Chapter 25 1. We must develop productivity

In October 1976, the "Gang of Four" was smashed and the ten-year civil strife of the "Cultural Revolution" ended. Tiananmen Square once again burst into laughter. However, due to the huge historical inertia, Chinese society continues to slide along the original track. On October 26, 1976, after listening to the Central Propaganda Report, Hua Guofeng pointed out that the "Gang of Four" should be criticized together with Deng; , don't criticize.The two central newspapers and one magazine simultaneously published an editorial titled "Learn Documents Well and Grasp the Outline", formally proposing two "whatevers", namely: "We will firmly support whatever decisions Chairman Mao made; we will firmly support whatever Chairman Mao's instructions It must be followed unswervingly." And take this as the guiding principle of "grasp the key points and govern the country".

At that time, under the banner of the two "everythings", China still adhered to the theory and line of the "Cultural Revolution" politically. In August 1977, the Eleventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held. In his report, Hua Guofeng still highly affirmed the historical achievements and functions of the "Cultural Revolution", and called the theory of "continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat" "the most important form of contemporary Marxism". important results". In terms of economy, it continued to follow the "Left" error, ignoring the reality that the ten-year "Cultural Revolution" brought the national economy to the brink of collapse, and used the "Great Leap Forward" to run industries, setting off a "leap forward" trend.The Fifth National People's Congress issued a ten-year plan for the development of the national economy, proposing: agriculture should be based on grain, industry should be based on steel, and the Great Leap Forward should be achieved at a high speed; agricultural mechanization should be realized by 1980, the total grain output in 1985 would be 800 billion catties, and the steel output 60 million tons...

What happened to China?Do you want to go back?At this critical moment related to the development of the nation, Deng Xiaoping was the first to stand up and criticize the two "everythings". On April 10, 1977, Deng Xiaoping wrote to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China: "We must hold high and defend the glorious and great banner of Comrade Mao Zedong from generation to generation, and we must use the accurate and complete Mao Zedong Thought to guide our entire society from generation to generation. The Party, the whole army, and the people of the whole country have triumphantly advanced the cause of the Party and socialism, and the cause of the international communist movement."

On May 24, 1977, Deng Xiaoping had a talk with two comrades of the Central Committee: "The two 'whatevers' do not conform to Marxism. According to the two 'whatevers', it does not make sense to rehabilitate me, nor does it make sense for the broad masses in 1976. The "reasonable" issue of the activities in Tiananmen Square. You can't move what Mao Zedong said on this issue to another issue, move what you said in this place to another place, and move what you said at this time to another time , What is said under this condition is moved to another condition. Mao Zedong said that everyone will make mistakes, and he himself is no exception.” Deng Xiaoping emphasized again: Mao Zedong Thought is a system of thought, and it is necessary to understand and master Mao Zedong Thought completely and accurately. Thought.

Deng Xiaoping's criticism of the two "everythings" and these talks played an important guiding role in emancipating and correcting the mind, thus opening the prelude to a great discussion on the standard of truth. The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee held in December 1978 was a great turning point in the historical development of the party and the country. It began to comprehensively correct the "Left" errors in the guiding ideology of the Communist Party of China and Mao Zedong at different times and to varying degrees since 1957. Fundamentally put an end to the history of long-term interference from "Left" errors, and put China's socialist cause on the track of healthy development in an all-round way. general policy of opening up.

The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee set things right, first of all, on the basis of correcting the ideological line, abandoning the work guideline of "taking class struggle as the key link", establishing economic development as the work center of the new era, and developing socialist productive forces. Historical experience tells us that, on the one hand, the current class struggle still exists within a certain range.Most of the contradictions that exist in my country's socialism do not have the nature of class struggle, and only a small part of them have the characteristics of class struggle.Even at this stage, when we encounter such contradictions, we only need to be vigilant and resolve them carefully, so as to avoid repeating the mistake of expanding class struggle.On the other hand, there is also the danger that the class struggle may intensify.It was based on this consideration that Deng Xiaoping repeatedly emphasized the need to fight all kinds of hostile elements and bourgeois liberalization trends.

What is the main contradiction in our country at this stage?Deng Xiaoping summed it up like this: "As for what is the main contradiction in the current period, that is, the main problem or central task that the whole party and the people of the whole country must solve in the current period, since the Third Plenary Session decided to shift the focus of work to the socialist modernization construction, It has actually been resolved. Our productivity development level is still very low, and it is far from meeting the needs of the people. This is the main contradiction in our current period, and solving this main contradiction is our central task.”

In order to illustrate this point, Deng Xiaoping put forward the famous thesis that the fundamental task of a socialist society is to develop productive forces in his later article "Building Socialism with Chinese Characteristics". It is the core component of the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.Emphasis: "The superiority of socialism is reflected in its higher and faster development of productivity than capitalism." These conclusions essentially echoed the correct views of the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which is an extension of the Eighth National Congress’s statement that “the main contradiction at this stage is the contradiction between the people’s needs for rapid economic and cultural development and the current situation that the economic and cultural cannot meet the needs of the people.”

Since then, under the guidance of chief designer Deng Xiaoping, Chinese society has strode forward into a new era of reform and opening up. China's agricultural socialist transformation has led hundreds of millions of farmers to the road of socialist collective ownership through mutual aid groups to primary cooperatives and then to high-level cooperatives, avoiding land mergers and polarization, and feeding the world with 7% of the world's land 20% of the population and supported the need for industrialization. However, due to the shortcomings of the system, lack of experience, and artificial internal friction, Chinese farmers have never parted from backwardness and poverty.Their ancestors have worked hard for generations, but they still don't have enough food and clothing all year round. Twenty-two years of socialist collectivization has left us with a staggering number:

"In the 22 years from 1956 to 1978, my country's total grain output increased from 365 billion catties to 595 billion catties. It increased by 6%, and the annual increase was only 2.4%. The same amount, but the agricultural population increased by 280 million during the same period. The urban population increased by 40 million. By 1979, there were 140 million people in the country whose annual rations were less than 280 catties, and 1/4 of the production teams (200 million people) each member The average income is less than 40 yuan, less than 0.11 yuan per person per day, and they are actually half-starved.

"my country's agricultural labor productivity is also pitifully low. There are more than 400 million laborers and 300 million people are engaged in agriculture. However, the supply of non-staple food is still very tight. Every year, some grain, cotton, and soybean oil need to be imported to make up for the shortage. In 1977, the national production was 575 billion yuan. On average, each agricultural labor force produces 1,917 catties of grain, which is 6.39 catties per person based on 300 working days per year. In the United States in 1975, an agricultural labor force produced an average of 136,535 catties of grain, which was 71 times higher than that in my country. Agricultural labor can only support 2.1 people, and it takes 4.8 agricultural population to support one urban population.” The agricultural situation is grim! The overall national economic situation is grim! In response to this situation, Deng Xiaoping first launched the rural reform in the strategic deployment of leading the economic system reform.Deng Xiaoping pointed out that the rural population accounts for 80% of our country's population.If the rural areas are unstable, the overall political situation will be unstable. If the peasants do not get rid of poverty gradually, it means that the vast majority of people in our country will not get rid of poverty... The development of industry, business and other activities cannot be based on 80% of the population. On April 15, 1985, when Deng Xiaoping met with Tanzanian Vice President Mwini, he said: We have determined two openings, one is opening up to the outside world, and the other is opening up to the inside. The opening up to the inside is reform.The reform is comprehensive, starting from the countryside first. Starting from the countryside is Deng Xiaoping's fundamental guiding ideology for socialist reform based on China's national conditions.Deng Xiaoping believed that in order for China to realize the four modernizations, at least two important characteristics must be recognized: one is a weak foundation, and the other is a large population and little arable land.The two characteristics mentioned by Deng Xiaoping mainly refer to the countryside.Farmers are the main force of our country's agricultural production and also the main body of our people.Deng Xiaoping pointed out: Whether China's economy can develop depends first on whether the countryside can develop and whether farmers' lives are getting better.Therefore, Deng Xiaoping felt that the countryside is not only the most backward place, but also the place most urgently in need of reform; it is not only the focus of reform, but also the difficulty of reform, and the basis of comprehensive reform. Deng Xiaoping first implemented his reform plan from the countryside with great enthusiasm, because the "Left" error in our country started in the countryside, and the "Left" brought down the collective, impoverished the peasants, and killed the countryside.Deng Xiaoping believed that reform means revitalizing the country.Reform and invigoration must first start with the rural areas that have been destroyed. He emphasized that "agriculture is fundamental, so don't forget it." How to carry out rural reform?Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "The content of the rural reform is generally to implement the responsibility system, abandon the 'big pot of rice', and mobilize the enthusiasm of farmers." Deng Xiaoping said the responsibility system refers to various forms of agricultural production responsibility system.It is the product of the combination of the wisdom of the leader and the wisdom of the masses, and it has strong vitality. When the reform was kicked off at the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, farmers in Fengyang, Anhui proposed a term that matched Deng Xiaoping's idea: "household contract responsibility system".Later, from Fengyang to "package" to the whole country, it became a common management method in rural areas.Farmers vividly summed up this mode of operation as: "First hand over to the state, keep enough for the collective, and keep the rest for yourself." When Deng Xiaoping met with foreign guests in 1985, he pointed out: "It is a good policy for sure. " Deng Xiaoping was extremely happy that farmers responded to the party's call and created miracles on the land. In 1984, when Deng Xiaoping met with foreign guests, he said: "Looking at it now, a series of new rural policies are successful, and the results are quick and remarkable. The effectiveness of the rural policies is an encouragement for us to set a goal of quadrupling and increase our Confidence." Deng Xiaoping started reforms in the countryside and achieved great success.The common people are grateful to him for this.Many mountain farmers even used superstitious ways to express their love for Deng Xiaoping after solving their food and clothing problems.An old lady in her 70s bows to Beijing every harvest season, saying she is grateful to Deng Xiaoping. The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee pointed out the right direction for reform.Deng Xiaoping pointed out at the meeting: Before a unified plan for the whole country is put forward, the reform can be started locally, starting from one region and one industry, and gradually rolled out. The meeting formulated the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Issues Concerning Accelerating Agricultural Development (Draft)" and the "Regulations on the Work of Rural People's Commune (Trial Draft)", proposing to implement the responsibility system of contracting labor to groups and joint production and payment. Deng Xiaoping spoke highly of and supported the great pioneering work of the people, such as the household contract responsibility system. He said: The content of rural reform is generally to implement the responsibility system, abandon the method of eating from the big pot, mobilize the enthusiasm of farmers, and implement the responsibility system. The system is to give the farmers autonomy and the grassroots autonomy, so that the enthusiasm of the farmers is mobilized at once, and the enthusiasm of the grassroots is mobilized. At the critical moment when the implementation of the system of production contracting and household responsibility was met with great resistance, Deng Xiaoping spoke highly of and supported the great practice of the peasants with great courage and courage. In May 1980, when discussing the issue of rural policy with the comrades in charge of the Central Committee, he pointed out: "After the rural policy was relaxed, some places that are suitable for household contracting of production have implemented household contracting. The effect is very good and the changes are rapid. Feixian County, Anhui Most of the production teams have engaged in household contracting, which has greatly increased production. In Fengyang County sung in "Fengyang Flower Drum", most of the production teams have engaged in large-scale contracting. Will this affect the collective economy? I think this This kind of worry is unnecessary. Our general direction is to develop the collective economy. In places where household production contracting is implemented, the economic subjects are still production teams. What will happen to these places in the future? It is certain that as long as production develops, rural social With the division of labor and the development of the commodity economy, low-level collectivization will develop into high-level collectivization, and the collective economy will be consolidated if not consolidated. The key is to develop productive forces, and in this respect we must create conditions for the further development of collectivization.” Developing productive forces, developing rural social division of labor and commodity economy, Deng Xiaoping made scientific strategic guidance for the prospect of socialist modernization of China's agriculture. In September 1980, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a notice on "Several Issues Concerning Further Strengthening and Improving the Agricultural Production Responsibility System", pointing out that: in those remote areas and poor and backward areas, the masses demanded that production be contracted to households, and the demands of the masses should be supported. Production contracting can be done on a household basis or on a household basis, and it can be kept stable for a relatively long period of time; in general areas, if the household production contract has already been implemented, if the masses do not demand a change, it should be allowed to continue to be implemented...Under the leadership of the production team The implementation of household contracting is dependent on the socialist economy and will not deviate from the socialist track. There is no danger of restoring capitalism, so we are not afraid of it. The above-mentioned document clearly affirms that household contracting is a management form dependent on the socialist economy. This is a leap forward in the policy thinking of the Communist Party of China, and it is of great significance for unifying people's thinking and promoting rural system reform. With the support of the central government and the strong advocacy of Deng Xiaoping, the reform of the rural economic system with the household contract responsibility system as the main content was fully rolled out in rural areas of our country. 93%, the household contract responsibility system has been established as the basic production and management mode in rural areas in our country. The great changes in the reform of the rural system finally broke through many obstacles and moved forward rapidly. The greatness of a giant lies in its foresight, insight into history, grasp of the future, and push society forward in line with the historical trend.Deng Xiaoping pointed out the direction for the great transformation of China's rural areas, and the reform tide of China's rural areas followed this direction, rushing down, and a new era finally came to China. The joint production contract system has revitalized the entire agriculture and injected new vitality into the rural economy. As a result, an unprecedented new situation has emerged in the countryside. With the widespread implementation of the household contract system, labor productivity has greatly increased, and the majority of farmers have been promoted to use surplus labor and funds. Develop diversified operations and engage in commodity production. The self-sufficient and semi-self-sufficient agricultural production that has been inherited for thousands of years has begun to transform into specialized, commercialized, and socialized production.In China, farmers have bid farewell to poverty and become rich since then.The rural reform with the content of the household contract responsibility system has greatly liberated the long-suppressed agricultural productivity, and the rural economy has developed at an astonishing speed.By 1984, the total agricultural output value had reached 361.2 billion yuan, the total grain output value had exceeded 800 billion yuan, the average per capita was 800 catties, reaching the world average level, and the cotton was 100 million tons. The commodity economy was developing rapidly, and the commodity rate of agricultural products was 53.3%. In 1985, the per capita income of farmers reached 397 yuan, and most of the rural population basically solved the problem of food and clothing. However, after breaking the "big pot" of the collective economy, it is necessary to further invigorate the rural economy, expand market regulation under the guidance of the state plan, adapt agricultural production to market demand, and promote the rationalization of rural industrial structure. In January 1985, under the support and guidance of Deng Xiaoping, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued "Ten Policies on Further Energizing the Rural Economy" as the basic goals of the reform, promoting the transformation of my country's agriculture from a self-sufficient and semi-self-sufficient economy to a large-scale commercialized economy , Transform from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture. The introduction of the second step of reform measures has had a profound impact on the development of my country's rural economy, and the general outline of a socialist agricultural economic system with Chinese characteristics has been formed.The great practice of hundreds of millions of farmers not only injected vitality into agricultural production, but also accumulated experience for the reform of the entire national economy. The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China clearly stated that the focus of the Party's future work should be shifted to the construction of socialist modernization, and strive to build my country into a powerful modern socialist country within this century. In accordance with this spirit, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a work conference in April 1979 and decided to adopt the policy of "adjustment, reform, rectification, and improvement" for the entire national economy.The meeting held: "In view of the fact that in the last few decades, the national economy will be centered on adjustment, urban reforms can only be carried out in local areas, carefully investigate and study, and do a good job in pilot projects. The reform should focus on expanding the autonomy of enterprises and enhancing the vitality of enterprises. Clear the management powers of the central and local governments, and mobilize the enthusiasm of the local governments to manage the economy under the unified leadership of the central government. Administrative agencies must be streamlined and economic means better used to manage the economy. In the entire national economy, the planned economy should be given priority, while at the same time Give full attention to the role of market regulation.” In June 1979, the Financial and Economic Commission of the State Council established a research group for economic system reform.Subsequently, the reform of the urban economic system was carried out gradually on a local scale with the content of expanding the independent rights of enterprises. Pilot projects to expand corporate autonomy started in Sichuan. In October 1978, Sichuan Province carried out pilot projects in six enterprises including Ningjiang Machine Tool Factory and Chongqing Iron and Steel Company. In January 1979, inspired by the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the country established the first batch of enterprises to experiment with expanding the autonomy of enterprises.The number of pilot enterprises for power expansion in Sichuan Province has grown to 84.By the end of 1980, there had been more than 6,600 pilot projects for enterprise expansion. In Deng Xiaoping's reform ideas, the starting point of urban economic system reform is to implement the production responsibility system.He emphasized: "The basic principle is to implement the accountability system, which is for sure." The implementation of the economic responsibility system is another exploration of the reform of the management system of industrial enterprises.This reform was first tried out in enterprises by Shandong Province in the spring of 1981.It is mainly through contracting to divide the relationship between the responsibility and rights between the state and the enterprise, and between the enterprise and its employees, and implement the principle of joint production contract and distribution according to work, so as to further mobilize the enthusiasm of enterprises and employees. In October 1981, the State Council forwarded the "Opinions on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Industrial Production Responsibility System".The document requires that through the economic responsibility system, the economic interests of enterprises and employees should be linked with their responsibilities and the economic effects they have achieved, so that the majority of employees can achieve the greatest economic benefits with the least consumption of human, financial and material resources with the attitude of being the masters. benefit. In 1981, the Capital Iron and Steel Company, which took the lead in implementing the enterprise contract management responsibility system, achieved great economic benefits.In 3 years of power expansion, the profit was 826 million yuan, an average of 275 million yuan per year, an average annual increase of 45.32% from 180 million yuan in 1978 before the power expansion; the profit was 730 million yuan in 3 years, an average of 240 million yuan per year, compared with The 180 million yuan in 1978 increased by an average of 34.8% per year; the three-year profit plus taxes totaled 838 million yuan, an average of 279 million yuan per year, an average annual increase of 27.9% over the 280 million yuan in 1978. In 1984, the reform of the economic system in contemporary China has entered the sixth year.The success of the first step of reform in the countryside and the smooth progress in the exploration of local reforms in the cities have made the comprehensive reform of the entire economic system an inevitable trend in the development of socialist modernization. Deng Xiaoping revealed this historical trend: the success of rural reforms increased our confidence, and we applied the experience of rural reforms to urban economic system reforms to promote the development of urban reforms. Just like at many junctures in China's revolution and construction, Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of the reform, judged the situation, seized this opportunity, and pushed the reform to a deeper level in a timely manner. On October 20, 1984, the Third Plenary Session of the Twelfth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held. The meeting unanimously agreed that it is necessary to integrate the basic principles of Marxism with China’s reality and build socialism with Chinese characteristics. Economy, implement the policy of opening up to the outside world, and accelerate the pace of reform of the entire economic system focusing on cities. The plenary session unanimously adopted the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Economic System Reform" through full discussion. On the basis of summarizing historical experience, practical experience and theoretical achievements of reform and opening up, the "Decision" answered a series of major theoretical and practical issues raised in socialist practice, and planned the scope of comprehensive reform of the economic system: (1) Establish a "viable socialist economic system"; (2) "Enhancing the vitality of enterprises is the central link of economic system reform"; (3) "Developing a socialist commodity economy"; (4) Establish a "reasonable price system"; (5) Implement separation of responsibilities between government and enterprises, and give full play to the functions of government agencies in managing the economy; (6) Establish a variety of economic forms and expand foreign and domestic economic and technological exchanges; (7) Develop various economic forms and expand economic and technological exchanges with foreign countries and domestically; (8) For future economic development, employ a new generation of cadres and a group of management talents; (9) Strengthen the leadership of the party to ensure the smooth progress of the reform. With the adoption of the Decision, economic development began to gain new impetus. In 1984, the gross national product reached 920 billion yuan, an increase of 10% compared with the previous year.Along with the development of urban reform, along with the reform of the industrial system, various reform measures such as the commercial system, the construction system, the foreign trade system, and the financial system have been introduced one after another. The Chinese urban economy has begun to show unprecedented vigor and vitality.