Methodology of Marx’s world history thought¹

La Méthodologie de la Pensée de Marx sur l’Histoire du Monde

Abstract:

Marx’s thoughts on world history (WH) is an essential element of historical materialism, which focuses on the time’s characteristics, unifies theory and practice, and grasps correctly of the situation of human existence and historical development. The deepening of globalization has made the world development environment more complex and led to the intensification of social contradictions. In order to deeply grasp the law of world-historical development and better cope with the problems and challenges brought by globalization, this paper effectively studied the methodology of Marx’s world history thoughts (WHT). After conducting an in-depth analysis of the fundamental content, main issues and ideological features of WHT, this paper explored the methodological principles and significance. It gave full consideration to the practical revelation of the methodology of Marx’s WHT from the perspectives of foreign development and cooperation, scientific and technological level, and the choice of one’s development path. In the natural development process of responding to globalization, firmly following its development path has an important role and value in strengthening foreign development and cooperation, advancing technological capabilities and adopting a dialectical approach towards the development of globalization.

Keywords:
Dialectical Materialism; World History Thoughts; Marxist Theory; Global Development; Social Contradictions; Class Struggle

Résumé:

Les pensées de Marx sur l’histoire du monde est un élément essentiel du matérialisme historique qui se concentre sur les caractéristiques de l’époque. Elle unifie la théorie et la pratique et s’empare correctement de la situation de l’existence humaine et du développement historique. L’approfondissement de la mondialisation a rendu l’environnement du développement mondial plus complexe et a conduit à l’intensification des contradictions sociales. Afin de comprendre en profondeur la loi du développement de l’histoire du monde et de mieux faire face aux problèmes et aux défis posés par la mondialisation, cet article a étudié efficacement la méthodologie de Marx sur les pensées de l’histoire du monde (PHM). Après une analyse approfondie du contenu fondamental, des enjeux principales et des caractéristiques idéologiques des PHM, cet article explore leurs principes méthodologiques et leurs significations. Il accorde une attention particulière à la révélation pratique de la méthodologie des PHM de Marx du point de vue du développement et de la coopération avec l’étranger, du niveau scientifique et technologique, et du choix de la voie de développement. Dans le processus de développement naturel de la réponse à la mondialisation, suivre fermement sa voie de développement joue un rôle et une valeur importants dans le renforcement du développement et de la coopération avec l’étranger, l’avancement des capacités technologiques et l’adoption d’une approche dialectique à l’égard du développement de la mondialisation.

Mots-clés:
Matérialisme dialectique; Pensées sur l’histoire du monde; Théorie marxiste; Développement mondial; Contradictions sociales; Lutte des classes

Introduction

With the development of the Industrial Revolution, the world’s economic and political development gradually tends to globalize. This change not only has a direct impact on the humanity’s future development, but also increasingly highlights specific issues, such as investment, trade and international division of labor. In the context of the new era, it is necessary to explain the specific phenomena of the globalization process and the situation of human existence and development from the perspective of the totality of world-historical development, in order to reveal the laws of political and economic movement, alleviate the contradiction between productivity and production relations and promote joint global development. Marx emphasized the continuity of history and the driving force of development, which also provided a reference for explaining the historical trends in the process of globalization.

The development of globalization is an inevitable result of historical development and a product of the development of productive forces to a certain stage. Marx’s world history thoughts (therefore, WHT) are an integral part of historical materialism (Xie; Li, 2020, p. 25). Some scholars believe that Marx’s theory of world history takes the development of productive forces as an observation perspective and scientifically predicts the process of world development. The community of shared future for mankind and Marx’s theory of world history are in a continuous line, logically connected, and practically related. It is a scientific grasp of the development trend of world history, a contemporary inheritance of the essence of Marx’s theory of world history and a realistic layout of the practical landscape of Marx’s theory of world history (Qin; Liu, 2022, p. 52). It not only fits effectively with practical development, but also has vital innovation and science. An in-depth exploration of Marx’s WHT and an in-depth study of its methodology have crucial theoretical value and significance for cognizing development contradictions and responding to global development.

Marx’s thoughts on world history still holds great importance in the context of existing literature. Marxism, as an important ideological system, has a profound impact on understanding world history and social development. Some scholars believe that the relationship between World history (therefore, WH) and capitalism is the core of WHT.of Marxism The emergence of WH is an inevitable trend of historical development and one of the preconditions for the communist society’s arrival. The development of social history and the evolution of social history theory confirm the correctness and vitality of the marxist idea of WH (Xu, 2020, p. 7).

Some scholars also argue that WHT is the result of Marx’s objective analysis of the current state of capitalist society’s development and scientific prediction of future social development trends in the context of the materialistic historical perspective (Wei, 2020, p. 3). Some scholars have conducted research on the formation and development of world history, based on Marx’s theory. They believe Marx explained that the formation and development of world health is an objective material process. They also believe the growth and interaction of productivity are inherent driving forces for world health, and point out that world health is closely related to communism and human liberation (Li, 2020, p. 6). Marx believed that the unprecedented development of the productive forces was the factual basis for the formation of WH; the superstructure was the inevitable product and essential support of the growth of WH; the bourgeoisie and the proletariat jointly promoted WH; communism was the logical necessity of the development of WH (Li, 2018, p. 12). When discussing Marx’s thought on world history, some scholars mentioned that world history did not always exist in the past and, as a result, history is the result of world history. Today, humanity still lives in the era of world history revealed by Marx. Economic globalization is only a necessary stage in the development of world history, as revealed by Marx.

Marx’s theory of “world history” is a unity of criticism and construction. The prospects or outcomes of the development of world history are socialism and communism (Yu, 2019, p. 33). At present, the study of Marx’s WHT has made good development. Still, with the advancement of globalization, the implementation and guidance of Marx’s WHT, in the natural development of research, also need to make appropriate improvements and optimization.

The methodological approach of Marx’s WHT bases the creation and growth of WH on the theoretical perspective of practice. In the process of Marx’s formation of the “leapfrog” theory, the philosopher explored the path of social development, based on his scientific grasp of the development laws and trends of the “world history” created by capitalism. To explore the methodological significance of Marx’s WHT, from the perspective of the general laws of social and historical development and the dialectical unity of specific paths, it is instructive to understand and grasp the path of social development in China, scientifically (Liu; Guan, 2019, p. 47). Marx’s WHT has been further implemented under the direction of the methodology. However, most studies only focus on how to apply this technology to practical development from a theoretical perspective, rather than how to integrate development issues in practice. This can provide more practical guidance for reducing social conflicts.

In order to deeply grasp the laws of world development and promote healthy social development, this paper conducted an in-depth study of the methodology of Marx’s WHT. It thoroughly explored the methodological significance of Marx’s WHT and its revelation to the development of reality, based on the methodological principles of unity of values and historical perspective, criticality and constructiveness, and unity of universality and particularity, revealing that communism is the inevitable result of world-historical development. Most current research is limited to conceptual and theoretical analysis of Marx’s philosophy of world history, without fully integrating contemporary social practice and new theoretical perspectives for exploration, and lacking in-depth research on its application and impact in practical society. Compared with current literature, the methodological research of Marx’s world history thoughts, in this article, delves into the methodology of Marx’s world history thoughts, analyzes its ideological connotation and theoretical basis, and proposes some new ideas and viewpoints based on contemporary social practice. In natural development, taking Marx’s WHT and its methodology as a reference, it is of guiding significance to actively respond to the challenges of globalization and promote stable social and economic development.

1 MARX’S THOUGHTS ON WH

1.1 Basic content

WH refers to the humanity’s total history since its existence in the world, which records all the historical facts. In the whole stage of development, WH includes not only the history of the human society’s growth, but also the history of the natural society’s development. Marx abandoned the romantic view of history and thought, systematically and scientifically, about the world’s history from the height of practice. From Marx’s numerous treatises, the essential contents of Marx’s WHT can be summarized, namely the fundamental dynamics of the development of WH, the essence of development, the development trend and the final result of development.

(1) The fundamental driving force of the development of WH

Marx believed that the increase in the level of human productivity, the level of division of labor and the level of interaction determined the process of human history toward the world. He once said: “The relations between nations depend not only on the level of productivity of each nation but also on the level of their division of labor and the degree of development of their internal interactions” (Marx; Engels, 2009, p. 32). This principle has been widely accepted in the process of development. However, the level of productivity, the level of division of labor and the level of interaction determine not only the relations among people, but also the people’s internal structure themselves. From this point of view, WH was not formed by a simple combination of the individual countries and nations’s histories. It was formed with the continuous development of productive forces, which led to the creation of a division of labor in society and further deepened the level of interaction within and outside the world, thus accelerating the transformation of history into a world-historical process.

Therefore, the level of productivity, the level of division of labor and the level of interaction are the fundamental driving forces of the development of WH, while a country’s or a nation’s development and progress of the history have, in a sense, a particular influence on the composition of WH. Heidegger’s perspective on world history also emphasizes the fundamental problems that exist. He believes that history is a manifestation of human existence, which is related to specific structures of time and space (Wren, 1972, p. 111). Heidegger’s viewpoint emphasizes the fundamental problem of human existence in shaping history and the world.

(2) The essence of the development of WH

Marx mentioned, in the Communist Manifesto, that the development of world history is driven by the development of productive forces and class struggle (Marx, 2002). He emphasized the decisive role of production relations in social development, believing that changes in production relations will lead to changes in social systems and ideologies. Capitalist relations of production have contributed to the formation of WH. When the returns of ordinary production do not satisfy the capitalists’ purposes, they resort to the most direct methods, such as increasing the workers’ working hours and reducing their necessary working hours, so as to achieve the purpose of squeezing the workers’ surplus value. The surplus value, obtained by capitalists for free, is the capital formed. In productive activity, capital undergoes a continuous movement, that is, from the sphere of circulation to the sphere of production and, then, from the sphere of production back to the sphere of circulation. In the course of this movement, as capital increases, it continues to increase in value. Thus, in capitalist production, the continuous movement of capital is precisely the process by which surplus value is generated.

(3) Development trend of WH

In the Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels pointed out: “Proletariats of the world unite!” “Proletarians have nothing to lose, they have only their own chains” (Marx; Engels, 2002, p. 72). They believe that the proletariat will overthrow bourgeois rule, establish a classless society, achieve public ownership of the means of production and, ultimately, eliminate private ownership and class opposition, achieving human society’s comprehensive liberation (Das, 2022, p. 209). It is clear, from the fundamental dynamics of world-historical development, that a social division of labor is bound to arise, which, in turn, promotes the universality of world interaction (Oppenheimer, 2018).

In addition, the capitalist countries’ nature to pursue profits would also lead them to continuously expand their capital and open up their markets, which has led to a significant increase in the level of material production all over the world, thus promoting the level and degree of development of WH.

Although social division of labor and the pursuit of profit by capitalism have, indeed, promoted the improvement of production and material levels around the world, it must also be realized that the environmental damage and resource depletion, brought about by this development model, have had a serious impact on the world. In a globalized economy, the continuous expansion of capital and the nature of open markets in capitalist countries have led to excessive consumption of the environment and natural resources, which is particularly significant on a global scale. With the increase in production and consumption, the environment has suffered serious damage, including deforestation, water pollution, climate change and other issues. These environmental issues not only affect people’s quality of life, but also pose a threat to ecosystems and biodiversity, thereby affecting human health and survival. In addition, excessive exploitation of resources has also led to the depletion of natural resources, which not only poses challenges to economic development, but may also trigger more conflicts and wars, exacerbating the world’s instability. Especially in a world ravaged by global pandemics and wars, the environmental damage and resource depletion, brought about by the pursuit of profits of capitalism, have had a huge impact on human society. This indicates that economic development must be combined with environmental protection and sustainable resource utilization, in order to achieve true sustainable development. WH is not the product of the simple addition of the individual countries and nation’s histories. It is made up of several stages of development, with globalization serving as the central tendency for this stage of WH (Stearns, 2020).

First of all, an increase in social productivity would unavoidably result in a change in the way society divides labor, and an increase in the quality of this division of labor would encourage the growth of social productivity in a positive direction. The extent of global interaction grows as the social division of labor is continuously improved. Trade exchanges among nations increase in frequency. The range of commodity production, distribution, exchange and consumption gradually expands to encompass the entire globe and form the global market. Along with the emergence of the world market, the political and cultural exchanges among countries have become closer in addition to daily economic interactions, gradually, evolved into the trend of globalization in WH.

(4) The final result of the development of WH

Marx believed the productive society and the productive forces, created under capitalist relations of production, are not the final stages of the development of WH and the outcome of the development of WH can only be the introduction of capitalism to the entire world, but it would eventually be replaced by communism with a highly developed productive force and a great abundance of material goods (Pan; Xu, 2018, p. 42). Capitalism cannot fundamentally resolve the contradiction between its socialized mass production and private means of production. The capitalist nature of pursuing profit is the reason why the gap between the rich and the poor, in the capitalist society, is significant. The class contradiction is irreconcilable, and its practice of placing too much emphasis on the interests of capitalists, while exploiting and oppressing the majority of the proletariat, would eventually be abandoned and eliminated in the process of world-historical development. Communism, on the other hand, advocates the complete elimination of class differences and significant social differences, and it aims at shared prosperity. Although this goal would take a long time to achieve, it is the ultimate result of the development of WH.

1.2 Main problems

The relationship between the whole and the local of WH and the question of human development and emancipation are the two main problems of Marx’s WHT. The relationship between the whole and the local of WH and the man’s development and emancipation is a dynamic relationship, which is mutually conditional and influences each other, belonging to two aspects of the same development process.

The relationship between the whole and the local in WH is the basis of the study of Marx’s WHT. In WH, the whole belongs to an abstract concept, while the local has direct independence. Interpreted from the perspective of realistic development, the relationship between the two is a dialectical unity of nationality and worldliness. Hegel also proposed a dialectical perspective, believing that history is a process of self-actualization. He emphasized the spiritual development at different stages in history and how these developments formed the consciousness of human freedom. Hegel’s viewpoint had a profound impact on Marx’s viewpoint of historical materialism (McKenna, 2011, p. 155). Under the continuous development of capitalism, social class contradictions continue to worsen. With the expansion of production and circulation to the world, some ethnic groups or countries, under the exploitation of capitalism, have continuously intensified their class contradictions and erupted in revolutions. At this time, the national mode of production has transcended the national scope and become global. Capitalist society contains both exploitation and oppression by capitalists and resistance by the working class, so its production activities are strongly uneven and complex. From this point of view, capitalism would eventually be overthrown and replaced by communism, and the final result of the development of WH would be the realization of the goal of the communist struggle.

The human beings’ development and liberation are the value standards of Marx’s WHT. Additionally, it is a crucial topic for its research. Man is the society’s subject in natural evolution, and WH creates the conditions for man’s development and emancipation and advances the achievement of that aim. In contrast, man’s advancement and independence foster the growth of WH, which is a crucial step in the development of WH. Man’s status and aptitude, as a subject in society, are given more weight under continuous progress and liberation, and his practical aptitude is continually improved, fostering the all-round development of WH.

1.3 Ideological characteristics

(1) Criticism

Marx’s WHT is strongly critical, and it is constantly formed in his predecessors’ debate and criticism of the WHT. Marx criticized the ancient Greek philosophers’ WH doctrine and inherited it. On the other hand, he criticized the exploitation and oppression of the people by the bourgeoisie; in addition, while affirming the creation of the world market and the opening of the world economy by capitalism, he also criticized capitalist aggression, violence and class contradictions. Marx’s WHT is a criticism and rethinking of the irrational theories and ideologies that distort reality in the process of world-historical development. It has a specific value and significance of self-transcendence. Marx mentioned, in Capital, that his theory is only “a method”, not “a dogma”. He believed that his theory needs to be constantly tested and revised in practice, and it cannot be solidified into a rigid dogma (Marx, 2016, p. 145).

(2) Historicity

Historicity is one of the basic features of Marx’s WHT. The essence of WH lies in reflecting the universal laws of world-historical development. Marx’s WHT mainly elaborates on the impact of capitalism on historical development after its proliferation in the world, and its focus is on this process of transformation from national history to WH. During the period from the 14th and 15th centuries AD to the mid-to-late 18th century, when capitalism arose, but did not dominate the mode of production, there were few goods left in the market for foreign trade because the productive forces had not yet achieved expanded reproduction. Therefore, each country or nation’s commodities were basically circulated only in their local markets, and the degree of interaction, among countries or nations, was not profound during that period. With the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of capitalism, the level of social productivity increased, and the interaction between countries and peoples became more frequent. At that time, the nations’ history gradually developed towards the world’s history, and the whole world’s connection deepened.

(3) Integrity

Marx mentioned, in Capital, that “[…] my method is materialistic in history, which means that I view the process of production and reproduction as the foundation of social life, and I believe that the interpretation of spiritual phenomena in social life must be based on this foundation”. (Marx, 2004, p. 84). From this perspective, it can be seen that Marx believed his method is materialistic in history, and he emphasized the fundamental role of the process of production and reproduction in social life. This indicates that Marx had a complete view of his world history thoughts, which was based on a comprehensive analysis and understanding of social production and reproduction processes (Marx, 2004). Integrity is one of the most significant features of Marx’s WHT, which is mainly reflected in the emergence of the social division of labor caused by the development of social productivity and the improvement of communication levels among countries and ethnic groups.

The development of social productive forces has led to the development of the world market. With the help of the world market, various national and ethnic groups have become more and more closely connected in economic, political and cultural aspects, and gradually become a whole that promotes each other and develops together. In the economic sphere, the development of foreign trade has given impetus to the development of the world economy, and the economic trend of each country is gradually developing towards unity. The cultural and political spheres are also moving toward holistic trends under the premise of holistic economic development. It can be seen that the development of WH is not only reflected in economic development, but also the overall development of the political and cultural spheres. In this process, a country or a nation’s development and progress have an impact not only on itself, but also on other countries and nations around the world. This integrity makes every stage of the development of WH full of meaning.

2 Methodological principles, significance and inspiration of Marx’s WHT

2.1 Methodological principles

(1) Unity of values and historical outlook

Marx’s WHT is a scientific theory that explains the transformation from national history to WH, that is, the people’s process constantly breaking through the limits of space, overcoming various obstacles and problems, and finally achieving comprehensive development. It is a pioneering contribution to the concept of WH. Marx mentioned, in his Critique of the Gotha Program, that “[…] our theory is an explanation of social movements, not a discovery of the laws of social movements” (Marx, 2016, p. 147). This viewpoint indicates Marx emphasized that his theory is an explanation of social movements, not a discovery of the laws of social movements (Marx, 2022). This indicates Marx had a unified view of values and historical views on his world history thoughts. He believed his theory was to explain the development and changes of social movements, rather than to discover universal historical laws. Fundamentally, it is necessary to approach the conversion of national history to world one, from the standpoint of material practice and dialectical philosophical thoughts, which is, in essence, a way of looking at the study of the problem of truth. Human society is a historical process that changes constantly and it is based on the growth of productive forces.

A society’s progress can be quantified objectively and fundamentally, using the productivity scale (Marx, 2018). This necessitates a thorough comprehension of the historical development laws as well as the contradictions that have arisen in the capitalist society’s growth. The capitalist society’s development cannot ultimately lead to total human progress and emancipation, even though it has contributed more significantly to the development of WH. The socialist or communist stage of WH, on the other hand, would dissolve the antagonism among societies, nations and races, in a communitarian way, and promote a high degree of emancipation and freedom of the human mind with individual development as a prerequisite, so that people can realize their self-worth. That is to say, in the community, individual freedom can exist, and this is the unity of historicity and value.

(2) Unity of criticality and constructiveness

Marx believed the study of the development of things in motion and the laws of change is based on critical thinking. However, the formation, development and evolution of WH is a complex and contradictory process, and it is based on criticism (Ren, 2020, p. 1). With the establishment of the world market, capitalism has been dramatically developed and spread around the world, and the class contradictions, brought about by capitalist production activities, have been extended to the world. The emergence of economic crises accompanied the expansion of production activities and scale under capitalism; the human beings’ development at this stage was also accompanied by labor oppression and exploitation; the increase in the level of social production was accompanied by the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. In addition, the methodology of Marx’s WHT is also constructivist.

Starting from the objective trend of world-historical development, Marx denies the bourgeoisie as the representative of all humanity’s interests on the one hand and, on the other hand, he discovers the historical subject synchronized with socialized mass production, namely the proletariat, thus pointing out the proletariat’s excellent historical task to liberate all humanity (Chen; Li, 2019, p. 59). In the actual development process, the class contradictions, brought about by capitalist production, are dealt with from the perspective of human development and emancipation, considering the WH as a whole and aiming at the common good. Standing in the perspective of the time’s new context and of the development needs, thinking about the humanity’s future and historical destiny, so as to eliminate the adverse effects and contradictions that appear in the process of WH, is an inevitable choice made by WH in the new stage of development.

(3) Unity of universality and particularity

The theoretical contribution of Marx’s WHT is not only the elaboration of certain specific historical facts and specific views, but more importantly, it provides a scientific way of thinking and perspective for exploring the development laws of WH, that is, the analysis of the development of WH history should not be limited to the perspective of national history, nor should a country or nation’s values and systems be transformed into a paradigm with universal significance. Instead, the issue of historical development should be viewed and observed from the broad perspective of WH, adhering to the unity of universality and particularity.

Marx mentioned, in Critique of the Gotha Program, that “I am not a Marxist” (Marx, 2016, p. 146). This sentence is considered a criticism of Marx’s use of the term “Marxism”, indicating that Marx did not want his theory to be simply seen as a dogma or doctrine, but rather hoped that people would conduct in-depth research and criticism of his theory. This indicates Marx had a unified view on the universality and particularity of his world history thoughts. He did not want his theory to be simply applied to all historical and social phenomena, but rather hoped that people would analyze and apply his theory in specific historical and social realities (Manuel, 1976, p. 59).

In the transition from national history to WH, as the level of productivity rises, driving the development of social division of labor and world interaction, the contradictions between productivity and production relations also have different situations at different stages of production development, that is, the contradictions that used to be national-regional would evolve and, thus, become more global (Yuan, 2020, p. 114). The structure and characteristics of WH show that its future development trend and the final result would definitely have mutual influence and interaction with its development history, which also shows that, in the future, the development of WH would not only follow specific laws, but also follow the current mainstream trend. Capitalism would eventually die out, and WH would be based on socialism to continuously solve the contradictions and problems arising in the development process.

2.2 Methodological significance

WH is not a simple sum of individual countries and nations’ history, but all countries and nations belong to an essential part of WH. Each nation would have a significant impact on WH during the actual development process. Marx’s WHT examines the issues that have arisen during the process of development from a dialectical standpoint and takes a comprehensive approach to the current global development issues. It considers each nation or country’s impact on WH and confirms the logic of methodology of WHT through the concrete application of dialectical philosophical thoughts. With regard to the interactions between nations and ethnic groups, and the promotion of their collaborative growth, the methodology of WH is a crucial guiding principle in the current development process.

The development of globalization is the result of increasing global connections and has become the primary trend of world-historical development (Horner, 2019, p. 347). The methodology of Marx’s WHT has a specific guiding role in exploring the issue of globalization. Still, historical development cannot be equated with globalization development because the two issues are not explored from the same perspective. History is explored based on a local perspective, while globalization tends to see the world more as a whole (Xu; Li; Chau et al., 2020, p. 964). The history of globalization unites every country and nation in the world, turning WH into a whole. Globalization can be considered as a development of contemporary WH to a higher level. The methodology of Marx’s WHT advocates standing on the perspective of overall development, taking the WH as a perspective, uniting human and national subjects, and combining one’s own excellent traditional cultural resources with the advanced countries’ modern development experience. Applying its methodology to the current practical life would be of great help in exploring the future path of development. Through Marx’s WHT methodology, people can continuously improve shortcomings and problems on the road to development and promote universal communication in the world.

2.3 Methodological insights

(1) Strengthening the opening up and cooperation with the outside world

According to Marx’s WHT, the development of globalization is based on the premise of universal communication in the world. Before that, affected by space and geographical constraints, the communication, among countries or nations, was not close, and their trade and economic development were relatively independent, primarily relying on the local market, which not only hindered the creation of national productivity, but also affected the improvement of their political and cultural development level. Only through world interactions and strengthening external opening and cooperation, people can break the limitations of national development and form the world into a whole (Li; Zhao, 2018, p. 37). External opening and cooperation are a material activity of forming network relations through reform and change with the medium of interrelated objects, which is not only a necessary way for countries to achieve mutual promotion and joint development, but also an essential condition for developing productive forces. Therefore, in practical development, people cannot face future development with a closed attitude. Instead, people need to participate in world exchanges with a focused attitude actively, comply with the mainstream trend of globalization, draw on excellent foreign culture and production experience, and continuously grow through learning and absorption in order to achieve self-development and progress.

(2) Raising the level of science and technology

Marx’s WHT holds that, under certain historical conditions, the system of capitalism can be achieved. Still, the stage of development of productive forces and the process of civilization it undergoes can never be crossed (Xiao, 2020, p. 63). Only with the productive forces, created by capitalism, the Eastern countries could accelerate the process of historical transformation while advancing their development. A typical example is the development of China’s economy. In the early 1980s, China began implementing reform and opening up policies, shifting from a planned economy to a market economy. This transformation is an important turning point in Chinese history and also an important moment in the process of globalization. Marx’s worldview on history provides a theoretical framework to understand this transformation. According to Marx’s viewpoint, the development of capitalism is driven by the contradiction between productive forces and production relations.

In China, the production relations of the planned economy limit the development of productivity, leading to a slowdown in economic growth and an exacerbation of poverty issues. The implementation of the reform and opening up policy has gradually replaced the production relations of the planned economy with those ones of the market economy, thereby promoting the development of productivity and economic growth. This is not only a reasonable expansion of the early WHT, but also a supplement and improvement of the scientific concept of history in line with the historical scale, and it is also a manifestation of the unity of the values of the methodology of Marx’s WHT and the concept of history. Science and technology are the first productive force, and, globally, the competition among countries would eventually evolve into a contest of scientific and technological strength. China has invested heavily in scientific and technological research and development over the past few decades, especially in the high-tech field. For example, China has made significant progress in fields, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, satellite navigation and 5G communication. The United States is one of the leaders in the global technology field. The U.S. government and businesses have invested a large amount of funds in technology research and development, especially in fields, such as computer science, life sciences and aerospace. Japan is an important country in the field of technological innovation (Hagerman, 2010, p. 105). The Japanese government and enterprises attach great importance to technological research and development, especially in fields, such as mechanical manufacturing, automotive manufacturing and electronic products. The Japanese government has also introduced a series of policies to encourage enterprises to strengthen technological innovation, such as providing research funding and technical support.

Therefore, it is essential to vigorously develop science and technology, strengthen the capacity for independent innovation, speed up the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements, and create an international competitive advantage with scientific and technological strength at its core, in order to improve a country’s overall strength and status in the world. In addition, in today’s world, competition among countries is more related to political, economic and geostrategic factors. In this context, countries need to unite and understand partnerships, rather than just dividing the world into friends and enemies. Cooperation and common development are the key to promoting world prosperity, rather than relying solely on competition and confrontation. The development of science and technology should become a tool for promoting international cooperation and common interests, rather than simply pursuing a single country’s competitive advantage. This means that, while developing technology, we also need to attach importance to international cooperation and understanding of the importance of partnerships.

(3) Dialectical view of the development of globalization and unswervingly following its development path

The contradiction between productive forces and relations of production causes all developments in society. However, with the transition from national history to WH, this national and regional contradiction has gradually become global, and each country’s development environment has become increasingly complex. Due to the differentiation of development conditions and stages of each country’s development, the relations among various countries or nations, at different stages of development in the world interaction, have become more complex. Such a historical environment and the time’s background have created unique development paths for each country and nation. For developed countries, globalization has provided them with a comprehensive market and created more benefits for them, making their productivity develop significantly. However, for developing countries, globalization, while providing more development opportunities, has also brought more significant challenges (Li; Zhao, 2019, p. 17).

To a certain extent, globalization has promoted changes in social and economic structures, provided new impetus for the countries’ and people’s economic growth, and opened up new opportunities for them to the outside world; however, since the process of economic globalization has always been dominated by Western capitalism, its biggest beneficiaries are still Western capitalist countries. In this process, capitalist political, cultural, and even institutional concepts are bound to spread around the world. Based on Marx’s thoughts on world history, globalization is an inevitable historical process, but it also brings many challenges, especially for developing countries. Developing countries should strengthen their industrial development, especially in high value-added areas. This can be achieved by encouraging Chinese enterprises to strengthen technological innovation, improve product quality and reduce production costs. This can improve the competitiveness of domestic industries, reduce dependence on imported products and better respond to the challenges of globalization. In addition, developing countries should strengthen education and talent cultivation, especially in the field of science and technology. This can be achieved by improving the education system, enhancing the quality of education and encouraging talent to return to their home countries. This can improve the quality and ability of domestic talents, and firmly follow their own development path.

3 Suggestions and discussions

The methodology of Marxist world history provides a profound framework for social analysis, revealing the driving forces and laws of social development through the dialectical materialist approach to historical development.

The concept of world history emphasizes the continuity of history and the driving force of development. In social development, we should take a long-term perspective to examine social issues and avoid one-sided short-termism and hasty pursuit of success and instant benefits. When formulating policies and planning future development directions, it is necessary to consider the society’s overall interests, rather than the local or specific groups’ narrow interests (Hartner, 2022, p. 52). This helps to build a more sustainable and stable social system, providing a better development environment for future generations.

In the process of globalization, we can draw inspiration from Marx’s viewpoint and pay attention to class contradictions and social inequality issues on a global scale. This means that attention should be paid to whether new class divisions and social inequality have emerged in the process of globalization, and how to alleviate these problems through policy and institutional reforms. Marx’s worldview on history holds that the development of capitalism and global expansion are one of the important forces driving historical development. In the context of globalization, Marx’s perspective can be used to understand the operational mechanisms of the capitalist economic system on a global scale, as well as the economic connections and competitive relationships among different countries and regions. This helps to better grasp the impact of globalization on the international economic system and how to respond to the economic challenges that arise in the process of globalization.

In addition, Marx’s historical materialism method also emphasizes the humanity’s creative role in its own history. Therefore, when promoting social development, attention should be paid to the individuals’ comprehensive development and the citizens’ cultivation with innovative spirit and a sense of social responsibility. By strengthening the education system and improving people’s overall quality, we can better respond to various challenges in social development and contribute to the society’s progress.

Overall, starting from the Marxist world history ideology, we attach importance to the development of the economic foundation, pay attention to class struggle and social contradictions, take a long-term perspective on social issues and pay attention to the people’s comprehensive development. These suggestions help guide society towards a more just, equal and sustainable direction, enabling society to better adapt to the trend of historical development.

Conclusions

With the deepening development of globalization, the evolution of social conflicts has become more and more intense. How to comprehensively understand and grasp the process, laws and directions of world political and economic development, so as to achieve sustainable economic development, has become an urgent problem for the current society to cope with the challenges of globalization. Based on actual material production and labor, Marx’s WHT systematically sorted out the characteristics of human existence and historical evolution. In order to fully implement it into actual development, this paper conducted effective research on the methodology of Marx’s WHT and discussed its principles, meanings, and revelations in-depth, which not only provided a fuller review of the current development process of globalization from a holistic perspective, but also provided reference to cope with the development crisis and the difficulties encountered in the process of globalization. Marx’s historical materialism emphasizes the importance of the development of production relations and productive forces for social change.

In the context of globalization, we can understand the impact of globalization on production relations and productivity through Marx’s perspective, as well as the economic connections and interdependence among different countries and regions worldwide. In addition, Marx’s criticism of capitalism and analysis of class struggle can help us understand class differentiation, social inequality and power relations in the process of globalization. Globalization has led to the monopoly of multinational corporations and the flow of cross-border capital, further exacerbating class conflicts and social inequality worldwide. Although the methodological study of Marx’s WHT, in this paper, has a specific role in promoting social development, there are still some limitations in the research of this paper. The interpretation of Marx’s WHT, at the conceptual level, is still inadequate, and the methodological revelation is not explicitly analyzed in relation to the variability of actual development conditions.

Marx’s methodology of world history has deeply influenced people’s understanding of history and social development. Through the analysis of class struggle, production relations and social ideology, Marx proposed a unique view of historical materialism, explaining the laws and dynamics of historical development. However, with the continuous changes in society and technological progress, it is necessary to continuously expand research directions on the basis of this methodology to better understand and guide future social development. Future research directions can include the impact of globalization and cross-border capitalism, as well as the reconstruction of culture and ideology. With the accelerated development of globalization, the impact of cross-border capitalism on countries around the world is becoming increasingly significant. In social development, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research on the impact of globalization on different countries and regions’ socio-economic structure, cultural dissemination and political landscape, as well as the reshaping of global class relations by transnational capitalism.

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  The project received support from the “2022 General Project of the Ministry of Education on Ideological and Political Theory Courses for University Teachers (Project Number: 22JDSZK194)” and the “2021 Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning Project (Ideological and Political Special Project) of Hainan Province (Project Number: hnsz2021-15)”.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  13 May 2024
• Date of issue
  2024

History

• Received
  07 Sept 2023
• Accepted
  14 Nov 2023
• Published
  18 Apr 2024