Zheng Yongnian column
From the perspective of economic perspective, the world history of modern times can be said to be the history of capital creation.It is very simple. It is difficult to understand in modern history after leaving capital.While creating a huge amount of wealth, capital also brings a wave of crises to humans, whether it is the economic crisis or the war between the country.But no matter what happens, or what will happen in the future, no matter whether people like it or not, capitalism will continue to survive and develop.The economic analysis made by Marx found the motivation to survive, develop and expand capital, but Marx's predictive judgment on the future of capital has been proven to be wrong.
After the global financial crisis from 2007 to 2008, Marx's works became hot again, and various anti -capital movements (whether they appeared in the field of knowledge or the field of social practice) were also emerging.This is also easy to understand. As long as the capital continues to create crises, anti -capital will continue.However, any judgment about the demise of capitalism will continue to prove that it is wrong.Marx is not a pure scholar. Whether it is analyzing capital or social prediction, it is thinking about the future of human beings.From this perspective, it is precisely because Marx's judgment on the future of capital has not become a reality that people still need to think about the relationship between capital and the future of people.
Capital manufacturing human crisis, but capital will not die.Why?Simply put, this is caused by the two sides of the capital, that is, capital can not only exert the human glory to the extreme, but also show the evil aspects of human evil.
Capitalism to create wealth is the most effective
First of all, capitalism is the most effective mechanism for creating wealth since the emergence of human history.That's a clear look at this point.No one has denied since Marx.The creation of wealth, or broadly, economic development is one of the most important signs to measure the progress of human civilization.Although human development is not only manifested in economic development, society without economic development is often regarded as a backward society.Marx said that the economy is the foundation, and politics is a upper -level building.It can also be said that the economy is the basis of most social life.In fact, to a large extent, even religious life is inseparable from the economy.
Secondly, more importantly is the role of capital liberation.From the perspective of experience, compared with other forms of rule (such as teaching power, autocracy, etc.), people prefer to choose the rule of capital.Marx also vigorously affirmed the role of capital in the process of historical liberation, that is, capital liberated humans from various traditional forces.This is particularly manifested in the attitude of intellectuals in capital.Although the most criticized for capital is intellectuals (including Marx), intellectuals dependence on capital is no less than politicians.Intellectual criticism of capital seems to be for the poor, but it is not.There are few poor economists in the world, and most economists are capital economists.
The choice of the knowledge group is rational, because compared with other forms of rule, the rule of capital is diversified and open.It is difficult to monopolize all economic fields in any kind of capital, although capital also has the tendency of monopoly.Each economic field has its own capital, and it is not just a capital.Openness refers to the openness of the economic form. The new technology and management models make capital be able to break the balance of the old society and make history open.This is also the meaning of creative destruction that economist Joseph Schumpeter refers to.
In other words, no matter from vertical or horizontal perspective, different capitals are always in competition, and the knowledge group is to find their own survival and development space in the competition of various capitals.In fact, to a large extent, why is it that other social groups (including poor people)?The poor and political forces can be combined to face strong capital, sharing benefits from capital, but in the long run, not many poor people can tolerate a government that cannot be able to or hinders economic development.This can be seen clearly from the historical development of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
Third, capital is the most rational animal, and it can be compromised under certain conditions.From the primitive capitalism said to today's humanitarian capitalism or welfare capitalism, it is a typical example.Without pressure, of course, capital will not be transformed.This transformation is the product of the Western socialist movement and the product of political and social reform.However, the reason why this transformation can succeed also shows the nature of capital.For capital, the stability of society is the prerequisite for its normal operation.For stability, capital can be compromised.It is not difficult to understand that many aspects of social policies in the West were introduced by capital for a stable social environment.
Fourth, capital is the main body of social charity.In the capital industry, people not only pursue wealth, but also the value of social honor, glory, and reputation.For capital, it is worth using money to exchange these.Although people can say that these also show the selfishness of capital, objectively speaking, these are conducive to society.In the West, the operations of many universities, churches, and social organizations are related to capital.
The dark side of the capital
If the above these are the glory of capital, the capital also has a dark side, that is, after the capital is liberated, everyone will turn everyone into their own slaves.Capital can understand the weaknesses of human nature and the needs of general social members based on human nature.Basically, capital has no moral principle, and the principle of faith is profits (as Marx said).Therefore, what people need to provide capital can provide.It can be said that as far as most people in society are concerned, capitalism is a system that can satisfy people to the greatest extent.At the same time, capital also has the ability to monetize everything in the world, including people and their bodies, because only by the realization of monetization can the essence of capital exchange be achieved.
The original capitalism described by European writers such as Marx, Hugo, Dickens (that is, the capitalist form of sheep or people or people), has basically passed in developed countries, that is, the capital there today is humanitarian capitalism.However, in many post -developing countries, the evil deeds of capital are still the same.From a historical perspective, the process of changes in the form of capital rule is also the process of civilization of western society.The evolution of the welfare system can explain the problem.
On the surface, the welfare society is conducive to the working class (or society in a broad sense) and is not conducive to capital. However, in terms of its essence, the welfare society is only a new form of capital rule for society.The welfare society reached its peak from before and after World War I to World War II, laying an institutional foundation for the long -term stability of Western society.As far as Western reality is concerned, no matter from the employer and the labor, the existing welfare system can no longer maintain the status quo, or in other words, the existing system can no longer meet the needs of both parties.
For capital, welfare society means high taxes, and high taxes mean the burden that benefits bring to themselves.In the public's democratic society, society can put tremendous pressure on capital in conjunction with the power of the government.In order to avoid social and political pressure, capital began globalization.There is no doubt that the recent wave of globalization, which began in the 1980s, was capital -driven.In the state of globalization, capital can easily escape the political and social pressure of its country.For example, if France levies high taxes on capital, capital will flow from France to Britain or other low -tax countries.This has led governments to not have a strong motivation to levy high taxes from capital because high taxes mean low competitiveness.However, if any country needs taxes, it is impossible for who cannot levy high taxes on capital and taxes to the poor.Only the middle class.
This is exactly the biggest problem facing Western society.The success of capitalism is to create a huge middle class.But now the middle class is facing several aspects of pinch, including technology (that is, fewer and fewer middle -class employment opportunities), with capital (international flow of capital), and (taxation) from society.Angry is the main feature of the middle class of the West today.From this perspective, it is easy to understand the middle -class populism that prevailed in Western countries. Whether it is Trumpianism in the United States, the French yellow vest movement or Germany's extremeThe right movement is the case.
New rule of capital
How can capital cope with this new situation and achieve new forms of rule?In other words, what is the new form of capital?This problem is related to the future of mankind, people can show their imagination.However, the new form of capital will not suddenly fall from the sky, but has realistic roots and foundations.From this perspective, as if the following three rules methods must attract people's attention, people must also think about the profound impact of these appearances on people and society.
First, the new version of the welfare system.Once the welfare system is generated, it is difficult to go back, that is, welfare can only increase and cannot be reduced.Especially in the democratic society that has been realized one person and one vote, democracy and benefits are closely combined, that is, what Singaporean founder Li Guangyao said before, democracy is the auction of welfare.In fact, how to evolve the welfare system to face increasingly serious income differences and solve social problems related to it is also what many Western society thinks for many years.In some countries, especially Nordic countries, the general salary system has begun, that is, no matter whether people work, they can get a salary.This is the political right of one person and one vote, which is transformed into one person's economic right.This can be said to be an extended or upgraded version of the traditional welfare system.
Second, the rise of the pastoral society.Herdoor society, that is, capital to raise the people, can also be called the people.The concept of raising the people was very developed in ancient China, but similar thoughts also appeared in other civilizations.In the past, raising the people was just an ideal and utopian, but with the rapid progress of science and technology today, the possibility of the pastoral society has begun to achieve realization.
The development of artificial intelligence (AI) can not only liberate the workers from the heavy physical work, but also help people think (even if it is simply thinking).Eating but not thinking may be the normal state of many ordinary people in the future.When machines can replace people's thinking, most people's thinking ability will inevitably decline, and they will not think in the end.Lazy thinking is also part of human weaknesses, and capital will not ignore this reality.
Third, the society and management are tamed with the widespread use of consumption, entertainment, drugs and even drugs.Society seems to be progressing, but capital is increasingly no moral standards, or capital determines moral standards.Capital not only pushes daily consumption to the extreme, but also promotes consumption to more and more fields, including drugs and even drugs.Some countries or regions have legalized drugs in the traditional sense.This trend may be difficult to stop, because the capital force is strong. As long as it is favorable or facilitates to rule the society, there is too much power to legalize the new commodity, including drugs.Some economists have pointed out that in the face of strong capital, political one -person one vote is actually one yuan and one vote, that is, the government is just a tool for capital.
When the modern socialist movement was generated, people believed that capital would dig the grave by themselves.However, experience in modern times has shown that capital will not dig its own grave, but capital prepares grave for the society.People are inseparable from capital, but capital often causes slavery or even death. In developed society, it is more manifested as entertainment to death, and in a backward society, it is more manifested as fatigue and death.In the new era, if humans enjoy the benefits brought by capital, but they cannot overcome these consequences brought by capital, the situation facing human beings in the future is difficult to be optimistic.
The author is the director of the East Asia Research Institute of Singapore's State University of East Asia.
