Center Feature 丨 How to understand the new form of human civilization we have created

　　General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his important speech at the conference celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China: "We adhere to and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, promote the coordinated development of material, political, spiritual, social and ecological civilization, create a new path of Chinese-style modernization, and create a new form of human civilization." The Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party's Century-Old Struggle adopted by the Sixth Plenary Session of the Nineteenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China also clearly pointed out: "The Party has led the people to successfully step out of the road of Chinese-style modernization, created a new form of human civilization, expanded the way for developing countries to modernize, and provided a new choice for those countries and nations in the world that want to accelerate development and maintain their independence." These important expositions are a judgment of great world historical significance: on the one hand, they clarify that our adherence to and development of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the right way for the development of human civilization; on the other hand, they also declare that we have stepped towards a new historical starting point in the history of the development of human civilization. How should we understand the "new form of human civilization" created by the Communist Party of China in unity and leading the people?

　　First, the new form of human civilization we have created is rooted in Chinese cultural traditions and is a modern form of civilization with the characteristics of Chinese national culture that is different from modern Western civilization

　　Human civilization is constantly evolving in the process of dissemination, exchange and mutual learning. Chinese civilization was in a relatively leading position in the world history of the thousands of years before the sixteenth century. In fact, the rise of the West is a very recent event. In modern times, with the help of navigation, colonization and trade, the West has not only plundered resources, but also developed new scientific forms of knowledge and capitalist productive forces, making a leap in the form of civilization. The emerging bourgeoisie in the West, based on its own strong strength, has branded the entire world civilization with higher productive forces and even more lethal weapons. As Marx pointed out, "The bourgeoisie ... Sweeping all nations, even the most barbaric, into civilization... It compels all nations, if they do not want to perish, to adopt the bourgeois way of subsistence; it compels them to promote in themselves what is called civilization, i.e., to become bourgeoisie. In a word, it has created a world for itself in its own image" "It subordinates the uncivilized and semi-civilized nations to the civilized nations, the peasant nations to the bourgeois nations, and the East to the West." However, the differences in time and space of civilizations cannot be completely erased, because different ethnic groups are distributed in different spatial ranges and develop continuously, and people need to make different responses to the challenges brought by different natural environments, and this different reaction will inevitably affect the appearance of people's production activities, and then affect the appearance of human lifestyles. It can be seen that in modern times, although Chinese civilization is in a weak position due to the strong challenges of Western civilization, the source and blood of Chinese civilization cannot disappear into the civilization form of "others", and the brilliance of Chinese civilization is only obscured by the brute force of the West.

　　Although the current Chinese civilization is still a unique civilization, it has been modernized. China has learned its lessons from its obsolescence, constantly opened its eyes to the world, and finally caught up with the world trend in great strides in the great process of reform and opening up. Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has led the whole Party, the whole army, and the people of all ethnic groups in the country to forge ahead, the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way has been achieved as scheduled, and the cause of the Party and the country has made historic achievements and undergone historic changes, which can be reflected and explained from all aspects of the economy, politics, culture, society, ecology and other aspects. For example, the concepts of "advancing with the times" and "keeping right and innovating" have become the conscious consciousness of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people. However, Chinese pay attention to keeping pace with the times and keeping right and innovating, and does not abandon its own history, but emphasizes that only by "taking history as a mirror" can we better move towards the future. Chinese civilization has a profound dialectical understanding of "new and old", "change and unchanged", "autonomy and reference", and "internal and external circulation", so many aspects are difficult for Westerners who are accustomed to linear thinking to understand. The new development of China's civilization is obviously modern, but it is not Westernized, but a brand-new form of civilization created by comprehensively absorbing the achievements of world civilization on the basis of the tradition of Chinese civilization. This is probably why the West is so angry about China's path. British scholar Martin Jacques believes that the most fatal problem of the West is that it believes that the West is universal in its thinking, so it is impossible to understand China and it is difficult to tolerate China's development. In the eyes of Westerners, there is only one kind of modernity in the world, and that is the modernity of the West. However, the world has changed dramatically, and the historical, political, and cultural roots of many developing countries are different from those of the West. China, in particular, "should not only regard China as a nation-state, but also as a civilized country, and its inheritance is the inheritance of civilization." China's understanding of state-society relations, Confucian values, the social roles of individuals, interpersonal relations, and even Chinese cuisine and language are all inherited civilizational legacies of China, and their history is far longer than China's history as a nation-state. China is both a civilized country and a nation-state, and only by looking at China from this perspective can we truly understand its differences." Martin Jacques cautioned his fellow Westerners, "We must begin to try to understand how China differs from the West." Whether it was in the past, at present, or in the future, China is very different from the West. Although there are also connections and similarities between China and the West, the differences between the two are fundamental and permanent." As a Western scholar, Martin Jacques can realize that the differences between Chinese and Western cultures cannot be erased, and Western civilization cannot completely melt the hard core of Chinese civilization.

　　Second, the new form of human civilization we have created is a form of modern socialist civilization in the process of socialist exploration and development

　　According to the materialist view of history, the essence of human civilization is the way in which human production, life and other social activities are organized. These ways of organization often change based on the way history has developed. From the point of view of the ownership of the means of production, the new form of human civilization we have created is obviously socialist. The new form of civilization created by China is not only manifested in its socialist nature, but also in the establishment of an efficient socialist market economic system. This is a great initiative of world historical significance. Looking around the world, the balance between efficiency and equity, market and society, development and justice, social planning and individual freedom are all very important social issues. Some countries are obsessed with neoliberal dogmas, believing that the efficiency of free competition must bring about universal prosperity and social well-being, but the result has become the root of the gap between the rich and the poor in society; some countries dogmatically understand fairness regardless of the stage of social production and civilization development; institutional design leads to people relying on the basic guarantees provided by society, and the lack of vitality of economic development leads to stagnation in social development; there are also countries that constantly oscillate between the two, so that society experiences various "roller coaster" tosses. For another example, there is a tension between social planning and individual freedom, planning is very important for social development and social order, but planning cannot take into account all particularities, such as the special needs and originality of different regions, different institutions, different people, and too rigid planning may inhibit social innovation and vitality. China has combined the socialist pursuit of fairness and justice with the vitality of the market economy, and has also combined the overall planning of society with the initiative of individuals, injecting sustained vitality and momentum into socialist economic and social development. Although some foreign scholars have raised the question of whether socialism can carry out a market economy, they have not been able to put it into practice, and only China has achieved the organic unity of fairness and efficiency, stability and development in reality. In short, since the beginning of reform and opening up, through sustained efforts, "the mainland has achieved a historic transformation from a highly centralized planned economic system to a vibrant socialist market economic system, and from a closed and semi-closed to an all-round opening up." It has created the "two miracles" of rapid economic development and long-term social stability that have attracted the world's attention. "It expands the pathways for developing countries to modernize and provides new options for countries and nations in the world that want to accelerate development while maintaining their independence." As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "The great social changes in contemporary China are not simply the master version of the mainland's history and culture, not simply applying the template envisaged by the classic writers of Marxism, not a reprint of the socialist practice of other countries, nor a reproduction of the development of modernization abroad", but "successfully walking out of the road of Chinese-style modernization and creating a new form of human civilization".

　　Third, the new form of human civilization we have created is a form of civilization belonging to the future in terms of concept and direction

　　The path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics created by China have intrinsically bred the future civilization form, the germ of the future civilization form and a certain historical prototype. Here's why:

　　First, the development of the mainland is a socialist market economy, and the implementation of the basic economic system with public ownership as the mainstay and the common development of the economy under various ownership systems in the primary stage of socialism and the income distribution system that embodies efficiency and promotes fairness have laid the institutional foundation for the power beyond capital and the interests of special groups.

　　The second is that we adhere to the people-centered development concept. After the average income of the Chinese has just reached the standard of the upper middle country, it has won the battle against poverty, historically solved the problem of absolute poverty, and achieved the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, which proves that all development in China depends on the people, for the people, and is aimed at the interests of the people. This idea clearly creates fundamental guidance for getting rid of the internal divisions of civilized society, which in itself is the embodiment of a new civilization. The recently released "Understanding the Resilience of the Chinese Communist Party: A Long-term Survey of Chinese Opinions" recently released by the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in the United States shows that since 2003, the satisfaction of the Chinese people with the government has increased comprehensively, and by 2016, when the survey ended, the satisfaction of the people with the government remained above 70%, of which the satisfaction with the central government was as high as 93.1%. This is obviously due to the achievements of China's decades of reform, opening up and economic and social development, and it is also a reflection of China's promotion of poverty reduction through social governance, the protection of the interests of vulnerable groups, and the comprehensive and effective promotion of social equity. Through data analysis of the 13 years from 2003 to 2016, the researchers found two important trends: one is that the satisfaction rate of lower-income residents is higher than that of high-income residents; the other is that the satisfaction of residents in inland areas is higher than that of eastern coastal areas. This is a recognition of the government's policies and effectiveness in continuing poverty alleviation and promoting social justice. In fact, this also reflects the characteristics of the new civilization embodied in the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

　　Third, on the basis of the traditions of harmony and harmony, we put forward the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, which put forward a truly feasible plan for the coexistence of world civilizations. This has created a new path for the development of modern civilization in addition to the path of capitalist modernization civilization characterized by colonization and hegemony. Obviously, the new form of human civilization we have created is a civilization form that is different from the Soviet model, and from its basis, it is the civilization form of socialism with Chinese characteristics that has advanced to the 21st century. Unlike the Cold War period, socialism with Chinese characteristics is not a confrontation with capitalism, but a competition in mutual exchanges, which shows more vitality and vitality. The Belt and Road Initiative highlights China's vision and mindset. Jeffrey Sachs, a professor at Columbia University in the United States, noted the civilized nature of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and he disagreed with former US Secretary of State Pompeo's statement about China's hegemonic ambitions. "The United States has waged many wars overseas in the last 40 years, while China has not launched any wars," Sachs noted. "China's rejection of U.S. hegemony does not mean that China is also seeking hegemony." In fact, outside the United States, few believe that China's goal is to dominate the world. ”

　　Fourth, the concept of a community of human and natural life put forward by the mainland has pointed out the way forward for the harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and has also opened up a new path for the deepening of human civilization. The facts of socialism with Chinese characteristics entering a new era have proved that we are taking a "civilized development path of production and development, rich life and good ecology" and development.

　　In short, the Communist Party of China has united and led the Chinese people to carry out a century-long struggle, especially in the more than 40 years of reform and opening up, which has opened up and developed the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Chinese civilization has achieved new development like a phoenix. As Martin Jacques points out, "For a long time, Chinese governance has been criticized by the West, but from a global perspective, Chinese governance has finally entered a mature period." The West used to think that reforms would inevitably lead to the adoption of Western models of governance. It is now clear that this is an illusion", that socialism with Chinese characteristics "is a new model, and with its achievements, it is now in need of the attention of the world". The new model that Martin Jacques spoke of reflects the new character of our civilization. The new form of human civilization that we have created is a form of modern civilization that is different from modern civilization in the West and a form of socialist modernization civilization that is different from the Soviet model, and this new form is both realistic and represents the future direction. For example, the concept of a "community with a shared future for mankind" itself is an ideal norm pointing to the future. Unlike the relations between the West and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, China hopes to compete in the interdependent economic system of the United States, Europe, Japan and other capitalist developed countries, and strengthen cooperation in solving global problems such as environmental climate and conflict. Socialism with Chinese characteristics has developed in a world system with capitalism. However, China's concept of civilization does not hope to suppress or eliminate the "other", but hopes to develop together with the "other", enhance the well-being of all mankind and realize the progress of all human civilization.

　　(Author: Han Zhen, Special Researcher of Beijing Xi Jinping Research Center for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Professor of Beijing Normal University; originally published in Guangming Daily, January 20, 2022, 6th edition; Source: Xinhua Net)