Ren Limei: Technological Ideological Competition—A New Analytical Framework for the Future Global Landscape and Human Development
Abstract: This book constitutes the final research output of the National Social Science Fund of China (NSSFC) Late-Stage Subsidy Project "Socio-Technical Ideological Competition" (21FKSB017), chaired by Ren Limei.
The level of science and technology determines the heights of human civilization; however, it is "technological ideology" that drives the development of science and technology themselves and activates their role in promoting human social progress. Technological ideology views the future and destiny of humanity through a scientific-technological lens, investigating the driving role of technological power in the development of human society and the shifts in the global landscape. It represents a new cognitive framework for human social development, following the "Center-Periphery" theory [1] of the modern world-system and the "Clash of Civilizations" thesis.
Guided by a Marxist standpoint and a technological perspective, this study explicates the functions and mechanisms of technological ideology in guiding, controlling, and incentivizing technological innovation—ultimately influencing the speed and quality of human social development. It analyzes the essential differences and future trajectories of the technological ideologies corresponding to two fundamental paths and two fundamental systems [2]. The study points out the progressive nature of socialist technological ideology under the guidance of the New Development Philosophy [3] and discusses the epochal significance of constructing technological ideology in socialist states. It offers reflections and suggestions for China to actively integrate into and lead a new round of globalization in the era of Big Science, promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, reconstruct the world order, reshape the global landscape, and create a new form of human civilization.
About the Author: Ren Limei, PhD in Philosophy, is an Associate Research Fellow in the Department of Ideology and Social Trends at the Institute of Marxism Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Her primary research interests include innovation theory, social development theory and strategy, and cultural philosophy.
Table of Contents
Preface. Technological Ideological Competition: A New Framework for Understanding Human Social Development I. The Shift in Perspectives for Understanding Human Social Development II. Research and Assessment of Technological Ideology III. Expanding New Horizons for Human Development through Technological Ideology
Chapter 1. Technological Ideology from the Perspective of Historical Materialism Section 1. Understanding Technological Ideology through the Internal Structure of Science and Technology i. Extracting the Concept of Technological Ideology and the Relationships Between its Components from Technological Structures ii. The Components of Technological Ideology and their Dialectical Relationship Section 2. The Formative Basis, Structural Foundation, and Source of Power for Technological Ideology from a Historical Generative Perspective i. The Creation and Development of Natural Science Theory: The Basis for the Formation of Technological Ideology ii. Technical Rationality: The Structural Foundation of Technological Ideology iii. Knowledge Power and the Logic of Technological Capability: Sources of Power for Technological Ideology Section 3. The Functions and Characteristics of Technological Ideology i. The Functions of Technological Ideology ii. The Characteristics of Technological Ideology iii. The Duality and Historical Nature of the Functions of Technological Ideology
Chapter 2. The Historical Development and Transformation of Technological Ideology Section 1. Technological Ideology in History i. China’s "Unity of Heaven and Humanity" [4] and the West’s "Conquest of Nature" ii. The Inherent Humanistic Value Orientation of China’s Professional Spirit of Gewu Zhizhi [5] (Investigating Things to Extend Knowledge) Section 2. Two Transformative Upgrades of Human Ideology i. The Upgrade from Traditional Political Ideology to Modern Political Ideology ii. The Upgrade from Modern Political Ideology to Modern Technological Ideology Section 3. The Substance and Transformation of Modern Technological Ideology i. Substantive Breakthroughs in Modern Technological Ideology ii. The Phenomenon of Alienation in Technological Ideology within Modern Advanced Industrial Societies and its Historical Analysis Section 4. Multiple Perspectives for Judging the Value and Function of Technological Ideology i. The Ontological Perspective of Technological Ideology ii. The Epistemological Perspective of Technological Ideology
Chapter 3. The Dialectical Relationship between Technological Ideology and the National Innovation System Section 1. The National Innovation System as the Primary Material Carrier of Technological Ideology i. Composition and Functions of the National Innovation System ii. The National Innovation System Carries the Core Content of Technological Ideology Section 2. Technological Ideology Leading the Development of the National Innovation System i. Technological Ideology as a Conceptual Force Influencing Technological Innovation Activities across Society ii. Advanced Technological Ideology Can Coordinate the Primary Contradictions and Key Issues of the Modern Technological Revolution iii. Technological Ideology as the "Glue" for the State to Integrate All Forces into the Systemic Engineering of Technological Innovation Section 3. National Innovation System Construction and the Synthesis of Technological Ideology in Various Countries i. The Construction of National Innovation Systems is Simultaneously a Process of Synthesizing Technological Ideologies ii. A Comparison of "Whole-of-Nation System" [6] Models for Technological Innovation under Different Technological Ideologies
Chapter 4. Types of Technological Ideology in Major Global Powers Section 1. Anglo-Saxon Technological Ideology i. United Kingdom ii. United States Section 2. Continental European Technological Ideology i. France ii. Germany Section 3. Russian and Indian Technological Ideology i. Russia ii. India Section 4. Transitional and Changing Types Section 5. Types with Regional Characteristics Summary: Technological Ideology as the Core Driver for Technology-Promoted Economic and Social Development
Chapter 5. Independent Innovation: The Core Discourse of Technological Ideology with Chinese Characteristics Section 1. The Historical Generation of the Consciousness of Independent Innovation i. The Foundational Stage of China’s National Innovation System ii. The Growth and Development Stage of China’s National Innovation System iii. The Preliminary Completion Stage of China’s National Innovation System iv. "Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation" [7] as the Core Discourse of the Growth Phase Section 2. The Historical Role of the Consciousness of Independent Innovation i. The Core of Independent Innovation: Driving Technological Innovation to Lead Economic and Social Development ii. Independent Innovation Establishes Cultural Confidence in Chinese Technological Ideology iii. The Formation of an Internal Value System for Technological Ideology during the Historical Generation of Independent Innovation in China
Chapter 6. Competition and Conflict in Global Technological Ideologies Section 1. Technological Ideological Competition and its Spheres of Operation i. Competition at the Level of National Innovation System Efficiency ii. International Competition at the Level of National Institutional Design for Innovation iii. International Competition at the Conceptual Level Section 2. Conflict Risks in Global Technological Ideological Competition i. Risks of Competition Escalating into Conflict between Different Technological Ideologies ii. Case Studies of Technological Ideology Moving from Competition to Conflict Section 3. The Economic Essence and Direct Targets of Technological Ideological Competition i. Distribution of Gains from Technological Innovation: The Root and Essence of Competition ii. Right to Discourse [8]: The Direct Target of Technological Ideological Competition iii. The International Internet: The Most Direct Arena for Current International Technological Ideological Competition
Chapter 7. An Analysis of Sino-US Competition in Technology and Technological Ideology Section 1. The Competitive Status of Sino-US Technological Ideology Based on Divergent Identifications with Technological Values i. Differences in Social Identification with Technological Values between China and the US ii. Differences in Norms for the Dissemination and Promotion of Technological Ideology iii. A Comparison of Sino-US COVID-19 Responses within the Horizon of International Technological Ideological Competition iv. Differences in Value Systems Leading to Paradoxes in Cyber-Ideological Discourse, Focus Areas of Innovation, and Development Speeds Section 2. Drivers and Counterforces of Decoupling: Strategies and Methods of Competition i. "Decoupling" as a High-Cost Policy Choice for All Countries in the Modern World ii. Responding to "Decoupling": Action and Reaction in Technological Ideological Competition Section 3. Chinese Strategies in Sino-US Technological Ideological Competition i. Facing the Realities of Sino-US Competition and the Roots of "Stranglehold" [9] Problems ii. Addressing Both Symptoms and Root Causes through the New Whole-of-Nation System Section 4. Possible Futures: Technological Development Providing Space for Coordination in Overall Competition i. The Transition from Political Ideological Struggle to Technological Ideological Competition as an Inevitable Choice ii. Why Even Total "Decoupling" would not be a Disaster iii. How Technological Development Provides New Spaces for Coordinating Overall Competition
Chapter 8. New Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Construction and Competition of Technological Ideology Section 1. New Challenges in Current Technological Ideological Construction i. Scientific Research Based on Big Data and AI as a New Paradigm ii. Cultural Technologies and Intelligent Manufacturing Constructing New Modes of Existence and Production iii. Blockchain and Other New Technologies Improving Relations of Production and Social Governance iv. Open Source Software and New Technologies Generating New Ideas and Models Section 2. New Hotspots in Future Technological Ideological Competition i. Digital Space: The Next Key Era of Competition ii. Standard Essential Patents (SEPs): The Next Focal Point Section 3. New Trends and Opportunities in International Technological Ideological Competition i. Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality as Current International Consensuses on the Rationality and Direction of Technological Development ii. Potential Areas for Future Consensus: Global Policies on AI Development
Chapter 9. Toward an Era of International Technological Ideological Competition Section 1. The New Status of Current International Technology and Technological Ideological Competition i. The New "Three Tiers" in the Global Landscape of Competition ii. The "Two Powers and Multiple Poles" Regionalized Competitive Landscape Section 2. Chinese Strategies for Greeting the New Era of Global Technological Ideological Competition i. Greeting New Competition with a High Degree of Confidence ii. Actively Shaping a National Period of Strategic Opportunity iii. Continuously Strengthening the Competitive Advantages of Technological Ideology with Chinese Characteristics Section 3. Basic Methods, Principles, and New Tasks for China in Advancing Modern Technological Ideology i. Basic Methods for Promoting the Development of Modern Technological Ideology ii. Proposing Principles for Beneficial International Competition iii. New Tasks for the Innovative Development of Chinese Technological Ideology Section 4. Constructing the Discourse System and Discourse Power of Technological Ideology with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era i. Deconstructing Western "Modernization" Theory to Create a Discourse Environment for Technological Ideological Competition ii. Building the Chinese Discourse System and Enhancing Discourse Power iii. Upholding the "People-Centered" Attribute of Technological Innovation to Strengthen the Competitiveness of Chinese Discourse iv. Deeply Participating in Global Technological Governance to Enhance Discourse Power while Promoting the Building of a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity
Conclusion References