Based on the philosophy of Systems Science and the law of evolution theory, the book, by applying the methods of structural functionalism, divides the modern social system into human-culture, economy, polity, science, law, education and other sub-systems through the systematic synthesis of disciplines such as economics, sociology, management, politics, culture theories, history and philosophy, and explores the connection between these sub-systems and their intricate relation with social progress, thus depicting the historical trajectory of the long-term evolution of human social system.
Starting from the actual production and operation of the firms, the author systematically analyses the organic connections and sophisticated operating process of social reproduction in modern society from micro, meso and macro, revealing the dynamic structure and evolutionary laws of the social economic system. This book reveals the fractal features such as self-similarity, hierarchy, and recursiveness in the general structure of the firm system, the sector system and the national economic system, thereby integrating micro-, meso- and macro-economics into a unified theoretical framework. This integration is interdisciplinary, and has gone beyond the economics. It can be regarded as the fourth grand synthesis in the history of economics after John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), Alfred Marshall (1842-1924) and Samuelson (1915-2009).
Author(s): Runyuan Gan
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 701
City: Singapore
Foreword by Yew-Kwang NG
Foreword by Gong-Meng Chen
Foreword by Chun-Xue Yang
Preface (Revised Edition)
Preface (First Edition)
Contents
About the Author
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 The Limitations of Human Understanding of the World
1.1 Blind Men and the Elephant
1.2 Not See the Forest for the Trees
1.3 All-Rounder Versus Specialist
1.4 Will the Social Sciences Eventually Move Toward Unity?
2 The Evolution of the Thinking Paradigm and Its Philosophical Basis
2.1 The Evolution of the Space–Time View and the Great Revolution in Physics
2.2 A Revolution of the Thinking Paradigm: The Birth of Systems Science
2.2.1 What Is System?
2.2.2 Systems Science
2.2.3 Reductionism Method
2.2.4 System Theory Method
2.3 The Development of the Thought of Biological Evolution and Its Influence
2.3.1 Evolutionary Thought Before Darwin
2.3.2 Darwin’s Evolutionary Thought
2.3.3 New Development of Evolutionary Thought After Darwin
2.3.4 The Infiltration and Influence of Evolutionary Thought on Other Disciplines
2.4 New Understanding and Philosophical Enlightenments Obtained from the Theory of Biological Evolution
2.4.1 The Development of Evolution Theory Also Requires the Introduction of the System Theory Method
2.4.2 The Biosphere Is a Complex and Nested System, and Each Layer of Biological Systems Has Its Own Evolutionary Law
2.4.3 Every Biological Individual Has a Two-Layer Structure of Genotype and Phenotype
2.4.4 The Evolutionary Laws of Biological Individuals at All Levels Are Interrelated, Interacted and Interinfluenced
2.4.5 The Evolutionary Process of Biological Individuals Is the Unity of Contingency and Inevitability
2.4.6 The Mechanism of Biological Evolution Is Not Only a Survival Competition But Also Contains a Wealth of Content
2.4.7 Biological Diversity Originates From the Diversity of Biological Variation and Ecological Environment Combinations
2.4.8 Some New Understandings About the Dynamic Mechanism Behind the Evolution of Biological Systems
2.4.9 Philosophical Enlightenment on the Structure and Evolution of Things From the Theory of Biological Evolution
2.5 The Three Basic Principles of the Evolution of Complex Systems
2.5.1 The Principle of System-level Emergence
2.5.2 The Coupling Principle of Positive and Negative Feedback
2.5.3 The Principle of Circular Cumulative Causation
3 A Bird’s-Eye View of the Economic Society
3.1 The Basic Hierarchy from Natural System to Social System
3.1.1 The Basic Hierarchy of the Cosmic System
3.1.2 The Basic Hierarchy and Structure of the Human Social System
3.1.3 The Basic Hierarchy of the Socioeconomic System
3.2 The Four Laws that Human Society Follows in Evolution and Development
3.2.1 The Law of Bifurcation
3.2.2 The Law of Synergy
3.2.3 The Law of Fractal
3.2.4 The Law of Periodicity
3.3 Basic Classification of Resources and Their Forms
3.4 The Components of Social Reproduction
3.5 The Long-Term Transition of Relations of Distribution in Social Production
3.5.1 The Long-Term Evolution of Relations of Distribution in Social Production
3.5.2 The Relation Between Human Cognition Level and Social Distribution Result
3.6 A Brand New Economic Paradigm for the Twenty-First Century
4 The Micro-level of the Economic System: The Dynamic Structure and Evolution of the Firm
4.1 A Brief Introduction to the Theoretical Research on Corporate Evolution and Corporate Ecology
4.2 A Metaphor: Apple Tree and Firm
4.3 The Nature of the Firm
4.4 The Environment, Elements and Structure of the Firm
4.4.1 The Internal and External Environments of the Firm
4.4.2 The Constituent Elements and Organisational Structure of the Firm
4.4.3 The Deep Structure of the Firm System
4.5 The Production and Operation of the Firm
4.6 The Exchange and the Distribution Within the Firm
4.6.1 The Meaning of Distribution and the Related Theories
4.6.2 Distribution in the Firm System
4.7 Corporate Production Efficiency
4.7.1 On the Allocation of Resources
4.7.2 On the Allocation of Income
4.8 Overall Corporate Competence
4.9 Corporate Development Dynamics
4.9.1 The Dynamic Factors in Corporate Development
4.9.2 The Role of the Entrepreneur
4.10 Corporate Evolutionary Mechanism
4.10.1 The Division of Labour and Coordination
4.10.2 The Interaction between Internal and External Factors
4.10.3 Gradual and Disruptive Changes
4.11 Corporate Life Cycle
4.11.1 The Firm That Is Growing
4.11.2 The Firm That Remains the Status Quo
4.11.3 The Firm That Is Declining
4.12 Corporate Evolutionary Trajectory
5 The Meso-Level of the Economic System: The Dynamic Structure and Evolution of the Sector
5.1 Classic Theories on Economic Growth
5.2 Industry and Sector
5.3 The Internal and External Environments of the Sector
5.3.1 The External Environment of the Sector
5.3.2 The Internal Environment of the Sector
5.4 The Constituent Elements and General Structure of the Sector
5.4.1 The Constituent Elements of the Sector
5.4.2 The General Structure of the Sector
5.5 The Taxonomies of the Sector
5.5.1 Two Class Taxonomy
5.5.2 Three Classification of Sector
5.5.3 Four Sector Taxonomy
5.5.4 Standard Sector Taxonomy
5.5.5 Factor Intensity Taxonomy
5.6 The Differentiation Process of the Sector
5.6.1 The Differentiation of the Agricultural Sector
5.6.2 The Differentiation of the Industrial Sector
5.6.3 The Differentiation of the Service Sector
5.6.4 The Differentiation of the Information Sector
5.7 Sectoral Development Dynamics
5.7.1 The Dynamic Factors in Sectoral Development
5.7.2 The Primary Dynamics in Sectoral Development
5.7.3 The Role of the Core Firm
5.8 Sectoral Evolutionary Mechanism
5.8.1 The Division of Labour and Coordination
5.8.2 The Interaction Between Internal and External Factors
5.8.3 Competition and Cooperation
5.8.4 Intersectoral Interaction
5.9 Distribution in the Sector System
5.9.1 The Input‒Output Relations in the Sector System
5.9.2 Intersectoral Correlation Effect
5.9.3 The Distribution of Elements in the Sector System
5.10 Overall Sectoral Competence
5.11 Sectoral Life Cycle
5.11.1 Sectors that Grow Up
5.11.2 Stagnant Sectors
5.11.3 Decaying and Declining Sectors
5.12 Sectoral Evolutionary Trajectory
6 The Long-Term Evolution of Agriculture in China
6.1 The Long-Term Transition of Agriculture in Ancient China
6.1.1 Historical Stages and the Main Features of Agriculture in Ancient China
6.1.2 The Relations Between Crop Cultivation and Animal Husbandry in Ancient China
6.1.3 Market Transaction Network in Ancient China
6.1.4 Agricultural Books in Ancient China
6.1.5 Agricultural Policies in Ancient China
6.1.6 The Evolution of Agricultural Tools in Ancient China
6.2 The Evolution of Modern Agriculture in China
6.2.1 China Versus Japan: The Impact of Institutional Reform on Economic Development
6.2.2 Industrialisation in Modern China
6.2.3 The Impacts of Modern Industrials on the Commercialisation of Agriculture
6.2.4 Agricultural Mechanisation in Modern China
6.3 The Development of Contemporary Agriculture in China
6.3.1 Contemporary Agricultural Industrialisation
6.3.2 Contemporary Agricultural Technologies
6.3.3 The Impact of Contemporary Industrials on Agriculture
6.3.4 The Impact of Contemporary Services on Agriculture
6.3.5 The Impact of Contemporary Information Technology on Agriculture
7 The Macro-level of the Economic System: The Dynamic Structure and Evolution of the National Economy
7.1 Representative Theories on the Sectoral Structure
7.2 The Environment, Elements and Structure of the Economic System
7.2.1 The Internal and External Environments of the Economic System
7.2.2 The Constituent Elements and General Structure of the Economic System
7.3 The Dynamic Structure of the Economic System
7.3.1 The Dynamics Behind the Development of the Economic System
7.3.2 The Transmission of Demand in the Economic System
7.3.3 The Role of the Market and the Government in the Economic System
7.4 Distribution in the Macro-economy
7.4.1 Distribution within the National Economic System
7.4.2 Distribution within the State System
7.4.3 Institutions of Resource Distribution and Historical Choices of Social Practice
7.5 Evolution Trend of the Sectoral Structure and Its Adjustment
7.5.1 The Main Factors Affecting Sectoral Structural Evolution
7.5.2 The General Trend of Sectoral Structural Evolution
7.5.3 The Relation Between the Sectoral Input Structure and Sectoral Output Structure
7.5.4 The Adjustment Direction of the Sectoral Structure
7.6 The Openness and Inclusiveness of the Book’s Theoretical Framework
7.6.1 The Openness of the Book’s Theoretical Framework
7.6.2 The Inclusiveness of the Book’s Theoretical Framework
8 The Structure, Function and Evolution of the State and the Social System
8.1 The Concept of the State
8.2 The Birth of the Primitive State
8.3 The Environment, Elements and Structure of the State System
8.3.1 The Internal and External Environments of the State System
8.3.2 The Constituent Elements and General Structure of the State System
8.4 The Human-Culture Subsystem in the State System
8.4.1 The Concept of Human-Culture
8.4.2 The Internal and External Environments of the Human-Culture System
8.4.3 The Constituent Elements and General Structure of the Human-Culture System
8.4.4 The Main Function of the Human-Culture System
8.4.5 The Production Activities in the Human-Culture System
8.4.6 The Evolutionary Mechanism of the Human Culture System
8.5 The Observation of Social Progress from the Perspective of Social Reform
8.6 The Political System in the State System
8.6.1 The Concept of the Polity/Politics
8.6.2 The Internal and External Environment of the Political System
8.6.3 The Constituent Elements and General Structure of the Political System
8.7 The Dynamic Structure of the Social System
8.8 The Main Mechanisms Behind the Development of the Social System
8.8.1 The Mechanism of Division of Labour in Social Development
8.8.2 The Mechanism of Coordination in Social Development
8.8.3 The Mechanism of Differentiation and Stratification in Social Development
8.8.4 The Mechanism of Gradual Change and Disruptive Change in Social Development
8.9 The Evolutionary Trajectory of the Social System
8.10 The Book’s Historical Philosophy and Views of Social Evolution
9 The Main Dynamics and the Features of Social Development in Ancient China
9.1 The Structural Features of the Human-Culture System in Ancient China
9.2 The Rise and Fall of Market Economy in Ancient China
9.3 The Rise and Fall of Science and Technology in Ancient China
9.4 The Main Synergistic Factors of Society in Ancient China
9.5 The Impact of the Natural Environment on Social Historical Development
9.5.1 Relevant Thoughts About the Influence of the Natural Environment on Human Society
9.5.2 The Vital Impact of Climate on Human Society
9.5.3 The Connections Between Climate Change and Human Civilisation
9.5.4 The Impact of Climate Pulsation on Human Civilisation
9.5.5 The Long-Term Features of Climate Change in Chinese History
9.5.6 The Connection Between Climate Change and the Southward Migration of Northern Ethnic Group
9.5.7 The Connection Between Climate Change and Ancient Wars
9.5.8 The Impact of Climate Change on Demographics in Ancient China
9.5.9 The Impact of Climate Change on the Social Economy in Ancient China
9.5.10 Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of China
Appendix Relations Between the Book’s Theory and Marx’s Theory
Appendix Selected Book Reviews
A New Framework for Economic Theory: Helix Network Theory
A New Theoretical Framework for the New Economy
Fractal of Economic and Social Systems?
New Explorations in Economics
The Three Breakings and Three Buildings of the New Economy
A Book That Took 10 Years to Write: After Reading Gan Run-Yuan’s New Book Helix Network Theory
Systems Thinking, Systems Construction
Mainstream Economics has Fallen into a Misunderstanding and Crisis
Should Economists Not Be Moral?
Afterword
Bibliography
Name Index
