A Study On Karl Marx's Spiritual Needs Theory And College Students' Ideological And Political Education

Since the opening-up reform, with the rapid development of social, economy, politics, culture as well as the setting up of the goal of the construction of socialist well-off society, people's desire for pursuing spiritual development has been enhanced steadily. Meanwhile, college students as the leaders in the youngsters have paid more and more attention to the spiritual life issues such as self-value, physical and mental development, and meaning of life. This results in new opportunities and challenges in college students'ideological and political education work in a traditional way. At present, both the effect of college students'ideological and political education and the acceptance of the work in this aspect depend not only on the content and method, but also on the inner spiritual needs of college students. Therefore, college students'ideological and political education, one of the spiritual production activities, must be in accordance with the college students, take the position of the college students'spiritual needs, and focus on the free and overall development of the college students as well.Marx's spiritual needs theory is established on the scientific definition of the essence of human beings. It explores human needs from the perspectives of social production and social relationship, the core of which is human's free and overall development. At the same time, this theory asserts that man's spiritual needs are characterized with dynamic development, hierarchy and social conditionality. With the current rapid economic development, this theory can promote human's development and the progress of social civilization, consolidate and strengthen the central status of economic construction. Marx's spiritual needs theory provides a theoretical guidance for college students'ideological and political education, with college students'spiritual needs as its starting point. To improve the effectiveness of the college students'ideological and political education, it is necessary to explore the way of guiding and meeting the students'spiritual needs from such angles as education contents, education environments, education methods, educators, and educatees.The author believes college students'ideological and political education should be based on the college students' spiritual needs, meet their basic spiritual needs, stimulate the high level of spiritual needs and promote the development of college students' spiritual needs, then eventually improve the effect of college students' ideological and political education and realize the goal of achieving college students' over-all development.