西方现代化理论的意识形态反思——一种方法论的视角

Ideological Reflection on Western Modernization Theory——A Methodological Perspective

狭义的西方现代化理论是指二战后在美国学术界兴起的研究发展中国家现代化变迁的相关理论。人们通常所说的现代化理论多指狭义。广义的西方现代化理论是指关于17世纪以来由资本主义发展而形成的欧洲以及世界范围的技术、经济、政治、文化和社会的剧烈变革的研究。西方现代化理论推动了社会科学的发展,对中国现代化有很大的借鉴意义。但是,西方现代化理论方法论框架中隐含的意识形态却为人们所忽视。美国现代化理论有强烈的冷战意识形态。对美国现代化理论产生重要影响的帕森斯的结构功能主义方法,将美国社会特征抽象为现代社会一般标准。这样,在"传统—现代"两分的理论框架中,美国被视为现代化的顶点,从而勾画了一条通向美国社会制度的现代化的单线进步路线,所有的国家都处于这条路线的不同发展位置上。从广义的现代化理论发展脉络来看,美国现代化理论"传统—现代"的两分模式,本质上是一种"文明—野蛮"两分世界图式。"文明—野蛮"两分世界图式和单线进步历史观与西方殖民者为殖民扩张辩护有着密不可分的联系。西方划分"文明"和"野蛮"的理论依据,最初是基督教教义,然后是自然法理论,进而发展为理性进步论和社会进化论。理性进步论和社会进化论认为,西方社会已经发展到"文明"社会阶段,其他国家仍处于"野蛮"或者"半开化"社会阶段。西方"文明"国家有责任帮助落后国家摆脱"野蛮"状态。这种"文明开化使命"论是西方殖民主义和帝国主义的意识形态。东西方比较法是研究现代性起源的重要方法。但是,这种方法将处于相互作用中的文明割裂,将其作为有着不变的本质的实体进行比较,这导致将西方的某些社会、文化、自然特征夸大为现代性产生的决定性因素。在追溯这些社会、文化、自然特征的历史形成过程时,又往往脱离当时的历史语境,夸大甚至扭曲这些特征的历史作用,从而虚构了一个西方文明内在优越性不断展现的历史,形成西方优越论。西方现代化理论中隐含的这些意识形态观念阻碍着人们客观地认识中国和世界,必须予以认真地研究和批判。

Western modernization theory in a narrow sense refers to the related theories that emerged in American academic circles after World War II to study the modernization changes of developing countries.This is what people usually call the modernization theory.The western modernization theory in a broad sense refers to the research on the drastic changes in technology,economy,politics,culture and society in Europe and around the world formed by the development of capitalism since the 17 th century.Western modernization theory has promoted the development of social science,which has great reference significance for China’s modernization.However,the ideology implied in the methodology framework of western modernization theory has been ignored by people.American modernization theory has a strong Cold War ideology.Talcott Parsons’structural functionalism method,which has an important influence on American modernization theory,abstracts American social characteristics into the general standard of modern society.Thus,within the theoretical framework of"tradition-modernity",the United States is regarded as the culmination of modernization,thus sketching a single-line progress route of modernization,and all countries are in different development positions of this route.From the perspective of the development of modernization theory in a broad sense,the dichotomy mode of"tradition-modernity"in American modernization theory is essentially a weakened dichotomous world schema of"civilization-barbarism".The dichotomy of"civilization-barbarism"and the single progressive historical view are closely related to the western colonists’defense of colonial expansion.The theoretical basis for dividing"civilization"and"barbarism"in the West was originally Christian doctrine,then natural law theory,and then developed into rational progress theory and social evolution theory.It is believed that western society has developed into a"civilized"society,while other countries are still in a"barbaric"society.Western"civilized"countries have the responsibility to help backward countries get rid of"barbarism".This theory of"civilized mission"is the ideology of western colonialism and imperialism.Comparing the east with the west is an important method to study the origin of western modernity.However,this method separates the interacting civilizations and compares them as entities with unchangeable essence,which leads to exaggerating some social,cultural and natural characteristics of the West as decisive factors of modernity.When tracing the historical formation process of these social,cultural and natural features,they often deviate from the historical context at that time,exaggerating or even distorting the historical functions of these features,thus inventing a history in which the inherent superiority of western civilization is constantly displayed and forming the western superiority theory.These ideological concepts implied in western modernization theories hinder people’s objective understanding of China and the world,and must be carefully studied and criticized.