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Abstract Marx and Engels critically inherited the reasonable core of civilization theory and developed the civilization theory of historical materialism. Based on productivity and division of labor, Marx and Engels explained the evolution process of human society from an agricultural society to an industrial society based on the perspective of economics and revealed the historical progress and historical transition of bourgeois civilization from the evolution of production mode. Then they foresaw the trend of socialist revolution from the contradictory movement of capitalism, and their future vision of communism denied the view that the theory on civilization hierarchy took modern bourgeois civilization as a perfect model. Meanwhile, Marx and Engels revealed the “barbarism in the civilization” of contemporary bourgeois society and the contradiction between history and morality through the viewpoint of historical dialectics. They further elucidated the dialectics of barbaric plunder and civilization dissemination of Western colonialism in non-Western colonies, thus eliminating the binary opposition mode of “civilization versus barbarism” and the ideological prejudgment of “Western civilization and non-Western barbarism”.
Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization takes the mode of production as the axis and human freedom as the latitude. Human freedom is the measure of civilization progress, as manifested in Marx and Engels’ comprehensive critique of capitalist society: economically, in terms of labor enslavement and alienated labor; politically, in the bourgeois “domination of man”; and psychologically, in the “dependence of man on things”. Additionally, Marx and Engels, based on their criticism of bourgeois civilization hierarchy, envisioned the future civilization prospects of liberation in communist society. The progress of civilization ultimately lies in humanity’s liberation from “dependence on man” and “dependence on things” in economic, political, and psychological aspects. The Marxist ideal of “freedom” is embodied in The Communist Manifesto as the “union of free individuals in the communist society”. This critical and constructive dialectical theory of civilization not only dismantles the 19th-century myth of “civilization” with Western modern society as the model but also avoids the “Greek nostalgia” trap of anti-civilization thought seen in Rousseau’s and Nietzsche’s left and right-wing critiques of civilization, displaying the unique and enduring intellectual charm of historical materialism.
The issue of civilization is a significant theoretical problem in social theory and historical research, especially for China in its modernization process. This paper places the study of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization within the theoretical context of the evolution of 19th-century civilization discourse, exploring the important ideological significance of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization in surpassing bourgeois civilization discourse and deepening historical materialism theory. Simultaneously, by examining Marx and Engels’ works from the early The Communist Manifesto to the later works such as Abstract of Morgan’s book on Ancient Societies and The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, this paper delves into the system and development of Marx and Engels’ theory of civilization, not only deepening the study of Marxist historical philosophy and social theory but also advancing the study of civilization theory. In practical application, China’s modernization path has evolved from the “Four Modernizations” of industry, agriculture, national defense, and science and technology to a modernization aiming at wealth, strength, democracy, and civilization. Civilization has become the overall goal of China’s modernization. Studying Marxist theory of civilization can provide theoretical guidance and intellectual inspiration for China’s civilization progress and modernization endeavor.
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Published: 30 August 2024
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