The Modernization Model of Western Countries and Its Contemporary Predicament

Modernization is a great transformation in the development of human society and a major advance in the progress of human civilization. As an important stage in the world-historical process, the main characteristic of modernization is the transition of humanity from a traditional agricultural society to a modern industrial society and information society, along with the comprehensive and profound changes in social life that this triggers. The modernization of Western countries preceded that of other regions, granting them a first-mover advantage. At the end of the 18th century, the center of the world economy shifted from the East to the West. Through the Industrial Revolution, Britain became the dominant force in the global economy, driving Europe into the era of industrialization, and thereby the worldwide process of modernization began.

现代化是人类社会发展的一次巨大转型，是人类文明发展的重大进步。作为世界历史进程中的一个重要阶段，现代化的主要特征是人类从传统农业社会迈向现代工业社会、信息社会以及由此引发的社会生活全面深刻变革。西方国家的现代化早于其他地区，这让其取得先发优势。18世纪末，世界经济中心从东方转到了西方。英国经过工业革命，成为全球经济主导者，带动欧洲进入工业化时代，世界范围的现代化进程由此拉开序幕。

The rise of Europe initiated the global process of modernization.

欧洲崛起开启了世界现代化进程

The modern transformation of the world was a process in which Western countries established political and economic dominance over other regions. The West was endowed with the meaning of “civilization” at the levels of material objects, institutions, and spirit, while the non-West became synonymous with “backwardness.” The West achieved unprecedented progress in material accomplishments, and Western industrial civilization overwhelmed the agricultural civilizations of other regions. The original modes of production and life around the world were thoroughly shattered and comprehensively reorganized. Before the British Industrial Revolution, the East Asian agricultural society was the center of the world economy. Asian countries represented by China and India created splendid agricultural civilizations. Chinese handwoven cloth was a favorite on the international market, and Britons took pride in wearing Chinese cotton fabrics. Indian handwoven textiles were also exceptionally fine; the British Parliament even banned the import of Indian silk and printed fabrics and imposed heavy taxes on Indian cotton goods. In the domestic market, let alone the international market, British cotton cloth simply could not compete with cotton cloth from the East. Later, taking Asia’s cotton textile industry as a model, Britain initiated a landmark process of import substitution. The development of the British textile industry drove improvements in textile technology and changes in production methods. The practical needs of the textile processing industry, combined with the water resource conditions of the London region, enabled Britain to take the lead in inventing the steam engine, using a ventilation technology also employed in China’s mining industry at the time. The invention and application of the steam engine further promoted the growth and expansion of the machine textile industry. The prosperity of the machine textile industry, in turn, spurred major improvements in production techniques. The increase in labor productivity allowed Britain to gain a dominant position in the global market, and the Industrial Revolution entered a period of full-scale eruption. The achievements of the British Industrial Revolution quickly spread to other regions. Following Britain’s lead, Western Europe also joined the industrialization process. By the end of the 19th century, industrialization had blossomed across Europe and spread across the Atlantic to the Americas. Large-scale industrial production generated enormous demand for grain, raw materials, and primary processed goods, which local European resources could not satisfy. This stimulated the foreign trade and colonization activities of European industrial powers, leading to the establishment of European settlements, transit points, trading posts, colonies, coaling stations, and maritime strongholds around the world. The process by which early industrialized countries expanded globally was a process in which humanity gradually transformed from an isolated and dispersed state into a closely connected whole; this process was the process of history turning into world history. Through military conquest and “free trade,” Western countries reallocated global resources according to the principle of efficiency based on their own needs. Thus, the world economy formed a “center-periphery” pattern, with industrialized Europe as the center and the agricultural belts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America as the periphery. From the second half of the 19th century to the early 20th century was a critical period in world economic history. During this time, the Second Industrial Revolution occurred, and human society began to enter the electrical age, with the United States leading this wave of industrialization. In addition, after completing unification, Germany quickly embarked on the path of industrialization. Thus, the modern production methods brought by industrialization spread to regions outside Europe. The scope of industrialization continued to expand, and its depth deepened; British manufacturing was no longer the sole standout. Britain’s industrial advantages faced challenges not only from within Europe but also from emerging powers like the United States. In the late 19th century, the U.S. industrial economy grew rapidly, and by the early 20th century, it had become the foremost industrial power. After World War II, driven by the Third Industrial Revolution, the United States rapidly rose to become a global superpower.

近代世界变局是西方国家建立对其他地区政治经济支配地位的过程。西方在器物、制度和精神层面被赋予“文明”的意义，非西方则成为“落后”的代名词。西方在物质成就方面取得前所未有的进步，西方的工业文明对其他地区的农业文明形成碾压态势。世界各地原有的生产生活方式被彻底打破并全面重组。在英国工业革命前，东亚农业社会是世界经济的中心。以中国和印度为代表的亚洲国家创造了辉煌的农业文明。中国的手工织布是国际市场宠儿，英国人以穿着中国棉布为荣。印度的手工纺织品也非常出色，英国议会甚至禁止进口印度丝织品和印花布，并对印度棉织品课以重税。在本土市场，遑论国际市场，英国生产的棉布根本无法与来自东方的棉布竞争。后来，英国以亚洲的棉纺织业为摹本，开启了具有划时代意义的进口替代过程。英国纺织业的发展，推动了纺织技术改良和生产方式变革。纺织加工业的现实需要和伦敦地区的水资源条件结合，使英国利用当时中国采矿业也在采用的排风技术率先发明了蒸汽机。蒸汽机的发明和应用，又推动机器纺织业发展壮大。机器纺织业的繁荣，进一步带动生产工艺大改进。劳动生产率的提高，让英国获得了对全球的市场支配地位，工业革命进入全面爆发期。英国工业革命的成果，很快就扩散到了其他地区。紧随英国脚步，西欧也加入了工业化进程。到19世纪末，工业化在欧洲遍地开花，并扩散到大西洋对岸的美洲。工业化大生产对粮食、原材料、初级加工品产生庞大需求，而欧洲本地资源难以满足。这就刺激了欧洲工业国的对外贸易和拓殖活动，世界各地出现了欧洲人建立的定居点、中转站、贸易场、殖民地、加煤站和海上据点。早期工业化国家向全球的拓展过程使人类从孤立和分散的状态逐步发展成为一个密切联系的整体的过程，这个过程是历史向世界历史转变的过程。西方国家通过武力征服和“自由贸易”，使全球资源根据自身需要按照效率原则重新配置。从而，世界经济形成以工业化的欧洲为中心，以亚非拉农业带为外围的“中心—外围”格局。从19世纪下半叶到20世纪初，是世界经济史上的关键时期。在此期间发生了第二次工业革命，人类社会开始进入电气时代，美国引领了这一波工业化浪潮。此外，完成统一后，德国快速步入工业化轨道。由此，工业化带来的现代生产方式，扩散到欧洲以外地区。工业化的范围持续扩大，程度不断加深，英国制造业不再一枝独秀。英国的产业优势不仅受到来自欧洲内部的挑战，也受到新兴的美国等的冲击。19世纪后期，美国的工业经济迅速发展，到20世纪初已成为首屈一指的工业大国。二战后，在第三次工业革命的推动下美国迅速崛起，成为一个全球性的超级大国。

The modernization model of Western countries.

西方国家的现代化模式

Because the West played a leading role in the process of modernization, “Westernization” became synonymous with modernization. Of course, there were also internal differences in the modernization methods of various Western countries. Due to differences in resource endowments, political systems, economic organizations, social structures, and other aspects, Western countries chose different development paths, forming distinctive European models, North American models, and so on. Western experience shows that the road to modernization is not singular. However, overall, the modernization of Western countries belongs to capital-led modernization and has many common characteristics. The capital-centered Western countries, while creating vast amounts of social wealth, also caused polarization in the distribution of social wealth. The Industrial Revolution brought Europe into an era of wealth creation, and the highly developed material civilization propelled Europe to become the center of the world. The bourgeoisie became the new darlings of society. Guided by efficiency, they continuously concentrated the population, centralized the means of production, and gathered property in the hands of a few. Marx pointed out: “The bourgeoisie, during its rule of scarce one hundred years, has created more massive and more colossal productive forces than have all preceding generations together.” [1]1 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The Communist Manifesto* (1848). The inevitable result of economic concentration was political concentration. Taking the United States as an example, mechanized production, assembly-line operations, and the rise of scientific management thought were all products of Americans’ pursuit of economic efficiency. In the continuous process of industrialization, U.S. industrial production gradually became monopolized by a few trusts. At the social level, a minority of white people possessed the vast majority of social wealth and monopolized the power to allocate social resources.

由于西方在现代化的过程中扮演了领头羊的角色，“西方化”成为现代化的代名词。当然，西方各国的现代化方式也存在内部差异。由于资源禀赋、政治体系、经济组织、社会结构等方面的差别，西方各国选择了不同的发展道路，形成的欧洲模式、北美模式等各具特色。西方经验表明，通往现代化的道路并不唯一。但总体而言，西方国家的现代化都属于资本主导的现代化，有多方面的共性特征。以资本为中心的西方国家在创造出大量社会财富的同时，造成了社会财富分配的两极分化。工业革命使欧洲进入了一个创富的时代，高度发达的物质文明让欧洲一跃成为世界的中心。资产阶级成为社会的新宠，他们以效率为导向，不断使人口密集起来，使生产资料集中起来，使财产聚集在少数人的手里。马克思指出：“资产阶级在它的不到一百年的阶级统治中所创造的生产力，比过去一切世代创造的全部生产力还要多，还要大。”经济上的集中产生的必然结果就是政治的集中。以美国为例，机械化生产、流水线作业以及科学管理思想的兴起，都是美国人追求经济效益的产物。在工业化不断推进过程中，美国的工业生产逐渐垄断在少数托拉斯手中。在社会层面，少数白人占有了绝大部分的社会财富，并且垄断了社会资源分配的权力。

The modernization of Western countries, while liberating people from the shackles of the feudal system, also plunged them into dependence on things. The prevalence of materialism and utilitarianism caused a loss of social faith and an overflow of material desires. Individualism is a general principle of social life in Western civil society that gradually formed during the process of the West breaking free from feudal constraints since the 16th century. With the development of the industrial sector and the market economy, the number and scale of cities also continuously expanded. People gradually broke free from the bonds of rural communities and patriarchal patronage relationships to work and live in cities. Thus, the relationship of dependence on people gradually evolved into a relationship of dependence on things. Engels, in his study of 18th-century British history, described British individualism: “The activity of the English is the activity of independent, mutually juxtaposed individuals, the movement of unconnected atoms, these atoms rarely act together as a whole, and even when they do act as a whole, they do so from personal interest.” [2]2 Friedrich Engels, *The Condition of the Working Class in England* (1845). The flourishing of commodity fetishism, money fetishism, and capital fetishism led to the decay of social morality.

西方国家的现代化，在把人从封建制度束缚下解放出来的同时，却使人陷入对物的依赖，物质主义、功利主义的盛行造成了社会信仰缺失、物欲横流。个人主义是16世纪以来在西方摆脱封建制度束缚的过程中逐步形成的西方市民社会生活通则。随着工业部门和市场经济的发展，城市的数量和规模也在不断扩大，人们逐渐摆脱农村共同体和宗法庇护关系的束缚到城市工作与生活，由此人对人的依赖关系逐渐演变为人对物的依赖关系。恩格斯在研究18世纪的英国历史时，描述了英国的个人主义，“英国的活动则是独立的、彼此并立的个人的活动，是无联系的原子的运动，这些原子很少作为一个整体共同行动，而且即使作为整体行动的时候也是从个人利益出发。”商品拜物教、货币拜物教和资本拜物教的兴盛，导致了社会道德的败坏。

The continuous technological progress of Western countries has driven the industrial revolution, but capital’s choice of technology is not based on ecological principles; rather, it aims at the pursuit of surplus value and the maximization of profits, which has led to serious environmental problems. These countries have consumed natural resources without restraint, developing themselves at the expense of the natural environment and by trampling on the interests of other nations. In the 19th century, European industrial growth accelerated steadily, and the consumption of raw materials increased significantly. Oil consumption nearly doubled every ten years, and the consumption of major mineral raw materials also rose continuously. Environmental pollution in the early stages of capitalist development mainly took two forms: air pollution and water pollution. At that time, the main source of air pollution was exhaust gases produced by the burning of mineral fuels. The invention and widespread use of the steam engine caused coal consumption to surge alongside industrial development. In Britain, exhaust gases from coal combustion enveloped densely populated cities such as Bolton, Preston, and Wigan. Air pollution was most severe in Bolton, northwest of Manchester, where “even in the best weather, the city is a gloomy, disgusting great hole.” [3]3 Samuel P. Huntington, *Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity* (2004). Toxic gases from household waste and polluted rivers were also major sources of pollution. In the working-class residential areas on the outskirts of Manchester, there were stagnant puddles everywhere, “with piles of garbage, waste, and nauseating filth heaped high between these puddles, constantly emitting stench to pollute the surrounding air, which was already murky and oppressive enough due to the black smoke from dozens of factory chimneys.” [4]4 A reference to the institutions of the European Union, headquartered in Brussels, often used by Eurosceptics to denote a perceived remote and unaccountable bureaucratic elite. Water sources were essential for all production departments in the large-scale industrial system, and almost all factories were built along rivers, laying the groundwork for river pollution. For example, the River Irk in Manchester, originally clear to the bottom, became a narrow, black, and foul-smelling stream after flowing through the city.

西方国家技术的不断进步引领产业革命，但资本对技术的选择不是以生态原则为基础，而是以追求剩余价值和利益最大化为目的，这就导致了严重的环境问题。这些国家毫无节制地消耗自然资源，以牺牲自然环境和践踏别国利益的方式发展自己。19世纪，欧洲工业增长不断提速，原材料消费显著增加。石油消费量几乎每隔10年就会翻一番，主要矿物原料的消费量也不断攀升。环境污染在资本主义发展初期主要有空气污染和水污染两种形式。当时造成空气污染的主要污染源是矿物燃料燃烧所产生的废气。蒸汽机的发明和广泛使用，使得煤炭的消耗量伴随着工业的发展而急剧增长。在英国，煤炭燃烧所排放的废气笼罩着人口聚集的城市，像波尔顿、普雷斯顿、威根等城市。曼彻斯特西北的波尔顿空气污染最为严重，“即使在天气最好的时候，这个城市也是一个阴森森的讨厌的大窟窿”。生活垃圾和被污染河流散发的毒气也是主要的污染源之一。在曼彻斯特郊区的工人居住区，到处都是死水洼，“高高地堆积在这些死水洼之间的一堆堆的垃圾、废弃物和令人作呕的脏东西不断地发散出臭味来污染四周的空气，而这里的空气由于成打的工厂烟囱冒着黑烟，本来就够污浊沉闷的了。”水源是大工业体系中一切生产部门的必需品，几乎所有的厂房都沿河而建，这就为河流的污染埋下了隐患。例如，曼彻斯特的艾尔克河原本清澈见底，在流经城市之后成了一条狭窄的、黝黑的、发臭的小河。

The profit-seeking nature of capital also drove Western countries onto the path of external conquest and colonial plunder, bringing profound suffering to Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and causing long-term poverty and backwardness in these regions. In this process, Western expansion objectively spread advanced capitalist production methods and concepts, promoting ethnic integration and cultural exchange on a global scale. In the search for sources of cheap agricultural and mineral raw materials and markets for surplus products, Western countries descended into colonial competition and imperialist rivalry. The modernization of Western countries is filled with bloody crimes such as war, slave trading, colonization, and plunder. It is no exaggeration to say that the development and prosperity of the West are conditional upon the underdevelopment and non-prosperity of the non-West. Western countries also used their first-mover advantages to impose a series of unreasonable demands on late-developing countries, such as “negotiated tariffs” and “extraterritorial jurisdiction.”

资本的趋利性还驱使西方国家走上对外征服和殖民掠夺的道路，给亚非拉带来深重苦难，造成了这些地区的长期贫困和落后。在这个过程中，西方的扩张在客观上也传播了先进的资本主义生产方式和生产观念，促进了全球范围的民族融合和文化交流。在寻找廉价农矿产品来源地和过剩产品销售地的过程中，西方国家走向殖民主义竞争和帝国主义争夺。西方国家的现代化，充满战争、贩奴、殖民、掠夺等血腥罪恶。毫不夸张地说，西方的发展、发达是以非西方的不发展、不发达为条件的。西方国家还利用其先发优势，强加给后发国家“协定关税”“法外治权”等一系列不合理要求。

The Governance Predicament of Modernized Western Countries

西方现代化国家的治理困境

The modernization of Western countries has objectively increased labor productivity, promoted the development of productive forces, and brought about significant improvements in material living conditions. The remarkable achievements of the West in modernization sparked a worldwide trend of learning from the West. People once believed that modernization meant Westernization. Chinese-path modernization has broken the myth that “modernization equals Westernization.” General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “The greatest drawback of Western

西方国家的现代化客观上提高了劳动生产率，推动了生产力的发展，带来物质生活条件的极大改善。西方在现代化方面取得的显著成就，在世界范围掀起学习西方的热潮。人们一度认为，现代化就是西方化。中国式现代化打破了“现代化=西方化”的迷思。习近平总书记指出：“西方现代化的最大弊端，就是以资本为中心而不是以人民为中心，追求资本利益最大化而不是服务绝大多数人的利益，导致贫富差距大、两极分化严重。”西方国家的现代化本质上是物的现代化，对人的关怀明显缺失，因而日益显露出明显的弊端。

In modern Western society, the social Darwinist idea of “survival of the fittest, elimination of the weak” is widely circulated; competition is regarded as the “primary virtue,” the bourgeoisie has become the new social elite, economic resources are increasingly concentrated, and the upward distribution of wealth has become a long-term trend in Western society. Capital aims to maximize profit, raising labor productivity and reducing production costs through various means. The Matthew effect of “the rich get richer, the poor get poorer” is continuously reinforced. As economic inequality intensifies, a crisis of identity also arrives in tandem. Due to the deepening of transnational mobility, orthodox Western values are increasingly influenced by non-Western cultures. Against the backdrop of cultural pluralism, Western distinctiveness, civilizational boundaries, and group consciousness are increasingly diluted. After the end of the Cold War, the process of globalization advanced continuously, further exacerbating this trend. The American conservative political scientist Huntington even posed the soul-searching question, “Who are we?” [3]3 Samuel P. Huntington, *Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity* (2004).

在现代西方社会，“适者生存、优胜劣汰”的社会达尔文主义思想广泛流传，竞争被看作“首要美德”，资产阶级成为社会新贵，经济资源日益集中化，财富向上分配成为西方社会长期发展趋势。资本以追求利润最大化为目的，通过各种方式提高劳动生产率，压缩生产成本。“富者愈富，贫者愈贫”的马太效应不断强化。随着经济不平等加剧，身份认同危机也结伴而来。由于跨国流动不断深入，西方正统价值也不断受到非西方文化的影响。在文化多元主义背景下，西方特性、文明边界、群体意识越来越淡化。冷战结束后，全球化进程不断推进，这种趋势也进一步加剧。美国保守派政治学家亨廷顿甚至发出“我们是谁”的灵魂之问。

To sum up, Western industrial societies commonly suffer from chronic ills such as the expansion of materialism, economic inequality, and spiritual impoverishment. These difficulties are endogenous to the process of Western modernization, manifesting differently in different periods. In the early stage of industrialization, the traditional social structure had not yet fully disintegrated, and feudal lords, old aristocrats, and peasants were the most disenfranchised. During the period of comprehensive industrialization, the rapid growth of material wealth obscured the real disparities between social classes. In the late stage of industrialization, social groups such as industrialists, industrial workers, and urban townspeople were no longer the darlings of the era; on the contrary, they were suffering the impact of “deindustrialization.” The masses became a “trapped group,” forced to bear the consequences of stagnant wages, widening inequality, and the loss of decent jobs. The economic predicament of the people was exploited by politicians, giving rise to populism. In Europe, right-wing movements opposing supranational entities, resisting the “Brussels group,” [4]4 A reference to the institutions of the European Union, headquartered in Brussels, often used by Eurosceptics to denote a perceived remote and unaccountable bureaucratic elite. and rejecting immigrants occurred frequently. Brexit and the “Yellow Vests” movement in France are landmark events. In the United States, marginal ideologies such as economic nationalism, political populism, and white nationalism have achieved repeated political victories. These various political backlashes share a common feature: after industrial society reaches the limits of growth, social governance difficulties emerge continuously, and all sorts of “my country first” doctrines arise accordingly. In essence, since the West entered the industrial era, under the guise of free competition, government, market, and society have in fact all revolved around capital. This modernization model is a capital-centered modernization, not a people-centered modernization. This capital-centered modernization model won the West a position of superiority in the early period of industrialization and ushered in a golden age during the era of comprehensive industrialization. The West was satisfied with the material achievements it had created and attributed them to the superiority of Western institutions. However, in the process of deindustrialization, Western countries periodically fall into systemic predicaments such as government dysfunction, market failure, and social disorder. If Western countries do not reflect on the root causes of the problems but instead simply shift the blame outward, this will not only fail to solve the problems but will instead brew even greater crises within the West.

归结起来，西方工业社会普遍存在物质主义膨胀、经济不平等、精神贫乏等痼疾。这些难题内生于西方现代化过程之中，在不同时期有不同表现。在工业化早期，传统社会结构尚未全面瓦解，封建领主、旧贵族和农民是最失意的人。在全面工业化时期，物质财富快速增长掩盖了社会阶层之间的真实差距。在工业化后期，实业家、产业工人、城镇市民等社会群体不再是时代的宠儿；相反，他们正经受着“去工业化”的冲击。大众成为“受困的群体”，需要承受工资停滞、不平等扩大、体面工作流失等结果。民众在经济上的受困状态被政治家所利用，这就有了民粹主义的兴起。在欧洲，反对超国家实体、抵制“布鲁塞尔集团”、排斥移民的右翼运动时有发生。英国脱欧、法国“黄马甲”运动等就是标志性事件。在美国，经济民族主义、政治民粹主义、白人民族主义等边缘思想不断取得政治胜利。这些林林总总的政治反弹有一个共同的特征：工业社会到达增长极限后，社会治理难题不断涌现，形形色色的本国优先论就应运而生。究其实质，西方进入工业时代以来，在自由竞争的幌子下，政府、市场、社会实际上都在围绕资本而运转。这种现代化模式是以资本为中心的现代化，而不是以人为中心的现代化。这种以资本为中心的现代化模式，在早期工业化时期为西方赢得了优势地位，并在全面工业化时代迎来黄金时期。西方满足于它所创造的物质成就，并将其归结为西方制度的优越。然而，在去工业化过程中，西方国家周期性地陷入政府失能、市场失灵和社会失序等系统困境。如果西方国家不反思问题的根源而一味对外转移视线，则不仅无助于问题的解决，反而会在西方内部酝酿出更大的危机。

The world modernization process began in the West, but it will not end with the deeply flawed Western model. Today, the opportunities and challenges facing late-developing countries are entirely different from those of earlier times; many problems have never existed before, and many contradictions are more complex than in the past. One must walk one’s own path. Developing countries can learn from the experience of Western modernized countries but must not be superstitious about it; only by basing themselves on their own conditions and grounding themselves in current realities can they explore a path to modernization that suits them.

世界现代化进程始于西方，但不会终结于充满缺陷的西方模式。今天，后发国家面临的机遇与挑战，截然不同于当时的情形，许多问题是先前不曾有过的，许多矛盾要比过去更为复杂。自己的路要靠自己走。发展中国家可以学习但不能迷信西方现代化国家的经验，必须基于自身条件，立足当前实际，才能探索出适合自己的现代化道路。

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗