No. 6, 2020

CONTENTS

Speeches at a Theoretical Symposium in Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of Friedrich Engels' Birth

Qu Qingshan et al.

Gaining an Understanding of and Implementing the Guiding Principles from the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee

Chen Li et al.

Research on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

Feng Ziyi
The Significance and Methodology of Grasping the Times

Qin Gang
Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era Provides Profound Answers to Today’s World Problems

Research on Fundamental Marxist Theories

Liang Shufa
The Basic Types of the Basic Theory of Marxist History

Hao Lixin

Engels and the Integrity of Marxist Theory

Luo Xiongfei

“An Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy” Is a Key to Understanding Capital

Wang Guang

The Duality of the Exchange between Labor and Capital: An Analysis of the Essential Question in the Debate on Marx and Justice

Cao Haohan

The “Disappearing” Documentary Heritage of Frederick Engels: A Discussion on the Editing of the Excerpts and Notes in MEGA2 Written by Engels in His Twilight Years

Research on Marxism Abroad

Hu Daping

Althusser’s Contradictory Evaluations of Engels

Wang Xingfu

Exceptional Universality: The Difference between Marxism and Post-Marxism

Gong Jingcai

Lukács’ Economic Philosophical Thought in the Context of Marx’s Economic Philosophy and Its Tragic Ending (II)

Yao Dazhi

The Quartet of Analytical Marxism: Reconstructing Jon Elster’s Reading of Marx

Dialogue and Interviews

Shen Wenhao

Marx and Engels’ Statements on Social Public Health Crises and Their Contemporary Relevance: An Interview with Professor Watanabe Masao

Research on Political Economy with Chinese Characteristics

Zhou Wen & Liu Shaoyang

Marx’s Conception of Social Ownership and Its Contemporary Forms

Dai Shuangxing

The Data Factor: Its Key Features, Catalytic Effect and Development Path

Research on the History of the Dissemination of Marxism

He Jianhua

Three Dimensions of Reading Lenin in China: Based on an Investigation of the Early Spread of the State and Revolution

Fang Hong

A Textual Interpretation of the Chinese Translation of Manifesto of the Communist Party by Chen Shoushi

Du Yuanyuan

The Journey of Franz Mehring’s Karl Marx to France and Its Effects on Intellectual History

ABSTRACTS

Speeches at a Theoretical Symposium in Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of Friedrich Engels' Birth

Qu Qingshan et al.

The Theoretical Symposium in Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Friedrich Engels, sponsored by the CPC Central Committee Institute of Party History and Literature, was jointly held by the Central Party School (Chinese Academy of Governance), the CPC Central Committee Institute of Party History and Literature, the Ministry of Education, and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing on November 26, 2020. At the symposium, delegates discussed Engels' noble scientific spirit, his outlook on Marxism, his spirit in perceiving the power of truth, his research on political economy and its contemporary relevance, his ideas of strengthening the party and their contemporary value, his military science, and his scientific evaluation of Marx and its contemporary inspiration.

Gaining an Understanding of and Implementing the Guiding Principles from the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee

Chen Li et al.

In order to gain a full understanding and implement the guiding principles from the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and to discuss the far-reaching significance of the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives through 2035, adopted by the Central Committee when China attains the First Centenary Goal and moves on to the Second Centenary Goal and when the world undergoes significant changes of a kind unseen in a century, for promoting economic and social development, the Marxism & Reality journal has launched the special column “Feature Articles.” The articles on the guiding principles from the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee were solicited from renowned experts and scholars in the economic and social fields, so as to promote the study and discussion of relevant issues in the ideological and theoretical circles.

The Significance and Methodology of Grasping the Times

Feng Ziyi

The significant development of globalization highlights the consciousness of the times. The understanding of national conditions, the formulation of strategies, the choice of paths and the grasping of opportunities all require an increased awareness of the times. To understand and grasp the times, it is necessary to have proper methodology. According to historical materialism, these fundamental methods to grasp the times are worthy of great attention: the method of history, the method of unity, the method of “universal light,” the method of grasping “regularity,” and the method of “big picture.” In order to effectively grasp the times, it is necessary to focus on the following points of emphasis: first, the themes and issues of the times, second, the main contradictions of the times, and third, the direction of human civilization.

The Basic Types of the Basic Theory of Marxist History

Liang Shufa

The basic theory of Marxist history is such a kind of basic Marxist theory that exists in the form of history. However, the basic theory of Marxist history is not the transplantation of Marxist theory. The basic types of the basic theory of Marxist history include the theory of Marxist development and the basic methodology of the research on Marxist history. The theory of Marxist development is a system, which consists of the essence theory, condition theory, theme theory, subject theory, stage theory, road theory and law theory of Marxist development. What constitute the basic methodology of the research on Marxist history are the unity of logic and history, the unity of theory and practice, the unity of universality and particularity, the unity of positivism and totality, the unity of science and value, and the unity of persistence and development.

Engels and the Integrity of Marxist Theory

Hao Lixin

Integrity represents a key characteristic of Marxist theory. To fully comprehend the integrity of Marxist theory, it is essential to consider both its historical development and its logic. Engels’ three unique and major contributions to the integrity of Marxist theory are: First, Engels achieved the holistic transcendence of the old philosophy, classical political economy, and utopian socialism, while promoting generally the formation of a new worldview, in the process of the founding of Marxism. Second, Engels realized the complete establishment of Marxist scientific theory by thoroughly expanding the research on philosophy, political economy, and scientific socialism. Third, under the new historical conditions after Marx’s death, Engels made an important supplement and improvement to Marxist theory based on the changes in social reality and ideological theory. Reviewing Engels’ thinking track and theoretical contribution is of great significance for understanding the integrity of Marxist theory.

Althusser’s Contradictory Evaluations of Engels

Hu Daping

Althusser’s symptomatic reading on Marxian texts and understanding of Marxist science of history (especially its object) were inspired by Engels. For Althusser, it is Engels’ insight about science that provides a textbook for understanding Marxism. Engels stated that the meaning of science doesn’t lie in answer but question. In addition, Althusser also argued that it is Engels who opened the wrong door for later readings which considered Marxism humanism and historicism, because he fell into the ideological trap of empirical ideology. This kind of reading on Engels is a contradiction, which was the theoretic expediency for guarding scientific Marxism under the condition of prevailing dogmatism and humanism in 1960s. Althusser put forward the question of precondition and principle for Marxist narrative of thoughts. His reading on Marx and Engels is of important theoretical and political meaning, which provides a reliable basis for responding to such questions as the young Marx, Engels opposing Marx, and so on. Unfortunately, because of his own “theoreticist deviation,” Althusser couldn’t explain the “unfortunate texts”(Althusser’s discourse) of Engels correctly. He simply attributed the misunderstanding of Engels to the error of empirical understanding.

Exceptional Universality: The Difference between Marxism and Post-Marxism

Wang Xingfu

In the face of postmodern cultural shock and the political shock of the demise of the Soviet Union and the collapse of Eastern European countries, universalism has been challenged and the salvation of universality has become the theme of contemporary radical politics. In order to resist the passive impact of the false universalism of neoliberalism and the particularism of communitarianism, Ernesto Laclau, Slavoj Žižek, Jacques Rancière and Alain Badiou all formulated their theory of universalism. Laclau’s theory of hegemonized universalism regards universality as an empty signifier, and takes hegemony as a contingent articulation between universality and particular content. Žižek and Rancière followed the young Marx in considering losers and proletarians the embodiment of universality because they are excluded by capitalist order and globalization. Therefore, Žižek and Rancière’s theories can be called exceptional universalism. However, unlike radical thinkers, Marx argued that the proletariat as an exceptional universality is not only the unity of universality and particularity, but also the unity of negative revolution and affirmative emancipation. Similar to Hegel’s notions of concrete universalism and world-historic nations, Marx’s proletariat can be understood to be concrete universalism and a world-historical class. Today, the empirical conditions under which Marx accorded the proletariat the status of exceptional universality have changed dramatically, but the logic of his theory is still instructive for thinking about the politics of progress and emancipation today.

Marx’s Conception of Social Ownership and Its Contemporary Forms

Zhou Wen & Liu Shaoyang

Social ownership is the realization of socialist public ownership on the basis of a considerable degree of socialization of production. Marx and Engels summarized the essence of social ownership in the abstract, but did not point out the specific realization of the future form of social ownership. This paper attempts to further explore Marx and Engels’ conception of social ownership from their exposition and discuss the contemporary forms of social ownership. On the question of ownership, the shareholding system cannot be simplistically equated with the modern enterprise system, which can be established by mixed ownership and partnership. In addition, the forms of socialist ownership can be diversified, and joint-stock, mixed-ownership and partnership can all be contemporary forms of social ownership.

Three Dimensions of Reading Lenin in China: Based on an Investigation on the Early Spread of the State and Revolution

He Jianhua

As the first Leninist classic to enter China, the State and Revolution had a profound influence on the ideological beliefs and practical orientation of Chinese intellectuals in the early stage. The English, Japanese and Russian texts, as well as Chinese translations of excerpts from the book, enabled Chinese intellectuals of different tendencies to grasp the main contents of Leninism and provided them with theoretical weapons to engage in various ideological debates in the 1920s, when the full Chinese translation was not yet available. In addition, the problems and debates arising from the reading of these texts constantly fostered the growth of new theories. On this basis, a large number of advanced intellectuals completed their ideological transformation, and the State and Revolution was regarded as the practical program and action strategy of the Chinese revolution and became the “bible” of the Chinese Communists, which combined theory, platform, and strategy.