The Path Selection and Lessons of Modernization in Developing Countries — Taking India, Brazil, South Africa and Others as Examples

India, South Africa and Brazil are among the developing countries that have undergone relatively rapid modernization and achieved a higher degree of development in the contemporary era. Historically, although the modernization processes of these countries were influenced by the West, their path selection and practical exploration exhibit distinct regional characteristics and national features. This indicates to a certain extent that “modernization is not the ‘patent’ of a few countries, nor is it an ‘either-or choice’.” “Chinese-path modernization has broken the myth that ‘modernization equals Westernization’, presents another vision of modernization, expands the path choices for developing countries to achieve modernization, and offers a Chinese solution for humanity’s exploration of better social systems.”[1]1 Xi Jinping, speech at the dialogue between the Communist Party of China and world political parties, March 15, 2023. Comparing the individual characteristics and commonalities of the modernization processes of developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and summarizing their experience and lessons, carries certain theoretical value and practical significance.

印度、南非和巴西等国家是当今发展中国家现代化进程较快、发展程度较高的新兴国家。历史上，这些国家的现代化进程虽然受到西方的影响，但其路径选择和实践探索具有鲜明的地区特色和民族特征。这在一定程度上表明，“现代化不是少数国家的‘专利品’，也不是非此即彼的‘单选题’”。“中国式现代化，打破了‘现代化=西方化’的迷思，展现了现代化的另一幅图景，拓展了发展中国家走向现代化的路径选择，为人类对更好社会制度的探索提供了中国方案。”比较亚非拉发展中国家现代化进程的个性特征和共性之道，总结其经验与教训，具有一定的理论价值和现实意义。

I. India’s Modernization and Its Characteristics

一、印度的现代化及其特点

India’s modernization began during the period of British colonial rule. Although the British colonists plundered and devastated India on a large scale, their colonial rule objectively initiated India’s modernization process. After independence, India began to explore a unique path of modernization suited to its national conditions. Jawaharlal Nehru, as India’s first Prime Minister after independence and the leader of the Indian National Congress, had a guiding influence on the choice of India’s modernization path through his thinking on modernization. He believed that the Western path of industrialization was not suitable for India’s national conditions, and that after independence, India should rapidly develop national capital and modern industry, and establish a “socialist type of society” in India. On the basis of examining the international situation and India’s actual conditions, he proposed a development strategy for India’s modernization: strengthening state intervention, developing a mixed economy, prioritizing heavy industry, expanding state capital, and achieving industrial modernization. The core of Nehru’s modernization thought was to achieve rapid industrialization through state intervention, based on heavy industry, and to build India into a country “possessing both the economic growth and equitable distribution of the then-Soviet model and the democracy and freedom of Western countries.” However, the “mixed economy” with strengthened state intervention that Nehru implemented ultimately led India onto a path of national capitalism based on state monopoly capitalism, which came at a great cost in practice. The Indian economy also experienced four major recessions in the mid-20th century, the contradictions of the public-private mixed economy proved difficult to reconcile, and the economic situation became increasingly severe. Since the 1980s, the Indian government has launched market-oriented economic reforms, taking the software industry as a breakthrough, and proposed the goal of building “three great powers” as a biotechnology power, an information technology power, and a nuclear power, successively promulgating the “India Information Technology Special Action Plan” and the “New Telecommunications Plan.” After more than half a century of reform and development, India’s total economic output has grown rapidly, its comprehensive national power has been greatly enhanced, and a modernization model with Indian characteristics has initially taken shape.

印度的现代化肇始于英国殖民统治时期。尽管英国殖民者对印度进行大肆掠夺和破坏，但其殖民统治客观上开启了印度的现代化进程。独立之后的印度开始探索适合其国情的独具特色的现代化道路。贾瓦哈拉尔·尼赫鲁（Jawaharlal Nehru）作为印度独立之后的首任总理和印度国民大会党领袖，其现代化思想对印度现代化道路的选择具有重要导向作用。他认为，西方工业化道路并不适合印度国情，独立之后的印度应当迅速发展民族资本和现代工业，在印度建立“社会主义类型社会”。他在考察国际形势和印度现实情况的基础上提出了印度现代化发展战略：强化国家干预，发展混合经济，优先发展重工业，壮大国家资本，实现工业现代化。尼赫鲁现代化思想的核心是以重工业为基础，通过国家干预，快速实现工业化，把印度建设成“既有当时苏联模式的经济增长和公平分配，又有西方国家的民主自由的国家”。然而，尼赫鲁实施的强化国家干预的“混合经济”，却导致印度最终走上了以国家垄断资本主义为基础的民族资本主义道路，在实践中付出了很大代价。印度经济也在20世纪中叶经历了四次较大衰退，公私混合经济的矛盾难以弥合，经济形势日益严峻。20世纪80年代以来，印度政府展开以市场化为导向、以软件产业为突破口的经济改革，提出生物科技大国、信息技术大国和核大国的“三个大国”建设目标，先后颁布了“印度信息技术特别行动计划”和“新电信计划”。经过半个多世纪的改革与发展，印度经济总量快速增长，综合国力大大提升，初步形成印度特色的现代化模式。

First, blending the modernization factors of socialist and capitalist countries.

第一，糅合社会主义和资本主义国家的现代化因素。

Politically, India practices Western parliamentary democracy; economically, it promotes market-oriented reforms, relaxes controls on foreign capital, opens up sectors such as finance and telecommunications, and implements a public-private mixed economy with national characteristics. On the one hand, India was a British colony for a long time, and the influence of the British parliamentary system and market economy on India is deeply entrenched; hence India naturally adopted the Western modernization model after independence. On the other hand, India achieved independence during the high tide of the world socialist movement and national liberation movements after World War II. Influenced by the socialist camp led by the Soviet Union, Nehru, as India’s first Prime Minister, admired the achievements of Soviet socialism at that time and proposed the establishment of a “socialist type of society” in terms of economic and social development. This had a profound impact on India’s national development strategy in the early post-independence period and on India’s modernization construction. However, the “socialist type of society” that Nehru sought to build was different from scientific socialism; its socialist elements were mainly reflected in expanding the scale of the state-owned economy and giving play to the regulatory role of the government. In Nehru’s view, the goal of India’s modernization was not to pursue socialism, but to take a “middle path.” In terms of political system, it adopted the Western parliamentary system, abolished the Zamindari (intermediary) system, implemented land reform, nationalized the banks and insurance enterprises owned by British colonists, and formulated a number of “Five-Year Plans” to promote the independent industrial system and rural infrastructure construction in India. This modernization model with Indian characteristics, formed by blending elements of the two systems, achieved good results in the initial period, but it also had many problems and contradictions. For example, the government frequently introduced policies that violated economic laws, over-regulated private enterprises, and over-protected state enterprises, thus leading to low enterprise efficiency and lack of competitiveness. In the early 1980s, while developing state enterprises, India began to relax restrictions on private capital and foreign capital. By the early 1990s, India significantly changed Nehru’s policies and initiated comprehensive liberalization reforms, but in some economic sectors it still maintained a public-private mixed system and a state control system; Nehru’s policies still exerted a certain influence on India’s modernization process.

印度在政治上实行西方议会民主制，在经济上推行市场化改革，放松外资管制并开放金融、电信等领域，实行具有民族特色的公私混合经济。一方面，印度历史上长期是英国殖民地，英国议会制度和市场经济对印度的影响根深蒂固，因而印度独立后顺理成章采用了西方现代化模式。另一方面，印度是在第二次世界大战后世界社会主义运动和民族解放运动的高潮中实现独立的，尼赫鲁作为印度独立后第一任总理，在以苏联为首的社会主义阵营的影响下，比较欣赏当时苏联社会主义取得的成就，在经济与社会发展方面提出要建立“社会主义类型社会”，这对印度独立初期的国家发展战略及印度现代化建设产生深远影响。然而，尼赫鲁要建设的“社会主义类型社会”不同于科学社会主义，其社会主义因素主要体现在扩大国有制经济规模和发挥政府调节作用等方面。在尼赫鲁看来，印度现代化的目标不是要搞社会主义，而是走 “中间道路”。在政治制度方面实行西方议会制度，废除柴明达尔（中间人）制度，实行土地改革，将英国殖民者所有的银行保险企业收归国有，通过制定若干“五年计划”，以促进印度独立工业体系和农村基础设施建设。这种 糅合两种制度因素而形成的印度特色的现代化模式，虽然在初期取得较好效果，但也存在诸多问题和矛盾，如政府频繁出台违反经济规律的政策，对私营企业管得过死，对国营企业保护过多，从而导致企业效益低下，竞争力不足。20世纪80年代初，印度在发展国营企业的同时，开始放宽对私人资本和外国资本的限制。到20世纪90年代初，印度大幅改变尼赫鲁政策，开始了全面自由化改革，但在一些经济领域仍实行公私混合制及国家管控制度，尼赫鲁政策对印度现代化进程仍产生一定的 影响。

Second, the rigid caste system, multiple religions and the urban-rural dual structure coexist with India’s modernization.

第二，固化的种姓制度、多元宗教和城乡二元结构与印度现代化并行。

India has numerous religious beliefs; conflicts among different sects of Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, etc., are complex and intricate, occasionally erupting into sharp clashes. The Indian caste system, with a history of over 1,000 years, has strict divisions of hierarchy and occupation among Hindus. Different castes do not interact with each other and cannot even intermarry. The hierarchical caste system grants many privileges to the upper castes while tacitly allowing the exploitation and oppression of the lower-caste Vaishya and Shudra commoners by the high-caste Brahmins and Kshatriyas. Among India’s population of over 1.4 billion, more than two-thirds are at the lower end of the caste system; among them, the Dalits, considered “untouchables,” number about 200 million. Although the caste system was abolished after India’s independence, there is still a distinction between “forward classes” and “backward classes” among Hindus. Abolishing the caste system, secularizing religion, eradicating poverty, and promoting social civilization and progress are important goals of India’s modernization. Although some progress has been made, social problems such as the caste system, multiple religions, and urban-rural disparities remain acute, and the contradiction between tradition and modernity is difficult to resolve in the short term.

印度拥有众多的宗教信仰，印度教、伊斯兰教、佛教、锡克教、耆那教等不同教派之间的矛盾错综复杂，不时爆发尖锐冲突。有1000多年历史的印度种姓制度对印度教徒的等级和职业有着严格的划分，不同种姓之间不相往来甚至不能互相通婚。等级森严的种姓制度赋予高种姓诸多特权，同时默许高种姓的婆罗门和刹帝利人对低种姓的吠舍、首陀罗平民的剥削和压迫。在印度14亿多人口中，超过2/3的人处于种姓制度较底层，其中被视作“不可接触者”的达利特人约占2亿。尽管种姓制度在印度独立后被废除，但印度教徒仍有“先进阶层”和“落后阶层”之分。取消种姓制度、宗教世俗化、消除贫困和促进社会文明进步，是印度现代化的重要目标，虽然取得了一定进步，但种姓制度、多元宗教和城乡差别等社会问题依然尖锐，传统与现代的矛盾短时期难以弥合。

Third, India’s modernization proceeds in tandem with scientific and technological development.

第三，印度现代化与科技发展同步。

In modern times, India suffered greatly from colonial rule, and the development of its national education system lagged behind for a long time, with a high illiteracy rate. After independence, both central and local governments in India placed greater emphasis on basic education. The 12-year consistent primary and secondary education system was comprehensively implemented, higher education developed rapidly, and the literacy rate among the poor increased significantly. During the reform period, India focused on renewing ideas and concepts, implemented a strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, and vigorously developed science, technology and education, providing talent support for India’s modernization. Since entering the 21st century, India has seized the revolutionary wave marked by internet technology, attached importance to developing the information technology industry, and launched a series of major measures to develop information technology, such as the “Make in India” plan, injecting strong momentum into India’s modernization. Today, India has changed its previous modernization model that relied on the primary and secondary industries, promptly followed the wave of modern technological revolution, and taken network technology and the information industry as the vanguard, vigorously developing software, IT industry, “global office” and other service industries. The leapfrog development of India’s information technology industry has driven the rise of related industries and effectively promoted India’s modernization process.

近代以来，印度饱受殖民统治之苦，国民教育事业发展长期滞后，文盲率较高。印度独立后，中央和地方政府都比较重视基础教育，12年一贯制中小学教育全面推行，高等教育快速发展，贫民识字率大幅提升。印度改革时期，重视更新思想观念，实施科教兴国战略，大力发展科技和教育事业，为印度现代化建设提供了人才保障。进入21世纪以来，印度抓住以互联网技术为标志的革命浪潮，重视发展信息技术产业，推出“印度制造”计划等一系列发展信息技术的重大举措，为印度的现代化注入强大动力。如今，印度改变了过去依赖第一产业、第二产业的现代化模式，及时跟进现代科技革命浪潮，以网络技术和信息产业为先导，大力发展软件、IT产业、“全球办公室”等服务业。印度信息技术产业的跨越式发展，带动了相关产业的兴起，有力推动了印度现代化进程。

II. Brazil’s Modernization and Its Characteristics

二、巴西的现代化及其特点

Brazil’s modernization was conceived during the period of colonial rule in the 19th century, making it one of the earliest countries in South America to begin the process of modernization. Colonial rule and the influx of Western capital dealt a severe blow to Brazil’s traditional socio-economic structure, while simultaneously introducing modern industrial production methods, thus initiating the prelude to Brazil’s modernization. In the 1930s, a coup d’état occurred in Brazil, and the new government introduced a series of policies to promote Brazil’s modernization, such as breaking land monopolies, building a credit system, and developing the aviation industry. However, in 1964, right-wing military forces staged a coup and came to power, opting for a development model that safeguarded the interests of the wealthy. Brazilian society fell into severe polarization, and the modernization process was hindered. In the 1980s, the process of political democratization in Latin America was restarted, with military governments successively “returning power to the people.” Social movements opposing neoliberalism and left-wing forces in Brazil rapidly rose. In February 1980, driven by the trade union organizations led by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian Workers’ Party, based on the working class and poor groups, was formally established. This party is the largest left-wing party in Brazil, professing “labor socialism” as its guiding ideology and striving to realize socialism in Brazil as its goal, advocating left-wing policies of social justice, wealth redistribution, and opposition to neoliberalism. In 1988, Brazil promulgated a new constitution, in which the left-wing advocated ideas of social fairness and justice were recognized. In 2003, Lula was elected President of Brazil, becoming the president with the most votes in Brazilian history and the first president to come from the working class. After taking office, Lula focused on the coordinated development of the economy and society, introducing a series of policies such as the “Zero Hunger Plan,” the “First Job Plan,” the “Family Allowance Plan,” and the “Second National Land Reform Plan” to improve people’s livelihoods and reduce poverty. These measures benefited over 100 million people from the lower and middle classes in Brazil, lifting approximately 20 million poor people out of poverty. At the same time, the left-wing government emphasized increasing the literacy rate in rural areas and implemented the “Scholarship Plan” to subsidize the basic education of children from poor families. These measures alleviated the trend of widening wealth disparity in Brazilian society, continuously lowered the Gini coefficient, and to some extent, eased social conflicts. Facts show that left-wing forces striving for socialism played an important role in Brazil’s modernization process.

巴西的现代化孕育于19世纪殖民统治时期，是南美洲较早开始现代化进程的国家。殖民统治和西方资本输入使巴西传统社会经济结构遭受巨大打击，同时也带来了现代工业生产方式，拉开了巴西走向现代化的序幕。20世纪30年代，巴西发生政变，新政府出台了打破土地垄断、建设信贷体系、发展航空工业等一系列推动巴西现代化发展的政策。然而，1964年巴西右翼军人发动政变上台，选择维护富人利益的发展模式，巴西社会陷入严重的两极分化，现代化进程受阻。20世纪80年代，拉美政治民主化进程重启，军政府纷纷“还政于民”，巴西反新自由主义的社会运动和左翼力量迅速崛起。1980年2月，在路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦（Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva）领导的工会组织的推动下，以工人阶级、贫困群体为基础的巴西劳工党正式成立。该党是巴西最大的左翼政党，宣称以“劳工社会主义”为指导思想，以在巴西实现社会主义为奋斗目标，主张实施社会正义、财富再分配和反对新自由主义的左翼政策。1988年，巴西颁布新宪法，左翼倡导的社会公平正义思想被宪法确认。2003年，卢拉当选为巴西总统，成为巴西历史上获得选票最多的总统和第一位工人出身的总统。卢拉上台后，注重经济社会的协调发展，出台了“零饥饿计划”“第一次就业计划”“家庭救助金计划”“第二个国家土地改革计划”等一系列政策来改善民生、减少贫困，使1亿多巴西中下层人口受益，约2000万贫困人口脱贫。同时，左翼政府重视提高农村地区识字率，推行“助学金计划”，资助贫困家庭子女接受基础教育。这些措施缓解了巴西社会贫富差距扩大趋势，基尼系数不断降低，社会矛盾在一定程度上得到缓和。事实表明，争取社会主义的左翼力量在巴西的现代化进程中发挥了重要作用。

Brazil’s modernization has exhibited different characteristics in different periods. First, modernization during the colonial period relied on the exploitation of the country’s natural resources and the export of primary products. Brazil has vast territory and is richly endowed with mineral, forest, and other natural resources, giving it unique advantages in mining, plantation farming, and agricultural development. The production and export of Brazilian cotton, rubber, soybeans, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, bananas, beef, chicken, and other products, especially the rapid development of the coffee plantation industry, increased Brazil’s foreign exchange reserves, improved the Brazilian government’s fiscal situation, and simultaneously spurred the development of industries such as textiles, food processing, and the production of daily consumer goods. During this period, Brazil’s foreign trade primarily involved exporting primary products with low added value, creating a strong dependence on foreign capital and technology. This dependency resulted in a singular economic structure for Brazil, with modernization leaning towards agricultural modernization and the process of industrialization being slow.

巴西现代化在不同时期呈现不同的特点。一是殖民时期的现代化依赖于本国自然资源开发及初级产品出口。巴西领土广袤，矿产、森林等自然资源丰富，采矿业、种植业、农业发展具有得天独厚的优势。巴西棉花、橡胶、大豆、咖啡、可可、烟草、香蕉、牛肉、鸡肉等产品的生产与出口，尤其是咖啡种植业的迅速发展，增加了巴西的外汇储备，改善了巴西政府的财政状况，同时也带动了纺织、食品加工、日用消费品生产等行业的发展。这一时期的巴西在开展对外贸易过程中，以出口初级产品为主，产品附加值较低，对国外资本和技术具有较强依赖性。这种依附性使巴西经济结构单一，现代化偏向农业现代化，工业化进程缓慢。

Second, the period implementing the import substitution strategy saw rapid industrial development. The “Great Depression,” which originated in the United States in 1929, spread rapidly across the globe, causing a sharp decline in international trade. The prices of bulk commodities like rubber and coffee—products of raw material exporting countries such as Brazil—plummeted. Losing their traditional markets in Europe and America, Brazil’s import and export trade fell into distress. To change the development model based primarily on primary product exports, the Brazilian military government adopted an import-substitution industrialization model under state intervention. It formulated industrial development plans, increased state investment in strategic industrial sectors such as steel and aircraft manufacturing, and in infrastructure construction. It used measures like foreign exchange controls and trade barriers to protect the development of domestic industries and price stability. In the 1960s and 1970s, Brazil’s import substitution strategy was highly successful. Brazil established a relatively complete industrial system, its economic growth led other Latin American countries, and it briefly created the “Brazilian Miracle.”

二是实施进口替代战略时期的工业化快速发展。1929年起源于美国的“大萧条”迅速蔓延全球，国际贸易大幅下降，巴西等原料出口国的橡胶、咖啡等大宗商品价格暴跌，失去美欧传统市场，进出口贸易一时陷入困境。为改变以初级产品出口为主的经济发展模式，巴西军政府采取国家干预下的进口替代型的工业化发展模式，制定工业发展规划，在钢铁、飞机制造等战略工业部门和基础设施建设方面加大国家投入，通过外汇管制和贸易壁垒等手段，保护本国工业发展和物价稳定。20世纪六七十年代，巴西进口替代战略大获成功，巴西建立了比较完整的工业体系，经济增长领先拉美其他国家，一度创造了“巴西奇迹”。

Third, the modernization process during the neoliberal period was full of ups and downs. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Wall Street financial institutions in the United States and international institutions like the International Monetary Fund, controlled by the U.S., demanded that Latin American countries accept the “Washington Consensus,” relax government controls, and implement neoliberal economic reforms characterized by liberalization, privatization, and marketization. Brazil’s import-substitution industrialization development model was replaced by a neoliberal development model of “deindustrialization” and relaxation of state control, plunging Brazil into a period of political, economic, and social turmoil. The “deindustrialization” policy led to a slowdown in Brazil’s economic growth, followed by problems such as inflation, unemployment, and poverty, causing it to fall into the “middle-income trap.” Brazil’s Gross National Income per capita had already exceeded US$1,800 in the mid-1970s, and its per capita GDP ranked among the top of developing countries by the 1990s. However, after its per capita GDP crossed the US$10,000 threshold, it remained stagnant at that level for a long time, struggling to achieve a breakthrough. Even by 2023, Brazil’s per capita GDP was still around US$10,000, not having entered the UN-designated category of middle-income countries. Analyzing the reasons, excessive income disparity, over-urbanization leading to insufficient consumption, and “urban diseases” and other issues severely hindered Brazil’s modernization process.

三是新自由主义时期的现代化进程跌宕起伏。20世纪70年代末80年代初，美国华尔街金融机构及美国操控的国际货币基金组织等国际机构，要求拉美国家接受“华盛顿共识”，放松政府管制，实行自由化、私有化、市场化的新自由主义经济改革。巴西进口替代型工业化发展模式被“去工业化”和放松国家管控的新自由主义发展模式所取代，巴西由此进入政治、经济和社会动荡时期。“去工业化”政策使巴西经济增速放缓，通胀、失业、贫困等问题接踵而至，陷入“中等收入陷阱”。巴西人均国民总收入在20世纪70年代中期就超过1800美元，巴西人均国内生产总值在20世纪90年代已居于发展中国家前列，但其人均国内生产总值在迈上10000美元大关之后，就长期徘徊在这一水平，难以实现突破。直到2023年，巴西人均国内生产总值仍位于10000美元左右，没有跨入联合国划定的中等收入国家行列。究其原因，收入差距过大、过度城市化导致消费不足、“城市病”等问题严重阻碍了巴西的现代化进程。

Fourth, modernization during the period of left-wing governance in Brazil highlighted the characteristic of “giving priority to social fairness.” Due to the right-wing government’s implementation of the “Washington Consensus” and neoliberal reforms, the drawbacks of Brazil’s “deindustrialization” and the malign consequences of the “middle-income trap” became increasingly prominent, sparking doubts from the left wing and nationwide protests against neoliberalism. In 2002, the Brazilian Workers’ Party won the election and came to power, emphasizing the synchronous development of the economy and society. It focused on solving problems of inequality and social exclusion while pursuing economic growth, implementing social inclusion development policies. The Brazilian left-wing government emphasized the role of government regulation, stressing the coordinated development of agriculture and industry, urban and rural areas, natural resource exploitation and environmental protection, aiming to reduce the extreme poor population, increase the proportion of the middle class, and enhance the vitality of Brazil’s economic and social development. In 2024, the Brazilian left-wing government launched the “New Brazil Industry” plan, attempting to reverse “deindustrialization” through “reindustrialization.” The “reindustrialization” strategy implemented by the Brazilian left-wing government will bring new impetus and opportunities for Brazil to cross the “middle-income trap” and achieve a modernization characterized by diversity, inclusivity, and the priority of fairness.

四是巴西左翼执政时期的现代化突出“社会公平优先”特色。由于右翼政府推行“华盛顿共识”和新自由主义改革，巴西“去工业化”弊端和“中等收入陷阱”恶果日益凸显，引发左翼质疑，反对新自由主义的抗议活动席卷全国。2002年，巴西劳工党赢得选举上台执政，强调经济与社会同步发展，在经济增长的同时着力解决不平等和社会排斥问题，推行社会包容发展政策。巴西左翼政府注重发挥政府调控作用，强调农业与工业、城市与乡村、自然资源开发与环境保护等方面的协同发展，旨在减少极端贫困人口，增加中产阶级所占比重，增加巴西经济和社会发展活力。2024年，巴西左翼政府启动“巴西新工业”计划，力图通过“再工业化”扭转“去工业化”。巴西左翼政府实施的“再工业化”战略将为巴西跨越“中等收入陷阱”、实现国家多元包容、公平优先的现代化带来新动力和新机遇。

III. South Africa’s Modernization and Its Characteristics

三、南非的现代化及其特点

South Africa was the first non-Western country to be colonially invaded by Western powers such as the Netherlands and Britain and incorporated into the Western capitalist world system. South Africa’s modernization process began in mining, manufacturing, and agriculture and flourished with the development of heavy and chemical industries. In the early 19th century, South Africa’s colonial rulers, to meet their own needs for industrial raw materials and commodity sales markets, exploited local natural resource advantages to develop mining, machinery manufacturing, and plantation farming, with products supplied directly to Western markets. The South African colonial authorities introduced Western capital, built modern infrastructure such as railways, ports, and communications, and initially established schools, hospitals, and urban management systems. These steps gradually brought South Africa onto the track of Western modernization, but the economic structure at that time was singular and distorted. In the 1870s, the discovery of diamonds and gold deposits in South Africa drove rapid manufacturing development and accelerated urbanization, further integrating South Africa into the Western modernization system. Because World War II affected transport and trade, South Africa had to vigorously develop its domestic manufacturing industry and implement an import-substitution industrial development strategy. By the 1970s, South Africa had established a developed modern industrial system, with the share of manufacturing surpassing that of mining and agriculture, making it one of the most industrialized countries among developing nations in the Southern Hemisphere. After 1980, because the South African government persisted in implementing racially discriminatory policies and neglected the balance of regional development, racial and social problems within the country became acute. Consequently, it faced international sanctions, which severely impacted the country’s economic modernization process. In 1994, South Africa ended white rule. Nelson Mandela was elected as the country’s first black president, and the African National Congress formed a tripartite alliance with the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions to govern jointly, adopting some policies with socialist elements in various economic and social fields. South Africa’s modernization entered a new period. In his first state-of-the-nation address to the South African Parliament, President Mandela clearly stated that the new government’s basic goal was to create a people-centered society in South Africa. To build South Africa into a racially equal and inclusive modern country, successive presidents seized development opportunities, promoted industrial structural adjustment, implemented the restructuring and privatization of state-owned enterprises, established public-private partnerships, increased black employment rates, and strove to change the unreasonable economic structure left over from the apartheid era. These measures effectively promoted restorative economic growth in South Africa, laying a good foundation for accelerating the modernization process. However, South Africa’s modernization path has been tortuous, lengthy, complex, and changeable. Its developmental trajectory has been deeply constrained by the interplay of resource endowments, colonial history, racial policies, and the international environment, presenting distinct stage-specific characteristics.

南非是最早受荷兰、英国等西方国家殖民入侵并被纳入西方资本主义世界体系的非西方国家。南非现代化进程起步于采矿业、制造业和农业，兴盛于重化工业的发展。19世纪初，南非的殖民统治者为满足自身对工业原材料和商品销售市场的需要，利用当地自然资源优势，发展采矿、机械制造和农场种植业，其产品直接供应西方市场。南非殖民当局引进西方资本，修建铁路、港口、通信等现代基础设施，初步建立了学校、医院、城市管理体系，这些使南非渐渐迈入西方现代化轨道，但当时南非经济结构单一，发展畸形化。19世纪70年代，南非钻石和金矿的发现推动制造业快速发展和城市化加速演进，南非进一步融入西方现代化体系中。由于第二次世界大战影响到交通运输和贸易往来，南非不得不大力发展本国制造业，实行进口替代工业发展战略。到20世纪70年代，南非已经建立起发达的现代工业体系，制造业比重已超过矿业和农业，成为南半球发展中国家中工业化程度最高的国家之一。1980年之后，由于南非政府坚持推行种族歧视政策，忽视地区发展的平衡问题，使得南非国内种族和社会问题突出，并因此受到国际社会的制裁，这严重影响了南非经济的现代化进程。1994年南非结束了白人统治，纳尔逊·曼德拉（Nelson Mandela）当选为南非首位黑人总统，南非非洲人国民大会与南非共产党、南非工会大会结成三方联盟共同执政，在经济社会各领域采取了一些带有社会主义因素的政策，南非现代化进入新时期。曼德拉总统在南非联邦议会首次发表国情演说时，明确提出新政府的基本目标是在南非创建以人民为中心的社会。为了把南非建成一个种族平等、具有包容性的现代化国家，南非历届总统抓住发展机遇，促进产业结构调整，推行国有企业重组与私有化，建立公私合作关系，提高黑人就业率，努力改变种族隔离时期遗留下来的不合理的经济结构。以上措施有力推动南非经济实现恢复性增长，为南非加快现代化进程奠定了良好的基础。然而，南非的现代化道路曲折漫长、复杂多变，其发展轨迹深深受制于资源禀赋、殖民历史、种族政策及国际环境的相互作用，呈现出鲜明的阶段性特征。

First, dependence on mineral and other natural resources. South Africa leveraged its resource advantages to promote an industrial revolution and vigorously develop manufacturing, laying the foundation for economic modernization. Benefiting from the discovery of diamonds and gold, South Africa used foreign capital and advanced production technologies to take the mining revolution as a breakthrough point, vigorously develop its manufacturing, and open the door to modernization. To this day, mining, agriculture, wind power, and solar energy remain advantageous industries supporting South Africa’s modernization.

一是对矿产等自然资源的依赖。南非利用资源优势，推动产业革命，大力发展制造业，为实现经济现代化奠定了基础。得益于钻石和黄金的发现，南非通过利用国外资本和先进生产技术，以矿业革命为突破口，大力发展南非制造业，开启了南非现代化的大门。迄今，采矿、农业、风电太阳能等仍是支撑南非现代化的优势产业。

Second, the acuteness of racial, wealth, and urban-rural contradictions. In the historical process of South Africa’s modernization, whites and blacks were initially established on an unequal racial relationship. The white ruling group long implemented apartheid policies, with whites enjoying full rights and freedoms, while blacks, who accounted for about 80 percent of South Africa’s population, were excluded from the modernization process. By the 1970s, South Africa had established a developed modern industrial system, a modern agricultural system, and a modern tertiary industry system, with its development level ranking among moderately developed countries. However, after the mid-1970s, racially discriminatory policies and the resulting international sanctions became the main obstacles constraining South Africa’s modernization. The economy once experienced sluggish growth, even several years of negative economic growth. After Mandela was elected president of the new South Africa, he advocated racial equality and inclusive politics, implementing democratic reforms based on the principles of tolerance and reconciliation. However, tolerance and reconciliation did not completely resolve South Africa’s historical ills. Racial discrimination and inequality remain widespread in education, employment, and urban-rural relations. The urban-rural education gap is large, and the education system has defects. In January 1995, the new South African government “formally implemented free compulsory education for children aged 7–16 and abolished apartheid-era textbooks,” [2]2 This refers to the South African Schools Act of 1996 (No. 84 of 1996), which made education compulsory for children aged 7 to 15 (with the specific age range of 7–16 encompassing the compulsory phase) and mandated non-racial, non-discriminatory education policies, including the phasing out of apartheid-era curricula and textbooks. but the educational level of blacks is generally low, adult literacy and labor skills are far below those of other racial groups, and youth unemployment rates are higher. South Africa has a high degree of urbanization, comparable to the level in Europe and the United States, but large cities contain many slums. For example, the slums of Johannesburg are home to millions of poor people, with shortages of health and medical facilities, heavy community medical burdens, high HIV infection rates, and average life expectancy below the global average. The development of urban and rural South Africa is unbalanced, with rural areas generally having higher unemployment and poverty rates than cities.

二是种族、贫富、城乡矛盾的尖锐性。在南非现代化的历史进程中，白人和黑人一开始就建立在不平等的种族关系上，白人统治集团长期实行种族隔离政策，白人享有充分的权利和自由，而占南非人口80%左右的黑人则被隔离在现代化进程之外。南非于20世纪70年代就建立起发达的现代工业体系、现代农业体系和第三产业体系，发展水平居于中等发达国家行列。但20世纪70年代中期以后，种族歧视政策及由此产生的国际制裁成为制约南非现代化的主要障碍，南非经济一度增长乏力，甚至出现多年的经济负增长。曼德拉当选为新南非总统后，倡导种族平等和包容政治，实行以宽容、和解为原则的民主改革。然而，宽容与和解并没有完全解决南非的历史积弊，种族歧视和不平等在教育、就业和城乡关系中仍广泛存在。城乡教育差距大，教育体系存在缺陷，1995年1月，新南非政府“正式实施7—16岁儿童少年免费义务教育，并废除了种族隔离时代的教科书”，但黑人受教育程度普遍较低，成人识字率和劳动技能远低于其他人种，青年失业率更高。南非城市化程度高，相当于欧美城市化水平，但大城市存在许多贫民窟，如约翰内斯堡的贫民窟聚居着数百万的贫民，卫生医疗设施短缺，社区医疗负担沉重，艾滋病感染率高，人均预期寿命低于全球平均水平。南非城市和农村发展不平衡，农村地区失业率和贫困率普遍高于城市。

Third, the lag in state governance. Due to the negative effects of apartheid policies and the multi-party system, South Africa’s political modernization is not synchronized with its economic modernization, and political and social modernization clearly lag behind. South Africa is a multi-party state, with political parties divided into left-wing and right-wing camps. The African National Congress is the main ruling party, forming a governing alliance with left-wing forces such as the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions. However, the right-wing Democratic Alliance, as the main opposition party, represents the interests of the Anglophone white industrial, commercial, and financial circles. Its governing philosophy conflicts with that of the left-wing alliance, and contradictions between the two sides are prominent, leading to a disordered state governance structure. In recent years, policy differences among the parties within South Africa’s governing alliance have become increasingly evident. Although all three parties agree on fully protecting black rights, striving to improve the black economic status, and implementing the “Black Economic Empowerment” plan, they hold differing views on issues such as how to divide power within parliament and the government and how to guarantee the political and economic rights and interests of the poor. South Africa’s government decision-making and administration are constrained, and the effectiveness of state governance is greatly diminished.

三是国家治理的滞后性。受种族隔离政策和多党制的负面影响，南非政治现代化与经济现代化并不同步，政治现代化和社会现代化明显滞后。南非是多党制国家，政党分为左翼和右翼两大阵营，南非非洲人国民大会是主要执政党，与南非共产党、南非工会大会等左翼力量组成执政联盟，但南非右翼的民主联盟作为第一大反对党，代表英裔白人工商金融界利益，与左翼联盟的执政理念相左，双方矛盾突出，导致国家治理结构紊乱。近年来，南非执政联盟内部各党派的政策分歧日益明显，虽然三方都赞同充分保障黑人权利，着力提高黑人经济地位，并实施“黑人经济振兴”计划，但在议会和政府内如何划分权力、怎样保障穷人应有的政治和经济权益等议题上主张各异，南非政府决策和施政受到掣肘，国家治理效果大打折扣。

IV. Experiences and Lessons from Developing Countries’ Exploration of Modernization Paths

四、发展中国家现代化道路探索的经验与教训

As former colonies and semi-colonies, developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have long been on the periphery of world historical processes, with strong political and economic dependence on Western developed countries. They often need to draw on or even introduce Western models to initiate their own modernization processes. After independence, these countries began to independently explore their own modernization paths. However, due to constraints from various domestic and international factors, the road of modernization has been rough and rugged, and their exploratory practices have yielded both gains and losses.

作为曾经的殖民地半殖民地，亚非拉发展中国家在世界历史进程中长期处于边缘地带，在政治、经济上对西方发达国家的依附性强，往往需要借鉴甚至引进西方模式来开启自己的现代化进程。独立后，这些国家开始独立自主探索本国现代化道路，但由于受到国内外各种因素的制约，现代化之路崎岖坎坷，探索实践有得有失。

(A) Successful Experiences in Developing Countries’ Modernization Exploration

（一）发展中国家现代化探索的成功经验

The modernization explorations of developing countries such as India, Brazil, and South Africa have generally adapted to the trends of human social development and the progress of the times, reproducing the general laws of world modernization. However, their practical explorations also possess the particularities of late-developing countries’ modernization. The path choices and successful experiences in their practice merit our in-depth study.

印度、巴西、南非等发展中国家的现代化探索，总体上看是适应人类社会发展和时代进步潮流的，再现了世界现代化的一般发展规律，但其实践探索也具有后发国家现代化的特殊性，其实践中的路径选择和成功经验值得我们深入研究。

First, break free from the constraints of the Western modernization model and explore a modernization path suited to national conditions. As former colonies and semi-colonies of Western powers, developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America were more or less influenced by the Western modernization model before independence. After World War II, many colonial countries in these regions gained independence from colonial rule, with a heightened independent consciousness against war, imperialism, and colonialism. They generally recognized that to change their backward and impoverished state, they could not rely on the charity of former colonial powers, nor could they copy the Western modernization model; they had to independently explore their own modernization path. After India’s independence, facing the international situation of confrontation between the Eastern and Western blocs, it did not take sides but actively supported the Non-Aligned Movement [3]3 The Non-Aligned Movement was a group of states that did not formally align with either the US-led Western bloc or the Soviet-led Eastern bloc during the Cold War, advocating for independence from great power influence. It was formally established in 1961 with efforts from leaders like India’s Jawaharlal Nehru., maintaining political independence. In choosing a modernization path, it neither believed in the Western path nor ignored the particularities of the Soviet socialist modernization path; it insisted on exploring a path suited to itself based on national conditions. Nehru believed that the Western modernization path was not suitable for India’s national conditions, and India must establish a “socialist-type society” from its actual conditions, focusing on solving the national and religious problems that plagued Indian modernization. Amid the collision of the Western parliamentary system and traditional social structures, India formed a modernization model of “seeking development amid pluralistic inclusiveness.” In the early stages of modernization, Brazil and South Africa relied on their natural resource advantages, used the markets and capital of developed countries to expand primary product exports, and laid a solid foundation for their industrialization and modernization. Brazil’s Workers’ Party, starting from the principle that the state should serve the people’s masses, implemented social changes within the framework of the parliamentary road, relying on the strength of the middle and lower classes, giving Brazil’s modernization model a “workers’ socialism” hue. South Africa, amid the intertwining of racial reconciliation and economic transformation, practiced the concept of “inclusive modernization.” Although the modernization path explorations of these countries all experienced twists and turns, they collectively prove that modernization is not a copy of a single model, but an independent exploration by different countries and civilizations to adapt to the trends of the times and achieve development and prosperity. The path choices of developing countries for modernization are essentially a vivid manifestation of the diversity of world civilizations and modernization paths. A modernization model detached from a country’s history, culture, and social structure cannot be sustained and will ultimately fail.

第一，摆脱西方现代化模式束缚，探索符合本国国情的现代化道路。作为原西方列强的殖民地和半殖民地，亚非拉发展中国家独立前多少会受到西方现代化模式的影响。第二次世界大战后，亚非拉许多殖民地国家摆脱殖民统治获得独立，反战、反帝、反对殖民主义的独立意识高涨。它们普遍认识到，要改变本国贫穷落后面貌，不能靠原宗主国的施舍，也不可能照搬西方现代化模式，只能独立自主探索本国的现代化道路。印度独立后，面对当时东西方阵营对抗的国际形势，不选边站队，积极拥护“不结盟运动”，保持政治独立性；在现代化道路选择上，既不迷信西方现代化道路，也认识到苏联社会主义现代化道路的特殊性，坚持从本国国情出发探索适合自身的现代化之路。尼赫鲁认为，西方的现代化道路并不适合印度国情，印度必须从本国实际出发建立“社会主义类型社会”，并着重解决困扰印度现代化的民族和宗教问题。印度在西方议会制与传统社会结构的碰撞中，形成了“多元包容中求发展”的现代化模式。巴西和南非在现代化初期，立足于自然资源优势，利用发达国家的市场和资金，扩大初级产品出口，为本国工业化、现代化奠定坚实基础。巴西劳工党从国家要服务于人民大众的理念出发，在议会道路框架内，依靠中下层民众力量，实行社会变革，为巴西现代化模式打上了“劳工社会主义”色彩。南非在种族和解与经济转型的交织中，实践“包容性现代化”的理念。这些国家的现代化道路探索虽都经历曲折，却共同证明：现代化不是单一模式的复制，而是不同国家、不同文明适应时代潮流、实现发展繁荣的自主探索。发展中国家的现代化路径选择，本质上是世界文明多元、现代化道路多样的生动体现。脱离本国历史文化、社会结构的现代化模式难以持续，终将失败。

Second, grasp the principal contradiction, focusing on solving the social stability problems that plague national modernization. Developing countries generally face problems of short periods since independence and the concentrated outbreak of various social contradictions amid rapid development and change. After India’s independence, political, economic, and social contradictions were complex and intertwined. The Nehru government focused on solving the industrialization problem, the multi-religious problem, the caste system, and the issue of gender equality, which constrained national modernization. These measures ensured India’s unity and integrity and, to a certain extent, laid the foundation for national modernization. After the Brazilian Workers’ Party came to power in 2003, it focused on solving the problems of widening disparities between rich and poor and divergent political views that constrained Brazil’s modernization. Through a series of movements [4]4 The original text uses “运动” (campaigns or movements). In the Brazilian context, this likely refers to social programs and policy initiatives under the Workers’ Party, such as Bolsa Família (a conditional cash transfer program) and land reform efforts, aimed at reducing inequality., it ensured social fairness and safeguarded the interests of the majority; through intra-party democratic construction, it eased contradictions between factions. South Africa also faced the problem of how to build a unified state from a racially divided and socially fragmented country. Under Mandela’s leadership, South Africa adhered to a policy of reconciliation, avoiding ethnic vendettas and social unrest, achieving a smooth political and economic transition, which had an important impact on continuing to advance South Africa’s modernization process.

第二，抓住主要矛盾，重点解决困扰国家现代化的社会稳定问题。广大发展中国家普遍面临独立时间较短、急速发展与变革中各种社会矛盾集中爆发的问题。印度独立后，政治、经济、社会矛盾错综复杂，尼赫鲁政府着重解决制约国家现代化的工业化问题、多元宗教问题、种姓制度和男女平等问题。此举保障了印度的团结和统一，在一定程度上为国家现代化奠定了基础。巴西劳工党在2003年执政后，着重解决制约巴西现代化的贫富差距扩大和政见不一的问题，通过一系列运动的开展保障了社会公平，维护了大多数人的利益；通过党内民主建设，缓和了党派之间的矛盾。南非同样面临如何把一个种族对立、社会分裂的南非建设成统一国家的问题。在曼德拉的领导下，南非坚持和解政策，避免了族群仇杀和社会动荡，实现了政治、经济的平稳过渡，对继续推动南非现代化进程产生了重要影响。

Third, be adept at drawing on the successful experiences of socialist countries’ modernization and leveraging the role of state planning and government regulation. On the one hand, attach importance to the role of the market in resource allocation, advocate free competition, encourage the development of private capital, accelerate industrialization, actively expand opening up, and build a modern economic system. On the other hand, fully emphasize and utilize the government’s economic intervention function, protect the domestic market and national economy, carry out structural economic reforms, straighten out various relationships, develop a mixed economy, and form a modernization pattern where the market’s “invisible hand” and the government’s macro-control complement each other. In the 21st century, China’s socialist modernization has achieved remarkable results, and many developing countries, including South Africa, have begun to “look east,” expressing a desire to learn from the successful experience of Chinese-style modernization [5]5 The phrase “向东看” (look east) or “turn to the East” in this context refers to the tendency of some developing countries, particularly in Africa and Latin America, to study and emulate China’s model of economic development and modernization, as opposed to Western models..

第三，善于借鉴社会主义国家现代化建设的成功经验，发挥国家计划和政府调节作用。一方面，重视市场在资源配置中的作用，倡导自由竞争，鼓励私人资本的发展，加速推进工业化，积极扩大对外开放，构建现代化经济体系。另一方面，充分重视和发挥政府的经济干预功能，保护国内市场和民族经济，进行结构性经济改革，理顺各种关系，发展混合经济，形成市场“看不见的手”和政府宏观调控相互支撑的现代化格局。进入21世纪，中国的社会主义现代化建设取得举世瞩目的成就，南非等许多发展中国家开始“向东看”，表示要学习中国式现代化建设的成功经验。

(II) Analysis of Reasons for Setbacks in Developing Countries’ Modernization

（二）发展中国家现代化遭遇挫折的原因分析

In the process of achieving national modernization, some developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, due to the difficulty of finding a correct path that allows both rapid development and maintained independence, often face a dilemma and are prone to falling into development “traps.”

亚非拉一些发展中国家在实现国家现代化的进程中，由于不易找到既能实现快速发展又能保持自身独立性的正确路径，往往会面临两难困境，容易陷入发展“陷阱”。

First, most developing countries have adopted the Western parliamentary democratic system, with multiple parties struggling against each other and a complex and volatile political situation, leading to intensified social contradictions and a mismatch between the pace of political modernization and economic modernization. Under the capitalist parliamentary system, political parties often engage in endless vicious struggles for partisan interests, reducing parliamentary politics to a formality. To win elections, parties indiscriminately pander to voters, make unrealistic promises, and sacrifice the country’s overall and long-term interests. Even when left-wing parties representing the interests of the middle and lower classes, such as Brazil’s Workers’ Party, come to power, due to the capitalist nature of state power, they cannot truly represent the interests of ordinary people; they can only temporarily alleviate class contradictions but cannot fundamentally advance the country’s modernization. Facing a sluggish world economy and challenges from domestic monopoly interest groups, the uncertainties in Brazil’s modernization have increased. Within South Africa’s left-wing ruling alliance, the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party have diverged in their governing philosophies, with a clear tendency toward political division, creating certain hidden concerns for South Africa’s modernization process.

第一，多数发展中国家采用了西方议会民主制，多党相互斗争，政局复杂多变，这导致社会矛盾激化，政治现代化和经济现代化步伐不一致。资本主义议会制度下，政党之间往往会为党派利益而无休止地恶斗，议会政治流于形式。各政党为了赢得竞选，一味讨好选民，做出不切实际的承诺，牺牲国家的整体利益和长远利益。即使像巴西劳工党这样代表中下阶层利益的左翼政党上台执政，也会因国家政权的资本主义性质而不能真正代表普通民众利益，只能暂时缓和阶级矛盾，不可能从根本上推进国家的现代化。面对世界经济不景气和国内垄断利益集团的挑战，巴西现代化不确定因素增加。南非左翼执政联盟中的南非非洲人国民大会与南非共产党在执政理念上发生分歧，政治分裂倾向明显，南非现代化进程存在一定隐忧。

Second, developing countries often have many ethnic groups, diverse beliefs, and significant cultural differences. If national and religious issues are not handled well, it can easily lead to social disorder, making it difficult to gather a strong unified force for modernization. India’s religious issues, caste issues, and gender equality issues restrict the mobility of different classes and strata, hindering personnel exchanges and resource integration. After India’s independence, although the Nehru government took various measures to address these issues, improving social antagonisms to some extent, historical deep-seated problems remain, severely constraining India’s modernization process. Brazilian culture has diverse characteristics, including European colonial culture, African civilization imported through the slave trade, and indigenous Indian culture. The unique Latin American culture formed by the blending and mixing of different civilizations has had a profound impact on the pluralistic political propositions advocated by Brazil’s Workers’ Party. However, diverse cultures and pluralistic politics have also led to differentiated development within Brazilian society, with constant conflicts among various interest groups, increasing the difficulty of Brazil’s modernization. The 1950s–1970s was a period of high-speed economic growth for South Africa, with modern industrial and service systems fully established, and its economic modernization level comparable to that of developed countries. However, due to the long-term implementation of the apartheid policy, South Africa’s dual economic structure was very prominent: the white population controlled the developed industrial and service systems, while the black population could only engage in low-end agricultural and livestock work, and the black population, which constituted the majority, had no political status. The apartheid system caused South Africa’s political modernization to lag behind its economic modernization for a long time. Although the new South Africa, led by Mandela in 1994, opened a new chapter in South Africa’s modernization, racial contradictions and the dual socioeconomic structure have not been completely eliminated and remain major factors constraining South Africa’s modernization.

第二，发展中国家往往民族较多、信仰各异、文化差异较大，处理不好民族宗教问题，容易导致社会秩序混乱，很难汇聚起实现现代化的强大统一力量。印度的宗教问题、种姓问题、男女平等问题限制了不同阶级和阶层的流动，阻碍了人员交流和资源整合。印度独立后，尽管尼赫鲁政府采取了各种举措来解决这些问题，社会对立情形有所改变，但历史积弊仍存，严重制约了印度的现代化进程。巴西文化具有欧洲殖民文化、随奴隶买卖而输入的非洲文明和印第安土著文化等多元特色，不同文明交融杂糅而形成的拉美独特文化对巴西劳工党提倡的多元政治主张产生深刻影响。但多样文化和多元政治亦导致巴西社会内部差异化发展，各种利益群体纷争不断，增加了巴西现代化难度。20世纪50年代—70年代是南非经济高速增长时期，现代工业、服务业体系全面建立，经济现代化水平可与发达国家媲美。然而，由于长期实行种族隔离政策，南非二元经济结构十分突出，白人支配发达的工业和服务业体系，而黑人只能从事低端农牧业等工作，且占人口大多数的黑人没有政治地位。种族隔离制度导致南非政治现代化长期滞后于经济现代化，虽然1994年曼德拉领导的新南非开启了南非现代化的新篇章，但种族矛盾和二元社会经济结构并没有完全消除，仍是制约南非现代化的主要因素。

Third, the modernization reforms of some developing countries have come under economic and political pressure from Western countries, readily veering “left and right,” so that their search for a modernization path has been “full of twists and turns.” [6]6 “Full of twists and turns” (一波三折) is a Chinese four-character idiom literally meaning “one wave, three bends,” used to describe a process that is tortuous and fraught with complications. Although these countries were dissatisfied with the Western-centered model after winning independence, their modernization process remained heavily influenced by the Western modernization model. During the period when neoliberalism was in vogue from the 1970s to the 1990s, Western modernization, whose fundamental aim was capital accumulation and profit maximization, had a deep and lasting adverse effect on developing countries. While promoting neoliberalism worldwide, Western countries also exported Western democratic values and Western political systems to non-Western countries. This not only severely disrupted the original political order and stable social environment of developing countries, triggering political crises of “democratic transition,” but also gave rise to new political and social problems such as the resurgence of religious extremism and ultranationalism and the intensification of ethnic conflicts, causing major setbacks to the modernization of these countries. Brazil achieved some economic results in the early stage of neoliberal reforms, but the lower and middle classes did not share in the fruits of development; the polarization of rich and poor and social injustice became more pronounced, and development fell into the “middle-income trap” and stagnated. After left-wing parties came to power, they corrected the neoliberal development bias, upheld the idea of “labor socialism,” and won support from the majority of the population. However, under a multi-party system, Brazil’s Workers’ Party, in order to win more votes, had to choose a “middle-of-the-road” approach in its governing line, advocating “inclusive development” and accommodating the interests of all sides. The left-wing governing coalition in South Africa lacks a shared vision of modernization development that all parties recognize and jointly follow; some major reform measures are difficult to implement due to disagreements among the various parties, and the future of modernization is fraught with challenges.

第三，一些发展中国家的现代化变革受到西方国家的经济和政治压力，容易发生“左右摇摆”，现代化道路探索“一波三折”。这些国家独立后虽然对以西方为中心的现代化不满意，但现代化进程仍受到西方现代化模式的重要影响。在20世纪70年代—90年代新自由主义流行时期，以资本增殖和利润最大化为根本目的的西方现代化对发展中国家产生了深刻持久的不良影响。西方国家在全球推广新自由主义的同时，还向非西方国家输出西方民主价值观和西方政治体制，不仅严重冲击了发展中国家原有的政治秩序和稳定的社会环境，引发“民主转型”的政治危机，还催生出宗教极端势力和极端民族主义抬头、民族矛盾激化等新的政治和社会问题，使这些国家的现代化遭遇重挫。巴西在新自由主义改革的初期取得了一定的经济实效，但中下层民众并没有分享到发展成果，贫富两极分化和社会不公现象更加突出，发展陷入“中等收入陷阱”而停滞不前。左翼政党执政后，纠正新自由主义发展偏向，秉持“劳工社会主义”理念，得到大多数民众支持。但在多党制条件下，巴西劳工党为争取更多选票，不得不在执政路线上选择“中间道路”，倡导“包容发展”，照顾各方利益。南非左翼执政联盟缺乏各方认同、共同遵循的现代化发展理念，一些重大改革措施因各党意见分歧难以落地，现代化前景充满挑战。

V. The Implications of Chinese-Path Modernization for Other Developing Countries

五、中国式现代化对其他发展中国家的启示

Chinese-path modernization is a socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China, which both embodies the general laws of the modernization process of human society and contains intrinsic values different from the Western path of modernization. The great practice of Chinese-path modernization represents a major innovation in the theory and practice of world modernization and provides new choices and useful insights for other developing countries seeking to achieve modernization.

中国式现代化是中国共产党领导的社会主义现代化，既体现了人类社会现代化进程的一般规律，又蕴含着其不同于西方现代化道路的内在价值。中国式现代化的伟大实践是对世界现代化理论和实践的重大创新，为其他发展中国家实现现代化提供了全新选择和有益启示。

First, it is necessary to uphold the people-centered principle and highlight the people-oriented nature of modernization.

第一，要坚守人民至上理念，突出现代化方向的人民性。

The people are the creators of history and the most solid foundation and deepest source of strength for advancing modernization. Whether a modernization path can ultimately be taken smoothly and steadily depends on whether it is people-centered. In the process of realizing modernization, some developing countries have achieved economic development, but development is unbalanced; the living standards of the people have not improved correspondingly; on the contrary, the gap between rich and poor has widened, social inequality has intensified, and the modernization drive lacks a secure and stable social environment. Some other developing countries have unrealistically raised the level of social welfare, leading to low efficiency, stagnant growth, and insufficient momentum for modernization. Chinese-path modernization is a socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China, a people-centered modernization. Respecting people’s value, unleashing people’s energy, and fulfilling people’s dreams, improving people’s wellbeing in the course of economic development, and achieving a virtuous and mutually reinforcing cycle between modernization and people’s all-round development — this is the deepest value foundation of the great cause of Chinese-path modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Only by adhering to the people-centered development philosophy, insisting on development for the people, development relying on the people, and development results shared by the people, can we have a correct outlook on development and on modernization.” Chinese-path modernization always takes meeting the people’s new expectations for a better life as the starting point and ultimate goal of development, and achieves common prosperity gradually and continuously in the process of modernization, rather than addressing the issue of common prosperity only after modernization is achieved. At the same time, Chinese-path modernization, with common prosperity for all its people as an important characteristic, overcomes the drawbacks associated with Western modernization, such as materialist expansion and the alienation of the human-nature relationship, “has solved many problems facing human society, abandoned the Western model of capital-centered modernization, polarized modernization, materialistically inflated modernization, and modernization through external expansion and plunder, expanded the pathways for developing countries to achieve modernization, and provided a Chinese solution for humanity’s exploration of a better social system.” [7]7 This quotation is from Xi Jinping’s speech at the opening ceremony of a high-level dialogue between the CPC and world political parties, delivered online on March 15, 2023. The first part of the quoted passage paraphrases a key paragraph from that speech.

人民是历史的创造者，是推进现代化最坚实的根基、最深厚的力量。现代化道路最终能否走得通、行得稳，关键要看是否坚持以人民为中心。在实现现代化的进程中，有的发展中国家虽然经济发展了，但发展不平衡，人民生活水平不但没有相应提高，反而贫富差距扩大，社会不平等现象加剧，现代化建设缺乏安全和稳定的社会环境。也有一些发展中国家不切实际地提高社会福利水平，导致效率低下，增长停滞，现代化动力不足。中国式现代化是中国共产党领导的社会主义现代化，是以人民为中心的现代化。尊重人的价值、激发人的能量、成就人的梦想，在经济发展中不断改善民生，实现现代化与人的全面发展良性互动、相得益彰，这是中国式现代化伟大事业最深厚的价值底色。习近平总书记指出：“只有坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，坚持发展为了人民、发展依靠人民、发展成果由人民共享，才会有正确的发展观、现代化观。”中国式现代化始终把满足人民对美好生活的新期待作为发展的出发点和落脚点，在实现现代化过程中逐步地、持续地实现共同富裕，而不是在实现现代化之后再来解决共同富裕问题。同时，以全体人民共同富裕为重要特征的中国式现代化克服了与西方现代化伴生的物质主义膨胀、人与自然关系异化等弊端，“破解了人类社会发展的诸多难题，摒弃了西方以资本为中心的现代化、两极分化的现代化、物质主义膨胀的现代化、对外扩张掠夺的现代化老路，拓展了发展中国家走向现代化的途径，为人类对更好社会制度的探索提供了中国方案”。

Second, it is necessary to uphold the principle of independence and autonomy and explore the diversity of modernization paths.

第二，要秉持独立自主原则，探索现代化道路的多样性。

Should one blindly copy other countries’ models, or pursue independent development based on one’s own national conditions? This is the “question of modernization” that developing countries must answer. For a country to achieve modernization, it must both follow the general laws of modernization and, more importantly, be grounded in its own national conditions. It cannot simply copy other countries’ models; it must rely on its own strength for independent development and cannot engage in simple uniformity or “copy-paste.” The fundamental reason why Chinese-path modernization has achieved such great success today is that it is a socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China. It possesses both the common features of modernization in all countries and, more importantly, Chinese characteristics based on its own national conditions. The reason Chinese-path modernization has succeeded is precisely that it fits China’s actual conditions, reflects the will of the Chinese people, and adapts to the requirements of the times. It is a modernization path that our Party, rooted in China’s soil, has independently explored. The Chinese-path modernization not only solves China’s practical problems but also, in a certain sense, answers and resolves the common problems of how developing countries can achieve modernization and development, broadening the range of pathways for developing countries to achieve modernization. In the era of economic globalization, developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have shifted from “admiring” the Western modernization model to “doubting” it, and have begun to correct the practice of imitating the Western model, independently pursuing modernization paths with their own national characteristics. Therefore, in the 21st century, the modernization paths of developing countries will become increasingly diversified.

是照抄照搬别国模式，还是立足自身国情自主发展？这是发展中国家需要回答的“现代化之问”。一个国家走向现代化，既要遵循现代化一般规律，更要立足本国国情，不可能照抄照搬别国模式，必须依靠本国力量自主发展，不能搞简单的千篇一律、“复制粘贴”。中国式现代化之所以能够取得今天这样的伟大成就，根本在于中国式现代化是中国共产党领导的社会主义现代化，既有各国现代化的共同特征，更有基于自己国情的中国特色。中国式现代化之所以取得成功，就是因为它切合中国实际、反映中国人民意愿、适应时代发展要求，是我们党扎根中国大地、独立自主探索出来的现代化道路。中国式现代化道路不仅解决了中国的实际问题，也在一定意义上回答和解决了发展中国家如何实现现代化、如何发展的共同问题，拓宽了发展中国家走向现代化的道路选择。在经济全球化时代，亚非拉发展中国家对西方现代化模式从“心仪”变为“心疑”，开始纠正模仿西方模式的做法，独立自主走本国特色的现代化道路。因此，21世纪发展中国家现代化道路将更趋多样化。

Third, it is necessary to foster a consciousness of upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, and maintain the continuity of the modernization process.

第三，要树立守正创新意识，保持现代化进程的持续性。

Reform and opening up enabled China to catch up with the times in big strides, becoming the only route for contemporary China’s development and progress. How to create a stable and orderly social environment for reform and development, and how to enhance development momentum and national cohesion? These are common difficulties facing developing countries in the process of achieving modernization. Through the reform and innovation of the socialist system, Chinese-path modernization gives full play to the advantage of concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks, correctly handles a series of major relationships such as between reform and stability, between the government and the market, and between vitality and order. It both allows the market to play the decisive role in resource allocation and better plays the role of the government, encouraging the vitality of all factors including labor, knowledge, technology, management, and capital to be fully unleashed, and prompting all sources of social wealth creation to flow abundantly. The successful experience of China’s reform and opening up and its approach of upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground provides Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for other developing countries in exploring their own modernization development paths.

改革开放让中国大踏步赶上时代，成为当代中国发展进步的必由之路。如何为改革发展营造安定有序的社会环境，如何提升发展动力和增强国家凝聚力？这是广大发展中国家在实现现代化过程中普遍面临的难题。中国式现代化通过社会主义制度的改革创新，发挥集中力量办大事的优势，正确处理改革与稳定、政府与市场、活力与有序等一系列重大关系，既发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用，又更好发挥政府作用，鼓励一切劳动、知识、技术、管理、资本等要素的活力竞相迸发，促使一切创造社会财富的源泉充分涌流。中国改革开放、守正创新的成功经验为其他发展中国家探索本国现代化发展道路提供了中国智慧和中国方案。

Fourth, it is necessary to maintain a striving posture and ensure the firmness of leadership in modernization.

第四，要保持奋发有为姿态，确保现代化领导的坚定性。

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Modernization will not fall from the sky; it must be achieved through actively taking the historical initiative. As the forces leading and driving the modernization endeavor, the value concepts, leadership level, governance capacity, spiritual outlook, and will and quality of political parties directly bear on the future and destiny of a country’s modernization.” The Chinese-path modernization path was painstakingly explored by generation after generation of Chinese Communists, uniting and leading the Chinese people. The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the fundamental guarantee for the formation and expansion of this path. Looking back at the modernization processes of developing countries such as India, Brazil, and South Africa, a major lesson is their lack of a strong and firm leading core within a political party to support modernization, making it difficult to form a political consensus shared by the entire nation.

习近平总书记指出：“现代化不会从天上掉下来，而是要通过发扬历史主动精神干出来。作为现代化事业的引领和推动力量，政党的价值理念、领导水平、治理能力、精神风貌、意志品质直接关系国家现代化的前途命运。”中国式现代化道路是一代又一代中国共产党人团结带领中国人民艰辛探索出来的，中国共产党的领导是这一道路得以形成和拓展的根本保证。反观印度、巴西、南非等发展中国家现代化进程，其中一大教训是现代化缺乏坚强有力的政党领导核心的支撑，难以形成举国上下一致的政治共识。

Fifth, it is necessary to promote the spirit of establishing oneself and helping others, and enhance the inclusiveness of the fruits of modernization.

第五，要弘扬立己达人精神，增强现代化成果的普惠性。

Although Western-led modernization has advanced the development of social productive forces to a certain extent and accelerated the process of economic globalization, it has also led to a series of global problems such as the widening gap between rich and poor in the Global North and South, frequent economic and financial crises, hegemonic struggles and incessant war and conflict, and the depletion and deterioration of the Earth’s resources and environment. Unlike the modernization path of Western jungle competition and zero-sum game, Chinese-path modernization[8]8 Chinese-path modernization (中国式现代化) refers to the modernization model promoted by the Chinese Communist Party, which is distinguished from Western models by its emphasis on peaceful development, common prosperity, material and cultural-ethical progress, harmony between humanity and nature, and a people-centered approach, all under the leadership of the Party. is not a modernization achieved by plundering other countries’ natural resources through force and hegemony, harming other countries’ interests and sacrificing the ecological environment; rather, it is a modernization that upholds the path of peaceful development and realizes harmony between humanity and nature. China’s development is closely linked to the world. Safeguarding world peace, promoting common development, adhering to the path of peaceful development, and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind are the principles and basic requirements of Chinese-path modernization. In the current situation where geopolitical conflicts intensify, the global peace and security environment is worrying, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, and global sustainable development faces a series of challenges, China, focusing on common global development, has always been committed to helping developing countries develop their economies, improve people’s livelihoods, and enhance their capacity for independent and sustainable development, joining with developing countries to blaze a modernization path of peaceful development and mutual benefit. The modernization practices of developing countries will ultimately become an important driving force for the progress of human society. As more developing countries find modernization paths that suit their own national conditions, human civilization will present even richer forms.

西方主导的现代化虽在一定程度上推进了社会生产力发展，加快了经济全球化进程，但导致南北贫富差距拉大、经济危机和金融危机频发、霸权争夺和战争冲突不断、地球资源环境枯竭恶化等一系列全球性难题。与西方丛林竞争、零和博弈的现代化道路不同，中国式现代化不是靠武力霸权掠夺他国自然资源、侵害别国利益和牺牲生态环境的现代化，而是坚持走和平发展道路、实现人与自然和谐共生的现代化。中国的发展与世界紧密相连，维护世界和平、促进共同发展、坚持走和平发展道路，推动构建人类命运共同体，是中国式现代化的原则和基本要求。在当前地缘政治冲突加剧，全球和平安全环境堪忧，单边主义、保护主义抬头，全球可持续发展面临一系列挑战的形势下，中国着眼全球共同发展，始终致力于帮助发展中国家发展经济、改善民生、提高自主可持续发展能力，同发展中国家一道走出一条和平发展、互利共赢的现代化道路。发展中国家的现代化实践，终将成为人类社会进步的重要推动力量。随着更多发展中国家走出符合自身国情的现代化道路，人类文明将呈现更加丰富的形态。