An epoch-making ideological torch (selected speeches of the seminar series on studying, propagating and implementing the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the New Era)

　　Materialist epistemology tells us that the ideological theory of each era is the product of this era and the result of certain social and historical activities. The background, practical basis and theoretical origin of the formation of Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought of the Supreme Leader in the new era not only reflect the social and historical characteristics of this new thought, but also highlight its important historical contribution, which is the basis for us to recognize its action guide and direction leading role. As the saying goes, "You need to know why if you know what it is", only when you learn it thoroughly can you use it skillfully.

　　Grasp the background of the times from the time and space orientation of contemporary China, the present world and the development of world socialism.

　　Times are the mother of thoughts, and thoughts are the sails of the times. The historical position of the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era is undoubtedly a new era, and the basic direction of this new era is a new historical stage of China’s development, a new historical leap from China’s standing up, becoming rich and becoming strong, and a new historical process of realizing socialist modernization and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Accompanied by this new era, contemporary the Communist Party of China (CPC) people are faced with the question of how to understand the historical achievements of China’s development, how to grasp the development and changes of the main social contradictions, and how to effectively deal with the more complex and challenging problems after China’s development, which is the era of "where is China going" at a new historical starting point. In a word, it is the important conclusion made in the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China: since the 18th National Congress, the changes in the domestic and international situation and the development of various undertakings in China have given us a major issue of the times, that is, we must systematically answer what kind of Socialism with Chinese characteristics and how to adhere to and develop Socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era from the combination of theory and practice. This is the general background, the general proposition, the general logic and the general clue that we must grasp when we know the background of the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era.

　　China is a part of the world, and the development of China cannot be separated from the world. Especially in the case that China’s comprehensive national strength has been significantly enhanced and the degree of opening to the outside world has been deepened, and China is approaching the center of the world stage and its influence is expanding, China’s road to socialist modernization and the road to rejuvenation of the Chinese nation are closely linked with the destiny of mankind and the destiny of world socialism, and are presented to the world as important aspects of the development of human civilization and scientific socialism. This has become a new distinctive feature of the development of contemporary China, and it is also a more magnificent time and space background for the formation of the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era. It is based on such changes in the situation and such a big background that the Supreme Leader has profoundly grasped the basic characteristics of the community of human destiny in today’s world, and profoundly grasped the political logic that China’s adherence to and development of Socialism with Chinese characteristics is to truly adhere to socialism. While responding to where Socialism with Chinese characteristics is going, he has also answered a series of times’ questions such as "Where is the world going" and "Where is the world socialism going".

　　In January, 2013, Comrade Supreme Leader systematically and deeply reviewed and summarized the 500-year historical process of world socialism and put forward the incisive "six-stage theory" thought in the important speech at the seminar on studying and implementing the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress. He also emphasized that Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s development should be grasped from the 500-year history of socialism, and pointed out that socialism has always advanced through exploration, and we should constantly deepen our thinking and understanding of the laws of Socialism with Chinese characteristics and the laws of world socialist development on the premise of adhering to the principle of scientific socialism. Comrade Supreme Leader said so and did so, and his answer is even more times-leading. "We are still in the historical era pointed out by Marxism", and the development path of a country must adapt to the national conditions and nature of this country. We should adhere to Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s road confidence, theoretical confidence, institutional confidence and cultural confidence, and socialism should gain an advantage in "long-term cooperation and competition" with capitalism. A series of new ideas and viewpoints with the characteristics of the times about upholding and developing socialism by the Supreme Leader have actually become the ideological banner leading the development of socialism in the world.

　　If we contact the development and changes of China since the reform and opening up, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the status and influence of China in the world today, and the new development of Socialism with Chinese characteristics in favor of Marxism in the world, it is an indisputable fact that Socialism with Chinese characteristics has profoundly changed the power contrast between world capitalism and world socialism, and has become the mainstream direction representing the world socialist movement. As Comrade Supreme Leader pointed out: "The success of scientific socialism in China is of great significance to Marxism, scientific socialism and world socialism."

　　Grasp the practical foundation from the profound foundation of promoting the "four greats" creative practice and historical change.

　　Practice is the source of theory, and the process of practice determines the process of thought. The history of revolution, construction and reform led by our party has repeatedly shown that the more arduous and magnificent the practice is, the more it calls for scientific and practical theories and the more profound ideas are born. Mao Zedong Thought was born in this way, Deng Xiaoping Theory, Theory of Three Represents and Scientific Outlook on Development were born in this way, and so was the Supreme Leader’s New Era Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought.

　　In the five years since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core has taken charge of the vivid practice of great struggles, great projects, great undertakings and great dreams. With great political courage and strong responsibility, and with a series of innovative and creative measures, it has solved many problems that it has been trying to solve for a long time, made many major events that it wanted to do in the past but failed to do, and created a new situation and a new atmosphere for the cause of the party and the country. This all-round and pioneering practice process endows the Supreme Leader with all-round and pioneering historical significance of Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era. It can be said that this new idea is a towering tree grown in the fertile soil of great practice.

　　From quantitative change to qualitative change is the basic law of the development of things, but the leap from quantitative accumulation to qualitative change is not realized naturally, and there must be the contributing factors and driving forces behind it, otherwise the accumulation of quantity will not reach its due level and the final leap will not be completed. Great changes have taken place in the cause of the Party and the state since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which cannot be separated from the long-term accumulation and the solid foundation laid after the founding of New China, especially since the reform and opening up. But why did historic achievements and changes take place in these five years? The most critical factor is the political courage and practical wisdom of Marxism, that is, bold innovation and extraordinary creation, which is also the inherent causal relationship between historical changes and historical achievements. Whether it’s the tenacity of "always on the road", or the courage of a strong man to break his wrist to promote the fight against corruption and create a good political ecology with a clear attitude; Whether it is to establish the main framework of the reform with four beams and eight pillars or to push all aspects of economic and social reform into the "peak period of construction", it gives people a brand-new feeling, and many measures are "unprecedented". It is precisely because of its close connection with creative practice and historical change that the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era has distinct practical characteristics, showing strong practical charm and realistic persuasion.

　　Grasp the theoretical origin from the comprehensive characteristics of never forgetting the original, absorbing foreign countries and facing the future

　　With deep roots and lush foliage, it has a long history. The reason why the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era is profound is that this new thought is a masterpiece on the shoulders of giants. The giants here mainly refer to Marxism and Chinese excellent traditional culture, which are the "original" of the party. The course of our Party’s struggle in 1997 is, in a certain sense, the process of Marxism in China, the process of the inheritance and development of Chinese excellent traditional culture, and the process of the formation of revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture. On the issue of "nature", the supreme leader Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era has a firmer and more conscious stance. The basic principles of scientific socialism cannot be lost, and it is not socialism if it is lost; Chinese excellent traditional culture is the "root" and "soul" of the Chinese nation; Chinese culture is the fertile soil of Socialism with Chinese characteristics and the historical origin of Socialism with Chinese characteristics. Cultural self-confidence is more basic, broader and deeper self-confidence, and it is a more basic, deeper and more lasting force; Wait a minute. These not only become the important content of the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era, but also become the basic thinking method of this new thought to analyze and clarify various problems.

　　Absorbing "foreign" is the nutrient of the whole collection. The sea does not refuse small streams, so it can become big. As the main founder of the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era, Comrade Supreme Leader has already developed a broad world vision and strategic thinking in the long-term growth and practice. The book "Seven Years of Educated Youth of the Supreme Leader" says that he walked dozens of miles to borrow a copy of Faust. When he was a county-level leader in Zhengding, Hebei, he led a team to the United States to inspect agriculture. At that time, China had just opened its doors. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the supreme leader comrades have repeatedly stressed that civilization is colorful, and human civilization has the value of exchange and mutual learning because of its diversity. Civilization is equal, and human civilization has the premise of exchange and mutual learning because of equality; Civilization is tolerant, and human civilization has the motivation to exchange and learn from each other because of tolerance. In fact, it is paying attention to absorbing and drawing lessons from foreign beneficial civilization achievements that has made the supreme leader’s broad vision and magnanimity of Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era, and enhanced the theoretical value and ideological light of this new thought to lead the development of the times and the world trend.

　　Whether it is "original" or "foreign", there is a problem of better development in inheritance or absorption, which directly determines the innovative value of ideological theory and is also the core of opening up the road to the future. The Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era does not stop at the general explanation and application of "original" and "foreign", but on the basis of inheritance or absorption, it pays more attention to opening up a new realm of Marxist development based on new practice, paying attention to the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional culture, and promoting the development of human civilization through the combination of sublation and sublation. Especially, the essential grasp and principle revelation of some important issues about communist party’s ruling law, the law of socialist construction and the law of the development of human society, many of them have achieved important breakthroughs at the level of epistemology methodology, which further shows the original value of this new idea. For example, the thought that the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s leadership is the most essential feature of Socialism with Chinese characteristics, the thought about the development and change of major social contradictions, the thought about supply-side structural reform, the thought about the dialectical relationship between the party leading the people to carry out great social revolution and the courage to carry out self-revolution, and the thought of building a community of human destiny and a better world all contain many further revelations on the basic categories and principles of Marxism, and they are also systematic revelations.Talking about the original contribution of the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era, and that this new thought is contemporary China Marxism and 21st century Marxism, it is important that it is reflected in the essential grasp and principle revelation of some important issues.

　　Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought of the Supreme Leader in the New Era is an epoch-making ideological torch, a great theoretical creation based on great practice, a comprehensive and original guide to action, and a contemporary China Marxism and a 21st century Marxism. In contemporary China, adhering to the guidance of the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era means truly upholding and developing Marxism, Socialism with Chinese characteristics and scientific socialism.

　　(The author is the vice president of the Central Party School and the deputy director of the Supreme Leader’s New Era Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought Research Center)