Yuan Zushe: The Logic of Value Transformation in the Practice of Chinese Modernization and the Creation of a New Form of Human Civilization

Values are the code and deep cultural genes of human civilization. When correctly understood, values and value systems constitute the soul of social development and progress, determining the direction of humanity’s forward movement. Similarly, values serve as the internal positioning compass and the goal-oriented guidance for social modernization. Throughout the historical practice of social modernization, there has been a persistent accompaniment of gambling, conflict, and contestation between value systems—driven by differences in historical traditions, the nature of systems, and cultural ideologies—as well as the autonomous selection and screening of rational values.

In his important speech at the opening ceremony of the seminar for principal officials at the provincial and ministerial level to study and implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The unique worldview, values, outlook on history, civilization, democracy, and ecology embodied in Chinese-path modernization and its great practice represent a major innovation in the theory and practice of world modernization." What, then, is the precise meaning of the "values" referred to here? How are we to comprehensively understand and accurately express them? Scholars’ views are, in fact, not unanimous. It is necessary to stand upon the theoretical positions, viewpoints, and methodological principles of Marx’s historical materialism, draw upon the theoretical analysis and interpretive modes of modern value philosophy, and—in the sense of combining history with reality and theory with practice—provide a multi-dimensional, multi-angled, and multi-layered observation and elaboration of its rich connotations.

In the seventy-plus years since the founding of New China, the reason Chinese-path modernization under the leadership of the Communist Party of China has achieved such immense success and possesses such exemplary and leading qualities is that, when examined from the perspective of social values, this great historical process MUST have "discovered," "identified," and "seized upon" certain true values of universal significance. Through a Chinese approach, it has successfully practiced and realized these "values," thereby contributing a preeminent and exemplary mode of value-thinking and a strategy of practical wisdom to world modernization. The concepts, paradigms, and logic of Chinese-path modernization—its path and model, and the experience gained from its theoretical exploration and practical success—have been accompanied by a correction of Western modernization values, an adjustment of coordinate orientations, and a resetting of the value foundations for new models and paths of modernization. This process involves innovative exploration of value relations, the logic of value practice, and value evaluation standards consistent with the requirements for creating a new form of human civilization. This series of unique contributions provides the most direct background and resources for deeply reflecting upon and reconstructing a new form of contemporary Chinese axiology ^[1] from the heights of truth, politics, and morality.

I. A Dialectical-Rational Scrutiny and Value-Philosophical Observation of the Historical Practice of Western Modernization

The development of human society, as a historical process unifying "conformity to laws" and "conformity to purpose," cannot be separated from the guidance of rational values and the intervention of a definitive value narrative logic. The evolutionary course of the history of human civilization and progress can, in a sense, be seen as a process of discovering, pursuing, confirming, and realizing certain rational social public values.

The scrutiny and investigation of the value foundations of social modernization require not only the objectivity and prudence of the sociology of knowledge to reach a substantive intellectual consensus, but even more so a paradigmatic self-awareness in the sense of cultural and philosophical anthropology. This is because, in the historical process of social modernization, the "values" it identifies are opened up from all fields of social life and presented in multiple dimensions. An absolutely non-negligible fact here is that when dealing with the question of values, if one is limited to the level of satisfying basic needs, then the driving role of the great transformation of modernization—relative to the development of all human history, progress, and the cause of civilization—will inevitably be treated narrowly. In recent years, the German sociologist Ulrich Beck’s theory of "reflexive modernization" has provided a new perspective for understanding and interpreting the value foundation of social modernization. In his view: "By 'modernity' is meant the modes of social organization, cultural forms, and lifestyles of the Western world, which appeared in Europe around the 16th and 17th centuries and thereafter, to varying degrees, exerted influence worldwide and expanded to other regions... Capitalism and industrialization are the two basic dimensions of modernity; so-called modernization is the product of the combination of capitalism and industrialization. Capitalism appeared prior to the development of industrialism and, due to the need for capital valorization and expansion, provided the motive force for the emergence of industrialism. Industrial production and the continuous technological revolution associated with it created production processes with higher efficiency and lower costs."

However, the negative consequences of modernization are equally obvious. As the contemporary renowned German philosopher Jürgen Habermas pointed out: "Today, the language of the market is omnipresent, bringing all interpersonal relations into a model oriented toward self-interest and self-priority. The social bonds and ethical norms formed through mutual understanding and mutual recognition have been destroyed by contractual, means-ends rational, and utility-maximizing choices and modes of action. Power and wealth have become the highest goals pursued by man."

Compared to the practice of modernization which comes first, human intellectual reflection and scrutiny are often characterized by "belated awareness," even though profound ideological concepts and precise theoretical paradigms have never been absent from this process. Regarding social modernization through the lens of modern value philosophy, human intellect focuses on a concern for whether there is a conscious and definitive belief in value rationality. Modernization not only inherits and transforms certain historical existential paradigms of humanity; more importantly, it is a process of scrutinizing and transforming past concepts of value. As a new mode of existence, modernization requires "value legislation" and a defense of cultural rationality that matches and adapts to its concepts and logic. Without the latter, modernization inevitably degenerates into a pure economic fact, thereby deviating from its original intention. Looking at the historical facts of human modernization, one finds that value beliefs essentially manifest as the problem of establishing and justifying the rational norms that guide modernization. A fact from the history of ideas is that the historical process of social modernization has been accompanied by the reflection and logical demonstration of problems concerning historical laws, social structures, and the basis for the logic of human collective action across various social science fields, including the philosophy of history, social philosophy, political philosophy, the philosophy of law, and cultural philosophy. It is an almost commonsensical and indisputable objective fact that modernization, as a profound, comprehensive, and lasting social transformation, possessed from the start a "value commitment" of conceptual priority. For the advocates and practitioners of modernization theory and practice, this value was internal, self-evident, and went without saying. To become the grammar of ideological culture and the codified regulation of human existence and practice is the essence of that thing we call "value." In the process of the self-development and evolution of human history and civilization, the thing called "value" will certainly enter the realms of history, institutions, thought, and the daily life-world of the masses through some rational mode of intervention, exerting an influence that is either direct or indirect, explicit or implicit. In the evolutionary process of human history, the social formations created were not uniform. Regarding the intervention of values into social history, generally speaking, a homogenized society will absolutely never produce the true values humanity expects. The true social and cultural values must be the product of a differentiated society. The way value realizes and proves itself never lies in a non-critical adaptation to specific historical-institutional practices and their ideological cultures, but in constantly maintaining a reflective, transcendent position to form its own independent quality and realm.

From ancient times to the present, many so-called "values" discovered and recognized by the human intellect have taken the stage in turn—appearing as near-authorities, normative laws, or evocative ideal goals—attempting to reign over and attend to the whole of human existence and life according to a logic they deemed rationalized. However, in the subsequent complex evolution and development, because they could not escape their historical and epochal limitations, they turned into important but non-unique rhetorical discourses of the human condition and eventually could not escape the fate of being abandoned. This happened because those self-righteous values forgot that they were actually the ideals of only a segment of human life, not of everyone. In fact, since the beginning of human ideological culture and value systems, the real world and existential scenarios have been the result of the simultaneous participation of multi-dimensional and pluralistic concepts in regulation. For a long historical period, the choice of which thought and value style to take as the transcendental background of existence and life was entirely the result of the mandatory imposition and guidance of non-ideological and non-cultural factors. Yet even so, this was only a limited formal presentation of the diversity of values and human life. The way we perceive value essentially had little to do with the majority of people. As a relatively systematic and comprehensive preliminary reflection on the historical practice of modernization, a trend of thought for studying modernization arose in the United States after the 1950s, forming the so-called "classical modernization theory." C.E. Black, a scholar of the American socio-functionalist school, pointed out that social modernization is a double-edged sword: it has brought humanity all the possibilities for improving existential and living conditions, but while enjoying all the benefits brought by modernization, humanity is forced to endure its various evils and pains: "It offers new opportunities, but it may also force humanity to pay a great price in chaos and pain. The current era is one more filled with assassinations, civil wars, religious wars, and various forms of mass slaughter and concentration camps than any previous era. History has not seen such a disregard for human life for the sake of immediate goals." In the view of the sociologist Marion Levy, "the atmosphere of the modern world gives one a sense of impending catastrophe." The negative effects of Western social modernization are obvious, and its main consequences and characteristics are prominently displayed in aspects such as the "reification of social relations," the "loss of subjectivity," a "crisis in the world of meaning," the "excessive expansion and alienation of technological rationality," the "confrontation between heaven and man caused by narrow anthropocentrism," and the "increasingly tense interpersonal relations." Anthony Giddens emphasized that "modernity is inherently globalizing." Wilbert Moore was even more direct: "Modernization is the total transformation of a traditional society toward the types of technology and associated social organization that characterize the 'advanced,' economically prosperous, and politically stable nations of the Western world." The core idea of Talcott Parsons (the famous American sociologist and representative of the structural-functionalist school, known as the "pioneer of modernization theory" in the US) was that the fundamental reason for the backwardness of non-Western traditional countries lies in the backwardness of their institutions and concepts. His viewpoints and assertions were even more blatant: "There is only one model for modernization, and that is the Western social system led by the United States... The modernization of the whole world should not only be 'Westernization' but even more so 'Americanization'."

In an era where external material wealth is excessively abundant and substantial, adopting a tranquil and ethereal attitude toward daily life is an almost luxurious matter. As early as—

During the 18th-century Enlightenment, the Romantic thinker Rousseau warned modern people in a prophetic tone that what they called and revered as "civilization" was actually something to be viewed with great suspicion. Modern civilization is armed entirely with technology as its soul; it cannot represent dignified and noble human reason, nor the totality of human intellectual progress, nor the full expression of human life. The root cause of this is that civilization exists as a paradox. Man creates a "form of civilization" according to his own designs, only to quickly discover that it is not what he truly hoped for or expected, but is instead riddled with internal conflicts and contradictions. In extreme cases, man may even feel an intense loathing, wishing to escape this form of civilization, its values, and the field of "civilized life" entirely. Thus, civilization becomes an inescapable burden for modern man, an "unbearable lightness of being." As modern people have truly experienced and felt, modern Western civilization has not strictly kept to its proper role but has instead continuously expressed its existence in an anti-human and adversarial manner. Civilization always seems, intentionally or unintentionally, to obscure its own true essence. Various cutting-edge propositions are, for the most part, justifications for specific realities. Once a reality based on a theory is established, it follows its own logic to form an immutable existential cycle. In the view of the postmodernist thinker Jacques Derrida: "We know very well that what we call globalization today is actually equivalent to the hegemony imposed by certain countries, certain groups of countries, and certain concentrations of capital; globalization has become a pretext for the suppression by power... We all know that under the banner of universalization, they wage wars for hegemony. It must be noted that while they preach the universal equality and the Grand Unity ^[2] brought by globalization, there have never before in human history been so many men and women losing their jobs, starving, and living in hardship. Therefore, the key issue at present lies in recognizing what exactly is hidden under the labels of 'universalization' and 'globalization' that resonates with actual or potential hegemonism."

The theoretical and historical exploration of social modernization, along with the logic of value rationality it follows, demonstrates that "value" is by no means an abstract suspension adrift outside the historical practice of human modernization. Real and true values are generated, realized, and self-confirmed within the concrete historical process of human existence and life. "Value," when correctly understood, defined, and appropriately interpreted, characterizes the logic of historical totality, practical subjectivity, value transcendence, and the sharing of meaning. At the academic level, "values" (or "value systems") refer to the consensual beliefs, choices, discernment, identification, and practice of a specific community or individual regarding fundamental issues such as historical development and the progress of civilization, based on a universal and public cognition of value. A scientific, normative, and correct system of values—one consistent with a certain path, theory, system, and culture—represents the lofty spiritual and cultural orientation of a specific nation in the sense of rationality and legitimacy. It determines the choices of interests for individuals, nations, and states in a specific historical period, as well as the corresponding basic codes of conduct. In this sense, social modernization is a carrier of value, and its advancement must be accompanied by a commitment to and clarification of certain true social values. Of course, while the term "value" remains the same, profound differences in socio-historical traditions, the nature of systems, and cultural ideologies have always led to fierce conflicts in the understanding of value issues and practical strategies.

The practice of Western-path modernization is accompanied by the discovery, discernment, creation, realization, autonomous possession, and evaluation of socio-historical and human values; it is a process of practical confirmation where all value elements are rationally involved and effectively planned. Western-path modernization generated and established its own interpretations and justifications for this practical process in a manner it deemed rational and appropriate, and in a self-righteous and presumptuous way, exported this understanding to the entire world. Concepts such as "universal values" and the "theory of Western civilizational superiority" are concentrated expressions of this narrow, national-interest-based way of thinking about value. The reason Western-path modernization has fallen into crisis—leading to material abundance alongside spiritual hardship, emptiness, and nihilism, and causing the subject of value to become a deformed "possessive personality" mired in a loss of meaning—is fundamentally due to the one-sided thinking on basic value issues inherent in this type of modernization.

II. The Profound Pathologies of Enlightenment Modernity’s Value Beliefs and the Intellectual Reference for Chinese-path Modernization

In the long and tortuous evolution of human history, humanity has gradually shaken off many shackles and limitations imposed by nature, society, and itself by relying on the development of production, technological progress, the transformation of social relations, and the practice of institutional rationality. In this process of civilizational progress, humanity discovered and established a logic of autonomous and self-determined existence and life, pursued as a holistic meaning and a comprehensive system of value beliefs.

Social modernization is, in essence, a narrative of value rationality consistent with historical dialectics. The theory and practice of human modernization worldwide have, from beginning to end, been accompanied by certain predefined value concepts, clear guidance and regulation by value systems, and the simultaneous presence of value goals and visions. In a sense, the worldwide practice of human modernization is the process of discovering value, creating value, and realizing and confirming certain rational values; it is a process of pursuing and forming an appropriate consensus on value rationality. In short, the process of social modernization is accompanied by the search for, design of, and establishment of a specific nation's "valuing" and value-oriented mode of existence. This effort points toward the practical-rational dialectic of the "axiological law of survival" for human civilization in a socio-ontological sense.

Value concepts and value systems, as endogenous, internal, and inherent elements of human activity, are hallmarks of the consciousness and presence of human historical and practical activities. In some sense, value judgments and value choices determine the nature, standpoint, direction, and goals of human activities; they affect the effectiveness of human activities, the degree of human civilization, and the distinction between high and low realms of existence. It is an indisputable objective reality that in the historical process of social modernization, differences in historical traditions, the nature of systems, and culture and ideology have objectively produced a theoretical fact: although all are called "values," when viewed from the standpoint and height of historical totality, existential rationality, practical subjectivity, civilizational leadership, and moral transcendence, the process of their realization inevitably involves a distinction between "true" and "false," "rational" and "irrational," and "appropriate" and "inappropriate." This vividly reflects the fierce contest and internal conflict between multiple value standpoints in the historical course of human modernization practice. For nearly three hundred years, Western Enlightenment modernity and its modernization practices have been accompanied by the obscuring and distortion of the logic of social truth-values. Enlightenment modernity, and the social modernization practice it guides, upholds the value concepts of the free market economic system, the logic of capital, wealth maximization, and a bourgeois society and capitalist system dominated by instrumental rationality. Since the 1950s, the rise of anti-modernization ideological trends worldwide and the profound reflections on the serious pathologies and series of negative consequences of social modernization practice have proven the "presumptive falsity" of the value-proving logic of discovery, creation, and realization enshrined by this type of modernization.

Values, in a deeper sense, concern the spiritual life of humanity in a universal sense; they concern the most direct grounds and supports for history to be history, systems to be systems, culture to be culture, and man to be man. In the process of Western modernization, a huge price was paid for progress, and the most painful and lasting part of that price was the dissolution and eventual collapse of the value-based self. More tragically, the practice of Enlightenment modernity intentionally distorts, deliberately destroys, or even fundamentally deconstructs and demolishes basic human values to suit the wishes, goals, and will of specific interest groups or cohorts in specific historical periods. By means of "stealing the beams and pillars to replace them with rotten timber" ^[3]—whether openly or covertly, directly or indirectly—they have publicly substituted narrow values for the core values recognized by human reason, leading the logic of human value thinking, value practice, and the direction of value-based life astray.

The historical unfolding of social modernization is also a process of empirical cognition and subjective confirmation by humanity regarding what constitutes the "true value" of social history. In other words, in the sense of the autonomous generation and self-confirmation of value, modernization is merely the consciously chosen "carrier" of certain value concepts. In the Manifesto of the Communist Party, Marx and Engels gave full credit to the achievements of capitalism, the market economy, and modernization: "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. Subjection of Nature’s forces to man, machinery, application of chemistry to industry and agriculture, steam-navigation, railways, electric telegraphs, clearing of whole continents for cultivation, canalisation of rivers, whole populations conjured out of the ground as if by magic—what earlier century had even a presentiment that such productive forces slumbered in the lap of social labour?" After the publication of the first volume of Marx’s Capital, Engels pointed out in a review: "The relation between capital and labor is the axis around which our entire modern social system revolves." In Capital, Marx scientifically demonstrated the historical trajectory of capitalist development: "The greater the social wealth, the functioning capital, the extent and energy of its growth, and, therefore, also the absolute mass of the proletariat and the productiveness of its labour, the greater is the industrial reserve army. The same causes which develop the expansive power of capital, develop also the labour-power at its disposal. The relative mass of the industrial reserve army increases therefore with the theoretical powers of wealth. But the greater this reserve army in proportion to the active labour-army, the greater is the mass of a consolidated surplus-population, whose misery is in inverse ratio to its torment of labour. The more extensive, finally, the lazarus-layers of the working-class, and the industrial reserve army, the greater is official pauperism. This is the absolute general law of capitalist accumulation." "It establishes an accumulation of misery, corresponding with accumulation of capital. Accumulation of wealth at one pole is, therefore, at the same time accumulation of misery, agony of toil slavery, ignorance, brutality, mental degradation, at the opposite pole, i.e., on the side of the class that produces its own product in the form of capital."

Since the beginning of the modern era, the question of the rational basis and foundation of social modernization has been continuously raised, interrogated, and scrutinized. The reason is that participants, researchers, and observers of modernization have simultaneously discovered that within the complex contexts of concrete social modernization, different nation-states often exhibit significant and obvious differences. These differences concern which values should be established as the highest and most fundamental guides for modernization, and how to rationally prioritize the basic types of values presented by modernization, based on differing historical backgrounds and the existential conditions of the subjects. In terms of typology, modernization is usually divided into "early-developing endogenous" and "late-developing exogenous" types. The historical practice of Western-path modernization, which began in the 17th and 18th centuries, relied on the free market economy, technological rationality, and the logic of capital. It generated and established an interpretation of this practical process with distinct national-cultural-ideological attributes, and through a certain coercive hegemony, exported this understanding to the world. Concepts like "universal values" and "Western civilizational superiority" are concentrated expressions of this narrow, national-interest-centered value thinking. This is not even the substance or the key to the problem. A more common and paradoxical situation is that most modern nation-states entering the historical scene of modernization often, consciously or unconsciously, find themselves forced into a process where specific "interests" begin to usurp and replace universal "values" themselves.

The historical mission and core theme of social modernization worldwide involves relying on specific institutions, continuous technological progress, the improvement of productive forces, and the refinement of social relations and systems. Within the framework of rational development concepts and the practice of civilizational progress, this mission seeks to create ever-increasing material and spiritual wealth, rectify the imbalances and lack of coordination in economic and social development, and continuously meet the people's needs for a beautiful and happy life. However, while they may all involve the creation of modernization and civilizational forms, differences in theoretical footing, the nature of the systems, and core value orientations fundamentally determine the massive disparities in their evolutionary directions, target visions, and socio-historical consequences.

An investigation and analysis of the history of social modernization reveals that the market economy and social modernization emerged together, serving as each other's prerequisite and promoting one another. Taking early-developing modernized Europe as an example, the greatest problem existing in Western society’s historical process of modernization—or rather, within the practice of Western modernization—is the conflation of the "market economy" with a "market society." From the perspective of specific historical practice, objectively speaking, the superiority of the market economy over other economic arrangements lies in its ability to allow human individuals to freely exercise their autonomous creativity to satisfy various needs and enjoy the fruits of their labor. The market economy contributes to individual freedom, the exchange of commodities and services, and the attainment of a better standard of living for humanity. Today, the positive attributes of the market economy have been widely recognized. "However, in the spirit of our age, there exists a confusion: the conflation of the market economic system and its virtues with a clear, rational, and comprehensive conception of what a good life and a good society should be. Due to a lack of economic moderation, a trend has emerged wherein the market economy transforms into a market society. When people's attitudes, social norms, and values all become appendages of economic transactions; when the concept of economic efficiency invades all spheres of public and private life and permeates various social relations... and when various social policies are neither enlightened nor guided by an ideal and a set of coherent, effective moral principles, the market society becomes prominent. In this process of degeneration... the pursuit of interest becomes the prevailing universal social goal... furthermore, the resources of human interpersonal and social relations become scarce and depleted—because human interpersonal and social relations do not possess a commercial nature; they can only adapt to generosity, fraternity, and simple pleasures." Moreover, in a marketized society, "...the pursuit of material welfare will become the dominant goal..." "...money worship will appear..." and "...the political system and political operations will decline..."

According to Marx’s thesis regarding "the independence of man expressed through the appropriation of things," ^[4] early-modernized Western capitalist countries have been gripped from beginning to end by a paradoxical phenomenon regarding the value logic of modernization: namely, that man, as the subject of modernization, becomes enslaved by things in the process of creating and possessing wealth and objects. Man loses his self, loses a certain direction in life, and falls into the confusion and hardship of meaninglessness. The reason Western-path modernization has fallen into crisis—leading to material abundance alongside spiritual vacuum and the transformation of the value subject into a deformed "possessive personality"—stems fundamentally from the one-sided thinking on basic value issues inherent in this type of modernization. For over two hundred years since the Enlightenment, a prominent feature of worldwide social modernization practice has been the deep-seated conflict, transformation, and reconstruction of values. Objectively speaking, a major inherent defect of Western social modernization is the loss of direction at the level of values. Accompanied by the logic of capital, wealth maximization, expansion, colonialism, and aggression in modernization practices, the value and ethical crises of Western modernization are centrally manifested as liberal individualism, narrow anthropocentrism, consumerist hedonism, development-as-priority-ism (发展至上主义), and technological optimism.

Over two hundred years of Enlightenment modernity and Western practice of modernization have generated and established a subjective logic of value discovery, practice, and confirmation that is both "self-righteous" and "taken as truth." The "formally rational but substantively irrational" value narrative logic that this theoretical, practical, and cultural paradigm provides to human civilization can be summarized as the realization of the following two theoretical generalities, practical beliefs, and discursive logics: First, that the deepest and most direct root of so-called "value" lies in the rationality of infinite hedonistic desire and the legitimacy of the realization of free will. The essence of value is the establishment of self-subjectivity and the justification of self-value. This is the fundamental reason why value is considered value and why it is recognized. Aside from this, all talk of value is abstract. Second, that the only rational form of human value practice is the affirmation of the secular desire-seeking found in liberal individualist market economic systems, the primacy of the logic of capital, the maximization of bourgeois wealth, and hedonism. Undoubtedly, the results of Western modernity theory and modernization practice—accompanied by the tension between the traditional and the modern, the loss of true social values, the distortion of developmental practice and human nature arising from this loss, and the blurriness of developmental goals—demonstrate the harm of this subjective and capricious value logic. This harm is specifically manifested in: (1) Sacrificing natural-ecological values for the sake of wealth possession and the maximization of desire, losing reverence for nature and the affirmation of nature's intrinsic value, creating a dissociation in the relationship between man and nature, and leading to a severe ecological crisis; (2) Erasing the steadfast protection of historical traditions and the profound value concern for the bonds of community and society for the sake of immediate interest acquisition and hedonism, leading to spiritual hardship and universal nihilism; (3) Usurping and sacrificing the public interests and common wellbeing of all humanity’s sustainable existence for the sake of the supremacy of narrow national interests.

III. The Value Construction of the People-Centered Subjectivity of Chinese-path Modernization

Traditionally, discussions of value and values have basically followed the so-called subject-object relationship mode of modern rationalist philosophy. This mode takes the teleological demands of the survival and development of a singular human subject as the basic regulation and clarifies the connotation of value accordingly. It now appears that this way of perceiving, understanding, expressing, and interpreting value—linked to the ontological logic of instrumental rationality—actually closed off the route for the autonomous generation of value. The core and substance of value is the "real individual." For human practical activity to possess value, it must, on the one hand, protect and defend the legitimate rights and dignity of man; on the other hand, this activity should likewise establish human responsibility toward an objective world full of uncertainty, as well as toward humanity's own survival and development. In this sense, the process of the generation, establishment, realization, and confirmation of value includes at least the co-existence of multi-dimensional factors: the necessary examination of premises, the teleological orientation of the process, and the examination of the meaning of the goals.

The reason the theoretical exploration and practical experience of Chinese-path modernization have been successful is, to put it simply, because they have achieved the dialectical integration and organic coupling of multi-dimensional elements: "law-teleology" (规律—目的论), "morality-subjectivity" (道义—主体论), and "culture-civilization" (文化—文明论), all of which must be followed in this great cause. The results of examining social modernization from the perspective of the philosophy of value and value-based thinking aim to show that the values discovered, protected, realized, and confirmed by Chinese-path modernization are centrally reflected in the following aspects: First, based on a reflective critique of so-called "universal values" (freedom, democracy, equality, human rights), it affirms the positive and forward-looking values of universality and sharedness generated by human modernization practices. Second, upholding the principle of the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture, it persists in the interest-based foundation of survival, development, and progress in the journey toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Third, it maintains a consistent position on the "people-centeredness" (人民性) of the subject of value practice and the value goal of a beautiful life. Fourth, based on the ideal of "common values of all humanity" (peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom) and a "community with a shared future for humanity," it employs a public value stance to reasonably balance and unswervingly promote global prosperity, stability, and the maximization of human welfare and common interests.

(1) The Wisdom of Value-based Thinking in Chinese-path Modernization and its Internal Implication

The heuristic significance of the theory and practice of Chinese-path modernization for philosophical reflections on value lies in the fact that this great practice, in a manner consistent with both underlying laws and purposeful objectives, has transformed the value logic of Enlightenment modernity in modernization. It has provided a new value paradigm for late-developing social modernization characterized by "holistic concern," "relational rationality regulation," and the guidance of "rational humanistic teleology." It has turned abstract theoretical value presuppositions into vivid, concrete existential and lived realities, actually implementing them through the power of a community of excellent institutions, guided by the New Development Philosophy, to satisfy the people’s needs for a beautiful life.

Man cannot survive in a vacuum by completely escaping absolute dependence on material and wealth. What makes man "man" and civilization "civilization" lies precisely in the correct attitude toward objects and wealth. Conducting a comprehensive examination of Chinese-path modernization from the logic of value rationality, its unique Chinese wisdom and world-historical significance are mainly reflected in the following aspects:

First, the holistic logic of value discovery, value practice, and value generation. This refers to the establishment of a holistic cognitive and interpretive vision of social development and civilizational progress based on the existential-ontological significance of the history and reality of modernization, both in China and the world. Chinese-path modernization has moved away from the abstract presuppositions of previous value philosophies regarding "what value is" and "what value should be." It places the discovery, understanding, interpretation, and confirmation of the true values of society within the context of specific socio-historical processes and theories of civilizational progress, allowing them to present themselves autonomously according to a logic of natural, inherent, and self-determined generation. Chinese-path modernization has discovered a rational and appropriate way for value to be what it is, establishing a new qualitative holistic logic of value generation. True social values and the value of man himself are generated and established within this relational-ontological logic. Without any one of these aspects, value cannot be generated. Even if it were, it would only be a value of a single dimension.

Second, Chinese-path modernization has verified the practical value logic that "development makes life better." Development is the main theme of modernization, but the results of modernization governed by different development-value systems are starkly different. The process of establishing the philosophical foundation of value for Chinese-path modernization has been accompanied by a reflection on and reconstruction of the value of development. It has corrected the logic between development and wealth, establishing a view of survival through the lens of development. It treats the "beautiful life" as an internal factor and organic component of development, continuously promoting the realization of the people’s beautiful life through rational development.

Third, Chinese-path modernization elucidates and carries a civilizational existential ideal based on the belief in the common values of all humanity. The most prominent value achievement and contribution of Chinese-path modernization is the creation of a new form of human civilization. This new form of human civilization is the highest-level value representation of humanity's public existential wisdom. Chinese-path modernization does not only focus on China's development and progress; it also possesses a world-historical consciousness and a concern for the fate of humanity. It includes the practice and realization of the common values of all humanity and the promotion of a community with a shared future for humanity as inherent components of its grand goals.

(2) Chinese-path Modernization: The Establishment of Social Public Values Oriented Toward the Rational Existence of Man

The question of individual versus community, or private interest versus public interest, is a hallmark of Enlightenment modernity and the problems of its era. The existential logic of Enlightenment modernity is the logic of capital, a logic of division and confrontation, a logic that deliberately creates global inequality, and a hegemonic logic that runs counter to the nature of human civilization. The self-establishment of this logic is considered to conform to man's "naturally self-interested" nature. In essence, it is a logic of abstract human nature theory; it forcibly separates man from the social community in which he actually exists and lives, causing human existence to degrade once again into an animal-like logic of "being-in-itself." Yet, this "regressive logic," under the guise of the pursuit of human freedom and equality, has grandiosely become the basic guiding principle for social modernization and so-called "civilizational" practices worldwide.

The "value" that enters the horizon of human civilization is essentially related to all fields, processes, relations, and ecologies. What it seeks is the "ought-to-be" logic of the authentic existence of the world as a whole. All activities engaged in by civilized humanity contain a certain purpose and goal. The dual nature of human nature—encompassing both good and evil—dictates that actual human history will permanently be in a state of intense conflict and game-playing between "private interests" and "public interests."

Viewed through the lens of the theoretical "humanics of modern practice," value represents the self-cultivation, self-correction, and self-clarification of the continuous purification of the human essence within complex historical development. It relies upon and substantively points toward an ideal form of institutional community practice, with the universal well-being of humanity as its highest and ultimate goal. In the sense of elevating the realm of civilized humanity, it constitutes the most profound basis, logic, and harmonious character of what makes a human being human and the world a world. In an existential ^[8] sense, true and authentic value is essentially a "systemic quality" based on the organic integration of theory and practice. In this sense, value is the totality of an excellent and elegant humanity and social relations in the process of continuous movement toward self-perfection. According to the objective logic of the existence of things, value is initially obscured and not fully revealed to modern people, and is thus shrouded in mystery. People can only appreciate it and experience its beauty, but cannot express it in precise language. Even with the unfolding of various conscious and purposeful human activities, people lack a collective intellectual self-awareness of the values that are actually generated in their wake. In that state of existence, value is accidental, and its significance for the purposes, goals, and direction of human activity is not particularly clear.

The social modernization that aligns with the direction of human history and progress seeks to pursue, justify, and practice "public value." Correctly understood and interpreted public value persists alongside human civilization. Within the horizon of the reflective critique of modernity, public value stands upon the broad vision of modern publicity ^[9] theory and practice. It demands a profound contemplative observation of practical reason and an effective regulation of the rational relationship between humanity and the entire world of objects. It seeks the rational grounds and legitimizing logic for the possibility of all value forms in the ultimate sense of existential ontology and human development. Public value is not only theoretical but, more importantly, actual. At the national level, it concerns equity and justice—this is the meta-level of public value; at the social level, it concerns public order and good customs based on the protection of rights; at the individual level, it concerns a "citizenship personality" characterized by modern individuals who "care for all under heaven" ^[10]. Therefore, the most profound interest of public value concerns and points toward the deepest and most enduring foundations of why the world is a world, why society is a society, why culture is culture, and why an individual is an individual. This is the truest interest of all forms of human thought and theory, including philosophy:

(1) The "public" and "value" characterize each other. On one hand, the public is the ontology of value; public value is the highest level of value and the goal toward which all forms of value strive. On the other hand, value is essentially the manifestation of the public pursuit of human reason; publicity is the greatest common denominator of all values. (2) Public value is the root of universal human well-being in an ideal sense; it is the most profound ground of human ideological theory, the matrix of human culture, and the highest norm and internal regulation for all forms of human theoretical and practical activities. (3) Public value is the fundamental character, internal driving force, and developmental direction of all human cognitive and practical activities. Public value relies on specific institutional communities and represents the collective effort of humanity toward a public society and a state of public existence.

The construction of public value is a practical-cultural manifestation of the height of civilization that the evolution of human nature can achieve. Furthermore, the exploration of public value and the "beautiful life" ^[11] seeks a trend toward the rationality and humanization of development based on a universal reflection and critique of human nature. Entering the New Era of building modernization with Chinese characteristics, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has taken "the common values of all humanity" and "a community with a shared future for humanity" as the goals for public value. They have proposed a series of forward-looking and transcendent institutions and programs, providing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for resolving weary and confused global conflicts. This provides a new humanistic developmental paradigm for building a just and coordinated "brave new world." It follows the shaping of excellent human nature by the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, leading civilized humanity toward a rich and holistic new realm. In essence, with the magnanimity of "The World Belongs to the Public" ^[12] inherent in the community with a shared future for humanity, China stands at the height of creating a new form of human civilization. It pursues the practical standpoint of a beautiful life, tirelessly uses Marxist value theory as its guide, and persists in the free and well-rounded development of the individual.

Chinese-path modernization has created and contributed all the elements for the emergence and autonomous construction of "new values." The essence of the theoretical and practical exploration of Chinese-path modernization involves the simultaneous presence of three value systems: the guidance of the Marxist values regarding the free and well-rounded development of the individual; the foundation laid by excellent traditional Chinese cultural values; and the advocacy, persistence, and practice of the common values of all humanity. This has generated the Chinese value concepts and Chinese value logic of social modernization: the value guidance of the New Development Philosophy, the value practice of "people-centeredness" ^[13], and the value goal of pursuing a beautiful life, all ultimately dedicated to realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Because the values and value philosophy of Chinese-path modernization occupy the political, truthful, and moral high grounds, they possessed transcendence and foresight from the beginning, having gained insight into and mastery over the truth of human valued existence. This is specifically manifested in two aspects: First, the "relational-based logic." This provides a new understanding of the possibility of value concepts and modes of existence, offering a Chinese way, logic, and expression for discovering, understanding, and interpreting the value concepts that serve as the profound grounds of modernization. It clearly identifies value as the holistic logic and integrated wisdom of human existence and life. This new-quality value concept and value paradigm balance natural ecology with social development, and the pursuit of national interests with the rational concerns of other countries, advocating for the public governance values of multilateralism. Second, the "rationality of practical logic." It contributes the rational relational field through which the generation and practice of value become possible. It demonstrates that value is never isolated, but is a systemic quality highly integrated and consistent with many elements, such as a rational paradigm for human existence and development, excellent institutional practice, and the new form of human civilization. No single element among these is sufficient to bring about the generation of value in a philosophical sense.

(3) The Civilizational Narrative Logic of Chinese-Path Modernization: The Perpetual Presence of the Value Ideal of a "Beautiful Life" Based on People-as-Subject

The Western logic of social modernization and the market economy possesses another distinct and prominent characteristic: the expansion of the "logic of capital" and the establishment of the dominant position of "technical rationality." The logic of capital embodies and represents the will of the capitalist system and the interests of the bourgeoisie; within such an ideology, technical rationality inevitably falls into servitude to the market and the logic of capital. The result of the combination of these elements is that, along with technological progress and the continuous refinement of market rationality, the more wealth is created, the more the phenomenon of social polarization—caused and led by unfair distribution—is exacerbated. Fragmentation, upheaval, and conflict become inevitable. In this sense, the living conditions of the proletariat and the broad masses of the people, who are the direct creators of wealth, have not improved correspondingly with the increase in social wealth. On the contrary, the phenomenon of inequity and a universal sense of deprivation have become a common mindset.

The socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics is the institutional support for the creative practice of Chinese-path modernization and the new form of human civilization. From the beginning, it has been essentially different from a "marketized society." On one hand, the socialist nature of the system determines that this great creative practice—in terms of its theoretical standpoint, practical logic, and the establishment of value goals—pursues a concept of institutional justice that is not the maximization of the interests of specific interest groups, capital, or a minority. Instead, it is the continuous, cumulative improvement of the people's well-being based on the subjectivity of the people and the centrality of social public interests. On the other hand, the exploratory practice of creating Chinese-path modernization and the new form of human civilization has profoundly transformed the ideological concept of "developmentalism" that dominates Western modernization and civilizational creation. It has combated the erosion and distortion of the values of social, economic, political, and daily life caused by that ideology. It consistently adheres to the unity of "conforming to laws" and "conforming to purposes" in social history, generating and establishing the theoretically original New Development Philosophy of "innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing," using this as the guide for social modernization and the creation of a new form of civilization. Persistence and effort in these two areas have ensured the continuous endogenous power of the practice of Chinese-path modernization and the new form of human civilization, displaying to the world the beautiful image of an ancient Eastern civilization rising peacefully.

Determined by the advanced nature and superiority of our path, theory, system, and culture, we have full reason and confidence to state the following: The values contained within Chinese-path modernization are, in fact, "Chinese Values." They are the concentrated expression of the Chinese standpoint, Chinese wisdom, and Chinese solutions regarding the global issue of values, representing a new theoretical height reached by humanity in the exploration and practice of values and value philosophy. The values of Chinese-path modernization are the crystallization of the Sinicization and modernization of basic Marxist value theory. They include the reflection, critique, and transcendence of Western social values, and the creative transformation and innovative development of the values of excellent traditional Chinese culture. The process of theoretical exploration and great practice of Chinese-path modernization follows a clear logic of the autonomous transformation of values. Discovering, creating, and correctly understanding value—thereby forming a manifestation of values with Chinese characteristics that is distinct from Western modernization in the sense of normative reason—is the key for Chinese-path modernization to obtain its clear spiritual and cultural identity and thus gain the "right to speak" (discourse power) at the level of values. Moreover, it is the sign that Chinese-path modernization possesses universal historical significance and the characteristics of a comparative advantage in civilizational form.

The transformation of values brought about by Chinese-path modernization is all-encompassing. It is an examination, correction, and rectification of various relationships, including those between humanity and nature, the social community, and the self. Looking at its complete theoretical logic, core content, and forms of manifestation, the transformation and transcendence of Western modernization theory and its value goals by the theory of Chinese-path modernization are mainly reflected in the following six aspects:

First, the "ecological value system" of the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. Chinese-path modernization does not follow the crooked path of "draining the pond to catch the fish" ^[14] driven by the logic of capital. Instead, it seeks the way of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, integrating the ancient Chinese civilizational wisdom of "the unity of Heaven and humanity" ^[15] into the reconstruction of a new-quality modern ecological ethics in the post-developmentalist and post-globalization era. It emphasizes a "comprehensive ecological consciousness," sound ecological rationality, and a concept of ecological justice, guarding the natural home upon which all humanity depends for survival from the standpoint of modern ecological citizens.

Second, a social justice value system based on the well-being of the community. Regarding the relationship between the individual and society, it resolves the dilemma of polarization found in Western liberalism. Chinese-path modernization does not follow the divergent path of extreme wealth gaps, class stratification, or social division. Instead, it creatively combines socialism with the market economy, transcending the logic of polarization and crossing the "middle-income trap." It takes the transition from a "moderately prosperous society in all respects" ^[16] toward the realization of common prosperity for all people as an important goal and main feature, maintaining and promoting social equity and justice, and realizing the coordination and unity of individual interests with the interests of the whole.

Third, a developmental value system led by the goal of a "beautiful life." The values of Chinese-path modernization emphasize the New Development Philosophy of "innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing." This transcends the narrow logic of "rational economic man" characterized by material supremacy and the centrality of wealth. It effectively resolves the "paradox of development" as well as the politics and ideology of "developmentalism." With the fundamental purpose of development being the satisfaction of the people’s pursuit of a beautiful life, it strives to ensure that the fruits of development are shared by the people, fundamentally overcoming the drawbacks of developmentalist values.

Fourth, the value system of being "people-centered." Unlike Western-style modernization, which is "capital-centered," Chinese-path modernization transcends the logic of capital and consistently adheres to the developmental logic of "people first" and being "people-centered." The socialist modernization construction carried out by the Communist Party of China, leading the Chinese people, is a modernization for the people and relying on the people. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The people are both the creators and the witnesses of history; they are both the 'actors' on the stage of history and the 'playwrights' of history." Chinese-path modernization consistently takes the standpoint of the people as its fundamental value standpoint, placing the interests of the people in the highest position. This highlights the value "undercolor" ^[17] of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Moreover, in practice, it endows the concept that "the people are the creators of history" with the connotations of our time. Being "people-centered" is the inherent quality and realm of the unique values within Chinese-path modernization.

Fifth, the proposal and comprehensive practice of...

The common values of humanity, with “peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom” at their core, are dedicated to reconstructing new international relations, a new international order, and new values for international engagement. From the standpoint of public values, they balance and restlessly advance global prosperity and stability alongside the maximization of human well-being and common interests. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Peace and development are our common cause, equity and justice our common ideal, and democracy and freedom our common pursuit.” Regarding the relationship between nation-states and the world, the common values of humanity aim to resolve the zero-sum game ^[18] dilemma inherent in Western hegemonism. Chinese-path modernization advocates for a new path of peaceful development, opposes the unequal logic of unipolarity, and maintains the comprehensive advancement of the theory and practice of a community with a shared future for humanity through multilateralism, striving for a new world characterized by peace, stability, justice, and order.

Sixth, it breaks the mental ruts of “tradition” versus “modernity,” “advanced” versus “backward,” and “center” versus “periphery” which are pursued and lauded in the Western modernist view of civilization. It emphasizes that the creative process of Chinese-path modernization, as a new form of human civilization, is accompanied by the generation and establishment of a new “civilizational value system” possessing unique historical depth and the heights of the contemporary era. On March 15, 2023, at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the Global Civilization Initiative ^[19] to the world for the first time. It advocates for “jointly promoting respect for the diversity of world civilizations” and opposes “Western-centrism”; it advocates for “jointly promoting the importance of the inheritance and innovation of civilizations,” emphasizing the inheritance, innovation, and development of the fine cultural traditions of all nations; and it advocates for “jointly promoting the strengthening of international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation,” using dialogue, exchange, and communication to substantively transcend the “trap of the clash of civilizations.”

In summary, the values of Chinese-path modernization entail both an adherence to the rational and advanced public values of humanity and a reflection upon the distorted values found in the theory and practice of modernization in Western societies. Through these efforts, it aims to transcend the narrowness and bias of so-called “universalism” versus “particularism” in the paradigm of modernization value-thinking. It overcomes the limitations and errors of binary oppositions found in Western discourse regarding the interpretation and justification of modern values—such as “culture” versus “ideology,” “instrumental rationality” versus “value rationality,” “equality” versus “efficiency,” or “wealth” versus “virtue.” Ultimately, it provides the interpretive logic for a new type of human modernization.

Conclusion

Value is the internal order of human existence; it is the profound foundation and deep justification for an appropriate existence established through free and autonomous human activity. It is the direction and guide for human development and progress. For human existence and activity, to be without value or to lack clear values is inconceivable. That which modern civilization, modern society, modern subjects, and modern thought and theory call “value” must possess qualities of self-consistency, self-sufficiency, and self-evidence. It must signify and represent something sacred and lofty that responds to a need and is worthy of human awe, reverence, protection, and care—something to be obeyed, cherished, and passed down. It is the existence of these things that gives the objective world a solemn order, gives human existence and life its norms, dignity, and intrinsic meaning, and provides a transcendent guidance to the masses in secular society. This allows them to face complexity, setbacks, and paradoxes with courageous effort, overcoming the hardships of existence and life to see hope, the dawn, and a beautiful vision.