中共自一九四九年建政以來，始終實施「一黨專政」作為實現社會主義目標的手段。共產黨憑藉意識形態、等級產權制、政治運動等控制大陸人民的生活、思想與行動，同時壟斷所有的政經資源，作為共產黨統治的最大基礎。
隨著改革開放政策的逐漸深化，中共一黨專政與社會主義制度面臨變與不變的掙扎。若從共黨手中完全釋放產權、政治權力以及意識形態的解釋權，中共將無法繼續堅持「四項基本原則」。於是中共仍然一面繼續推動改革開放政策，一面繼續利用政治運動來教育其幹部和人民。基本上，中共一黨專政的本質五十年來並未改變，但隨著統治基礎的逐漸弱化，未來其一黨專政的統治地位必將逐漸發生質變。

The Chinese Communists have never abandoned the goal of socialism since their take-over of the Chinese mainland in 1949. Through ideological indoctrination and monopolization of political and economic resources under the practice of the “one-partydictatorship" by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)， the Communist authorities have been able to control people's thinking and way of life.
However， with the progress of the reform and opening-up policy， the CCP has been caught in a dilemma of whether to be dogmatic or pragmatic. If the Communists relinquishes its power over the distribution of political and economic resources and forsakes its right of ideological interpretation， the “fourcardinal principles" upheld by the CCP would be discontinued. As a result， while continuing to carryon the reform and open-up policy， the Communist authorities have simultaneously sought to educate and mobilize its party cadres and the masses through political movements. However， as more and more people begin to be skeptical over the superiority of socialism， the CCP will find itself unable to remain comfortably in its chair of “one-partydictatorship" for long.