COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE FOR MANKIND RENDERS NEW CONNOTATION TO INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

ZHENG CHANGZHONG

Director, Center for Party Building and State Development Studies, Fudan University

Inclusive development is a new development idea aiming to overcome fundamental dilemma and shortcoming in the development of modern civilization. However, for the concept of inclusive development to turn from idea to reality, it is necessary to be pushed forward by corresponding strategy,mechanism and organization on an even grander logical basis. On the one hand,the idea of a community with a shared future for mankind will put in practice inclusive development on the plane of building a new type of modern civilization, making it an important connotation of a new type of modernization and thus raising the realm and significance of inclusive development. On the other hand, not only has China put forward for its domestic development a mid and long term development strategy guided by the new concept for “innovative,coordinated, green, open and shared” development, it has also made the Belt and Road Initiative on global scale in order to carry out the idea of a community with a shared future for mankind, thus providing an institutional and organizational basis for implementing worldwide the idea of inclusive development and making a unique international contribution.

INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT AND NEW IDEA FOR DEVELOPING HUMAN SOCIETY

Marxism believes that as human society advanced to modernity, with the effects of the logics of Capitalism,science and technology have developed rapidly, bringing about changes to social structure and thus unprecedented improving on productivity.At the same time, brave new contents have unfolded in mode of communication and form of subsistence. As form of subsistence begins to transit from communitization to atomization, space of subsistence is no longer limited to traditional narrow areas but has begun to gradually expand to global scale. In sum, the arrival of modern civilization has given rise to full development of science, technology and productivity,bringing about great prosperity of material wealth and at the same time promoting unprecedented close communication between various ethnicities and countries on global scale. Human development has thus taken a gigantic stride forward.

However, development of modern civilization has been led by the logics of capital, which has left it with quite a few congenital deficiencies. Just as capital is of profit chasing, so modern development also lopsidedly pursues economic growth for profit while overlooking the proposition of human development, or only caring about development of part of the people but being indifferent to that of most of the people. Even worse, capital takes underdevelopment of a considerable part of people as a precondition for adding its value, leading to strained relations between different groups within a country. At the same time, it ignores pressures on ecological environment for lopsidedly seeking economic growth and accumulation of material wealth,thus resulting in strained relations between man and nature.

As modern civilization develops further, such problems that arise from the logics of capital must be effectively dealt with, lest sustainable development of human society will be severely impaired. Going side by side with the development of modern civilization in its whole process, these problems have kept arousing people to rethink. It is based on this that the approach for allround development featuring taking people first and harmonious development between man and man, between man and society and between man and nature continues to be emphasized,as well as an all-round development approach that includes GDP growth index, human development index, social development index, social welfare index and happiness index. As such,since the advent of the 21st century, the concept of inclusive development with the above ideas as mainstay has begun to be put forward by some of the international organizations and accepted by many countries, among which China is one and a most active promotor at that.

To propose the concept of inclusive development is in fact to rethink andto correct development deficiencies and dilemma of modernity, signifying that the concept of taking people first is set great store by and begins to spur the transition from a capital-centered development to a people-centered one.Inclusive development signifies that a new development concept of human society has come about.

The introduction and implementation of the concept of a community of a shared future for mankind has extended the benef i ts of inclusive development from people in some countries to people all over the world.The picture shows president Xi Jinping delivering a speech at a banquet held at the Qingdao international conference center on June 9, 2018. (Photo source: Xinhua News Agency)

As a new development concept for human society, inclusive development is supported and approbated by many international organizations and a considerable part of the countries. However,only by constructing an even grander logical framework for it can inclusive development be implemented on global level. It also needs to be promoted by corresponding strategy, mechanisms and forces. The idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind launched by China creates the above conditions for implementing inclusive development.

COMMUNITY WITH SHARED FUTURE FOR MANKIND AND BUILDING NEW FORM OF CIVILIZATION

Under joint influence of all forces in modern civilization, human society has made great achievements in the process of globalization, communication and interaction between various civilizations reaching a height hitherto unseen. Especially modern economy and modern market have made such association close ranks. Since the 1990s, the Internet has elevated relations of human society to the level of “global village”. Various countries and societies mutually penetrate each other, all having a stake in each other’s future. As such, people on the planet are rallied by the proposition that they must face common dangers,resolve common issues and seek common development. It is against this background that General Secretary Xi Jinping has put forward the idea of constructing a community with a shared future for mankind.

On building a community with a shared future for mankind, General Secretary Xi Jinping has not stopped at giving a description or a philosophical thinking to conditions of development of human society at present and in the future but put forward on practical level measures like the Belt and Road Initiative, making it China’s concrete action in advancing the development of human society. As General Secretary Xi Jinping points out, it is not for the Belt and Road Initiative to build China’s “backyard garden” but for it to build a “garden of a hundred flowers” of all Belt and Road countries and let the people the world over to share China’s development dividend. Meanwhile, in the process of cooperating and interacting with Belt and Road countries and other countries,China gives duel priorities to righteousness and interest, taking righteousness first, seeking win-win situation and serving the development of peoples and countries in cooperation. China will not accept development models exported by others. Nor will the country export its own development model to others.In the process of cooperation, China respects the will of local peoples and local countries. It promotes common development of human society in the process of cooperating with various countries and peoples of the world. It means that the construction of a community with a shared future represents fully the peoplecentered value pursuit.

Marxism believes that since it came into being, capitalist society has continued to promote the development of productivity and the process of globalization under the circumstances of industrialization, taking capital first and seeking to maximize capital. On the one hand, it has made many achievements of modern civilization, but on the other hand, it has also brought miseries to human civilization including colonialism. The idea of a people-centered community with a shared future for mankind is a product by the CPC in organically synthesizing Marxism with traditional Chinese culture. Built on the basis of a value concept for solving China’s own problems in development, it is a new people-centered idea for global governance and global development fitting the phenomenon of“global village” brought about by deepening marketization, globalization and expansion of cyberspace. This means that the idea of a people-centered community with a shared future for mankind is produced against the background of technological revolution, injecting a value concept that is proper to the new form of modern civilization in conception. Therefore it marks that a new form of modern human civilization enters into a stage of all-round construction.

IDEA FOR COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE FOR MANKIND MAKES CULTURAL SENSE FOR INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

Inclusive development is a new development concept coming about as modern civilization develops to a certain stage,whose aim is to deal with deficiencies and dilemma in the process of development.In development perspectives, the emphasis of inclusive development centers on people. Likewise, the idea promoted by China for constructing a community with a shard future for mankind also centers on people, including the search for wellbeing of the people the world over.Therefore, there is inherent consistency between the concept of inclusive development and that of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

However, it is also worth observing that inclusive development is more of a concept for concrete development whereas construction of community with a share future for mankind involves not only concrete development but also building a new form of civilization. It means that inclusive development may as well make use of and be integrated into the concept of constructing a community with a shared future for mankind, thus ascending to a higher value plane and taking up a grander logical framework. To include the concept of inclusive development in the conceptual framework of building a community with a shared future for mankind is in fact to turn the concept of inclusive development to an important connotation of a new type of civilization, whereby inclusive development makes cultural sense.

On the one hand, proposing and putting into practice the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind has changed inclusive development from waiting for the consciousness of capital to depending on the efforts of people. Since modern civilization is produced and developed by the working of capital’s logics, though mankind have begun to rethink the development dilemma of modern civilization and come up with the concept of inclusive development, they cannot but be passive and waiting for capital to become conscious to put the concept into practice unless they stop depending on capital-centered force to seek a new driving force. Socialism with Chinese characteristics both centers on people and attaches importance to giving play to capital. In the process of rejecting capital’s congenital deficiencies, it makes capital serve the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.It means that construction of a community with a shared future for mankind is based on full development of modern civilization and on adherence to a people-centered approach and that inclusive development is to be practically implemented by giving play to capital while overcoming its shortfalls.

On the other hand, proposing and putting into practice the concept for a community with a shared future for mankind has turned inclusive development from only benefiting the people of some of the countries to beginning to expand the benefit to the people of all countries of the world. The concept of inclusive development has been attached importance to within some countries to the benefit of local people there. However, phenomena of unbalanced development and exclusive development still exist on global scale.Proposing and putting into practice the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind has enabled the concept of inclusive development not only to be implemented in countries on a higher development level but also to benefit the people of all countries in the world with the most significant development results achieved by human civilization.

CONSTRUCTING COMMUNITY WITH SHARED FUTURE FOR MANKIND CREATES INSTITUTIONAL BASIS FOR INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

Not only does proposing and putting into practice the idea for a community with a shared future for mankind make cultural sense for inclusive development,it also facilitates inclusive development to move from conceptual promotion to actual implementation. On the one hand, the idea for a community with a shared future for mankind helps inclusive development no longer simply depend on the consciousness of capital, which more often than not is exclusive, but depend on forces of all parties centering on people, thus providing a logical basis for inclusive development to move from concept to practice. On the other hand, proposing and putting into practice the idea for a community with a shared future for mankind does not stop on theoretical level but has a clear plan for action initiated and promoted by China,giving a practical driving force to inclusive development. It provides inclusive development with institutional and organizational basis for implementation on global scale.

In regard to institutional and mechanistic basis, the concept of inclusive development has been written into relevant documents of many international organizations such as the United Nations. The idea for a community with a shared future for mankind has also been accepted by international organizations like the United Nations. It means that it has become an international consensus to advance inclusive development with the idea for a community with a shared future for mankind. There is institutional basis in global governance system for implementing inclusive development within the framework of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

If it is relevant international organizations that provide the above institutional basis, then China initiated Belt and Road construction is the institutional arrangements and implementation mechanisms on global level that are adopted by many sovereign states based on their own development needs. Though initiatives launched by international organizations can represent common political will of related countries, their implementation depends on various countries as principal actors. The Belt and Road Initiative, as cooperation between various sovereign states based by their own development needs, has more practical interest and popular basis. As such, the proposal of the concept of community with a shared future for mankind and the implementation of corresponding measures have,objectively, laid a institutional consensual and action foundation for inclusive development and provided mechanisms for its implementation.

CONSTRUCTING COMMUNITY WITH SHARED FUTURE FOR MANKIND PROVIDES ORGANIZATIONAL FORCES FOR INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

For given concepts and institutions to be effective, it is necessary to rely on organizational forces for their implementation. Therefore, to put the concept of inclusive development into practice and to make relevant institutional basis productive, it is necessary to have organizational forces for implementation. The proposal and implementation of the idea for a community with a shared future for mankind has provided organizational forces for putting into practice inclusive development and bringing into play relevant institutions, boiling down to four areas as follows.

First of all, it is China that is the first to put forward the idea for a community with a shared future for mankind and actively initiates and promotes it. It makes China the most important state organizational force for promoting the practice of the concept of inclusive development within the framework of building a community with a shared future for mankind. As comprehensive national strength of the country is on the rise, the organizational forces for promoting the practice of the concept of inclusive development on global scale will keep increasing.

Secondly, centering on implementing the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road initiative, a number of international organizations like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank have come into being. Such international organizations have become important international organizational forces for promoting the practice of inclusive development within the framework of constructing a community with a shared future for mankind.

Third, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has initiated and hosted CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, opening a new chapter in the annals of promoting a new model of international relations through constructing a new model of party to party relations and providing a new mechanism in international relations for constructing a community with a shared future for mankind. It makes political parties that used to be limited to domestic space begin to move toward international space. As it is centering on constructing a community with a shared future for mankind that the new model of party to party relations is developed, political parties have become one of the organizational forces for promoting the practice of inclusive development.

And fourth, the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind centers on the people whereas organizational form of the people is the society. Therefore, in the process of building a community with a shared future for mankind it is necessary to have more and more social organizational forces to take part in it. It will receive coordination and support from various non-governmental organizations in all directions, in multiple areas and on a profound level to put into practice the concept of inclusive development.

CONCLUSION

The concept of inclusive development is a new development concept put forward by some of the international organizations as mankind moved into the 21st century, whose aim is to overcome the dilemma of modern civilization. The fact that China put forward the concept of constructing a community with a shared future for mankind puts the concept of inclusive development on higher value coordinates and in a grander logical framework and turns it into an important content of a new type of modern civilization.This also provides an institutional and organizational basis for its effective implementation. An inspiration arising from the above phenomenon is that as a participant and leader in promoting the formation of a new type of modern civilization, China’s practice and ideas can inject new significance and new connotations into international concepts and awareness on various levels,thus becoming an important mode of participating and leading the promotion of constructing a new type of modern civilization as well as a community with a shared future for mankind in the new era.