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Title:: Double Dimensions and Methodological Features of Marx’s ModernityCritique

Author(s):: LIU Jun; PhD in philosophy; is Professor and PhD Supervisor at School of Marxism; Peking University ( Beijing 100871 ); HOU Chunlan is PhD Candidate at School of Marxism; PekingUniversity ( Beijing 100871 ).; LIU Jun, HOU Chunlan

Abstract:: Proceeding from his in-depth analysis of the material production in modern society, Marxdiscovered that the logic of capital determines the contradictory movement of modernity. At the same time,he criticized the modern bourgeois ideology, which is viewed as a“ copy of ideas” of modernity. Accordingto him, the modern notions of“ rationality” and“ freedom” have whitewashed the exploitative nature ofcapitalist market exchange and competition. In this paper, we argue that his modernity critique entails profoundtheoretical connotations: in particular, his overall criticism centering on dialectics, practical criticism pointingto the change of the world, historical criticism from the perspective of the development of world market, andproposal of communism as an ideal way to overcome the limitations of modernity. All this guided Marx touncover the fog shrouding modernity. Full of vitality which is in line with the spirit of the times, Marx’s critiqueof modernity has significant implications in both theory and practice for building a modernized socialist Chinain the new era.