At the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the general secretary clearly put forward the concept of "a new form of human civilization" for the first time. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that creating a new form of human civilization is the essential requirement of Chinese modernization. Scientifically grasping the relationship between the new form of human civilization and the Chinese path to modernization, and comprehensively grasping the historical origin and civilization background of the Chinese path to modernization, is conducive to solving the "ancient and modern Chinese and Western disputes" in the process of Chinese-style modernization. Strengthening exchanges and mutual learning, understanding and tolerance among different forms of civilization is conducive to achieving complementarity and harmony among different civilizations, promoting the common development of different civilizations, and safeguarding world peace.
Diversity is the most essential and important attribute of human civilization
Human civilization is created by different races and nationalities in different regions. There are more than 2,500 nationalities and more than 200 countries and regions in the world today, and different nationalities and countries have their own development processes and have contributed to different aspects of the development of human civilization to varying degrees. Just as biological diversity maintains the ecological balance of nature, the diversity of human civilization ensures the vitality and continuity of human society. The so-called view of cultural differences as a "clash of civilizations" is based on the traditional theory of Western cultural superiority.
Since the end of the 20th century, under the interaction between economic globalization and the new technological revolution, the "Americanization" of cultural significance has swept the world. But the three waves that have occurred simultaneously with "Americanization" have once again demonstrated the diversity of human civilization.
The first wave is the convergence of civilizations brought about by the tide of globalization.
Hundreds of sovereign and independent modern nation-states have been integrated into the process of globalization, and in the era of globalization, civilizational exchanges between nations and nations, between countries and between regions have become more and more frequent, and the world has increasingly become an indivisible whole. However, the large-scale and multi-level cross-cultural exchanges brought about by the huge migration groups and the international flow of people, as well as the inherent vitality of the civilization forms of different countries and nations, coupled with the rapid development of information technology, have made the cultures of various countries in the era of globalization not be homogeneous and homogeneous, but have achieved integration and innovation to varying degrees. Therefore, although globalization is different from strong cultures and weak cultures, it is a kind of globalization with the participation of many countries and nationalities in the world.
The second wave is the "global culture" created by the power of global capital.
Driven by forces such as the globalization of production, the globalization of markets, and the globalization of finance, culture has become more "global" rather than "international", or more "trans-cultural" than "inter-cultural". The tension between global culture and existing civilization forms and civilization systems is becoming more and more prominent, and for late-developing countries, the problems brought about by this tension are particularly serious, and Western countries have also reflected on and even resisted this.
The third wave is the resurgence of the "wall" of civilization embodied in the wave of anti-globalization.
The global business strategy of multinational companies aims to promote the localization of new products, including cultural products, such as Hollywood blockbusters such as "Kung Fu Panda" and "Mulan". The cultures of various countries and nationalities, including the United States, have been influenced and impacted by global culture, which in turn has stimulated the "cultural consciousness" of various forms of civilization, resulting in the revival of conservatism and nationalism, and the tribalism of certain nations and countries that cling to their native culture and reject foreign cultures. As a result, the anti-globalization movement at the cultural level is increasingly showing a trend of "globalization", the world is in a process of "repoliticization", and nationalist ideologies are rising in many countries around the world, including Western countries. For example, in the United States, in recent years, social divisions, social movements, and cultural identity conflicts have been superimposed, showing a trend of increasingly intensifying culture wars. Trump's slogans such as "America First" and "Real Americans" express populist sentiments such as ethnic consciousness, cultural crisis, and economic nationalism among the traditional European white community in the United States.
Chinese modernization has created a new form of human civilization
** The general secretary stressed that "the Chinese Communists are not historical nihilists, nor are they cultural nihilists. "No matter which country or nation, if it does not cherish its own ideology and culture and lose its soul of ideology and culture, this country and this nation will not be able to stand up. "Chinese civilization is a whole composed of history, present and future, and is composed of the traditional civilization of the Chinese nation and the modern civilization of the Chinese nation. The reason why China has been able to move from the danger of extinction to the present day is that the excellent traditional Chinese culture has played a very important role in it. It is precisely because China has never lost its ideological and cultural soul that China has been able to successfully open up the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and constantly enrich its theoretical system and improve its institutional construction.
History is the best textbook. Chinese civilization is one of the sources of human civilization, and the excellent traditional Chinese culture is the root and soul of the Chinese nation. "The people are the foundation of the state, and the country is solid", "select the best and the best, stress the faith and cultivate harmony", "the water can carry the boat, and it can also overturn the boat" ......Since the late Qing Dynasty, various European and American trends of thought have come one after another, and the reason why the Communist Party of China has been able to lead the Chinese people to establish the People's Republic of China and carry out the transformation and development of Chinese society by "daring to teach the sun and the moon to change the sky" is that it has not only realized the "nationalization" and "concretization" of Marxism, but also penetrated the historical context between China's political and cultural traditions, and continued to enrich and develop China's political and cultural traditions. On this basis, the "two combinations" were proposed, that is, "integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific realities and with China's excellent traditional culture."
Chinese modernization has created a new form of human civilization. In less than a century, the Chinese path of modernization has broken through the shackles of dualism since the Enlightenment, has a high degree of openness and inclusiveness, absorbed the outstanding achievements of various forms of civilization in the world, including Western civilization, carried out revolution and construction according to its own objective reality, and changed the fate of more than one billion Chinese people. The exploration and practice of this road has provided a new choice for developing countries to move toward modernization, and has shown the world that modernization is not equal to Westernization, and the road to modernization is not equal to the road of capitalism. This path is undoubtedly a major contribution to the progress of human civilization, and it is also an active exploration of another possibility by human society, making new contributions to enriching the diversity of world civilizations.
Those who are courteous and righteous are also the great end of people, so they emphasize faith and harmony. "Chinese civilization is a form of civilization that promotes world peace and development and maintains the diversity of human civilization. China has always believed that all countries have the right to choose their own development path, and is willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, learn from each other and jointly promote the sustainable development of human civilization with all countries and civilizations in the world, and ultimately realize the "beauty of each country, the beauty of the people, the beauty of the United States, and the unity of the world".
The author is the leader of the sub-project of the major innovation project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, "Research on Enhancing the Communication Power and Influence of Chinese Civilization", and a researcher at the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences