Deng Xiaoping Theory

Deng Xiaoping otherwise known as the Architect of Reform was in charge of Opening and Reform, being the next General Secretary after Mao to deepen the Sinicization of Marxism in China.

Deng Xiaoping Theory was formulated by the "Architect of Reform" Deng Xiaoping to better account for the socioeconomic conditions of China during the time period of him being party chairman.

The 4 Cardinal Principles

The Four Cardinal Principles (simplified Chinese: 四项基本原则; traditional Chinese: 四項基本原則; pinyin: Sì-xiàng Jīběn Yuánzé) were stated by Deng Xiaoping in March 1979, during the early phase of Reform and Opening-up, and are the four issues for which debate was not allowed within the People's Republic of China. The Four Cardinal Principles were one of Deng's Two Basic Points, the other of which was Reform and Opening.

The principles include:

1. The principle of upholding the communist path.
2. The principle of upholding the people's democratic dictatorship.
3. The principle of upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
4. The principle of upholding Mao Zedong Thought and Marxism–Leninism.

The purpose of stating the Four Cardinal Principles was to ensure ideological drift would not occur within the Party. Using the Four Cardinal Principles to uphold the Four Modernizations. Setting forth the Four Cardinal Principles would prevent the Ultra-Leftist errors that was set forth through the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution under the Gang of Four and ensuring the Vanguard status of the Communist Party of China. This is necessary for any socialist project, that building up the productive forces was necessary for the liberation of humanity:

"[I]t is only possible to achieve real liberation in the real world and by employing real means, that slavery cannot be abolished without the steam-engine and the mule and spinning-jenny, serfdom cannot be abolished without improved agriculture, and that, in general, people cannot be liberated as long as they are unable to obtain food and drink, housing and clothing in adequate quality and quantity. “Liberation” is an historical and not a mental act, and it is brought about by historical conditions, the development of industry, commerce, agriculture, the conditions of intercourse..."

The 4 Modernizations

The Four Modernizations (simplified Chinese: 四个现代化; Pinyin:Sì gè xiàndàihuà) namely the modernization of agriculture, science and technology, defense and industry, are the national strategic goals proposed by the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China from the 1950s to the 1960s. Zhou Enlai first put forward the concept of "four modernizations" in the "Government Work Report " made at the First Session of the Third National People's Congress in September 1954.  At the beginning of reform and opening up , Deng Xiaoping allowed the "four modernizations" to become the focus of the work of the party and the government. This caused him to further propose "Xiaokang" or "Moderately Prosperous Society" in 1979.

The 3 Favorables

The 3 Favorables (simplified Chinese: 三个好处; Pinyin: Sān gè hǎochù) are the standard used to judge the effective measures of Reform and Opening Up, as well as rectifying the practice of constructing Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. It stems from the outcome of Deng's policy of stressing on the emancipation of the mind and seeking truth from facts. The 3 favorables are as follows:

• Whether it is conducive to the development of the productive forces:
• Whether it is conducive to enhancing the comprehensive national strength of China
• Whether it is conducive to raising the living standards of the people

But do keep in mind, it is an objective standard rather than a subjective one. It generates and develops on the basis of summing up experience and lessons from pros and cons. It opposes the ultra-left's tendencies and the ultra-rights tendencies. It is the product of emancipation of the mind and seeking truths from facts.

There are inherent and indivisible relations between the 3 Favorables and socialism. The 3 Favorables is the fundamental standard adopted under the requirement of Socialists to measure gains and losses of all praxis. It is the basic part of the superiority of the socialist system. When we use the 3 Favorables, we must think of the direction, principle and superiority of Socialism. The "3 Favorables" becomes meaningless once divorced from Socialism.

The core standard is the development of the productive forces. This standard reflects the principle that the productive forces is the historically materialistic analysis of history, that productivity is the driving force of human development. It also attaches the importance of the productive forces to Marxism-Leninism. Without the development of productivity, it is impossible to enhance national strength and secure an improvement in living standards.

Although the standard of productivity is most important, it is closely linked to enhancement of national strength and improvement in living standards. The development of the productive forces should ultimately be reflected in national strength and improvement of living standards. All 3 are interlinked, meaning that it is impossible to develop the productive forces without an increase in national strength and improvement of living standards. And it is impossible to increase national strength and improve living standards without the development of productive forces.

Moderately Prosperous Society

Moderately prosperous society or Xiaokang society (Chinese: 小康社会; pinyin: Xiǎokāng Shèhuì), is a Chinese term, originally from Confucianism, used to describe a society composed of a functional middle-class. In December 1979, Deng Xiaoping, then paramount leader of China, first proposed the idea of "Xiaokang" based on the "Four Modernizations".

A well-off society is not a general and vague statement. He Keng, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics, said in an interview  that in 1991, the National Bureau of Statistics and researchers from 12 departments including planning, finance, health, and education were formed. In accordance with the connotation of a well-off society proposed by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, 16 basic monitoring indicators and the critical value of a well-off society were established.

(1) The per capita GDP is 2,500 RMB (At 1980 prices and exchange rates, 2,500 yuan is equivalent to $900)

(2) Urban per capita disposable income of 2,400 RMB

(3) The per capita net income of farmers is 1,200 RMB

(4) The per capita usable area of ​​urban housing is 12 square meters

(5) The per capita usable area of ​​rural steel-wood structure housing is 15 square meters;

(6) The per capita daily protein intake is 75 grams;

(7) Each person in the city has a paving area of ​​8 square meters;

(8) 85% of rural administrative villages are connected to roads;

(9) An Engel coefficient of 50%;

(10) The adult literacy rate is 85%;

(11) The average life expectancy is 70 years old

(12) Infant mortality rate is at 3.1%

(13) The proportion of education and entertainment expenditure is 11%

(14) TV penetration rate is 100%;

(15) The forest coverage rate is 15%;

(16) 100% of rural primary health care counties are qualified

At the meeting celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China , Xi Jinping declared, “We have achieved the first century-old goal and built a moderately prosperous society in all respects on the land of China”. Thus the goal of a Moderately Prosperous Society has been met.

Reform and Opening Up

Reform and opening-up (Chinese: 改革开放; pinyin: Gǎigé kāifàng) was proposed and founded by Deng Xiaoping , the second-generation paramount leader of the People's Republic of China . It was a series of economic-oriented reform measures that were implemented after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on December 18, 1978. It can be summarized as "Reform internally and open externally".

It was proposed in order to deal with the main problems the country faced at the time: namely a very poor population, the lack of an industrial base, and the lack of a large urban population (80% of the population lived in rural areas at the time). Deng Xiaoping saw that the country was still too underdeveloped to build Socialism where premature collectivization has brought antagonistic contradictions between the relations of production and the social character of the productive forces. The idea was proposed of implementing market policies in order to build the productive forces in order to eventually be able to build Socialism. In this regard, the Reform and Opening Up policy can be compared to the soviet New Economic Policy implemented by Lenin. Deng Xiaoping explained his policies in the following manner:

"It is wrong to maintain that a market economy exists only in capitalist society and that there is only “capitalist” market economy. Why can’t we develop a market economy under socialism? Developing a market economy does not mean practicing capitalism. While maintaining a planned economy as the mainstay of our economic system, we are also introducing a market economy. But it is a socialist market economy. Although a socialist market economy is similar to a capitalist one in method, there are also differences between them. The socialist market economy mainly regulates interrelations between state-owned enterprises, between collectively owned enterprises and even between foreign capitalist enterprises. But in the final analysis, this is all done under socialism in a socialist society. We cannot say that market economy exists only under capitalism. Market economy was in its embryonic stages as early as feudalist society. We can surely develop it under socialism. Similarly, taking advantage of the useful aspects of capitalist countries, including their methods of operation and management, does not mean that we will adopt capitalism. Instead, we use those methods in order to develop the productive forces under socialism. As long as learning from capitalism is regarded as no more than a means to an end, it will not change the structure of socialism or bring China back to capitalism."

From 1978 to the present, the People's Republic of China has transformed from an isolated country with 200 million people living below the poverty line into a prosperous economy and the second largest economy in the world with an active market. China is also advancing rapidly on the road to industrialization, becoming the "world's factory", an important manufacturing nation, and the largest consumer market in the world. After 40 years of reform and opening up, China's national power has been greatly enhanced. China's median growth between 1980 and 2020 was 9.2%. The value exceeds 17.7 trillion U.S. dollars, with a population of 1.4 billion. The per capita GDP increased from US$115 in 1978 to US$12,551 in 2021, reaching the income level of an upper-middle-level country . The per capita GDP of some eastern provinces and cities has exceeded US$20,000.

One Country, Two Systems

One Country, Two Systems (Simplified Chinese:一国两制; Traditional Chinese: 一國兩制; Pinyin:Yīguó liǎngzhì) is the premise that China, the main body of the country adheres to the socialist system; The original capitalist system and way of life remain unchanged for a period time in Macau and Hong Kong. So far, "one country, two systems" has been applied to Hong Kong and Macau . As the establishment of this system, in December 1984, China and Britain signed the " Sino-British Joint Declaration ", and China will resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong. In 1986, China and Portugal signed the " Sino-Portuguese Joint Statement ". Hong Kong and Macau returned to China in 1997 and 1999, respectively.

The experience of Hong Kong's return shows that national reunification can be achieved with the lowest cost and price, or even zero cost; to achieve national reunification, at the same time ensure that no party suffers losses, so that Hong Kong can continue to maintain prosperity, Hong Kong's prosperity and stability cannot be sacrificed, and the normal development and development of the country must not be affected.

The principle is that, upon reunification, despite the practice of socialism in mainland China, both Hong Kong and Macau, which were colonies of the United Kingdom and Portugal respectively, could retain their established system under a high degree of autonomy for up to 50 years after reunification.

Chapter 1, Article 5 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, reads:

The socialist system and policies shall not be practiced in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years.

The success of the practice of "One Country, Two Systems" largely depends on the smooth implementation of the "Basic Law". Although the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is not a country, under the theoretical framework of "one country, two systems" and the institutional design of the "Basic Law", the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has its political system with a high degree of autonomy, including executive, legislative and judicial organs. The successful implementation of "One Country, Two Systems" depends on an appropriate balance between "One Country" and "Two Systems"

Primary stage of socialism

The term "Primary Stage of Socialism" (Chinese: 社会主义初级阶段; Pinyin: Shèhuì zhǔyì chūjí jiēduàn) had been used by the CPC during the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign of 1983 but had never been explained. After consulting with Deng Xiaoping, the theory of a primary stage of socialism was used as the theoretical basis of the Political Report to the 13th National Congress held in 1987. The theory focused mainly on developing the productive forces and took a highly economic deterministic view on developing socialism.

Despite certain pitfalls, the theory is still used to explain the use of capitalist techniques in China. The main aim of the theory was to reconceptualize socialism to make Marxism fit for contemporary use. Su and Zhang Xiangyang said the primary stage of socialism in China began in the 1950s when the CPC put an end to the policies of New Democracy and would last an estimated 100 years. The previous emphasis on economic equality in favour of economic growth was abandoned. Deng stated:

"Of the many lessons we have to sum up, a very important one is this: we should make clear what is socialism and how to build socialism ... The primary task of socialism is to develop production forces and to elevate the standard of the material and cultural life of the people. Our twenty years of experience from 1958 to 1976 have told us: poverty is not socialism, socialism is to eliminate poverty. It is not socialism to not develop production forces and raise the people's living standards."

By this point, Deng had equated upholding socialism with developing the level of the productive forces; the ideal of common equality was postponed until an unspecified time. Su and Zhang reached similar conclusions, saying that Marx had two goals when he wrote about the socialist future: a social system in which the productive forces developed and the individual would be granted a great chance of self-development.

However, developing the productive forces became the precondition for the greater self-learning of the individual through common equality; Su and Zhang said that the former would lead to the latter. The left were generally pleased with the theory, which was based upon orthodox Marxist premises. However, some people on the right considered the theory was proof that China needed to reintroduce capitalism to build socialism. Marx had written that socialism developed from capitalism, but China had skipped the capitalist mode of production and went from feudalism to socialism.

See also

• Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
• Mao Zedong Thought
• Xi Jinping Thought

Further Reading

• Deng Xiaoping Theory
• On Deng Xiao Ping Thought by Wu Jie