Wise Man, Benevolent Man, Elder – Marx in my mind

Scattered Leaves of Thought: A Thematic Inquiry into Historical Materialism includes some of the author's works from the mid-1980s to the present (in addition to leaving academia to work in administrative organs and localities for more than a decade), divided into two series: one is culture, value and historical outlook, mainly some published papers; the other is issues, methods and reviews, mainly some critical articles. In addition to correcting some inaccuracies, some of the articles were written at the end of the article to help readers understand the background of the writing of the article and the author's current views on the article. Although these things were written in different periods and with different titles, contents, and genres, they have a common theme, that is, the love and exploration of historical materialism, which records the author's mental journey from Marx's apprentice to believer.

My major is Marxist philosophy. Looking back on the road I have traveled over the years, although the job position has changed several times and the field of thinking has been constantly adjusted, the love and exploration of historical materialism have never changed. Not so, in the sense of theoretical scholarship, I am more and more convinced that historical materialism (materialist view of history), as one of the two great discoveries in Marx's life, is Marx's philosophy or Marxist philosophy, is Marx's great creation that truly has world significance in the history of philosophy, is the scientific ideas, theories and methods that Marx (including his close comrade-in-arms Engels) dedicated his life to mankind, is an inexhaustible ideological treasure that future generations can continue to enrich. Improve and develop the theoretical arsenal.

Marx has left us for 139 years, and it is the time of several generations. It is true that As a natural being, Marx has long since left us; but as a cultural being, as an insurmountable peak of thought in the history of human civilization, he still lives in the present, living among us, looking at the world with his extremely wise, deep and bright eyes, at us as his apprentices. In the process of editing this book, I always had a strong dream or longing in my heart: if Marx were still alive, what would he do? How would he see the world today, what we, his apprentices, would do, and would we avoid the sad and embarrassing situation he criticized: "I sow the seed of the dragon and reap the flea"? Is he willing to talk to us and what kind of dialogue will he have with us?

Marx was a great wise man. What would Marx, as a wise man, place his hopes on us apprentices? "The wise man has no god". Marxism is a science, not a theology or religious doctrine; Marxism is a practical science, and the people's theory is not a "scholastic philosophy" or an academic theory that is enclosed in a study hall and read and worshiped by a small number of people; Marxism is an open mind and a theory of continuous development, not an immutable and dead dogma; it declares the disillusionment of all the ultimate truth "myths", and opens up an incomparably broad space and road for future generations to enrich it and develop it. I dare to speculate that if Marx were still alive, he would not be so satisfied with the development of Marxist theoretical research at present. The world is changing every moment, practice is developing every moment, problems are emerging every moment, and Marxists should pay keen and keen attention to these changes and problems and give thorough and powerful explanations and answers, so that the theoretical light of Marxism is vivid and penetrating, and the ideological charm of Marxism is eternal.

Marx was a great benevolent man. Since its birth, Marxism has never lacked opponents and enemies, but as Engels said: "Marx is the most hated and most slandered person of our time." Governments, whether authoritarian or republican, expelled him; bourgeoisie, conservatives or ultra-democrats, raced to slander and curse him. He paid no attention to all this, flicking them away like spider silk, only to fight back as a last resort. "And I dare to say that he may have had many enemies, but not necessarily one personal enemy." "The benevolent are invincible". Marx's "invincibility" lies first and foremost in the fact that he was a real revolutionary who struggled for the toiling masses. Throughout the ages, there has been no shortage of thinkers under the banner of "the people" and "for the people's lives," but only Marx "made the modern proletariat aware for the first time of its own status and needs, of the conditions for its own emancipation." Struggle is an element of his life. From a theoretical point of view, for the sake of the needs of the struggle, he and his close comrade-in-arms Engels argued with almost all the top thinkers in Europe at that time, and after their sharp criticism, those once prominent schools of thought were defeated and disappeared in front of them. The reason why the struggle is so resolute and forceful is precisely to avoid the new proletariat and Communists from being disturbed by all kinds of erroneous currents of thought and going astray. Today, Marxism still has many opponents and enemies around the world. As disciples of Marx, we have the responsibility to clear away the ideological fog woven by our opponents and enemies, to transform the problems wrongly handled by erroneous ideological trends into the subjects of positive research, and to give thorough and scientific explanations in order to fight back against the slander, distortion and attack on Marxism and defend Marx. In this regard, empty words will not help.

Marx was a great elder. In childhood, Marx's portrait hung above the blackboard of the primary school classroom, and the teacher told us: "This bearded grandfather is Marx from Germany, he is a great teacher of working people all over the world." In childhood memories, "Marx with a big beard" was always an "elder" and never seemed to be young. "The elderly are selfless". Over the past few years, through the study, thinking, and exploration of Marxism, I have come to understand more and more a truth: with certain selfish desires, selfish hearts, private names, and private interests, it is impossible to enter the depths of Marx's soul, and I am not worthy to be Marx's students, let alone be his loyal followers. Marxism is not a means of making a living, a stepping stone to pursue fame and profit, or a tool for promotion and wealth. The simplification, one-sidedness, pragmatism and vulgarization of Marxism will only harm the life of Marxism and tarnish its reputation. For those of us who are true believers in Marx, Marxism is, in the final analysis, a way of life. This way of life inherently requires us to always have the passion and reason to pursue the truth, explore the truth, practice the truth, and develop the truth, dedicate ourselves like a moth to the fire, and discover, advance, and create, so that it can be carried forward in the new era.

In 1843, the young Marx wrote passionately: "Philosophy regards the proletariat as its material weapon, and the proletariat regards philosophy as its own spiritual weapon; once the lightning of thought strikes this simple people's garden completely, the Germans will be liberated into man." "The emancipation of the Germans is the emancipation of man. This liberated mind is philosophy, and its heart is the proletariat. Today, in the 21st century, the development of the world, the development of China, and the development of socialism are also calling for philosophy, the "lightning bolt of thought," to shine again on mankind and liberate our minds.

(This article is the author's self-prologue to the book "Scattered Leaves of Thought - A Special Inquiry into Historical Materialism", the title and individual texts of this newspaper have been changed when it is published, and the book will be published by the Social Science Literature Publishing House)

(The author is Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Social Sciences Magazine)

Edit: Qi Zeyao