Hegel viewed the history of society as a series of conflicts, and civilisation as progressing through three stages, which have been termed “thesis, antithesis, synthesis”. Since the Communist Party took control of the mainland in 1949, people in China envisioned a new life under communism. But after years of austerity under two campaigns, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, people realised that a centrally planned economy, the original idea or thesis, was unrealistic.

Convinced that the market economy, a contradictory viewpoint – or antithesis – was the way to improve people’s livelihood, China launched a process of economic reform in 1979, when free market activities and individual enterprises became legalised in the communist country. And that seemed to be successful, as remarkable growth was achieved in the following years, but together with corruption among officials and businessmen and widening income disparities.

These problems remained unsolved until President Xi came to power in 2012. Since then, an anti-corruption campaign and eradication of poverty have become his top priority. On the other hand, China has again been haunted by the spectre of Marx, as Xi underscored the contribution made by Marx while delivering a speech in the Great Hall of the People on May 4.

The combination of the benefits of capitalism and communism represent the third stage of Hegel’s dialectics – synthesis. As a society develops, contradiction is inevitable and new theories routinely substitute the old ones. Xi’s theory, like those of his predecessors, is no exception.