Thus, although 1956 should have been a new starting point for the emancipation of the mind, we had to endure all manner of setbacks and difficulties until the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Party Central Committee in 1978. Since then, we have more than compensated the mistakes of the previous two decades, and have ensured that the process of mind emancipation has become broader, more thorough and more profound than the initial step taken in 1956. Now, it has become an irresistible current that has surged ahead over the last ten years.

Truth Through Practice

In 1978, the initial goal for emancipation of the mind was rectifying the disorder created by the "cultural revolution." The prevalent ideology during the preceding decade of turmoil and chaos had been to regard class struggle as the key issue in continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat.

Despite the overall success of the reform programme, vestiges of the "leftist" ideology of the "cultural revolution" still occasionally manifested themselves. Take agricultural policy for example. The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Party Central Committee adopted a draft of the Resolution of Some Questions Concerning the Acceleration of Agricultural Development. For the most part, this was a product of mind emancipation - it accorded with the reality of Chinese agriculture and would vigorously promote the growth of output - but it still contained "leftist" elements, such as the "fixing of farm output quotas for each household is not allowed." A step forward was made at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 11th Party Central Committee in 1979, when it was announced that farm output quotas for households would only be applied to a few agricultural sideline products and in sparsely populated remote mountainous areas with poor transport facilities.

In 1982, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party issued a document which finally removed this anomaly, and in 1984, the CPC's Central Committee decided that the overall goal was to create a socialist commodity economy. At the 13th Party Congress in 1987, this view was summarized in 12 theoretical points, which taken as a whole constitute a blueprint on building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The congress also expounded the theory that China now stood at "the primary stage of socialism." This concept has marked a further starting point for the emancipation of the mind, an emancipation which has the following three characteristics:

1. As China's reforms have expanded from the rural areas to the cities and from structural reform of the economy to political and cultural reform, the emancipation of the mind has grown deeper and broader. As the emancipation of the mind is the guiding ideology of the reforms, its development in turn boosts the development of further reforms.

This emancipation of the mind was reflected in the programmatic document issued by the 13th CPC National Congress. This demanded that we must reunder-stand socialism's economic, political and cultural aspects, reunder-stand socialist fundamental tasks and motivation, and reunderstand socialist historical stages and international development. This series of calls can effectively be called a new starting point for the emancipation of the mind.

2. The theoretical concept that China now stands at the primary stage of socialism has enabled people to understand more clearly the political line pursued by the CPC since 1978, and so has facilitated the progress of China's reforms.

3. All matters, including ideology theory and politics guiding China's construction and reform, must be considered in terms of whether they help the development of the productive forces or not. In this way, practice can be the only criterion for judging truth. And this concept has been concritized and deepened in the country's socialist construction and reform, and the emancipation of the mind will play its full role in liberating the productive forces.

'Cat Theory'

During the early 1960s, Deng Xiaoping advanced the argument that any measure which facilitated the development of the productive forces should be adopted and pursued. He summed up his case by saying it didn't matter whether a cat was black or white, it was the one that caught the mouse which was best, which has subsequently been dubbed "cat theory."

During the "cultural revolution," Deng was severely criticized for ignoring the colour of the cat, even though the circumstances in which he had first used this simile were highly specific. In a discussion on how to boost agricultural production, he had said it was immaterial whether a system of contracted responsibility, household management or the people's commune under unified management was adopted, as long as the measure selected could restore and develop rural productive forces.

At this time, Deng was talking only of the specific form of administration which would best promote the management of socialist agriculture. The issue at no time or point involved the question of choosing between socialism and capitalism.

Deng has continued to reiterate "cat theory" throughout the 1980s, arguing that socialism should express its superiority in the faster development of the productive forces. To date, this has not been demonstrated in an all-round way, but we are confident that if we redouble our efforts, this goal will be achieved.

Armed with "cat theory," the advantages and disadvantages of socialism and capitalism can be judged in terms of the ultimate growth of their respective productive forces.

Acting from this basis, Marxism should achieve new and great progress and development. However, it is only through the emancipation of our minds that our theory and practice can stride forward in tandem towards a truly socialist future.

The author is deputy head of the Propaganda Department of the Party Central Committee

 (No. 51, 1988)