Abstract：As leaders and mentors of the proletariat， Marx and Engels paid great attention to social development and its motivations. Their interpretation of social problems， from the surface to the inside， probed into the root， and explored the completely different causal essence from what was distorted and propagated by the rulers. Marx's explanation of the nature of small farmers is the theoretical cornerstone for understanding the grassroots masses. Small farmers regard the “good things” of the rulers as their own “good things” and the “bad things” of the rulers as their own “bad things”； they are both victims from the rulers' pursuit of their own interests and devout admirers of the ruling class. After the rise of Marxist historiography， this research method is very suitable for explaining the social form of modern China and its development motivations. It can not only re-examine the major policies and mainstream values that dominate and influence modern Chinese society， but also analyze capital， market， enterprises， businessmen， selfish desires， Bentham and even social forms， and the common spiritual products of mankind in detail， and give more objective and fair historical judgments， affirming their role in history； and it also enables the vast majority of the people， as the ruled class， to better understand their own interests， clarify the difference between their own interests and the interests of the rulers， and no longer share the same judgment and fate with the rulers.
马俊亚. 马克思主义理论与中国近代社会的大众认知[J]. 华中师范大学学报（人文社会科学版）, 2025, 64(1): 9-19.
Ma Junya. Marxist Theory and the Public Perception of Modern Chinese Society. journal1, 2025, 64(1): 9-19.
2025, Vol. 64 
