Reading gives us another angle to look at problems without overlooking important details. There is a wealth of knowledge that can be found in books, which can transcend time and space, allowing us to gain a higher perspective. For instance, when we observe different countries and civilizations around the world, some may be poor while others are rich and developed. Some may lag behind, and their level of development may vary greatly.
However, if we disregard certain details of time and space and view things from a high altitude, we may find that the gap isn’t as wide as we initially thought. This concept is known as “consensus development,” which was proposed by the French historian Braudel. It is quite surprising that despite varying technical conditions and different characteristics of civilizations, certain patterns emerge during the same general historical period.
For example, during the 18th century, European nation-states replaced traditional feudal states and expanded government functions. On the other hand, in China during the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong also expanded government functions. Although the reasons and processes may have been different, from a distance, they appear remarkably similar.
Two civilizational areas with little connection at the two ends of the Eurasian continent unexpectedly experienced the same changes in the same era. Do you think it’s just a coincidence?
Another example is the population issue. During the Han Dynasty, China had a population of about 60 million. In the early Ming Dynasty, the population remained at about 60 million. However, in the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty, the population increased by leaps and bounds, reaching 400 million in 1850. The European population was also growing rapidly during this stage. In the past, we separated these two phenomena and explained them separately. Europe’s population grew due to the Industrial Revolution, while China’s population growth was due to the introduction of American crops. However, don’t you think it’s intriguing that these two phenomena appeared at roughly the same time?
In fact, the phenomenon of consensus development did not only exist in the 18th century. Have you heard of the Axial Age? After 500 B.C., remarkable thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle in ancient Greece, Jewish prophets in Israel, and Buddha Sakyamuni in ancient India appeared in all major civilizations of the world. China had Confucius and Laozi. We also looked at them separately. It seems that there are reasons for the emergence of these ideas, but after all, it was around 500 BC that these people broke out at the same time. Do you think it is just a coincidence?
With this perspective, let’s look at today’s world. The concept of modernization seems very uneven. However, if we look at it on a scale of two or three hundred years, modernization is actually like a rising tide. Although it started with Western civilization, it rapidly expands and spreads to all civilizations without exception. From this point of view, do you know why the rise of China is said to be unstoppable? It is a natural wave of consensus development and modernization for all of humanity. However, this doesn’t mean that it is simply due to luck.
From this perspective, we can also judge that we must not underestimate India today because India’s rise is also unstoppable. It is the next continuation of the consensus development of modernization for all humanity. Therefore, by overlooking things from a high place in time and space, we can often gain a clearer understanding of events.