Dengs Core Questions on Socialist Reform | Generated by AI
This passage discusses the central theoretical questions that Deng Xiaoping grappled with during China’s reform and opening-up period. Let me break it down:
Main idea: The passage identifies two fundamental questions that Deng Xiaoping continuously raised and reflected upon while leading China’s reform, opening-up, and modernization efforts:
- What is socialism? (什么是社会主义)
- How should socialism be built? (怎样建设社会主义)
Context: These questions emerged during what the text calls “a new revolutionary process” - referring to the post-1978 reform era when China shifted from Mao-era policies to Deng’s market-oriented reforms.
Significance: The passage emphasizes these as the “foremost and most fundamental theoretical questions” (首要的基本的理论问题), suggesting they were critical to:
- Redefining socialism in the Chinese context
- Justifying market reforms within a socialist framework
- Guiding China’s modernization strategy
Historical importance: Deng’s wrestling with these questions led to the development of “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,” which reconciled socialist ideology with market economics and pragmatic development policies. His famous approach was summarized in phrases like “it doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.”
The “P105” reference suggests this is from a textbook on Chinese political theory or Communist Party history.