Author: Shen Fa | July 2005 14 07: 38
On modern scientific and technological revolution and the transfer of the center of world civilization
Shenlv
Abstract: After the Second World War, great changes have taken place in the world structure, which led to the decline of Germany and the revitalization of the United States. With the rise of modern scientific and technological revolution, the center of science, technology, culture, economy and politics in the world has rapidly moved from Germany to the United States, making the United States the most powerful country in science, technology, economy, politics and culture in the world. The world center of science, technology, economy, politics and culture once again moved clockwise from the western European continent to the North American continent. Make the entire Atlantic region fully prosperous. Due to the end of the "cold war era", the acceleration of the process of world science and technology and economic integration, and the unbalanced development of world science and technology, economy, politics and culture, the center of world science and technology, economy, politics and culture will shift clockwise again in the future, that is, from the North American continent and the Atlantic region to the East Asian continent and the Pacific region. With the outbreak of a larger-scale "Oriental Cultural Renaissance Movement" in the future, China will rise and become the center of science, technology, economy, politics and culture in the future. The general trend in the world is "if you stay together for a long time, you will part, and if you stay together for a long time, you will be together." The evolution of the future world pattern will follow this ancient law. "Separation" is the time when the world's scientific, technological, cultural, political and economic center shifts, and "combination" is the day when the world's scientific, technological, cultural, economic and political center forms, and the future belongs to China.
[Keywords:] modern scientific and technological revolution, the evolution of the world pattern, the transfer of civilization center, the revival of oriental culture, the rise of the Chinese nation
1. Introduction
The general trend of the world: "If you are together for a long time, you will be divided. If you are divided for a long time, you will be together."
-Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms
After the end of World War II, great changes have taken place in the world structure, which led to the decline of Germany and the revitalization of the United States. With the rise of modern scientific and technological revolution, the center of science, technology, culture, economy and politics in the world has rapidly moved from Germany to the United States, making the United States the most powerful country in science, technology, economy, politics and culture in the world. The world center of science, technology, economy, politics and culture once again moved clockwise from the western European continent to the North American continent. Make the entire Atlantic region fully prosperous. Due to the end of the "cold war era" and the acceleration of the integration of world science, technology and economy, as well as the unbalanced development of world science, technology, economy, politics and culture, the center of world science, technology, economy, politics and culture will move clockwise again in the future, which mainly depends on the ways and means of world science, technology, economy and trade exchanges. With the outbreak of a larger-scale "Oriental Cultural Renaissance Movement" in the future, China will rise and become the center of science, technology, economy, politics and culture in the future.
With the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the relative decline of the United States, the world pattern is undergoing profound changes, from the state of military confrontation between East and West (Eastern and Western Europe) after World War II to the state of multipolar economic competition between North and South. The economic contradiction between developing countries and developed countries will become the main contradiction in the future world. The end of the "Cold War" marks the official decline of the two superpowers, the relaxation of the relationship between the East and the West, and the end of the old era. The formation of multipolar economic competition pattern indicates the beginning of a new era. The intensification of the economic contradiction between North and South will further evolve into a new worldwide tension between East and West (East Asia-Pacific region and Western Europe-Atlantic region). Fierce competition will have a great and far-reaching impact on the changes in the future world pattern. With the settlement of the global relationship between the East and the West, and the return and revival of the oriental ideology, culture and scientific and technological traditions, China will rise again on the future world stage, which will mean the re-establishment of the world's scientific, technological, economic, political and cultural centers in the future. The general trend of the world: "If you are together for a long time, you will be divided. If you are divided for a long time, you will be together." The evolution of the future world pattern will also follow this ancient law. "Separation" is the time when the world center of science, technology, culture, politics and economy shifts, and "combination" is the day when the world center of science, technology, culture, economy and politics forms. The future will belong to China.
2. The rise of modern scientific and technological revolution
In the United States, Japan, Western Europe and Eastern Europe, there are more and more people talking about the current wave of scientific and technological revolution in the world, and various viewpoints and formulations emerge one after another. Some are called "the third and fourth industrial revolutions", some are called "industrial revolutions", some are called "technological revolutions", and some are called "post-industrial society", "the third wave" and ". The modern scientific and technological revolution has a similarity, that is, new scientific and technological clusters and related industrial clusters have emerged in economically developed countries. They are system theory, information theory, cybernetics, relativity, quantum mechanics, material science, energy technology, information technology, dissipative structure theory, marine technology, biological science, bioengineering, environmental science and technology, urban engineering, management science, synergy theory, catastrophe theory and so on. These new technologies are being applied and developed in developed countries to varying degrees, and have penetrated into all fields of social production and social life, and have had a wide and far-reaching impact on economic growth, social change and the evolution of the world pattern. Whoever can effectively develop and apply these new technologies in contemporary times will be in the leading position in science, technology, economy, politics and culture in the world.
(1) The gestation of modern scientific and technological revolution
The modern scientific and technological revolution was conceived and prepared at the beginning of the twentieth century. By the end of last century, liberal capitalism had reached its peak. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the modern stage of capitalism began, that is, the stage of monopoly capitalism. The deepest foundation (economic foundation) of modern capitalist society is monopoly, especially in industrial production, and the corresponding politics is infighting and foreign invasion. Energy wars and resource wars between developed countries are often the main manifestations of this kind of economy and politics. Therefore, modern capitalist society has put forward various new requirements for the development of modern science and technology.
/kloc-since the 0/9th century, there have been some new situations in industrial production. First, in the period of free capitalism, capital has been relatively concentrated, and large industries such as heavy industry need high investment, multi-equipment and high labor intensity, which makes it possible for capital concentrators to master these emerging industries. Secondly, the patent system is too strict, and newly invented technologies are often concentrated in the hands of individuals, so that they can use new technologies to develop their own production. There is also further integration with capital, artificially suppressing enterprises with small power and low capital book. And a single enterprise with great power and thick capital can develop rapidly without hindrance. It should be pointed out that this kind of concentration is limited, because it is impossible to concentrate on one group completely, let alone one person. Therefore, high concentration can not exclude competition, on the contrary, it will intensify competition. Competition is an important feature of monopoly capitalism. Concentration and competition have two different effects on the development of science and technology. The first is the constraint. When a new technology appears, a company or group buys this patent for its own economic interests, and does not use it itself, nor does it allow others to use it. Because to a certain extent, the adoption of new technologies by others means that they are backward; In addition, competition can also promote the development of science and technology. New technology often means reducing costs, improving production efficiency and increasing profits, and reducing costs, improving efficiency and increasing profits are just the need to defeat competitors.
While social production is highly concentrated, it is also complicated. The more detailed division of labor in traditional industries is a manifestation of the complexity of social production. To a certain extent, the complexity of social production will inevitably lead to the emergence of advanced science and technology. It should be noted that complex production is not perfect, and some have not even reached the point of forming. Under the condition of modern society, the perfection and finalization of production technology is related to the development and maturity of science and technology. At the same time, it should be noted that the complexity of production means the refinement of division of labor. At this time, people engaged in the first working procedure and process production can consider problems from a professional, accurate and in-depth perspective and discover and invent new science and technology. Of course, we should also see that when people grasp complex production as a whole, they will also produce new cross-cutting, marginal, horizontal and comprehensive science and technology because of the need to consider the relationship between them.
The outbreak of World War II, on the one hand, destroyed a lot of material wealth, but on the other hand, it also greatly stimulated the development of new technology, which was manifested in the need of war to promote the development of military industrial technology and the transfer of military technology to civilian technology after the war, making technology a new economic industry. The growth of the new industrial economy in turn subsidizes and promotes the research and development of science and technology.
(2) The outbreak of modern scientific and technological revolution.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the scientific and technological revolution first broke out in the United States, and then swept the world. The time from the beginning to the climax is very short. Modern scientific and technological revolution began with the breakthrough of natural science and technology, and then affected philosophy, social science, thinking science and mathematics, and led to a series of interdisciplinary, marginal, horizontal and comprehensive science and technology. Modern scientific and technological revolution has had a great impact on modern human society. It has changed the traditional world outlook (nature, society, thinking, science and technology, life, ethics, aesthetics and so on). ) and the human way of thinking. A series of new science and technology are based on brand-new ideas and methods. Such as relativity, quantum mechanics, molecular biology, quantum biology, system science, management science, marine science and technology, space science and technology, bioengineering, atomic energy science and technology, information science and technology, materials science, computer science, microelectronics, aerospace science and technology, etc. Together, they mark a great leap in the ability of human beings to understand and transform the objective world. And then brought a series of emerging industries, such as information industry, biological industry, energy industry, new materials industry, aerospace industry, management engineering industry, consulting industry and so on. These industries have now become the so-called "sunrise economy" that the western world hopes. In particular, information technology and biotechnology have sown fire for the modern scientific and technological revolution and formed an irresistible development trend. Due to the progress of microelectronics and other science and technology, automatic control machines (computers) have emerged, which can conditionally replace some specific mental labor, just like other machines replace manual labor, thus greatly improving the level of automation technology. These latest scientific and technological achievements make mankind face a modern scientific and technological revolution. Therefore, people call this era "the era of scientific and technological revolution". Modern scientific and technological revolution has become an important factor to promote social progress. Modern "trinity of science, technology and production, giving play to social functions in coordination" has thus changed the productivity structure and production relations of all countries in the world and shaken the world's industrial economy, social politics and world pattern.
(3) the development of modern scientific and technological revolution
The 1960s was a turning point in history. From the perspective of human history centered on politics and economy, five major events occurred in this period: first, the United States began to decline; Second, the Soviet Union challenged the United States; Third, China's international status began to rise; Fourth, the European economic organization has become a new force against the United States and the Soviet Union; Fifth, developing countries are awakening.
In the 1960s, science and technology showed a trend of integration, and the disciplines of science and technology were constantly divided, and the relationship between them was getting closer and closer, which was a trend of integration of professional differentiation. This was the case with science and technology in the 1960s, especially in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. This trend of integration is getting stronger and stronger, which leads to the formation of modern science and technology network system. In the primary stage of science and technology, various disciplines are separated, while the boundaries between modern science and technology fields are increasingly blurred. The problem corresponding to the trend of integration is the "planning" of scientific research and development. The integration of science and technology and the large-scale research and development of science and technology need to carry out scientific and technological work in an organized and planned way, and carry out purposeful and effective control and management of science and technology, so as to better realize the planned objectives. Driven by the all-round development of science and technology and the large-scale and planned research scale, the so-called "big science" and "high technology" were born.
Since 1970s and 1980s, science and technology have made amazing achievements in all aspects, and the fundamental reason lies in the rapid development of social productive forces. The development of material production puts forward higher and higher new requirements for science and technology, and provides a solid material foundation for the research and development of science and technology. At the same time, the progress of modern science is rapidly transformed into a powerful technical force, forming a direct productive force, which has opened up a broader development prospect for the development of social production. If ancient science is basically integrated with technology, and it is empirical as a whole, and modern science is generally a summary of practical experience, forming its own theoretical system and developing in step with technology, then modern science has formed a very large theoretical system, often ahead of technology. According to statistics, the productivity improvement achieved by adopting scientific and technological achievements was 5-20% at the beginning of the 20th century and reached 60-80 in the 1970s and 1980s. The cycle of modern "science-technology-production" is getting shorter and shorter. Science and technology, foundation and application, natural science and social science, philosophy and mathematics are interrelated and interactive, and science and technology, science and technology socialization, society and technology, technology and production are closely integrated into the same whole. From the presentation of scientific theory, to the breakthrough of technical methods, and then to the application in production practice, a system is often formed and becomes a transformation sequence.
With the development of society, science and technology have penetrated into all aspects of society. Science and technology will enter the production process in different ways, its role will become more and more important, its pace will become faster and faster, and society will become more and more scientific and technological. At the same time, it is precisely because of the close relationship between modern science and technology and production that its own development needs various support and is closely related to the situation of social production. Modern science and technology is no longer characterized by individual labor, but often organized socialized collective labor. With the support of government and funds, science and technology have become more socialized, and scientific research and development has become an important social undertaking.
Modern science and technology have developed into a huge network system. With the continuous emergence of new science and technology, disciplines are becoming more and more divided, and many disciplines penetrate each other, influence each other and hybridize with each other, and often a newer and more advantageous interdisciplinary, marginal, horizontal and comprehensive science and technology discipline grows at the junction of various disciplines. The formation of modern science and technology system marks the dialectical unity of high differentiation and high synthesis of modern science and technology. Modern science and technology are constantly evolving and developing in the process of these two contradictions.
In a word, the 20th century witnessed rapid development of science and technology and brilliant achievements, which were firstly manifested as a profound and extensive scientific and technological revolution, and secondly as a comprehensive and profound change in human world outlook (natural outlook, social outlook, thinking outlook, ethical outlook, outlook on life, etc.). ) and methodology. It directly affects all fields of social economy, politics and culture, and makes fundamental changes in industrial and agricultural production, transportation, communication, medical and health care, culture and art, education, law, psychology and religion, thus profoundly affecting the appearance of human material and spiritual life and the relationship between people. As a revolutionary force in the highest sense, science and technology is not only the decisive force for the development of modern society and the rise and fall of the country, but also an important symbol of the progress of modern society civilization.
3. The evolution of the post-war world pattern
For more than forty years after World War II, although the world politics, economy and international relations are complicated, the evolution of the world pattern is the main line of change and development. What is the world pattern? The so-called world pattern, in a narrow sense, refers to the world political pattern, which is a relatively stable global overall structure and manifestation formed by the mutual contact and interaction of political forces of various countries based on their own economic, scientific and technological and military strength in a certain period of time on the world stage. The world political structure is the product of the relative balance of political forces in various countries. Although these political forces compete based on certain economic strength, scientific and technological strength and military strength, in this competition, economic, scientific and technological strength and military strength are integrated into comprehensive national strength and appear on the world stage. As elements of the system, these political forces are interrelated and interactive in the global system. That is, these political forces are constantly confronting, contradicting, combining, dividing and reorganizing, not static. Because the world political pattern is a relatively stable global overall structure and manifestation, subtle changes between countries and regions will not bring about changes in the overall pattern. The world political pattern is not equal to the local political pattern. It is a relatively stable overall backbone structure of world politics formed by various political forces. If the world political structure is regarded as a large system, then various political forces are the elements in the system. Various political forces influence, restrict, cooperate and struggle with each other at their respective levels, which leads to the changes and constant changes of various political forces on the world stage. In particular, the changes in influential political forces have the most significant impact on the world political structure. Of course, the evolution of the world political structure is by no means the function of one or two factors, but is formed by the mutual integration, mutual supplement, interaction and mutual offset of many factors. Some factors should lead it to this side, while others should lead it to that side. The world pattern we see is the result of repeated and tortuous struggles and the relative balance of various factors.
(1) Opposition and competition between the two camps
As soon as the Second World War ended, the anti-fascist United front lost its premise of existence, and the US-Soviet alliance also lost its realistic foundation. The world pattern has changed from the two camps in wartime-the German-Italian-Japanese fascist aggression group and the world anti-fascist United front-to the two camps after the war-capitalism and the Oriental Group. 1944 In August, in Barton Oak Park near Washington, the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain and China held a meeting, drafted a proposal on establishing a universal international organization, and suggested that the organization be named "United Nations". From April to June of the following year, a constitutional convention was held in San Francisco, USA, where 5 1 countries sent representatives to attend and signed the Charter of the United Nations, with 6,500 participants. It consists of the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice and the Secretary. The purpose of the Charter of the United Nations is to "maintain international peace and security and develop friendly international relations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of people". It also stipulates that the United Nations and its Member States should abide by the sovereign equality of Member States and settle international disputes between countries by peaceful means. The principle of not using force or threatening to use force to violate the territorial integrity and political independence of other countries and not interfering in their internal affairs. The founding of the United Nations embodies the people's desire for peace in all countries, and embodies some cooperation and communication between countries that have passed the fire test of the Second World War and transcended the differences in social systems and ideologies.
The rulers of the United States and Britain are dissatisfied with the division of power in the Yalta system, and do not want to see a powerful socialist Soviet Union standing in front of them, trying to seize strategic places to maintain capitalist rule, especially because some countries in Eastern Europe embarked on the socialist road after the war, which made them feel even more uneasy. 1946 In March, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited the United States and delivered a famous "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College. He called on Britain and the United States to cooperate and establish a military alliance to deal with the threat of the Soviet Union. From then on, Britain and the United States parted ways with the Soviet Union and began a long-term "cold war", and the iron curtain speech became the symbol of the beginning of the "cold war era".
Shortly after Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech, the United States and the Soviet Union implemented containment policies and strategies for their respective political, economic, military, scientific and technological, cultural and ideological purposes. With the appearance of Truman Doctrine, the implementation of Marshall Plan and the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the capitalist camp headed by the United States has formed in the West. In the East, through the establishment of the * * * Production Party (Workers' Party), China and the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, the Eastern Group headed by the Soviet Union was formed.
The formation and confrontation between the East and West camps characterized by the "Cold War" is not accidental. This kind of competition includes ideological, political, economic, cultural, scientific and technological, military and ideological aspects, and its intensity is no less than that of "hot war", and its roots are also profound. The first is the result of the fundamental opposition between the two social systems. Secondly, the root cause is that the United States is trying to establish a long-term global system centered on itself. Realize the global strategy of the United States and the dream of the American century. And the Soviet Union's ambition to establish global hegemony. Thirdly, the unreasonable division of world power in the Yalta system leads to fierce competition between the two sides.
(2) The two camps are divided into three pillars.
After more than ten years, the two camps have gradually embarked on the road of their own disintegration.
First of all, with the disintegration of the Eastern Group, socialist countries should unite and cooperate, and all countries, big or small, have equal status. The Soviet Union is superior to other socialist countries everywhere, and frequently organizes sieges, which seriously hurts the feelings of people in other countries. As the Soviet Union embarked on the road of cooperating with the United States to dominate the world, the Eastern Group tended to disintegrate. Since 196 1, observers from China have stopped attending CMEA and Warsaw Pact meetings. This year, Albania was also banned from participating in the CMEA and broke off diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. 1968 in August, the reform was carried out in Czechoslovakia. The Soviet Union invaded by force and interfered in internal affairs. Afterwards, producers in China, Yugoslavia, Romania and other countries strongly condemned the atrocities of the Soviet Union. At the same time, Romania refused to participate in the actual combat exercises organized by the Warsaw Treaty Organization, and at this point, the Eastern Group officially tended to disintegrate.
Second, the split of the capitalist camp. With the decline of American strength, the capitalist international cargo shell system centered on the dollar began to collapse. After the economic recovery in Western Europe and Japan, they grew rapidly, and the tendency of independence was strengthened day by day. The capitalist camp began to divide. After the 1960s, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy and Japan were unwilling to be pawns of the United States, but wanted to establish an equal partnership with the United States and improve their international status. Therefore, the United States has been unable to absolutely control the western camp.
Third, the rise of the third world camp. After World War II, the United States has always dominated the world with its superior scientific, technological, economic, political and cultural strength. But in the 1960s, the Soviet Union also embarked on the road of competing with the United States for world hegemony, which was inseparable from the strength of the Soviet Union in the 1960s. In particular, the enhancement of military strength is inseparable. At the same time, it is also the inevitable result of the development of national egoism in Great Russia. In the 1960s, there was another important force, the third world camp. They became the main force against hegemonism. In this way, the world political pattern of the United States and the Soviet Union contending for hegemony and the Third World opposing hegemony in the 1960s was formed. Its characteristics are as follows: first, the hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union was carried out in the process of the division of the two camps, which in turn accelerated the division of the two camps. Second, the US-Soviet hegemony at this stage experienced a process from intense to moderate. Whether it is intense or moderate, it is only a change in strategy, not a change in strategy. The focus of their hegemony is in Europe and the whole world, so they are opposed by the whole world, especially the third world countries. Third, although some countries have close relations with the United States and the Soviet Union, they no longer follow suit, and even are dissatisfied with the expansion and hegemony of the United States and the Soviet Union in the world. There are also some countries in the third world that are pro-Soviet or pro-American, but this is only the anti-hegemony strategy they choose according to their own national conditions. We can't think that these countries are in favor of the United States or the Soviet Union dominating the world.
The three-legged world pattern is a multi-level system. The first level is a three-legged system composed of American group, Soviet group, China and other third world countries. There are several subsystems in the second level, and the relationship between the United States, Japan and Western Europe forms an oblique ternary pattern, belonging to one of these subsystems. They have contradictions and differences in economy and strategy, but they are also interdependent. Also belonging to the second level is the relationship between NATO, which is composed of the United States and its allies, and Warsaw Pact, which is composed of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. The Non-Aligned Movement composed of Third World countries and the Group of 77. Under the second-level subsystem, countries in different regions have different combinations, such as the Western European Union, the Organization of African Unity, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Contadora Group, which all belong to the third-level system. In such a large system, there are various interrelationships. The Soviet Union and the United States dug into each other's foundations and conducted clear confrontation, while maintaining close ties with their allies and strengthening centripetal force. Western Europe and Japan have gained considerable autonomy, especially Western Europe, which has been strengthening its alliance and actively developing relations with third world countries. While uniting against hegemony, the Third World has also increased exchanges with developed countries and won wide support, thus forming a multi-level and multi-factor complex world pattern.
(3) East-West and North-South relations are moving towards multipolarization.
After the 1970s, the Soviet Union's power to expand in the world began to decline, while the United States fell into a decline in international status after the Vietnam War. The extensive use of new science and technology in Japan and Western Europe has brought their economies to a new stage, the third world economy has also developed, and China's strength has gradually increased, all of which indicate that the world is moving towards a multipolar pattern. Western Europe's overall economic strength has surpassed that of the United States and is developing towards a pole of world politics. They are increasingly dissatisfied with the American umbrella and "over-the-top diplomacy", and more and more hope to unite and strengthen themselves. Since the mid-1970s, with the continuous improvement of new scientific and technological level and the modernization of communication means, exchanges between western European countries have become more frequent, and international cooperation and economic integration have further developed. Europe's attraction to western European countries is also increasing. Although western European countries have different attitudes towards the "Star Wars Plan" of the United States, they all feel that they cannot lag behind the United States. They launched a concerted action in France and decided to take the road of jointly revitalizing the scientific, technological, economic and political development of Western Europe through the "Eureka Plan".
Although the strength of Eastern Europe is weak, since the late 1970s, the sense of autonomy has been enhanced, and most countries have begun to explore the road of developing socialism that suits their national conditions. Despite the pressure from the Soviet Union, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and the German Democratic Republic all put forward and emphasized in different ways that small countries should and can play a role in the international arena, stating that proletarian internationalism cannot be used to force countries to sacrifice their national interests and national interests. After the mid-1970s, Eastern European countries began to resume economic and trade ties with Western Europe. Now, it is in a transitional stage to develop political relations.
In the 1970s, after Japan became an economic power, it also rose from its dependence on the United States to its status as an equal partner, and actively advocated the establishment of the Pacific Commonwealth. Trying to expand their political influence through economic cooperation. In recent years, as it has become the largest creditor country, the largest trade surplus country and the largest investor country, the United States has also made demands. Japan began to step up its search for the status of a political power.
Since the implementation of reform and opening up in 1970s, China's economic strength has been continuously enhanced, its social, political, economic, scientific and technological system structure has been more reasonable, and its international status has been further improved.
In the 1970s, with the further increase of newly independent countries, the third world economy developed further, and the gross national product accounted for one fifth of the world. The Non-Aligned Movement continues to move forward, and the struggle to change the old international political and economic order continues to deepen. The third world is vigorously developing South-South cooperation, and its field and scope are constantly expanding. In a word, the role of the third world is entering a new stage.
Although multipolarization is still a new development model, it still needs a process for some world political forces to truly become a pole in the world. However, various forces in a multipolar world have greatly restricted the United States and Su Chi, and their influence on the development of the international situation is increasing day by day. In the multipolarization of the world, East-West relations and North-South relations are the axis and core, and they have gone through different development processes.
First of all, in terms of East-West relations, in the late 1970s, East-West relations were mainly manifested in the Soviet Union and the United States continuing to compete for world hegemony, and the form of struggle was fierce confrontation. But in the 1980s, the confrontation tended to ease. Due to Gorbachev's new thinking after he took office, 1985 1 month, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to resume negotiations on nuclear weapons control. This marks the thawing of East-West relations. The signing of the China-Guided Treaty and the Strategic Offensive Nuclear Weapons Treaty, the transformation in Eastern Europe, the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the political pluralism and the reform of the free market economy in the former Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, the independence of the three Baltic countries, the preparation of the European Union unified building and so on. Both mark the end of the "cold war era." On the one hand, the Soviet Union and the United States are limited by their respective forces, and imagine the global devastating consequences of nuclear war and the sustained economic recession of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries; On the other hand, due to the split and disintegration of their respective allies, the development of the hegemonic forces of the United States and the Soviet Union was restricted. And the strengthening of the anti-hegemony and peace-seeking power of the vast third world. These two aspects led to the disintegration of the world's "cold war" pattern. The disintegration of the "Cold War" pattern indicates the relative decline of the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, and the end of their historical era of dominating the world.
Secondly, as far as North-South relations are concerned, North-South relations mean that the developing countries in the South jointly oppose the exploitation of international monopoly capital by the developed countries in the North, and demand to change the old international economic order and solve the problems of human development. Therefore, it is not only an economic issue, but also a world political issue. Judging from the process of the rise of the Third World, the beginning of the North-South negotiations is the second round of the international struggle in the Third World, that is, seeking the development of national economy. (The first round is asking for the people.