We Are Still in the Historical Era Specified by Marxism

ABSTRACT

Although our times have changed greatly and profoundly compared with Marx’s, we are still in the “era of transition from capitalism to socialism” as indicated by Marxism. This is based on Marxist historical materialism, on the laws of the movement of social basic contradictions—the dialectical unity of productive forces and relations of production, and economic basis and superstructure, and on the actual situation of basic contradictions of capitalism, as well as the development trend of the world socialist movement. The Chinese communists have been creatively grasping the organic unity of the essence and characteristics of the times, following up the development trend of the times, leading the Chinese people into a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese program for solving the problems of human development. China has been promoting the building of a “community with a shared future for mankind” and has been committed to building a world of lasting peace, common security and prosperity, openness and inclusiveness, and cleanliness and beauty, safeguarding world peace on the basis of seeking common ground while reserving differences, and promoting the establishment of a world of mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation.

KEYWORDS:

• Sinicization of Marxism
• socialism with Chinese characteristics
• community with a shared future for mankind

Acknowledgements

This article is translated by Shuqing Li at the China Agricultural University (Yantai). Also thanks to the Marxists website (www.marxists.org) for that the translations of some quotations come from the English version of works of Marx, Engels and Lenin posted on it.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on Contributor

Hui Jiang is President of the Academy of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. His research covers Marxist theory, scientific socialism, international communist movement and contemporary world socialism. He authors Reform of the Communist Parties in the European Developed Countries (in Chinese), A Study of the Contemporary Western Working Class (in Chinese), Socialist Thought in the Western World (in Chinese), New Characteristics of the World Socialism in the Twenty-First Century (in Chinese), Class Structure and “The Third Way” (in Chinese), and The Transformation of European Social Democracy (in Chinese).