong made various efforts in socialist exploration, he did not fully realize the mistakes of Stalin's line. Therefore, after 1957, our party took "class struggle as the key link" and adopted a series of measures to intensify contradictions within the party and society and expand class struggle, especially the mistake of launching and carrying out the "cultural revolution" for ten years.
Deng Xiaoping learned a profound lesson from the Soviet Union and China. At the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the slogan of "taking class struggle as the key link" was put forward decisively, shifting the focus of the party's work to economic construction. This is a comprehensive rectification, which has brought about strategic changes in the party's work policy. Since the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, especially in the report of the 17th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Hu Jintao as the general secretary has put forward the goal of building a harmonious socialist society. All this profoundly summarizes the historical experience and lessons of the Soviet Union and China, and is a major breakthrough in the Soviet model and Stalin system.
Secondly, there are differences in principles between Socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Soviet Union in dealing with commodity markets and capitalism.
According to the Marxist principle of the relationship between productive forces and production relations, eastern countries with backward economy or semi-eastern countries with underdeveloped capitalism should make use of the relationship between commodity money and market to further promote the development of productive forces. In fact, Lenin used the leverage of commodity money and market to restore and develop the national economy as early as the new economic policy period, which actually raised the question of the role of commodity market in economic development. At the same time, the achievement of capitalist civilization, as a part of the whole human civilization, is the product of the development of human civilization to a considerable stage. Marxism has never completely denied this civilization achievement, but advocates that socialism sublates and utilizes it, and even regards it as the starting point and foundation of building socialism.
From the late 1920s to the early 1930s, Stalin launched an "all-round attack on capitalism", canceled Lenin's new economic policy, and then canceled the commodity market, criticized capitalism completely without analysis, and completely put the Soviet economy on the track of product exchange and planned economy. Stalin adopted an extremely strict product exchange system and planned economy. He regards the planned economy as the essential attribute of the socialist system and regards commodities and markets as the "birthmark" of capitalism. Although this has a certain ideological and theoretical origin, it is undeniable that the Russian nation has a strong tradition of anti-commodity and anti-market relations, which has been inherited by Russian populism to some extent. On the one hand, Stalin had a rigid dogmatic understanding of Marxism, on the other hand, he inherited the Russian national traditions of anti-commodity and anti-capitalism, which were later strengthened by Russian populism, thus forming an extremely rigid planned economic system in which Stalin denied the relationship between commodity and currency and the market economy. This is reflected in the theory and practice of the Soviet Union for decades after Lenin's death, especially in Stalin's later work "Socialist Economic Problems in the Soviet Union". Stalin only recognized the limited role of the law of value in socialist society, only acknowledged the limited influence of material interests and value relations on the enthusiasm of workers, and strictly restricted their role in economic policies. Therefore, he opposes the use of commodity currency leverage and insists that the law of value has no regulating effect on the socialist economy, especially it cannot be extended to the scope of means of production. Stalin's thought and the planned economic system based on it ran through Gorbachev's reform from the 1930s. It is this rigid planned economy model that makes the Soviet economy in a state of depression and stagnation, and it is difficult to realize transformation after the development potential is exhausted.
Deng Xiaoping was far-sighted and correctly handled the dialectical relationship between socialism and capitalism. He regards market and planning as a method and means. Capitalism can make use of the "plan" and socialism can also make use of the market. It is from this innovative theory that the socialist market economy model is creatively put forward. In this way, we have found a great impetus to develop the socialist economy, which not only adapts to China's specific social and historical conditions, but also helps to absorb the latest achievements of world civilization in the wave of economic globalization, thus promoting the development of socialism in China. The socialist market economy, as one of the core components of Socialism with Chinese characteristics, is undoubtedly a major breakthrough in Stalin's planned economic system mode of denying the market.
Thirdly, there is a principle difference between Socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Soviet Union in the concept of development, that is, adhering to the people-oriented thought or the supremacy of the country (in essence, the monarch-oriented thought), and adhering to scientific development or voluntarism.
Under the people's political power, the interests of the state and the people are not fundamentally opposed. The rich make the country stable and the poor make it weak. The country is strong and the people are prosperous, and the country is weak and the people are lost. But for those who hold the concept of the supremacy of the country, the interests of the country and the people are undoubtedly contradictory: more for the country, less for the people; Take more people and less country.
Since the period of Moscow Principality, Russia has a strong rural tradition. Peter the Great aimed at building a powerful country and carried out reforms under the guidance of nationalism. At present, the western and Russian academic circles generally hold a view that Stalin's modernization "inherited the autocratic modernization since Peter I's reform" and there is a "certain inheritance relationship" between them. ("New Economic Policy Period: Russia Reflected in Social History", see (Russia) History of the Motherland, No.4, 2007, p. 150) In fact, since Peter's time, Russia has a tradition of attaching great importance to military industry and heavy industry; It is relatively neglected for people's livelihood.
Stalin inherited this tradition and led the Soviet Union onto the road of giving priority to the development of heavy industry. In a specific period, it should be said that this was necessary for the Soviet Union. However, the Soviet Union did not adjust this development path in time, but fixed, modeled and extended it. Not only that, but the problem is that the heavy industry in the Soviet Union has reached a certain deformity, and in fact it has a strong militarization characteristic of heavy industry. The development of national economy is centered on heavy industry, which is centered on military industry. In order to invest in heavy industry and military industry, it is a mockery of farmers to levy "tribute" on farmers for a long time; The proportion of accumulation and consumption is seriously unbalanced, and the wages and living standards of urban residents and workers have remained at a low level for a long time. In order to develop heavy industry, people's demand for food and daily necessities has been seriously ignored. During the severe famine in the Soviet Union 1932- 1933, people starved to death, and Stalin even exported food in exchange for industrial equipment. In the 1950s, when the Soviet artificial earth satellite was launched into the sky, people's daily necessities were pitiful, and they often had to worry about a few bars of soap and towels. In the 1980s, color TV sets and tape recorders were popular all over the world, but the production of this civilian product in the Soviet Union was still at a rather low level, which was seriously insufficient to meet people's needs in quality and quantity. This kind of economic development, which only cares about the country and ignores people's livelihood, has long caused complaints from the Soviet people.
The Soviet Union's industrialization "catch-up strategy" is also contrary to seeking truth from facts, divorced from reality and based on "voluntarism". The tasks stipulated in the first five-year plan of the Soviet Union not only failed to reach the ultra-high control figure adjusted by Stalin, but also failed to reach the original "highest plan". On the contrary, the industrial development rate dropped from 23.7% in 1928- 1929 to 5% in 1933. The industrialization of the Soviet Union ended in serious losses.
In the 1950s and 1960s, China experienced and suffered from the above-mentioned development path and mode of the Soviet Union. Deng Xiaoping profoundly summed up this lesson and put great emphasis on our party's ideological line of seeking truth from facts. He proposed that the development of socialist economy should be realistic, starting from improving people's living standards and starting from the needs of people's livelihood. Since the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Hu Jintao as the general secretary has adhered to the principle of putting people first, attaching importance to people's livelihood, developing for the people, relying on the people, and sharing the fruits of development. We also adhere to comprehensive, coordinated, sustainable and balanced scientific development. In this way, Scientific Outlook on Development greatly enriched the connotation of Socialism with Chinese characteristics's theoretical system. This development path and mode, which is based on the people, people's livelihood and people's needs and centered on scientific development, is undoubtedly a breakthrough in the Soviet national economy's one-sided emphasis on industrialization and militarization of heavy industry, and also a breakthrough in the Soviet catch-up "voluntarism" development strategy, especially a breakthrough in Stalin's development path and mode of focusing on the country and ignoring people's livelihood.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics's theoretical system includes Deng Xiaoping Theory, Theory of Three Represents and Scientific Outlook on Development. As a scientific theoretical system, it not only adheres to the basic principles of scientific socialism, but also is rooted in China's national conditions, with distinctive China characteristics endowed by the times. As the latest achievement of Marxism in China, it is a developed and open theoretical system. With the practice of building socialist market economy, socialist democratic politics, advanced socialist culture and socialist harmonious society, that is, building a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized and harmonious socialist modern country, this theoretical system will be enriched and developed continuously. We firmly believe that this theoretical system, as the true Marxism in contemporary China, will be more closely integrated with China's national conditions, progress with the development of the times and the destiny of the people, and increasingly glow with greater vitality, creativity and attraction.