3.Friendship as Embodied in the Core Socialist Values

Core Socialist values as we know entail three levels— "prosperity, democracy, civility, and harmony" are values at the state level; "freedom, equality, justice, and rule of law”are values at the societal level; and "patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendship”are values at the individual level.

To a certain extent, the individual values serve as the foundation, and "friendship" is one of the most important values.

Firstly, it may seem that the four individual values are of equal importance: Patriotism and dedication are moral guidelines for individuals while integrity and friendship are for group interaction or interpersonal communication.In reality, however, friendship is more fundamental as all of the remaining three values originate from it. We cannot imagine an unfriendly person to be patriotic, because patriotism requires deep feelings（or kindness）towards one's motherland and fellow countrymen.Neither can we talk about dedication without friendship as the former is first and foremost reflected in the responsibility toward others and the society at large.Responsibility is a core component of "friendship" in general.We therefore cannot expect an unfriendly person to make contributions to others and the society.Similarly, integrity must find its root in friendship.We would never call a merchant that manufactures or sells gutter oil, toxic milk powder, or fake eggs friendly, because he undermines the trust and health of the people.

Secondly, a society characterized by "freedom, equality, justice, and rule of law" must be a friendly society in the first place. Freedom is far from an empty slogan.It entails the harmony and friendliness among people.In a world of indifference and conflict, one is bound to be checked and constrained by others.How can we talk about social freedom, then? On the contrary, if friendship is the prevailing norm, "many hands would make the light work”.As a re sult, every individual will feel comfortable and can truly appreciate freedom.

Likewise, equality, justice, and rule of law must be based on friendly human relationship because the essential requirement of equality is to "treat others as one would like to be treated".That is, equality calls for respecting and understanding others.Justice and rule of law mean the aversion of evil and ugliness while seeking to promote innocence and kindness of humanity.

Finally, a prosperous, democratic, civil and harmonious country also needs to be based on friendly human relationship.A prosperous country is the result of concerted effort of the entire nation.We can hardly imagine a split and unfriendly nation to be prosperous. The precondition of democracy is equality, which in turn means friendship among individuals.The very purpose of democracy is to achieve the peace and unity of people.The civility and harmony of a country hinges on friendship even more.

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