As an ideology and historical narrative mode，“Westocentrism” is an expanded version of “Eurocentrism”，That is, blindly placing Europe or the West at the center of the world (history)，Ignore or even deny the history of people in other regions，It is the theoretical basis of Western colonialism，Concentrated reflection of the narrow nationalism of the West、Racism and regionalism。The core point of view，It advocates that Western civilization (capitalist civilization in Western Europe and North America) "is the pinnacle of social evolution，It is human reason、The highest stage of prosperity and moral progress”。Get to the essence，“Western-centrism” or “Eurocentrism” is an ideological appendage of the rising period of capitalism，Served the global expansion of capitalism from the beginning，Even pushing the historical advantages of Western Europe nj bet365 rising period of capitalism back to ancient history，Attempt to create a concept of "eternal West"，The binary opposition between "West" and "Non-West", especially "East" (the so-called civilization and barbarism、Development and stagnation、The opposition between light and darkness)。The core purpose of “Western-centrism”，It is to consolidate the dominant position of the capitalist center country，To realize the domination or suppression of the capitalist center countries over other marginalized regions and countries，“Westernize” the world。

nj bet365 process of global expansion of capitalism，This kind of central theory is very important to the vast number of people in Asia, Africa and Latin America，Causing serious mental constraints and negative practical effects。However，The pursuit of free development and equal rights is the basic purpose and value of human civilization。The form of socialist civilization from theory to practice after the October Revolution of 1917、From practice in one country to practice in many countries、And the development process of successful transformation from the Soviet road to the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics，It has become an important driving force for the continuous development of human civilization and progress。Today’s world has seen new progress in both the vertical social evolution and the horizontal global exchanges，That is, a new form of human civilization has developed vertically，Horizontally, we are moving towards an interconnected and mutually beneficial community with a shared future for mankind that includes various group organizations。Our philosophy and social science research cracks the "Western-centrism"、The era of constructing an independent knowledge system has arrived。

　The context of “nj bet365”

According to Michael Wintle in "Eurocentrism: A History、Agree、Composition and summary nj bet365 book "The White Man's Burden" (2021): The noun form of "Eurocentrism" and its adjective "Eurocentric" itself do not have a long history，The term was first noticed nj bet365 early 1960s (Europocentrism appeared in early anthropological articles in 1964)，The meaning is Europe and European-centered，Regard Europe and Europeans as a world culture、History、A center for economic and other aspects；The concept of "Eurocentrism" became popular nj bet365 1980s，The heyday of related academic discussions was the early 1990s；There are also strong opinions，“Eurocentrism” actually existed about 500 years ago (especially between 1850 and 1914)，Even if it has not been named yet；And nj bet365 20th century，Its meaning includes "there are key differences between the West and the rest"，That is, there are "essential differences" in different parts of human beings。In other words，The discourse of "Western-centrism" means the global hegemony and hierarchy of Western Europe and North America over the vast Asia, Africa and Latin America。

In Winter’s view，“Eurocentrism” began to appear during the Renaissance，This is consistent and connected with the emergence of European collective identity。But actually，What is of great significance to the expansion of "Western-centrism" is that European and American capitalist countries took the lead in completing the industrial revolution。This exactly shows，The period when the West has a strength advantage，Compared to thousands of years of human civilization, it is only a short moment。To this，There is a basic consensus among Chinese and Western academic circles。Proposed by Mark Yao's "History of World Civilization"，Until the Industrial Revolution nj bet365 18th century，Feudal agriculture and feudal privileges dominate Western Europe，Very similar to the situation in China。Hobsbawm's "The Age of Revolution: 1789-1848" thinks，The world of 1789 was a rural world，But the French Revolution and the (British) Industrial Revolution that occurred at the same time，That is, dual revolution，Making great changes nj bet365 world after 1789；Many non-European countries and civilizations still maintained an equal status with European countries nj bet365 late 18th century。"The Great Divergence: Europe" by Pomeranz、The Development of China and the Modern World Economy" thinks，Before 1800, it was a diverse world，No economic center，There is nothing obvious nj bet365 West、Completely an endogenous advantage unique to the West；Only after European industrialization fully developed nj bet365 19th century，“A dominant Western European center is of practical significance”。The turning point nj bet365 balance of power between Western Europe and North America and Asia, especially China, occurred nj bet365 first half of the 19th century，Since then, Western imperialist colonial expansion has accelerated significantly。European or Western self-centeredness developed rapidly nj bet365 19th century。At the end of the 19th century, the West even created the concept of "white man's burden"，Intended to defend and beautify its own colonial expansion and plunder。

The two world wars nj bet365 first half of the 20th century had a profound impact on "Western-centrism"。After two world wars，Imperialism direct、The visible collapse of colonial rule，“Western-centrism” has received a heavy blow，But it went through Bretton Woods、World Bank、International Monetary Fund、World Trade Organization、EU、North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other Western countries-led power carriers spread their influence to all parts of the world。The Cold War and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe nj bet365 socialist camp、The disintegration of the Soviet Union ended，For Western countries led by the United States，This also creates path dependency，Accustomed to shaping imaginary geographical opponents to engage in group confrontation，This strengthens the self-centeredness of the West。

　“Western-centrism” exposes the historical limitations nj bet365 capitalist system

Urgent issues in today’s world，It is the economic exploitation and oppression caused by financial capitalism and transnational monopoly capital on a global scale，The main contradiction nj bet365 international community is focused on reforming the international economic order dominated by Western countries。As Samir Amin believes: "Western-centrism" has "led the world into a serious dilemma。If the West continues to cling to its positions in all areas of political relations it dominates，Especially the position on North-South and East-West relations，The risk of violent conflict and brutal racist actions will increase”。The international community has the obligation to jointly overcome the constraints of "Western-centrism" on human thought and practice，Bringing human civilization to a new stage of development。

Currently，East and West in international society、The balance of power between the north and the south is undergoing profound changes。Cracking “Western-centrism” in philosophy and social science research、The key to constructing an independent knowledge system，It is to restore the "rise of the West" on which "Western-centrism" is based to the specific process of world history，Scientifically grasp the realistic development of today’s world。The specific content described in "The Rise of the West"，In fact, it is the first breakthrough in capitalist production in Western European countries，And after the rise of capitalism in Western Europe nj bet365 16th century, especially after the Western capitalist powers basically completed the industrial revolution nj bet365 mid-19th century，The historical phenomenon of using military violence at the national level to continuously plunder Asia, Africa and Latin America，That is, the development of the West is based on hundreds of years of colonial plunder of the people of Asia, Africa and Latin America。Longitudinal view，The West is just one of many production centers that have appeared in human history，Not even a monopoly on the concept of capitalism itself。As of March 2023，Among more than 190 member states of the United Nations，46 countries are classified as least developed countries，Basically all implement the capitalist system，There are only a few dozen capitalist developed countries。The West’s advantages at a specific historical stage will not last forever，And it’s declining。

What’s more important is，nj bet365 complex interactive process of production and exchanges in all continents of the world，The dominance of global economic production has shifted regionally，That is, moving to Asia and China。According to statistics，The average annual growth rate of China’s economy from 1979 to 2018 is 9.4%，Much higher than the world economy nj bet365 same period 2.Average annual growth rate of about 9%；China’s average annual contribution to world economic growth is about 18%。The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) will fully enter into force for the 15 signatories in June 2023，marks the “world’s most populous population”、The largest scale of economic and trade、The free trade zone with the greatest development potential has entered a new stage of full implementation”。“Western-centrism” has become a certain inertial ideological imagination nj bet365 West，Trying to continue to maintain the "false universality" of the "eternal West"。

Examining the evolution of the world and the West nj bet365 interrelationship between human production and communication，We can see that "Western-centrism" has reached the end of history，This is exposing the historical limitations of the capitalist system itself。Capitalism is just a historical stage of human society，Once created unprecedentedly highly developed productivity，But the unprecedented monopoly of financial capital is restricting the improvement of human social life and the release of development potential，It is continuing to cause waste of human production capacity and inequality nj bet365 distribution of social benefits，Even attempts to solidify and legalize this economic inequality。The tasks of the times facing human society at present，It’s not just about overcoming and cracking “Western-centrism”，But to explain the formation of today’s world based on the actual evolution of the world，Explore effective cooperation and mutually beneficial models to release the independent development capabilities of people in various regions and countries，Thus promoting poverty alleviation、The cause of civilization and progress to eliminate oppression continues to develop。The cause of constructing an independent knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences，We will continue to make new progress on this basis。

(This article is a phased result nj bet365 National Social Science Fund Project “Research on the Construction of Discourse System of Chinese World History” (21BSS013)

(The author is a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences、Researcher at the Historical Theory Research Center nj bet365 Institute of Historical Theory, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)