Table Of ContentRunyuan Gan
Helix Network
Theory
The Dynamic Structure and
Evolution of Economy and Society
Helix Network Theory
“Itisamasterpiecethatsystematicallyrevealsthestructureofthemodernsocialandeconomic
system. The theory is novel and unique. The methods are diverse and coupled. It is worthy of
carefulstudy.”
—ChengEn-Fu,ChiefProfessor,MemberoftheFacultyattheChineseAcademyofSocial
Sciences
“Thisbook,withtheanalyticalvisionofthebroadsocialsystem,discussestheoverallpictureofthe
evolutionanddevelopmentofhumansociety.Itembodiesluxuriantnewviewpointsandtheoretical
innovations,whichareworthyofreadinganddiscussioninacademia!”
—WeiSen,ProfessorofEconomicsatFudanUniversity
“This book explores the dynamic structure of economy and society, depicts the overall picture
oftheevolutionofhumansociety,andsummarisesthesocialdynamicsintoamulti-dimensional
intertwined“helixnetwork”.Itisaworkthatexplorestherelationshipbetweennatureandhumans,
penetratesthecontextofchangesfromthepasttothepresent,andinitiatesaschoolofitsown.
Itsideologicalmethodsareconducivetopromotingthetransformationoftheeconomicresearch
paradigm,whichisdefinitelyworthyoftheattentionofacademia!”
—YanPeng-Fei,SeniorProfessoratWuhanUniversity
“Thisnovelmonographonsocialeconomicsisamasterpieceofevolutionaryeconomics.Itisnot
onlyrichinthespiritofhumanismbutalsopossessesabroadinterdisciplinaryvision.Thisbookis
amust-read!”
—JiaGen-Liang,DistinguishedProfessoratRenminUniversityofChina
Runyuan Gan
Helix Network Theory
The Dynamic Structure and Evolution
of Economy and Society
Interdisciplinary Integrated Economics
Creating a Brand New “Micro-Meso-Macro” Paradigm
RunyuanGan
SchoolofEconomicsandManagement
EastChinaJiaotongUniversity
Nanchang,China
Translatedby
Huizhong Yu
ShenzhenUniversity
Shenzhen,China
ISBN 978-981-19-8802-8 ISBN 978-981-19-8803-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8803-5
JointlypublishedwithFudanUniversityPress
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TranslationfromtheChineselanguageedition:“HelixNetworkTheory—TheDynamicStructureand
Evolution of Economy and Society” by Runyuan Gan, © Gan Runyuan 2021. Published by Fudan
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Foreword by Yew-Kwang NG
IhaveknownGANRunyuansinceJuly2017whenhesentmehismassivemanuscript
on his Helix Network Theory with some very favourable book reviews. Despite
workinginnon-academicsectors,hisacademicachievementshavebyfarsurpassed
thatofanaveragePh.D.graduate.Thisisveryremarkableandreflectsveryfavourably
onhisresearchabilities.
IcommencedmyrecentvisittotheSchoolofEconomicsatFudanUniversityin
ShanghaiattheendofJuly2019asaspecialchairprofessor.Runyuancametosee
meinmyofficeandwealsohadlunchtogetherandacouplemoremealsafter.He
alsosatinsomeofmyclassesatFudanUniversityanddiscussedhisHelixNetwork
Theoryafterclasswithme.Thus,Igottoknowhimandhistheoryquiteafairbit.
InhisbookHelixNetworkTheory,heusesthebasicmethodsofSystemTheoryand
StructuralFunctionalismtoconstructhisframeworkofeconomicanalysisinclusive
of the ‘micro-meso-macro’ elements. Thus, his basic ideas have some similarities
withthemesoeconomicanalysisthatIhavedevelopedsince1977.Mymethodbasi-
callycombineselementsofmicro(includingthemarginalanalysisofprofitmaximi-
sationatthefirmlevel),macro(includingtheinfluenceofaggregatedemand,aggre-
gateoutput,andtheaveragepricelevel),andsimplifiedgeneral-equilibriumanalysis
based on a representative firm that need not be perfectly competitive. It focuses
onequilibriumanalysiswithcomparativestatics,obtainingtheresultsthatboththe
Monetarist(absenceofrealeffectsofachangeinnominalaggregatedemand)and
theKeynesian(possiblerealeffects)arespecialcases,withadditionalpossiblecases
includingthatofcumulativeexpansions/contractionsthatmaypartlyexplainevents
suchastheGreatDepression.
Incontrasttomyanalysis,Gan’sframeworkincludesadditionalelements,such
aslargeorganisationsbetweenthemicroandmacrolevelsandsocialandpolitical
factors.Incontrasttomyfocusonequilibriumandcomparativestatics,Ganempha-
sizesnonequilibriumevolutionaryprocesses.Inparticular,heusestheideaofdouble
structures(surfaceanddeepstructures)toconstructhistheoreticalframework.
Ganpointsoutthat‘theforcesaffectingthedevelopmentofsocietiesaredeter-
mined by human-culture, economic, political, scientific, legal, and educational
v
vi ForewordbyYew-KwangNG
elementsjointly’.Ifullyagreewiththis.Inthepresentbook,Ganusestendimen-
sionstodrawthediagramofthelocusofsocial-systemicevolution-development:the
HelixNetworkDiagram.Thisisveryuniqueandremarkable.Ganbelievesthatwe
mayusethesetendimensionstoevaluatedifferentsocietiesorcountries.However,
howdowetradeoffbetweenthesedimensions?Whataretheirseparatemeasurable
indicators? In my view, ultimately speaking, we should base our analysis on the
effectsonlong-termaggregatehappiness.Theseissueshavetobefurtherstudiedin
detail.
HelixNetworkTheoryisveryrichincontent;apartfromeconomics,itinvolves
manyotherareasofstudy,includingmanagementtheories,sociology,politicaltheo-
ries, cultural theories, and history. I have very limited knowledge in these areas.
Thus,mycommentsaboveareonlymybriefimpressionandsimpleevaluationupon
reading this massive book. Although this book may have some inadequacies that
arewaitingfortheauthorandothereconomiststosupplementandperfectthem,it
alsoincludesmanyforward-lookinginnovationsandexplorations(e.g.,themicro-
meso-macrofractalstructure).Theseideasmerittheattentionandfurtherstudiesof
economists.
Uponthepublication oftherevisedChineseversionandtheEnglishversionof
thisimportantbook,Iamhappytorecommendittointerestedreaders.Ifwefurther
developthetheoreticalframeworkadvancedinthisbook,wemayhelptosignificantly
improveeconomicanalysis,makingitmoresuitabletoanalyzethedevelopmentof
humansocietiesinthefuture.Ialsohopethattheanalyticalframeworkadvancedin
thebookmayprovidesomeusefulguidesforthemakingofpublicpoliciesinmany
countriesintheworld.
February2021 Yew-KwangNG
Fellow,AcademyoftheSocial
SciencesinAustralia
EmeritusProfessor
MonashUniversity
Melbourne,VIC,Australia
Foreword by Gong-Meng Chen
I first met and started working with Gan Runyuan, the author of the book, around
April and May of 2002. Back then, I had just established the China Accounting
and Finance Research Centre at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Shenzhen.
Becausetheresearchcentrewasnotlongestablished,itwasnecessarytointroduce
various talents. Gan Runyuan was one of the first groups of personnel recruited
into the research centre. By 2003, with the active support of Cheng Si-Wei, I and
my colleagues had founded the China Venture Capital Research Institute. During
thatperiodoftime,GanRunyuanworkedasmyassistantandparticipatedinmany
tasks at the China Accounting and Finance Research Centre and China Venture
CapitalResearchInstitute.Hewaseasy-going,seriousinworking,andIwasalways
impressed. Later, Gan Runyuan left Shenzhen to Shanghai. However, he still kept
intouchwithmeandparticipatedinseveralforumsorganisedbytheChinaVenture
CapitalResearchInstitute.
AttheendofMarchthisyear,GanvisitedShenzhen.Ilearnedthathehadwritten
aneconomicsmonograph,HelixNetworkTheory,andheinvitedmetowriteapreface
tothisbook.Hesaidthatthisistheten-yearbrainchildofhistoil,blood,andsweat.I
didnotexpecthimafterleavingShenzhenformorethantenyears,notonlyreading
that many books on economics and sociology but also spending quite a few years
writing an economics monograph of more than 400,000 words. What a gratifying
thing!
This book is an academic work at the intersection of economics and sociology,
a theoretical achievement of the author’s comprehensive research on traditional
economicsandsociologyusingmethodssuchassystemtheoryandstructuralfunc-
tionalism.Fromthesubjectandthecontent,thisbookincorporatedsomeprototype
theoriesinthefieldofsocialsciences,dividedthesocialsystemintohuman-culture,
economy, polity,science, law,education, and other subsystems interms of system
andstructure,andexploredtheconnectionbetweenthesesubsystemsandtheirintri-
caterelationwithsocialprogress.Thebookgaveacomprehensivediscussionofthe
hierarchy,structure,function,andoperatingprocessoftheeconomicsystemwithin
thesocialsystemandexpoundedonthedynamicstructureandtheevolutionarylaws
vii
viii ForewordbyGong-MengChen
oftheeconomyandsociety.Theauthorbrokedownthebarriersofdifferentdisci-
plines,integratedtheresearchresultsofeconomists,sociologists,historians,cultural
scientists,andanthropologists,andconcludedthatthelong-termevolutionarymech-
anismoftheentirehumansocialsystemfollowstwomajorlaws:thebifurcationlaw
andthesynergylaw.
The most remarkable innovation of this book was mainly reflected in revealing
thefractalfeaturessuchasself-similarity,hierarchy,andrecursivenessinthegeneral
structureofthefirm,theindustry,thesector,andthenationaleconomicsystem.The
book also clarified the two-tiered structure and the basic elements that exist in the
human-culturesystem,theeconomicsystem,thepoliticalsystem,andothersocial
subsystems.Theauthor’sexpositiononthedynamicstructureofthefirmsystem,the
sectorsystem,andthenationaleconomicsystemwasanorganicintegrationofthe
economicthoughtsofthemajorschoolsofwesterneconomicssinceAdamSmith,
whichalsoincorporatedpartofthebasicideasofMarxistpoliticaleconomy.
Readersshouldplacethisbookinthecategoryofsocialeconomics.Inthepast,
socialeconomicsworksweremoreconcernedwithsocialandeconomicphenomena
since the Industrial Revolution, but this book took agricultural society before the
IndustrialRevolutionintothefieldofdiscussion.Thetheoreticalframeworkproposed
by the author can accommodate the basic ideas of many typical social economic
theories.Fromthispointofview,thetheoreticalframeworkproposedinthisbookis
moreinclusiveandexplanatory.Theauthorfullyabsorbsthetheoreticalessenceof
traditionaleconomicsanddistillstheseeconomicthoughtsintothisresearchofsocial
economicsatawholenewlevel.Ipersonallybelievethattheinnovativevalueofthis
monographismainlyreflectedinthreeaspects:Oneisthechangeintheparadigmof
economicthinking;thesecondistheredivisionofthebasicframeworkofsociology;
andthethirdistheorganiccoordinationofpublicpoliciesandpublicinstitutions.
In economics, the static equilibrium thinking paradigm has always predomi-
nated the traditional mainstream economic research. Compared with the thinking
paradigmoftraditionaleconomics,thisbookestablishesthetheoreticalframeworkof
adynamicnonequilibriumthinkingparadigm.Onthebasisofthisthinkingparadigm,
theauthorcanlogicallyintegratemicro-,meso-,andmacro-economicsintoaunified
theoreticalframework,whichisofgreatsignificanceforthereformanddevelopment
ofeconomictheories.
For a long time, the research of economics and sociology has been in a state
of isolation, but in fact, these two disciplines are closely connected. The author
regards the economic system as a subsystem of the social system and divides the
social system into a surface structure consisting of the human-culture system, the
economic system, the political system, and other subsystems and a deep structure
composedofthesciencesystem,thelegalsystem,theeducationsystem,andother
subsystems.Thistheoreticalsummaryofthestructureofmodernsocietyisconcise
andrealistic.Theauthor’sdivisionofthestructureandthefunctionofthemodern
socialsystemnotonlyhelpstoclarifythebasictheoreticalframeworkofsociology
butisalsovaluableforstudyingtherelationbetweensociologyandotheradjacent
disciplines.
ForewordbyGong-MengChen ix
Thesystematic,holistic,andconnectedconceptsadvocatedinthisbookcanassist
Social Science theorists in eliminating disciplinary barriers and school prejudices,
clarifying the interrelations among the subsystems in the social system, and elim-
inating or resolving the state’s policy conflicts and institutional contradictions in
culture, economy, and polity, which is conducive to promoting the development
andoperationoftheentiresociety.Thesocialeconomicthoughtscontainedinthis
bookareanimportantinspirationforChina’scurrentsocialreformsandinstitutional
innovations,especiallyinthefieldofpolicymakingandinstitutionalconstruction.
On May 17th, Chinese President Xi Jin-Ping advocated at a symposium on
philosophy and social sciences held in Beijing that the philosophical and social
sciencecommunityshouldencourageknowledgeinnovation,boldexploration,and
the courage to construct new theories with original ideas. In this book, the author
structured a brand new theory with original ideas, which is fully in line with the
spiritofPresidentXi’sspeech.Althoughthebookhaditsimperfections,thereisno
doubtthattheauthor’scouragetocreateandhisspiritofexplorationareworthyof
ouraffirmation!
I believe that the timely publication and distribution of this book has impor-
tanttheoreticalvalueandpracticalsignificanceineliminatingtheone-sidedunder-
standingofeconomicdeterminism;encouragingthecoordinateddevelopmentofthe
entiresocietyintermsofculture,economy,andpolity;reshapingthehuman-culture
system;establishingabeliefandmoralsystem;promotingthehealthyfunctioningof
society;implementingthescientificoutlookondevelopment;formulatingscientific
policiesandinstitutions;andbuildingaharmonioussociety.
May2016 Gong-MengChen
PresidentoftheChinaInstitute
ofEducationalInnovation
ProfessorofFinance,Doctoral
Supervisor
ShanghaiJiaotongUniversity
Shanghai,China
Foreword by Chun-Xue Yang
Theauthorofthisbook,GanRunyuan,discussedadifficultacademicissueinthis
book.
Thesocialeconomyisanextremelycomplexorganicsystem.Specificeconomic
phenomenaaretheresultofvariousfactors,includingpolity,law,culturaltraditions,
andotherfactors.Theinteractionofthesefactorsendowsthesocialeconomywitha
featureofsystemicity,whichmeansthatthecomponentsofthesocialeconomyare
organicallyintegrated.Nosocialscientists(includingeconomists)willdenythisfact.
Theinterpretationofthemysteryofthisorganismhasalwaysbeentheambitionof
scholars.However,therearegreatdifferencesamongscholarsonhowtounderstand
andexplainthisobjectivefact.Thetheoreticalchallengesareasfollows:First,how
dothecomponentsofthisorganismcoordinateandoperate?Second,howdoesthis
organismevolveinoperation?
Howcanthesetheoreticalproblemsbesolved?Economicscanberoughlydivided
intotwowaysofthinking:methodologicalindividualismandmethodologicalholism.
Inthehistoryofeconomicthought,thesetwomethodologiesbegantobecomeclear
in the famous methodological debate between Menger1 and the German histor-
icalschool.Thekeyquestionishowtounderstandtherelationbetweenindividual
economicbehaviourandthesocialeconomy.
Methodologicalindividualismholdsthatalltrueeconomictheoriescanbereduced
toatheoryofindividualbehaviourplusboundaryconditionsthatdescribethecircum-
stances of the individual behaviour. Why is that? A typical answer from Hayek is
thatinthesocialsciences,termssuchasmarket andsocietyaremerelytheoretical
concepts used to describe human action, instead of the entity that one can directly
observe. The only feasible way to understand such phenomena is to comprehend
thecollectiveunityofsocietythroughtheanalysisofindividualbehaviour.Inother
words,economistscanonlyunderstandmarketbehaviourasatotalityonthebasis
ofindividualeconomicbehaviour.
1CarlMenger(1840–1921)wasoneoftherepresentativesandmainfoundersoftheAustrianschool
ofeconomics.
xi
