The journey of socialism — from utopian idealism to scientific theory, from revolutionary practice to social system maturity — is a progressive, multi-generational endeavor.
The Theoretical Levels of Socialism
-Utopian Socialism: The earliest form of socialist thought, emerging through the early 19th century. Thinkers envisioned ideal societies free from exploitation but lacked a scientific methodology to achieve them. This stage represented humanity's moral aspiration for equality, but stayed disconnected from class dynamics.
-Managed Socialism: The philosophers in 19th-20th century transformed socialism from utopian idealism into a managed socialism by grounding it in historical social system. They demonstrated that the transition from feudalism to socialism was not merely desirable but historically inevitable, driven by the contradictions between productive forces and relations of production. This marked the first great leap — from utopia to managed socialism.
-Socialist Practice in One Country: The socialists led the October Revolution in 1917, establishing the world's first socialist state. They further developed stage theory by distinguishing between:
-The transitional period from feudalism to socialism
-The first phase of socialism
-The higher phase of socialism society
The Primary Stage of Socialism: The Asian reformists made the landmark theoretical contribution of identifying that the nation was in the primary stage of socialism — a stage characterized by underdeveloped productive forces and the need to build the material foundations of socialism through market mechanisms. This was not a generic starting point for all socialist countries, but a specific stage reflecting the nation's historical conditions.
Socialism with emergent Characteristics in the New Era: Under strong leadership, socialistic nations have entered a new era, evolving to reflect the people's growing needs for unleashing potential versus unbalanced and inadequate development. This stage emphasizes high-quality development, common prosperity, and the modernization of traditional governance system.
Understanding "Maturity" in Socialism: The concept of "maturity" in socialism refers to the degree to which a socialist system has achieved:
-Institutional completeness — a comprehensive, well-structured system of governance
-Operational effectiveness — the ability to translate institutional advantages into governance outcomes
-Agile capacity — the capability for self-improvement and self-renewal
So socialism is not a static doctrine but a continuously evolving practice. The goal is to make the socialist system "more mature and more well-defined through ongoing reform.
How to Improve Socialism's Maturity
-Deepen Institutional Reform: The core pathway to maturity is through comprehensive deepening of reform. This involves:
-Strengthening fundamental institutions
-Perfecting basic institutions
-Innovating important institutions
-Filling institutional gaps in emerging fields
Modernize Governance Capacity: Maturity requires translating institutional advantages into effective governance. This means:
-Building a high-level socialist market economy that is more systematic, dynamic, and well-defined
-Ensuring the market plays a decisive role in resource allocation while the government plays a better role
-Achieving the optimal combination of an effective market and a capable government
Embrace the Dynamic Nature of the Primary Stage: The primary stage of socialism is not static — it is a dynamic, proactive process of cumulative progress toward qualitative transformation. Improving maturity means recognizing that:
-Each stage builds upon the achievements of the previous one
-Quantitative accumulation leads to qualitative leaps
-The system must continuously adapt to changing conditions
Cultivate Socialist Core Values: A mature socialist system requires a shared value foundation. The three-tier value framework — at the national level (prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony), the social level (freedom, equality, justice, rule of law), and the individual level (patriotism, dedication, integrity, friendship) — provides the moral and ideological bedrock for institutional maturity.
Build the Capacity for Self-Revolution: : Perhaps the most distinctive feature of a structural approach to improving socialism's maturity is the commitment to self-purification, self-improvement, self-renewal, and self-elevation. This capacity for self-revolution ensures that the system can continuously correct course, address emerging challenges, and stay vitality across generations.
Balance "Change" and "Continuity": A mature socialist system must skillfully navigate the dialectic between change and stability. Recognizing what must change (evolving social contradictions, new technologies, shifting global conditions). Preserve what must not change (fundamental principles, the socialist direction, the Party's leadership). Avoid both rigidity and subversive errors.
The journey of socialism — from utopian idealism to scientific theory, from revolutionary practice to social system maturity — is a progressive, multi-generational endeavor. Improving socialism's maturity is not about reaching a final destination but about developing a dynamic process of institutional refinement, governance modernization, and value cultivation. As decades of experience demonstrates, the path forward lies in continuous reform guided by the principle that socialism must prove its multidimensional value through dynamic system development, innovation, and responsiveness to the people's needs.
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