5. An Economic Analysis of the Success and Loss of Global Modernization

In the magnificent course of global modernization, there are successes and failures, joys and sorrows. To further interpretating the laws of global modernization, we can use the methods of comparative economics to conduct a comparative analysis of countries across the world with success or failure experiences in the path to modernization. In a broad sense, the global modernization can be summarized into two dimensions: economic modernization and system modernization, which correspond to “productivity and production relations” and “economic base and superstructure” analyzed in the Marxist theory. Economic modernization should be based on the natural endowments of various countries, with industrialization as the driving force and human welfare as the goal. Its core lies in the continuous adjustment of production relations to promote the development of productive forces. There is no fixed model of institutional modernization. It should adapt to the national conditions of each country, and adjust the rigid system into a flexible system, so as to make the superstructure more responsive to the needs of the economic base.