Zheng Yongnian: The institutionalization of the end of thought

Zheng Yongnian column

Today, this era was originally the most thoughtful era.Human beings are now facing various huge and severe crises, including climate and environment, technology (whether technological progress or technology abuse on human beings), fertility methods and population changes (whether the population of some society has decreased sharply or other societyThe rapidly differentiated by population), the sharp differentiation of globalization and society, populism and nationalism, radical religious thoughts and terrorism, social protests and anarchy, and so on.

But the entire human society has not prepared for such crises.What's more sad is that people have not had serious thinking about these crises that have happened or in front of them.The new thinking seems to have been lost for a long time.In fact, this era has become a era of barren knowledge, and it is difficult for people to find the thoughts they want to see.

In 1960, the self -economic socialist, political liberalist, and cultural conservative American scholar Daniel Bell published an end of ideology: Political thought in the 1950s: Political thought in the 1950sThe endoLogy: On the Exhaustion of Political Ideas in The Fifties.In this book, Bell believes that the old and magnificent humanistic ideology from the 19th and early 20th centuries have been exhausted, and the new and narrower ideology is coming.He believes that among rational people, ideology has lost correlation, and changes in politics (politics) depend on the gradual and technical adjustment of the existing system.

The disappearance and thought decline of the thinker

Different forms of conclusions are constantly arising in Western scholars, but most of them have ended in failure.However, the ideological status of ideas predicted by Bell is at least in line with the current status quo.In other words, after the 1960s, there was no inspiring thoughts as before the 1960s.Bell's prediction of the future is completely wrong, because there will be a disintegration and transformation of the Su Dong system.If the intellectual world does not expect all these changes, people will be more pessimistic about the ideological world, because this failure itself is the result of the decline of thought.

Whether in the ideological field or in various fields of social sciences, the 1960s was an era when the thinker was born.But it is surprising that after the 1960s, the thinker disappeared, and never appeared as the thoughts as in the 1960s or before.

The economic crisis in the West in the 1970s, the previous Kanesianism was basically ended, and the rise of Western neo -liberal economics in the 1980s.However, neo -liberalism is not so much thinking, it is better to be a action plan. It is a action plan for capital to use globalization to get rid of the political and social control of sovereign countries.This is still the case now.

In the 1990s, the disintegration of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe did not have deep thoughts.Whether it is the West or Su Dong itself, it only explains the narrow ideology of such major changes, that is, simply regarding it as the failure of communism.The West was anxious to announce the end of history, thinking that this was the ultimate victory of Western democracy, and then believed that Western democracy was the best and final political system of humans.

But in terms of the transformation and changes of many countries in Su Dong, things are far from so simple.In many countries there, not only did not have Western -style democracy, but politics retrogers have emerged, and the rise of authoritativeism in new forms.The disintegration of Su Dong has also led to the rise of nationalism in Eastern Europe and other places. The disintegration of the original nation -state, and the new country will occur.But people are limited to the explanation of nationalism.

The financial crisis that occurred in Asia from 1997 to 1998 not only did not touch any meaningful thinking of Asia itself or the West, but instead evolved into a struggle for ideological ideology.From the perspective of the West, the Asian financial crisis only proves the end of the so -called Asian model and the victory of the Western model.

However, ten years later, a larger and deeper economic crisis also occurred in the West in 2008.However, even such a crisis has not caused the emergence of new ideas. What people see in a large number of publications are just within the original ideological framework, disease -free mohimyra, repair and replenishment.Although some practitioners (financial bankers, entrepreneurs, politicians) and other realization of the new era are not reflected in the theoretical and ideological level.

Institutionalization of thought

Why does the end of ideology end?

In a word, the thinker is institutionalized and the thought is institutionalized.

The concept of institutionalization of ideas is also found in the episode published by Bell 60 years.From today's perspective, the content of this concept is very rich.At least from the following aspects, people can discuss the role of ideological institutionalization on ideological imprisonment.

The first is the institutionalization of ideology itself.Ideology and ideology are associated with each other, and it also has the role of mutual promotion.Thought is the foundation of ideology. Without ideology, there will be no ideology.On the other hand, once an ideology is formed, it will evolve into a paradigm and promote thinking in all aspects.During the Cold War of the United States and the Soviet Union, there were ideological disputes between the two camps, but they were also very thoughtful.Especially in the West, a large number of liberal thinkers are the products of thinking and reflecting on the Soviet system.

However, why is it idealistic after the 1960s but there is no thought?This is related to the high institutionalization of ideology. On the one hand, people tend to incorporate everything into ideological disputes. On the other hand, ideas are regarded as the standard of judging things, and they adhere to their own ideologyEssenceOnce ideological forms are combined with the two methods and ideal types prevailing in the Western academic circles, it can effectively hinder people's thinking.

Whether it is a two -point method or an ideal type, as a methodology, it helps people think deeply through comparison.But if the two -point or ideal type is only a tool for classification, it will hinder thinking and thought.Obviously, for decades, most of the ideological circles have been classified. For example, put themselves in Class A and put others in Class B to judge or measure B by A; vice versa.

Secondly, the institutionalization manifestation in the relationship between knowledge and power is either highly attached, or it is anti -power.Today, in terms of thinking and power, only these two forms are shown.The polarization of the material world (such as the rich and the poor, the property, the property, the governor, the ruler, and the ruler) have led to the polarization of the mind, the polarization of the actions, that is, the establishment and the anti -construction system.The two sides have only positions and have no values, although both sides will use their positions to cover up the lack of values.

Often, the institutional faction Gao Yang is stable and order, while the anti -construction system is high and democracy and freedom.However, are the two sides really pursuing their respective value?In terms of actual effect, not only is there not, it is more likely to go on the opposite side.That is to say, the pursuit of stability and order ultimately lead the chaos and anarchy, and the pursuit of democracy and freedom ultimately lead the dictatorship and dishonesty.

In terms of power, many intellectuals in the West can keep distance to show their independence.Although Western intellectuals can keep a distance from the person in charge and even criticize, this does not mean that it can keep a distance from power.In fact, it may be just the opposite. Western intellectuals and power are integrated.Over the years, in the international community, Western intellectuals and power are integrated, and the implementation of the Western system in the world as its own mission.

Without the support of knowledge, Western power will encounter greater difficulties in rationalizing their external behavior.At the same time, while helping to promote the Western system, Western intellectuals have completely forgotten the tasks of criticizing and reflecting on the Western system.In other words, there is no Marx after Marx.When Fukuyama proposed the end of history, the West prevailed, indicating that the Western intellectual community has a high degree of recognition of this and believes that the Western system is the bestIt's right.

Even if it has developed to the chaos caused by the party's dispute today, people still have no reflection on the system itself except for some politicians.This thinking even affects the anti -building group.Although the anti -building parties are dissatisfied with the current system, they are not even satisfied with the current system, but they can not mention any alternative ways.

As a result, this simple system and anti -building system hindered thinking. Everyone was acting, but the lack of action and the lack of values.What is more interesting is that once the anti -monitor becomes the institutionalist, or after those outsiders enter the bureau, there is still no value and direction.

Since modern times, the development of history has not lost its direction like today.Different types of protests and conflicts, and even war, but people do not know why they protest, conflict, and war.In more and more society, the establishment of the establishment or the elites of power has no room for discussion at all, adheres to their own interests, and the ideals that protesters adhere to are not utopia, or simple populist and anger.In an era of global and social media, the transformation and development of peace seemed harder and difficult.

The relationship between knowledge and capital

Third, institutionalization is also manifested in the relationship between knowledge and capital.At this level, it is also manifested as one party's attachment to capital, and the other party's anti -capital.The attachment of knowledge on capital is just as its dependence on power, but the dependence of capital in the West is much more serious and more hidden than the attachment of power.In traditional Western discourse, capital itself is considered an effective checks and balance of political power. Intellectuals and capital stand together, you can publicly declare your independence value.

At the same time, the control of capital's ideas is more hidden, clever, and more humane.In the West, the relationship between capital and knowledge is far more than the relationship between government and knowledge. Capital has established the most direct relationship with knowledge through channels such as funds, donations, project support, independent research institutions and think tanks, etc.They all directly control all processes of knowledge production, including what knowledge can be produced, what knowledge cannot produce, how much knowledge can be produced.

Therefore, capitalism not only controls the production of substances, but also controls spiritual production.This is already revealed by the Italian New Marxist Antonio Gramsci. It is just that the size of the wealth of the contemporary capital control is becoming increasingly huge, and the capital control of capital is getting worse.The more naked.

If people call the intellectuals with capital as the right, there is also a leftist against capital in the West.But even the left, since the 1960s, it has not made many achievements.Some of them are reduced to resist, resisting to resist; others turn to the government, hoping to resist capital with political forces; others have resorted to induced Utopia with no realistic and feasible utopia.In a word, the left since the 1960s has lost its purpose and has no constructive ideas.

Fourth, the institutionalization of knowledge production factories.The knowledge production plant is mainly composed of universities, research institutions, and other institutions with the same functions.The institutionalization here is even more prominent.The first is the political correctness of the intellectual industry itself.The early stage of politics was for public interest, but the scope became wider and wider, including almost all things that could not be offended, including the above ideology, power and capital.

The second is a highly bureaucratic academic review system.Today's academic review system has little to do with the academic itself.It can be said that the so -called academic review system is a competitive system introduced by capital or the government to control academics, because the knowledge factories need to obtain funding or other aspects through the results of the review.Is the advantages and disadvantages of academic or academics be the judge, and who is the benefit of the reviewer?People joked that if thinkers like Marx are still alive today, they can't comment on professors.

Again, in the face of such institutionalized pressure, the nature of intellectuals has also changed, that is, the evolution from the previous ideological producers to a professional scholar. What people do is to follow the eight academic shares and consume time in various trivial.Everyone is writing articles, but I don't know why.

In the face of stress at all levels, intellectual producers are increasingly instrumental, and they lose the human nature that intellectuals should have.In this way, people only have selfishness and have no self.Self -selfish to extremes, short interests, short -sighted eyes, losing the imagination that intellectuals should have.When intellectual producers attach to ideology, capital, government, or other time, they are all raised people.Once the nursing person, the end of the mind becomes inevitable.

The author is a professor at the East Asia Research Institute of Singapore's National University

The article only represents personal point of view