ABSTRACT
The utopian imagination thrives most when socialism is not in power. But what happens when socialism is in power, and has been so for quite some time? As Lenin and Mao pointed out on repeated occasions, winning a revolutionary struggle is relatively easy; exercising power in the construction of socialism is infinitely more difficult. In this contribution, I am interested in how the CPC undertakes the constant process of reform and renewal, not merely for the sake of continued legitimacy but also to keep people focused on hopes for the future. My focus is the first volume of Xi Jinping’s The Governance of China, which contains material from 2012 to 2014. Here already we find themes that would come to fruition later, especially the moderately prosperous society (xiaokang), the two centenary goals and the ‘Chinese Dream’. The study closes by considering the question of ‘faith’ in Marxism.
