Chapter III Human Society and Its Development Law

Is there a theoretical premise for Marxist historical materialism?

How to correctly define the position and function of science and technology in productive forces?

"Four Points" and "Three Points" of Production Relations and Their Relationship

Is the "five forms theory" of historical development universal?

The Relationship between Historical Determinism and Subjective Choice Theory

Does the relationship of production play a decisive role in productivity and superstructure in the economic base?

How to treat the alienation brought by science and technology?

From Hegel's "Spiritual Man" and Feuerbach's "Emotional Man" to Marx's "Realistic Man"

Marx's Definition of Human Nature and Its Multidimensional Nature

The subject and object of history and their relationship

Did the ruling class in history participate in the creation of history?

2. How to correctly define the position and role of science and technology in productive forces?

Marxism has always attached importance to the position and role of science and technology in the development of productive forces. More than 100 years ago, Marx analyzed the relationship between modern capitalist industrial production and science according to the development of science and technology in19th century, and clearly put forward the property that natural science has productivity for the first time, pointing out that "productivity also includes science". (The Complete Works of Marx and Engels, Volume 46, People's Publishing House, 1980, page 2 1 1) Comrade Mao Zedong also discussed this issue in the process of leading socialist construction. 1963 pointed out that the war of science and technology must be well fought; Without science and technology, productivity cannot be improved. From 65438 to 0988, Comrade Deng Xiaoping summarized the great changes in the world economy and science and technology since the Second World War, especially since the 1970s and 1980s, and clearly put forward the famous assertion that "science and technology are the primary productive forces". Since then, how to accurately define the position and role of science and technology in productive forces has always been a hot issue in academic circles. Based on the academic research results in recent years, there are several clear understandings:

First of all, science and technology are productive forces and "revolutionary forces that have played a driving role in history". Marx and Engels found that science and technology are an important part of productive forces, and spoke highly of the promotion of science and technology to social development.

How did people transform the world? Of course, not only by human physical strength, but also by intellectual participation. Intelligence is a unique force in human society, and its highest form of expression is science. It can be seen that science and technology have always been an important factor affecting the development of productive forces, except that workers, tools and labor objects are essential basic elements that constitute productive forces. According to the development of science and technology in the middle of19th century and its role in modern capitalist industry, Marx clearly pointed out that productivity also includes science, and the power of science is another kind of productivity that does not require capitalists to pay any price. According to Marx's viewpoint, science and technology are potential productive forces in the form of knowledge. Once science enters the process of productive forces, this knowledge-based production will be transformed into realistic and direct productive forces. In fact, in the development of human social productive forces, the substitution of advanced productive forces for backward productive forces is caused by the progress or breakthrough of science and technology. Especially in modern times, science and technology have played an important role in promoting the development of productive forces and experienced three major historical breakthroughs.

In a word, science and technology have always been the concentrated expression and main symbol of advanced productive forces. In today's world, scientific and technological progress is changing with each passing day. Science and technology represented by information technology and life science and technology have advanced by leaps and bounds, and knowledge economy has risen rapidly. The competition of comprehensive national strength with knowledge innovation, technological innovation, talents and high-tech industries as the core is becoming increasingly fierce. These great and profound changes have brought great opportunities to the social and economic development of the world productive forces. Therefore, which country seizes the historical opportunity provided by the scientific and technological revolution, which country's economic development is far behind the trend of the times.

Secondly, the position and role of modern science and technology in the development of productive forces are increasing day by day, and it has obviously become the "first productive force". Science and technology are productive forces, or productive forces include scientific and technological factors. Marx and Engels have made this very clear. However, the status and role of science and technology have undergone historic changes. With the progress of science and technology itself and the improvement of the development level of productive forces, science and technology have a higher content and a greater role in productive forces. In modern times, it has risen to the "first" position. On this point, due to the limitation of historical conditions, Marx and Engels did not make a specific exposition. Therefore, according to the new situation of the modern scientific and technological revolution, Deng Xiaoping put forward the glorious conclusion that "science and technology are the primary productive forces" in time, and further developed Marx's scientific "productive forces" theory. 1in September, 988, when he met with the president of Czechoslovakia, he pointed out: "Marx said that science and technology are productive forces, and facts have proved this assertion to be correct. In my opinion, science and technology are the primary productive forces. " (Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Volume 3, People's Publishing House, 1993, p. 274) On the one hand, Deng Xiaoping fully affirmed Marx's "productivity theory" and said it was very correct; On the other hand, it is pointed out that from now on, this may not be enough, and the "first productivity theory" is put forward. This is very correct, because the "theory of productive forces" is a universal truth, and science and technology were, are and will be part of productive forces. This is not enough, because such regulations cannot fully reflect the exact position and role of modern science and technology in productive forces. The theory of "the first productive force" makes up for this defect and makes it more in line with modern reality. The theory of "the first productive force" is a new regulation on the position and role of modern science and technology in the development of productive forces. This "first" mainly includes the following three meanings:

(1) Modern science and technology have increasingly become the dominant factor affecting the development of productive forces. Because productivity is an extremely complex system composed of many factors, in a certain historical period, there will always be a dominant factor that plays a decisive role, that is, "primary productivity." Historically, labor objects, laborers and labor tools have all been regarded as the expression of "the first productive force". At this stage, from the mainstream and essence, the role of science and technology in the development of productive forces has occupied a primary position relative to other production factors. If we say that in the steam engine era, science and technology have an "additive effect" on the development of productive forces, and in the electrification era, science and technology have a "multiplier effect" on the development of productive forces, then in the information age, science and technology have a "dynamic effect" on the development of productive forces. According to statistics, in developed countries, the contribution rate of science and technology was 5% ~ 20% at the beginning of the 20th century, 50% in the middle of the 20th century, and increased to over 75% by the end of the 20th century. As Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "Especially due to the development of computer, cybernetics and automation technology, the degree of automation is rapidly improving. The same amount of labor can produce dozens of times more products than in the past in the same working hours. What is the basis for such a huge development of social productivity and such a substantial improvement of labor productivity? The most important thing is to rely on the power of science and technology. " (Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Volume 2, People's Publishing House, 1994, p. 87)

(2) Modern science and technology are increasingly becoming the soul of all elements of productivity. The development of productive forces is the result of the interaction of various elements of productive forces. Science and technology is an intellectual factor in the productivity system, a potential and indirect productivity, not an independent and substantive productivity, but it can be transformed into direct productivity by infiltrating into the substantive factors of productivity, thus becoming an important factor affecting the overall level of productivity. When the quality of workers, tools and objects of labor are generally improved, productivity will make a qualitative leap. At present, all elements of productive forces, whether workers, labor tools or labor objects, increasingly regard science and technology as their indispensable foundation and soul. In modern production, the labor ability of workers mainly comes from scientific and technological armed forces; More and more diverse synthetic materials are the materialization of science and technology; As for modern production tools, they are materialized knowledge forces.

Laborers are the most active and active factors in the productivity system. Any scientific and technological progress can not be separated from people's initiative, and any scientific and technological progress is mastered and controlled by people. Therefore, "science and technology are the primary productive forces" does not exclude "human factors first". Today, with the rapid development of science and technology, it is emphasized that science and technology are the primary productive forces, and its essence is to emphasize that workers who have mastered the knowledge and ability of science and technology are the primary productive forces, that is, "science and technology alone" is the primary productive forces.

(3) Modern science and technology are increasingly becoming the forerunner of productivity change. In the past long historical period, although science is also very important, scientific research mainly depends on summing up the experience of production practice and intuitive understanding of nature. So generally speaking, the development of science lags behind and follows the production. In the contradictory movement between science and production, generally, production comes first and science comes later, and the development level of production determines the development level of science. However, with the transition from modern science to modern science, huge, complex and independent scientific experiments came into being. With independent scientific experiments, scientific research does not have to rely on and follow production everywhere, but may be ahead of production and ahead of production in time. The establishment of a new discipline and the discovery of a new theory will often bring out a number of new technologies and give birth to a number of new industries, and science and technology are increasingly becoming the forerunner of productivity change. This is also the case. In the past 40 years, the major discoveries of modern natural science and major technological inventions have preceded production. As Deng Xiaoping said, "Modern science has paved the way for the progress of production technology and determined its development direction. Many new production tools and technologies were first created in scientific laboratories. A series of emerging industries, such as polymer synthesis industry, atomic energy industry, computer industry, semiconductor industry, aerospace industry, laser industry and so on. Are based on emerging science. " (Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Volume 2, People's Publishing House 1994, p. 87) The fundamental changes in the relationship between modern science and technology and production have been described by scientists with their usual formulas: from production to technology to science, and then to science, technology and production. The starting point and ending point of the two formulas have just changed positions, indicating that modern science comes first. The status of technology remains unchanged, and it is still the intermediate link, bridge and condition between science and production, but some changes have run ahead of production. In a word, in the contradictory movement of modern science, technology and production, there is science first, then scientific progress, then the change of technology and production tools, and the improvement of workers' technical quality, and finally the great development of production. Science and technology have become the source and motive force for the development of productive forces.

Finally, social science is also a productive force, and it is a "key primary productive force". Scientific and technological strength means that people control and dominate natural forces through natural science and technology, but natural elements can only enter the production process through people's social combination and social interaction and through labor organization and management. It can be seen that the process of transforming natural science and technology into productive forces is both a technical process and a social process, and all kinds of problems arising in this process must be solved by social science. Therefore, the development of philosophy and social sciences not only affects the overall level of science and technology, but also affects the transformation from the potential productivity of knowledge form to the real productivity of material. Especially in the development of modern science and technology, natural science and social science have appeared the trend of mutual penetration and cross-integration, and there is no natural science and technology unrelated to social science. In a word, social science is not only included in science and technology, but also plays an increasingly important role in the development of productive forces with the continuous development of science and technology itself and the continuous progress of society. Marxism has never excluded social science from the category of science. Marx and Engels once pointed out in German Ideology: "History can be viewed from two aspects, which can be divided into natural history and human history. But these two aspects are inseparable; As long as people exist, natural history and human officials restrict each other. Natural history, the so-called natural science ... "(Selected Works of Marx and Engels, vol. 1, People's Publishing House 1995, p. 66, note 2) Marx also scientifically foresaw that natural science and social science would gradually move towards unity in the future. He said: "Natural science will include science about people in the future, just as science about people includes natural science: this will be a (Marx: 1844 economic philosophy manuscript, People's Publishing House, 1985, p. 90) Deng Xiaoping pointed out more clearly:" Science certainly includes social science "and" science is productivity, including natural science and society. Therefore, the "Opinions of the Central Committee on Further Prospering and Developing Philosophy and Social Sciences" further reiterated: "In the process of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, philosophy and social sciences are equally important, and it is equally important to cultivate high-level philosophy and social scientists. It is equally important to improve the quality of philosophy and social science of the whole nation as well as the quality of natural science of the whole nation. It is equally important to appoint talents in philosophy and social sciences and give full play to their roles. "