Marx's Theory of World History and Contemporary Globalization

Author: Cao Rongxiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The greatest contribution of Marx's theory of world history lies in:
1. Systematically exploring the driving forces behind the transformation from history to world history from the perspectives of production and interaction, determining the significant yet non-essential role of technology;
2. Examining the relationship between the functions of modern states and world history, pointing out that the former will gradually decline;
3. Not only elaborating on the regional imbalance in the development of world history under capitalism but also highlighting the differing world-historical significance of different regions;
4. Establishing a theory of leapfrogging social development in the context of world history. His argument that the Russian rural commune could potentially bypass the capitalist "Caphisian pass" is consistent with his world-historical theory;
5. Revealing the dialectical relationship between world culture and world history, as well as the universal, utilitarian, and vulgar characteristics of world culture during the capitalist historical stage. He believed that the development of world culture is a contradictory process, with the ultimate outcome being the mutual convergence and integration of cultures from different nations, where ethnic and regional identities would gradually fade;
6. Deeply uncovering the impact of world history on human development and taking the relationship between the individual and history as the starting point of contemporary historical research, thereby concluding that the final outcome of world-historical development will be a league of free individuals, i.e., communism.