The Five Major Genres of the Western Modernization Theory Under the Perspective of a Single Discipline

Abstract

Since the 1960s, extensive research on the World Modernization Movement has been conducted internationally. Scholars have examined modern theory across five major domains: economy, politics, society, humanities, and systems. This research has led to the development of concepts such as industrialization, democratization, socialization, and human modernization, as well as five primary genres, including early modernization theories like institutional modernization. These schools of thought encompass the democratization of industrialization and the political perspectives of economics, social differentiation from the viewpoint of social science, human modernization through a humanistic lens, and institutional modernization from a political science perspective. While these early modernization theories have significantly contributed to the comprehensive study of modernization, they also exhibit some common weaknesses. Chinese-style modernization shares both the universal characteristics of modernization found in various countries and unique features shaped by its own national conditions. Therefore, researching early modernization theories to enhance the understanding of Chinese-style modernization is of great significance.