国家为什么繁荣？——国民财富的起源与“空想市场主义”的终结

Why Nations Prosper?——The Origin of National Wealth and End of “Utopian Marketism”

为什么'科学革命'和'工业革命'都发生在西方,而不是东方?流行的新自由主义和'西方中心论'认为,这是因为西方拥有古希腊民主自由的文化传统和基于其上的、西方独有的严格私有财产和知识产权保护、契约精神与法律制度;然而这与历史事实截然不符——欧洲这两场'革命'都是战争和国家间生存竞争的产物。欧洲文艺复兴以来的全部工商文明史,是一部以高度组织起来的民族国家为单位、以重商主义意识形态为指导、以利润竞争和市场扩张为目的、以'战争—贸易'循环加速器为动力的'丛林竞争'史。欧洲现代社会中的'民主、自由、人权'普世价值观,不过是欧洲数百年血腥的原始工业化积累完成之后,又经过百年殖民掠夺下的工业革命洗礼,尤其是经历两次世界大战以后,由于欧美资本主义国家内部自身尖锐阶级矛盾调和的产物;是被欧洲殖民主义和帝国主义扩张所催生的共产主义和社会主义运动倒逼的结果,而绝不是西方列强当年崛起的原因和前提。欧美工业国集团在完成各自的科学革命和工业革命以后,又继续利用新的更加强大的国家机器和前所未有的生产技术、军工武器、知识专利、新闻媒体与对'普世价值'阐释权的肆意垄断,继续操控全世界商业、工业、军事、政治及意识形态数百年。然而,当21世纪的全球生产力中心和产业链从欧美转移回亚洲后,随着经济基础的瓦解,披着'普世价值'皇帝新衣的西方文明时代和'新自由主义'与'空想市场主义'意识形态将会终结。历史经验告诉我们,没有强大的'重商主义'国家机器和正确的产业政策,就不可能有安全、规范、统一的大市场与自我输血的产业升级能力,从而也就不可能有基于后发优势的爆发式经济增长和富有自己文化特色的工业革命。因此,以国家、国家能力、产业政策为主导的市场经济,仍然是欠发达国家进入工业文明的不二法门和政治保障。

Why the Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution took place in the West instead of the East?Prevailing neoliberalist and Western-centric views have it that as the cultural heir to Ancient Greece’s democratic and liberal tradition,the West has developed a unique system that protects private property including intellectual property,honors contracts,and enforces the rule of law.Such an account of history is anything but true.Both revolutions are products of war and international game of survival in Europe.The industrial and commercial history of Europe since Renaissance is essentially a game of the jungle played by highly organized nation-states,with mercantilist ideology as its guiding principle,profit and market expansion as its objective,and the cyclical accelerator of war and trade as its driving force.Universal values such as democracy,liberty and human rights in modern European societies are the end products of class reconciliation within capitalist countries under the external pressure from communist and socialist movements.They were only formed after Europe had completed its bloodstained and centuries-long process of primitive accumulation,after it had been baptized by Industrial Revolution on the back of colonial spoils,and after the West was forced to adapt to post-war realities.They are not the cause or precondition for the rise of the West.After undergoing scientific and industrial revolutions,Western industrial nations have controlled the world’s commerce,industry,military,politics and ideology by monopolizing the power of defining'universal values'with the help of every stronger state apparatus and unprecedented technology,weaponry,knowledge,and news media.However,as global production centers and production chains shift back to Asia from Europe and America in the 21 st century,the economic foundation of Western ideological hegemony will fall apart,and the era marked by'universal values',neoliberalism and utopian-marketism will come to an end.History has repeatedly shown that without strong'mercantilist'state apparatus and appropriate industrial policies,there could never be a secure,regulated,unified market and the ability to upgrade its industries.Same thing could be said of China’s explosive growth based on late-mover advantage and its industrial revolution with strong cultural characteristics.Therefore,a market economy featuring state,state capacity and industrial policy is indisputably the one and only way in which less-developed countries could become industrial civilizations.