An important feature of political economy, as a part of the social sciences, is its dialectical unity of nationality and universality. How to reconcile national characteristics and universality remains an important question in social science research. Insightful economic theories must be based on national conditions, and any economic theory built on an advanced economy will certainly have a profound global impact. Theories that successfully solve their own nation’s social and economic development issues will inevitably receive global attention and respect.

To reconcile political economy’s nationality and universality, we need to investigate and learn from the development of political economy in different nations under different historical circumstances. Theoretical critiques offer the right methods to learn from each other among different schools of political economy. These are also the soul of Marxist political economy. On the one hand, we need to clarify and stick to the fundamental rubrics of critiques, which include political economy’s position on class and historical value orientation. On the other hand, we need to employ scientific methodologies. We should have thorough understandings of political economy developed in different nations under different historical circumstances, and make critical comparisons among different theories. Without thoroughly understanding the object we criticize, we cannot obtain scientific critiques or academic value.

National characteristics

Socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics examines the law of movement governing Chinese production modes. Therefore, the national specificity of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics depends fundamentally on historical stages of development for production modes.

To understand the importance of production modes to socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics, we need to clarify the relationships among socialism with Chinese characteristics, socialism, the primary stage of socialism, and the advanced stage of communism from a historical logic perspective. In brief, socialism is the primary or lower stage of communism, the first stage of communism. Socialism under different historical conditions in different countries is divided into various stages of development. The current stage of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the primary stage of socialism, which is the initial stage in the long historical process of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The “primary stage of socialism” has rich historical connotations, and the basic program is to realize socialist modernization (i.e., the second centenary goal). The realization of this basic program, the great national rejuvenation in other words, means that the initial stage of socialism with Chinese characteristics, or the historical mission of the primary stage of socialism, will be achieved. From the perspective of the new journey to socialist modernization planned by the 19th CPC National Congress, in the first stage from 2020 to 2035, we will build on the foundation created by the moderately prosperous society with a further 15 years of hard work, to see that socialist modernization is basically realized. Then, it will take approximately another 15 years for China to develop into a great modern socialist country by the middle of this century. Therefore, the development goals of the primary stage of socialism with Chinese characteristics will be achieved around 2050, and the basic program of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which is in the primary stage of socialism, will be realized.

From country-specificity to internationality

In classical Marxist writings, socialism, as a mode to replace capitalism, should not be a country-specific phenomenon from the very beginning, but rather a universal and international phenomenon. However, Russia’s October Revolution, led by Lenin, and the establishment of the socialist system made a breakthrough in Russia—which was the weakest in the capitalist world, since its productivity development fell behind that of capitalist countries in Western Europe—thus creating the historical situation of a socialist “lonely island” in the capitalist “ocean.” Practice has revealed that socialism’s move from country-specificity to internationality, from nationality to cosmopolitanism, and from one country to all countries around the world, will be a long-term historical process. In fact, this historical process is the progressive process for the primary stage of communism (socialism) to the advanced stage of communism. When socialism is still country-specific, it can only exist in the primary stage.

The primary stage of socialism is only the initial stage of socialism with Chinese characteristics: in terms of its basic program, the initial stage is to realize uniquely Chinese socialist modernization in the sense of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation; historically it covers periods from the establishment of the socialist system in China to the establishment of a great modern socialist country. Socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics should be a theoretical interpretation of the law of movement of socialist production modes with Chinese characteristics. In this sense, socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics has strong historical and national characteristics.

In historical development trends, the historical process of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a process that integrates China’s modernization into economic globalization, and also profoundly changes the modernization pattern of human societies. The development of socialism with Chinese characteristics increases the global impact of socialism, and ultimately achieves the ambitious goal of an ideal society for all mankind. As Chinese President Xi Jinping said: “Human society will ultimately witness the transcendence of history from the level of individual nations to the global scale.” Correspondingly, the history of political economy is also a history developing from a narrow sense to a broad one.

Liu Wei is a professor from Renmin University of China. This article was edited from his paper submitted to the forum.