On Social Progress and Morals

There is an antinomy in the history of the world: i.e. at the same time as social progress there is moral degeneracy. Some people think that the degeneracy is a necessary price paid for the reform of China. It is argued that the contradiction could have been avoided or reduced to the minimum if we paid enough attention to morals. The criteria of productive force and of morals are not in opposition, and the latter cannot be replaced by the former in judging actions. In the moral field, the former plays the role of “the criterion of criteria”; it can be used as a criterion only through certain established moral judgements.