Chapter 26 2. Discussion on the standard of truth

Deng Xiaoping's criticism of the two "everythings" represents the new theoretical thinking of the Chinese Communists on epistemology.Since December 1978, discussions on issues such as practice as the only criterion for testing truth, democracy and the legal system, and distribution according to work have led to active thinking throughout the country, such as "taking class struggle as the key link" and "class struggle as the key link" Slogans such as "continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat" have been eliminated by the course of history.After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the Chinese Communist Party decided to focus on economic modernization and the reform of an over-centralized economic system, to adjust the new imbalance in the national economy formed in the past two or three years, to develop socialist democracy and the legal system, etc. .

However, some comrades on the theoretical front are rigid and semi-rigid in thinking, and some lag behind and become obstacles to emancipating their minds. A very small number of people even attack a series of principles and policies implemented since the Third Plenum of the Central Committee as "violating Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought." While criticizing the "Left" trend of thought, due to the interference of certain factors in the public opinion circle and the international community, an extreme right trend of thought has emerged in society. Since the autumn of 1978, some people have posted big-character posters on the "Democracy Wall" near Xidan, Beijing, claiming that after the catastrophic historical ordeal of the "Cultural Revolution", the Chinese Communist Party has discredited itself. Therefore, In the future, the leadership of the CCP will no longer be needed, and the path to modernization is "social reform."Journalists in the West were busy copying big-character posters reflecting disappointment and insecurity, and hastily flipped through the newspapers that had mushroomed in the so-called "democracy movement" since the autumn of 1978.

In order to clarify the fundamental nature of China's reform, there must be a clear answer, and there must be a program that is acceptable to the entire Party, the entire army, and the people of the whole country, and is used to unify the people's thinking.Comrade Deng Xiaoping stood at the height of history and timely put forward four basic principles according to China's actual situation. Inspired by Deng Xiaoping's spirit of seeking truth from facts, in May 1978, "Guangming Daily" published "Practice is the only criterion for testing truth" in the name of a special commentator.The article reaffirms the basic principle of Marxist epistemology that "practice is the only criterion for testing truth".

One stone stirred up thousands of waves, and a big discussion on the standard of truth quickly set off across the country. The heads of the various party, government and military departments of the Central Committee, the vast majority of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and major military regions in the country have published speeches and articles, expressing their approval or support for the basic viewpoints in the articles. This discussion on the standard of truth was enthusiastically supported by Deng Xiaoping and many proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation, making it quickly become a Marxist education movement and ideological emancipation movement throughout the country. Theoretical premise and social context.

On December 13, 1978, at the closing ceremony of the Central Work Conference, Deng Xiaoping made a talk on "emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and looking forward in unity", emphasizing the relationship between emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts and the country's political and economic construction and destiny. Deng Xiaoping said: "Emancipating the mind, using our brains, seeking truth from facts, and looking forward in unity, the first is to emancipate the mind. Only when the mind is emancipated can we correctly use Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought as guidance to solve problems left over from the past and solve new problems that have emerged. We must correctly reform the relations of production and the superstructure that are incompatible with the rapid development of productive forces, and determine the specific road, principles, methods, and measures for realizing the four modernizations in light of the actual conditions of our country... Do not break the rigidity of thinking, do not If the minds of cadres and the masses are greatly liberated, there will be no hope for the four modernizations.”

Deng Xiaoping pointed out sharply: "The great discussion on the standard of truth is actually a debate on whether to emancipate the mind. If a party or a country starts from books, if thinking is rigid and superstition prevails, then it will not be able to advance, and its vitality will stop. , the Party will perish and the country will perish.” Deng Xiaoping also expounded that democracy is an important condition for emancipating the mind, and focused on promoting economic democracy.He said: "The current economic management system in our country is too centralized. We should boldly decentralize power in a planned way. The most urgent thing at present is to expand the autonomy of factories, mining enterprises and production teams. At the same time, in order to protect people's democracy, the legal system must be strengthened."

Here, Deng Xiaoping not only talked about emancipating the mind, but also put forward many ideas for reforming the economic and political systems. Deng Xiaoping's speech broke through the shackles of "Left" erroneous thinking for a long time, and prepared the conditions for the upcoming Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party. In order to sum up the basic experience and lessons of the theoretical propaganda front in the past 30 years, and to study the fundamental tasks of theoretical propaganda work after the shift of the focus of the work of the whole party, from January to April 1979, the central and provincial and municipal levels held theoretical retreats.At that time, Hu Yaobang, Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Minister of Propaganda of the Central Committee, made a report entitled "Introduction to the Theoretical Work Retreat" at the meeting. The universal truth of the Communist Party of China is closely integrated with the great practice of realizing the four modernizations, studying new problems and solving new problems, so that Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought are constantly enriched and developed in practice, and guide us to win the victory of the new Long March.He emphasized the need to resolutely defend the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, and continue to guard against erroneous tendencies in the form of "left" or right.

The meeting discussed the party's gains and losses in terms of theory, line, principles and policies over the past 30 years, personality cult, class struggle in the socialist period, historical lessons from the "Cultural Revolution", characteristics and development laws of socialist society, and current economic work. , conducted extensive and heated discussions, and raised many noteworthy and research issues. In order to ensure the correct direction of socialist modernization and ensure the ideological unity of the party, at the end of this theoretical retreat, on March 30, 1979, Deng Xiaoping clarified the four basic principles and made a detailed and specific exposition .Later, as Deng Xiaoping's thoughts and theories became more and more perfect and the goals of reform gradually became clear, the Four Basic Principles also defined the nature of modernization and became the theoretical guidance and principles to be followed in the practice of socialist construction with Chinese characteristics.These four basic principles are: first, we must uphold the socialist road; second, we must uphold the dictatorship of the proletariat; third, we must uphold the leadership of the Communist Party; fourth, we must uphold Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought.That is to say, behind criticizing the two "everythings", it is not possible to allow this kind of "bourgeois democracy" to emerge.He severely denounced the "democracy movement" whose slogans ("anti-hunger", "free speech", "human rights", "we criticize and condemn the Chinese Communist Party", etc.) are demagogic and ignore the actual economic situation and laws in China.

In terms of ideology, Deng Xiaoping himself has always been a Marxist revolutionary.He unswervingly adhered to any one of the four cardinal principles, especially the party's leadership and Mao Zedong Thought.Deng Xiaoping said that what the Chinese people need is socialist democracy, not bourgeois individualistic democracy.If we talk about democracy in the abstract, it will inevitably lead to the serious overflow of extreme democratization and anarchism, the complete destruction of the political situation of stability and unity, and the complete failure of the four modernizations. Ten years of struggle will be in vain, and China will fall back into chaos, division, retrogression and darkness."

Deng Xiaoping's exposition on the Four Cardinal Principles was warmly supported by the whole party and unanimously supported by the Party Central Committee.The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China believes that in the future, it is necessary to repeatedly emphasize the adherence to these four basic principles. Every Communist Party member and every ideological and theoretical worker of the Party must never allow the slightest wavering in this fundamental stand.If any one of these four basic principles is shaken, it will shake the entire cause of socialism and modernization.He also reiterated: In any case, research and discussion on ideological and theoretical issues must resolutely implement the policy of letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend; We must resolutely implement the policy of emancipating the mind, breaking superstition, and proceeding from reality.No wavering is allowed.In his talk, Deng Xiaoping further clarified the consistency of the spirit of the Third Plenary Session and the Four Basic Principles, and criticized the mistakes of the Right and the "Left" who attempted to break away from the leadership of the Party, negate the socialist system, and distort the policy of "emancipating the mind" tendency.He also pointed out that only by adhering to the four basic principles can we implement the principles and policies of the Third Plenary Session, and only then can we firmly advance towards our grand goal.

Deng Xiaoping expounded in detail his views that the four basic principles must be put first, clarified that the road of socialism should be adhered to, and completely refuted those views that "socialism is inferior to capitalism".Only socialism can save China. This is historical experience.He said that anyone with a little brain, anyone with a little knowledge of history and international knowledge can easily find that China will inevitably return to semi-feudalism and semi-colonialism if it leaves socialism. This has long been proved by history.China is still lagging behind the developed capitalist countries, which is caused by feudalism and imperialism; after the founding of the People's Republic of China, although we made some mistakes, China has also greatly shortened the gap and made progress that the old China did not make .Under certain circumstances, socialist countries also made serious mistakes, but relying on the superiority of the socialist system, China was able to use its own strength to defeat Lin Biao and the "Gang of Four" and return to the road of healthy development.The socialist economy is based on public ownership, and production is to satisfy the material and cultural needs of the people to the greatest extent, not for exploitation. "Because of these characteristics of the socialist system, the people of our country can have common political, economic and social ideals and common moral standards. The above-mentioned things will never be possible in a capitalist society." The science and technology developed by the people of all countries under the capitalist system, All kinds of beneficial knowledge and experience accumulated must be inherited, "but we will never learn and introduce the capitalist system, and we will never learn and introduce all kinds of ugly and decadent things."It is precisely based on this belief that the road of socialism is an inevitable road in the history of China and all countries in the world, and it is a historical necessity that it will eventually replace capitalism. In Deng Xiaoping's view, the dictatorship of the proletariat (after the 1982 Constitution, the term "people's democratic dictatorship" was also used because it had little connection with the term "cultural revolution") was the people's socialist democracy, which implemented democracy among the people and was Dictatorship over those counter-revolutionaries, enemy agents and criminals who are hostile to the cause of socialism.Deng Xiaoping said: "We have made a lot of propaganda, explaining that the dictatorship of the proletariat is socialist democracy for the people, a democracy shared by workers, peasants, intellectuals and other working people, and it is the most extensive democracy in history. ""There is no socialism without democracy, and there is no socialist modernization." In society, there are still counter-revolutionaries, enemy agents, various criminals and other bad elements who undermine the socialist order, and new exploiters who embezzle, steal, and speculate, and this phenomenon cannot be completely eliminated in the long run. "Deng Xiaoping believed that this is still a special form of class struggle, and a dictatorship must still be exercised over all these bad elements who oppose socialism.Without dictatorship over these people, there can be no socialist democracy.However, the struggle against them is different from the class struggle in the past history, because these bad elements cannot form a complete class again. According to Deng Xiaoping's theory, this kind of struggle "is a legacy of the special form of class struggle under the conditions of socialism in history". However, the party opposes the expansion of class struggle. Ministry", "capitalist roaders".This dictatorship is the guarantee for socialist construction.Therefore, "Under the conditions of the existence of class struggle, under the conditions of the existence of imperialism and hegemonism, it is impossible to imagine the demise of the dictatorship function of the state, and the demise of the standing army, public security organs, courts, prisons, etc. Their Their existence does not contradict the democratization of the socialist countries, and their correct and effective work does not hinder but guarantees the democratization of the socialist countries." Deng Xiaoping was a staunch Marxist. He firmly believed that the leadership of the Communist Party of China was the fundamental guarantee for China's construction, development and prosperity.He said that since the October Revolution, it has been proved that without the leadership of the Communist Party, there would be no socialist revolution, no dictatorship of the proletariat, and no socialist construction.Without the Chinese Communist Party, there would be no new socialist China. This is an irrefutable truth.It is impossible for any political party not to make mistakes, and the Chinese Communist Party is not a saint. Mistakes are also inevitable, but this must not be a reason for calling for the abolition of the CCP. "Our party has experienced many mistakes, but every time we have corrected our own mistakes by relying on the party instead of leaving the party. Today's party central committee insists on carrying forward the party's democracy and people's democracy, and resolutely corrects past mistakes. In such a situation Under the current situation, the broad masses cannot tolerate the weakening or even abolition of the party’s leadership. In fact, this can only lead to anarchism and the disintegration and destruction of the cause of socialism.” Lin Biao and the “Gang of Four” kicked off the party committee and started revolution , What kind of "revolution" has occurred?What kind of "democracy" will there be if the party committee is kicked out today and there is no democracy?Now China's economy is on the road of healthy development under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. If some people are allowed to act recklessly and kick out the party committee to make "democracy", it will only be possible to blow up the four modernizations. Clean up, once again delaying the great opportunity for China's development.This is definitely not alarmist talk, but an objective truth proved by a lot of practice. Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought are ideological heritage recognized by current Chinese leaders.As a staunch Marxist, Deng Xiaoping solemnly pointed out that Lin Biao and the "Gang of Four" seriously distorted and severed this legacy.From now on, the basic principle for dealing with the problem of consciousness is to use Mao Zedong Thought's viewpoints of "practice is the only criterion for testing truth" and "starting from reality" and "seeking truth from facts" in accordance with current needs, and use new methods to solve new problems. question. Deng Xiaoping's speech "Adhering to the Four Cardinal Principles" at the theoretical retreat is an extremely important guiding document.It is the guideline for the ongoing reform of the economic and political system, the guarantee for the realization of the reform goals, and the political boundary for the realization of the reform.Whether it is the introduction of foreign capital, technology and management experience, or the use of Western political and economic systems for reference, there must be an appropriate degree.This "degree" is the four basic principles.Any practice that violates the four basic principles is unacceptable. At the end of 1986 and the beginning of 1987, there were some signs of instability in Chinese universities, eroded by the decadent way of life of the Western bourgeoisie and instigated by foreign countries with ulterior motives hostile to Chinese socialists.Some young students put forward the slogan of "freedom and democracy", and some even publicly criticized the leadership of the CCP.At this time, Deng Xiaoping stepped forward, citing the four basic principles, and unequivocally rejected these demands.He said that only socialism can save China, and only the party can lead socialist construction, and China's "total westernization" and "bourgeois liberalization" should be criticized.It is futile to slander the reform of the political system against people with ulterior motives. The party and the central government clearly affirm that these reforms and reforms in all other fields can only be carried out under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, and the people behind the student movement are those who doubt the party. Leader, so he is at least naive and ignorant.The way for college students to support and accelerate the four modernizations is to study and express their opinions within the scope stipulated by the Constitution.After education, the students recognized right from wrong and returned to campus automatically.As for the leaders who supported the street demonstrations in this struggle, or were not firm enough to "oppose bourgeois liberalization", some were suspended for review, and some took the initiative to take the blame and resigned. After the Fifth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party communicated the decision to rehabilitate Liu Shaoqi, some people were quite confused.Some objected to rehabilitating Liu Shaoqi, thinking that doing so violated Mao Zedong Thought; some believed that since Liu Shaoqi was rehabilitated, Mao Zedong Thought was wrong.On this issue of great concern both inside and outside the party and at home and abroad, Deng Xiaoping has made many important speeches to help comrades in the party clarify their understanding. After reading the drafting report of "Resolutions Concerning Certain Historical Issues Concerning the Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China", Deng Xiaoping indeed pointed out: "Establish Comrade Mao Zedong's historical status, uphold and develop Mao Zedong Thought. This is the most core one. Not only today, but also in the future , we all hold high the banner of Mao Zedong Thought." The evaluation of Mao Zedong and the elaboration of Mao Zedong Thought are not just about Mao Zedong himself, they are inseparable from the entire history of our party and our country.With the strategic vision of a proletarian revolutionist, Deng Xiaoping deeply realized that this is not just a theoretical issue, but especially a political issue, which is a big international and domestic political issue.He told the comrades in the resolution drafting group that regarding the evaluation of Comrade Mao Zedong's merits and demerits and Mao Zedong Thought, whether to write it or not, and how to write it, is indeed a very important issue.Without mentioning Mao Zedong Thought, the evaluation of Comrade Mao Zedong’s merits and demerits is inappropriate. Old workers cannot pass it, poor and lower-middle peasants during the land reform period cannot pass it, and a large number of cadres associated with them cannot pass it.The banner of Mao Zedong Thought must not be thrown away.Throwing away this banner actually negates the glorious history of our party. Some comrades inside and outside the party attributed many problems to Mao Zedong's personal qualities. Deng Xiaoping corrected this understanding in many conversations. He said: "Actually, many problems cannot be explained by personal qualities. Even if the qualities are very Good people, in some cases, can’t avoid mistakes. In the era of the Red Army, the Central Revolutionary Base fought the AB regiment. The quality of the AB regiment was not good? When the AB regiment started, Comrade Mao Zedong also joined, but he was more enlightened than others Early, quickly discovered the problem, summed up the experience and lessons, and put forward the idea of ​​"not killing one, not arresting most" when we arrived in Yan'an. In that extremely tense war environment, it is necessary to be vigilant when bad people are found inside. However, the brain is hot , I can’t analyze it clearly, and I believe it after hearing a confession, so it’s difficult to avoid making mistakes. Objectively speaking, the environment is indeed tense. Subjectively speaking, of course there is also a problem of inexperience.” How to correctly evaluate Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping made an important contribution to unify the understanding of the whole party, and once again won the love of the people.