Wang Jiefa: Examining the Global Significance of Chinese-style Modernization from the Perspective of the "Weber Thesis"
The 20th National Congress of the CPC pointed out: "Chinese-path modernization offers humanity a new choice for achieving modernization. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese people will provide more and better Chinese wisdom, Chinese solutions, and Chinese strength to solve the common problems facing humanity, making new and greater contributions to the noble cause of human peace and development!" This statement clearly points out the world significance of Chinese-path modernization. However, due to its highly summary nature, there is an urgent need for the academic community to conduct in-depth theoretical interpretation to render this world significance more concrete, thereby enhancing understanding and identification with Chinese-path modernization. Modernization is a "world-historical process." The reason Chinese-path modernization possesses world significance is, specifically, because the successful opening of the path of Chinese-path modernization provides more effective solutions for the universal dilemmas encountered in the process of modernization, enabling other countries to complete their modernization tasks more consciously and proactively. Therefore, analyzing the universal dilemmas encountered in the process of modernization can highlight the world significance of Chinese-path modernization. So, what "universal dilemmas" does modernization encounter? Different perspectives on this question yield different answers. In this article, we will develop our discussion from three universal dilemmas regarding modernization implied by the "Weber Thesis."
The so-called "Weber Thesis" is the academic distillation of the conclusion reached by Max Weber based on his comparative investigation of the economic ethics of world religions: Western countries were able to take the lead in realizing modernization because the Protestant Reformation formed "Protestant Ethic," which promoted the formation and development of a "temperate bourgeois capitalism" characterized by "the rational organization of free labor." Non-Western countries, because their cultures inherently lacked the "Protestant Ethic," were unable to spontaneously achieve modernization through capitalism. The "Weber Thesis" contains a fundamental insight, namely that modernization is the Western rational capitalization, and non-Western countries that cannot spontaneously achieve modernization can only complete the modernization task by borrowing and applying Western "modern factors." After World War II, Western countries entered a "Golden Age" of development. During more than 20 years of high economic growth, these countries created wealth far exceeding the total wealth created in the previous 200-plus years. Against this background, "Weber’s 'rationalization' was extracted from its European origins and neutrally transformed into a general development theory; modernization thus became the universalization of special values and institutions historically produced in European society." Precisely because of this, the problems implied by the "Weber Thesis" have acquired universal significance. Generally speaking, the "Weber Thesis" implies three universal dilemmas regarding modernization: First, capital is of fundamental importance for achieving modernization, yet it is also the root source of various crises. How then, in the process of modernization, can "utilizing capital" and "restricting capital" be unified? Second, modernization is a process of rationalization; reason is a unity of instrumental reason and value reason. However, modernization also forms a hegemony of instrumental reason, which, due to the loss of value, causes modernization to slide toward irrationality. How then, in the process of modernization, can "instrumental reason" and "value reason" be unified? Third, modernization requires a stable social order, yet the modernization process breeds various unstable factors that lead to social anomie [1]. How then, in the process of modernization, can the unity of "modernization" and "social stability" be achieved? Based on this, this article attempts to elucidate the path by which Chinese-path modernization successfully resolves these three major dilemmas, so as to highlight the world significance of Chinese-path modernization.
I. The Unity of "Utilizing Capital" and "Restricting Capital": Avoiding Motivational Disorder
From the "Weber Thesis," it can be seen that the development of capitalism is the most direct cause of Western modernization; Weber even believed that it was impossible for non-Western countries to leap over the capitalist stage to complete the task of modernization. Modernization "refers to the drastic transformation that human society has undergone since the Industrial Revolution, driven by industrialization, leading to a global process of transformation from traditional agricultural society to modern industrial society." Practice has fully proved that capital plays an irreplaceable historical role in achieving modernization, but capital is also the main cause of various social crises. Many non-Western societies after World War II copied the Western model, which not only failed to smoothly achieve modernization but instead saw them fall into a quagmire of various crises. From this, we derive the first universal dilemma of modernization implied by the "Weber Thesis": How can we both fully exert the positive role of capital and effectively avoid the various social crises generated by capital? Chinese-path modernization has leaped over the "Caudine Forks" [2] of the capitalist system and explored an effective path in the process of modernization that unifies "utilizing capital" and "restricting capital," providing beneficial experience for other countries to solve this dilemma.
(1) Capital is of fundamental importance for achieving modernization
Capital is a contradictory unity of reactionary and progressive natures. Marx pointed out: "One of the civilized aspects of capital is that it extorts this surplus labor in a manner and under conditions that are more advantageous to the development of the productive forces, to the development of social relations, and to the creation of the elements of a new and higher form than under the preceding forms of slavery, serfdom, etc." Here, Marx points out the positive roles capital possesses: First, capital dissolves relations of personal dependence and constructs laborers into social members who are subjects with the qualifications of "freedom" and "equality." As an active constituent element of the productive forces, even if the laborers obtain only formal rights of freedom and equality, this will greatly mobilize their enthusiasm for labor, thereby promoting the development of the productive forces. Second, the life of capital lies in the pursuit of surplus value; as absolute surplus value is constrained by natural and humanitarian factors, increasing labor productivity to pursue more relative surplus value has become an inevitable choice. Thus, elements of "higher new forms" such as science and technology, advanced machinery, and management techniques are continuously created. Third, under the action of the principle of capital, production, consumption, and needs have all gradually acquired a world character; the world increasingly becomes a closely connected whole, and "history thus becomes world history to a greater extent." Each country can obtain greater benefits by exerting its comparative advantages, which lays a more solid foundation for improving labor productivity and promoting the well-rounded development of individuals. Fourth, according to the theory of basic social contradictions, the development of the productive forces will inevitably drive the development of the relations of production (the economic base) and the superstructure, thereby continuously promoting the development of social relations, making "society" truly "human society" and "man" truly "social man," and continuously promoting the comprehensive progress of society and the well-rounded development of individuals. It is evident that capital plays an irreplaceable role in achieving modernization. To a certain extent, it can be said that the success of Chinese-path modernization has mainly benefited from the effective utilization of capital, giving full play to its positive role.
(2) "Utilizing capital" is the prerequisite for "transcending capital"
While capital is irreplaceable for achieving modernization, it is also the root source of a series of crises. For instance, economic crises of overproduction, social crises of the polarization between the rich and the poor, and ecological crises threatening human sustainability—all originate from the predatory nature of capital. Therefore, in the process of achieving modernization, one must both utilize capital and restrict capital; the historical task of "transcending capital" can only be completed through "utilizing capital." Marx said: "Precisely because it is contemporaneous with capitalist production, it may appropriate all its positive achievements without undergoing its frightful vicissitudes. Russia does not live in isolation from the modern world; nor has it fallen prey, like the East Indies, to a foreign conqueror." In this passage discussing the possibility of Russia leaping over the "Caudine Forks" of the capitalist system, Marx pointed out three necessary conditions for "transcending capital": First, only if capitalist production exists within a certain scope can one both enjoy the beneficial results brought by capitalist production and avoid the various problems it brings; second, because "history has become world history," one can only conform to the general trend of history and actively integrate into the global production system and participate in the global division of labor to promote better and faster economic and social development; third, one must possess independent and complete national sovereignty to avoid becoming a source of cheap raw materials and a dumping ground for commodities for other countries. That is to say, a country that has not undergone the full development of capitalism can achieve modernization without developing capitalism, but it must have capitalist production present both domestically and abroad to cultivate a competitive market environment, stimulate the enthusiasm of owners of various factors, and thereby improve the efficiency of economic and social development. At the same time, the state must consciously use political power to intervene effectively in the market to prevent or curb the disorderly expansion of capital. In short, capital is a historical category; only by making full use of it can modernization be achieved. One cannot simply negate "capital" out of fear of the social problems it brings. Only through the development and utilization of capital can the historical task of "transcending capital" be completed.
(3) The socialist market economy system: the unity of "utilizing capital" and "restricting capital"
In 1840, the Opium War launched by Britain forced modern China to open its doors. The early sages who first opened their eyes to see the world recognized the historical role of capital and attempted to learn from the successful experiences of Western countries. However, limited by the specific historical environment of that time, capitalism did not work well and was not a viable path in China. Since the CPC took the stage of history in 1921, the question of how to achieve the unity of "utilizing capital" and "restricting capital" has confronted Chinese Communists. From practical experience, whether in the periods of revolution, construction, or reform and opening up, as long as capital is treated correctly, our cause will develop smoothly; conversely, our cause will encounter unexpected difficulties and setbacks. This is because "no social order is ever destroyed before all the productive forces for which it is sufficient have been developed, and new superior relations of production never replace older ones before the material conditions for their existence have matured within the framework of the old society." For a long time, due to limitations in our level of understanding, our Party had not solved the problem of how to correctly treat capital. It was not until the reform and opening up, as our Party’s understanding of the "three major laws" [3] deepened, that we gradually found the institutionalized form for unifying "utilizing capital" and "restricting capital"—namely, the system of a socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics—and continuously improved and matured this system in practice. The key to our country achieving modernization results in forty-plus years that took Western countries one or two hundred years lies in the establishment of the socialist market economy system. Under this system, the "non-public sector" has obtained equal legal status with the "public sector," and the market has replaced the government in playing a decisive role in resource allocation. Meanwhile, the government is able to use macro-control to implement precise policies, preventing the disorderly growth and wild expansion of capital through economic, administrative, and legal means, thereby safeguarding the continuous and healthy development of the macro-economy and society. In China’s modernization process, the positive role of capital has been fully exerted. Simultaneously, China’s modernization path has not followed the "capital-centered" Western model, but has always adhered to the "people-centered" value position, insisting that "power be used for the people, interests be sought for the people, and emotions be tied to the people," striving to effectively realize, develop, and protect the fundamental interests of the people.
In summary, a country that has not undergone the full development of capitalism can completely leap over the "Caudine Forks" of the capitalist system and complete its modernization task. However, to complete the task of transcending and negating "capital," it can only be realized through the utilization of "capital" itself. Therefore, how to both utilize capital and avoid the various crises brought by capital has become a dilemma that must be solved in the process of achieving modernization. In this regard, the world significance of Chinese-path modernization lies in its establishment of a socialist market economy system, which unifies "utilizing capital" and "restricting capital," effectively solving the problem of the motive mechanism of modernization while avoiding the negative effects caused by capital. Internationally, Chinese-path modernization has successfully avoided the predicament of "the East being subordinate to the West" in the era when capital opened up the "transformation of history into world history"; domestically, Chinese-path modernization has propelled its own modernization process at high speed, continuously promoting comprehensive social progress and the well-rounded development of individuals, while effectively avoiding various social crises brought about by capital.
II. The Unity of "Instrumental Reason" and "Value Reason": Avoiding the Loss of Value
The second universal dilemma of modernization implicit in the "Weber Thesis" is how to achieve the unity of "instrumental rationality" and "value rationality." Modernization is a process of rationalization, and rationality is a composite of both "instrumental" and "value" dimensions. However, during the process of modernization, instrumental rationality gradually gains absolute priority, while value rationality "has disappeared from public life." Consequently, "material goods have gained an inexorable power over the lives of men as at no previous period in history." Material wealth and money transform from means into ends in themselves; mammonism and hedonism become prevalent, social morality declines, and human dignity and value are lost. China also experienced a "moment of confusion" during its modernization process, but it ultimately explored effective methods to rescue humanity from the "iron cage of rationality" [4]. By re-establishing the principle that "man is the end," China has provided a useful reference for other countries to unify instrumental and value rationality, preventing modernization from sliding into irrationality due to a loss of values.
(1) Instrumental Rationality as the Internal Power of Modernization Weber believed that the core of rationalization is "disenchantment" [5]. He noted that "whenever one wishes, one could learn; that there are no mysterious incalculable forces that come into play, but rather that one can, in principle, master all things by calculation. This means that the world is disenchanted." In other words, in a "disenchanted" world, everything can be calculated. Ultimately, "maximum efficiency and the optimal input-output ratio" are established as the goals of all actions and the criteria for judging success, emphasizing the optimization of means to achieve ends. Thus, rationalization eventually establishes the dominance of instrumental rationality. Instrumental rationality "is determined by expectations as to the behavior of objects in the environment and of other human beings; these expectations are used as 'conditions' or 'means' for the attainment of the actor's own rationally pursued and calculated ends." The behavioral model of instrumental rationality is predicated on "calculability" and "predictability" to ensure a timely response to effective demand, which aligns perfectly with the logic of economic rationality. Therefore, as instrumental rationality becomes the dominant behavioral mode, it inevitably promotes economic development, material prosperity, and progress in modern science and technology. Because of the dominance of instrumental rationality, capitalist society produced phenomena admired by Marx and Engels: "The bourgeoisie, during its rule of scarce one hundred years, has created more massive and more colossal productive forces than have all preceding generations together." Evidently, modernization is a process of rationalization, and rationalization is the process of modernization. As long as social arrangements and behavioral models are no longer based on a "sacred order" but are guided by the value of "man as the end," allowing humans to attain the subjective status of understanding and dominating the world, the efficiency and speed of economic and social development can be improved, greatly promoting the free and well-rounded development of individuals.
(2) The Risk of Modernization Devolving into Irrationality Rationality is a unity of value rationality and instrumental rationality. Pure value rationality or pure instrumental rationality will eventually slide toward its opposite and become irrationality. Value rationality concerns the rationality of "ends," while instrumental rationality concerns the rationality of means and procedures; instrumental rationality is based on value rationality while serving it; value rationality relies on instrumental rationality while determining its necessity and mission. Value rationality is "determined by a conscious belief in the value for its own sake of some ethical, aesthetic, religious, or other form of behavior, independently of its prospects of success." That is, the action is for the sake of the action itself; its value is intrinsic and does not depend on an external end for evaluation. However, in a "disenchanted" world, the internal connection between the "sacred order" of traditional society and the meaning of individual life is dissolved. "Instrumental rationality excludes all spiritual values from various spheres of people's lives and successfully replaces immeasurable ends and discourse with calculable means." Consequently, value rationality is exiled, allowing the scope of instrumental rationality to expand continuously until it gains total control over our lives. Any behavior conducive to improving economic efficiency is legitimized. As Charles Taylor pointed out: "The fear is that things which ought to be determined by other criteria will be decided by efficiency or 'cost-benefit' analysis, and that the independent ends that ought to be guiding our lives will be eclipsed by the demand to maximize output." Economic development itself becomes the end, a value more important than anything else. This means that as long as the economy maintains high-speed growth, issues like the wealth gap and ecological disasters are deemed acceptable—to the point where human life can be measured in terms of money. Following this instrumental logic, humans themselves are instrumentalized and reified, caring only for the possession and consumption of objects. "Although rationality is always conceived in terms of the actor, it is more often judged according to its systemic characteristics." Under this logic, modernization signifies the loss of freedom and the dissolution of life's meaning, thus forming an irrational modernization.
(3) The "Two Combinations": The Unity of "Instrumental Rationality" and "Value Rationality" The modernization process induces a separation of means and ends, establishing a "hegemony" of instrumental rationality where "means become a fetish." Humans are downgraded to tools, their bodies and souls shaped by society according to rational principles. Ultimately, rationalization turns into its opposite, placing all of humanity within the "iron cage" of rationality. The irrationality of rationalization is another universal problem encountered in the modernization process. Achieving the unity of "instrumental rationality" and "value rationality" is also a daunting task in China's modernization. From the completion of the "Three Great Transformations" [6] to the period of socialist construction before Reform and Opening-up, value rationality soared across Chinese society, but effective methods to complete economic and social construction tasks could not be found; value rationality once became a "Utopian" narrative. For a considerable period after Reform and Opening-up, instrumental rationality gained a significant advantage over value rationality. During this period, utilitarianism, consumerism, and mammonism were rampant, morality declined seriously, and even ideals were priced as if "sold by the pound." Through the efforts of several generations of Chinese people, especially since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Chinese-path modernization has achieved the organic unity of "instrumental rationality" and "value rationality." This is primarily due to: First, adhering to the guidance of Marxist theory. In Marxist theory, "humanity" replaces "divinity" as the authority of value; man is the end, and the free and well-rounded development of the individual is the core value goal. Marxism also attaches great importance to the development of production, but developing the social productive forces and promoting social progress is, in the final analysis, for the purpose of achieving human freedom and well-rounded development. Second, adhering to the creative transformation of traditional Chinese culture. In Confucian culture, "Li" (Principle/Reason) [7]—existing both above and within affairs—builds a bridge where "principle is within the world rather than outside it." "The overall function of Confucian ethics to both serve reality and critically transcend it allows its moral concepts to remain vital and transcend their own traditions even as they become part of the tradition. While reinforcing the practical utility of moral principles, they radiate the spirit of moral idealism." Precisely because of this, in the process of leading the Chinese people toward a modern state, the CPC has consistently insisted on combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with fine traditional Chinese culture (the "Two Combinations"). On one hand, the Party strengthens education in the lofty ideal of Communism; on the other hand, it builds socialism with Chinese characteristics according to the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan, taking effective measures to solve specific problems in current development. By consistently adhering to "people-centered" modernization, China has effectively avoided the slide toward irrationality.
If achieving the unity of "utilizing capital" and "restricting capital" solves the problem of the momentum of modernization, then achieving the unity of "instrumental rationality" and "value rationality" solves the problem of what kind of modernization to achieve. In the Western modernization process, instrumental rationality won "hegemonic" status. Material wealth emerged in abundance and science and technology changed with each passing day; people enjoyed materially affluent lives, but spiritual desertification, sharp social contradictions, and ecological crises became increasingly severe. Modernization was alienated into a material prosperity where the human being is "absent." This has become another difficult problem that must be solved in the modernization process. In this regard, the world significance of Chinese-path modernization lies in its adherence to the "Two Combinations," successfully exploring an effective path that integrates "ends and means." While achieving material prosperity, it avoids the slide into irrationality caused by value loss, continuously promoting comprehensive social progress and the free and well-rounded development of the individual.
III. The Unity of "Modernization" and "Social Stability": Avoiding Social Disorder The third universal dilemma extending from the "Weber Thesis" is: how to achieve the unity of "modernization" and "social stability"? According to Weber’s theory, the rationalization of a "disenchanted" world leads to a "war of the gods"—namely, the pluralization of values—so that in modern society "different gods struggle with one another, now and for all time." Value pluralism signifies not only a conflict of positions but also a conflict of behaviors. As Huntington also pointed out: "Modernity breeds stability, but modernization breeds instability." History has proven that the vast majority of developing countries that embarked on the Western path of modernization fell into long-term turmoil and violent conflict. "Since the founding of the People's Republic seventy years ago, our Party has led the people in creating the miracle of rapid economic development and the miracle of long-term social stability, both rarely seen in the world. The Chinese nation has welcomed a great leap from standing up and becoming prosperous to becoming strong." Chinese-path modernization has effectively resolved the social instability generated during the modernization process, successfully achieving the unity of "modernization" and "social stability," providing beneficial experience for other countries to solve the problem of social disorder.
(1) Factors of Instability in the Modernization Process A stable social environment is a necessary condition for achieving modernization, yet the process of modernization itself breeds factors of instability. These can be summarized as follows: First, modernization leads to the pluralization of values. Generally speaking, value pluralism is a reflection of social progress and does not necessarily trigger social instability. However, values do not only guide behavior; they also dictate the distribution of valuable resources. Therefore, in public life, if the different values people pursue are incommensurable and in conflict, choices based on specific values may induce social conflict—for example, the series of social problems in the United States surrounding abortion legislation stem from the value dispute between the right to life and the right to liberty. Second, the rise of the forces of civil society. Modernization is also a process of developing civil society. With economic development, the resources acquired by various social groups increase daily. Since the resources a nation possesses at any given time are a constant, civil society and the government are competitive in terms of the resources they hold. Therefore, if the power of civil society increases while government capacity is continuously weakened during modernization, once a "strong society-weak state" is formed, the government will fail to effectively integrate society, leading to public power being swayed by special interests. Such a society will breed significant violence and fail to maintain social order. One view suggests that the polarization between rich and poor is also a factor inducing social instability. In essence, the wealth gap itself does not trigger social instability; it only does so when the gap becomes a factor weakening government capacity—when some members of civil society use the resources they hold to make public power serve their special interests, thereby plunging society into turmoil. If the state possesses strong capacity, even social polarization will not affect social stability. In short, the modernization process is a process of "breaking" and "building." The order constructed by mechanical solidarity [8] faces failure, and establishing organic solidarity against a background of high differentiation still faces many challenges.
(2) Continuously Strengthening State Capacity to Achieve Interest Integration...
In the process of our country's modernization, particularly after the implementation of the market economy during Reform and Opening-up, the income gap, the urban-rural gap, and regional disparities also widened rapidly. Looking at the Gini coefficient, this metric increased continuously alongside rapid economic development: it was 0.317 in 1978, subsequently rose to break the 0.4 threshold in 2000, and remained at a high level for the following twenty years, having crossed the "warning line" for income distribution disparity. Regarding the income ratio between urban and rural residents, it decreased slowly from 2.74:1 to 2.56:1 over the twenty-odd years between 2000 and 2020; although this is a significant decrease compared to the early stages of Reform and Opening-up, the absolute gap is expanding, and this figure is more than double that of the vast majority of European countries.
Despite this, our country did not fall into the "middle-income trap" like some Latin American nations. The most core reason is that after Reform and Opening-up, the capacity of the Chinese government significantly improved alongside economic development. During the process of rapid social differentiation, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the government did not represent any special interest groups; they consistently upheld the people's standpoint and took "realizing, developing, and safeguarding the fundamental interests of the masses" as the starting point and ultimate goal of all work. As the report to the 19th Party Congress pointed out: "We must continue to meet the people's ever-growing needs for a better life, continuously promote social fairness and justice, and ensure that the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security are more substantial, better guaranteed, and more sustainable." Looking at the proportion of our government's fiscal revenue to GDP, it was 13.5% in 2000 and reached 28.14% in 2019. Consequently, the state has sufficient capacity to utilize economic and administrative means to regulate issues of imbalanced and uncoordinated development, and to continuously increase investment in public services. This ensures that the "sense of gain" and "happiness" of people across all social strata can be improved during the process of economic and social development, which is an important reason why our country has effectively maintained social stability against a backdrop of acute social differentiation. Therefore, the experience of Chinese-path modernization demonstrates that a modern state must strengthen state capacity during the modernization process, prevent public power from degenerating into a spokesperson for special interests, and ensure that public power can coordinate all parties amidst rapid social differentiation to strive for the realization of "each appreciating their own beauty" [9] and the maintenance of social fairness and justice. Only in this way can the stable social environment required for modernization be guaranteed.
(3) Vigorously cultivating Socialist Core Values to achieve value integration
Since Reform and Opening-up, with the opening of the nation's doors, various Western trends of thought have poured in, making value pluralism a basic fact of contemporary Chinese society. Value pluralism implies the decline of universal moral standards, where the values held by each individual should be treated equally. Values represent the "theoretical reason" for constructing the meaning of life and the "practical reason" guiding human behavior. Therefore, in public life, value pluralism may tear society apart, making any public decision-making impossible, or even making social life itself impossible. For instance, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts between values such as the right to liberty and the right to life, or the right to life and the right to development, caused varying degrees of social disorder in several countries. The regulations, institutions, and decisions formulated by a state can never be "value-neutral" or "value-free"; they always contain the pursuit or rejection of certain values. If a value consensus cannot be reached, the regulations, institutions, and decisions intended to construct order may even become the fuse that ignites social conflict. "In cases where ultimate values are irreconcilable, it is, in principle, impossible to find a quick solution."
In the process of China's modernization, a "crisis of values" also emerged for a time, where it was difficult to form a value consensus due to the whole of society lacking "common value beliefs and value concepts." Under the background of value pluralism, in order to reach social consensus on major issues, the Sixth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee proposed the strategy of "building the system of socialist core values" and required "persisting in using the system of socialist core values to lead social trends of thought, respecting differences, tolerating diversity, and forming social ideological consensus to the maximum extent." The 18th and 19th Party Congresses further explicitly required that, on the basis of adhering to the system of socialist core values, we cultivate and practice Socialist Core Values throughout society—comprising "prosperity, democracy, civility, and harmony; freedom, equality, justice, and the rule of law; and patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendship"—to "better construct the Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and Chinese strength, and provide spiritual guidance for the people." After more than a decade of effort, Socialist Core Values have achieved a high degree of identification throughout society, gradually becoming the fundamental value compliance for social life, greatly enhancing social consensus and solidarity, and effectively avoiding potential social instability issues arising from value pluralism.
In short, modernization breeds factors that induce social instability. The reason why many countries that chose the path of Western-style modernization after World War II failed to succeed was either because a value crisis caused by value pluralism tore society apart and led to persistent turmoil, or because a social crisis of polarization led them into the "middle-income trap" and long-term stagnation. In the process of modernization, China also faced many factors inducing social instability, but these were ultimately effectively resolved. While achieving rapid economic and social development, social stability was consistently maintained. In this regard, the world significance of Chinese-path modernization lies in its discovery of effective solutions to the problems of social instability induced by the differentiation of interests and values caused by modernization—namely, enhancing government capacity to achieve "interest integration" and cultivating core values for the whole of society to achieve "value integration," thereby consolidating strength for modernization construction.
IV. Discussion and Conclusion
The practice of non-Western societies after World War II proves that the three universal challenges in the modernization process identified by the "Weber Thesis"—how to correctly treat capital, how to avoid the de-rationalization of modernization, and how to maintain social stability during modernization—will all emerge. If these problems cannot be effectively solved, the task of modernization cannot be completed. China was also plagued by these three challenges for a long time during its modernization process. Since the founding of the Communist Party of China one hundred years ago, it has learned from and drawn on all the achievements of human civilization, consistently combined the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional Chinese culture, and continuously promoted innovation in practice and theory. Through arduous exploration, we have successfully blazed a trail for Chinese-path modernization, dispelled the "myth" that "modernization equals Westernization," provided a new choice for humanity to achieve modernization, and fully demonstrated the world significance of Chinese-path modernization.
First, capital is a "necessary evil," and one can only achieve the transcendence of capital by utilizing it. To achieve modernization, countries that have not undergone full capitalist development must give full play to the role of capital. Although capital is the ultimate source of all social crises, if capital cannot be effectively utilized, it is impossible to promote the high-speed development of social productive forces. It is impossible for non-Western countries to shift domestic contradictions to other countries as the early-developing Western nations did; if they follow the capitalist road, they will remain unable to escape dependence on developed countries. Simultaneously, non-Western countries that choose the path of Western-style modernization suffer all the social crises brought by capital without obtaining the beneficial results of capital promoting economic development. The CPC has led the Chinese people through a century of arduous exploration, deeply summarizing the successful experiences and failed lessons of modernization in countries worldwide. It has not only successfully transcended the "Caodine Vents" [10] of the capitalist system but also explored the socialist market economy system, achieving the unification of "utilizing capital" and "restricting capital." This fully leverages the positive role of capital in economic and social development, greatly promoting the rapid development of social productive forces while effectively avoiding various social problems triggered by capital.
Second, avoiding the slide of modernization into de-rationalization is a problem every country must face seriously. Modernization is essentially a process of rationalization, but during this process, reason may abandon the human being and evolve into instrumental rationality. "Although reason is always conceived in terms of the actor, reason is judged more in terms of its systemic characteristics." Non-Western countries are generally economically backward, and developing the economy is a matter of urgency. In these countries, the scope of instrumental rationality often continuously expands and exceeds its boundaries, even exercising total control over people's lives. Meanwhile, substantive rationality (value rationality) is gradually expelled from the sphere of public life, thereby placing humanity within the "iron cage" of reason. Rationalization ultimately slides into de-rationalization, giving rise to many serious social problems. The new path of Chinese-path modernization consistently adheres to combining Marxism with China's specific realities and fine traditional Chinese culture. It persists in "people-centered" modernization and, while vigorously promoting economic and social development, continuously strengthens education in the lofty ideals and beliefs of communism. This ensures that "means and ends" each find their proper place, achieving the organic unity of "instrumental rationality" and "value rationality," and successfully avoiding the abyss of modernization sliding into de-rationalization.
Third, maintaining social stability is a prerequisite for completing the task of modernization. During the modernization process, many factors inducing social instability may appear, the most important of which are acute social differentiation and value pluralism. A major reason many non-Western countries cannot smoothly complete the task of modernization is that their societies are torn apart and fall into turmoil. Our country was also troubled by these two problems during its modernization process, but the CPC and the state have always represented the fundamental interests of the people, and their capacity has increased continuously alongside the development of modernization. This prevented public power from becoming a representative of special interests, thereby allowing for the coordination of all parties during rapid social differentiation and the maintenance of social fairness and justice. Facing the pluralism of social values, Chinese-path modernization persists in using the system of socialist core values to lead social trends of thought. By cultivating and practicing Socialist Core Values throughout society and gradually obtaining high identification from the whole of society, it has provided fundamental value compliance for social life, laid the foundation for the integration of social values, and effectively avoided the social instability that might arise from value pluralism.
As the famous Israeli modernization theorist S.N. Eisenstadt stated: "While the different dimensions of the original Western project did indeed constitute the crucial starting points and constant points of reference for the processes of development in different societies throughout the world, the development of these societies has gone far beyond the homogenizing and hegemonic dimensions of the original cultural program of modernity." The opening of the Western modernization path revealed the basic prerequisites of modernization and possesses world significance because it helped other countries embark on the road to modernization. The opening of the road of Chinese-path modernization has solved many universal challenges in the modernization process and can help other countries promote modernization more smoothly, thereby also possessing world significance.