Creation: Historical Materialism Group of the Proletarian Liberation Struggle Association
Recently, Zhongxiu has introduced the so-called “Basic Requirements for Thesis and Practical Achievement Submission for Engineering Doctoral Professional Degree Graduate Students’ Degree Application (Trial)” (hereinafter referred to as “Basic Requirements”), which stipulates that those who seek the so-called “Engineering Doctoral Professional Degree” can not only graduate through a doctoral thesis but also “apply for a degree” through “specified practical achievements.” In simple terms, relying on writing eight-legged essays is no longer suitable for changing times; as long as one can produce some “practical” results, even without a thesis, one can obtain a doctoral stamp. The “Basic Requirements” also claims that the reason Zhongxiu acts this way is “to cultivate a group of high-level technical talents who research and solve practical problems, thereby empowering industry practice through innovation, and promoting the construction of an innovative country.” In this way, Zhongxiu seems to have transformed from a defender of reactionary hierarchical systems into a “encourager” of scientific research “talents,” striving to “benefit” society as a righteous official.
“No need to fart!” The real purpose of Zhongxiu’s move is definitely not as pompous as it claims, but mainly to lower the difficulty for the bourgeoisie to obtain a doctorate, continuing to fix the current academic hierarchy system. The “Basic Requirements” states, “Practical achievements should be oriented towards national, industrial, and regional development needs, focusing on actual engineering problems, closely linked to major engineering key technological breakthroughs, achieving enterprise technological progress, and promoting industrial upgrading.” This sounds lofty, but what is its actual connotation? The so-called “oriented towards national, industrial, and regional development needs” refers to meeting the demands of capitalist countries, capitalist sectors, and capitalist regions. But how can these demands be met? How to know what is compliant and what is not? Besides early intelligence from “insiders” about the trend, there is no other way. “Focusing on actual engineering problems,” but how can “actual engineering problems” be “focused on” (or related to)? Since the so-called “actual engineering problems” are the ongoing capitalist engineering projects controlled by the bourgeoisie, it is impossible to access or “focus on” them without the bourgeoisie’s permission. The three points of “closely linked to major engineering key technological breakthroughs, achieving enterprise technological progress, and promoting industrial upgrading” further reveal their bourgeois nature. The so-called “major engineering key technologies” are the advanced scientific and technological achievements under capitalism, which can only be controlled by the bourgeoisie; enterprises are also the property of capital, and participating in “industrial upgrading” similarly requires the support of capitalists (as Watt’s experience exemplifies). From this, it is clear that establishing such a pathway to obtain a doctorate ultimately only facilitates those who are already bourgeois, allowing them to easily participate in capital operations. In practice, if one does not have sufficient connections with doctoral advisors, has no experience in researching “famous topics,” or has not interned in large enterprises through bourgeois social connections— in short, if one is not a capitalist or does not have good relations with capitalists— then obtaining a doctoral degree is impossible. Therefore, the “Basic Requirements” merely further reinforce the existing bourgeois dominance, making small-bourgeois opportunists more servile to the bourgeoisie. “Boasting about freedom in general terms, but abolishing freedom through conditions”[1], this is a classic bourgeois trick.
Furthermore, the full name of the “Basic Requirements” also indicates that not all doctoral degrees can enjoy this treatment, but only “Engineering Doctoral Professional Degrees,” that is, engineering professional doctorates[2]. This further narrows the possibility of obtaining a doctorate through non-thesis routes. However, since the “Basic Requirements” is only a “trial” version, it may include more fields in the future. But even so, it is not a good thing; it merely exposes the class distinctions more openly. The proletariat has always been excluded from doctoral degrees, and it will become increasingly difficult for the petty bourgeoisie to obtain one. The bourgeoisie will continue to maintain its class position. In the past, when petty-bourgeois (especially upper petty-bourgeois) opportunism was less difficult, class distinctions were relatively blurred, and the illusion of climbing into the bourgeoisie by relying on bourgeois support was quite prevalent among the petty bourgeoisie. However, when obtaining a doctorate shifted from writing a thesis to directly relying on relationships to squeeze into large enterprises and major projects, claiming “practical achievements,” such illusions inevitably dimmed.
In recent years, as capitalist society has been increasingly declining, the danger of bourgeoisie and petty-bourgeoisie bankruptcy has grown closer. Countless bourgeois and petty-bourgeois who are about to go bankrupt will cling to their private ownership status and hope to rise through academic credentials, with master’s and even doctoral degrees becoming the next targets for these opportunists[2:1]. But the trend of capitalist society’s demise is unavoidable. When a large number of opportunists flood into the army of doctoral candidates, the status of doctorates will also be challenged. If the number of doctoral graduates exceeds that of the bourgeoisie, the class-based hierarchy system of bourgeois education will no longer be sustainable, and the hierarchical order of capitalism will be affected. One of the justifications for bourgeois rule—the supposed “superiority” in intelligence—will lose its basis. Therefore, with the aim of maintaining the bourgeois hierarchy, Zhongxiu stubbornly advocates “li rule” like Confucius in the late Spring and Autumn period, promoting “name and reality” as a means to uphold the shaky academic hierarchy, ensuring class differences last forever. Under such circumstances, more and more regulations and rules will emerge, and Zhongxiu, motivated by a “kill the dog and eat the meat” mentality, will eliminate even more avenues for petty-bourgeois opportunism. The petty-bourgeoisie itself is a doomed class; they fight against the bourgeoisie through personal struggle, “all to maintain their middle-level existence to avoid extinction. Therefore, they are not revolutionary but conservative. Not only that, they are even reactionary because they try to reverse the wheels of history.”[3] The way out for the petty bourgeoisie is not to conform to capitalism and oppose it with their own capitalism, but to “join the ranks of the proletariat,” no longer “defend their current interests but safeguard their future interests”[4], and turn to the path of socialist revolution.
Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, Marx & Engels Collected Works, Vol. 8, Chinese First Edition ↩︎
The reason why doctoral diplomas still hold a certain social respect today is because their class distinctions are still very pronounced. Achieving a doctorate (such as publishing multiple papers of a certain “international level” in so-called “doctoral theses,” etc.) is still something only the bourgeoisie and a very small number of petty-bourgeois can accomplish. It also serves as a symbol of bourgeois social status, reinforcing one’s social standing towards the bourgeoisie, unlike a bachelor’s degree which loses this counter-effect. ↩︎ ↩︎
Marx & Engels, The Communist Manifesto, Marx & Engels Collected Works, Vol. 4, Chinese First Edition ↩︎
Same as above
【社论】乐见更多“不用写论文”的博士_社论_澎湃新闻-The Paper ↩︎