A Profound Understanding of the Implications of Historical Materialism in Digital Civilization

General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed in his congratulatory letter to the 2021 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit that “digital civilization should benefit people of all countries and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.” “Digital civilization” is the “synthesis” of the material achievements, spiritual achievements, and institutional achievements created by humanity in the digital age. In the final analysis, it is a new technological civilization form constructed on the basis of the principles of historical materialism. Returning to the narrative space of historical materialism to understand and grasp “digital civilization” allows people not only to realize that “digital civilization” is not an abstract thing “possessing any mystical or speculative coloring,” but also to feel its inherent power to enrich and develop new forms of human civilization.

习近平总书记在致2021年世界互联网大会乌镇峰会贺信中提出，“让数字文明造福各国人民，推动构建人类命运共同体”。“数字文明”是人类在数字时代创造的物质成果、精神成果和制度成果的“统和”，归根结底是依据历史唯物主义原理建构的新技术文明形态。回到唯物史观叙事空间中理解和把握“数字文明”，既能够让人们体悟到“数字文明”并不是“带有任何神秘和思辨色彩”的抽象之物，又能感受到它丰富和发展人类文明新形态的内在力量。

The Historical Genesis of Digital Civilization from the Perspective of Material Production

物质生产视域下数字文明的历史生成

Marx emphasized that material production practice is the true birthplace of human history, and that all different theoretical products and forms of social consciousness must trace their process of generation back to this actual productive activity. From this, it can be concluded that digital civilization is the result of the continuous development based on social existence and human practical activities. It is the mapping and external manifestation of digital technology enhancing material productive forces and transforming relations of production. Therefore, the “historical genesis” of digital civilization must be revealed from the relationship between science and technology and the development of productive forces, and between the development of productive forces and the evolution of civilization.

马克思强调物质生产实践才是人类历史的发源地，社会意识所有不同的理论产物和形式，必然要从这一现实生产活动中去追溯它们产生的过程。由此可以得出，数字文明是基于社会存在和人类实践活动不断发展的结果，是数字技术提高物质生产力和变革生产关系的映射与外显。因此，必须从科学技术与生产力发展、生产力发展与文明演进的关系中揭示数字文明的“历史生成”。

On the one hand, digital civilization is essentially an objective product of the development of social productive forces. Within the domain of historical materialism, “any increase in social productive forces” is the foundation of civilizational evolution, and scientific and technological innovation holds the status of a “core element” in the overall level of development of productive forces. Before science and technology entered the production process, technological innovation was merely a mediating factor in diachronic material production. In the digital age, new quality productive forces, with scientific and technological innovation as their core element, have completely changed the causal interaction chain between science and technology and the factors of production, triggering changes in the mode of production and the evolution of labor forms, and becoming an important force driving social development and civilizational progress. Digital technology is constantly updated and iterated, gradually shifting from originally “responding to” human needs to “constructing” the development of human society, leading human society into a new era of digital civilization.

一方面，数字文明本质上是社会生产力发展的客观产物。在唯物史观论域中，“社会生产力的任何增长”都是文明演进的基底，而科学技术创新在生产力整体发展水平中具有“核心要素”地位。在科学技术没有进入生产过程之前，科技创新仅为历时性的物质生产的中介。在数字化时代，以科技创新为核心要素的新质生产力彻底改变了科学技术和生产要素之间的因果互动链条，引发生产方式的变革和劳动形态的演变，并成为推动社会发展和文明进步的重要力量。数字技术不断更新迭代，逐渐从原先“反馈”人类的需求转向“建构”人类社会发展，引领人类社会迈进一个崭新的数字文明纪元。

On the other hand, digital civilization can play a reverse-shaping role in the development of productive forces. Within the perspective of historical materialism, there exists a relationship of determination and being determined, action and reaction, between matter and consciousness. This provides an important basis for us to further examine the active role and relative independence of digital civilization. As an important dimension of the new form of human civilization, digital civilization possesses the profound heritage of fine traditional Chinese culture. The inherent characteristics of the new form of human civilization determine that digital civilization practice takes “human development” as its value goal. The “14th Five-Year Plan for National Informatization” [1]1 Xi Jinping, speech at the opening ceremony of the Second World Internet Conference, 16 December 2015. points out: “Take enhancing people’s well-being and promoting people’s comprehensive development as the starting point and ultimate goal of informatization development, build a digital society and digital government, create a high-quality digital life, and continuously realize the people’s aspirations for a better life.”

另一方面，数字文明能够对生产力发展起到逆向形塑作用。在唯物史观视域中，物质与意识之间存在着决定和被决定、作用和反作用的关系，这为我们进一步考察数字文明的能动作用与相对独立性提供了重要基础。数字文明作为人类文明新形态的重要向度，拥有中华优秀传统文化底蕴。人类文明新形态的内在特性决定了数字文明实践是以“人的发展”为价值目标，《“十四五”国家信息化规划》指出：“把增进人民福祉，促进人的全面发展作为信息化发展的出发点和落脚点，构建数字社会、数字政府，打造高品质数字生活，不断实现人民群众对美好生活的向往。”

The Logical Necessity of Digital Civilization under the Succession of Social Forms

社会形态更替下数字文明的逻辑必然

Digital civilization is not only an expression of the form of civilization characterized by technological change in the digital age, but also a form of civilization in which the digital economy achieves leapfrog development, and also a form of civilization constructed based on new types of digital interaction practices. From the perspective of the technological social formation, the rise of digital technologies represented by artificial intelligence, big data, the metaverse, etc., has achieved the “infusion,” reshaping, and elevation of human society as a whole, creating a new type of technological social formation. The impact of digital technology on social organization, its modes of operation, and human ways of thinking is not fragmented or incidental, but both comprehensive and profound, possessing strong penetrative and shaping power. It can even be said that the development and application of digital technology constitutes the civilizational background of modern society. In the laws of the evolution of social forms revealed by historical materialism, the technological social formation demonstrates the logical necessity of the evolution of human civilization from the developmental tracks of fishing-hunting civilization, agricultural civilization, and industrial civilization to digital civilization, driven by technological change.

数字文明既是数字时代技术变革所表征的文明形式的表达，也是数字经济实现跨越式发展的文明形态，还是基于新型数字交往实践所建构的文明样态。从技术的社会形态看，以人工智能、大数据、元宇宙等为代表的数字技术的兴起，实现了对人类社会整体的“灌注”、重塑和提升，创构了一个新型的技术社会形态。数字技术对社会组织及其运作方式与人类思维方式等方面的影响不是零散的、枝节的，而是既全面又深刻的，具有强大的渗透力与塑造力，甚至可以说，数字技术的发展与应用构成了现代社会的文明底色。在唯物史观所揭示的社会形态演进规律中，技术的社会形态展现了由于技术的变革而促使人类文明在渔猎文明、农耕文明、工业文明的发展轨道上演进至数字文明的逻辑必然性。

In the digital age, digital productive forces increase the complexity of labor in the entire society, promoting the expansion and deepening of the social division of labor. Social relations of production, i.e., the ownership of the means of production, the mode of production organization, etc., will inevitably undergo systematic reorganization. The changes they drive give rise to the digital economy system and social spiritual culture, which constitute the formal expression of digital civilization. From the perspective of the social formation of interaction, digital media have been deeply embedded in people’s daily lives, and a social formation based on digital interaction is being constructed. From the perspective of the ontology of human civilization, social interaction and exchange are necessary requirements for the continuation and development of civilization. This prompts institutional renewal and the creation of new forms in civilizational dialogue and exchange. Digital civilization is precisely the result of the exchange and mutual learning of different civilizations in digital space, embodying the logical necessity of evolution from closed civilization, semi-closed and semi-open civilization to open civilization.

在数字时代，数字生产力促使整个社会的劳动复杂程度提高，推动社会劳动分工的扩展和深化，社会生产关系即生产要素所有制、生产组织方式等必然会进行系统性重组，其变化推动产生的数字经济制度和社会精神文化构成了数字文明的形态表达。从交往的社会形态看，数字媒介已经深度嵌入人们的日常生活，一种基于数字交往的社会形态正在建构。从人类文明存在论视角看，社会交往交流是文明存续与发展的必然要求。这就促使文明对话交流进行制度更新、形态开创，数字文明正是数字空间中不同文明交流互鉴的结果，体现了从封闭文明、半封闭半开放文明演进至开放文明的逻辑必然性。

The Practical Unfolding of Digital Civilization from the Dimension of the Human Subject

人类主体向度数字文明的实践展开

According to Marx’s view, sublating the subjectivity of “self-consciousness and objective spirit” must delve into the deep roots from which the consciousness of this era arises. Following this analysis, human development and civilizational progress are consistent. Entering the digital age, digital content is continuously deeply embedded in and integrates the lifeworld, transforming the existential structure of modern life. This not only produces profound changes in human essence, human modes of existence, and the human spiritual world, but also gradually highlights the subject-value standard of digital civilization.

根据马克思的观点，扬弃“自我意识与客观精神”的主体性必须深入这一时代意识产生的深层根基，按此分析，人的发展与文明的进步具有一致性。进入数字化时代，数字化内容不断深嵌与整合生活世界，改造着现代生活的生存结构，这不仅对人的本质、人的生存方式、人的精神世界等产生了深层次变革，也逐渐凸显出数字文明的主体价值本位。

From the dimension of the human subject, digital civilization supported by the socialist system is a civilization that restores human essence, a brand-new civilization that sublates the digital capitalist civilization view dominated by the logic of control. Digital technology itself is a necessary element for promoting the evolution of human civilization, but when applied to the capitalist production process, it falls into the rut of being dominated by capital, becoming a tool for capital accumulation. Marx once described capital, which “conceals the fact of exploiting wage labor,” as “a kind of all-illuminating light.” [2]2 The Digital Silk Road is a component of the Belt and Road Initiative, focusing on digital connectivity and e-commerce cooperation. In the digital age, capital colluding with digital technology is alienated into “a special ether colluding with light,” [3]3 A concept promoted by China in international forums on internet governance, emphasizing equitable access and shared benefits. penetrating into the digital lifeworld of humanity.

从人类主体向度看，由社会主义制度支撑的数字文明是复归人的本质的文明，是扬弃了以控制逻辑主导的数字资本主义文明观的全新文明。数字技术本身是推进人类文明演进的必要元素，但当被应用于资本主义生产过程时，便落入被资本宰制的窠臼，成为资本增殖的工具。马克思曾将“掩盖剥削雇佣劳动事实”的资本描述为“一种普照的光”，而在数字时代，与数字技术合谋的资本异化为“一种与光合谋的特殊以太”，它渗透进人类的数字生活世界。

In the context of historical materialism, the process of creating digital civilization is precisely the practical process of continuously enriching human essence, meeting the people’s needs for a better life, and promoting people’s free and comprehensive development. On the one hand, digital civilization endows human essence with new contemporary connotations. In the process of digital technology empowering labor, the self-construction of human essence is manifested in the innovation of digital production tools such as blockchain, cloud computing, and ChatGPT, highlighting the objectification of human subjective initiative. At the same time, the emergence of digital production tools further enhances labor productivity, allowing humanity more free leisure time for ample spiritual enjoyment. On the other hand, the principle of “upholding the people’s supremacy” is implemented in the construction of Digital China, forming a social development model that comprehensively meets the people’s needs for a better life. In the process of constructing this model, the people can move from pursuing material life to pursuing spiritual freedom, thereby gaining more opportunities to master themselves.

在唯物史观语境下，数字文明的创造过程正是不断丰富人的本质、满足人民美好生活需要、促进人的自由全面发展的实践过程。一方面，数字文明为人的本质赋予了新的时代内涵。数字技术在赋能劳动的过程中，人的本质的自我建构体现在区块链、云计算、ChatGPT等数字生产工具的革新中，彰显了人类主体能动性的对象化。同时，数字生产工具的产生进一步提升了劳动生产率，促使人类有了更多的自由闲暇时间进行充足的精神享用。另一方面，将“坚持人民至上”理念贯彻到数字中国建设中，形成全方位满足人民美好生活需要的社会发展模式。在这一模式的建构过程中，人民能够从追逐物质生活到追求精神自由，进而获得更多主宰自我的机会。

The Value Purport of Digital Civilization under the Significance of World History

世界历史意义下数字文明的价值旨归

Under the significance of world history, digital civilization follows the internal logic of this universal form of civilization, “humanity’s path to freedom and liberation,” integrates Marx’s paradigm of writing world history into the practice of digital transformation, practices the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, resolves the civilizational conflicts triggered by digital capitalism, and contributes Chinese wisdom and Chinese strength to creating a new prospect for human civilization.

在世界历史意义下，数字文明遵循“人类通往自由和解放”这一普遍文明形态的内在逻辑，将马克思的世界历史书写范式融入数字化转型的实践中，践行人类命运共同体理念，化解了数字资本主义引发的文明冲突，为开创人类文明新图景贡献中国智慧与中国力量。

Digital civilization upholds the concept of connectivity, sharing, and co-governance, advocating the construction of a community in digital space. On the one hand, connectivity is a distinctive feature of digital civilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out, “The essence of the internet lies in connectivity; the value of information lies in exchange.” [1]1 Xi Jinping, speech at the opening ceremony of the Second World Internet Conference, 16 December 2015. Intelligent digital information infrastructure provides technical support for enhancing digital exchanges and collaboration among countries. For example, the advocacy for building a 21st-century Digital Silk Road [2]2 The Digital Silk Road is a component of the Belt and Road Initiative, focusing on digital connectivity and e-commerce cooperation. has promoted the establishment of multilateral and bilateral cooperation mechanisms between China and partner countries, strengthening digital cultural exchanges and digital education cooperation. On the other hand, sharing and co-governance constitute the deep logic of digital civilization. Digital civilization adheres to the concept of “shared development of the global internet,” [3]3 A concept promoted by China in international forums on internet governance, emphasizing equitable access and shared benefits. striving to bridge the divides created by global digital rationality and to promote the sharing of this equal and mutually beneficial civilizational paradigm among all countries of the world. At the same time, the governance challenges brought about by the development and application of digital technology require the joint participation of all countries in the world and the establishment of open co-governance mechanisms to address and resolve them. The cognition of the common values of all mankind [4]4 A term used in official Chinese discourse, referring to peace, development, fairness, rule of law, democracy, and freedom as values shared by all humanity. and the shared development of digital technology form the theoretical and practical foundation for constructing a community in digital space. This demonstrates that digital civilization not only adheres to the fundamental stance of a universal civilizational form under the significance of world history but also opens up a new vista for the development of human civilization in the digital era.

数字文明秉持互联互通共享共治的理念，倡导构建数字空间共同体。一方面，互联互通是数字文明的鲜明特征。习近平总书记指出，“网络的本质在于互联，信息的价值在于互通”。智能化数字信息基础设施为增强各国数字交往与协作提供了技术支撑，例如，倡导建设21世纪数字丝绸之路推动了中国与共建国家构建多边和双边合作机制，加强数字文化交流与数字教育合作等。另一方面，共享共治是数字文明的深层逻辑。数字文明秉持“全球互联网共享发展”的理念，致力于弥合全球数字理性造成的鸿沟，促进世界各国共享这一平等、互利的文明范式。同时，数字技术发展与应用带来的全球治理难题，需要世界各国共同参与、建立开放性共治机制来应对解决。全人类共同价值的认知与数字技术的共享发展是构建数字空间共同体的理论与实践基础，彰显了数字文明既坚守了世界历史意义下普遍文明形态的根本立场，又在数字时代下开创了人类文明发展的新图景。

(The author is a doctoral student at the School of Marxism, Shaanxi Normal University)

（作者系陕西师范大学马克思主义学院博士研究生）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧