The city landscape of Kunshan Photo: TUCHONG

Proposing and developing humanistic economics is both a necessary step to enrich the Communist Party of China’s innovative theories and construct philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, and an essential choice for advancing the all-round development of individuals and promoting Chinese modernization.

Highlighting the people-centric logic of Chinese modernization

Humanistic economics adheres to a people-centered development philosophy, fundamentally transcending the capital logic of Western modernization that “sees things but not people.” It offers a direct response to the enduring debate between “the ancient and the modern, the Chinese and the Western” in modernization.

Humanistic economics represents a theoretical innovation in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. It draws on traditional Chinese people-oriented economic thought, such as “enriching the people” and “nurturing the people,” and affirms the fundamental principle that “this country is its people; the people are the country.” In today’s digital-intelligence era, the technological revolution represented by artificial intelligence is reshaping the relationship between humans and machines, prompting renewed reflection on the value of human agency. By emphasizing the humanistic value of economic activity and incorporating humanistic elements into the analysis of the driving forces of high-quality development, humanistic economics is forming a theoretical paradigm with Chinese characteristics.

Humanistic economics breaks through the theoretical confines of mainstream Western economics. Humanistic economics is rooted in Chinese practice, grounded in Chinese culture, and directed at Chinese problems. The proposal and development of humanistic economics in the new era is not only a way to move beyond Western-centric narratives in theoretical system, but also a path to fostering the development and prosperity of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics on the basis of China’s fine traditional culture.

Emphasizing the mutual promotion and joint progress of culture and economy

The interaction of culture and economy can be seen in several observable trends. One trend is the “economization” of culture, in which culture empowers socioeconomic development. As a collection of values and behavioral preferences, culture shapes people’s thinking and practical logic, thereby influencing the economy. First, it nurtures humanistic spirit. Traditional culture such as advocating literacy and education fosters the spirit of educators, scientists, entrepreneurs, and artisans, thus providing high-quality human capital to support economic prosperity. Second, it creates a humanistic environment. Embedding traditional ethical relationships into the modern market system helps optimize the business environment through moral norms, reducing moral risks and institutional frictions. Third, it builds humanistic brands. At the enterprise level, strengthening corporate culture such as integrity and innovation enhances brand influence. At the city level, protecting and passing down cultural heritage promotes urban renewal and brand building, driving high-quality development through the integration of “industry, city, people, and culture.”

Another trend is the “culturalization” of the economy, in which economic development reinforces high-quality cultural development. First, this is reflected in the vigorous expansion of the cultural industry. By transforming cultural resources into industrial strengths, the cultural industry not only facilitates economic transformation and upgrading but also advances the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture. The innovative demonstration and spillover effects of “culture +” models—such as culture-tourism integration and culture-technology integration—further enhance the global competitiveness of Chinese culture. For example, as of June 30, 2025, the total box office of the Chinese animated film “Ne Zha: Demon Child Conquers the Sea” ranked fifth worldwide. Second, there is a humanistic turn in economic activities. Culture permeates the entire industrial chain, with cultural elements such as creative design and advertising adding greater value. Meanwhile, as modern culture and productivity emerge and evolve, new cultural concepts such as the “Two Mountains” theory [lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets] take shape alongside traditional culture, together forming the cultural landscape of Chinese modernization.

The interaction of culture and economy underpins high-tech innovation and leads high-quality development. Culture and economy influence one another and evolve dynamically, advancing Chinese modernization in tandem. Their mutual promotion and co-progression not only coordinate the material and intellectual but also bridge tradition and modernity, stimulating innovation for high-quality development. Economic practices have led to the iteration of values, giving rise to innovative and entrepreneurial cultures such as the “Path of Kunshan” [Kunshan Best: benefit (B), efficiency (E), service (S), and technology (T)] and the “Four Thousands” spirit, [a term describing the entrepreneurial drive of Zhejiang merchants, who traveled thousands of miles, tried thousands of methods, spoke thousands of words, and endured thousands of hardships]. In the context of digital transformation, enterprises in Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province have inherited and passed on this spirit in the new era, fueling high-tech innovation and leading high-quality development. Today, Suzhou is home to seven “Lighthouse Factories” that represent the global cutting edge in intelligent manufacturing and digitalization, ranking first nationwide. Hangzhou has achieved breakthroughs in core technologies in frontier fields such as AI, and the city’s “Six Little Dragons,” including DeepSeek, have emerged as powerful new players.

Advancing research in humanistic economics

Research in humanistic economics should be characterized by cultural confidence and innovation rooted in tradition. It is important to take a dialectical approach to foreign practical cases, theories, and methods of cultural economics, drawing on the positive achievements of cultural economics research internationally.

Based on China’s humanistic economic practices and following a problem-oriented approach, the originality of humanistic economics should be enhanced. By systematically consolidated the experiences and lessons of China’s humanistic economic practice, we can identify new issues at the intersection of culture and economic development, and distill the regular patterns and conceptual categories of humanistic economics. This will continuously drive knowledge, theoretical, and methodological innovation in humanistic economics. Research in humanistic economics should be dedicated to addressing China’s problems—for example, how to facilitate the mutual transformation of cultural and economic advantages, how to advance common prosperity in both material and intellectual life, and how to consolidate cultural subjectivity in the digital age. Theoretical innovation in humanistic economics should guide practice and provide scientific answers to the questions posed by China, the world, the people, and the times.

It is also important to strengthen systematic research and interpretation, and to build the discipline, academic, and discourse systems of humanistic economics. Efforts should be made to improve the discipline and textbook systems, compiling and promoting humanistic economics textbooks on the basis of existing domestic works such as Cultural Economics and Economics of the Cultural Industry. Research gaps should be filled through interdisciplinary talent cultivation, while international academic exchange should be expanded. Establishing a high-quality case library and database of humanistic economics will allow for the refinement and interpretation of its academic propositions. Extracting original and distinctive concepts that are readily understood and accepted internationally will help project research findings through prestigious international journals, academic conferences, media, and other platforms, thereby enhancing the international influence of humanistic economics research.

Gu Jiang (director) and Shi Zhiru (assistant research fellow) are from the Yangtze River Delta Cultural Industry Development Research Institute at Nanjing University.