Iconic Concepts: A Discourse Perspective for Understanding Socialist Ideology

Ideological iconic concepts refer to the key concepts with symbolic and guiding significance, created by the Communist Party of China in the innovation of ideological discourse. They represent a high-level refinement and concentration of socialist ideology. In terms of form, the ideological iconic concepts can be divided into combinational, numerical, and idiomatic types. In terms of content, they are divided into conceptual expression, situational judgment, and action declaration. In terms of logic, they are divided into native and derived types. Ideological iconic concepts have the functions of reference, guidance, program, innovation, and propaganda. They can succinctly summarize and state the global and national conditions, Party standing, and public sentiment, they coordinate and integrate the viewpoints, judgments, and expressions behind them, showcase the action programs in various fields of socialism with Chinese characteristics, achieve the dialectical unity of adherence and innovation in socialist ideology, and become the focus of theoretical propaganda activities such as theoretical preaching and interpretation. In the era of new media, the dissemination mechanism of ideological iconic concepts conforms to the action logic of online micro communication. The propaganda subject should empower these concepts with digital technology, focus on creating theoretical cultural products based on specific iconic concepts, promote the integrated dissemination of ideological iconic concepts, and strengthen their thematic promotion.