The Historical Evolution Of The Foundation Of Administrative Legitimacy Of CPC

Political legitimacy is what the public identify with political system,support and obey voluntarily,and constitutes the stable and continuous basis for administration of political party. As a party who has been in power for 50years and intends to in the long run,the legitimacy is basic and significant for both CPC and China,connected with whether CPC can be in long-term power,with the long-term security and stability,with overall national strength,and the public wealth.The paper studies the evolution of the foundation of administrative legitimacy of CPC in different historical stages from the angle of historical materialism and political legitimacy,analyzes the challenge it faces,and theoretically and practically explores how to consolidate and develop the foundation in the present times.There are four parts as follows:Part one sets out the theory of legitimacy. Political legitimacy,as a difficult and complicated concept,is studied by Chinese and foreign scholars from different angles and has been set up theoretically. On the basis of former study,the paper summarizes it roughly and holds that the foundation of political legitimacy should include the economic (material),the political,the theoretic (ideological) and the moral.Part two treats the historical transference of the legitimacy foundation since the party came into power. According to the main ideas of political legitimacy in different historical stages,the paper analyzes the fundamental transformation of legitimacy of CPC. In the first stage from 1949 to 1978,CPC's political legitimacy mainly relied upon ideology though from time to time economy and so on. The second stage from 1978 to 2000 saw the legitimate foundation of economy in place of ideology,which is indispensable but subordinate. The third stage marked with the birth of"The Three Representatives"important...