Marxism Research Network
Unofficial English Translation

Duan Guangpeng: Transformation of Civilizational Forms and Its Narrative Logic in the Process of World History

Xi Jinping Thought (New Era)

Civilization, as the deep representation of the sum total of various achievements created by humanity in the activities of understanding and transforming the world, is a category that marks the social state within the developmental process of world history; it represents the degree of developmental progress and the aspirations of an era. Forms of civilization are the classifications of civilization; they are the result of civilizational accumulation and the manifestation of civilizational maturity. Different forms of civilization imply differences in developmental paths, inherent principles, value orientations, and realization mechanisms, thereby sketching a diverse map of human civilizational development and presenting the historical trajectory of human civilizational evolution. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, when reviewing the great changes of the decade in the New Era, mentioned "continuously enriching and developing a new form of human civilization"; in the exposition of the essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization, "creating a new form of human civilization" is one of the core tenets. The series of major arrangements and reform measures made at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee—centered on further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization—closely track the enrichment and development of this new form of human civilization. Viewed from the fields involved, these measures meet its essential requirements; viewed from the consistent main line, they consolidate its institutional foundation; and viewed from the position upheld, they polish its underlying values.

The new form of human civilization is the logical necessity and civilizational fruit of the development of Chinese-path modernization. It demonstrates the developmental prospects and civilizational advantages of Chinese-path modernization. It is a form of civilization more extensive and profound than capitalist civilization, embodying the historical necessity, realistic possibility, and value rationality of socialist civilization. It constitutes a "major contribution made by the Chinese nation to the progress of human civilization" and provides a new choice and new model for the diversification of world civilizations. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "To learn from Marx, we must study and practice Marxist thought on world history." Marx's thought on world history, with profound foresight and insight, revealed the developmental law of the "transformation of history into world history" [1]. Through a scientific analysis of the spatial-temporal process of world historical development, it pointed out the inevitable trend and ideal vision of the transition from capitalism toward communism. Grasping civilizational transformations and their narrative logic from the perspective of the world historical process allows for a clear demonstration of the value and charm of the new form of human civilization in transcending territorial barriers. It heralds new trends and prospects for the development of human civilization, thereby leading the trends of the times and the progress of humanity through this new form of civilization.

I. Preliminary Reflection: The World Historical Context of the Emergence of the New Form of Human Civilization

The new form of human civilization follows the developmental logic of "critique—construction—transcendence," manifesting the historical exit of old civilizational forms and the historical entrance of the new form within the process of world history. Standing at the height of world history, Marx viewed the capitalist form of civilization, deeply analyzed its internal contradictions, and "discovered the new world through the critique of the old," [2] thereby indicating the evolutionary process of civilizational forms and the developmental direction of world history. The grand emergence of the new form of human civilization in the New Era not only marks the great achievements and civilizational accomplishments of Chinese-path modernization but also activates and releases the systemic elements of world history. It constitutes the operating platform and innovative modality of world history, achieving a discourse revolution in the history of human civilizational development.

1. A "Subjectivity of Civilization" theory unifying scientific and evaluative dimensions

Seeking truth and creating value are the basic contents of human cognitive and practical activities. The reason Marxism possesses rigorous logic, clear reasoning, and brilliant argumentation lies in its adherence to the unity of scientific and evaluative dimensions. Within the process of world history, it critically examines everything created by human society and points out the correct path to achieving freedom and emancipation. Adhering to this unity means that, while basing ourselves on the original face and inherent laws of the world, we must understand and transform the world according to the human scale and human needs. In the developmental trajectory of Marx’s thought, taking "real individuals" as the starting point was a fundamental theoretical shift. "The first premise of all human history is, of course, the existence of living human individuals." Only by starting from the true subjects of history—"real individuals," which is to say concrete, active, and developing people—can one examine history based on its material foundation.

Previous civilizational narratives intentionally or unintentionally erased the historical role of human beings, even declaring that "man has no nature, only history." Marx brought countless "real individuals" into prominence from the blanks of historical narrative, placing them within the context of real life constrained by productive forces and relations of production. By thoroughly subverting all real relations of enslavement and oppression, he ensured that humanity would no longer be a silent, obscured, or isolated existence on the civilizational stage. Instead, civilization essentially springs from and evolves within the labor activities of "real individuals," who possess the determinacy of historical liberation and the autonomy of material production. The subject of civilization is man; civilization is not external to man. "Social structure and the state are continually evolving out of the life-process of determinate individuals." Since the emergence of the state, especially the modern state, the state and civilization have been highly correlated, closely interacting, and inseparable; "the state governs civilization, and civilization characterizes the state."

However, the development of human civilization is not a mere interlacing of national-state civilizations or a heap of history. It is a process of breaking states of isolation and fragmentation to enter a state of world history characterized by interdependence and organic, holistic development. Along with the "transformation of history into world history," a global pattern of human civilizational creation has gradually formed. Simultaneously, it advances with the progression of civilizational forms, highlighting the intersection of human subjective creation and world historical development. In the field of world history, human civilization is generating a "species-subject" [3] that embodies the "species" attribute of socialism. Its realistic form is the formation of a community of subjects of human civilization, capable of realizing the unity of humanity as both a historical and a value subject. The creation of the new form of human civilization is based on the subjective existence of man and concerns itself with the existential conditions of historical subjects. By gaining historical initiative through the mastery of subjectivity, it achieves a transformation of the civilizational subject. Only when the essential powers of man are fully unfolded and the process of world history is accelerated—that is, after the theoretical core of historical materialism and the spatial-temporal field of world history are fused—does moving toward a brand-new form of human civilization acquire the significance of world-civilizational self-awareness and introspection.

2. A "Fundamental Dynamism" theory unifying historical and logical dimensions

A characteristic of Marxist theory is the unity of the historical and the logical; logic reproduces the laws of the history of cognition in a compressed form—that is, the logical is the mental reproduction of the historical. Marx upheld this unity in explaining the basic principles of historical materialism. Marx pointed out that humans create their own history, but "they do not make it as they please... but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past." All human social activities are built on given historical conditions, and productive forces are the ultimate decisive force in the development of human social history. The high development of productive forces inevitably leads to an extensive social division of labor, thereby playing a major role in the formation and development of the world market. The world market, in turn, accelerates the integration of various nations, enabling people to produce and exchange commodities on a global scale, vividly presenting a picture of universal connection before the world.

With the "transformation of history into world history," all nations are drawn into the capitalist civilizational system, and social intercourse gradually transforms into universal, world-scale intercourse. The level of development of social productive forces directly constrains the level of social intercourse. In the process of world history, isolation, closure, and separation are always closely linked with backward productive forces, while exchange, communication, and openness develop in tandem with advanced productive forces. The fundamental reason for the "transformation of history into world history" lies in the fact that real material production drives the continuous expansion of modern social intercourse, because "only with this universal development of productive forces is a universal intercourse between men established."

Forms of civilization are manifestations of social formations supported by the level of productive forces; their evolution is inseparable from the continuous development and iterative evolution of those forces. The capitalist ownership of the means of production is essentially the ownership by capitalists; under it, the human and material elements within the productive forces are distorted. Because capital enjoys unrestricted privileges, it turns all things into commodities, making the most important productive force—the worker’s capacity to produce—one-sided and deformed. Although capital can stimulate the development of productive forces, it regards both the individual and society as instrumental elements for capital accumulation; capital expands into an "all-dominating economic power." The severe imbalance between capital's ability to stimulate and its ability to harness productive capacity determines that capital, through barbaric conquest, must inevitably damage the fruits of civilization. This fully exposes the injustice of the capitalist civilizational order.

The dynamic for creating a new form of human civilization rejects the extreme characterization of human history by capitalist civilization and demands the establishment of a matching system of ownership of the means of production. Implementing public ownership of the means of production is something that can only be achieved by a higher form of civilization that has subverted the rule of capital. Public ownership can fundamentally accommodate the expansion of productive forces while ensuring equality in the division of labor and distribution, playing an active role in the emancipation of labor. Thus, it adapts to the developmental trends and evolutionary trajectory of world history. The new form of human civilization must be "a community of free individuals, carrying on their work with the means of production in common," representing the bridge by which socialism moves from ideal to reality. Public ownership gathers the strength and wisdom of development, serving as a vital support to fully release social productive forces and labor enthusiasm, embodying powerful cohesion and immense superiority.

3. A "Multilinear Path" theory unifying universal and particular dimensions

To protect the sanctity of private property and the bourgeoisie's demand for freedom, and subsequently to exercise comprehensive rule and control over the social field, bourgeois thinkers proposed that "the state is superior to civil society." They emphasized the supreme absolute authority and sanctity of the state, attempting to justify the legitimacy of the political state. In response, Marx pointed out that "family and civil society are the premises of the state." The universal suffering endured by the proletariat reflects a universal injustice. The increase in the capitalist's wealth and the valorization of capital are, for the worker, a form of pain and the depletion of life. "Illusoriness" became a political quality directly determined by capitalist economic forms; the state enslaves and oppresses people in hidden forms, leading to the gradual loss of human subjectivity. The freedom restricted to capitalist exploitation is narrow and superficial, causing the space for human existence, production, and life—which was originally integrated—to no longer exist.

Although capitalist civilization, full of domination and exploitation, has serious defects and fatal flaws, the bourgeoisie continuously adjusts social relations to achieve a wider range of resource accumulation and ensure a more stable developmental environment. Capital’s need to open the world market battered the national foundations beneath the feet of industry and pushed the global expansion of capitalist civilization. By utilizing advantages in capital, technology, and institutions, it gradually broke the original closed and isolated developmental states of various nations, forcefully drawing backward nations into the world system of capitalist civilization. "The country that is more developed industrially only shows, to the less developed, the image of its own future." Does this mean all nations will choose the capitalist path and locate themselves within capitalist civilization?

The process of world history is driven by the movement, power, and logic of capital, but this does not mean that every nation must necessarily experience all the "birth pangs" of capitalism. Which developmental path a nation takes "depends on the historical environment in which it finds itself." The "historical inevitability" of the origin and process of capitalism is "expressly limited to the countries of Western Europe." In his letter to the editorial board of Otechestvennye Zapiski [4], his reply to Vera Zasulich, and the drafts of that reply, Marx deeply studied the nature and structure of Oriental societies. Based on the law of the unity of world-historical universality and particularity, he analyzed in detail the origins and future of the Russian rural commune, suggesting the possibility of "not passing through the Caudine Forks of the capitalist system, but appropriating all its positive fruits." [5]

Crossing the "Caudine Forks" to transition directly to socialist civilization is an active choice for Oriental societies to escape the "historical twists" and "pain" brought by capitalist civilization. The inevitable "coexistence of two systems" [6] reflects Marx’s recognition of and respect for a nation's choice of social developmental path within a specific world-historical environment; it provides important enlightenment for backward Oriental countries exploring their own paths. Chinese-path modernization has successfully shattered the myth that "modernization = Westernization." It is transcending Western-style modernization with a new form of human civilization, solving the historical puzzle of how Oriental societies develop after crossing the "Caudine Forks" of capitalism. The new form of human civilization is a "transcendental path" for humanity to exit the dilemma of capitalist modernization; in the sense of social formation, it represents the civilizational trend of world history and human society.

II. Creative Transformation: The World-Historical Mechanism Behind the Evolution of the New Form of Human Civilization

Marx’s thought on world history contains the scientific laws and historical processes of the generation and evolution of civilization. In the development of world history, civilization exhibits an evolutionary progression from lower to higher stages, and from the singular to the comprehensive. From early human civilizations to modern civilization—including the overcoming and transcendence of its paradoxes—and finally to the new form of human civilization created by Chinese-path modernization, the human pursuit of civilization necessarily advances toward the arrival of the new form of civilization envisioned by Marx. The "transformation of history into world history" serves as a grand horizon running through this new form of human civilization. By providing deep insight into the systematizing and integrating trends of civilizational development, it offers a theoretical basis and practical guide for directing the forward movement of civilizational forms.

  1. Grasping Civilizational Trends Within the Transformation of National History into World History

Marx cleared the ideological mist surrounding human cognition of social development. He clarified that the generation of world history was not a matter of pure speculation within the realm of thought, and revealed that the "barbarism within civilization" [7] of capitalism would inevitably be replaced by a civilization seeking the comprehensive liberation of humanity. Marx turned the "inverted" logic of abstraction and speculation right side up, noting that world history "is a quite material, empirically verifiable act."

The "transformation of history into world history" occurs alongside the development of productive forces and the enrichment of social intercourse (交往, jiāowǎng) [8]. Specifically, as the frequency and diversity of intercourse increase, different nation-states or regions gradually break through their original states of self-seclusion and isolation. This thoroughly signals the end of isolation, forming an organic whole characterized by unified association and frequent exchange. It is precisely this transformation of national history into world history that drives the development of productive forces and the expansion of global intercourse. It compels nation-states and regions that were long closed off to break through the fences of egoism and leap across stages of relative ignorance. This process rapidly expands the world market and international trade, severs the various shackles and compulsions binding humanity, and deepens mutual connections to an unprecedented degree. Subjects are no longer isolated, closed, or atomized entities; rather, the world increasingly becomes an intermingling whole.

Capital is the absolute primary force driving the transformation of national history into world history. So long as the desire for the valorization of capital can be satisfied, a massive global circulation of various factors of production can be realized. Space, as an "element of all production and all human activity," is rapidly capitalized. This allowed the tapestry of colonial plunder and the slave trade to unfold fully, powerfully propelling human society from fragmented regional development toward a world-historical process where fates are shared. The "fast-forward button" of world history was pressed by the capitalist mode of production. The bourgeoisie, as the possessors of capital—driven by the realization of infinite capital valorization and the pursuit of as much surplus value as possible—destroyed old social structures and relations. They achieved the global allocation of raw materials, human resources, and markets, turning regions with abundant resources and cheap labor into new capital markets, thereby rewriting the spatial patterns of human existence.

While capitalist civilization opened the prologue of world history, driven by the dual pressures of the internal drive for surplus value and external competition, this does not mean that world history terminates with capitalist civilization. With visionary theoretical exposition and scientific prediction, Marx pointed out that the boundaries of human civilization extend until the higher stage of communism. The vast expanse and advancing wheels of world history must, in concrete reality, be manifested in the trajectory of civilizational forms. Within the transformation of national history into world history, and based on the internal laws of civilization, the new form of human civilization moves toward the "ideal realm" (yìngrán zhī jìng) of human civilization through the great practice of Chinese-path modernization. The current "changes of the world, of our times, and of history" [9] demonstrate even more profoundly that the future of humanity and the development of the world urgently require the guidance of a new civilizational form. The world-historical pattern dominated by capitalist civilization can no longer adapt to the development of global modernization. The new form of human civilization, born in response to the world’s changes unseen in a century [10], represents the union of truth and morality. It achieves a dialectical negation and positive sublation (yangqi) of previous human civilizational forms, displaying a major innovation in the mode of human development and a brand-new blueprint for civilization, leading the way forward in both path and orientation.

  1. Making Civilizational Choices Through the Interaction Between Social Subjects and Social Practice

Marx noted: "All social life is essentially practical." Human practice is a reflection of the social formation of the community and the civilizational appearance in which one resides. Marx combined the grand narrative of human civilization with a microscopic perspective on individual modalities, revealing the evolution from "naturally formed communities" to "abstract or illusory communities" and finally to the "true community." He committed to escaping the rule and enslavement of the capitalist "abstract or illusory community" to explore the socialist path toward a "true community." Marx and Engels formally used the concept of "community" in The German Ideology, arguing that "only in community [with others has each] individual the means of cultivating his gifts in all directions; only in the community, therefore, is personal freedom possible."

Community is the basic mode and environment for the interaction between social subjects and social practice. The "naturally formed community" is a singular, pure, and direct form of community based on blood ties and the land as a material foundation, formed during the process of collective labor. Prior to capitalist civilization, individuals belonged to narrow communal groups and failed to realize their specific interests as independent individuals; they were restricted by narrow ties of kinship and geography. In the "abstract community," the formation of currency and capital ties broke the original "richness of relations." Currency became the medium for the whole of human life and society, and the continuous expansion of production accumulated capital. Individuals became essentially dominated by reified (wùhuà) social relations. The command of the logic of capital is cold, direct, and thorough; human life is engulfed by currency, and production is engulfed by capital. Under these circumstances, the "illusory community," represented by the capitalist state, emerged. For the ruling class, the "illusory community" uses the form of granting illusory political rights and obligations to citizens to infinitely expand the extraction of profit. The "state," which seemingly exists to realize equality and freedom among people, is in fact completely manipulated and controlled by private owners; it is a shackle on the realization of autonomous human activity.

The "true community" subverts the foundation of "dependence on things" (such as capital). Under the proletarian system of appropriation, members of society are no longer subject to the domination of things or abstract rule, thereby ensuring that every person becomes a highly civilized being. It can be said that Marx grasped the development of human society through the lens of civilizational relations, clarifying that the practical evolution of civilizational forms underwent a transformation from "relations of personal dependence" to "relations of material dependence." Future human civilization will present a new modality of human liberation. In today’s world, where the tide of world history is irreversible, the new form of human civilization follows the laws of human practice, social evolution, and civilizational intercourse. It defines human civilizational subjectivity through a longitudinal historical dynamics and horizontal civilizational comparison. By continuing the community through the fundamental concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity as a practical method, it accelerates the realization of the dialectical negation or transcendence of existing forms, arriving at a new, people-centered socialist form of civilization.

  1. Deducing Civilizational Prospects Through the Relationship Between Special Interests and the Common Interest

Within capitalist civilization, there has always been a split between special interests and the common interest; man’s own activity becomes an antagonistic force that oppresses him. Marx used the grand horizon and developmental perspective of world history to make scientific predictions with human liberation as the fundamental goal. Communist civilization can only be realized through integration with world history; the latter is the necessary process for achieving the former, and the former is the highest stage of the latter's development. Following the logic of Marx’s world-historical thought, only at the stage of communist civilization can the interest requirements of all people be greatly satisfied, prompting the special interests of individuals and the common interests of the group to trend toward complete identity. Consequently, the orientation of the common interest shifts toward providing special interests for every individual.

In the process of world history, the connections between people gradually shed the narrow colors of the nation-state and merge more consciously into universal intercourse. Individuals cannot survive independently of society; only by participating, consciously or unconsciously, in social production and life can they truly realize their own objectified activity and form various social relations. Man is "not something stored up, but the individuals in their mutual relations, which they both reproduce and produce anew." In the process of intercourse, humans can accelerate the establishment of new relations of production and promote the continuous expansion of the scope of intercourse—moving from narrow regional intercourse to universal intercourse—thereby broadening the cognitive horizon for understanding and grasping the world. Universal intercourse continuously overcomes natural obstacles and various hindrances, developing toward a convergence of interests and values. This gradually forms a true community where human relations are built upon the common interest, and special interests are no longer passed off as the universal interest. At that point, the measure of wealth "is disposable time." Once the existence of the individual is freed from the dual dependence on people and things, and there is time at one's own disposal, can personality be fully manifested and potential stimulated.

Communism is not an abstract or occult utopia. It requires the material foundation of massive productive forces and social wealth, the realistic power of the emergence and development of the proletariat, and the basic prerequisite of the universal development of global intercourse. It achieves an ideal state built on the disappearance of the state and highly developed productive forces, with the free and comprehensive development of the individual as its core tenet. Without the development of productive forces and the formation of the social division of labor—and without the dual action and catalysis of internal agents of change and external stimuli—the transition from the "world of man" to "world-historical individuals" cannot be driven. Nor can the formation of world history be accelerated through universal intercourse that develops in depth from specific points to broader areas. Marx noted: "The degree of liberation of every single individual is consistent with the degree to which history is completely transformed into world history."

By creating a supply system that meets the subjective needs of the people, the new form of human civilization transcends the logic of capital and the supremacy of capital. It achieves the unification of human development and material development, actively exploring realistic paths to human freedom and liberation, returning social development to the "human scale." It is a new form in which the realistic happiness and free personality of the people can be comprehensively developed, where the separation and antagonism between man and labor, man and nature, and man and man no longer exist. The new form of human civilization profoundly manifests its bright characteristic of caring for the future and destiny of human society. It strives to realize a "civilization that can give happiness to all," achieving the unity of the interests of the proletariat and the interests of all humanity, conforming to the progressive direction and value goals of human civilization.

III. Axiological Clarification: The World-Historical Narrative of Creating a New Form of Human Civilization

World history is not the abstract "World Spirit" in the Hegelian sense, but rather a path forward opened through the transformation of civilizational forms on the basis of the development of productive forces and universal intercourse. In the 21st century, China—upholding the concern for human freedom and liberation found in Marx’s world-historical thought—has broken through the national barriers and ethnic antagonisms manufactured under the long-term rule of capitalist civilization to create a new form of human civilization. It has become a brand-new civilizational form constructed according to the laws of world-historical evolution, providing a new choice and opening a new space for eliminating the antagonism between social formations and lighting the dawn of civilization. The world-historical narrative of the new form of human civilization is not pure philosophical logic or abstract discursive logic; rather, with profound foresight and insight, it reveals the deep mysteries and evolutionary laws of human civilizational development. It shapes a true civilizational narrative in contrast to "illusory" civilizational expressions. Within its particularity, it contains a universality of world-historical significance, leading the world toward the continuous realization of civilizational prosperity and progress.

  1. Using the Transcendent Narrative of Socialist "People-Centeredness" to Expose the Lie of "Civilizational Singularity"

Unlike the civilizational implications of previous social formations, modern capitalism, in the process of its outward diffusion and radiation, narrated itself as "civilization." It even attempted to transform "civilization" into a singular noun, establishing capitalist civilization as the "sole standard" of civilization within its narrative. By regarding all other civilizations as secondary, inferior, or even barbaric, it formed a narrative system based on a hierarchy of civilizations. From the perspective of the evolutionary picture of human civilization outlined by Marx’s thought on world history, the capitalist civilizational form has always contained insurmountable internal contradictions and civilizational paradoxes. The logic of capital, as the existential logic and essential characteristic of capitalist civilization, cannot transcend itself; it can only pave the way for the creation of a brand-new civilizational form through the evolution of world history and the progress of human society. The "civilized period" of humanity has persisted alongside the division of classes, where civilizational progress is inseparable from oppression, enslavement, and exploitation. Capitalist civilization is a civilizational model possessed of world-historical universality in human history; however, the logic of capital adopts a fixed mindset of binary opposition and the barbaric methods of colonial aggression and brutal plunder. Its so-called "civilizational significance" is, in reality, a justification for the machinery serving the external expansion of private capital. Beneath the gorgeous raiment of capitalist civilization lie crimes full of blood and filth; its growth in wealth comes at the cost of well-rounded human development, and its universality is alienated and cruel in practice. The movement, power, and logic of capital lay bare the extreme hypocrisy, recklessness, and barbaric nature of capitalist civilization, proving its persistent inability to escape the defect of periodically destroying productive forces and inevitably damaging the achievements of civilization.

As world history advances, universal world-wide intercourse has broken the isolation between ethnic groups and nations, and regional crises are increasingly transformed into global ones. In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty used a large volume of solid historical data and rigorous argumentation to point out: "The current degree of wealth inequality is approaching or even exceeding historical highs." Bound by the capitalist system and facing global problems such as the widening gap between rich and poor, weak economic recovery, social unrest, and intensified ecological crises, capitalist civilization offers only a one-sided development driven by economic interests. The logic of capital exists as the leading and dominant force of society, where the ultimate value orientation of instrumental rationality is the accumulation and valorization of capital, leading in turn to a comprehensive crisis in the development of capitalist civilization. The bourgeoisie, obsessed with eulogizing capital, can only fall into a passive state under the control of a profit-seeking mentality; the logic of capital becomes a destructive factor for civilization and an obstacle to a new, higher-level civilization. Socialist civilization, which stands above and transcends capitalist civilization, is "a fundamental experience of that which exists in a world-historical sense." [11] In the process of world history, the new form of human civilization created by the people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China is a socialist civilizational form. From the outset, it has engaged in the fixation of its own identity and the avoidance of the crisis of modernity. Through Chinese-path modernization, it has shed the historical limitations and moral dilemmas of capitalist civilization. Using a transcendent narrative of "people-centeredness," it exposes the lie of the "sole civilization" and breaks through the constraints of the logic of capital and the destructive development of blind profit-seeking. It demonstrates the civilizational advantages of socialism over capitalism, embodying a deep concern and broad-mindedness for humanity, forming a sharp contrast with the innate expansionist, aggressive, and colonial nature of capitalism, and reflecting a deep-level value-rationality and value-pursuit.

2. Piercing the fantasy of the "clash of civilizations" through the dialectical narrative of modern civilization’s "openness and inclusiveness"

Human civilization itself is the result of the interaction of diverse civilizations and is jointly created by the people of all ethnic groups and nations. Since the end of the Cold War, Western countries have adhered to the "clash of civilizations" narrative, arguing that the most universal, important, and dangerous conflicts in the world "are conflicts between peoples belonging to different cultural entities." The "clash of civilizations" narrative is a product of Western thinking; it treats civilizational and cultural factors as the decisive elements of contradiction, becoming a veneer for the hegemony and bellicosity of the West, which consistently thinks about international relations through a mindset of opposition. The crux of the "clash of civilizations" lies in "class struggle and power politics"; it is a hypocritical decoration used by imperialism to moralize and "civilize" its barbaric actions. According to the logical interpretation and systematic demonstration of Marx’s thought on world history, aggression, war, and plunder were once universal phenomena of civilizational intercourse, and the progressive aspects of civilized society must not be used to cover up its backward or even barbaric aspects. The "clash of civilizations" narrative actually proves that human civilizations are brilliant, diverse, and each have their own merits, while the civilizational landscape in which Western civilization seeks autocracy and goes against the current is undergoing profound changes. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "As long as we uphold the spirit of inclusiveness, there will be no 'clash of civilizations,' and we can achieve civilizational harmony." In a multi-faceted, open, and interdependent human civilization, there is no hierarchical division. We must abandon the sense of superiority associated with looking down on others and "winner-take-all" mentalities, avoiding the use of one civilization to cover or suppress diverse civilizations. Only thus can we break the ice of civilizational estrangement and prejudice, treating various modern civilizations with national characteristics with an attitude of equality, humility, and open-mindedness rather than deliberately setting up obstacles or manufacturing divisions. In fact, all types of civilization are the accumulation of human labor and wisdom in the long river of history; it is precisely the differences between them that constitute the inexhaustible driving force for civilizational progress. The "clash of civilizations" narrative ignores the peaceful genes and harmonious elements between civilizations. Differences between civilizations do not necessarily lead to conflict; rather, they promote integration and development, forming a new picture of human civilization where one "appreciates the beauty of others and shares beauty with the world." [12] The new form of human civilization is a civilizational system formed through exchange, mutual learning, and inclusiveness. It aims to transcend the civilizational form dominated by the logic of capital and escape the civilizational conflicts caused by that logic. The sublation of civilizational conflicts rooted in the logic of capital does not mean the complete elimination of the logic of capital, but rather the suppression of its divisive and antagonistic effects on the globe. Through the correction of the logic of capital by a new form of universal civilization, it achieves the healing of social fragmentation and the manifestation of human subjectivity. The new form of human civilization—rooted in and underpinned by fine traditional Chinese culture—opposes the "clash of civilizations" theory of the strong bullying the weak and imposing one's will on others. Adhering to the dialectical narrative of "openness and inclusiveness" in modern civilization, it advocates for universal forms of intercourse that are historically grounded in a world pattern of win-win cooperation. This form can cross barriers of class, nation, region, and ideology, establishing a new view of civilization that transcends the Cold War mentality and zero-sum games. It achieves mutual assistance and harmonious coexistence, becoming a new form in a "species-being" sense. It can be said that the new form of human civilization is a brand-new insight and scientific category inherent in scientific theory, achieving a great "revolution in terminology" in the process of terminating narrative systems such as the "clash of civilizations." As it has been noted, "Every new aspect of a science involves a revolution in the technical terms of that science." [13] The new form of human civilization is the result of a correct understanding of the laws of human social and historical evolution; it is an essential summary and profound insight into historical development and civilizational progress. Through a profound innovation of terminology, it breaks the binary opposition of the "clash of civilizations" narrative, highlighting the relationship between China's development and world development, and contributing a new type of civilizational narrative system to knock on the door of human progress.

3. Deconstructing the law that "a strong country must seek hegemony" through the constructive narrative of "a shared future" in world history

Capitalist civilization follows the law that "a strong country must seek hegemony" (guó qiáng bì bà). The British scholar Terry Eagleton pointed out: "Antagonism is the innate essence of capitalism." All the great capitalist powers developed and became strong through external colonial plunder, which originates from the logic of capital's expansion, valorization, and hegemony. Lenin pointed out: "An essential feature of imperialism is the rivalry between several great powers in the striving for hegemony." However, the "strong country must seek hegemony" law of capitalist civilization is always achieved at the cost of blood and fire for the people of various countries. The new form of human civilization presents a logic of civilizational leap that integrates peace and development. Within the beautiful vision of future development and the historical trend of civilizational evolution, it displays the value pursuits of human society and the grand tapestry of world history. Through the constructive narrative of a "shared future" in world history, it breaks the civilizational trap of "a strong country must seek hegemony." As the crisis of Western liberalism becomes prominent, the civilizational and value paradigms of capitalist civilization have failed as a whole, revealing an inverse relationship with the progress of world history. The hegemonic thinking and its values—claiming to save the people of the world from suffering while actually attempting to seek hegemony regionally and even globally—cannot achieve human freedom and liberation. "Precisely because liberalism fails to provide individuals with a sense of community, it cannot serve as the glue that holds a society together." Capitalist civilization deviates from the purpose of world history. In order to let the sun of capital "shine" upon the world, the bourgeoisie constructs international relations based on interest, initiating colonial aggression and territorial expansion by promoting hegemonism and constructing hegemonic systems. The records of the exterminatory massacres committed by the first capitalist countries to rise are endless, and the peaceful order upon which humanity depends for survival has been exhausted. Today's world is in a period of turbulence and transformation; Cold War mentality and unilateralism are still rampant, while the reform of the global governance system and international order continues to advance. The more transformative the period and the more volatile the situation, the more one needs a clear-headed response. Whether one can scientifically understand and calmly analyze the complex situation and propose solutions to meet various tests determines whether a country can firmly grasp the initiative and dominance in the process of world-historical development. A community with a shared future for humanity is a global governance solution proposed in response to the trend of world-historical development and the laws of human civilization's progress, providing directional guidance for the future of China and the world. The new form of human civilization is committed to achieving reflective, conscious action oriented toward the future on the basis of win-win cooperation. On the basis of building a community with a shared future for humanity, it achieves the "sharing of beauty" among civilizations, thereby providing a platform for the progress of universal civilization in world history and creating a new model for human society to move toward its ideal form. The new form of human civilization integrates into the international mechanisms and rules promoting the reform of the global governance system with a deep and profound civilizational logic. Distinct from the hegemonic goals and oppressive practices of capitalist civilization, it no longer regards the state as a tool for aggression and the creation of class conflict, but as a civilizational form adapted to the needs of shaping and building a community with a shared future for humanity. The new form of human civilization is a future civilizational form gestated within historical reality. It proposes the building of a community with a shared future for humanity to resolve the dilemmas encountered by capitalist civilization, providing direction and principles for the universal development of human civilization. The new form of human civilization, created by China standing on the moral high ground of humanity and at a new stage of world history, will surely become a model leading toward the communist civilizational form, opening up a more beautiful future for humanity.