Tongfang Academy Micro-Party Class, Issue 300: How Marxism Understands “Education”

Party Class Study

2024-10-22

Tongfang Academy

Micro-Party Class · Issue 300

How does Marxism understand “education”?

“Theoretical cultivation is the core of the comprehensive quality of Party members and cadres. Theoretical maturity is the foundation for political maturity, and political steadfastness stems from theoretical clarity.” For Party members and cadres, fostering a fine academic ethos and strengthening theoretical training are both fundamental requirements for cultivating Party spirit and an inescapable political responsibility.

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In the classic texts of Marx and Engels, there are numerous important discussions on education. These key arguments highlight education’s primary tasks, the methodological requirements for education, and the fundamental laws governing its nature. In “Capital,” Marx, based on the communist mode of production and its essential characteristics, pointed out that the education of the future “will combine productive labor with intellectual and physical education; it will not only be a means of enhancing social productivity but also the sole way to cultivate individuals who are comprehensively developed.” So, how does Marxism understand and view “education”?

First, from the perspective of the demands posed by socialized mass production on workforce development, education is called upon to fulfill three primary tasks. In “Capital,” Marx argued: “To change the nature of the average person, to equip him with the skills and techniques required for a particular branch of labor, and thus to transform him into a developed and specialized labor force, certain forms of education or training are necessary.” This assertion highlights that the first task of education is “to change the nature of the average person”—in other words, from the standpoint of the proletariat’s mission, it means cultivating workers through proletarian education into “new human beings.” Such a new generation of producers, on the one hand, through comprehensive and systematic social education, breaks free from the limitations imposed by the old-style division of labor; at the same time, through practical experience in the production process, they acquire the labor skills needed for the modes of social production. On the other hand, Marx and Engels repeatedly emphasized that proletarian education, grounded in the materialist conception of history, should guide the proletariat to recognize their historical mission by drawing on the essential requirements of future social production, the labor demands of socialized mass production, and the trends of transformation within capitalist society. As Engels pointed out in his letter to the Congress of Socialist University Students: For university students to be capable of undertaking the task of rebuilding society, they must not only develop themselves into intellectual proletarians but also closely integrate with manual-proletarian workers, thereby “taking charge of all social production.” The second task of education is “to equip individuals with the skills and techniques required for specific branches of labor”—a point that underscores the need for proletarian education to overcome the old-style educational approach that merely “trains people to become mere machines,” instead stimulating people’s innate talents and abilities, encouraging them to exercise their subjective initiative, and helping the proletariat identify what kinds of labor they truly love, choose the labor skills and techniques they wish to master, and thus affirm their essential powers through free and conscious labor. The third task of education is “to become a developed and specialized labor force”—a task that emphasizes using proletarian education to cultivate the proletariat into a highly developed and specialized workforce capable of leading the masses toward the unity of “practical activity guided by principles” and “the revolutionary height of human beings.” It aims not only to turn the proletariat into workers endowed with practical competence but also to imbue them with firm ideological convictions, noble ideological awareness, and a strong fighting spirit. As Marx noted in the “Introduction to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right”: “It is truly the brain of society and the heart of society.”

Second, we explore the methodological requirements of education’s threefold dimensions starting from the perspective of the object-oriented relational activities inherent in practice. The first dimension is reflected in the relationship between educators and those being educated. In his “Theses on Feuerbach,” Marx pointed out: “The environment is changed by people, and the educator himself must be educated.” In Marx’s view, education—as a practical activity—is a two-way constructive process between educators and those being educated. For an educator to effectively educate others, it is first and foremost essential that he himself undergoes education. Educators must impart ideals, values, and knowledge and skills to those they educate; yet, before doing so, they themselves must possess the requisite moral qualities, solid scholarly knowledge, and practical competence. In “The Communists and Karl Heinzen,” Engels wrote: “Party theorists also need greater wisdom, clearer thinking, better style, and richer knowledge.” Indeed, as educators, party theorists bear the mission of arming and educating the people with scientific truths, awakening the proletariat’s class consciousness and revolutionary awareness. Thus, for educators like party theorists, it is imperative that they continually undergo education, constantly elevating their ideological awareness to the point where they can theoretically grasp the entire historical movement—and persistently put this understanding into practice. The second dimension lies in enhancing the subjectivity of those being educated, that is, emphasizing self-improvement and self-education. In “Documents of Exiles,” Engels argued that proletarian education consists precisely in helping the proletariat “diligently devote themselves to self-improvement and self-education.” In the educational process, the “entire worldview of Marx” should not be treated as dogma but rather as a standpoint, perspective, and methodology for observing and transforming the world, analyzing and solving problems—enabling theory to be closely integrated with practice and ensuring that one adapts “at all times and in all places according to the historical conditions prevailing at the moment.” The third dimension underscores the Communist Party’s leading role in workers’ education. This is vividly illustrated by Marx and Engels’ assertion in “The Communist Manifesto”—“The Communist Party does not for a single minute neglect the education of the working class”—a statement that highlights both the urgency and extreme importance of the Communist Party’s work in educating workers. Since the Communist Party has from the very beginning had no special interests separate from those of the proletariat, its nature and purpose dictate that its education must be proletarian in character, ensuring alignment of goals between the Party and the working class: namely, deeply rooting the truth of Marxism in the hearts of workers and making the conviction of communism resonate throughout the world, calling upon the global proletariat to unite.

Finally, a historical examination of educational activities highlights the political character of proletarian education and its intrinsic nature as an education aimed at achieving the all-round development of human beings. Based on an in-depth study of the educational conditions of the British proletariat, Engels argued that the political hallmark of “purely proletarian education” lies in freeing education from bourgeois influence, safeguarding the interests of the proletariat, and helping the proletariat grasp the laws governing the development of human social history along with their scientific foundations. In “Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy,” Engels once again emphasized: “The more unreserved and selfless science is, the more it will serve the interests and aspirations of the workers.” As a scientific theory that explores the objective laws and inevitable trends underlying the development of human social history, Marxist theory—when guiding proletarian education—will inevitably adopt an unselfish and disinterested scientific attitude to help humanity find the “key to understanding the entire course of social history.” In his “Instructions from the Provisional Central Committee to the Delegates on Several Questions,” Marx wrote: “The most advanced workers fully understand that the future of their class—and thus the future of humanity itself—depends entirely on the education of the rising generation of workers.” In this instruction, Marx underscored the intrinsic connection between proletarian education and the future development of humanity, closely integrating “intellectual, physical, and comprehensive technical education” with “education through productive labor.” He reiterated this view in “Capital,” recognizing that only proletarian education can achieve a high degree of unity between enhancing social production and promoting the all-round development of individuals. The essence of proletarian education lies precisely in raising the working skills of the proletariat through the transformation of the communist mode of social production, while simultaneously enabling the proletariat to grow into communist workers endowed with scientific theoretical knowledge, robust physical health, noble moral character, and practical labor competence—workers who are free and capable of developing themselves fully.

Education is a vital cornerstone for the rejuvenation of the nation and the advancement of society—a virtuous undertaking that benefits both the present generation and future generations. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has propelled historic achievements in education during the new era. General Secretary Xi Jinping has delivered a series of important discourses on education, which represent both an inheritance and a development of Marxist thought on education. They provide a scientific answer to the fundamental questions of where Chinese education in the new era should start and where it should head; they offer a timely response to the proletarian educational perspective on “what kind of people to cultivate, how to cultivate them, and for whom to cultivate them.” These discourses serve as the fundamental guiding principle for advancing the cause of Chinese education in the new era and on the new journey ahead.

Source | People's Daily Online, Official Website for Party History Study and Education