Philosophical Perspective of Harmonious Society

Author: Zhao Fan / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Building a harmonious socialist society is a major strategic decision made by the Communist Party of China based on the trends and characteristics of contemporary Chinese development and the fundamental interests of the broad masses of the people. It is also a significant theoretical innovation in Marxist philosophy and social science theory. The proposal of the concept of a harmonious society is an application and creation of the philosophical thought of "harmony" in ancient and modern China and abroad. Harmony is first and foremost a philosophical category, referring to the unification achieved through coordination and balance among different things. Human society itself is a vast and complex organic system that includes political, economic, cultural, and other parts, as well as structural levels such as individuals, families, groups, strata, and classes. To ensure this massive system is well-organized and develops in balance, all elements of society must coexist, operate in coordination, and engage in positive interaction within this unified entity. As society develops, new situations will continuously arise, certain social elements will change, and new contradictions and differences will emerge, disrupting the original balance. Therefore, any society must continuously coordinate the contradictions between and among its various aspects to maintain unity, order, and stable development in the process of movement, achieving transformation from quantitative change to qualitative change and from a low level to a high level. The construction of a harmonious socialist society will inevitably face various contradictions. These contradictions cannot be completely overcome or eliminated; they can only be maximally coordinated and resolved. A harmonious society develops in an environment full of contradictions. Old contradictions are resolved, but new ones arise, in a cycle that is endless. Therefore, to build a harmonious society, we must establish and develop a set of mechanisms to resolve and coordinate contradictions. This must involve maintaining harmony among the political, economic, and cultural systems while also achieving harmony among all strata and interest groups within society; realizing harmony between people and between individuals and society; and striving for harmony between the internal and external systems of society, as well as between humans and nature. The proposal of a harmonious society is not only a genuine signal of the prosperity of Chinese philosophy and social science but also presents a new research topic for philosophical scholars. As a result, more than 20 experts and scholars from three capital universities in philosophy came together to fully discuss this topic from different perspectives, using collective wisdom to compile this book, Harmonious Society in the Perspective of Philosophy. They strive to explore the theoretical origins of a harmonious society and the fundamental issues in the construction of a socialist harmonious society in China through the unique perspective and way of thinking of philosophy. Due to the limitations of academic vision and level, some of the authors' ideas may still be unsatisfactory and require further discussion. Therefore, readers are welcome to criticize and correct, and to offer valuable suggestions.