Marx and Engels’ Theory of Civilization and Its Contemporary Value

Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the deepening development of world modernization, and especially as Chinese-path modernization has created a new form of human civilization, “civilization” has become a high-frequency term, and the question of civilization has become a hot topic in academic circles. To explore the question of civilization is in fact to decipher the problem of civilizational development, and “returning to Marx” is an essential path. “Returning to Marx” means returning to the thought of Marx and Engels, to clarify the source and uphold the fundamentals while pursuing innovation, to carefully comb through, fully excavate, and accurately expound the truth content and contemporary significance of their theory of civilization, thereby providing a scientific worldview and methodology for advancing and expanding Chinese-path modernization and creating a new form of human civilization. Although Marx and Engels never specifically discussed the question of civilization, their “new worldview” aimed at “changing the world”—namely, historical materialism—contains a rich and profound theory of civilization. It can even be argued that historical materialism itself is a genuine and scientific theory of civilization. Therefore, systematically reviewing and sorting out the essentials of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization and elucidating its role as the “soul vein” [1]1 “Soul vein” (魂脉) is a term used in contemporary Chinese Marxist discourse to denote the guiding theoretical essence or spiritual lifeline of a system of thought, often contrasted with “root vein” (根脉) referring to traditional cultural foundations. in the civilizational logic of Chinese-path modernization holds great theoretical value and practical significance.

进入21世纪以来，随着世界现代化的不断深化发展，特别是中国式现代化创造了人类文明新形态，文明成为一个高频词，文明问题成为学界的一个热点问题。探讨文明问题实则是破解文明发展问题，而“回到马克思”是一条必由之路。“回到马克思”是回到马克思恩格斯的思想当中，正本清源、守正创新，仔细梳理、充分挖掘、准确阐述其文明理论的真理内容和当代意义，为推进和拓展中国式现代化、创造人类文明新形态提供科学的世界观和方法论。马克思恩格斯虽然没有专门论述过文明问题，但在他们以“改造世界”为目的的“新世界观”即唯物史观中却有着丰富而深刻的文明理论，甚至可以认为，唯物史观本身就是真正的、科学的文明理论。因此，系统回顾梳理马克思恩格斯文明理论的精要，阐发其在中国式现代化文明逻辑中的“魂脉”作用，具有重大的理论价值和实践意义。

I. The Interpretive Principles of Marx and Engels’ Theory of Civilization

一、马克思恩格斯文明理论的阐释原则

Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization underwent a historical process of “gestation–formation–development–perfection.” According to the internal logic of its formation, it can be roughly divided into four periods: First, the nascent period, from Marx’s doctoral dissertation in 1841 to the “Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right” in 1843. During this period, the view of civilization of Marx and Engels underwent a fundamental shift, moving from idealism to materialism and from revolutionary democracy to communism. Second, the formative period, from 1844 to 1848, concentrated in important works such as the *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844*, *The German Ideology*, and the *Communist Manifesto*. Third, the developmental period, from Marx’s writing of the *Capital* manuscripts in 1857 to the publication of the first volume of *Capital*, and then to the *Ethnological Notebooks*. In this period, Marx and Engels not only put forward the proposition of “re-establishing individual property” [2]2 “Re-establishing individual property” refers to Marx’s argument in *Capital* Vol. 1 that capitalist expropriation will be followed by the re-establishment of individual property on the basis of cooperation and common ownership of the means of production. and the idea of “two inevitables” [3]3 “Two inevitables” (两个决不会) is a formulation from Marx’s 1859 Preface to *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, stating that no social order ever perishes before all the productive forces for which it has room have developed, and new higher relations of production never appear before the material conditions for their existence have matured in the womb of the old society., but also extended their research horizon from “modern society” to the fields of anthropology and nature, conducting expansive and innovative explorations of the question of civilization. Fourth, the perfection period, after Marx’s death in 1883, when Engels, in works such as *The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State* and the correspondence on historical materialism, expounded the emergence, essence, and development of civilization and refuted “economic determinism.” This process is consistent with the formation and development of historical materialism, and thus will not be elaborated upon here. The focus here is on the interpretive principles of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization.

马克思恩格斯的文明理论经历了一个“孕育－形成－发展－完善”的历史过程。按照其形成的内在逻辑，大体上可以分为四个时期：一是萌生时期，即从1841年马克思的博士论文到1843年的《〈黑格尔法哲学批判〉导言》。在这一时期，马克思恩格斯的文明观发生了根本转向，发生了从唯心主义向唯物主义、从革命民主主义向共产主义的转变。二是形成时期，即从1844年到1848年，集中体现在《1844年经济学哲学手稿》《德意志意识形态》《共产党宣言》等重要著作中。三是发展时期，即从1857年马克思写作《资本论》手稿到《资本论》第一卷出版，再到《人类学笔记》。在这个时期，马克思恩格斯不仅提出了“重新建立个人所有制”的主张和“两个决不会”的思想，并将研究视域从“现代社会”拓展至人类学以及自然领域，对文明问题进行了拓展性和创新性探索。四是完善时期，即1883年马克思去世后，恩格斯在《家庭、私有制和国家的起源》和唯物史观的通信等著述中，阐释了文明的产生、本质及其发展，驳斥了“经济决定论”。这个过程与唯物史观的形成和发展过程相一致，因而不再赘述。这里重点讨论的是马克思恩格斯文明理论的阐释原则。

“So-called interpretive principles, in a broad academic context, refer to the basic mode by which a theory or doctrine understands and grasps its object, conducts research, and presents its findings.” Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization has pointed the direction, provided impetus, and clarified the path for the development of human civilization. However, because capitalist civilization has long occupied a dominant position, this scientific theory has been, to a certain extent, obscured by modern ideological frameworks and overshadowed by political theory, economic theory, and the like. Contemporary Chinese practice has entered a historical stage of creating a new form of human civilization through Chinese-path modernization. In such a historical context, how to understand capitalist “old civilization” and socialist “new civilization,” how to handle the relationship between the two, and how to comprehensively advance and expand Chinese-path modernization to open a new path for the development of human civilization—the interpretive principles of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization and their concrete application still hold extremely important practical significance.

“所谓阐释原则，在广义的学术语境中，是指理论或学说对于其对象作出理解和把握、进行研究和叙述的基本方式。”马克思恩格斯文明理论为人类文明发展指明了方向、提供了动力、澄明了路径，但由于资本主义文明长期占主导地位，这一科学理论一定程度上被现代性意识形态所遮蔽，被政治理论、经济理论等所掩盖。当今中国实践已进入以中国式现代化创造人类文明新形态的历史阶段，在这样的历史境遇中，如何理解资本主义“旧文明”和社会主义“新文明”以及如何处理两者的关系，全面推进和拓展中国式现代化，开辟一条人类文明发展新路，马克思恩格斯文明理论的阐释原则及其具体化运用仍然具有极为重要的现实意义。

First, the principle of people-centered interpretation. This is both a premise or starting point and a final destination and fundamental goal, determining the nature, mission, and fundamental direction of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization. In *The German Ideology*, Marx and Engels emphasize that “our starting point is the actually active people,” that is, “real people.” “Real people,” or “real individuals,” are those engaged in “actual activity” within certain social relations—primarily the activity of “producing material life itself,” i.e., production practice. They are people unified with “their activity and their material conditions of life, including those which they find already existing and those produced by their activity” [4]4 This is a paraphrase of a passage from *The German Ideology* (Marx/Engels *Collected Works*, Vol. 5, p. 31).—in other words, the working people. Therefore, taking “real people” as the starting point means taking the people as the starting point. This is the fundamental reason why historical materialism surpasses all previous theories of society and history. Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization, grounded in historical materialism, naturally also takes the people as its starting point. On the basis of an in-depth investigation and critique of the essence of the capitalist mode of production, explaining the question of civilization from the perspective of “real people” and their material production—the basic mode of human existence—is the fundamental characteristic of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization.

其一，人民性阐释原则。这既是一个前提性或出发点的问题，也是一个最终归宿和根本目标的问题，决定了马克思恩格斯文明理论的性质、使命和根本方向。在《德意志意识形态》中，马克思恩格斯强调，“我们的出发点是从事实际活动的人”即“现实的人”。“现实的人”即“现实的个人”，是在一定社会关系中从事“实际活动”，主要是从事“生产物质生活本身”即生产实践活动的人，是与“他们的活动和他们的物质生活条件，包括他们已有的和由他们自己的活动创造出来的物质生活条件”相统一的人，亦即劳动人民。因此，以“现实的人”为出发点，就是以人民为出发点。这是唯物史观超越以往一切社会历史理论的根本所在。以唯物史观为根基的马克思恩格斯文明理论当然也是以人民为出发点。在深入考察和批判资本主义生产方式本质的基础上，从“现实的人”及其物质生产这一人类基本存在方式出发来阐释文明问题，是马克思恩格斯文明理论的根本特点。

Taking “real people” as the starting point, this starting point is a complex, multi-dimensional structure, because “real people” are a process of continuous generation and development, embodying the unity of dimensions such as commonality and individuality, sensibility and rationality, interests and needs, naturalness and sociality, and material production and the production of human life itself. In general terms, it is the pursuit of human happiness, human liberation, and the comprehensive development of the human person; in the final analysis, it proceeds from the needs of the people. Human beings are beings with needs. “The wealthy person is at the same time one who needs a totality of human manifestations of life; the person in whom his own realization exists as an inner necessity, as need.” [5]5 This is a paraphrase of a passage from Marx’s *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844* (Marx/Engels *Collected Works*, Vol. 3, p. 304). Human needs are rich and constantly developing; human happiness and the comprehensive development of the human person are essentially the process of the continuous enrichment and satisfaction of needs. Of course, the continuous generation and realization of human needs is a process of production practice: they are continuously generated within production practice and continuously realized through production practice. Therefore, the continuous enrichment and satisfaction of human needs is precisely “a new confirmation of the essential powers of the human person and a new enrichment of the human essence.” [6]6 This is a paraphrase of a passage from Marx’s *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844* (Marx/Engels *Collected Works*, Vol. 3, p. 302). This understanding has already penetrated to the deepest level of the essence of civilization, revealing the true meaning and core value of civilization.

以“现实的人”为出发点，这个出发点是一个复杂的立体结构，因为“现实的人”是一个不断生成和发展的过程，体现了共性和个性、感性和理性、利益和需要、自然性和社会性以及物质生产和人自身生产等维度的统一，在总体上是追求人的幸福、人类解放和人的全面发展，在归根结底的意义上，是从人民的需要出发。人是有需要的存在物，“富有的人同时就是需要有人的生命表现的完整性的人，在这样的人的身上，他自己的实现作为内在的必然性、作为需要而存在”。人的需要是丰富且不断发展的，人的幸福和人的全面发展本质上是需要的不断丰富及其满足的过程。当然，人的需要的不断生成和实现，是一个生产实践活动的过程，既在生产实践活动中不断生成，又通过生产实践活动不断实现，因此，人的需要的不断丰富和满足，正是“人的本质力量得到新的证明，人的本质得到新的充实”。这种理解已经深入到文明本质的最深处，彰显了文明的真实意义和核心价值。

Second, the principle of critical interpretation. Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization was gestated, produced, and developed against the historical backdrop of the Western modernization movement and the rapid rise of capitalist civilization. In a strict sense, it is a product of the Western modernization movement, but it does not belong to the category of capitalist civilization. Rather, it represents a revolutionary transformation of capitalist theories of civilization and a profound critique of capitalist civilization, demonstrating the necessity, inevitability, possibility, and actuality of communist civilization surpassing and ultimately replacing capitalist civilization. This process is one of critique or sublation. “Ruthless critique of everything existing” [7]7 “Ruthless critique of everything existing” is a phrase from Marx’s letter to Arnold Ruge, September 1843 (Marx/Engels *Collected Works*, Vol. 3, p. 142). is the spiritual essence of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization. This critique is a comprehensive critique, a unity of theoretical critique and practical critique. The critical mode of thinking is an important pathway through which Marx and Engels achieved a fundamental transformation in the theory of civilization. In other words, Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization was constructed through theoretical critique and practical critique.

其二，批判性阐释原则。马克思恩格斯的文明理论是在西方现代化运动和资本主义文明迅速崛起的历史背景下孕育、产生和发展的，在严格的意义上是西方现代化运动的产物，但不属于资本主义文明范畴，而是对资本主义文明理论的革命性变革和对资本主义文明的深刻批判，彰显了共产主义文明超越并最终取代资本主义文明的必要性、必然性、可能性和现实性。这个过程是一个批判或扬弃的过程。“对现存的一切进行无情的批判”是马克思恩格斯文明理论的精神特质。这种批判是全面的批判，是理论批判和实践批判的统一。批判性思维方式是马克思恩格斯实现文明理论根本性变革的重要途径。或者说，马克思恩格斯的文明理论是通过理论批判和实践批判建构起来的。

In theoretical critique, this is primarily manifested as a critique of rationalist theories of civilization and a sublation of utopian socialist theories of civilization. In the formation of capitalist civilization, reason is a core factor; reason is the essence of civilization, and civilization manifests as the continuous progress of reason. On this basis, Hegel constructed a rationalist view of civilization, emphasizing that civilization is essentially the existence of the Idea. Although reason has the civilizing significance of liberating people from theological shackles, the capitalist civilization built with it as the core increasingly manifests as “self-alienation” and leads to the total alienation of the entire society. Marx and Engels’ critique of rationalist theories of civilization first returns the essence of man to man himself, “finally reducing itself to the doctrine that man is the highest essence for man, and therefore to the categorical imperative to overthrow all relations in which man is a debased, enslaved, forsaken, despicable being.” [8]8 Karl Marx, “Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Law: Introduction,” *Marx and Engels Collected Works*, Vol. 3, p. 182. This is undoubtedly the logical starting point for the formation of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization. In the strict sense, Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization belongs to the category of scientific socialism, and the reason scientific socialism is scientific lies in overcoming the utopian nature of utopian socialism. Utopian socialism relentlessly criticized the essence of capitalist civilization and its anti-civilizational character, and designed the civilizational state of the future ideal society, containing “innumerable truths which have since been scientifically proved to be correct,” but in its totality “contains a thoroughly utopian character.” [9]9 Friedrich Engels, “Socialism: Utopian and Scientific,” *Marx and Engels Selected Works*, Vol. 3, p. 721. Consequently, Marx and Engels resolutely discarded this “thoroughly utopian character” and established communist civilization on the foundation of practice.

在理论批判上，主要表现为对理性主义文明理论的批判和对空想社会主义文明理论的扬弃。在资本主义文明的形成过程中，理性是一个核心因素，理性是文明的本质，文明表现为理性的不断进步。在此基础上，黑格尔构建了理性主义文明观，强调文明实质上是理念实存。理性虽然具有把人从神学束缚中解放出来的文明意义，但以此为核心构建的资本主义文明却日益表现为“自我异化”并导致整个社会的全面异化。马克思恩格斯对理性主义文明理论的批判，首先是将人的本质回归为人自身，“最后归结为人是人的最高本质这样一个学说，从而也归结为这样的绝对命令：必须推翻使人成为被侮辱、被奴役、被遗弃和被蔑视的东西的一切关系”。这无疑是马克思恩格斯的文明理论形成的逻辑起点。在严格的意义上，马克思恩格斯的文明理论属于科学社会主义范畴，而科学社会主义之所以科学，就在于克服了空想社会主义的空想性质。空想社会主义对资本主义文明的本质及其反文明性进行了毫不留情的批判，对未来理想社会的文明状态进行了设计，其中包含着“已经科学地证明了其正确性的无数真理”，但在总体上却“含有十分虚幻和空想的性质”。因而，马克思恩格斯坚决抛弃了这种“十分虚幻和空想的性质”，将共产主义文明建立在实践的基础上。

In practical critique, this is primarily manifested as a profound revelation of the essence of capital, a critique of the barbarism of capitalist civilization, and the provision of spiritual motivation and directional guidance for the real movement to create communist civilization. Practical critique is the most revolutionary real force, the internal driving force for social development and civilizational progress, and also the basic path for the formation of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization. Capitalist civilization was once highly esteemed as the sole model of modern civilization, while Marx endorsed the view that “modern bourgeois civilization is built on the slavery of wage labor,” [10]10 Karl Marx, “The Civil War in France,” *Marx and Engels Selected Works*, Vol. 3, p. 151. holding that “the civilizing victory of capital lies precisely in the fact that capital discovers and prompts human labor, rather than dead things, to become the source of wealth.” [11]11 Karl Marx, “Economic Manuscripts of 1861-63,” *Marx and Engels Collected Works*, Vol. 32, p. 230. In the real critique of capitalist civilization, alienated labor is a core concept. Through analyzing the concrete manifestations of alienated labor, Marx and Engels profoundly revealed its essence, roots, and the path to its sublation, proposing “the emancipation of the workers” and “the emancipation of man,” emphasizing that communism is the positive sublation of private property, the complete liberation of all human senses and characteristics, the true appropriation of man’s total essence, and the highest form of human civilization.

在实践批判上，主要表现为对资本主义本质的深刻揭示，批判资本主义文明的野蛮性，为创造共产主义文明的现实运动提供精神动力和方向指引。实践批判是最具革命性的现实力量，是推动社会发展和文明进步的内在动力，也是马克思恩格斯文明理论形成的基本路径。资本主义文明曾被视为现代文明的唯一样本而备受推崇，而马克思则赞同“现代资产阶级文明是建筑在雇佣劳动的奴隶制基础上的”这一观点，认为“资本的文明的胜利恰恰在于，资本发现并促使人的劳动代替死的物而成为财富的源泉”。在对资本主义文明的现实批判中，异化劳动是一个核心概念。马克思恩格斯通过对异化劳动具体表现的分析，深刻揭示了异化劳动的本质、根源以及扬弃之路，提出了“工人的解放”和“人的解放”，强调共产主义是对私有财产的积极扬弃，是人的一切感觉和特性的彻底解放，是对人的全面本质的真正占有，是人类文明的最高形态。

Third, the principle of thoroughgoing explanation. Based on historical materialism, Marx and Engels’ investigation of civilization has an important characteristic: they take economic factors such as “the production and reproduction of real life” as the decisive factor in civilizational development—not the sole factor, but in the sense of “in the last instance.” “The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.” [12]12 Karl Marx, “Preface to *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*,” *Marx and Engels Selected Works*, Vol. 2, p. 591. Based on this fundamental standpoint or idea, Marx and Engels always placed productive forces in a foundational and decisive position for civilizational development, regarding productive forces as the fundamental driving force of civilizational development, or describing the progressive state of productive forces in terms of the degree of civilization. Thus, “the production of material life” becomes the core meaning of civilization, productive forces are the “fruits of civilization,” and they even directly equate civilization with productive forces: “all progress of civilization” means “all growth of social productive forces, or, in other words, all growth of the productive forces of labor itself.” [13]13 Karl Marx, “Economic Manuscripts of 1857-58,” *Marx and Engels Collected Works*, Vol. 30, p. 406. This kind of explanation possesses thoroughgoingness.

其三，彻底性阐释原则。基于唯物史观，马克思恩格斯对文明问题的考察有一个重要特点，就是把“现实生活的生产和再生产”等经济因素作为文明发展的决定性因素，当然不是唯一的因素，而是“归根到底”意义上的。“物质生活的生产方式制约着整个社会生活、政治生活和精神生活的过程。不是人们的意识决定人们的存在，相反，是人们的社会存在决定人们的意识”。基于这个基本立场或思想，马克思恩格斯始终将生产力置于文明发展的基础性、决定性地位，将生产力看作文明发展的根本动力，或以文明的程度描述生产力的进步状态，因而，“物质生活的生产”成为文明的核心要义，生产力是“文明的果实”，甚至将文明与生产力直接等同起来，“文明的一切进步”即“社会生产力的一切增长，也可以说劳动本身的生产力的一切增长”。这种阐释具有彻底性。

The principle of ultimate explanation in Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization is also manifested in two aspects. First, in the theory of the “two inevitables,” [14]14 “Two inevitables” (两个必然): The Marxist thesis that the inevitable collapse of capitalism and the inevitable victory of socialism/communism are determined by the laws of historical development. the development of productive forces is the fundamental basis. That capitalist civilization will inevitably be replaced by a higher form of civilization is an “iron necessity,” but the realization of this necessity must be conditioned on the high development of productive forces. This is a further extension and deepening of the above idea. Second, the loftiness of the goal of civilizational development. In Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization, the ultimate goal of civilizational development is communist civilization, and the essence or core of communist civilization is the “association of free individuals” or “the all-round and free development of each individual.” [15]15 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The Communist Manifesto*; Karl Marx, *Capital*, Vol. 1. Whether it is communist civilization, the “association of free individuals,” or “the all-round and free development of each individual,” these are all lofty ideals of humanity and advanced forms of civilization. Among all theories of civilization to date, there is no goal of civilizational development more noble, more beautiful, or more inspiring. Of course, this does not mean that communist civilization is a static, unchanging state; on the contrary, it is a continuous process of development from lower to higher levels, from simple to complex.

马克思恩格斯文明理论的终极性阐释原则还体现在两个方面。一是在“两个必然”理论中，生产力发展是根本的依据。资本主义文明终将被更高级的文明形态所代替是“铁的必然性”，但这种必然性的实现必须以生产力高度发展为条件。这是上述思想的进一步展开和深化。二是文明发展目标的崇高性。在马克思恩格斯的文明理论中，文明发展的最终目标是共产主义文明，而共产主义文明的实质或核心是“自由人的联合体”或“每一个个人的全面而自由的发展”。无论是共产主义文明，还是“自由人的联合体”，抑或是“每一个个人全面而自由的发展”，都是人类的崇高理想，是文明的高级形态。在迄今为止的一切文明理论中，没有比这更高尚、更美好、更令人憧憬的文明发展目标。当然，这并不是说共产主义文明是一个一成不变的静止状态，相反，它是一个不断从低级到高级、从简单到复杂的发展过程。

Fourth, the principle of processual explanation. Processual thought is an important content of Marx and Engels’ “new worldview,” embodying the unity of materialism and dialectics. While fully affirming Hegel’s processual thought, Marx emphasized that “the economic formation of society” should be understood “as a process of natural history.” [16]16 Karl Marx, “Preface to the First German Edition of *Capital*, Vol. 1,” *Marx and Engels Selected Works*, Vol. 2, p. 100. Engels regarded this idea of Marx as “a great basic thought,” understanding it as “all that seems stable is in a state of constant generation and extinction, just like their mental reflections in our heads, i.e., concepts.” [17]17 Friedrich Engels, “Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy,” *Marx and Engels Selected Works*, Vol. 4, p. 244. In the theoretical horizon of Marx and Engels, civilization is a process, a process of “constant generation and extinction.” This revelation has at least two important significances. First, it reveals the unity of the stage-like and continuous nature of civilizational development. Overall, in its fundamental trend, civilization is a continuous process of development; as long as humanity exists, the river of civilization will not run dry. Yet it also has a stage-like character, being a process of successive stages advancing and developing. In *The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State*, Engels, following Morgan’s division of cultural stages in *Ancient Society*, divided human history into the stages of savagery, barbarism, and civilization, while the stage of civilization itself encompasses three successive forms of civilization that are essentially consistent in nature. [18]18 Friedrich Engels, *The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State*, drawing on Lewis Henry Morgan’s *Ancient Society* (1877), which divided human prehistory and history into three main stages: savagery, barbarism, and civilization. Whether it is the succession of social formations—from primitive society to slave society, feudal society, capitalist society, and then to communist society—or the evolution of communities—from “primitive community” to “illusory community” to “association of free individuals”—or the process of human development—from “personal dependence” to “personal independence based on dependence on things” to “free individuality”—all are long and complex processes. The fundamental reason for this is that the development of productive forces is itself a process. Second, it reveals the historical inevitability of communist civilization replacing capitalist civilization. Capitalist civilization is a civilization of a specific historical stage: “The stage of civilization is that stage of social development at which the division of labor, the exchange between individuals arising from it, and the commodity production that combines these two, have reached their full development and have revolutionized the entire earlier society.” [19]19 Friedrich Engels, *The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State*, *Marx and Engels Selected Works*, Vol. 4, p. 174. With the emergence and continuous development of “the real division of labor,” the “stage of civilization” will inevitably be buried by the dust of history, replaced by a completely new form of civilization. This is “a process of natural history,” but not a spontaneous process; rather, it is a practical process of actively “changing the world” on the basis of “interpreting the world.”

其四，过程性阐释原则。过程性思想是马克思恩格斯“新世界观”的一个重要内容，体现了唯物主义和辩证法的统一。马克思在充分肯定黑格尔的过程性思想时，强调应该把“经济的社会形态的发展理解为一种自然史的过程”。恩格斯认为，马克思这一思想是“一个伟大的基本思想”，并将其理解为“各个似乎稳定的事物同它们在我们头脑中的思想映象即概念一样都处在生成和灭亡的不断变化中”。在马克思恩格斯的理论视域中，文明是一个过程，一个“生成和灭亡的不断变化”的过程。这种揭示起码具有两个方面的重要意义：一是揭示了文明发展阶段性和连续性的统一。在总体上，在根本趋势上，文明是一个不断发展的过程，只要人类存在，文明的河流就不会断流，但它又具有阶段性，是各个阶段依次递进、不断发展的过程。在《家庭、私有制和国家的起源》中，恩格斯根据摩尔根在《古代社会》中对文化阶段的划分，将人类历史划分为蒙昧时代、野蛮时代和文明时代，而文明时代又囊括了三种依次递进而性质又基本一致的文明形式。无论是社会形态的更迭，从原始社会到奴隶社会、封建社会、资本主义社会再到共产主义社会，还是共同体的演变，从“原始的共同体”到“虚假的共同体”再到“自由人的联合体”，抑或是人的发展进程，从“人的依赖性”到“以物的依赖性为基础的人的独立性”再到“自由个性”，都是一个长期而复杂的过程。之所以如此，根本原因在于生产力的发展是一个过程。二是揭示了共产主义文明取代资本主义文明的历史必然性。资本主义文明是一定历史阶段的文明，“文明时代是社会发展的这样一个阶段，在这个阶段上，分工、由分工而产生的个人之间的交换，以及把这两者结合起来的商品生产，得到了充分的发展，完全改变了先前的整个社会”。随着“真正的分工”的出现和不断发展，“文明时代”必将被历史的烟尘所淹没，代之以一种全新的文明形态。这是“一个自然史的过程”，但不是一个自然而然的过程，而是一个在“解释世界”的基础上主动“改变世界”的实践过程。

Fifth, the principle of holistic interpretation. This is first manifested in the fact that Marx and Engels form a whole; the Marx-Engels theory of civilization is not the theory of Marx or Engels individually, but a theory jointly created, developed, and perfected by both Marx and Engels. The most definitive basis is that the most important works expounding the Marx-Engels theory of civilization—*The German Ideology*, *The Communist Manifesto*, and *Capital* (the manuscript of Marx’s *Capital* was compiled and published by Engels)—were all co-created by Marx and Engels, who expounded their theory of civilization in a holistic manner. Of course, this is only one aspect of understanding the principle of holistic interpretation in the Marx-Engels theory of civilization. The most important point is that Marx and Engels examined and expounded the question of civilization through a holistic mode of thinking about society.

其五，整体性阐释原则。首先表现为马克思恩格斯是一个整体，马克思恩格斯文明理论不是马克思或恩格斯哪一个人的理论，而是马克思恩格斯二人共同创立、发展和完善的理论。最确定无疑的根据是，作为阐发马克思恩格斯文明理论最重要的著作《德意志意识形态》《共产党宣言》以及《资本论》（马克思《资本论》遗稿是由恩格斯整理出版的），都是马克思恩格斯共同创作的，他们以整体的方式阐释了其文明理论。当然，这只是理解马克思恩格斯文明理论整体性阐释原则的一个侧面。最重要的是马克思恩格斯以社会整体性的思维方式来考察和阐释文明问题。

Marx believed that society “is an organism capable of change and constantly in the process of change” [20]20 Marx, *Capital*, Vol. 1, Afterword to the Second German Edition., a living organic whole. As a living organic whole, society is composed of various elements, a collection of various elements; social development is not the development of any single element, but the holistic development of society. Holistic development, i.e., comprehensive development, is the coordinated development and common development of all social elements, parts, and spheres. Among these, the basic structure constituted by productive forces and relations of production, and the economic base and superstructure, forms the skeletal structure of the social organism, and their contradictory movement must be viewed holistically. As a state of social progress, civilization is also a living organism; its essence and development must be grasped holistically to promote the holistic development of civilization. Based on the theory of the social organism, Marx and Engels, through a holistic mode of thinking, elucidated the questions of “how civilization arises,” “how civilization exists,” and “how civilization develops.” Marx regarded civilization as a comprehensive, holistic state of progress; while emphasizing the decisive role of productive forces, he held that civilization inherently includes cultural, spiritual, and other factors. Engels’ study of the dialectics of nature was likewise. Engels extended his theoretical perspective from modern society to the natural world, revealing the dialectical picture of the infinite development of nature, particularly elucidating the process of transformation from nature to human society and the dialectical relationship between human activity and nature, thereby incorporating ecological civilization into holistic civilization. The reason Marx studied the question of civilization from an anthropological perspective in his later years was based both on historical materialism and the holistic nature of social life, and on the holistic nature of civilizational development. In short, civilization involves all aspects of social life—economy, politics, culture, society, and ecology—and a true civilization can only, and must, be a holistic form of civilization.

马克思认为，社会“是一个能够变化并且经常处于变化过程中的有机体”，是一个有机整体。作为一个有机整体，社会是由各种要素组成的，是各种要素的集合体，社会发展不是哪一个要素的发展，而是社会整体性发展。整体性发展即全面性发展，是社会各要素、各部分、各领域协调发展、共同发展。其中，由生产力和生产关系、经济基础和上层建筑构成的基本制度是社会有机体的骨骼结构，必须以整体的方式看待它们的矛盾运动。作为社会的进步状态，文明也是一个活的有机体，必须以整体的方式把握其本质与发展，推动文明整体性发展。马克思恩格斯基于社会有机体理论，以整体性的思维方式阐明了“文明何以产生”“文明何以存在”以及“文明何以发展”等问题。马克思把文明看作一个综合性、整体性的进步状态，在强调生产力决定性作用的同时，认为文明内在地包含着文化、精神等因素。恩格斯的自然辩证法研究也是如此。恩格斯将自己的理论视野从现代社会扩展至自然界，揭示了自然界无限发展的辩证图景，特别是阐明了从自然界向人类社会的转化过程和人类活动与自然界的辩证关系，从而将生态文明纳入整体性文明之中。马克思晚年之所以从人类学意义上研究文明问题，既是基于唯物史观、社会生活的整体性，也是基于文明发展的整体性。总之，文明涉及经济、政治、文化、社会和生态等社会生活的各个方面，真正的文明只能也必须是一个整体性的文明形态。

II. The Core Essentials of Marx and Engels’ Theory of Civilization

二、马克思恩格斯文明理论的核心要义

Regarding historical materialism, Engels said: “Just as Darwin discovered the law of development of organic nature, so Marx discovered the law of development of human history: the simple fact, hitherto concealed by an overgrowth of ideology, that mankind must first of all eat, drink, have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, art, religion, etc.; that therefore the production of the immediate material means of subsistence and consequently the degree of economic development attained by a given people or during a given epoch form the foundation upon which the state institutions, the legal conceptions, art, and even the ideas on religion, of the people concerned have been evolved, and in the light of which they must, therefore, be explained, instead of the other way around, as had hitherto been the case.” [21]21 Engels, “Speech at the Graveside of Karl Marx.” This passage very incisively elucidates the basic connotation of historical materialism, thereby confirming the foundation of the Marx-Engels theory of civilization: historical materialism, or, bluntly put, “the production of the immediate material means of subsistence.” This is the fundamental difference between the Marx-Engels theory of civilization and all previous theories of civilization, especially idealist theories of civilization. To sort out and expound the basic connotations of the Marx-Engels theory of civilization, one must take historical materialism as the foundation. Following this path, it can be found that the Marx-Engels theory of civilization is a systematic, scientific system, rich and profound in content, which can be summarized mainly in the following aspects.

关于唯物史观，恩格斯说：“正像达尔文发现有机界的发展规律一样，马克思发现了人类历史的发展规律，即历来为繁芜丛杂的意识形态所掩盖着的一个简单事实：人们首先必须吃、喝、住、穿，然后才能从事政治、科学、艺术、宗教等等；所以，直接的物质的生活资料的生产，从而一个民族或一个时代的一定的经济发展阶段，便构成基础，人们的国家设施、法的观点、艺术以至宗教观念，就是从这个基础上发展起来的，因而，也必须由这个基础来解释，而不是像过去那样做得相反。”这段话十分精辟地阐明了唯物史观的基本内涵，从而确认了马克思恩格斯文明理论的根基：唯物史观，或干脆地说是“直接的物质的生活资料的生产”。这是马克思恩格斯文明理论与以往一切文明理论特别是唯心主义文明理论的根本不同之处。梳理、阐释马克思恩格斯文明理论的基本内涵，必须以唯物史观为根基。循此路径可以发现，马克思恩格斯的文明理论是一个系统的、科学的体系，内容丰富深刻，概括起来主要有以下几个方面的内容。

First, the emergence and development of civilization originate in “the production of the immediate material means of subsistence.” Civilization is not a theoretical question, but a “practical matter.” In the sense of generation and development, practice is “human sensuous activity,” i.e., “the production of the immediate material means of subsistence.” “The production of the immediate material means of subsistence” is the true source and fundamental driving force of human civilization. In Marx’s early context, civilization meant cultural form; civilization and culture were nearly synonymous, but Marx rarely used the term “culture” in a positive sense. The reasons for this are manifold; one important factor that cannot be overlooked is his resistance to the idealist conception of cultural history. The idealist conception of cultural history adheres to a “narrative of ideas,” attributing the emergence and development of civilization to the activity of the human mind: “men have been accustomed to explain their actions from their thinking, instead of explaining their actions from their needs.” [22]22 Engels, *Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy*. Historical materialism, by contrast, takes a different path, the path of a “real historical narrative,” viewing the emergence and development of civilization as a practical activity, the inevitable result of material productive activity.

其一，文明产生与发展根源于“直接的物质的生活资料的生产”。文明不是一个理论问题，而是“实践的事情”。在生成、发展的意义上，实践是“人的感性的活动”，即“直接的物质的生活资料的生产”。“直接的物质的生活资料的生产”是人类文明的真正源头和根本动力。在马克思的早期语境中，文明即文化形式，文明与文化几乎同义，但马克思很少从正面使用“文化”一词，其原因是多方面的，一个不可忽视的重要因素是他对唯心主义文化史观的抗拒。唯心主义文化史观坚持的是一种“观念的历史叙述”，把文明的产生、发展归功于人的头脑的活动，“人们已经习惯于用他们的思维而不是用他们的需要来解释他们的行为”。而唯物史观走的是另一条道路，即“现实的历史叙述”的道路，将文明的产生、发展看作一种实践活动，是物质生产活动的必然结果。

The “real historical narrative” explains people’s motives for engaging in material productive activity from the real needs of “real individuals,” viewing material productive activity as the basic precondition and basic mode of the creation and development of civilization. The process by which people “make history” is the process of the generation of civilization, and “in order to ‘make history’ they must be able to live. But to live, first of all they need to eat, drink, have shelter and clothing, and some other things. Therefore the first historical act is the production of the means to satisfy these needs, the production of material life itself.” [23]23 Marx and Engels, *The German Ideology*. Clearly, the production of material life is the fundamental factor in the generation of civilization. A simple truth is that if human beings cannot “live,” what civilization could there be? Likewise, the production of material life is also the fundamental force in the progress of civilization. Civilization pertains to humanity, fundamentally representing human development, and human development depends on the production of material life or the material conditions for carrying out the production of material life: “What they are, therefore, coincides with their production, both with what they produce and with how they produce.” [24]24 Marx and Engels, *The German Ideology*. In pre-capitalist societies, because the capacity for producing material life was extremely limited, material production could only be carried out within narrow confines and in isolated locations; human activity and intercourse were greatly restricted, thus exhibiting the civilizational characteristic of “personal dependence.” In capitalist society, machine industry greatly promoted modernized production; material production unfolds against the backdrop of “world history,” and human activity and intercourse take on a global character. Although “dependence on things” is a universal social reality, the high level of material civilization and human independence demonstrate the progressive significance of capitalist civilization. Similarly, a new, higher form of civilization can only be built on the basis of a new, higher level of production of material life.

“现实的历史叙述”从“现实的人”的现实需要来解释人们从事物质生产活动的动机，将物质生产活动看作文明创造、发展的基本前提和基本方式。人们“创造历史”的过程即文明生成的过程，而“人们为了能够‘创造历史’，必须能够生活。但是为了生活，首先就需要吃喝住穿以及其他一些东西。因此第一个历史活动就是生产满足这些需要的资料，即生产物质生活本身”。显然，物质生活的生产是文明生成的根本性因素。一个简单的道理是，如果人类不能“活着”，哪有什么文明。同样，物质生活的生产也是文明进步的根本力量。文明是属人的，从根本上表征着人的发展，而人的发展取决于物质生活生产或进行物质生活生产的物质条件，“他们是什么样的，这同他们的生产是一致的——既和他们生产什么一致，又和他们怎样生产一致”。在前资本主义社会，由于物质生活生产能力极为有限，物质生产只能在狭小的范围和孤立的地点进行，人的活动和交往受到极大限制，从而呈现出“人的依附性”的文明特征。在资本主义社会，机器工业极大地促进了现代化生产，物质生产是在“世界历史”的背景下展开的，人的活动和交往具有世界性。尽管“物的依赖性”是一种普遍性的社会现实，但高度的物质文明和人的独立性展现了资本主义文明的进步意义。同样，新的、更高的文明形态只能建立在新的、更高的物质生活生产水平的基础上。

Second, civilization is an open process of development. When capitalist civilization regards itself as the highest form of human civilization and thereby concludes the history of human civilization, it also places itself in a closed state and heralds the inevitable end of its own history. Once a civilization closes itself off, its vitality withers. Civilization is not a given, immutable state but a process of continuous innovation and development. As Marx and Engels stated, “people’s ideas, views, and concepts, in a word, people’s consciousness, changes with every change in the conditions of their material existence, in their social relations and in their social life.” The fundamental reason for this is that practice is an eternal process of development. Civilization is the product of practice and develops as practice develops. On this, Marx clarified an objective fact in *The Poverty of Philosophy*: “In acquiring new productive forces, men change their mode of production; and in changing their mode of production, in changing the way of earning their living, they change all their social relations. The hand-mill gives you society with the feudal lord; the steam-mill, society with the industrial capitalist. The same men who establish their social relations in conformity with their material productivity, also produce principles, ideas, and categories in conformity with their social relations. Thus these ideas, these categories, are as little eternal as the relations they express. They are historical and transitory products. There is a continual movement of growth in productive forces, of destruction in social relations, of formation in ideas; the only immutable thing is the abstraction of movement – *mors immortalis*.”

其二，文明是一个开放的发展过程。当资本主义文明将自身看作人类文明的最高形态而终结人类文明史时，也使自身处于一种封闭状态并预示着自身历史的必然终结。一种文明一旦将自身封闭起来，其生命力就会枯竭。文明不是一种既定的、一成不变的状态，而是一个不断创新发展的过程。正如马克思恩格斯所说的，“人们的观念、观点和概念，一句话，人们的意识，随着人们的生活条件、人们的社会关系、人们的社会存在的改变而改变”。之所以如此，根本原因在于实践是一个永恒的发展过程。文明是实践的产物，随着实践发展而发展。对此，马克思在《哲学的贫困》中阐明了一种客观事实：“人们按照自己的物质生产率建立相应的社会关系，正是这些人又按照自己的社会关系创造了相应的原理、观念和范畴。所以，这些观念、范畴也同它们所表现的关系一样，不是永恒的。它们是历史的、暂时的产物。生产力的增长、社会关系的破坏、观念的形成都是不断运动的，只有运动的抽象即‘不死的死’才是停滞不动的。”

The continuous development of practice promotes the continuous progress of intercourse. Of course, intercourse is also a form of practice. Human intercourse is essentially the exchange of civilizations. In this sense, civilization is both the creation and accumulation of productive forces by different peoples and regions, and a process of mutual enhancement and common development through intercourse. Therefore, civilization possesses openness and achieves innovative development through openness. Open development is essentially the inclusive development of different civilizations through exchange and mutual learning. With the formation and development of world history, the geographical boundaries between different civilizations have been broken, and they have become interconnected, mutually constraining, mutually promoting, and integrated in development. “The productive forces acquired in one locality, especially inventions, are lost in the course of later development, as long as intercourse has not extended to the point where it can spread over the whole globe and be maintained at the same time.” Consequently, “in order not to lose the fruits already attained, in order not to lose the fruits of civilization, people are compelled, when their mode of intercourse no longer corresponds to the acquired productive forces, to change all their inherited social forms.” This continuously developing process of intercourse is precisely the process of exchange, mutual learning, openness, inclusiveness, and integrated development among different civilizations. Each civilization has its own unique character; while adhering to its own subjectivity, it continuously absorbs and draws on the beneficial elements of other civilizations, thereby achieving its own innovative development.

实践的不断发展促进了交往的不断进步。当然，交往也是一种实践。人的交往本质上是文明的交流。在这个意义上，文明既是不同民族、地区生产力的创造与积累，也是通过交往而相互增益、共同发展的过程。因此，文明具有开放性，是在开放中实现创新发展的。开放发展实质上是不同文明通过交流互鉴而实现包容性发展。随着世界历史的形成与发展，不同文明之间的地域界限被打破，彼此之间相互联系、相互制约、相互促进、融合发展，“某一个地域创造出来的生产力，特别是发明，在往后的发展中是否会失传，完全取决于交往扩展的情况”，因而，“为了不致丧失已经取得的成果，为了不致失掉文明的果实，人们在他们的交往［commerce］方式不再适合于既得的生产力时，就不得不改变他们继承下来的一切社会形式”。这个不断发展的交往过程，就是不同文明交流互鉴、开放包容、融合发展的过程。每个文明都有自己的独特品格，既坚持自己的主体性，又不断吸收和借鉴其他文明的有益因素，从而实现自己的创新发展。

Third, the development of civilization follows the law of the movement of the basic contradictions of society. Civilization originates in the development of productive forces, manifests as the progressive state of human life or all the progressive achievements created by human society, and is concentratedly embodied in material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, inherently containing value systems, conceptual systems, and ideology. Although each civilization and its development have their own characteristics, they must generally follow the law of the movement of the basic contradictions of society. Regarding the law of the movement of the basic contradictions of society, Marx provided a classic exposition: “At a certain stage of development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production or – this merely expresses the same thing in legal terms – with the property relations within the framework of which they have operated hitherto. From forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution. The changes in the economic foundation lead sooner or later to the transformation of the whole immense superstructure.” The law of the movement of the basic contradictions of society governs the entire process of social development, and of course also governs the process of human civilization development. Therefore, only by following the Marxist law of the movement of the basic contradictions of society can we comprehensively grasp the basic features and direction of development of human society, and can we comprehensively grasp the substantive content and basic laws of civilization development. This is a basic requirement of historical materialism and also a basic requirement of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization. Two points are emphasized here.

其三，文明发展遵循社会基本矛盾运动的规律。文明根源于生产力的发展，体现为人类生活的进步状态或人类社会创造的一切进步成果，集中体现为物质文明和精神文明，内在地包含着价值体系、观念体系和意识形态。各个文明及其发展虽各有特点，但在总体上必然遵循社会基本矛盾运动的规律。关于社会基本矛盾运动的规律，马克思有一个经典论述：“社会的物质生产力发展到一定阶段，便同它们一直在其中运动的现存生产关系或财产关系（这只是生产关系的法律用语）发生矛盾。于是这些关系便由生产力的发展形式变成生产力的桎梏。那时社会革命的时代就到来了。随着经济基础的变更，全部庞大的上层建筑也或慢或快地发生变革。”社会基本矛盾运动的规律支配着整个社会发展进程，当然也支配着人类文明发展进程。因此，只有遵循马克思主义的社会基本矛盾运动规律，才能全面把握人类社会的基本面貌和发展方向，才能全面把握文明发展的实质内容和基本规律。这是唯物史观的基本要求，也是马克思恩格斯文明理论的基本要求。这里着重指出两点。

First, the fundamental premise and fundamental driving force of civilization development. “History becomes ever more the history of men as the productive forces of men and, consequently, their social relations develop.” Similarly, civilization becomes ever more the civilization of humanity as productive forces and social relations develop. The development of productive forces is the fundamental premise of civilization development. Without the development of productive forces, there is no transformation of relations of production, no leap in people’s conceptual systems, value systems, and ideology, and no civilization development. This is particularly prominent in the “epoch of civilization.” On the one hand, only highly developed productive forces can eliminate poverty, enrich people’s spiritual life, and elevate people’s spiritual realm, enabling society to move toward genuine civilization. Otherwise, “all that is old and filthy would revive” and “the struggle for necessities would begin again, and all the old filthy business would necessarily be reproduced.” On the other hand, only the universal development of productive forces can form universal intercourse. Only in universal intercourse or through universal intercourse can civilizations exchange, learn from each other, innovate, develop, and transcend national and regional boundaries to become the civilization of humanity.

一是文明发展的根本前提和根本动力。“历史随着人们的生产力以及人们的社会关系的愈益发展而愈益成为人类的历史”，同样，文明随着生产力以及社会关系的发展而愈益成为人类的文明。生产力发展是文明发展的根本前提，没有生产力的发展，就没有生产关系的变革，就没有人们观念体系、价值体系和意识形态的跃升，就没有文明发展。这一点在“文明时代”表现得尤为突出。一方面，只有高度发展的生产力，才能消灭贫困并丰富人们的精神生活、提升人们的精神境界，才能使社会趋向真正的文明，否则，“就只会有贫穷、极端贫困的普遍化；而在极端贫困的情况下，必须重新开始争取必需品的斗争，全部陈腐污浊的东西又要死灰复燃”。另一方面，只有生产力的普遍发展，才能形成普遍交往，只有在普遍交往中或通过普遍交往，文明才能交流互鉴、创新发展并超越民族性、地域性界限而成为人类的文明。

Second, correctly handle the relationship between material civilization and cultural-ethical progress. The connotation of civilization is extremely rich, including material civilization, political civilization, cultural-ethical progress, social civilization, ecological civilization, and the institutional civilization that runs through them, but material civilization and cultural-ethical progress are the most basic contents. Therefore, correctly handling the relationship between material civilization and cultural-ethical progress and promoting their coordinated development are the basic requirements and basic paths of civilization development. Productive forces are the sum of “material productive forces and spiritual productive forces.” Material productive forces and spiritual productive forces are unified, and material civilization and cultural-ethical progress are also unified. Their coordinated development plays a foundational and driving role in civilization development. Hence, “to examine the connection between spiritual production and material production it is above all necessary to grasp the latter itself not as a general category but in a definite historical form. Thus, for example, spiritual production corresponding to the capitalist mode of production is different from that corresponding to the medieval mode of production. If material production itself is not conceived in its specific historical form, it is impossible to understand the characteristics of the spiritual production corresponding to it and the reciprocal action of the one upon the other.” A civilization with only material civilization and no cultural-ethical progress, or only cultural-ethical progress and no material civilization, is neither complete nor genuine. Human civilization moving toward communist civilization requires both a high level of material civilization and a high level of cultural-ethical progress. Therefore, the relationship between material production and spiritual production, and between material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, actually embodies the law of the movement of the basic contradictions of society: the development of productive forces promotes the development and transformation of relations of production, and the development and transformation of relations of production promotes the development and transformation of the superstructure, thereby driving human civilization from lower to higher levels.

二是正确处理物质文明和精神文明的关系。文明的内涵极为丰富，包括物质文明、政治文明、精神文明、社会文明、生态文明以及贯穿其中的制度文明等，但物质文明和精神文明是最基本的内容。因而，正确处理物质文明和精神文明的关系，推动两者协调发展，是文明发展的基本要求和基本路径。生产力是“物质生产力和精神生产力”的总和。物质生产力和精神生产力是统一的，物质文明和精神文明也是统一的，两者协调发展对于文明发展具有基础作用、动力作用。因而，“要研究精神生产和物质生产之间的联系，首先必须把这种物质生产本身不是当作一般范畴来考察，而是从一定的历史的形式来考察。例如，与资本主义生产方式相适应的精神生产，就和与中世纪生产方式相适应的精神生产不同。如果物质生产本身不从它的特殊的历史的形式来看，那就不可能理解与它相适应的精神生产的特征以及这两种生产的相互作用”。只有物质文明没有精神文明，或只有精神文明没有物质文明，文明都是不完整、不真实的。人类文明趋向共产主义文明，既要有高度的物质文明，也要有高度的精神文明。因此，物质生产和精神生产、物质文明和精神文明的关系实际上体现了社会基本矛盾运动的规律：生产力发展推动生产关系发展与变革，生产关系发展与变革推动上层建筑的发展与变革，从而推动人类文明从低级向高级发展。

Fourth, human emancipation and the all-round development of the individual are the theme of civilizational progress. Civilization is not only a matter of practice but also a “quality of society.” Society is a collection of individuals; civilization ultimately manifests as the quality of each individual, and the development of civilization is the development of each individual. In this sense, the issue of civilization is actually the issue of human development, the subjective dimension and its value and significance of the activity of “making history,” and human development in turn constitutes the substantive content and internal driving force of the transformation of civilizational forms. Historical materialism focuses on the issue of human development; Marx and Engels always paid attention to the issues of human emancipation and the all-round development of the individual, that is, the issue of civilization. Human emancipation and the all-round development of the individual are not two different stages, one before the other, but a unified historical process: humanity emancipates itself from nature, society, and itself, and “at last becomes the master of his own form of social organization, and, consequently, the master of nature, the master of himself – a free man.”

其四，人类解放和人的全面发展是文明进步的主题。文明不仅是实践的事情，还是“社会的素质”。社会是个人的集合体，文明归根结底体现为每个人的素质，文明发展是每个人的发展。在此意义上，文明问题实则是人的发展问题，是“创造历史”活动的主体向度及其价值和意义问题，而人的发展又构成文明形态更迭的实在内容和内在动力。唯物史观聚焦人的发展问题，马克思恩格斯始终关注人类解放和人的全面发展问题即文明问题。人类解放和人的全面发展是共产主义文明的具体呈现。人类解放和人的全面发展不是前后两个不同的阶段，而是一个统一的历史过程：人从自然、社会和自身解放出来，“终于成为自己的社会结合的主人，从而也就成为自然界的主人，成为自身的主人——自由的人”。

Human emancipation and the all-round development of the individual are not a theoretical question but a practical one, whose ultimate goal is the full expression of each individual’s “free individuality.” Therefore, the profundity of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization lies not in elucidating why human emancipation and the all-round development of the individual are necessary or inevitable, but in discerning the real conditions and means for achieving this goal, pointing out that “real emancipation can only be achieved in the real world and by real means.” [26]26 Marx and Engels, *The Holy Family*, in *Collected Works of Marx and Engels*, Vol. 1, p. 74. [Reference to Chinese edition; original source: Marx and Engels, *The German Ideology*, in *Marx Engels Collected Works*, Vol. 5, p. 38.] “Real means” primarily refers to the development of productive forces and intercourse. In this way, Marx and Engels placed human emancipation and the all-round development of the individual on the solid foundation of the tremendous development of productive forces, stating that “people never win freedom within the framework determined by their ideal of humanity, but within the framework determined by the existing productive forces.” [27]27 Marx and Engels, *The German Ideology*, in *Collected Works of Marx and Engels*, Vol. 3, p. 507. [Reference to Chinese edition; original source: *Marx Engels Collected Works*, Vol. 5, p. 121.] Communist civilization, with human emancipation and the all-round development of the individual as its core content and fundamental hallmark, can only be built on the basis of highly developed productive forces. Therefore, creating the “absolutely necessary practical prerequisite” of highly developed productive forces for human emancipation and the all-round development of the individual must be achieved through communist practice. Communist practice “is the genuine resolution of the conflict between human beings and nature and between human beings and human beings; it is the true resolution of the struggle between existence and essence, between objectification and self-affirmation, between freedom and necessity, between the individual and the species,” [28]28 Marx, *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844*, in *Collected Works of Marx and Engels*, Vol. 1, p. 185. [Reference to Chinese edition; original source: *Marx Engels Collected Works*, Vol. 3, p. 297.] and is the complete liberation of all human senses and characteristics, enabling the individual to appropriate their own comprehensive essence in a comprehensive way.

人类解放和人的全面发展不是一个理论问题，而是一个实践问题，其最终目标是每一个个人“自由个性”的充分发挥。因此，马克思恩格斯文明理论的深刻之处不在于阐明了人类解放和人的全面发展何以必要、何以必然的问题，而在于洞悉了实现这一目标的现实条件和方式，指明“只有在现实的世界中并使用现实的手段才能实现真正的解放”。“现实的手段”主要是指生产力和交往的发展。这样，马克思恩格斯将人类解放和人的全面发展置于生产力巨大发展的坚实基础之上，指出“人们每次都不是在他们关于人的理想所决定和所容许的范围之内，而是在现有的生产力所决定和所容许的范围之内取得自由的”。共产主义文明以人类解放和人的全面发展为核心内容和根本标识，只能建立在生产力高度发展的基础上，因此，为人类解放和人的全面发展创造生产力高度发展这一“绝对必需的实际前提”，必须借助于共产主义实践。共产主义实践“是人和自然界之间、人和人之间的矛盾的真正解决，是存在和本质、对象化和自我确证、自由和必然、个体和类之间的斗争的真正解决”，是人的一切感觉和特性的彻底解放，是人以一种全面的方式占有自己全面的本质。

III. Distinctive Features of Marx and Engels’ Theory of Civilization

三、马克思恩格斯文明理论的显著特征

Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization is rooted in historical materialism, takes the establishment of communist civilization as its fundamental direction, and takes the all-round development of the individual as its value orientation. It encompasses material civilization, political civilization, cultural-ethical progress, social civilization, ecological civilization, and the institutional civilization that runs through them all. It possesses an integrated character, forming a systematic and practical scientific theoretical system, embodying the unity of ideality and practicality, class character and human character, critique and construction, systemicity and development, and has distinct features of the times.

马克思恩格斯文明理论以唯物史观为根基，以建立共产主义文明为根本方向，以人的全面发展为价值旨归，涉及物质文明、政治文明、精神文明、社会文明、生态文明以及贯穿其中的制度文明等各个方面，具有整体性，是一个系统的、实践的科学理论体系，体现了理想性与实践性、阶级性与人类性、批判性与建设性、系统性与发展性的统一，具有鲜明的时代特征。

First, the unity of ideality and practicality. “Marxism has an ideal element, that is, it implies value presuppositions and ultimate goals.” [29]29 Reference to a common characterization in Marxist studies; not a direct quotation. Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization aims at the free and all-round development of the individual, and is undoubtedly idealistic. But this ideal is not utopian, not “the development of human reason” and “the consequent development of human influence over nature,” [30]30 Paraphrase of a passage from Marx and Engels, *The German Ideology*. but the development of “real individuals” based on practice or realized through practice, and thus has a distinct practicality.

其一，理想性与实践性的统一。“马克思主义有一种理想因素，即暗含着价值设定和终极目标。”马克思恩格斯文明理论以追求人的自由全面发展为目标，无疑具有理想性，但这个理想不是空想，不是“人类理性的发展”以及“由此而来的人们对自然的影响的发展”，而是以实践为基础或实现方式的“现实的个人”的发展，具有鲜明的实践性。

Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization possesses ideality. As a scientific theoretical system, Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization is not only a revelation and critique of the essence of capitalist civilization, but also a longing for and prospect of the bright future of human civilization development. From a temporal perspective, the communist civilization conceived by Marx and Engels is the highest form of civilization in human history. It not only ends the “end of history” thesis of modern Western civilization, but also opens up broad prospects for the development of human civilization, presenting not a past tense or present tense, but a future tense based on practical development. From a content perspective, the communist civilization conceived by Marx and Engels takes the free and all-round development of the individual as its core and basic principle, and the free and all-round development of the individual is the ultimate goal of human civilization development. On this point, Marx and Engels made it very clear in *The German Ideology*: “The all-round development of the individual will cease to be an ideal, a duty, etc., only when the impetus given by the external world to the actual development of the individual’s abilities is controlled by the individual himself, and this is precisely what the communists strive for.” [31]31 Marx and Engels, *The German Ideology*, in *Collected Works of Marx and Engels*, Vol. 3, p. 330. [Reference to Chinese edition; original source: *Marx Engels Collected Works*, Vol. 5, p. 235.] That is to say, before the external world is controlled by the individual himself, the free and all-round development of the individual remains an ideal. Clearly, this is not a past tense or present tense, but a future tense.

马克思恩格斯文明理论具有理想性。作为一个科学的理论体系，马克思恩格斯的文明理论既是对资本主义文明本质的揭示和批判，更是对人类文明发展光明前景的向往和展望。从时间上看，马克思恩格斯所构想的共产主义文明是人类历史上最高的文明形态，它不仅终结了西方现代文明的“历史终结论”，而且开辟了人类文明发展的广阔前景，展现的不是过去时、现在时，而是基于实践发展的未来时。从内容上看，马克思恩格斯所构想的共产主义文明以人的自由全面发展为内核和基本原则，而人的自由全面发展是人类文明发展的终极目标。关于这一点，马克思恩格斯在《德意志意识形态》中讲得非常清楚：“个人的全面发展，只有到了外部世界对个人才能的实际发展所起的推动作用为个人本身所驾驭的时候，才不再是理想、职责等等，这也正是共产主义者所向往的。”就是说，在外部世界为个人本身所驾驭之前，人的自由全面发展仍然是理想。显然，这不是过去时、现在时，而是未来时。

Practicality is the fundamental characteristic of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization. The fundamental attribute of civilization is practicality; it is a matter of practice. Hence, the narrative mode of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization is “practical history” rather than “history of ideas.” This is also the fundamental basis for why Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization is a scientific theory of civilization. Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization is built on the foundation of practice. What fundamentally distinguishes it from all other theories of civilization is that it expounds its theory of civilization starting from the “premises of human existence,” i.e., material production practice. Material production practice is both the origin of civilization and the driving force of its development. In this regard, material civilization is the most basic content of civilization and has ultimate significance; its state of development fundamentally influences and determines the degree of development of other elements of civilization and civilization as a whole. On this basis, Marx and Engels conducted a profound analysis and critique of the essence and future trends of capitalist civilization, achieving a correct grasp of the laws of “real individuals and their historical development,” embodying the unity of conformity to laws and conformity to purposes, and playing an important guiding role in the social practice of creating civilization.

实践性是马克思恩格斯文明理论的根本特点。文明的根本属性是实践性，是实践的事情，因而，马克思恩格斯文明理论的叙事方式是“实践史”而非“观念史”。这也是马克思恩格斯文明理论之所以是科学的文明理论的根本依据。马克思恩格斯的文明理论是建立在实践基础之上的，其区别于其他一切文明理论的根本之处在于，它是从“人类生存的前提”即物质生产实践出发阐发自己的文明理论。物质生产实践既是文明产生的根源，也是文明发展的动力。就此而言，物质文明是文明最基本的内容，具有归根结底的意义，其发展状况从根本上影响并决定着其他文明要素和文明整体的发展程度。在此基础上，马克思恩格斯对资本主义文明的本质及未来趋向进行深刻分析和批判，实现了对“现实的人及其历史发展”规律的正确把握，体现了合规律性与合目的性的统一，对创造文明的社会实践具有重要的指导作用。

Second, the unity of class character and human character. Besides adhering to the “history of ideas,” another major defect of modern Western historical views of civilization is their adherence to the “heroic view of history,” which attributes civilizational progress to the subjective efforts of a few heroic figures. Like the “history of ideas,” the “heroic view of history” belongs to “the historical narrative of ideas” and is an idealist view of civilizational history. Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization, on the other hand, adheres to the “people’s view of history,” attributing civilizational progress to the creative activities of the masses, holding that “without a producing class, society could not survive,” [32]32 Paraphrase of a passage from Engels, *The Housing Question*. and thus there would be no civilization. Although the connotation of civilization is extremely rich, the progress of material production and spiritual production and the abundance of material life and spiritual life are its basic content and concrete manifestations. Since the creators of material and spiritual wealth are the people, civilization is created by the people, and the people are the main force of civilizational progress.

其二，阶级性与人类性的统一。近代西方文明史观除了坚持“观念史观”外，另一个重大缺陷是坚持“英雄史观”，将文明进步归结为少数英雄人物的主观努力。与“观念史观”一样，“英雄史观”属于“观念的历史叙述”，是唯心主义文明史观。马克思恩格斯文明理论则坚持“人民史观”，将文明进步归结为人民群众的创造性活动，认为“没有一个生产者阶级，社会就不能生存”，也就不存在什么文明。尽管文明的内涵极为丰富，但物质生产、精神生产的进步和物质生活、精神生活的丰盈是基本内容和具体表现，而物质财富和精神财富的创造者是人民，因而，文明是人民创造的，人民是文明进步的主体力量。

The people’s character of civilization implies the class character of civilization. In a class society, the people’s character is based on class character; without class character, there is no people’s character. In the “age of civilization,” “every step forward in civilization is also a step forward in inequality. All the institutions that society creates for itself with the advent of civilization turn into the opposite of their original purpose.” [33]33 Engels, *The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State*, in *Collected Works of Marx and Engels*, Vol. 4, p. 177. [Reference to Chinese edition; original source: *Marx Engels Collected Works*, Vol. 26, p. 112.] Capitalist civilization is not a civilization created by capital, nor a civilization created by the bourgeoisie, but a concentrated manifestation of the alienation of labor—the fruits of civilization created by the working class are appropriated by the “class of property owners,” “the more objects the worker produces, the fewer he can possess, and the more he falls under the domination of his product, capital,” [34]34 Marx, *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844*, in *Collected Works of Marx and Engels*, Vol. 1, p. 157. [Reference to Chinese edition; original source: *Marx Engels Collected Works*, Vol. 3, p. 268.] and the subjectivity of capital replaces the subjectivity of the individual. Therefore, in the “age of civilization,” civilizational progress and class antagonism proceed simultaneously, as two sides of the same coin. In this sense, Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization is a doctrine concerning the emancipation of the proletariat. Only by appropriating their own fruits of civilization can the proletariat fully exert their subjectivity and advanced nature, and create a higher and more advanced human civilization.

文明的人民性也就意味着文明的阶级性。在阶级社会，人民性是以阶级性为基础的，没有阶级性，就无所谓人民性。在“文明时代”，“文明每前进一步，不平等也同时前进一步。随着文明而产生的社会为自己所建立的一切机构，都转变为它们原来的目的的反面”。资本主义文明不是资本创造的文明，也不是资产阶级创造的文明，而是劳动异化的集中呈现——工人阶级创造的文明成果被“有产者阶级”据为己有，“工人生产的对象越多，他能够占有的对象就越少，而且越受自己的产品即资本的统治”，资本主体性取代了人的主体性。因此，在“文明时代”，文明进步和阶级对抗是同步进行的，是同一个问题的两个方面。在这个意义上，马克思恩格斯的文明理论是关于无产阶级解放的学说，无产阶级只有占有自己的文明成果，才能充分发挥主体性和先进性，创造更高、更先进的人类文明。

The proletariat can only finally emancipate itself by emancipating all of humanity. Following this logic, according to the basic law of the successive replacement of forms of civilization, communist civilization is the highest form of human civilization development and the true realization of the “association of free individuals.” In the “association of free individuals,” classes, the state, exploitation, oppression, class struggle, etc., no longer exist, and the “free individuality” of each person is fully expressed. This is the value orientation of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization. Therefore, Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization stands not only on the standpoint of the people but also on the standpoint of all humanity, safeguarding the fundamental interests of all humanity and pursuing the happiness and development of everyone in the human community. In this way, Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization, on the basis of practice, achieves a high degree of unity among the people’s character, class character, and human character, thereby overcoming the narrowness and bias of all previous theories of civilization and opening a broad path for the development of human civilization.

无产阶级只有解放全人类，才能最终解放自己。按照这个逻辑，根据文明形态依次更替的基本规律，共产主义文明是人类文明发展的最高形态，是“自由人的联合体”的真正实现。在“自由人的联合体”中，阶级、国家以及剥削、压迫、阶级斗争等都不复存在，每个人的“自由个性”都得到充分发挥。这是马克思恩格斯文明理论的价值旨归。因此，马克思恩格斯的文明理论既站在人民立场上，也站在全人类立场上，维护全人类的根本利益，追求人类共同体中所有人的幸福与发展。这样，马克思恩格斯文明理论在实践的基础上，实现了人民性、阶级性和人类性的高度统一，从而克服了以往一切文明理论的狭隘性和偏颇性，为人类文明发展开辟了广阔的道路。

Third, the unity of critique and constructiveness. The unity of class character and human character necessarily endows Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization with both critique and constructiveness, forming an organic unity of the two. Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization takes critique as its premise, or rather contains critique within itself. Although Marx and Engels affirmed the “great civilizing role” of capital, they always examined capitalist civilization with a critical eye, and through an investigation of three dimensions—history, reality, and the future—revealed the dual character of capitalist civilization: the coexistence of civilization and barbarism. This dialectical thinking is a mode of critical thinking; through an in-depth examination of the capitalist mode of production, it exposed “the extreme hypocrisy and barbaric nature of bourgeois civilization.” [35]35 Marx and Engels, “The Future Results of British Rule in India,” MECW, vol. 12, p. 221. As Eagleton put it, “It is Marxism alone that has resolutely adhered to dialectical thinking, that is, that modern history is the inseparable history of civilization and barbarism,” thereby achieving a revolutionary transformation in the stance and method of approaching the “age of civilization.”

其三，批判性与建设性的统一。阶级性与人类性的统一决定了马克思恩格斯文明理论必然具有批判性和建设性，是两者的有机统一。马克思恩格斯文明理论以批判性为前提，或者说内含着批判性。马克思恩格斯虽然肯定了资本“伟大的文明作用”，但始终以批判的眼光审视资本主义文明，通过历史、现实和未来三重维度的考察，揭示了资本主义文明的两重性：文明与野蛮并存。这种辩证思维是一种批判性思维，通过对资本主义生产方式的深入考察，揭示了“资产阶级文明的极端伪善和它的野蛮本性”。正如伊格尔顿所说的，“唯独马克思主义鲜明地坚持了辩证法思想，就是说，现代历史是文明和野蛮不可分割的历史”，从而实现了对待“文明时代”立场和方法上的革命性变革。

Marx and Engels believed that the “two inevitables” [36]36 The “two inevitables” (两个必然) refer to the Marxist thesis that the victory of socialism over capitalism and the eventual triumph of communism are historically inevitable. are an irresistible law of history, and that this law is “a tendency that works with iron necessity and is being realized,” [37]37 Marx, Capital, vol. 1, Preface to the First German Edition, MECW, vol. 35, p. 8. but it is not a spontaneous process of development. Although “the barbarism of capitalism surpasses any civilization,” on the one hand, capitalist civilization, with its banners of “freedom, equality, and human rights,” is extremely hypocritical, using the free and equal exchange of commodities to conceal class exploitation and relations of oppression; on the other hand, Western states, by barbaric means such as colonization, plunder, and war, force non-Western states to “introduce so-called civilization in their own countries,” thereby constructing a world “civilization” system of “domination-subordination” or “center-periphery.” Consequently, the replacement of capitalist civilization by communist civilization is an inevitable but extremely long and tortuous historical process, governed both by objective laws and requiring a broad and thorough social revolution carried out by the proletariat, which represents the advanced productive forces, to be realized. The first step in the proletarian revolution is to raise itself to the position of the ruling class, to win democracy, and to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat. In this process, for the proletariat to be strong enough to win victory at the decisive moment, it must form a special party, different from all other parties and opposed to them—a conscious class party. The proletarian party is a civilization-type party, possessing resoluteness, thoroughness, and leadership in the historical process of promoting social development and civilizational progress.

马克思恩格斯认为“两个必然”是不可抗拒的历史规律，且这个规律是“以铁的必然性发生作用并且正在实现的趋势”，但它不是一个自然而然的发展过程。尽管“资本主义的野蛮胜过任何文明”，但一方面以“自由、平等、人权”为旗帜的资本主义文明具有极端伪善性，以自由平等的买卖关系掩盖了阶级剥削、压迫关系；另一方面，西方国家以殖民、掠夺、战争等野蛮手段迫使非西方国家“在自己那里推行所谓的文明”，从而建构起“支配－从属”或“中心－边缘”的世界“文明”体系。因而，共产主义文明取代资本主义文明是一个必然的但极为漫长、曲折的历史过程，既受客观规律的支配，也需要代表先进生产力的无产阶级进行广泛、彻底的社会革命才能实现。无产阶级革命的第一步就是使自己上升为统治阶级，争得民主，建立无产阶级专政。在这个过程中，无产阶级要在决定关头强大到足以取得胜利，就必须组成一个不同于其他所有政党并与它们对立的特殊政党，一个自觉的阶级政党。无产阶级政党是文明型政党，在推动社会发展和文明进步的历史进程中具有坚决性、彻底性和引领性。

In Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization, critique is guided by dialectical thinking. Critique is the unity of affirmation and negation; it is the construction of a new world on the basis of breaking the old one. Marx and Engels “discovered the new world through criticizing the old one,” [38]38 Marx, letter to Ruge, September 1843, MECW, vol. 3, p. 142. and in their critique of the “barbarism within civilization” of capitalism, they constructed a brand-new form of human civilization. Communist civilization is based on capitalist civilization, but it is also a sublation of capitalist civilization, fundamentally negating private property, thoroughly resolving the contradiction between socialized production and private appropriation of the means of production, placing the means of production under social ownership, and restoring free and conscious labor to the essence of humanity, thereby forming an “association of free individuals.” This process is the unity of critique and constructiveness. Therefore, building a new civilization is not the complete abandonment or total negation of the old civilization, but a dialectical, practical movement that, on the basis of critique, reverses what has been turned upside down and then “continues to build upon it.” [39]39 Engels, “On the History of the Communist League,” MECW, vol. 26, p. 518.

在马克思恩格斯的文明理论中，批判性以辩证思维为引领。批判是肯定与否定的统一，是在打破旧世界的基础上建设一个新世界。马克思恩格斯是“通过批判旧世界发现新世界”，在对资本主义“文明中的野蛮”的批判中建构起了崭新的人类文明形态。共产主义文明以资本主义文明为基础，但又是对资本主义文明的扬弃，从根本上否定了私有财产，彻底解决了生产社会化与生产资料私人占有的矛盾，生产资料归社会所有，自由自觉的劳动回归人的本质，从而形成了“自由人的联合体”。这个过程是批判性与建设性的统一。因此，建设新文明不是对旧文明的完全抛弃、全盘否定，而是辩证的现实运动，在批判的基础上，把颠倒的东西重新颠倒过来，然后“在它上面继续进行建设”。

Fourth, the unity of systematicity and developmental character. Before and after Marx and Engels, many theories of civilization emerged in Western history, including those of Plato, Aristotle, Hegel, as well as Toynbee, Jaspers, Huntington, and others. These theories of civilization either lacked systematicity or treated human civilization as a rigid, eternal, closed state, thereby lacking scientificity. In this sense, Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization achieved a revolutionary transformation in the theory of civilization, constructing a scientific theoretical system of civilization that profoundly elucidates the essential characteristics, basic laws, practical requirements, and bright prospects of human civilization.

其四，系统性与发展性的统一。在马克思恩格斯之前和之后，西方历史上曾产生过诸多文明理论，包括柏拉图、亚里士多德、黑格尔的文明理论以及汤因比、雅斯贝尔斯、亨廷顿等人的文明理论，这些文明理论要么没有系统性，要么将人类文明看成凝固的、永恒的封闭状态，从而缺乏科学性。在这个意义上，马克思恩格斯的文明理论实现了文明理论的革命性变革，建构起一个科学的文明理论体系，深刻阐明了人类文明的本质特征、基本规律、实践要求和光明前景。

Taking the “age of civilization” as its historical background, taking the revelation and critique of the essence of capitalist civilization as its path, and taking the construction of communist civilization as its direction, Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization answers a series of major questions concerning human civilization on the basis of practice, creating a scientific paradigm for understanding civilizational development. Taking “real individuals” as its starting point, standing on the standpoint of all humanity and the commanding heights of human civilization, it points out that “communism is the real generation of human essence, the true realization of human essence for humanity,” [40]40 Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, MECW, vol. 3, p. 304. with its core content and fundamental value orientation being “the free development of each,” thereby revealing the essence of civilization and its practical requirements; based on an in-depth investigation of the development of human civilization, especially the capitalist mode of production, and a profound revelation of the essence of capitalist civilization, it confirms that “all successively superseded historical states are only temporary stages in the endless process of development of human society from the lower to the higher,” [41]41 Engels, Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy, MECW, vol. 26, p. 387. thereby demonstrating the historical inevitability of the “association of free individuals” replacing the “false community,” and reaching the scientific conclusions of the “two inevitables” and the “two will nevers”; [42]42 The “two will nevers” (两个决不会) refer to Marx’s thesis in the 1859 Preface 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. it emphasizes the unity of the diversity of civilizational forms and the consistency of civilizational development trends, pointing out that civilizational development follows “one origin with multiple paths” rather than a “single linear path,” and that the paths of civilizational development are plural, not singular.

马克思恩格斯的文明理论以“文明时代”为时代背景，以对资本主义文明本质的揭示、批判为路径，以建设共产主义文明为方向，在实践的基础上回答了人类文明的一系列重大问题，创建了一种科学的文明发展理解范式。马克思恩格斯以“现实的人”为出发点，站在全人类立场和人类文明制高点上，指明“共产主义才是人的本质的现实的生成，是人的本质对人来说的真正的实现”，其核心内容和根本价值取向是“每个人的自由发展”，从而揭示了文明的本质及其实践要求；以对人类文明发展特别是资本主义生产方式的深入考察和对资本主义文明本质的深刻揭示为基础，确认“一切依次更替的历史状态都只是人类社会由低级到高级的无穷发展进程中的暂时阶段”，从而论证了“自由人的联合体”取代“虚假的共同体”的历史必然性，得出了“两个必然”和“两个决不会”的科学结论；强调文明形态多样性和文明发展趋向一致性的统一，指明文明发展是“一元多线论”而非“单一线性论”，文明发展道路不是单数而是复数。

Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization is not a closed theoretical system but an open one, advancing with the times and keeping pace with practice, constantly drawing on and absorbing the latest achievements of all human civilization to achieve innovative development. Marx and Engels believed that social being determines social consciousness, not the reverse, and therefore any theory is a theory of a specific era: “The theoretical thinking of each age, including our own, is a historical product, which takes completely different forms and has completely different content in different ages.” [43]43 Engels, Dialectics of Nature, MECW, vol. 25, p. 490. The same applies to Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization: “The practical application of these principles will, as the Manifesto itself says, depend at all times on the historical conditions existing at the time.” [44]44 Engels, “Preface to the 1888 English Edition of the Manifesto of the Communist Party,” MECW, vol. 26, p. 517. In response to Heinzen’s erroneous view that “communism is a doctrine that proceeds from certain theoretical principles, i.e., its own core, and from there draws further conclusions,” Engels sharply criticized: “Communism is not a doctrine but a movement; it proceeds not from principles but from facts.” [45]45 Engels, “The Communists and Karl Heinzen,” MECW, vol. 6, p. 292. In fact, the reason Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization has become a scientific theory guiding the development of human civilization lies precisely in the fact that it has never ceased to reflect on the problems of human civilizational development, using theoretical innovation to drive the practice of civilizational innovation. Lenin applied Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization in practice, emphasizing that “the proletariat demonstrates by its deeds that it is, and it alone is, the pillar of modern civilization,” [46]46 Lenin, “The Tasks of the Proletariat in Our Revolution,” Collected Works, vol. 24, p. 63. initially answering the major question of why and how to build socialist civilization in backward countries, and promoting and guiding the innovative practice of socialist civilization. The Chinese Communists are faithful inheritors and pioneering innovators of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, [47]47 “Upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground” (守正创新) is a key concept in contemporary Chinese Marxist discourse, meaning to maintain the core tenets of Marxism while innovating in theory and practice in response to new conditions. continuously exploring, opening up, and advancing Chinese-path modernization, creating a new form of human civilization, scientifically answering a series of major theoretical and practical questions such as what socialist civilization is, why to build it, and how to build it, writing a new chapter in Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization, opening up a new realm of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization, and promoting the innovative practice of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization.

马克思恩格斯的文明理论不是一个封闭的理论体系，而是一个开放的理论体系，与时代俱进、与实践同行，不断借鉴吸收全人类最新文明成果，实现创新性发展。马克思恩格斯认为，是社会存在决定社会意识，而不是相反，因此任何理论都是一定时代的理论，“每一个时代的理论思维，包括我们这个时代的理论思维，都是一种历史的产物，它在不同的时代具有完全不同的形式，同时具有完全不同的内容”。马克思恩格斯的文明理论也是如此，“这些原理的实际运用，正如《宣言》中所说的，随时随地都要以当时的历史条件为转移”。针对海因岑认为“共产主义是一种从一定的理论原则即自己的核心出发并由此得出进一步的结论的教义”的错误观点，恩格斯尖锐地批评道：“共产主义不是教义，而是运动。它不是从原则出发，而是从事实出发。”事实上，马克思恩格斯的文明理论之所以成为引领人类文明发展的科学理论，就在于它从未停止对人类文明发展问题的思考，以理论创新推动文明创新实践。列宁将马克思恩格斯的文明理论贯彻于实践之中，强调“无产阶级用事实表明，它是而且只有它才是现代文明的支柱”，初步回答了在落后国家为何以及如何建设社会主义文明的重大问题，推动和指导了社会主义文明的创新实践。中国共产党人是马克思恩格斯文明理论的忠实继承者和开拓创新者，守正创新，不断探索、开辟和推进中国式现代化，创造人类文明新形态，科学回答了何为社会主义文明、为何建设社会主义文明、如何建设社会主义文明等一系列重大理论和实践问题，谱写了马克思恩格斯文明理论的新篇章，开辟了马克思恩格斯文明理论的新境界，推动了马克思恩格斯文明理论的创新实践。

IV. The Contemporary Value of Marx and Engels’ Theory of Civilization

四、马克思恩格斯文明理论的当代价值

Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization scientifically reflects the issues and calls of the civilized era that have a worldwide impact. Once produced, it has had a broad and profound influence on the development of human civilization, propelled the process of human civilization forward, and thereby acquired world-historical significance. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Marxism has greatly advanced the process of human civilization and remains a system of thought and discourse with major international influence to this day.” Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization has not become outdated; it is still full of vigorous vitality. It holds great theoretical significance and practical value for building communist civilization, achieving the complete emancipation of humanity and the all-round development of the individual, and especially for the great practice of creating a new form of human civilization by comprehensively advancing and expanding Chinese-path modernization against the backdrop of world history.

马克思恩格斯的文明理论科学反映了文明时代具有世界性影响的问题和呼声，一经产生便对人类文明发展有着广泛而深刻的影响，推动了人类文明发展进程，从而获得了世界历史意义。正如习近平总书记所指出的，“马克思主义极大推进了人类文明进程，至今依然是具有重大国际影响的思想体系和话语体系”。马克思恩格斯的文明理论没有过时，仍然充满了旺盛的生机活力，对于建设共产主义文明，实现人类的彻底解放和人的全面发展，特别是对于在世界历史背景中以全面推进和拓展中国式现代化创造人类文明新形态的伟大实践具有重大理论意义和实践价值。

First, the revelation of the basic laws of the development of human civilization consolidates the dynamic foundation for building communist civilization. Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization is grounded in “real individuals” and their actual historical activities, “taking as its premise the whole of history up to the present, and especially the actual results that this history has produced in the civilized countries at the present time.” It reveals the process of human civilization’s continuous upgrading and tortuous advance, from the age of barbarism to the age of civilization, from a lower stage to a higher stage, and concludes that the replacement of capitalist civilization by communist civilization is “an inevitable conclusion that follows unavoidably from the premises provided by the general actual circumstances of modern civil society” and is a real movement. The reason communist civilization possesses actuality is that it is the inevitable direction of economic and social development, embodying the inner logic of the evolution of human civilization, especially the development of “modern civilization.” Although capitalist civilization overcame the limitation of traditional modes of production, which “were compatible only with the narrow and naturally determined boundaries of production and society,” and achieved a leap from a form of civilization based on “relations of personal dependence” to a form based on “dependence on things,” it not only failed to realize human emancipation and freedom but, on the contrary, enveloped the real life-world in the fog of “fetishism,” plunging people into a state of loss of subjectivity. Clearly, this form of civilization has inherent and insurmountable historical limitations; its historical end is an inevitability in the development of human civilization. However, this end is not the end of civilization but its replacement by a higher, more advanced form of civilization. This is a fundamental transformation. It is not a simple change of specific institutions but a fundamental reconstruction of the entire society, a revolutionary reshaping of the form of civilization. Although it cannot be smooth sailing and will inevitably encounter various difficulties, resistance, and even stormy waves, this is both an irresistible objective law and a lofty ideal pursued by all humanity. Marx and Engels devoted their entire lives to unremitting struggle for this goal. Therefore, steadfastly upholding the ideal of communist civilization, promoting the “real movement that abolishes the present state of things” with powerful spiritual motivation, building a “community of free individuals,” and advancing the all-round development of the individual constitute the original aspiration and founding mission of the proletariat and its political party.

其一，对人类文明发展基本规律的揭示，夯实了建设共产主义文明的动力基础。马克思恩格斯的文明理论立足于“现实的人”及其现实的历史活动，“把迄今为止的全部历史，特别是这一历史目前在文明各国造成的实际结果作为前提”，揭示了人类文明不断迭代升级、曲折前行，从野蛮时代上升为文明时代、从低级阶段上升为高级阶段的发展过程，得出了共产主义文明取代资本主义文明是“从现代文明社会的一般实际情况所具有的前提中不可避免地得出的必然结论”，是一场现实的运动。共产主义文明之所以具有现实性，就在于它是经济社会发展的必然指向，体现了人类文明演进特别是“现代文明”发展的内在逻辑。资本主义文明虽然克服了传统生产方式“只同生产和社会的狭隘的自然产生的界限相容”的局限性，实现了以“人的依赖关系”为基础的文明形式向“以物的依赖性为基础”的文明形式的跃升，但不仅没有实现人类的解放和自由，相反却使现实生活世界笼罩在“拜物教”的迷雾之中，使人陷入主体性丧失的境地。显然，这种文明形式具有与生俱来且自身无法克服的历史局限性，其历史的终结是人类文明发展的必然，但这种终结不是文明的终结，而是被一种更高、更先进的文明形态所取代。这是一个根本转变，它不是具体制度的简单更迭，而是整个社会的根本改造，是文明形态的革命性重塑，虽然不可能一帆风顺，必然会遇到各种困难阻力甚至惊涛骇浪，但这既是不可抗拒的客观规律，也是全人类共同追求的崇高理想。马克思恩格斯终其一生都在为这个目标不懈奋斗。因此，坚定共产主义文明理想，以强大的精神动力推动“消灭现存状况的现实的运动”，建设“自由人的联合体”，推动人的全面发展，是无产阶级及其政党的初心使命。

Second, the delineation of the beautiful prospect of civilizational development clarifies the direction of progress toward pursuing the truly universal well-being of humanity. Throughout history, living a happy life has always been a dream that humanity tirelessly pursues. The reason communist civilization is the highest form of civilization is that it takes the true, universal, and enduring happy life of all humanity as its ultimate goal and substantive content; the free and all-round development of the individual is in fact the highest manifestation of human happiness. A happy life for humanity is not the happy life of some people or certain people, but the happy life of all humanity, that is, the happy life of “each individual.” Here, “freedom” is a key word for understanding human happiness. In Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization, “freedom” and “happiness” are closely linked, and the two are consistent in connotation and direction. “The all-round and free development of the individual” is the full unfolding of “free individuality.” Without “free development,” there is no “all-round development”; without “all-round development,” there is no “free development.” In communist society, “nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production.” Some have slandered this exposition as a “utopia,” but in fact it is Marx and Engels’ principled discussion of the free development, all-round development, and happy life of the individual, embodying the value purport of communist civilization—the realm of freedom. In the realm of freedom, the reason a happy life is a universal state lies not only in the full flow of all social wealth resulting from the highly developed productive forces, but also in the full development of the individual’s “free individuality,” i.e., their innovative spirit and creative capacity, and in the more equitable and just distribution of freedom.

其二，对文明发展美好图景的擘画，明确以追求人类真正普遍的幸福生活为前进方向。古往今来，过上幸福生活始终是人类孜孜以求的梦想。共产主义文明之所以是文明发展的最高形态，就在于它以全人类真正的、普遍的、恒久的幸福生活为终极目标和实质内容，人的自由全面发展实际上是人类幸福生活的最高呈现。人类幸福生活不是哪个人或哪些人的幸福生活，而是全人类的幸福生活，即“每一个个人”的幸福生活。在这里，“自由”是理解人类幸福生活的一个关键词。在马克思恩格斯的文明理论中，“自由”与“幸福”紧密相连，两者在内涵和指向上是一致的。“人的全面而自由的发展”是“自由个性”的充分展开。没有“自由发展”就没有“全面发展”，没有“全面发展”也没有“自由发展”。在共产主义社会，“任何人都没有特殊的活动范围，而是都可以在任何部门内发展，社会调节着整个生产”。有人将这个论述诬称为“乌托邦”，但实际上这是马克思恩格斯对人的自由发展、全面发展和幸福生活的原则性论述，体现了共产主义文明的价值旨趣——自由王国。在自由王国中，幸福生活之所以是一种普遍样态，不仅在于生产力高度发展而造成一切社会财富的充分涌流，也在于人的“自由个性”即人的创新精神、创造能力的充分发展，还在于对自由的分配更加公平公正。

In the “illusory community,” alienated labor brings people not happiness but pain. Only in the “real community,” i.e., the “community of free individuals,” is there the all-round development of the individual and a truly universal happy life. The “community of free individuals” is communist society, i.e., communist civilization; or, communist civilization takes the “community of free individuals” as its form of social organization. Today, the “community of free individuals” remains an ideal, a goal to strive for, while building a “community with a shared future for mankind” is a real historical task. The “community with a shared future for mankind” is not the “community of free individuals,” but it is an important step toward the “community of free individuals.” The original intention of building a community with a shared future for mankind is to place the overall interests of humanity and human happiness first, to blaze a civilizational path of peaceful development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, and to strive to build an inclusive and beneficial happy society. Therefore, an important practical task in adhering to Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization is to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Or, promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind must take Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization as its fundamental guide, benefiting the people, benefiting the world, and benefiting all humanity.

在“虚假的共同体”中，异化劳动给人们带来的不是幸福，而是痛苦。只有在“真正的共同体”即“自由人的联合体”中，才有人的全面发展，才有真正的、普遍的幸福生活。“自由人的联合体”即共产主义社会，亦即共产主义文明，或者说，共产主义文明以“自由人的联合体”为社会组织形式。当今，“自由人的联合体”仍然是一个理想，是一个奋斗目标，而构建“人类命运共同体”则是现实的历史任务。“人类命运共同体”不是“自由人的联合体”，但却是走向“自由人的联合体”的重要一步。构建人类命运共同体的初衷，就是把人类整体利益和人类幸福放在首位，走出一条和平发展、合作共赢的文明道路，努力建设普惠包容的幸福社会。因此，坚持马克思恩格斯的文明理论，一个重要的现实任务就是构建人类命运共同体。或者说，推动构建人类命运共同体必须以马克思恩格斯的文明理论为根本指导，造福人民、造福世界、造福全人类。

Third, the critique of the barbaric nature of capitalist civilization strengthens the civilizational consciousness and civilizational confidence of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The sublation of capitalist civilization by communist civilization is not smooth sailing, but a long process of tortuous development, step-by-step advancement, and sustained effort; it “must go through long struggles, through a series of historical processes that transform circumstances and people.” One important manifestation is that “between capitalist and communist society there lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one into the other. Corresponding to this is also a political transition period in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat.” This transition period, Marx called the “first phase,” Lenin called “socialist society,” and socialism with Chinese characteristics is the primary stage of socialism, the initial link of this transition period. In this sense, creating a new form of human civilization through Chinese-path modernization and continuously taking solid steps toward socialist civilization is the innovative practice of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization in the contemporary era. Therefore, strengthening the civilizational consciousness and civilizational confidence of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a major contemporary issue facing China today.

其三，对资本主义文明野蛮本性的批判，坚定了中国特色社会主义文明自觉和文明自信。共产主义文明对资本主义文明的扬弃不是一帆风顺的，而是一个曲折发展、步步推进、久久为功的漫长过程，它“必须经过长期的斗争，必须经过一系列将把环境和人都加以改造的历史过程”。其中一个重要表现是，“在资本主义社会和共产主义社会之间，有一个从前者变为后者的革命转变时期。同这个时期相适应的也有一个政治上的过渡时期，这个时期的国家只能是无产阶级的革命专政”。这个转变时期，马克思称之为“第一阶段”，列宁称之为“社会主义社会”，而中国特色社会主义是社会主义初级阶段，是这个转变时期的初始环节。在这个意义上，以中国式现代化创造人类文明新形态，不断迈出趋向社会主义文明的坚实步伐，是马克思恩格斯的文明理论在当代的创新实践，因而，坚定中国特色社会主义文明自觉和文明自信是当今中国面临的重大时代课题。

Civilizational consciousness means having a clear understanding of one’s own civilization’s past, present, and future prospects—knowing whence it came, where it now stands, and whither it is headed. Civilizational confidence, based on civilizational consciousness, is the recognition of and faith in one’s own civilizational traditions, developmental path, and bright future prospects. Civilizational confidence is both a logical outcome of history and a result of comparison among different civilizations. Historically, Chinese civilization is long-standing, profound, broad-minded, and endowed with great virtue; it possesses such outstanding characteristics as continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness, and peace, continuously enriching the treasure house of human civilization and advancing its development. This is unprecedented in the history of human civilization. Realistically, this comparison is primarily between the civilization of socialism with Chinese characteristics and capitalist civilization. This comparison is both a historical vertical comparison—capitalist civilization creates the conditions for socialist civilization—and a realistic horizontal comparison, because the two civilizations currently and for a considerable period to come exist within the same time and space. It must be pointed out that although history has entered the 21st century, it still remains, in general, within the “civilizational epoch” [51]51 Marx and Engels used the term “civilizational epoch” (Zivilisationsepoche) to characterize the historical stage dominated by capitalism, marked by class antagonisms and the expansion of the world market. identified by Marx and Engels; hence, Marx and Engels’ revelation and critique of the barbaric nature of capitalism remain valid. That is to say, the unity of capitalist civility and barbarism has not yet been shattered and will persist for a considerable time. Therefore, following the objective laws of human civilizational development and overcoming the barbarism and historical limitations of capitalist civilization are the top priorities in the construction of socialist cultural-ethical progress. In this regard, strengthening the civilizational consciousness and civilizational confidence of socialism with Chinese characteristics means strengthening socialist civilizational consciousness and civilizational confidence. Surpassing capitalist civilization is an inevitable requirement for the construction of socialist cultural-ethical progress with Chinese characteristics. This surpassing is concretely embodied in the multi-dimensional transcendence of people-centeredness over capital-centeredness, common prosperity over polarization, and comprehensive development over one-sided development, the essence of which is the transcendence of civilization over barbarism.

文明自觉是对自身文明的过去、现在以及未来前途有清醒的认识，知其从何而来、现在何处以及将去何方。文明自信则以文明自觉为基础，是对自身文明传统、发展道路以及未来美好发展前景的认同和信心。文明自信既是历史的逻辑使然，也是不同文明比较的结果。历史地看，中华文明源远流长、博大精深、厚德载物，具有连续性、创新性、统一性、包容性、和平性等突出特性，不断丰富人类文明宝库、推动人类文明发展。这在人类文明发展史上是前所未有的。现实地看，这种比较主要是中国特色社会主义文明与资本主义文明的比较。这种比较既是历史的纵向比较，即资本主义文明为社会主义文明创造条件，也是现实的横向比较，因为两大文明目前乃至今后一个相当长时期内存在于同一时空之中。需要指明的是，虽然历史已进入21世纪，但在总体上仍然处在马克思恩格斯所指明的“文明时代”，因而马克思恩格斯对资本主义野蛮本性的揭示与批判仍然有效。就是说，资本主义文明性与野蛮性的统一体仍未破灭，还会存续相当长的时间。因此，遵循人类文明发展的客观规律，克服资本主义文明的野蛮性及历史局限，是社会主义精神文明建设的重中之重。就此而言，坚定中国特色社会主义文明自觉和文明自信就是坚定社会主义文明自觉与文明自信，超越资本主义文明是中国特色社会主义精神文明建设的必然要求，这种超越具体体现在以人民为中心对以资本为中心、共同富裕对两极分化、全面发展对片面发展等多维度的超越，其实质是文明对野蛮的超越。

Fourth, the sublation of the Western modern civilizational outlook highlights the unique value of the civilizational outlook of Chinese-path modernization. Capitalist civilization is the historical achievement of Western modernization, concentrating and profoundly embodying the Western modern civilizational outlook. The core of the Western modern civilizational outlook is capital-centeredness; the logic of capital is its civilizational logic. Although it has a great civilizing effect, its barbarism or anti-civilizational nature is increasingly prominent. In this sense, strengthening the civilizational confidence of socialism with Chinese characteristics means surpassing Western modernization with Chinese-path modernization. The unique civilizational outlook contained in Chinese-path modernization profoundly and concretely embodies the civilizational logic of Chinese-path modernization. The unique civilizational outlook of Chinese-path modernization is formed through the Two Integrations—that is, integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture. In the practice of creating a new form of human civilization, the Second Integration is manifested as the integration of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization with the genes of Chinese civilization, which is of great significance for the formation of the unique civilizational outlook of Chinese-path modernization. Chinese-path modernization neither departs from the grand path of human civilizational development nor lacks distinct Chinese characteristics based on its own national conditions. It is rooted in Chinese civilization and takes all achievements of human civilization as its premise, especially guided by Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization, constantly opening up new realms of theoretical and practical innovation.

其四，对西方现代化文明观的扬弃，凸显了中国式现代化文明观的独特价值。资本主义文明是西方现代化的历史性成果，集中而深刻地体现了西方现代化的文明观。西方现代化文明观的核心是以资本为中心，资本逻辑即其文明逻辑，尽管它具有伟大的文明作用，但其野蛮性或反文明性日益凸显。在此意义上，坚定中国特色社会主义文明自信，就是要以中国式现代化超越西方现代化。中国式现代化蕴含的独特的文明观，深刻而具体地体现了中国式现代化的文明逻辑。中国式现代化独特文明观是在“两个结合”，即把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际、同中华优秀传统文化相结合中形成的。在创造人类文明新形态的实践中，“第二个结合”体现为马克思恩格斯的文明理论和中华文明基因相结合，对中国式现代化独特文明观的形成具有重要意义。中国式现代化既没有脱离人类文明发展大道，也有基于自己国情的鲜明的中国特色，它立足于中华文明，又以全人类一切文明成果为前提，特别是以马克思恩格斯的文明理论为指引，不断开辟理论创新和实践创新的新境界。

The unique civilizational outlook contained in Chinese-path modernization is rich in content and profound in meaning. It is the concrete application and epochal expansion of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization. To summarize, it mainly includes three aspects: First, an autonomous civilizational outlook. To date, the world modernization process has been centered on Western modernization, which uses colonization, plunder, and even war as means to force all countries and nations to adopt its civilizational form, thereby creating the myth that “modernization equals Westernization.” Although the modernization of many countries in the world has its own characteristics, it is generally Western modernization, with a strong character of dependency or subordination. Chinese-path modernization takes an independent and self-reliant new path, firmly grasping the initiative of development in its own hands, “declaring the bankruptcy of the ‘end of history’ thesis [52]52 “The end of history” refers to Francis Fukuyama’s 1989 thesis that liberal democracy represents the endpoint of humanity’s sociocultural evolution. and the bankruptcy of the unilinear view of history that all countries must ultimately take the Western institutional model as their destination.” Second, a holistic or comprehensive civilizational outlook. Western modernization pursues a singular civilizational outlook, one-sidedly pursuing material civilization. Chinese-path modernization adheres to a people-centered development outlook, pursuing the coordinated and common development of the “five spheres” [53]53 The “five spheres” (五位一体) refers to the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan for socialist modernization: economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress.. Third, a global civilizational outlook. Chinese-path modernization not only benefits the Chinese people but also the people of the world. It has a global vision and humanistic sentiment, adheres to a civilizational outlook of equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness, advocates the common values of all mankind, and promotes the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, effectively putting an end to such absurdities as the “theory of civilizational superiority” and the “clash of civilizations.” In short, the unique civilizational outlook contained in Chinese-path modernization is a completely new civilizational outlook, one that aligns with the universal concerns of the world’s people and the fundamental interests of all mankind, and one that conforms to the trend of the times and creates a new form of human civilization.

中国式现代化蕴含的独特文明观内容丰富、旨宏意深，是马克思恩格斯文明理论的具体运用和时代拓展。概括起来，主要有三个方面的内容：一是自主性文明观。迄今为止，世界现代化进程是以西方现代化为主轴的，而西方现代化以殖民、掠夺甚至战争等为手段，强迫一切国家和民族采取其文明形式，从而造成了“现代化=西方化”的迷思。世界许多国家的现代化虽然都有自己的特点，但在总体上是西方现代化，具有较强的依附性或附庸性。中国式现代化走的是一条独立自主的新路，始终将发展的主动权牢牢掌握在自己手中，“用事实宣告了‘历史终结论’的破产，宣告了各国最终都要以西方制度模式为归宿的单线式历史观的破产”。二是整体性文明观或全面文明观。西方现代化奉行的是单一的文明观，片面追求物质文明。中国式现代化坚持以人民为中心的发展观，追求“五个文明”协调发展、共同发展。三是全球性文明观。中国式现代化不仅造福中国人民，也造福世界人民，具有全球视野和人类情怀，坚持平等、互鉴、对话、包容的文明观，倡导全人类共同价值，推动构建人类命运共同体，在事实上终结了“文明优越论”“文明冲突论”等奇谈怪论。简言之，中国式现代化蕴含的独特文明观是一种全新的文明观，是符合世界人民普遍关切和全人类根本利益的文明观，是顺应时代发展潮流、创造人类文明新形态的文明观。

Fifth, the conception of specific paths for civilizational evolution promotes the practical construction of a new form of human civilization that surpasses capitalist civilization. Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization not only reveals the general laws of civilizational development but also designs specific paths for civilizational development—that is, promoting civilizational development through modernization, overcoming the “civilization-barbarism” binary model of civilization by using civilization to surpass barbarism, and building socialist civilization. In this historical process, Chinese-path modernization has irreplaceable unique advantages. Chinese-path modernization differs from Western modernization; it “is deeply rooted in the fine traditional Chinese culture, embodies the advanced nature of scientific socialism, draws on and absorbs all outstanding achievements of human civilization, represents the direction of human civilizational progress, and presents a new picture different from the Western modernization model; it is a completely new form of human civilization.” The new form of human civilization created by Chinese-path modernization is relative to Western modern civilization. It is the modern transformation and manifestation of the modern power of Chinese civilization, a higher form of civilization. The fundamental path for creating a new form of human civilization is to continuously advance and expand the great practice of Chinese-path modernization. In this process, the Second Integration is of particular significance. It is necessary both to make Chinese civilization modern and always adhere to the subjectivity of Chinese culture, and to make Marxism Chinese and activate the vitality and creativity of Chinese civilization, using the Two Integrations to construct the autonomous capacity for the modern transformation and civilizational innovation of Chinese civilization, thereby continuously advancing and expanding the theoretical and practical innovation of Chinese-path modernization.

其五，对文明演变具体道路的构想，推动超越资本主义文明的人类文明新形态的实践建构。马克思恩格斯的文明理论不仅揭示了文明发展的一般规律，而且还对文明发展的具体道路进行了设计，即以现代化方式推动文明发展，以文明超越野蛮，克服“文明－野蛮”二元论的文明模式，建设社会主义文明。在这个历史进程中，中国式现代化具有不可替代的独特优势。中国式现代化不同于西方现代化，它“深深植根于中华优秀传统文化，体现科学社会主义的先进本质，借鉴吸收一切人类优秀文明成果，代表人类文明进步的发展方向，展现了不同于西方现代化模式的新图景，是一种全新的人类文明形态”。中国式现代化创造的人类文明新形态是相对于西方现代文明而言的，是中华文明的现代转型和现代力量的呈现，是一种更高级的文明形态。创造人类文明新形态，根本路径是不断推进和拓展中国式现代化的伟大实践。在这个过程中，“第二个结合”具有特别重要的意义，既要使中华文明成为现代的并始终坚持中华文化主体性，又要使马克思主义成为中国的并激活中华文明的生命力和创造力，以“两个结合”建构起中华文明现代转型与文明创新的自主能力，从而不断推进和拓展中国式现代化的理论创新和实践创新。

(Author’s bio: Zhang Sanyuan, second-level professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Management, Wuhan Institute of Technology)

（作者简介：张三元，武汉工程大学管理学院二级教授、博士生导师）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心