On The Historical Development And Experiences Of The Modernization Of Marxism

Marxism was the product of time. Modernization of Marxism is a long-time process. With the development of world history and the change of the themes of different times, Marxism is also enriched, developed and perfected while it is used to solve new problems. This is an important trait of Marxism.To study the modernization of Marxism, it is necessary to understand the time correctly and accurately. In the context of Marxism, time is a political and historical concept. Marxist classical writers’perception of the features and problems of the time constitutes the main content of Marxist concept of time. Marx and Engels differentiated different times according to their social-economic formation. Their time was the capitalist era that would evolve into the communist era; Lenin pointed out that division of great historical times is based on the class that enjoys the core status. The early 20th century was the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution. Based on their judement and analysis of the principal contradictions of different historical times, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping proposed successively the revolutionary strategies at the time of "war and revolution" and the developing strategies at the time of "peace and development". The constantly evolving Marxist concept of time provides not only ideas and methods of observing the current world, but also guidance and basis for the proletarian party to formulate its route, guiding principles and policies.As Mao Zedong once said, "transformation means thorough change." The modernization of Marxism is such a transformation process. To modernize Marxism means to catch the tempo of the time, and to combine Marxist theories with the characteristics of the time so that Marxism can meet the needs of the time and contribute to the development of human society through continuous innovation. Based on the history of Marxism and the international communist movements, the modernization process of Marxism has gone through roughly four states:the birth of Marxism, the period of gradually taking the leading position in the International Labor Movement, the transition period from theory to real political system, and the socialist construction and reform period. The development of the time requires Marxism to be realistic, to study the problems in reality and to integrate the essence of human cultures. Only in this way can the socialist movement of the world keep going on.The relationship between the modernization process of Marxism and the Vietnamese Communist Party’s efforts of modernizing Marxism is that of the general and the specific. The Vietnamese Communist Party has its own history of development. By combining the basic theories of Marxism with the specific characteristics of the historical periods, the Vietnamese Communist Party explores ways to solve the problems of Vietnamese society in different historical periods and has made a series of theoretical achievements on revolution, development and reform, such as the Ho Chi Minh Thought, the theory of the socialist-oriented market economy, the socialist transition theory, etc., These new theories expand and innovate the Marxist revolution theory and scientific socialist economy theory. The modernization process of Marxism in Vietnam could be divided into four stages:the revolution period; the revolution and construction period; the national peace and construction period and the reform and opening period. The Vietnamese experiences of modernizing Marxism lie in its insistance on constant party building, close connection with and reliance on people and its own gradual reformation process. The Party tries to find its own socialist path that fits the conditions of the country. The Vietnamese example inspires communist parties in other countries to adhere to the guidance of the scientific Marxist theories, to innovate the theory and combine the theoretical innovation with local actual situation and era charateristics.