The progressive thought in Ming and Qing dynasties can't jump out of the category of traditional Confucianism in essence, which is fundamentally different from the ideological and political theory of the early bourgeoisie in western European countries, which determines that its role in promoting social change is extremely limited, it can't become the mainstream thought of the times, and its influence is far less than that of the Enlightenment in western Europe. The specific reasons can be analyzed from political, economic and ideological aspects.

① Economy: The development of capitalism is slow, and the development of early democratic ideas lacks a strong material foundation.

② Politics: The autocratic centralization of authority suppressed the development of early democratic thoughts.

(3) Ideology and culture: Ethics and cultural autocracy hindered the spread of early democratic ideas.