The plenum's communique states: "The harmonious socialist society is a democratic society under the rule of law, a society based on equality and justice, an honest and caring society, and a stable, vigorous and orderly society in which humans live in harmony with nature."
It goes on to explain that this involves the principles of putting people first, development in a scientific way, reform and opening up, democracy and the rule of law, properly handling the relationships between reform, development and stability, and participation of the whole society under CCP leadership.
These ideas suggest that China's leaders are increasingly aware that the country's numerous social problems could derail its economic progress and, more dangerously, threaten the CCP's single-handed grip on power.
Only time will tell whether Hu Jintao and the other CCP leaders are sincere in their pledge to eradicate the economic conditions that have triggered social disharmony and environmental degradation, and led to exorbitant medical, education, and housing costs. After all, it is CCP cadres who are responsible for much of the nation's corruption and CCP policies that have led to the widening gap between rich and poor. Is the party really willing to rectify its own shortcomings to meet public calls for social justice? And will there be sufficient time, since creating a harmonious society cannot be achieved with the wave of a magic wand? It is highly unlikely that social engineering on such a scale could be carried out peacefully by a totalitarian regime, even if it has the will.
Should the CCP resort to radical measures like those of the Mao era, the Chinese people could be subjected to a new wave of political and social campaigns that merely disrupt society without harmonizing it, and Hu's ruling clique will need to find or create scapegoats, further disuniting China's diverse social, economic and ethnic groups.
There is also the danger that, even if undertaken sincerely and successfully, Hu's promotion of social harmony could ignite a new internal power struggle within the CCP hierarchy.
Most likely, therefore, is that Hu's call for social harmony is simply a smokescreen to hide his real ambition: consolidation and expansion of his personal powerbase.