On May 11, 2006, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences published the first edition of The World Socialism Yellow Book. At the publication ceremony, Li Shenming, the deputy dean of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the director of the World Socialism Research Center, said, “We will have a relatively long time to coexist with the world of capitalism; we need to incorporate the constancy of our principles with the flexibility of our strategies. We are doing follow up research on world socialism to unveil the objective rules in history’s development with real historical facts – the twenty first century will be the century of socialism’s revival.” The following is a report on this event from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. [1]

On May 11, the Research Center for World Socialism and the Social Science Publications held a publication ceremony for The World Socialism Yellow Book, First Edition, and a discussion forum of the 2006 World Socialism and the Left Wing School of Thought. Li Shenming, the director of the Research Center for World Socialism and the deputy dean of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was the keynote speaker. A hundred or so other directors, experts and scholars attended the forum, including: He Bingmeng, the deputy secretary of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the executive director of the World Socialism Research Center; Huang Haotao, the deputy director of the World Socialism Research Center; Wu Enyuan, the secretary of the Marxism Research Center; and Cheng Enfu, the deputy director of the Research Center for World Socialism and the deputy dean of the Marxism Research Center.

Li Shenming said that, since the Soviet Union’s drastic change, the world socialism movement has been in a declining mode. In 1994, the central government, with a high vision of the future, suggested not to give up doing research on the big topic of socialism. Based on this direction and led by the Central Propaganda Department, an overseas’ socialism follow up research coordination group was established. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences took the primary role for this group, with participation from the International Department Central Committee of the C.P.C, Central Translation Bureau, the Xinhua Agency, the Party School of the Central Committee of the C.P.C and the State Education Commission. In 12 years, the research effort has achieved significant results, and a series of high quality accomplishments. It has supported the central government’s policies with theories and references. Practice proved that the central government’s decision was absolutely correct.

Li Shenming said that we should continue to embrace the global strategy, finding evidence from the curved development of world socialism and it’s up and down moments to explain the future history that follows the laws of social development. Li also said that currently and in the future, the follow up research on world socialism needs to focus on the following issues to plan and execute the research: first, to apply Marxism, to systematically summarize the experience gained and lessons learned from the world socialism movements in the twentieth century, and to especially focus on the Soviet Communist Party and the Soviet Union’s history; second, to understand the main themes of current world development and to understand and summarize the latest state in the development of capitalism; third, to understand the fundamental differences and historical connections between capitalism and socialism.
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First of all, we need to recognize the fundamental difference between socialism and capitalism. Second of all, we also need to recognize the historic connections between capitalism and socialism. Third, capitalism’s strong development and socialism’s weakness is a temporary state; it could change. Socialism will develop from weakness to strength, and eventually surpass and win over capitalism. This is also an unavoidable objective principle. During this period, there may exist a fairly long time of cooperation, competition, struggle and even fighting process. Based on our research, when we pull together the accurate and real massive historical facts to explain the relationship between socialism and capitalism, to show the fundamental differences and connections, we can build people’s confidence in the success of establishing the Chinese style of socialism. Fourth, we need to analyze assess and have an overview of world socialism’s development in the 21st century. These are the most proper topics for the study of socialism.

Li Shenming believed that today, the study of world socialism should follow up on a number of factors, including: research on the reformation of the existing socialist countries, their trials, and their development in socialism, especially after the Soviet Union collapsed; the theories, the rebuilt administration cabinets and policy changes that the communist parties or worker parties have done differently from the western developed countries, the ex-Soviet Union areas and the third world countries to react to the drastic changes in the Soviet Union; the propaganda, development, research, and discussions of Marxism, socialism and other left wing thoughts around the world, and the union worker’s movements, farmer’s movements, student movements and other types of left wing activities in the capitalist countries. Of course, this follow up research may not cover each and every area. We need to have emphasis, and to focus on the important events and people, organizations and theories to conduct long term follow up research in order to discover its internal connections and patterns.

Li Shenming emphasized that the current unreasonable and unfair political and economic rules can only support a small group of western developed countries; and can only allow a small number of people to be in charge of the “business expansion,” “wealth,” and luxurious production style and life style. It can increase the distance between the rich and the poor from the north and the south; and it could accelerate the social separation into two extremes. We will have a relatively long time to coexist with the world of capitalism; we need to incorporate the constancy in our principles with the flexibility in our strategies. We are doing the follow up research on world socialism to unveil the objective rules in history’s development with real historical facts – the twenty first century will be the century of socialism’s revival.

Cheng Enfu, the deputy director of the Research Center for World Socialism and the deputy dean of the Marxism Research Center, and Xie Shouguang, the head of the Social Sciences Publications hosted the forum and publication ceremony. Chen Zhihua, the executive director of the World Socialism Research Center, introduced the content of the “The World Socialism Yellow Book.” Wu Enyuan, Wu Xiongcheng, Li Qiqing gave speeches at the forum. They shared their analysis on the theories used by the socialist countries in the world and exchanged their points of view on left wing activities in Europe, Latin American and Asian areas.
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The articles, collected in the newly published The World Socialism Yellow Book: Tracking Study of World Socialism – Listening to the new tides at a low ebb (vol 2), were the latest research results from the Research Center for World Socialism. The No. 1 series, Listening to the new tides at a low ebb: The Future of the World Socialism in 21st Century was an edition of outstanding articles published by the center since its startup ten years ago. It included several schools of thought on socialism and documented important global events led by the left wing. This book was reprinted as The World Socialism Yellow Book (2004 Edition). From now on, the research center will publish The World Socialism Yellow Book annually to introduce the new developments in world socialism and to publish new research results on world socialism study.

Endnote:
[1] Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, May 15, 2006
http://www.cass.net.cn/file/2006051559241.html

On March 2, 2007, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) held a forum on “The Marxism and the Rise and Fall of the State.”  From the background and ranks of the participants, it was obviously seen that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was aware of its own crises, and was searching for all sorts of solutions.  It was agreed in the Forum, The Marxism, is still a powerful ideological weapon to open up the just cause in the new epoch, and also is the theoretical guidance and the foundation to enrich and strengthen the Chinese nation.” Below is the translation of the entire report in English of the meeting [1]:

Beijing, China – On March 2, 2007, the Department of Marxism Research of the CASS and the World Socialist and Marxist Research Center, and the Marxism Research Institute co-sponsored “The 3rd Forum of the Thinkers on Marxism and the Rise and Fall of the State.” The Forum had in-depth discussions on multiple factors and inner mechanisms, regarding the rise and fall of the state in the history and in reality; analyzed and commented on the major theoretical and practical issues, such as the democratic socialism, the Neo-Liberal point of views, the lessons of metamorphoses of the Soviet Union, the Eastern European countries, and the developmental meridian of the world’s socialist movements.

The attendants were: Li Shenming, Vice President of the CASS;
Wu Yi, Chair of the National Party Construction Research Society;
Zhang Quanjing, the past Editor-in-Chief of Qiushi magazine;
Youlin; the former Executive Vice Editor-in-Chief of the People’s Daily;
Zhang Yunsheng, the Director of the State Social Science Planning Office;
Zhang Guoza, the Secretary-General of the Air Force Political Bureau;
 Luo Yichang, Yang Ke and Wu Jie-min, the former Leaders of the CASS, etc.;
Cheng Enfu, the Director of the Marxism Research Academy and the President of the Marxism Research Institute, chaired the Forum.

The Featured Presentations at the Forum Were:

Wu Enyuan: Controversies on the TV Series, “Lessons on the Disintegration of the Soviet Communist Party;”
Zhang Shuhua: “Warning on The Failure of the Russian Capitalism;”
Zhang Shunhong: “Reflections on the Rise and Fell of a Nation;”
Yu Yongding: A Few Thoughts on the Rise of Great Powers;”
Zhou Hong: “EU’s Neo-Liberalism and the Rise and Fell of the Welfare Nations;”
Wang Liqiang: “The Socialist Public Ownership Is the Basis of China’s Rise;”
Xu Jiankang: “Viewing the Rise and Fell of the Great Powers from the World System;”
Xu Chongwen: “The Historical Processes, Experiences and Lessons of the Swedish Model;”
Zhong Zheming: “How Can Bernstein’s Views Be Used to Rectify Marx and Engels;”
Cao Changsheng: “The Scientific Socialism and Democratic Socialism Should Not Be Confused;”
Huang Ping: “The Exploration on Contemporary Social Theory of Socialism;”
Tian Chenshan: “The Logic Basis of the Mainstream Consciousness of the Western Freedom and Democracy;" and
Liu Shulin: “The Developmental Meridian of the Democratic Socialist Ideology Trend of the Contemporary China.”
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The participants had separate group discussions on issues of disintegration of the Soviet Union, the democratic socialism and whatnot. All agreed that the materialization of China’s socialist modernizations and the harmonious developments depend upon the adherence to the guiding role of Marxism on various social trends of ideas, and further perfecting the economic, political, cultural and social of the socialist systems.

With regard to the democratic socialist ideological trend, the partakers believed that the democratic and scientific socialism possess a specified ideological origin. However, the democratic socialism should not be mistakenly regarded as a scientific socialist model system. The two systems are the best combination between capitalism in the field of production and socialism in the field of distribution. In fact, there are five major differences between the theories of democratic socialism and scientific socialism, including the guiding ideologies, the natures and roles of the different political parties, the ultimate goals, the roads to revolutionize the reality, and the views of ownerships. We must adhere to the road of scientific socialism with Chinese characteristics, and comprehensively implement the concept of scientific development.

In regards to the reasons of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the Soviet Communist Party, the Forum participants generally thought that the inspections should be done scientifically and the multiple domestic and foreign variables be analyzed comprehensively pertaining to the rise and decline of the state, such as the science and technology, the system, the culture, the education, the military and foreign affairs. The reasons of the drastic changes of the Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries were related to the highly centralized socialist economy and the political system were not timely reformed.  Yet, they were, mainly the consequences of the prevailing ideologies of the democratic socialism and the Neo-Liberation within the ruling Party, gradually broke away from, the deviation from the ultimate betrayals of the Marxism and the basic interests of the major masses. 

In summing up the experience and lessons of world socialist movements, the Forum participants generally viewed that the birth and development of socialist system have changed the historical process of the world situation. The brilliant achievements of socialism demonstrate the strong vitality of socialism. Therefore, as a worldwide alternative and choice, socialism is not merely a simple logistic reasoning or purely a subjective wish, but also has sufficient factual basis. Marxism is still a powerful ideological weapon to open up just cause for human being in the new century, and is the theoretical guidance, base to enrich and to strengthen the Chinese Nation.

More than 150 specialists and scholars hailed from over 20 institutes and universities, including the Central Compiling and Translation Bureau of the Central Committee, the Central Party School, the Chinese People’s University, Beijing University, Qinghua University and the affiliated Research Institutes of the CASS, attended the Forum.

Endnotes:
[1] Cao Suhong, “The Marxism and the Rise and Fall of the State.” The Journal of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), March 15, 2007, http://sym2005.cass.cn/file/2007032789596.html