Ma Xinying: New Trends in the Critique of Capitalist Modernization within Foreign Marxism

Modernization in the 21st century is characterized by phased features of rapid transformation, accelerated development, profound change, and deep adjustment. Bolstered by the new technological revolution represented by computers, big data, and artificial intelligence, capitalist modernization has undergone new changes, and its productive forces have expanded to an unprecedented degree. However, due to the inherent contradictions of capitalism and the problems exposed by the global accumulation of capital, capitalist modernization remains a "troublemaker" in the process of world modernization, even in the digital age. Grounded in these new characteristics of the era, foreign Marxism has combined the critical position of Marxism with new theoretical resources to launch a new critique of capitalist modernization, manifesting trends in three specific areas.

First, a shift from diachronic critique to synchronic critique. The critique of capitalist modernization in the 20th century exhibited distinct "diachronic" characteristics. This was manifested by foreign Marxists basing themselves on the Marxist conception of world history and situating modernization within the process of historical development. This approach was akin to a longitudinal connection of modernization—starting from feudal and pre-modern stages to explore the formation and development of capitalist modernization, reflect on its characteristics and manifestations, and criticize its negative aspects and deficiencies. In contrast, the critique of capitalist modernization in the 21st century exhibits "synchronic" characteristics. Having entered the 21st century, modernization has become a vast "setting" (情景) ^[1]; various critical themes, perspectives, discourses, and concepts all reflect the new features of modernization. The critique of capitalist modernization during this period is akin to a cross-sectional cut of modernization. Critics are no longer entangled in its origins and development or confined to historical tracing; what they seek is the concentrated manifestation of modernization and its internal relations. In this context, what is important for the critique of capitalist modernization is its current existence, manifestations, and characteristics, with particular emphasis on the impact of this modernization on the existential conditions of contemporary human beings.

Second, a shift from the critique of modernity to the critique of modernization itself. Twentieth-century foreign Marxists were more concerned with the core concept of modernization—modernity. The critique and reflection on modernity became an effective tool for analyzing the rational essence of capitalist society and served as a theme running through the entire 20th-century critique of capitalist modernization. However, 21st-century critiques no longer focus on discussing the rationality of modernity. This is because, in the view of foreign Marxists, most countries and regions in the current era have already been integrated into the process of modernization and are gradually moving toward more mature modern societies. Whether it be the crisis of industrial civilization or alienation, these have become established facts of modern society. The critique of capitalist modernization in this period no longer judges the suffering or alienation endured by people based on external grounds; instead, it emphasizes judging the degree of the negative impact of capitalist modernization based on the feelings, beliefs, and actions of social subjects themselves. Therefore, focusing on the "present" of capitalist modernization—its own structure, developmental path, power control, the emergence of new contradictions, and the consequences of its global expansion—has become the primary content of the current foreign Marxist critique of capitalist modernization.

Third, a shift from socio-cultural critique to political critique. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, a group of foreign Marxists took it as their mission to reveal the oppression of human nature and society by capitalist modernization, proposing critical theories with far-reaching influence. Critical theory recognized that the capitalist system led to social irrationality, which in turn spawned numerous concepts such as the critique of instrumental reason, the critique of the culture industry, the critique of capitalist ideology, and the critique of the one-dimensional society. However, critical theory was mainly carried out within the domains of sociology, psychology, and epistemology, appearing more often as a socio-cultural or ideological critique. Since entering the 21st century, political critique has gradually become the core of the critique of capitalist modernization. From the critique of new imperialism and neoliberalism to the critique of spatial politics, biopolitics, and national governance—even including the critique of digital capitalism and ecological justice—all possess distinct characteristics of political critique. Core terms such as hegemony, power control, equality, justice, and biopower have become the conceptual sources capable of stimulating a more radical critique of capitalist modernization.