printThe Causes of the “Great Divergence” Between China and Europe and the Mechanisms Underlying Dynamics of Social Orders
Rozov N.S.
Dr. Sci. (Philos.), Prof., Leading Researcher, Institute of Philosophy and Law of SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia nrozov@gmail.com
Rozov N.S. The Causes of the “Great Divergence” Between China and Europe and the Mechanisms Underlying Dynamics of Social Orders. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2026. No 5. P. 57-70
This article presents a test of an explanatory methodology combining causal logic and approaches from historical and comparative, civilization-oriented sociology. It also incorporates ideas regarding the types and dynamics of social orders and the concept of the co-evolution of concerns and structures. This methodology is based on macro-processes in China and Europe during the 16th)-19th centuries. After providing an overview of the key concepts of the ‘Great Divergence’, the article explains why economic and technological development was equal between medieval China and Europe, and why both civilizations subsequently experienced deep crises and diverged: Europe underwent accelerated capitalist industrialization, while China entered the ‘century of humiliation’. While costs and tensions accumulated in both civilizations, China lacked the necessary factors to respond to the external and internal challenges and threats of the 19th century. In contrast, 16th‑19th-century Europe was able to overcome a deep crisis thanks to the flexible complexity of concerns, institutions, and practices of competition, enrichment, and the defense of interests and rights, alongside the crisis-inducing megatrend known as the ‘Well’. A megatrend known as the “Lift” emerged in the Netherlands and England and subsequently in the leading societies of Western Europe. This trend was characterized by positive feedback loops between growth trends and led to a period of global civilizational dominance. The conclusion discusses using the identified concepts of the two megatrends and the two types of social orders to interpret Russia’s socio-political history and current global macro-processes.
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