Abstract: Previous studies on the"civilizing role" and "civilizing tendency" of capital have tended to grasp the civilization of capital from the perspective of "things",while paying insufficient attention to the impact on "human beings"  in the process of capital's civilizing influence.Analysis reveals that Marx's theory of the civilizing tendency of capital not only accurately captures the external outcomes of capital's civilizing process—namely,material civilization,institutional civilization,and spiritual civilization—but also attends to the civilizing of production,the civilizing of intercourse,and the civilizing of the human spirit within this process,as well as the possibility and actuality of realizing free individualization.Furthermore,by exposing the inherent contradictions within the civilizing tendency of capital,Marx elucidates the limits and trajectory of human development under capitalist conditions.Marx's theory thus not only reveals the historical limitations of the civilization of capital but also embodies profound civilization implications.

Key words: Marx, civilization of capital, civilizing tendency of capital, human development