Beijing, 5 May (ZXS) -- When we commemorate Marx, what are we commemorating?

Written by Peng Dawei Wu Xinru

May 2023, 5 marks the 5th anniversary of Marx's birth. Today, in the 205st century, why are we still commemorating and paying tribute to Marx? How to understand the "Chinese characteristics" of Sinicized Marxism? Why is China more hopeful than the West to solve the problems facing mankind, such as climate change and the gap between the rich and the poor?

McClellan, author of "Marx's Biography" and visiting professor at the University of London, and Wang Zhen, professor of the Chinese Cultural Institute and translator of the Chinese edition of "Marx's Biography", recently discussed these issues in the "East-West Question: China-Foreign Dialogue" of the China News Agency.

McClellan argues that Marxism is, in many respects, the best system of thought that mankind has ever created. He said that the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the moral and ethical system formed by traditional Chinese culture put China in a more advantageous position than most Western countries in dealing with the problems associated with the process of modernization and development.

The two scholars expressed the hope that Chinese Marxist scholars and Western Marxists can work together on the road of Marxist studies, which is committed to clarifying the essence of today's world economic relations and seeking ways to improve them, so as to make the world a more harmonious and beautiful place.

Excerpts from the conversation are as follows:

"The best way to see the world in contemporary society"

China News Agency: How does Professor McClellan evaluate the position of Marx's thought in the history of human thought?

McClellan: Arguably, Marxism is the best way for us to see the world in contemporary society. The most striking point is that I think Marxism has been very successful in dealing with current practical problems, such as addressing climate change, tackling inequality, fighting corruption and so on. In many ways, Marxism is the best system of thought ever created by mankind.

China News Agency: 2023 is the 205th anniversary of Marx's birth, after many years, why are we still commemorating and paying tribute to Marx?

McClellan: I think there could be two reasons. One reason is that Marx was an intellectual genius, similar to Plato or Confucius. We certainly want to commemorate their birthday. The second reason is that, to some extent, Marx, or rather some Marxists, is changing the world, and they are very successful – as Marxists, they govern important and large countries. For more than a hundred years, Marxism and the ideological system it pioneered have exerted great influence in the world.

Wang Zhen: Marxism is broad and profound, and it boils down to one sentence, that is, to seek the liberation of mankind and to use scientific means, scientific methods, and scientific methods to achieve it. In this sense, he scientifically revealed for the first time the laws of the development of human society, created the ideological system for the masses of the people to realize their own emancipation, revealed the practical nature of social life for the first time, and produced the actions of the masses of the people to transform the objective world and the subjective world.

This doctrine and thought is not closed, not dogmatic, not ultimate, but open. As far as openness is concerned, it can be said that it contains a positive force and vitality.

Video: China Dialogue: Chinese and foreign scholars discuss the contemporary significance of MarxSource: China News Network

"China's socialist construction has ushered in a new situation"

Wang Zhen: I would like to ask Professor McClellan, can you build socialism in a country with a relatively backward economy?

McClellan: I think the answer is yes. I do think it is possible to build socialism (system) (in a country with a relatively backward economy). I think Cuba is a good example. As a socialist country, Cuba has truly benefited the general public in terms of medical and educational services.

At the beginning of the founding of New China in 1949, the construction of New China under the leadership of the Communist Party of China was an example of building socialism in a relatively backward country, when most of China's population was peasants, which can be regarded as a kind of relative backwardness. The efforts of generations of Chinese Communists did lay the foundation for socialism, including providing basic medical services to the Chinese people at that time, eradicating illiteracy to a certain extent, popularizing education, and creating a long-term peaceful environment for Chinese society. But I think these achievements were completely ignored by the West – these were absolutely necessary conditions for China's subsequent rise, and I don't think the West realized it. Now, with the development of China's productive forces, China's socialist construction has ushered in a brand-new situation.

China News Agency: How does Professor McClellan view the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China? And how do you view the characteristics of the Chinese Communist Party?

McClellan: The Chinese Communist Party is in a very good position in some respects and is better positioned to deal with the problems that human society faces. The first is inequality, which, as far as I know, has become more and more serious in some countries, and over time, it can lead to all kinds of chaos or riots.

British scholar: The Chinese Communist Party has a better advantage in tackling inequalitySource: China News Network

Another notable issue is climate change. The third should be anti-corruption, which is also a universal issue. As far as China is concerned, to some extent it can be said that this problem can and has been solved. So I think China is really in a very good position in terms of these aspects.

China News Agency: Professor McClellan, what do you think are the major issues involving Marxism in the 21st century?

McClellan: It depends on your definition of Marxism. If you're talking about Marxist theory, then I think some of the more important issues at the moment are revealing what's really going on in the world – revealing and explaining the relationships between things, exploring economic relations on a global scale, revealing issues such as imperialism, exploitation from a geopolitical perspective, which are all issues that must be solved to create a better world.

I do think that China is in a very advantageous position and is well placed to act as an intermediary and a promoter of peace to make the world a more harmonious and better place. It has an advantage over most other countries. There is no doubt about that.

"China has more hope than the West to solve the problems facing humanity"

China News Agency: How does Professor McClellan understand Chinese-style modernization?

McClellan: China may have an advantage over most Western countries in dealing with the problems that come with modernization and development. This is because after the modernization and development of most Western countries, there has been social polarization and individual atomization, resulting in people's collective consciousness becoming more and more indifferent. In my country, the UK, there is a huge polarization between people with different views, who seem to be not part of the same world at all, as if they are different species – especially in the United States. But in my opinion, China doesn't have much of that problem, and I think it's partly due to China's cultural heritage, including Confucianism, and to some extent Buddhist thought, and various moral and ethical systems that have been developed over thousands of years, which is a kind of inheritance, like all other strong traditions of Chinese civilization that are still passed down to the world.

Video: "East-West Question, China Dialogue" Author: Chinese-style modernization brings more hope for solving global challengesSource: China News Network

The Communist Party of China is committed to building a harmonious society where people live in harmony. This is a kind of socialism or communism with Asian spiritual connotations. This tradition is both a tradition of Chinese culture and a tradition of socialism or communism, a means used by China to combat the atomization, polarization and collective indifference of the individual in society, which is currently more or less present in Western countries.

For some of the issues we've been talking about, including climate change, artificial intelligence, modernization and development, and so on, the future is more promising when governments take the lead rather than leave the economic system at the mercy of the economy.

I hope that Chinese Marxist scholars, together with Western Marxists, who are committed to clarifying the essence of today's world economic relations and seeking ways to improve them, think there should have been some cooperation by now. (End)