The Exploratory Course of World Socialism and the Direction of Human Civilization

Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era, which is of great significance not only in the history of the development of the People’s Republic of China and the history of the development of the Chinese nation, but also in the history of the development of world socialism and the history of the development of human civilization. The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC [1]1 The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in October 2022. points out: “Scientific socialism is brimming with renewed vitality in 21st-century China. Chinese-path modernization offers a new choice for humanity to achieve modernization. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese people provide more and better Chinese wisdom, Chinese solutions, and Chinese strength to address the common challenges facing humanity, and make new and greater contributions to the noble cause of human peace and development!” The Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people to successfully forge the path of Chinese-path modernization, creating a new form of human civilization and expanding the avenues for developing countries to achieve modernization. Re-examining the exploratory course of world socialism from the perspective of the history of human civilization development, deeply exploring its inherent basic logic, and thereby discerning the direction of human civilization, helps to further strengthen the high degree of historical consciousness and historical confidence in comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization and building a new form of human civilization.

中国特色社会主义进入新时代，不但在中华人民共和国发展史、中华民族发展史上具有重大意义，而且在世界社会主义发展史、人类文明发展史上具有重大意义。党的二十大报告指出：“科学社会主义在二十一世纪的中国焕发出新的蓬勃生机，中国式现代化为人类实现现代化提供了新的选择，中国共产党和中国人民为解决人类面临的共同问题提供更多更好的中国智慧、中国方案、中国力量，为人类和平与发展崇高事业作出新的更大的贡献！”中国共产党领导中国人民成功走出中国式现代化道路，创造了人类文明新形态，拓展了发展中国家走向现代化的途径。从人类文明发展史的视角重新审视世界社会主义的探索历程，深入发掘其内在的基本逻辑，进而辨明人类文明的前进方向，有助于进一步增强以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴、构建人类文明新形态的高度历史自觉与历史自信。

The Exploratory Course of World Socialism

世界社会主义的探索历程

Before the drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, people’s view of world socialism was mainly within the perspective of the international communist movement. This is certainly related to the historical origins of the “Three Internationals” (namely, the First International, the Second International, and the Third International) [2]2 The First International (International Workingmen’s Association, 1864–1876), the Second International (1889–1916), and the Third International (Comintern, 1919–1943) were successive international organizations of socialist and communist parties., but on an ideological level, it also reflects the legacy of 19th-century Europe: the distinction between “socialism” and “communism” was not strict, and “world politics” was mainly “international (inter-state) politics” with nation-states as the main actors. On a practical level, it undoubtedly also reflected the enormous influence of the Soviet Union as the center of the international communist movement in the 20th century. The collapse of the socialist camp led by the Soviet Union and the end of the “Cold War” led to the broader use of the concept of “world socialism.” However, because world socialism suffered major setbacks and fell into a low ebb for a time, while capitalism accelerated its global expansion, it was also difficult for people to develop new theoretical understandings of world socialism.

在东欧剧变、苏联解体之前，人们看待世界社会主义主要还是在国际共产主义运动的视野中。这固然跟“三个国际”（即第一国际、第二国际、第三国际）的历史渊源有关，不过在思想层面，也反映了19世纪欧洲的遗产：“社会主义”与“共产主义”的区分并不严格，“世界政治”主要是以民族国家为主体的“国际（国家间）政治”。而在现实层面，无疑也反映了20世纪苏联作为国际共产主义运动中心的巨大影响。以苏联为首的社会主义阵营的瓦解和“冷战”的结束，使“世界社会主义”这一概念获得更为广泛的使用。不过由于世界社会主义遭遇重大挫折，一时陷入低潮，资本主义加速在全球扩张，人们也很难在理论上产生对世界社会主义的新认识。

Chinese academic circles used the concept of “world socialism” relatively early. Comrade Mao Zedong’s theory of the division of the three worlds [3]3 Mao Zedong’s theory of the division of the three worlds, articulated in the 1970s, categorized the world into the superpowers (the US and the USSR), the developed countries, and the developing countries, to guide China’s foreign policy. opened up a new perspective for re-understanding world politics. By the mid-1980s at the latest, with the advancement of China’s socialist reform and opening up, Chinese academic circles had compiled textbooks on a new understanding of “contemporary world socialism,” which sequentially discussed the state of socialist development in countries ruled by communist parties, developed capitalist countries, and developing countries, expanding people’s understanding of “socialism.” After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, as the largest of the few remaining socialist countries in the world, China’s fate became increasingly closely linked with that of world socialism. If China had not continued to adhere to the socialist direction of reform, but had instead repeated the mistakes of the Soviet Union as some Western politicians and scholars hoped, it is hard to know how long world socialism would have had to grope in the dark before it could revive. It is precisely the successful initiation, continuous improvement, and development of socialism with Chinese characteristics that have enabled world socialism to move more quickly from a low ebb toward revitalization. Meanwhile, China, with the growth of its comprehensive national strength and the enhancement of its international influence, has increasingly become the primary force driving the development of world socialism.

我国学界比较早使用“世界社会主义”概念。毛泽东同志提出的三个世界划分理论，打开了重新认识世界政治的新视野。最迟到20世纪80年代中期，随着中国社会主义改革的推进，我国学界已编写出关于“当代世界社会主义”新认识的教材，依次论述共产党执政国家、发达资本主义国家、发展中国家的社会主义发展状况，拓展了人们对于“社会主义”的认知。在苏联解体后，作为世界上硕果仅存的少数几个社会主义国家中最大的一个，中国的命运与世界社会主义的命运日益紧密地联系在一起。如果中国没有继续坚守住社会主义的改革方向，而是如一些西方政客和学者希望的那样重蹈苏联覆辙，那么世界社会主义不知要在黑暗中摸索多久才可能重新兴起。正是中国特色社会主义的成功开创与不断完善和发展，使世界社会主义更快地从低潮走向振兴，中国则随着自身综合国力的壮大和国际影响力的提升而日益成为推动世界社会主义发展的最主要力量。

In January 2013, in a speech at the seminar on studying and implementing the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the CPC for newly elected members and alternate members of the Central Committee [4]4 This refers to a speech delivered by Xi Jinping on January 5, 2013., General Secretary Xi Jinping systematically reviewed and sorted out the 500-year history of socialism in six time periods, revealing the historical origins and development process of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This not only provides us with a broad and profound world-historical perspective for more fully understanding the historical inevitability and scientific truth of socialism with Chinese characteristics, but also offers a new theoretical perspective for re-examining and deeply grasping the exploratory course of world socialism. Overall, our understanding of the exploratory course of world socialism has, beyond the previous world perspective, strengthened the Chinese perspective, while simultaneously emphasizing “viewing China from the world” and “viewing the world from China,” highlighting the more conscious subjective initiative of China in the New Era. Specifically, our new understanding of the exploratory course of world socialism is reflected in at least the following four aspects.

2013年1月，习近平总书记在新进中央委员会的委员、候补委员学习贯彻党的十八大精神研讨班上的讲话中，分六个时间段对社会主义五百年的历史进行了系统回顾和梳理，展现了中国特色社会主义的历史渊源和发展进程。这不仅为我们更加充分地认识中国特色社会主义的历史必然性和科学真理性提供了广阔、深邃的世界历史视野，也为我们重新审视和深刻把握世界社会主义的探索历程提供了新的理论视角。总体而言，我们对于世界社会主义探索历程的认识在以往的世界视角之外强化了中国视角，同时并重“从世界看中国”和“从中国看世界”，彰显了新时代中国更加自觉的主体性能动性。具体而言，我们对于世界社会主义探索历程的新认识至少体现在以下四个方面。

First, socialism is a “real movement that constantly changes the existing state of affairs.” World socialism has experienced a development process from utopia to science, from theory to practice, from one country to many countries, from a single model to diverse explorations, and from falling into a low ebb to seeking revitalization. Among these, the leap of socialism from utopia to science took the longest. The biggest problem with utopian socialism is that it discusses the transformation of society based on abstract reason, which is difficult to escape the trap of metaphysics. The reason scientific socialism can be called “science” is precisely that it establishes its edifice of truth on the basis of a profound analysis of the reality of capitalist society and the revelation of its inherent operating laws. More fundamentally, the emergence of scientific socialism did not end the search for truth but opened up the historical process of approaching truth through real socialist movements. The practical exploration of socialism cannot be accomplished overnight. While firmly believing in the “two inevitables” [5]5 The “two inevitables” refer to Marx and Engels’ thesis in the *Communist Manifesto* that the bourgeoisie will inevitably fall and the proletariat will inevitably triumph., one must not forget the “two will nevers” [6]6 The “two will nevers” refer to Marx’s statement in the preface to *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy* that no social order ever perishes before all the productive forces for which there is room in it have developed, and new, higher relations of production never appear before the material conditions of their existence have matured in the womb of the old society.. The ultimate establishment of socialism and communism worldwide is destined to be a very long process.

第一，社会主义是“不断改变现存状况的现实运动”。世界社会主义经历了从空想到科学、从理论到实践、从一国到多国、从单一模式到多样探索、从陷入低谷到谋求振兴的发展历程。其中，社会主义从空想到科学的飞跃历时最久。空想社会主义的最大问题在于从抽象的理性出发来论述社会的改造，难逃形而上学的窠臼，而科学社会主义之所以堪称“科学”，正在于它是在深刻分析资本主义社会现实并揭示其内在运行规律的基础上建立起真理大厦。更为根本的是，科学社会主义的产生并非终结了真理，而是开启了通过现实社会主义运动来接近真理的历史进程。社会主义的实践探索亦不可能一蹴而就，在坚信“两个必然”的同时不要忘了“两个决不会”，社会主义和共产主义在全世界的最终建成注定是一个非常漫长的过程。

Second, the main problem faced by socialist practice is how to cross the “Caudine Forks” [7]7 The “Caudine Forks” (Latin: Furculae Caudinae) was a narrow mountain pass in ancient Italy where a Roman army was forced to surrender. Marx used this metaphor to describe the possibility of backward societies bypassing the full development of capitalism.. The socialist revolution did not break out simultaneously in a few countries with highly developed productive forces. Although the Paris Commune established the world’s first proletarian political power, it existed for only a little over two months before being suppressed. The establishment of the Soviet Union, the world’s first socialist state, and the establishment of the socialist system in China, the world’s most populous country, both demonstrated the realistic possibility of first establishing and developing socialism in economically and culturally relatively backward countries. In his later years, Marx raised the issue of crossing the “Caudine Forks,” meaning that backward countries like Russia could “not pass through the Caudine Forks of the capitalist system” [8]8 This phrase is from Marx’s drafts of a letter to Vera Zasulich (1881)., that is, they could avoid the sufferings caused by the capitalist system while absorbing the achievements of capitalism, and directly enter a socialist society. The exploratory course of real socialism has proven this brilliant thesis. Lenin’s new reflections in his later years on how to build socialism, Comrade Mao Zedong’s proposal in 1956 for the “Second Integration” [9]9 The “Second Integration” refers to Mao Zedong’s call in 1956 for the integration of the basic principles of Marxism with China’s concrete realities, distinct from the earlier integration that had guided the Chinese revolution. of the basic principles of Marxism with China’s concrete realities, and Comrade Deng Xiaoping’s re-understanding of the essence of socialism all point to how to build socialism based on the concrete realities of one’s own country, especially how to liberate and develop the productive forces through the self-improvement and development of the socialist system, and to steadily advance toward common prosperity.

第二，社会主义实践面临的主要问题是如何跨越“卡夫丁峡谷”。社会主义革命并没有在少数生产力发达的资本主义国家同时爆发。巴黎公社运动虽然建立起世界上第一个无产阶级政权，但仅仅存在两个多月即被扼杀。世界上第一个社会主义国家苏联的成立，以及社会主义制度在新中国这一世界上人口最多的国家的确立，均显示了在经济文化较为落后的国家率先建立和发展社会主义的现实可能性。马克思晚年曾提出跨越“卡夫丁峡谷”问题，即像俄国这样的落后国家可以“不通过资本主义制度的卡夫丁峡谷”，即不遭受资本主义制度造成的苦难而吸取资本主义的成就，直接进入社会主义社会。现实社会主义的探索历程证明了这一天才论断。列宁晚年对如何建设社会主义的新思考，毛泽东同志在1956年提出的马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际的“第二次结合”，邓小平同志对社会主义本质的再认识，均指向如何从本国具体实际出发来建设社会主义，特别是如何通过社会主义制度的自我完善和发展来解放和发展社会生产力，并不断朝着共同富裕迈进。

Third, the goal of socialist construction is to achieve modernization. The highest ideal and ultimate goal of socialist construction is to realize communism, while the proximate goal of socialist construction is to achieve modernization. Compared with the developed capitalist countries that took the lead in the modernization process, the socialist countries in reality were all relatively backward countries. They originally had a sense of urgency for late-developing countries to catch up with early-developing countries, and coupled with the internal need to demonstrate the superiority of the socialist system, modernization was placed on a very important agenda. Industrialization has always been the core content of modernization. Looking at capitalist countries, it is often the countries that first achieved industrialization through the scientific and technological revolution and the industrial revolution that lead the trend of modernization. The achievements of the Soviet Union during the period of socialist construction were also prominently manifested in the heavy industry it developed in a short period of time. It needs to be emphasized that modernization is a universal historical process in which human society moves from tradition to modernity, and its fundamental purpose is to maximize efficiency through rational control. The universal historical process of moving from capitalism to socialism is largely synchronized with the universal historical process of modernization. Therefore, modernization itself also develops from capitalist modernization to socialist modernization. In the process of world modernization, as the internal contradictions of capitalist society become increasingly prominent and intensified, and the drawbacks of capitalist modernity become more serious and obvious, the socialist exploration of modernization also shifted from passive to active after the establishment of socialist countries. It can be said that before the establishment of socialist countries, the world socialist movement was mainly a passive response to capitalist modernization and its consequences of modernity, while after the establishment of socialist countries, humanity embarked on an active pursuit of socialist modernization and its positive effects.

第三，社会主义建设的目标是实现现代化。社会主义建设的最高理想和最终目标是实现共产主义，社会主义建设的切近目标是实现现代化。相比于率先走上现代化进程的发达资本主义国家，现实中的社会主义国家均是较为落后国家，本来就有后发国家追赶先发国家的紧迫感，加上彰显社会主义制度优越性的内在需要，现代化被摆在了十分重要的议程。而工业化一直是现代化的核心内容。观诸资本主义国家，往往是由率先通过科技革命和工业革命而实现工业化的国家来引领现代化潮流。苏联社会主义建设时期取得的成就，也突出地表现在其在短时间内发展起来的重工业。需要强调的是，现代化是人类社会从传统走向现代的普遍历史进程，根本旨趣在于通过理性化控制来实现效能最大化。从资本主义走向社会主义的普遍历史进程与现代化的普遍历史进程很大程度上是同步的，故而现代化本身也有从资本主义现代化向社会主义现代化的发展。在世界现代化进程中，随着资本主义社会的内在矛盾越来越突出和激化，资本主义现代性的弊端越来越严重和明显，社会主义的现代化探索也在社会主义国家建立后从被动走向主动。可以说，在社会主义国家建立之前，世界社会主义运动主要是对资本主义现代化及其现代性后果的被动反应，而在社会主义国家建立之后，人类开启了对于社会主义现代化及其积极效应的主动追求。

Fourth, there is no fixed model for socialist development. In the exploratory course of world socialism, the development from one country to many countries demonstrates the success of socialism and the growth of the socialist camp, as well as the resulting significant changes in the balance of power between socialism and capitalism that are favorable to the development of world socialism. However, the Soviet model itself was a product of the extremely special conditions of wartime, and as time passed, it became increasingly rigid, and its drawbacks began to emerge. Its fundamental problem lay in the erroneous belief that the Soviet Union had already built developed socialism, or even was about to transition to communism. Therefore, it failed to continuously improve and develop the Soviet socialist system based on the actual stage of development and the real situation of the Soviet Union. At the same time, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union long pursued great-power chauvinism and big-party chauvinism, sanctifying the CPSU’s experience and the Soviet model, ignoring the specific conditions of each socialist country, and compressing the space for countries to explore their own paths of socialist development based on their own realities. In fact, even among Western developed capitalist countries, their development models are not uniform. The development paths from capitalism to socialism and the construction paths of socialist countries must also be diverse. The socialist reforms implemented by various countries made it possible for world socialism to develop from a single model to diverse explorations. The success of socialism with Chinese characteristics has in particular enabled scientific socialism to radiate with strong vitality in twenty-first-century China, and has provided a brand-new choice for vast numbers of developing countries through the path of Chinese-path modernization.

第四，社会主义发展并无固定模式。在世界社会主义的探索历程中，从一国向多国的发展显示的是社会主义的成功和社会主义阵营的壮大，以及由此带来的社会主义与资本主义的力量对比有利于世界社会主义发展的显著变化。然而，苏联模式本身就是战时极端特殊条件下的产物，随着时间推移而日益僵化，其弊端开始凸显。其根本问题在于错误地认为苏联已经建成发达社会主义，甚至要转入共产主义，因此没能从苏联所处的实际发展阶段和现实情况出发来不断完善和发展苏联社会主义制度。同时，苏联共产党长期奉行大党大国主义，把苏共经验和苏联模式神圣化，忽视社会主义国家各国的具体情况，压缩了各国从自身实际出发探索社会主义发展道路的空间。实际上，即便是西方发达资本主义国家，其发展模式也并不一致，从资本主义走向社会主义的发展路径以及社会主义国家的建设路径也一定是多样化的。各国推行的社会主义改革使得世界社会主义从单一模式向多样探索的发展成为可能。中国特色社会主义的成功，更是使科学社会主义在二十一世纪的中国焕发出强大生机活力，并以中国式现代化道路为广大发展中国家提供了全新选择。

The Basic Logic of the Development of World Socialism

世界社会主义发展的基本逻辑

After re-examining the exploratory course of world socialism, we must further uncover the basic logic of the development of world socialism from it. To a large extent, this is precisely to uncover the historical logic of the evolution of “world history.” The “world history” that Marx spoke of is the entire historical process of the transition of human history from world capitalism to world socialism. It is itself a historical concept. It can only emerge when human history has developed to the modern capitalist stage and the global expansion of capitalism has turned human history into a unified “global history.” That is, “the more the original isolation of separate nationalities is destroyed by the developed mode of production and intercourse and the division of labor between various nations naturally brought forth by these, the more history becomes world history.” [10]10 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The German Ideology* (1845–1846). The quoted passage is from the section on the materialist conception of history. The world capitalist system constitutes the premise for the emergence of “world history,” while the world socialist system is the direction of the development of “world history.” The final victory of socialism is a world-historical overall process, and this process will be the overall replacement of the world capitalist system by the world socialist system. Looking back at the past, the basic logic running through the exploratory course of world socialism mainly includes the following three aspects.

在重新审视了世界社会主义的探索历程之后，我们要进一步从中发掘世界社会主义发展的基本逻辑。很大程度上，这也正是要发掘“世界历史”演进的历史逻辑。马克思所说的“世界历史”，就是人类历史从世界资本主义向世界社会主义过渡的整个历史过程。它本身也是个历史概念，只有当人类历史发展到近代资本主义阶段并且资本主义的全球扩张把人类历史变成统一的“全球史”的时候才有出现的可能，即“各个相互影响的活动范围在整个发展进程中越是扩大，各民族的原始封闭状态由于日益完善的生产方式、交往以及因交往而自然形成的不同民族之间的分工消灭得越是彻底，历史也就越是成为世界历史”。世界资本主义体系构成了“世界历史”发生的前提，世界社会主义体系则是“世界历史”发展的方向。社会主义的最终胜利是一个世界历史性的总体过程，这一过程将是世界社会主义体系对于世界资本主义体系的总体替代。观诸过往，在世界社会主义的探索历程中贯穿的基本逻辑主要包括以下三个方面。

First, the logic of doctrine. This mainly refers to the laws of social development discovered by Marxism, especially the historical inevitability that capitalist society will inevitably be replaced by socialist society. The traditional division from Soviet textbooks divides human society into five stages, but more profound and more enlightening is the theory of the three major social formations of human history proposed by Marx in the *Grundrisse* (1857–1858). [11]11 The “five-stage” division (primitive communism, slavery, feudalism, capitalism, socialism/communism) was codified in Soviet Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy, notably in the *Short Course* (1938). Marx’s three-formations theory appears in the *Grundrisse* (1857–1858), a set of preparatory economic manuscripts. In summary, the process of the development and evolution of the forms of human society is from pre-capitalist society based on “relations of personal dependence” to capitalist society based on “relations of material dependence,” and then to post-capitalist society based on “free individuality.” Marx pointed out: “The third stage is free individuality, based on the universal development of individuals and on the subordination of their communal, social productivity as their social wealth.” [12]12 Karl Marx, *Grundrisse* (1857–1858), Notebook VII, “Forms which precede capitalist production.” The translation follows the standard English edition. This future social formation is the “association of free individuals.” But the problem is that this law of social development is in terms of the macroscopic general direction. The concrete process of the development and evolution of history has never been a simple linear equilibrium type, but rather a complex nonlinear non-equilibrium type, often full of twists and turns and hardships. Therefore, we see that socialism was first established in economically and culturally backward countries rather than in advanced capitalist countries, and was established in one country rather than simultaneously in many countries. We also see that, represented by the Soviet Union and China, the paths taken and the methods adopted by various socialist countries in the process of revolution and construction have been quite different. Each country must integrate the basic principles of Marxism with its own specific realities and take its own path based on its own actual conditions.

一是主义的逻辑。这主要是指马克思主义所发现的社会发展规律，尤其是资本主义社会必然会被社会主义社会所取代这一历史必然性。来自苏联教科书的传统划分是把人类社会分为五个阶段，不过更加深刻、更具启发性的是马克思在《1857—1858年经济学手稿》中提出的人类历史三大社会形态理论。概而言之，即人类社会形态的发展演进过程，是从以“人的依赖”为基础的前资本主义社会到以“物的依赖”为基础的资本主义社会，再到以“人的自由”为基础的后资本主义社会。马克思指出：“建立在个人全面发展和他们共同的社会生产能力成为他们的社会财富这一基础的自由个性，是第三个阶段。”这一未来社会形态，即“自由人联合体”。但问题在于，这一社会发展规律是就宏观总体方向而言，历史的具体发展演进过程从来不是简单的线性均衡式的，而是复杂的非线性非均衡式的，往往充满曲折与艰辛。因此我们看到，首先是在经济文化落后国家而非先发资本主义国家建立社会主义，而且是在一国而非同时在多国建立社会主义；我们也看到，以苏联和中国为代表，各个社会主义国家在革命和建设过程中所走的道路、所采用的方式也是大为不同的。各国必须把马克思主义基本原理与本国具体实际相结合，从自己的实际情况出发来走自己的路。

The second is the logic of power. When one social formation replaces another, it is often accompanied by extremely intense and complex struggles. All social formations prior to socialist society were class societies, where the ruling class, in order to consolidate its position of power and protect its vested interests, invariably exhausted every means to suppress the resistance of the exploited and oppressed classes. In capitalist society, class contradictions develop to an extremely acute point; the proletariat, which possesses nothing but its own labor-power to sell, loses nothing in the struggle to overthrow the rule of the bourgeoisie but its chains, and gains the whole world. The bourgeoisie, in order to sustainably extract surplus value and maintain its dominant position, continuously improves its mode of production and methods of rule. The irony of history lies in the fact that Western capitalist countries, through foreign aggression and expansion, incorporated vast colonies and semi-colonies into the global capitalist system, thereby achieving a certain mitigation of internal class contradictions through external transference. The development of world socialism in the 20th century, especially its expansion from one country to many, originated from the national liberation movements of Asian, African, and Latin American countries that were colonies and semi-colonies. The “national imperialism” pursued by Western capitalist powers as nation-states, accompanying capitalist globalization, turned the vast backward colonies, semi-colonies, and regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America into sources of raw materials and markets for commodities, while simultaneously arousing in them the nationalist fervor to resist and the political will to achieve catch-up modernization through the socialist path. The logic of power also universally existed in the imperial rivalries among Western capitalist powers themselves, and the two world wars of the 20th century, arising from the uneven development of capitalist countries, precisely provided the space, conditions, and opportunities for the development of world socialism. During the “Cold War” period, the confrontation between the two ideologies and social systems was likewise underpinned by the logic of geopolitics and power struggles, the essence of which was the US-Soviet rivalry. The Soviet Union’s pursuit of power domination and its implementation of “social imperialism” within the socialist camp undermined the equal partnership that should have existed among socialist countries. After the end of the Cold War, the power-interest relations behind the existing international political and economic order not only affected the development paths of socialist countries but also influenced relations among socialist countries. The party political landscape and basic power structure of capitalist countries have always constrained the development of their left-wing party forces and socialist elements.

二是权力的逻辑。一种社会形态取代另一种社会形态，往往会经历无比激烈而复杂的斗争。在社会主义社会之前的所有社会形态都是阶级社会，统治阶级为了巩固自己的权力地位、维护自己的既得利益，总是会竭尽全力压制受剥削、受压迫阶级的反抗。在资本主义社会，阶级矛盾发展到极为尖锐的境地，除了出卖自己的劳动之外一无所有的无产阶级在推翻资产阶级统治的斗争中失去的只是锁链，获得的却是全世界。资产阶级为了能够可持续地榨取剩余价值、维持统治地位，也在不断地改善生产方式和统治手段。历史的吊诡在于，西方资本主义国家通过对外侵略与扩张，把广大殖民地半殖民地纳入全球资本主义体系，从而使内部阶级矛盾通过外部转嫁而获得一定的缓和。而20世纪世界社会主义的发展，尤其是从一国向多国的扩展，乃是源于作为殖民地半殖民地的亚非拉国家的民族解放运动。作为民族国家的西方资本主义列强所推行的“民族帝国主义”，乃是与资本主义全球化相伴随的，在把亚非拉广大殖民地半殖民地落后国家与地区变为原料产地和商品销售市场的同时，也激发起后者对其进行反抗的民族主义热情，以及通过社会主义方式来实现赶超型现代化的政治意志。权力的逻辑还普遍存在于西方资本主义列强彼此之间的帝国争霸中，而资本主义国家发展不平衡导致的20世纪两次世界大战，也正为世界社会主义的发展提供了空间、条件与契机。“冷战”时期两种意识形态和社会制度的对抗，背后同样贯穿着地缘政治与权力争夺的逻辑，实质是美苏争霸。社会主义阵营中苏联对权力支配的追求以及对“社会帝国主义”的推行，破坏了社会主义国家之间本该有的平等伙伴关系。而在“冷战”结束后，既有的国际政治经济秩序背后的权力利益关系，不仅影响着社会主义国家的发展道路，也影响着社会主义国家之间的关系。资本主义国家的政党政治格局与基本权力架构，始终制约着其左翼政党力量和社会主义因素的发展。

The third is the logic of civilization. Modern capitalism is not only a social formation but also a form of civilization. Unlike the civilizational implications of previous social formations, modern capitalism is a civilization with an extremely strong universalist impulse for expansion, even being equated with “modern civilization” or “civilization” itself. In the colonialist and imperialist expansion of Western capitalist powers, modern capitalist civilization radiated into various nations, countries, and regions; commodities, warships, along with the Bible, “science,” “democracy,” as well as Western medicine, Western food, and Western attire, all entered together, reshaping even the most remote and marginal nations and civilizations. Human civilization once existed in various concrete and specific forms scattered across the earth’s regions suitable for human habitation and activity; thus “civilization” is inherently plural. The British historian Arnold Toynbee, in *A Study of History*, summarized 26 samples of civilization. However, modern capitalist civilization attempts to make “civilization” singular, and in its external expansion, Western colonizers constructed a “hierarchy of civilizations,” asserting that other civilizations were inferior, degraded, or even barbaric, and that their ultimate destiny was to be assimilated by this singular—that is, the only true—civilization. The homogenizing impulse of modern capitalist civilization is itself undermined by the fact of civilizational diversity within capitalist countries. The long-standing distinctions between Protestant and Catholic civilizations, and between Germanic and Latin civilizations, still manifest themselves, though in the face of the “great unity” of modern capitalist civilization, these distinctions increasingly become “minor differences.” Similarly, the development of world socialism reveals the dialectical unity of the “one” and the “many” in civilization. On the one hand, modern socialist civilization is a more advanced civilization born from the womb of modern capitalist civilization, representing the negation of the negation of modern capitalist civilization. The complete sublation of capitalist modernity by modern socialist civilization is a long historical process, but it at least breaks the monopoly of modern capitalist civilization over “modern civilization” and even “civilization” itself, pointing out the fundamental direction for the future development of human civilization. On the other hand, world socialism, in its development across various nations and countries, also manifests different civilizational forms. Europe’s advocacy of “democratic socialism” and even the Marxist concept of the “association of free individuals” are inseparable from the Western civilizational tradition that esteems “freedom.” The “national socialism” that emerged from the national liberation movements of Asia, Africa, and Latin America—such as Arab socialism and Islamic socialism—reveals, from their very names, their specific civilizational foundations. “Scientific socialism” takes different forms in the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and other countries, which is also related to their different civilizational contexts. Soviet socialism, after all, grew from the civilizational soil of Russian Orthodox Christianity, and without Chinese civilization, there would be no socialism with Chinese characteristics. Their differing fates, successes, and failures are also to some extent related to their respective civilizational heritages.

三是文明的逻辑。现代资本主义不仅是一种社会形态，也是一种文明形态。与之前其他社会形态所具有的文明意蕴不同，现代资本主义乃是一种具有极强普遍主义扩张冲动的文明，甚至被等同于“现代文明”或“文明”本身。在西方资本主义列强的殖民主义、帝国主义对外扩张中，现代资本主义文明也辐射到各个民族、国家和地区，商品、炮舰携着《圣经》、“科学”、“民主”以及西医、西餐、西装一起进入，甚至那些最偏僻、最边缘的民族和文明也都要被重新塑造。人类文明曾经以各种具体特殊的形态散布在地球上各个适合人类生存和活动的区域，因此“文明”天然是复数，英国历史学家汤因比在《历史研究》中曾归纳出26个文明样本。然而，现代资本主义文明试图使“文明”变为单数，并且在其对外扩张中，西方殖民者建构出“文明等级论”，认为其他文明都是次等的、劣质的甚或野蛮的，最终的归宿都应是被这一单数的也就是唯一真正的文明所同化。现代资本主义文明的“齐一化”冲动本身先已被资本主义国家的文明多样性事实所消解。新教文明与天主教文明、日耳曼文明与拉丁文明之间的久远区分仍然有所表现，只不过在现代资本主义文明的“大同”面前，这些区分越来越成为“小异”。同样，世界社会主义的发展也展现了文明的“一”与“多”的辩证统一关系。一方面，现代社会主义文明是从现代资本主义文明的母体中分娩出的更先进文明，是对现代资本主义文明的否定之否定。现代社会主义文明对资本主义现代性的彻底扬弃是个漫长历史过程，但至少打破了现代资本主义文明对“现代文明”乃至“文明”的垄断，为人类文明的未来发展指出了根本方向。另一方面，世界社会主义在各个民族和国家的发展中也呈现出不同的文明形态。欧洲的“民主社会主义”主张乃至马克思主义的“自由人联合体”理念本身，均离不开崇尚“自由”的西方文明传统。亚非拉民族解放运动中涌现出的“民族社会主义”，比如阿拉伯社会主义、伊斯兰社会主义等，单从名字就可见其有特殊的文明底蕴。“科学社会主义”在苏联、中国、古巴等国家表现出不同的形式，也与其处在不同的文明情境有关。苏联社会主义毕竟是从俄国东正教的文明土壤中生长出来的，而没有中华文明，就没有中国特色社会主义。其命运不同，成败得失不同，也与各自的文明传承有一定关系。

In the development of world socialism, the above three logics intertwine and function together. From the perspective of Marxism and scientific socialism, “world history” is the history of development from world capitalism to world socialism. But historical development has never been dogmatic or unilinear. Socialism always accompanies capitalism; capitalism, as it develops, simultaneously produces its own gravediggers, and the two move and contend within the same time and space. Although world history may be advancing toward a certain goal, such as “the free and comprehensive development of the individual,” a history conceived in terms of ideas easily falls into idealism, and progressivism is not automatic. To avoid losing awareness of the complexity of history is to recognize that, alongside the logic of isms, there are also the logic of power and the logic of civilization. From the perspective of the modernization process, the ubiquitous paradoxes or antinomies presented by the ills of capitalist modernity stem from the inherent contradictions of capitalism, whose specific mechanisms merit the most in-depth analysis. What may also be covered by the grand “world history” perspective are nations, states, and civilizations. The subjects of world history include both classes and nations. The development of world history constitutes a “polyphonic” structure. The evolution of modernization, in its broad direction, proceeds from capitalist modernization to socialist modernization. In this process, various nations, states, and civilizations, confronting the universalist hegemony of global capitalist expansion—that is, capitalist modernization—pursue a combination of their own nation, state, and civilization with modernization, seeking a modernity that is “anti-(capitalist) modernity,” thereby breaking the dominance of unitary modernity and forming multiple modernities. Thus, the development of world socialism will become a process in which various nations, states, and civilizations, starting from their own realities, explore new socialist paths of modernization.

在世界社会主义的发展中，以上三种逻辑交叠在一起共同发挥作用。从马克思主义、科学社会主义的视野来看，“世界历史”是从世界资本主义走向世界社会主义的发展史。但历史的发展从来不是教条化的、单线性的。社会主义始终伴随着资本主义，资本主义在发展的同时产生了自己的掘墓人，二者在同一时空中运动和较量着。虽然世界历史可能是朝着某个目标比如“人的自由全面发展”前进，但观念先行的历史观容易陷入唯心论，进步主义并非自然而然。不要丧失对历史复杂性的意识，也就要看到在主义的逻辑之外还有权力的逻辑、文明的逻辑。从现代化进程来看，资本主义现代性的弊病所呈现的无所不在的悖论或二律背反，来自资本主义的内在矛盾，其具体机理机制最值得深入分析。而被宏大的“世界历史”视野覆盖的可能还有民族、国家、文明。世界历史的主体，同时包括了阶级与民族。世界历史的发展，乃是一种“复调”结构。现代化的演变，大的方向是从资本主义现代化到社会主义现代化。在这一过程中，各个民族、国家、文明面对全球资本主义扩张亦即资本主义现代化的普遍主义霸权，去追求本民族、国家、文明与现代化的结合，追求一种“反（资本主义）现代性”的现代性，从而打破一元现代性的统治，形成多元现代性。由此，世界社会主义的发展会成为各个民族、国家和文明从自己的实际出发探索社会主义的新型现代化道路的进程。

The Direction of Human Civilization

人类文明的前进方向

Fundamentally, the direction of human civilization is the direction of “world history,” that is, the transition and development from world capitalism to world socialism. On September 29, 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during the 43rd group study session of the Political Bureau of the 18th Central Committee: “Although the era we live in has undergone enormous and profound changes compared with the era in which Marx lived, from the broad perspective of the 500 years of world socialism, we are still in the historical era indicated by Marxism.” The basic logic that once played a role in the exploratory process of world socialism will continue to function. Changes in the global balance of power, especially the success of the Chinese-path modernization path and the continuous strengthening of China’s comprehensive national power, will profoundly influence the evolution of world socialism and the development of human civilization. The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will simultaneously signify the great rejuvenation of Chinese civilization. The great rejuvenation of Chinese civilization does not mean returning to the past, but rather, through creative transformation and innovative development, achieving a deep integration of Marxism with Chinese civilization and creating a new form of human civilization. This new form of human civilization is not only Chinese but also global. The direction and future form of human civilization will inevitably be profoundly influenced by the new form of human civilization presented by China. Specifically, in the foreseeable future, the development of human civilization will be mainly reflected in the following three aspects.

从根本上讲，人类文明的前进方向就是“世界历史”的前进方向，即从世界资本主义向世界社会主义的过渡和发展。2017年9月29日，习近平总书记在十八届中央政治局第四十三次集体学习时指出：“尽管我们所处的时代同马克思所处的时代相比发生了巨大而深刻的变化，但从世界社会主义500年的大视野来看，我们依然处在马克思主义所指明的历史时代。”曾经在世界社会主义的探索进程中起作用的基本逻辑仍会继续发挥作用。全球力量对比格局的变化，尤其是中国式现代化道路的成功与中国综合国力的不断增强，将深刻影响世界社会主义的演进与人类文明的发展。中华民族的伟大复兴将同时意味着中华文明的伟大复兴。中华文明的伟大复兴不是重新回到过去，而是经过创造性转化和创新性发展，实现马克思主义与中华文明的深度融合，创造出一种人类文明新形态。这一人类文明新形态不仅是中国的，也是世界的。人类文明的前进方向与未来形态，必将受到中国所呈现的人类文明新形态的深刻影响。具体而言，在可以看见的未来，人类文明的发展将主要体现为以下三个方面。

First, the restructuring of the world order. Currently, the changes unseen in a century facing the world are accelerating, and humanity is at a major historical watershed. In the near term, the “unipolar system” that the United States attempted to create and maintain after the end of the Cold War is in decline. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the United States, as the world’s sole superpower, incorporated the vast majority of countries and regions into the global capitalist system through the neoliberal international economic order it dominated. The American-style “free market” and “liberal democracy” political and economic systems were considered the only choice for humanity, and the “end of history” thesis was prevalent for a time. However, the September 11, 2001 attacks broke this myth, and the outbreak of the 2008 U.S. financial crisis exposed the long-accumulated internal contradictions of extremely expansive financial capitalism. A series of structural contradictions, including wealth polarization, racial conflict, political polarization, and governance failure, greatly weakened the legitimacy of the U.S. system and its values. U.S. foreign policy, moreover, has pursued extreme unilateralism, trade protectionism, and narrow nationalism, accelerating the dysfunction of the existing international system previously dominated by the United States. In the longer term, this represents the failure of the world order dominated by Western capitalist countries since modern times. As Henry Kissinger noted, “the contemporary shape of the world was largely formed in Europe.” Until the early 18th century, China, India, and the Islamic world were still important forces constituting the world order, but after the Industrial Revolution and overseas colonial expansion in the West, the non-Western world was dominated by Western countries for three hundred years. The basic trend emerging in the 21st century is that the center of world power is shifting to Asia. The era of absolute dominance by Western developed capitalist countries will never return. Developing countries represented by China will occupy an increasingly significant weight in the global balance of power and exert growing influence. Even Western scholars have proposed new concepts such as “the post-American world,” “a world without the West,” and “a zero-polar world” to describe the future world order. Alongside the collapse of “Western-centrism,” a more balanced distribution of power in the world will emerge, and the characteristics of a diversified political and economic landscape will become more pronounced. Of course, the restructuring of the world order—that is, the transformation from the old order dominated by Western countries led by the United States to a new order of greater equality, justice, and mutual benefit—will be a process that will not be short, and it will be full of uncertainties, possibly accompanied by a certain degree of disorder and chaos. However, the direction of the evolution of the world pattern will not change, and the historical lesson that a just cause gains abundant support while an unjust one finds little support will remain valid.

第一，世界秩序重构。当前，世界面临的百年未有之大变局正在加速演进，人类处在重大的历史分水岭。就近而言，“冷战”结束后美国试图打造和维持的“单极体系”日渐式微。在苏联解体后，美国作为全世界唯一的超级强权，其主导的新自由主义国际经济秩序几乎把绝大多数国家和地区都纳入全球资本主义体系中，美国式的“自由市场”和“自由民主”政经体制被认为是人类的唯一选择，“历史终结论”盛行一时。然而，2001年“9·11”事件打破了这一神话，2008年美国金融危机的爆发则把极度扩张的金融资本主义长期累积的内在矛盾暴露出来，贫富分化、种族冲突、政治极化、治理无效等一系列结构性矛盾大大削弱了美国体制和价值观的合法性。美国的外交政策更是奉行极端单边主义、贸易保护主义、狭隘民族主义，加速了美国之前主导建立的既有国际体制的失灵。就远而言，这是近代以来西方资本主义国家主导的世界秩序的失败。正如基辛格所言，“当代世界的形态大致是在欧洲形成的”。直到18世纪初期，中国、印度和伊斯兰教世界仍是构成世界秩序的重要力量，但在西方发生工业革命、对外殖民扩张之后，非西方世界被西方国家主宰命运长达三百年之久。21世纪显示出的基本趋向是世界权力的重心在向亚洲转移，西方发达资本主义国家占据绝对统治地位的时代将一去不复返，以中国为代表的广大发展中国家将在世界力量对比格局中占据越来越重的分量，产生越来越大的影响。就连西方学者也提出“后美国世界”“没有西方的世界”“零极世界”等新概念来描述未来世界秩序。与“西方中心主义”的破灭一起出现的将是世界上更加均衡的力量分布，多元化的政治经济格局特征将更加明显。当然，世界秩序的重构，也就是以美国为首的西方国家主导的旧秩序向更加平等、公正、互惠的新秩序的转变，将是一个不会太短的过程，并且充满不确定性，甚至可能伴随一定的失序和混乱。不过世界格局演变的方向不会变，得道多助、失道寡助的历史教训仍会有效。

Second, the revitalization of socialism. The two systems of socialism and capitalism will coexist for a long time. However, with changes in the world pattern and the restructuring of the world order, the two systems of socialism and capitalism will also show a trend of one rising while the other falls. While coexisting, they will engage in competition, and at times possibly fierce struggle. Scholar Jiang Hui believes: “Overall, from the early 21st century to the mid-21st century is a period when world socialism enters a phase of seeking revival and development, mainly characterized by a ‘four-phase overlay’: first, a period of concentrated development of movements opposing and transforming capitalism worldwide; second, a period of simultaneous development of the trend toward nationalization of socialisms with distinct characteristics and the trend toward internationalization of enhanced coordination and unity; third, a period of ascent in which socialism with Chinese characteristics becomes the banner of world socialism and plays a leading and exemplary role; fourth, a period of more intense competition and game-playing between world capitalism in a new round of decline and world socialism in a new round of ascent.” The prominent manifestation of the capitalist crisis in the early 21st century is the ineffectiveness and failure of the capitalist system and the resulting “chaos in the West.” Meanwhile, China, through comprehensively deepening reform and opening up, continuously perfects and develops the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and “governance in China” demonstrates the superiority of the socialist system. China has become the largest bastion and most stable base area of world socialism, and socialism with Chinese characteristics has become the banner and mainstay of world socialism. As long as China manages its own affairs well, it will make significant contributions to world socialism and promote greater revitalization of world socialism in the 21st century. With the development of a new type of globalization advocated by developing countries represented by China, the revitalized 21st-century socialism, while manifesting its national and regional characteristics, will also expand its international and global dimensions. Communist parties and socialist forces in various countries, while exploring their own socialist development paths and models more independently, should also pay attention to certain coordination and unity, making socialism truly a world-historical cause.

第二，社会主义重振。社会主义与资本主义两种制度将长期共存。不过随着世界格局的变化与世界秩序的重构，社会主义与资本主义两种制度也将会呈现出此消彼长的态势，二者在共存的同时会展开竞争，有时可能还是激烈的斗争。学者姜辉认为：“总的来看，从21世纪初到21世纪中叶是世界社会主义进入谋求复兴和发展的时期，主要特征是‘四期叠加’：一是世界范围内反对和变革资本主义运动的集中开展期；二是各具特色的社会主义的民族化趋势与加强协调联合的国际化趋势的并存发展期；三是中国特色社会主义成为世界社会主义的旗帜且起引领示范作用的上升期；四是处于新一轮衰退期的世界资本主义与处于新一轮上升期的世界社会主义之间的竞争与博弈更趋激烈期。”21世纪初期资本主义危机的突出表现，乃是资本主义制度的无效与失败及其导致的“西方之乱”。而中国通过全面深化改革不断完善和发展中国特色社会主义制度，“中国之治”彰显了社会主义制度的优越性。中国已成为世界社会主义的最大阵地和最稳固的根据地，中国特色社会主义已成为世界社会主义的旗帜和中流砥柱。中国只要把自己的事情做好，就会对世界社会主义作出重大贡献，就会促使世界社会主义在21世纪获得更大的振兴。随着以中国为代表的广大发展中国家倡导的新型全球化的发展，走向振兴的21世纪社会主义在彰显其民族性、地域性的同时，也会扩展其国际性、世界性。各国共产党和社会主义力量在更加独立自主地探索本国社会主义发展道路、发展模式的同时也应注意一定的协调与联合，使社会主义真正成为世界历史性的事业。

Third, the diverse coexistence of civilizations. The decline of the unfair and unreasonable old world order dominated by Western capitalist countries represented by the United States signifies the waning of the long-standing hegemonic position of modern capitalist civilization and Western civilization, as well as the rise of non-Western and non-capitalist civilizations. On the one hand, human civilization will exhibit an even more pronounced form of diversity. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes: “Differences in history, culture, social systems, and institutions among countries have existed since ancient times; they are an intrinsic attribute of human civilization. Without diversity, there would be no human civilization. Diversity is an objective reality and will persist for a long time to come.” [20]20 Xi Jinping, “Working Together to Build a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind,” speech at the United Nations Office at Geneva, January 18, 2017. Whether in capitalist or socialist countries, the path to modernization must be combined with the characteristics of one’s own nation and civilization; a modernization path that runs counter to the underlying logic of the historical development of one’s own nation and civilization is often difficult to sustain. “There is no fixed model for the path to modernization; what suits oneself best is the best, and one cannot cut one’s feet to fit the shoes. The efforts of each country to independently explore a modernization path suited to its own national conditions should be respected.” [21]21 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations,” May 15, 2019. On the other hand, various nations, countries, and civilizations will advance in the direction of building a community with a shared future for mankind as advocated by China. “Countries differ in their history, culture, institutions, and levels of development, but the people of all countries pursue the common values of humanity: peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom.” [22]22 Xi Jinping, “Working Together to Build a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind,” speech at the United Nations Office at Geneva, January 18, 2017. Of course, different nations, countries, and civilizations may differ in their understanding of the connotation of the common values of humanity and in their exploration of the paths to realize these values; it is necessary to concretely and realistically embody the common values of humanity in the practice of realizing the interests of one’s own people, but this does not affect their pursuit of common values. The more fundamental reason for human civilization moving toward diverse coexistence is that “Humanity is one community, and Earth is one home. Faced with common challenges, no person or country can stand alone. The only way out for humanity is to work together in solidarity and pursue harmonious coexistence.” [23]23 Xi Jinping, “Working Together to Build a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind,” speech at the United Nations Office at Geneva, January 18, 2017. Western capitalist civilization believes in the law of the jungle of the survival of the fittest and “zero-sum game”; the world order it dominates can no longer cope with the common challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, let alone solve the major practical problems facing humanity, such as the gap between rich and poor, the development divide, governance crises, and the risk of war. The human civilization of the 21st century needs to move from “assorted pieces” and “loose parts” to “connection” and “integration,” from exclusive and monopolistic “national priority” and “supremacy of the self” to a community with a shared future that is inclusive, mutually beneficial, and win-win, and from a “civilization of contention” to a “civilization of coexistence.”

第三，文明多样共生。以美国为代表的西方资本主义国家主导的不公平不合理的世界旧秩序的式微，意味着现代资本主义文明与西方文明长期占据的霸权地位的衰落，以及非西方的、非资本主义的文明的兴起。一方面，人类文明将呈现出更加明显的多样化形态。习近平总书记强调：“各国历史文化和社会制度差异自古就存在，是人类文明的内在属性。没有多样性，就没有人类文明。多样性是客观现实，将长期存在。”无论是资本主义国家还是社会主义国家，实现现代化的发展道路都需要与本民族、本文明的特色相结合，那种有悖于本民族、本文明历史发展底层逻辑的现代化道路往往很难持续。“现代化道路并没有固定模式，适合自己的才是最好的，不能削足适履。每个国家自主探索符合本国国情的现代化道路的努力都应该受到尊重。”另一方面，各个民族、国家和文明将朝着中国主张的构建人类命运共同体的方向前进。“各国历史、文化、制度、发展水平不尽相同，但各国人民都追求和平、发展、公平、正义、民主、自由的全人类共同价值。”当然，不同民族、国家和文明对全人类共同价值的内涵的认识、对价值实现路径的探索都可能有所不同，需要把全人类共同价值具体地、现实地体现到实现本国人民利益的实践中去，但这并不影响它们对共同价值的追求。人类文明走向多样共生的更根本原因在于，“人类是一个整体，地球是一个家园。面对共同挑战，任何人任何国家都无法独善其身，人类只有和衷共济、和合共生这一条出路”。西方资本主义文明信奉的是弱肉强食、“零和博弈”的丛林法则，由其主导的世界秩序已无法应对人类在21世纪面临的共同挑战，更无法解决人类面临的贫富差距、发展鸿沟、治理危机、战争风险等重大现实问题。21世纪的人类文明需要从“拼盘”“散装”走向“联接”“融合”，从排他性、独占式的“本国优先”“唯我独尊”走向普惠包容、合作共赢的命运共同体，从“分争型文明”走向“共生型文明”。

In the process of humanity moving toward the reconstruction of world order, the revitalization of socialism, and the diverse coexistence of civilizations, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and Chinese civilization will play a very important positive and facilitating role. China is the world’s largest developing country, the world’s largest socialist country, and the world’s only ancient civilization that has continued to develop without interruption. From its very origins, Chinese civilization has been a product of harmonious coexistence and has consistently exhibited the distinctive trait of harmonious coexistence, which is why it can be both great and enduring. In modern times, in order to cope with the “changes unseen in millennia” [24]24 A phrase used by the Chinese reformer Li Hongzhang in the late 19th century to describe the unprecedented crisis of Western imperialist encroachment on China, later adopted by Mao Zedong and others to refer to the epochal transformation of the modern era. caused by the invasion of Western imperialism, it even adapted Marxism, integrated it into a part of Chinese civilization, realized the Sinicization of Marxism and the modernization of Chinese civilization, and gave birth to a new form of human civilization. Its intrinsic characteristics and purport are completely consistent with the direction of human civilization, and therefore its future and destiny are also closely linked to the future development of human civilization. To a considerable extent, it can be said that where human civilization goes in the future depends on the perfection and development of this new form of human civilization created by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. The Chinese nation and Chinese civilization will surely make new and greater contributions to world development and human progress.

在人类走向世界秩序重构、社会主义重振、文明多样共生的过程中，中华民族和中华文明的伟大复兴将起到十分重要的正向促进作用。中国是世界上最大的发展中国家，也是世界上最大的社会主义国家，还是世界上唯一持续发展、从未断绝的文明古国。中华文明从其开端起源处看就是和合共生的产物，并始终表现出和合共生的鲜明特质，故而可大可久。近代以来为了应对西方帝国主义入侵导致的“数千年未有之大变局”，更是化用马克思主义，融为中华文明的一部分，实现了马克思主义的中国化与中华文明的现代化，生发出一种人类文明新形态。其内在特质、旨趣与人类文明的前进方向是完全一致的，因此其前途命运也与人类文明的未来发展息息相关。在相当程度上可以讲，人类文明未来向何处去，取决于中国共产党带领中国人民创造的这一人类文明新形态的完善和发展。中华民族与中华文明一定会为世界发展和人类进步作出自己应有的新的更大贡献。

(Author: Liu Chenguang is a professor and teaching secretary in the Department of Scientific Socialism at the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC [National Academy of Governance].)

（作者： 刘晨光系中共中央党校（国家行政学院）科学社会主义教研部教授、教学秘书）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心