The biggest reality in contemporary China is to adhere to and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, which is closely related to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the fundamental interests of the people.
 

Discussions on the direction of Chinese social sciences research, one of the most important topics in Chinese academia in 2015, focused on the relationship between academic research and social reality. This has laid a good foundation for academic research to serve China’s reality.

Academic research is a creative intellectual activity that cannot be separated from the realities of society. Serving reality is what academic research has long pursued both at home and abroad. Since ancient times, countless Chinese intellectuals have combined knowledge with practice and consciously carried on the mission of saving the nation and the people.

Some Western countries have also cultivated experience in developing universities in modern times. For example, they stress the function of serving society and have achieved the organic unification of talent cultivation, scientific research and serving society. Think tanks, such as the RAND Corporation and the Brookings Institution in the US as well as the Fabian Society in the UK, represent the application of academic research in practice.

The biggest reality in contemporary China is to adhere to and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics amid comprehensively deepened reform and achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
 

Socialism with Chinese characteristics, the combination of general principles of scientific socialism and China’s specific national conditions, is closely related to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the fundamental interests of the people. Established on the basis of China’s unique national conditions, it will meet with plenty of major theoretical and practical issues in the era of deepened economic globalization and coexistence of multiple human civilizations.
 

Adherence to socialism with Chinese characteristics requires academic research to provide powerful theoretical support in aspects such as grasping rules, designing systems, responding to problems, predicting risks, talent cultivation and public opinion guidance, which has posed great challenges and provided opportunities for academic research as well.
 

China’s academic research should manifest its value and vitality by addressing social realities and serving the cause of national rejuvenation while pushing forward the formation of the Chinese-style academic discourse system. Thus, scholars in social sciences should conduct research with the goal of safeguarding the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation and seeking the well-being of the people.
 

The following points should be made clear in regard to the relationship between academic research and social reality.
 

First, serving society does not mean all disciplines are required to participate in policy interpretation. It means academic research should have the value orientation of serving the people and a deep concern for national development.
 

Second, different disciplines have different ways of serving society in practice. For example, in terms of politics, sociology and economics, scholars may carry out investigation and research on specific problems in reality, and then put forward theories and strategies. Based on China’s conditions, academic research with a correct value orientation is beneficial to national development and social progress.

Third, academic research on social realities has no influence on academic criticism. Criticism is an important aspect of academic research. China inevitably has various problems in practice, which need to be analyzed and criticized from a disciplinary perspective. Only through proper criticism can people grasp the rules of socialist construction with Chinese characteristics and explore the schemes of resolving problems and improving practice.

 

Yang Jun and He Yafei are from the School of Marxism at Wuhan University.