Three-dimensional interpretation of the whole process of democracy

 Author: Kuai Zhengming (Professor of School of Marxism, Shandong University)

  In November 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during an inspection in Shanghai that we are following a path of political development of socialism with Chinese characteristics. People’s democracy is a whole-process democracy. All major legislative decisions are made in accordance with procedures and through democratic deliberation. , Produced through scientific and democratic decision-making. In March 2021, the Fourth Session of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress voted to pass the National People’s Congress "Decision on Amending the Organic Law of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China", and keep pace with the times to write "Insistence on whole-process democracy" Into national law. It can be said that whole-process democracy is a distinctive feature of socialist democratic politics with Chinese characteristics that distinguishes it from western bourgeois democracy. It is a distinctive feature of socialist democratic politics. It is a process of transforming the party’s value pursuits into democratic practice. The process of positive interaction in democratic practice is also a process of coordinated development of electoral democracy and deliberative democracy.

  Whole-process democracy is the process of transforming the party’s value pursuit into democratic practice

  Political parties are the product of modern democratic politics and belong to the category of democratic politics. Any democratic-oriented political development in modern times depends on the role of political parties. In contemporary political party theory, the role of the party is more described as an instrumental intermediary role. However, as far as the development of democratic politics is concerned, the function of political parties is far more than that, but to lead to the direction of democratic development at a higher level, grasp the path of democratic development, and promote democratic development.

  A Marxist party is a party that represents the interests of the working people. In the "Communist Manifesto", Marx and Engels clearly pointed out: "All past movements were movements for the minority or for the interests of the minority. The movement of the proletariat is An independent movement for the overwhelming majority of people and for the benefit of the overwhelming majority.” The Communist Party of China is a Marxist party. The party takes serving the people wholeheartedly as its purpose, and realizes national rejuvenation as its conscious mission to realize everyone’s Freedom and comprehensive development is the highest value pursuit. Since its founding, the Communist Party of China has written people's democracy on its banner, and has always adhered to the Marxist view of the masses of "everything for the masses, everything depends on the masses". Since the party came to power, it has combined its own ruling practice to form the ruling concept of “ruling for the people and relying on the people”. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has clearly mentioned the people-centered development idea many times, emphasizing that we must adhere to the dominant position of the people, insist on building the party for the public, governing for the people, and practicing the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly. Carry out the party's mass line into all activities in governing the country, take the people's yearning for a better life as the goal of struggle, and rely on the people to create historic achievements. Whole-process democracy is the process of transforming the party’s value pursuit into democratic practice under the leadership of the party. The specific goal of the whole-process democracy is to realize that the people are the masters of the country. In short, the leadership of the party determines the nature of the whole process of democracy, internally stipulates the goal of the whole process of democracy, and also provides a fundamental guarantee for the development of the whole process of democracy.

  Whole-process democracy is a process of positive interaction between system construction and democratic practice

  To ensure that the party’s pursuit of values ​​is implemented and the people’s status as the masters of the country must be ensured, efforts must be made to build an institutional system that is compatible with the entire process of democracy, to reflect the will of the people to be the masters of the country, and to ensure that the people participate in the democratic life of the country In practice.

  Through a series of laws and institutional arrangements, democracy in the whole process truly connects the various links of democratic election, democratic consultation, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision. It is a full-chain, all-round, and full-covered democracy. It is the most extensive and most comprehensive democracy. The real and most useful democracy. From the current point of view, the whole-process democratic system mainly includes: (1) The people's congress system. The people's congress system is the fundamental system in which the people are the masters of the country and an important institutional platform for advancing the comprehensive rule of law. Improving the people’s congress system will help ensure the people’s right to be the masters of the country from the perspective of the national system, unblock the channels for expressing the interests of the masses, and protect citizens’ rights to know, participate, express, and supervise. (2) The system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. The system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of my country is a basic political system in China, a great political creation of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people, and a new type of political party system that has grown out of China's social soil. From the perspective of the whole process of democratic operation, this system not only promotes the development of socialist consultative democracy, but also avoids the malpractices of the vicious competition of Western political parties that lead to social tearing. (3) The autonomy system of the grassroots masses. The autonomy of the grassroots masses mainly includes the autonomy of the masses at the grassroots level in urban and rural communities and the democratic management of enterprises and institutions. The fundamental purpose of grassroots autonomy is self-management, self-service, self-education, and self-supervision. In addition to the above systems, it also includes a series of specific systems, including decision-making systems, legislative systems, hearing systems, and so on.

  The whole process of democracy is not only reflected in the scientific democratic system, but also in the practice of democracy. Socialist democracy not only requires complete system procedures, but also complete participation in practice. The people being the masters of the country must be embodied concretely and realistically in the governance of the Chinese Communist Party and state governance, concretely and realistically embodied in the work of the Chinese Communist Party and state organs at all levels and at all levels, and concretely and realistically embodied in the people’s The realization and development of self-interest come up. Whole-process democracy is the embodiment of this "complete practice". Specifically, it is mainly reflected in the following two aspects: First, it is reflected in the process of system operation. The whole process of democratic system operation is actually the process of people participating in political practice, as well as the process of cultivating people’s democratic awareness and improving democratic literacy. ; The second is to reflect people’s participation in the various decision-making processes of the party and the state, participation in the process of urban and rural grass-roots social governance, and participation in the negotiation process of public affairs.

  In the process of interaction between the democratic system and democratic practice, the leadership role of the party is crucial. On the one hand, the party promotes the operation of the democratic system, regulates democratic practices, and guarantees the people's right to be the masters of the country; on the other hand, the party encourages innovation in grassroots democratic practices and upgrades experience to a new system in a timely manner.

  Whole-process democracy is a process of coordinated development of electoral democracy and deliberative democracy

  Both electoral democracy and deliberative democracy are forms of democracy. Election democracy is centered on voting. It is the expression of public opinion and the distribution of public power through the "minority obedience principle" on the basis of one person, one vote. Deliberative democracy is "centered on dialogue", and consensus is built through rational discussion, negotiation, and compromise.

  In Western capitalist societies, citizens' exercise of democratic rights is mainly concentrated in the election process. The "process" of full-process democracy includes not only the electoral process, but also the negotiation process. The election process includes the party representative election process, the party cadre election process, the general election process of the grass-roots urban and rural communities, the general election process of the people's congress and so on. If electoral democracy realizes citizens' right to vote, then deliberative democracy realizes citizens' right to speak and participate in decision-making. Socialist consultative democracy is a unique form and unique advantage of China's socialist democratic politics. In order to promote the development of consultative democracy, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of Socialist Consultative Democracy" in 2015. The "Opinions" clarified the essential attributes and basic connotations of socialist consultative democracy, expounded the important significance, guiding ideology, basic principles, and channel procedures of strengthening the construction of socialist consultative democracy. People's organization consultations, grassroots consultations, and social organization consultations have made comprehensive arrangements. At present, my country's consultative democracy is developing in the direction of extensive multi-level institutionalization.



  Electoral democracy focuses on the beginning of the democratic process, while deliberative democracy focuses more on the democratic operation process before and after elections. The two forms of democracy promote each other. The effective combination of the two further opens up the space for the people to participate in national political life and social governance, and provides Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for the development of human political civilization.

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