The Development Process and Research Paradigm of Chinese Economic Philosophy
2026-07-13
In the 10 years since General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech on May 17th, the construction of an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences has become a trend. The development of the discipline of economic philosophy has gone through more than 40 years of accumulation, forming a unique interdisciplinary field of "economics and philosophy". It is rooted in the reality of China's economic transformation, with materialist conception of history and dialectical materialism as its methodological foundation, deeply reflecting on the significant relationships between "people" and "capital", efficiency and fairness, freedom and regulation in the socialist market economy. Adhering to the critical spirit of Marxist political economy, China's economic philosophy is committed to transcending the research paradigm of western economics, providing philosophical nourishment for the construction of China's independent knowledge system of economics, and demonstrating the unique ideological charm and practical orientation of Chinese path to modernization.
The origin of the development of the discipline of economic philosophy in China
The predecessor of China's economic philosophy was "reform philosophy". In the early stage of reform and opening up, with the establishment of the direction of socialist market economy reform, the discipline of economic philosophy was able to rise and develop, which was the first stage of the development of economic philosophy. So, why didn't economic philosophy emerge under the planned economy system? The fundamental reason is that the operating logic, theoretical paradigm, and academic environment of planned economy fundamentally dissolve the problem domain, object, and soil on which economic philosophy relies. The overall economic operation during this period focused on the deduction and inference of formal logic, while the systematic application of dialectical logic in the movement of economic contradictions was not fully developed. It was not until the establishment and improvement of the socialist market economy system that a solid practical soil and theoretical space were truly provided for the emergence and growth of the discipline of economic philosophy. Therefore, economic philosophy needs to deeply analyze the interest driven mechanisms, desire generation logic, and the social, production, and ethical relationships contained behind economic behavior.
The construction of socialist market economy follows the exploratory path of Marxist political economy criticism. It is not simply based on the analysis of Western economic epistemology to transform economic thought into a dynamic dogma that pursues the maximization of individual capital interests, but rather adheres to the socialist economic philosophy strategy of "strengthening the country and enriching the people" and "economic rejuvenation", aiming to pursue the "best realization of political and philosophical goals" of China's economic and social development.
One of the subjective factors that led to the origin of economic philosophy comes from the deepening of the research theme of Marxist philosophy theory in China. Marx pointed out that "the mode of production of material life constrains the entire process of social, political, and spiritual life." It should be said that the new changes in the field of material life are the axis coordinates for Marxist philosophy to accurately grasp the spirit of the times. Since the reform and opening up, the theoretical paradigm of Marxist philosophy research in China has undergone profound changes. This change is reflected in the philosophical research perspective gradually expanding and deepening from the exploration of "reform philosophy" serving economic system reform to the interpretation and philosophical thinking of political economy centered on economic construction. In this process, the theoretical focus of Marxist philosophy research gradually shifted from the philosophical argumentation of reform practice to the deep exploration of materialist conception of history and its historical dialectics, especially the critical examination of historical concepts, historical ideas, and their practical logic. This promoted the deep synergy between philosophy and economics and gave birth to the emerging interdisciplinary field of economic philosophy.
The generation and development of Marx's early philosophical thought were driven by the inherent purpose and motivation of answering the question of modernity in Germany, overturning the old German ideology, and returning to modernity itself, which is the historical transformation of industry, its exchange, and communication. In "The German Ideology," Marx and Engels used the principles of political economy criticism to explore, integrate, and transcend the issue of modernity in Germany. They delved into the concept of division of labor and proposed the idea of "eliminating division of labor. In this work, Marx and Engels emphasized three basic principles and ideas of materialist conception of history: firstly, what is "true history"? Why hasn't speculative philosophy entered? Because they lack the perspective of examining industrial and commercial history. Secondly, the fundamental flaw of German philosophy lies in either staying at the level of speculation or being limited to intuition, only seeing the existence of "sensory objects" and failing to grasp the fundamental fact of "sensory activities". It is detached from the "sensory certainty" and lacks direct thinking on current issues of industry, exchange, productivity, and production relations, thus essentially becoming a historical view detached from reality. Thirdly, historical materialism should have a critical function in political economy. Its main principles include: a scientific definition of the historical premise, namely the category of "real individuals"; The ontological analysis of social existence, namely the critical examination of categories such as labor, division of labor, exchange, production, distribution, ownership, and needs; And the reinterpretation of 'true history' - essentially a critique of classical British political economy, a critique of speculative philosophy and intuitive philosophy, and thus leading to profound reflections on practical philosophy.
At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the domestic Marxist philosophy community continuously strengthened the exchange and dialogue between philosophy and economics, entering the second period of development of economic philosophy. From May 26 to 29, 1998, the "National Advanced Symposium on Economic Philosophy" was held in Shanghai, where nearly 80 philosophy and economics experts and scholars from universities and research institutions across the country gathered to conduct a comprehensive mobilization of research on economic philosophy in China. The great practice of reforming the socialist market economy system has always been the fundamental driving force for the development of the discipline of economic philosophy in China. The series of deep-seated contradictions and major practical problems that have emerged in the reform process have aroused sustained attention and in-depth thinking in the fields of philosophy and economics.
With the deepening of reform, the academic community has entered a new stage (from the beginning of the 21st century to the present) characterized by "in-depth questioning of major practical issues" in response to major issues raised in practice. A series of deep-seated practical problems emerged in the process of promoting Chinese path to modernization, especially major issues such as the change of living conditions and the construction of a community of shared future caused by the change of ideas on the level of economic motivation, have become the core concerns of economic philosophy research. Correspondingly, a theoretical interpretation paradigm centered on monetary philosophy, capital philosophy, financial philosophy, wealth philosophy, and modernity criticism has gradually been established, and the disciplinary system of modern economic philosophy is gradually taking shape. This process profoundly embodies the distinctive character of Marxist philosophy in facing reality and serving practice, and also demonstrates the inherent logic of the mutual interaction and common development between the economic theory and practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Exploring new paradigms in modern economic philosophy research
As an interdisciplinary, economic philosophy needs to first clarify the difference between it and economics, the traditional western political economy analysis methods, and then highlight its unique discipline positioning and theoretical character in comparison, so that it can better serve the core concerns and practice orientation of Chinese path to modernization.
From the perspective of the disciplinary positioning of economic philosophy, its difference from economics lies in the fact that economics focuses more on technical analysis methods, emphasizing empirical analysis methods such as econometrics, charts, models, and data operations, while economic philosophy excels in using epistemological reflection, logical reasoning, ontological questioning, and other methods to consider the rationality and legitimacy of economic theory and practice. This is specifically reflected in the pursuit of optimal solutions in economics and the questioning of the rationality of premises in economic philosophy. One is to quantify facts, and the other is to question ideas. Two different discourse systems, different analytical frameworks, and different narrative paradigms require repeated questioning in order to achieve "economic rejuvenation".
Compared with traditional Western political economy analysis methods, the research on economic philosophy in China has fundamentally different methodological foundations. Western traditional political economy uses individualistic analysis methods and integrates frameworks from economics, ethics, sociology, and political science. Starting from behavioral principles such as self love, compassion, the desire for freedom, and a sense of justice, it ultimately concludes that there is no fundamental conflict between personal interests and social interests. The research on economic philosophy in our country is based on the analytical framework of historical materialism and dialectical materialism, which is close to the reality of the socialist market economy and closely related to the new characteristics of uncertainty, complexity, and information asymmetry in the intelligent era of the economic world. It provides philosophical empowerment for revealing the laws of economic behavior. Therefore, economic philosophy is the metaphysics of political economy, also known as speculative political economy.
There are both similarities and fundamental differences between Chinese economic philosophy and Western economic philosophy. The commonalities are reflected in three aspects: firstly, the pursuit of warm economics, hoping that any society has an ethical foundation; Secondly, it emphasizes the philosophical application of economic methodology; Thirdly, we advocate for a broader interdisciplinary research perspective beyond the field of economics. The difference lies in: firstly, the stance of academic research is different. Western scholars advocate maximizing the interests of private capital; Chinese scholars are based on the values of "strengthening the country and enriching the people" and "achieving common prosperity for all people", pursuing the "best realization of political and philosophical goals" for China's economic and social development. Secondly, the field of academic research varies. Western scholars mainly discuss issues such as wealth growth and sustainable development under the conditions of private ownership market economy, the relationship between political philosophy and economic ethics, and the crisis of modernity; Chinese scholars tend to discuss more about how developing countries can avoid economic development traps, as well as the economic and philosophical issues involved in the development of currency, capital, and finance under socialist market economy conditions. Finally, the problem domains of academic research are different. Chinese scholars pay attention to how to balance human logic and material logic in the process of Chinese path to modernization, build the philosophical empowerment of the independent knowledge system of Chinese economics, the theoretical mechanism of coordinated development of economic growth, human development and social progress, the compatibility of economic efficiency maximization and social efficiency optimization, the localization choice of evolutionary rationality and institutional rationality, and the construction of value philosophy and economic value theory; Western scholars, on the other hand, pay more attention to the rationality and legitimacy of the assumptions of abstract economic theories, the social phenomenology of economic systems and customs, and the paradigm shift in theoretical economic research.
Economic philosophy, with its unique form of questioning, endows the economic world with a special logic and speculation. The three dimensions of rational questioning constitute the core analytical framework of economic philosophy: economic ontology focuses on the production, exchange, distribution, consumption and other activities triggered by desires, interests and needs, questioning whether the principle of economic primitiveness constitutes the fundamental starting point and logical premise of human economic behavior. Economic epistemology explores whether the economic world is a "natural plan" or a "historical plan" - the so-called "natural plan" refers to the hidden driving force of nature, self-interest and confrontation in human nature, which are the driving forces that force humans to awaken rationality and achieve complete development. In other words, the primary prerequisite for our understanding of the economic world should be based on human natural endowments and self-interest instincts. This is the cornerstone and basis of the assumption of rational economic behavior. And 'historical plan' refers to the direction that human rationality pursues towards a common goal. To achieve the lofty historical goal of moral excellence through rational freedom. Social value theory focuses on examining the justice of economic systems, the ethical boundaries of economic behavior, and the teleology of economic development, providing legitimacy and rationality for the formulation of economic theories and policies.
From the perspective of practical criticism, the study of economic philosophy is committed to expanding the new field of research on the political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Its core philosophical categories cover the relationship between labor and capital, efficiency and fairness, and the relationship between the market and the government. The in-depth study of these categories will provide a solid philosophical foundation and theoretical support for the construction of a high-level socialist market economy system, and also contribute to the economic and philosophical wisdom with Chinese characteristics to achieve the organic unity of economic development, social progress and the overall development of people in the process of Chinese path to modernization.(Outlook New Era)
Author: Zhang Xiong (Senior Professor of Philosophy, School of Humanities, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics)
Edit：Luoyu Responsible editor：Wang Xiaojing
Source：GMW.cn
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