Anyone with designs on becoming the most powerful man in the world must have the courage of his convictions. Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party has his own lofty ambitions, but is nonetheless ready to don Chairman Mao's mantle. And China's leader is well awarethat he will need to do more than swap The Great Helmsman's famous Little Red Book with the Analects of Confucius to succeed. His ideological repertoire will need to stand up to scrutiny.For Xi, the greatest challenge facing China's social scientists and philosophers today is to preserve Marxism as a guiding ideology, while also engaging critically with "constitutional democracy," "universal values," neoliberalism, historical nihilism, democratic socialism and other mistaken credos.China must have total faith in its own brand of socialism.This new Marxism must also meaningfully synthesize its message with Chinese tradition, represented by Confucius, Mencius and Xi's favorite philosopher, Han Fei. Xi's restoration of Han Fei's philosophy, which preaches the importance of using fear, force and control in the interests of authority, hasled some to suggest that he is steering China towards a "new market totalitarianism," a totalitarianism adapted to the twenty-first century. Will this be the price the country has to pay for its 'Chinese dream'?