"The Generation and Motivations of the Category of 'New Quality Productive Forces': A Perspective on the Interaction between Policy Discourse and Academic Discourse"

In January 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping, in his speech at the 11th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, systematically expounded the basic connotation, core indicators, key characteristics, and essential features of new quality productive forces, and pointed out that "to develop new quality productive forces, it is necessary to further comprehensively deepen reform and form new relations of production compatible with them." In April 2024, when presiding over a symposium on promoting the development of the western region in the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping further emphasized that it is necessary to "develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions, explore the development of modern manufacturing and strategic emerging industries, plan and build future industries, and form new momentum for regional development." Clearly, the birth of the category of "new quality productive forces" has from beginning to end contained a strong goal orientation and practical purport. At the same time, the proposal of "new quality productive forces" marks the close integration of Marxist productive forces theory with the social practice of contemporary China, injecting new vitality into the interaction between theory and practice. Exploring the theoretical causes of "new quality productive forces" helps to strengthen its practical orientation and ensure that it becomes a powerful driving force for economic transformation and upgrading and high-quality development.

2024年1月，习近平总书记在二十届中共中央政治局第十一次集体学习的讲话中对新质生产力的基本内涵、核心标志、关键特点、本质特征等作了系统性阐述，并指出“发展新质生产力，必须进一步全面深化改革，形成与之相适应的新型生产关系”。2024年4月，习近平总书记主持召开新时代推动西部大开发座谈会时进一步强调，应“因地制宜发展新质生产力，探索发展现代制造业和战略性新兴产业，布局建设未来产业，形成地区发展新动能”。显然，“新质生产力”范畴的诞生，自始至终蕴含着强烈的目标导向性和实践旨趣。与此同时，“新质生产力”的提出标志着马克思主义生产力理论与当代中国社会实践的紧密结合，为理论与实践的交互注入了新的活力。探究“新质生产力”的理论成因，有助于强化其实践导向，确保其成为推动经济转型升级和高质量发展的强劲动力。

Since the proposal of "new quality productive forces," a large number of research results have emerged in academia, demonstrating the importance of this topic. Taken together, existing research is partly devoted to interpreting its meaning between the lines of policy documents, while another part follows the academic warp and weft, tracing the evolution of the theory of productive forces. Unfortunately, existing research neglects a key dimension—the profound internal connection between academic discourse, as the result of theoretical construction, and policy discourse, as the national development strategy. To a certain extent, this limits a deep understanding and comprehensive grasp of the full picture of "new quality productive forces," and is not conducive to fully exploiting the theoretical and practical value of the interactive symbiosis between academic discourse and policy discourse. When policy discourse is directly integrated into the field of academic discourse without sufficient scrutiny, it can easily lead to a certain degree of category confusion, thereby causing the generalization and superficialization of academic research. Based on this, this paper attempts to explore the generation and motivations of the category of "new quality productive forces" by analyzing the connection between the two, providing a possible paradigm for integrating the depth of academic exploration with the breadth of policy orientation.

自从“新质生产力”提出以来，学术界的研究成果大量涌现，展现出该议题的重要性。综合来看，现有研究一部分致力于从政策文件的字里行间解读其意涵，另一部分则沿学术经纬，追溯生产力理论的演变历程。遗憾的是，现有研究忽视了一个关键维度——作为理论构建结果的学术话语与作为国家发展战略的政策话语之间深刻的内在联系。这在一定程度上限制了对“新质生产力”全貌的深刻理解和综合把握，不利于充分挖掘学术话语与政策话语二者互动共生的理论与实践价值。政策话语未经充分审视便直接融入学术话语领域，容易导致一定程度的范畴混淆，从而引起学术研究的泛化与表象化。基于此，本文尝试通过分析二者间的联系，探索“新质生产力”范畴的生成与动因，为整合学术探索的深度与政策导向的广度提供可能的范式。

I. The Theoretical Basis of the Category of "New Quality Productive Forces": Marxist Productive Forces Theory

一、“新质生产力”范畴的理论基点：马克思主义生产力理论

The category of "new quality productive forces" is by no means born out of thin air, but contains a profound theoretical foundation, historical accumulation, and rich practical experience, possessing the dual attributes of academic discourse and policy discourse. This marks the latest progress of Marxist productive forces theory in the context of the New Era, and is also a comprehensive summary and sublimation of the issues of compatibility between productive forces and relations of production faced in current social development.

“新质生产力”这一范畴绝非凭空而生，而是蕴含着深厚的理论根基、历史积淀和丰富的实践经验，兼具学术话语和政策话语二重属性。这标志着马克思主义生产力理论在新时代背景下的最新进展，同时也是对当前社会发展中所面临的生产力与生产关系匹配性问题的全面归纳与升华。

(I) The General Theory of Marxist Productive Forces: The Unity of Two Kinds of Productive Forces

（一）马克思主义生产力理论一般：两种生产力的统一

First, productive forces are historical. Marx believed: "A certain mode of production, or industrial stage, is always combined with a certain mode of co-operation, or social stage, and this mode of co-operation is itself a 'productive force'; further, that the multitude of productive forces accessible to men determines the nature of society, hence, that the 'history of humanity' must always be studied and treated in relation to the history of industry and exchange." [1]1 "New development concept" (新发展理念): A set of five development concepts—innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing—formally adopted by the CPC around 2015 to guide China's economic and social development. From this, it can be seen that both the connotation and extension of productive forces are always contingent on the times, constantly in a state of change and development. Second, productive forces are continuous. The outbreak of a technological revolution relies to a certain extent on the level of productive forces previously attained. Marx pointed out: "Every productive force is an acquired force, the product of previous activity. Thus, productive forces are the result of man's practical ability, but this ability itself is determined by the conditions in which man finds himself, by the productive forces already acquired, by the social form existing before him, which he did not create, which is the product of the preceding generation." [2]2 "Confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, confidence in the system, and confidence in the culture": This is the standard rendering of the "Four Confidences" (四个自信), a political slogan introduced by Xi Jinping. This indicates that "new quality productive forces" are historically born within the original productive forces. When "new quality productive forces" develop to a certain degree, they require the old relations of production to undergo change, forming new relations of production. Third, productive forces and relations of production interact. Marx wrote in *The Poverty of Philosophy*: "Does this not mean that the mode of production, the relations in which productive forces are developed, are not eternal laws but correspond to a definite development of men and their productive forces, and that a change in men's productive forces necessarily brings about a change in their relations of production?" [3]3 The 2024 Government Work Report is the annual report on the work of the State Council delivered to the National People's Congress in March 2024. Finally, productive forces are social productive forces. They are both the process of humans transforming nature and the process of functioning within certain social relations. The effect of this functioning is greatly constrained by the structure of social relations. Marx pointed out: "The basis of this mode of production is not the development of productive forces for the purpose of reproducing a given state or, at most, expanding it; on the contrary, here the free, unhindered, progressive and universal development of the productive forces themselves is the presupposition of society, hence of social reproduction; here the sole presupposition is to go beyond the starting point." [4]4 Xi Jinping, "Speech at the 27th Collective Study Session of the Politburo of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC" (January 11, 2021). What Marx called the "universal development of productive forces" requires the continuous development of each element of the productive forces. The various elements of productive forces—laborers, objects of labor, and means of labor—can only give full play to the natural forces of the laboring subject under appropriate forms of organization of the elements, such as the division of labor and cooperation within enterprises and between sectors.

首先，生产力是历史的。马克思认为：“一定的生产方式或一定的工业阶段始终是与一定的共同活动方式或一定的社会阶段联系着的，而这种共同活动方式本身就是‘生产力’；由此可见，人们所达到的生产力的总和决定着社会状况，因而，始终必须把‘人类的历史’同工业和交换的历史联系起来研究和探讨。”由此可以看出，无论是生产力的内涵还是外延，无不以时代为转移，时刻处于变化和发展之中。其次，生产力是连贯的。科技革命的爆发一定程度上依托于此前所获得的生产力水平。马克思指出：“任何生产力都是一种既得的力量，是以往的活动的产物。可见，生产力是人们应用能力的结果，但是这种能力本身决定于人们所处的条件，决定于先前已经获得的生产力，决定于在他们以前已经存在、不是由他们创立而是由前一代人创立的社会形式。”这表明，“新质生产力”历史地诞生于原有的生产力当中，当“新质生产力”发展到一定程度则要求旧有的生产关系发生变革，形成新型生产关系。再次，生产力和生产关系是相互作用的。马克思在《哲学的贫困》中写道：“这难道不是说，生产方式，生产力在其中发展的那些关系，并不是永恒的规律，而是同人们及其生产力的一定发展相适应的东西，人们生产力的一切变化必然引起他们的生产关系的变化吗？”最后，生产力是社会的生产力。既是人改造自然的过程，同时也是在一定社会关系下发挥作用的过程，该作用发挥的效果极大地受制于社会关系结构。马克思指出：“这种生产方式的基础，不是为了再生产一定的状态或者最多是扩大这种状态而发展生产力，相反，在这里生产力的自由的、无阻碍的、不断进步的和全面的发展本身就是社会的前提，因而是社会再生产的前提；在这里唯一的前提是超越出发点。”马克思所说的“全面发展生产力”，即要求生产力的各要素不断发展，生产力的诸要素——劳动者、劳动对象和劳动资料——只有在恰当的要素组织方式之下，如企业内和部门间的分工协作，劳动者主体的自然力才能得以充分发挥。

In his theoretical exploration, Marx not only emphasized the material role of productive forces but also profoundly perceived their spiritual dimension. In *Capital*, he expounded the basic constituent elements of the labor process—purposeful activity or labor itself, the object of labor, and the means of labor—emphasizing the importance of the social goal-directedness of labor for productive forces, pointing out that once labor is divorced from its socially oriented goal-directedness, the constituent parts of productive forces lose their essential meaning of existence. From this perspective, the labor process has the characteristic of being goal-conforming; once it departs from the social goal-conformity of labor, the various elements of productive forces inevitably lose their significance as productive forces. This shows that Marx also paid attention to the important influence of non-material factors such as ideas, experience, knowledge, and the knowledge state of laborers on productive forces. In *The German Ideology*, Marx and Engels incisively discussed how the ruling class implements rule on both the material and spiritual levels, not only controlling society through material force but also, as producers of ideas, guiding and regulating the ideological currents of the times, thereby ensuring the dissemination and consolidation of their ruling ideas. [5]5 The entropy method is a statistical technique used to assign objective weights to indicators based on the degree of variation or dispersion in the data. Marxist productive forces theory exhibits a comprehensive and profound perspective. It not only focuses on the material and technological aspects of productive forces, i.e., the tools and technologies actually applied in production activities and the combination of labor power and raw materials, but also deeply touches upon the social dimension of productive forces, encompassing the dynamic evolution of relations of production and the value orientation of the superstructure, i.e., the mode of organization of production activities and their essence of serving specific social purposes. In short, productive forces should not be narrowly understood as the mechanical aggregation of labor power and means of production, but should be regarded as a dynamic system that integrates human and material resources through social cooperation. In this system, productive forces simultaneously possess a natural attribute and a social attribute, being an embodiment of the intertwined interaction of material forces and social structure. Its analysis must never be separated from the framework of relations of production closely linked to it.

马克思在理论探索中不仅重视生产力的物质作用，还深刻洞察了生产力的精神维度。在《资本论》中，他阐述了劳动过程的基本组成要素——有目的的活动或劳动本身、劳动对象及劳动资料，强调了劳动的社会目标性对于生产力的重要性，指出一旦劳动脱离了其社会导向的目标性，生产力的各构成部分便失去了存在的本质意义。由此观之，劳动过程有合目的性的特点，一旦脱离劳动的社会合目的性，生产力诸要素必然失去其作为生产力的意义。这说明，马克思同样注重观念、经验、知识、劳动者的知识状态等非物质因素对生产力的重要影响。在《德意志意识形态》中，马克思和恩格斯精辟地论述了统治阶级如何在物质与精神双重层面上实施统治，不仅通过物质力量控制社会，更以思想生产者的身份引导和规范时代的思想潮流，从而确保其统治思想的传播与巩固。马克思主义生产力理论展现出一种全面而深邃的视角，它不仅聚焦于生产力的物质和技术层面，即生产活动中实际应用的工具、技术及劳动力与原料的结合，而且还深切地触及生产力的社会维度，涵盖生产关系的动态演化与上层建筑的价值取向，即生产活动的组织方式及其服务于特定社会目的的本质。总之，生产力不应被狭隘地理解为劳动力与生产资料的机械汇总，而应被视作一个通过社会协作将人力与物力资源综合融汇的动态系统。在这个系统中，生产力同时具有自然属性与社会属性，是物质力量与社会结构交织互动的体现。对它的分析绝不可脱离与其紧密相连的生产关系框架。

(II) The Specific Theory of Marxist Productive Forces: Human Natural Forces and Social Labor Natural Forces

（二）马克思主义生产力理论特殊：人身自然力与社会劳动自然力

From the relatively abstract concept of "productive forces" initially outlined in *The German Ideology* to the more concrete and practice-oriented discussion of "natural forces" deepened in *Capital*, this trajectory of development reveals the process by which the Marxist theory of productive forces continuously deepens from theoretical abstraction toward concrete reality. This theoretical evolution is not merely a leap in conceptual level; it is also Marx's subtle embedding of the general theory of productive forces under the grand perspective of historical materialism into the fine-grained analysis of specific economic relations and social situations, realizing a transformation from "abstraction of pure thought" to "concrete thought rich in real content." Marx specifically examined the substance, constituent elements, and specific forms of determination of productive forces. Marx once pointed out: "Labour is, first of all, a process between man and nature, a process by which man, through his own actions, mediates, regulates and controls the metabolism between himself and nature." [1]1 "New development concept" (新发展理念): A set of five development concepts—innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing—formally adopted by the CPC around 2015 to guide China's economic and social development. In the process of socialized production, the "personal natural forces" of the laborer are transformed into "social labor natural forces," which can manifest as mechanisms for the allocation of social labor such as science and technology, management, division of labor, and cooperation.

从《德意志意识形态》初步勾勒的较为抽象的“生产力”概念，到《资本论》中深化为更为具体且具实践导向的“自然力”的论述来看，这一发展轨迹展现了马克思主义生产力理论从理论抽象向现实具体不断深化的过程。这一理论演进不仅仅是概念层次的跃迁，更是马克思将宏大的历史唯物主义视角下的一般生产力理论，巧妙地嵌入特定经济关系和社会情境的细微分析中，实现了从“纯粹思维的抽象”向“富含现实内容的具体思维”的转变。马克思具体考察了生产力的实质、构成要素及其具体规定形式。马克思曾指出：“劳动首先是人和自然之间的过程，是人以自身的活动来中介、调整和控制人和自然之间的物质变换的过程。”在社会化的生产过程中，劳动者的“人身自然力”会转化为“社会劳动自然力”，社会劳动自然力可以表现为科技、管理、分工与合作等社会劳动的配置机制。

First, social natural forces manifest as science and technology. Science and technology are the most active elements within the productive forces; every explosive growth of productive forces in history has been preceded by scientific and technological progress. Scientific and technological progress first promotes a leap in social productive forces, then drives the relations of production to evolve toward a state that adapts to the level of development of social productive forces, and finally promotes changes in the superstructure, thereby advancing changes in the social formation. General Secretary Xi Jinping once vividly pointed out: "Seizing innovation means seizing the 'bull's nose' that drives the overall economic and social development." [2]2 "Confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, confidence in the system, and confidence in the culture": This is the standard rendering of the "Four Confidences" (四个自信), a political slogan introduced by Xi Jinping. Within the widely accepted theoretical framework, the continuous effect of productive forces remains significant, meaning that even if emerging science and technology fail to trigger fundamental change temporarily, they will attach themselves to existing labor instruments, gradually enhancing their efficiency through incremental improvement and optimization, thereby promoting the innovation of traditional industries. The driving effect of science and technology on productive forces is mainly manifested through two pathways: on the one hand, scientific and technological knowledge is embedded in the innovation of production tools, continuously improving their technical efficiency and level of intelligence; on the other hand, it permeates the thinking of laborers through forms such as education and training, enhancing their skills and comprehensive quality. Science and technology gradually permeate production tools, following a diffusion pattern from point to surface, from small to large. This gradual change aligns with the Marxist dialectics of quantitative and qualitative change.

第一，社会自然力表现为科学技术。科学技术是生产力中最活跃的要素，历次生产力的爆炸式增长无不以科技进步为先导。科技进步首先促进社会生产力实现飞跃，继而推动生产关系朝着适应社会生产力发展水平的状态演变，最后推动上层建筑实现变革，从而推进社会形态发生变化。习近平总书记曾生动地指出：“抓住了创新，就抓住了牵动经济社会发展全局的‘牛鼻子’。”在广泛接受的理论框架内，生产力的连续性作用依然显著，意味着新兴科学技术即便暂时未能引发根本性变革，也会依附于现有的劳动工具，通过渐进式的改进与优化，逐步提升其效能，进而推动传统产业的革新。科学技术对生产力的推动作用主要通过两条路径显现：一方面，科技知识内嵌于生产工具的创新之中，不断提升其技术效率与智能化水平；另一方面，它通过教育和培训等形式渗透到劳动者的思想中，增强他们的技能与综合素质。科技逐渐渗透至生产工具中，遵循从点到面、由小及大的扩散模式，这种循序渐进的变化与马克思主义关于量变质变的辩证法相契合。

Second, social natural forces manifest as production organization models such as division of labor and cooperation. By restructuring the system of productive forces and adjusting the production organization model, a qualitative leap in productive forces is triggered. Referring to the historical process of technological revolutions, the phased characteristics of industrial development are evident. The technological innovations of each stage not only create new industries, refine the social division of labor, and promote the diversification of productive forces, but also simultaneously achieve breakthroughs in fields such as energy, transportation and communication, and materials. These advances and breakthroughs not only accelerate the circulation of commodities and information but also enhance the synergy efficiency between different social sectors, promoting the trend of overall social integration. As Marx stated: "Modern industry never views and treats the existing form of a production process as the definitive one." [3]3 The 2024 Government Work Report is the annual report on the work of the State Council delivered to the National People's Congress in March 2024. Modern industry never stagnates at existing production models but continuously seeks innovation.

第二，社会自然力表现为分工、协作等生产组织模式。通过重组生产力体系的结构，调整生产组织模式，从而触发生产力质的飞跃。参照技术革命的历史进程，工业发展的阶段性特征明显，每一阶段的技术革新不仅开创了新兴产业，细化社会分工，促进了生产力的多元化，还同步在能源、交通通讯及材料等领域取得突破。这些进步和突破不仅加速了商品与信息的流通，还增强了不同社会部门间的协同效率，促进了社会整体的整合趋势。正如马克思所言：“现代工业从来不把某一生产过程的现存形式看成和当做最后的形式。”现代工业从不停滞于既有生产模式，而是不断寻求革新。

Based on the above analysis, we can decompose the process of qualitative change in productive forces into three links: First, it is preceded by the emergence of technological progress or factor reorganization within certain advanced enterprises, improving individual labor efficiency. As this process deepens and broadens, the transformation from surplus value to relative surplus value is realized at the societal level, achieving the scientification of productive forces at the societal level. Second, technological progress or factor reorganization can innovate the production process, giving birth to entirely new market demands, thereby spawning a more refined social division of labor and the emergence of new industrial sectors. Historically, there has been a transformation process of "regional division of labor – sectoral division of labor – industry division of labor – resource-based division of labor – technology-based division of labor…", which continues to change to this day, reflecting the differentiation of productive forces. Finally, concomitant with the differentiation of productive forces, there is also the integration of productive forces. Technological progress in the sphere of circulation greatly promotes the socialization of production and also promotes the progress of science and technology, which in turn acts back upon the scientification of productive forces, thus presenting a picture of the self-multiplication of productive forces. Lenin once pointed out: "The socialization of production has made enormous progress. Even the process of technical invention and technical improvement has become socialized." [4]4 Xi Jinping, "Speech at the 27th Collective Study Session of the Politburo of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC" (January 11, 2021). From this, we can clearly observe that productive forces contain an inherent tendency toward self-reinforcement and self-expansion. The technological transformations, leaps in productive forces, and restructuring of relations of production driven by successive industrial revolutions are essentially a process of transcending and inheriting the previous round of "differentiation-integration." Therefore, the development of productive forces, precisely in the dialectical movement of continuous differentiation and integration, realizes a spiral ascent from quantitative to qualitative change. In this dynamic process of accumulation from quantitative to qualitative change, productive forces continuously transcend the bearing capacity of existing relations of production, thereby forcing the adjustment and optimization of relations of production. The two, in dialectical interaction, propel the social formation forward. This interaction and transcendence between productive forces and relations of production constitutes the core driving force of social historical evolution, highlighting the key role of the development of productive forces as the primary driving force of social progress.

根据上述分析，我们可以把生产力的质变过程分解为三个环节：首先，以技术进步或要素重组在某些先进企业内部率先出现为先导，提高个别劳动效率。随着该过程的深化与广化，在全社会层面实现超额剩余价值向相对剩余价值的转化，实现社会层面上的生产力的科技化。其次，技术进步或要素重组能够革新生产过程，诞生全新的市场需求，从而催生更加细化的社会分工，出现新的产业部门。历史上就出现了“区域分工-部门分工-行业分工-资源基础分工-技术基础分工……”的转化过程，至今还在不断发生变化，这体现了生产力分化。最后，在生产力分化的同时，也伴有生产力整体化。流通领域内的技术进步极大地促进了生产的社会化，也促进了科学技术的进步，这又重新作用到生产力的科技化之中，从而出现了一幅生产力自我增殖的图景。列宁就曾指出，“生产的社会化有了巨大的进展。就连技术发明和技术改进的过程也社会化了。”由此，我们可以清晰地观察到生产力内含一种自我增强、自我扩张的趋势。历次工业革命带动的技术转型、生产力飞跃及生产关系重构，实质上是对前一轮“分化-整合”过程的超越与继承。因此，生产力的发展正是在不断的分化与整合的辩证运动中，实现了由量变到质变的螺旋式上升。在这一由量变累积至质变的动态过程中，生产力不断超越现存生产关系的承载边界，进而倒逼生产关系的调整与优化，二者在辩证互动中推动社会形态向前发展。这种生产力与生产关系的相互作用与超越，构成了社会历史演进的核心动力，彰显了生产力发展作为社会进步首要推动力的关键作用。

II. The Practical Orientation of the Category of "New Quality Productive Forces"

二、“新质生产力”范畴的实践指向

The discourse system of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics is built upon the dual foundation of academic-theoretical discourse and policy-institutional discourse, seeking creative integration between the two to achieve the sublimation of internal logical consistency and wholeness. Viewed from the dimension of theoretical analysis, academic discourse exhibits characteristics of universality, deep theorization, and systematicity, while policy discourse highlights its specificity, practical orientation, and stage-specific adaptability. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, a notable feature in the field of political economy in our country has been policy discourse leading academic discourse. Under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, each historical period has adopted economic development strategies with distinct characteristics. These deployments profoundly responded to the core issue of continuously liberating and developing productive forces, reflecting that the process of socialist modernization in our country is a long historical scroll of the continuous liberation and development of social productive forces. In this process, the iterative updating of political economy textbooks is not only a mirror of the changes of the times but also a record of the gradual evolution of academic discourse. We regard the changes in political economy textbooks as a key clue to grasping the evolutionary thread of academic discourse. Their latest revisions not only gather the collective wisdom of academic frontiers but also incorporate the latest summaries of practical experience, comprehensively demonstrating the dynamic construction process in which the disciplinary theoretical system continuously enriches itself as practice deepens.

中国特色社会主义政治经济学的话语体系构筑于学术-理论话语与政策-制度话语的双重基石之上，寻求二者间的创造性融合，以达到内在逻辑的一致性与整体性的升华。从理论分析的维度透视，学术话语展现出普遍性、深度理论化与系统性特征，而政策话语则凸显其针对性、实践导向及阶段适应性。自中华人民共和国成立以来，我国政治经济学领域的一个显著特征是政策话语引领学术话语。在中国共产党的坚强领导下，各个历史时期采取了各具特色的经济发展策略，这些部署深刻呼应了持续解放和发展生产力的核心议题，映射出我国社会主义现代化进程是一部社会生产力不断获得解放与发展的历史长卷。在此历程中，政治经济学教材的迭代更新不仅是时代变迁的镜像，亦是对学术话语渐进演变的记录。我们将政治经济学教材的变革视为把握学术话语演进脉络的关键线索，其最新修订不仅汇聚了学术前沿的集体智慧结晶，还融入了最新的实践经验总结，全面展示了学科理论体系随实践深化而不断丰富的动态构建过程。

In the early period following the founding of the People's Republic of China, given the weak state of the national economic base, our country adopted a gradual and orderly strategy, entering a New Democratic society, and implemented a major land reform measure of "land to the tiller" in the countryside. During this period, our country was still a nation where small-scale production predominated and agriculture was the mainstay. From the perspective of the laborers, a large number of independent and scattered small producers were connected through commercial ties and linked with large-scale industry, together forming the macro-structure of the national economy. The objects of labor reflected the level of economic development at the time, namely, farmland and land as the main focus. The core of the "Land Reform Law of the People's Republic of China," promulgated in 1950, was to abolish the feudal landlord system of exploitation and establish peasant land ownership, aiming to remove the fetters on the development of rural productive forces, promote the growth of agricultural production, and pave the way for the national industrialization process. Establishing relations of production appropriate to the actual level of development of the productive forces became the guiding principle of the reform. In terms of the means of labor, the tools and resources related to agricultural production were more rationally allocated after the reform, promoting an increase in agricultural production efficiency, and also accompanied by a reconfiguration of power structures. This land reform greatly increased the resource holdings of the poor peasants, reshaped the rural social structure, and the peasants' production enthusiasm rose to an unprecedented level. By adjusting the organizational model of the elements of the productive forces system, it achieved the liberation of rural productive forces. Educational materials of the time, such as "Lectures on Political Economy" published in 1952, not only covered major socio-economic formations such as pre-capitalism, capitalism, and socialism in their content organization, but also specially added a chapter on the New Democratic economy, closely aligning with the actual conditions of the country. When discussing the socialist system, the book not only elaborated on its basic characteristics but also reserved space for discussing the transition from capitalism to socialism during the transitional period, reflecting the close integration and timely updating of policy discourse and academic expression.

中华人民共和国成立初期，鉴于国家经济基础薄弱的现状，我国采取了循序渐进的战略，步入新民主主义社会，并在农村实施了“耕者有其田”的重大土地改革举措。这一时期，我国仍是一个小生产占据主导、以农业为主体的国家。从劳动者的角度来看，大量独立分散的小生产者通过商业纽带相互连接，并与大工业相衔接，共同构成了国家经济的宏观架构。劳动对象则反映了当时的经济发展水平，即以农田和土地为主。1950年颁布的《中华人民共和国土地改革法》核心在于废除封建地主剥削制度，确立农民土地所有权，旨在解除农村生产力发展的束缚，推动农业生产的增长，为国家工业化进程铺路搭桥。根据生产力发展的实际水平，建立与之相适应的生产关系，成为改革的指导原则。从劳动资料来看，与农业生产有关的工具和资源，在改革后得到了更合理的配置，促进了农业生产效率的提升，也伴随着权力结构的重新配置。此次土地改革极大地提升了贫苦农民的资源持有量，重塑了乡村社会结构，农民的生产热情空前高涨，通过调整生产力体系的要素组织模式实现了农村生产力的解放。当时的教育材料，如1952年出版的《政治经济学讲话》，在内容组织上不仅涵盖了前资本主义、资本主义、社会主义等主要社会经济形态，还特别增设了新民主主义经济章节，紧密贴合国家现实情况。在论述社会主义制度时，该书不仅阐述了基本特征，还为过渡时期从资本主义向社会主义转变预留了讨论空间，体现了政策话语与学术表述的紧密结合与适时更新。

In 1956, with the smooth completion of the Three Great Transformations [1]1 "New development concept" (新发展理念): A set of five development concepts—innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing—formally adopted by the CPC around 2015 to guide China's economic and social development., the strategic focus of national development shifted to prioritizing the development of heavy industry. Centered on this core objective, a series of supporting mechanisms were constructed, including the planned economic system, the system of state monopoly for the purchase and marketing of agricultural products [2]2 "Confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, confidence in the system, and confidence in the culture": This is the standard rendering of the "Four Confidences" (四个自信), a political slogan introduced by Xi Jinping., and the urban-rural household registration management system [3]3 The 2024 Government Work Report is the annual report on the work of the State Council delivered to the National People's Congress in March 2024.. This process profoundly affected the composition and mode of use of the laborers, objects of labor, and means of labor. First, laborers during this period experienced a transformation in their identity and the mode of labor organization, participating in economic production in a more organized manner. Second, in terms of the means of labor, the planned economic system was conducive to the diffusion of advanced technology from innovative sectors to other sectors, and the modernization of the means of labor significantly improved labor efficiency. Finally, regarding the objects of labor, the national orientation towards prioritizing industrialization largely defined the scope of the objects of labor. During this period, through the organization of laborers, the centralization of objects of labor, and the modernization of means of labor, powerful momentum was provided for the industrialization process of New China. Mao Zedong once pointed out: "The aim of the socialist revolution is to liberate the productive forces. The transformation of individual ownership in agriculture and handicrafts into socialist collective ownership, and the transformation of capitalist ownership in private industry and commerce into socialist ownership, will inevitably greatly liberate the productive forces. This creates the social conditions for the great development of industry and agricultural production." [4]4 Xi Jinping, "Speech at the 27th Collective Study Session of the Politburo of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC" (January 11, 2021). From then until before reform and opening up, our country's policy choices for the development of productive forces were deeply influenced by the Soviet Union, following a path of first transforming the relations of production, and then slowly developing the productive forces to match them. Lenin, in "On Our Revolution," opposed the monistic determinism of productive forces, asking rhetorically: "Why could we not first create the prerequisites for that level with revolutionary means, and then, on the basis of the workers' and peasants' government and the Soviet system, catch up with other nations?" [5]5 The entropy method is a statistical technique used to assign objective weights to indicators based on the degree of variation or dispersion in the data. During this period, the theory and practice of political economy in our country also underwent a significant shift, from focusing on the "system" to paying more attention to the "mode of production" itself, that is, the development of productive forces and the adaptive adjustment of relations of production. This evolution of academic discourse can be glimpsed from the updates in the 1955 edition of "Lectures on Political Economy" compared to the 1952 edition. The new textbook not only adjusted the chapter structure, canceling the section specifically for New Democratic society, but also integrated it into the chapter on the "Socialist Mode of Production," and only briefly outlined it within the category of the "transitional period," reflecting a profound shift in theoretical focus towards the dynamic adaptive adjustment between productive forces and relations of production. This series of changes marked an important step in our country's exploration of a socialist development path suited to its national conditions, and also laid the theoretical and practical foundation for the subsequent implementation of the reform and opening up policy.

1956年，随着三大改造的顺利完成，国家发展战略重心转向优先发展重工业。围绕这一核心目标，构建了包括计划经济体制、农产品统购统销体系、城乡户籍管理制度等一系列支持性机制。这一过程深刻影响了劳动者、劳动对象和劳动资料的构成和使用方式。首先，劳动者在这一时期经历了身份和劳动组织方式的转变，劳动者更加有组织地参与经济生产；其次，劳动资料方面，计划经济体制有利于先进技术从创新部门向其他部门扩散，劳动资料的现代化显著提高了劳动效率；最后，劳动对象方面，国家的工业化优先发展导向很大程度上规定了劳动对象的范围。这一时期通过劳动者的组织化、劳动对象的集中化、劳动资料的现代化三方面为新中国的工业化进程提供了强大动力。毛泽东曾指出：“社会主义革命的目的是为了解放生产力。农业和手工业由个体的所有制变为社会主义的集体所有制，私营工商业由资本主义所有制变为社会主义所有制，必然使生产力大大地获得解放。这样就为大大地发展工业和农业的生产创造了社会条件。”在此后直至改革开放之前，我国的生产力发展政策选择深受苏联影响，走的是先改造生产关系，然后慢慢发展生产力与之相匹配的道路。列宁在《论我国革命》中反对生产力一元决定论，他反问道：“我们为什么不能首先用革命手段取得达到这个一定水平的前提，然后在工农政权和苏维埃制度的基础上赶上别国人民呢？”这一时期，我国的政治经济学理论与实践也出现了显著转变，从侧重于“制度”转向更加关注“生产方式”本身，即生产力的发展与生产关系的适应性调整。这一学术话语的演进，可以从《政治经济学讲话》1955年版本相对于1952年版本的更新中窥见一斑。新版教材不仅调整了章节结构，取消了专门针对新民主主义社会的部分，而且将其整合进“社会主义生产方式”章节，并仅在“过渡时期”这一范畴内予以简要概述，体现出理论重心向生产力与生产关系动态适应性调整的深刻转变。这一系列变化，标志着我国在探索适合本国国情的社会主义发展道路上迈出了重要一步，也为后续改革开放政策的实施奠定了理论与实践的基础。

In 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC was convened, and China's economic construction entered a new historical period. The Communist Party of China drew on historical experience, shifted the focus of the Party and state work to economic construction, and opened a new chapter of reform and opening up characterized by internal reform and external opening. Deng Xiaoping proposed: "After the basic system of socialism is established, it is still necessary to fundamentally change the economic system that fetters the development of productive forces, and establish a vibrant and dynamic socialist economic system to promote the development of productive forces. This is reform, so reform is also liberating productive forces. In the past, we only talked about developing productive forces under socialist conditions, but did not talk about liberating productive forces through reform, which was incomplete. We should fully address both liberating and developing productive forces." [6]6 TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) is a multi-criteria decision analysis method. The entropy weight-TOPSIS model combines entropy weighting with TOPSIS. At the same time, Deng Xiaoping also put forward the thesis that "science and technology are the primary productive forces," pointing out that economic construction must rely on scientific and technological progress and the improvement of the quality of laborers, providing guidance for economic construction work. First, through the adjustment of relations of production, the enthusiasm and creativity of laborers were stimulated to an unprecedented degree, and the knowledge level and skills of laborers gradually improved, becoming an important factor driving economic growth. Second, the objects of labor also underwent tremendous changes. Facing the new situation emerging in the 21st century—the intangible nature of asset investment, the intellectualization of production tools, the upgrading of industrial structure, the globalization of economic trends, and the ecological orientation of economic development—the scope of objects of labor expanded from traditional material resources to intangible resources such as knowledge, information, and data. Third, the development and changes in the means of labor were also particularly evident, especially with the establishment of the socialist market economic system, where economic development entered a stage dependent on technological progress and the upgrading of production tools. The widespread application of new technologies and new equipment provided laborers with more advanced production tools, significantly promoting an increase in production efficiency. During this period, mainstream political economy textbooks also kept pace with the times, not only incorporating analyses of new phenomena in the world economy and society after the Second World War, but also summarizing new experiences in socialist construction, striving to break free from the influence of traditional textbook models and strengthen the construction of theories with Chinese characteristics. The textbook content significantly expanded topics related to socialism, such as the operation of the public ownership economy, enterprise capital flow, commerce and credit mechanisms, etc., comprehensively reflecting the profound changes and new features of China's economy and society since reform and opening up.

1978年，党的十一届三中全会召开，中国经济建设进入了新的历史时期。中国共产党汲取历史经验，把党和国家工作重心转移到经济建设上来，开启了以内改外开为特征的改革开放新篇章。邓小平提出：“社会主义基本制度确立以后，还要从根本上改变束缚生产力发展的经济体制，建立起充满生机和活力的社会主义经济体制，促进生产力的发展，这是改革，所以改革也是解放生产力。过去，只讲在社会主义条件下发展生产力，没有讲还要通过改革解放生产力，不完全。应该把解放生产力和发展生产力两个讲全了。”与此同时，邓小平还提出“科学技术是第一生产力”的论断，指出经济建设必须依靠科技进步和劳动者素质的提高，为经济建设工作提供了指南。一是通过生产关系的调整，劳动者的积极性和创造性得到了空前的激发，劳动者的知识水平和技能日益提升，逐步成为推动经济增长的重要因素。二是劳动对象也发生了巨大的变化。面对21世纪所出现的——资产投入无形化、生产工具智能化、产业结构高级化、经济趋势全球化、经济发展生态化——的新形势，劳动对象的范围从传统的物质资源扩展到了知识、信息和数据等无形资源。三是劳动资料的发展变化也尤为明显，特别是随着社会主义市场经济体制的建立，经济发展进入了依赖科技进步和生产工具升级的阶段。新技术、新设备的广泛应用为劳动者提供了更加先进的生产工具，促进生产效率显著提高。这一时期，主流政治经济学教材也紧跟时代步伐，不仅融入了第二次世界大战后世界经济与社会的新现象分析，还总结了社会主义建设的新经验，力求摆脱传统教科书模式的影响，强化中国特色的理论构建。教材内容显著扩充了社会主义相关议题，如公有制经济的运作、企业资金流动、商业与信贷机制等，全面映射出改革开放以来中国经济社会的深刻变革与崭新面貌。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that the most fundamental and urgent task for realizing socialist modernization and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is to further liberate and develop social productive forces. In 1981, the Sixth Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC pointed out that the principal contradiction in Chinese society was "the contradiction between the people's ever-growing material and cultural needs and backward social production." This formulation reflected the basic situation of China's economy and society at the time, namely the mismatch between the people's basic living needs and the country's relatively backward production capacity. As time passed, especially after entering the New Era, the country's economic and social development achieved tremendous accomplishments, the level of social productive forces significantly improved, the people's living conditions and quality of life greatly improved, and the principal contradiction in society also changed accordingly. In the report of the 19th National Congress of the CPC, this contradiction was redefined as "the contradiction between the people's ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development." This shift means that the people's needs are no longer limited to the basic material and cultural levels, but have expanded to the pursuit of a higher quality of life, including better education, more stable employment, more satisfactory income, more reliable social security, higher-level medical and health services, more comfortable living conditions, a more beautiful environment, and so on. At the same time, the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development has become the main obstacle restricting the realization of the people's better life. This is reflected in development disparities between regions, between urban and rural areas, and between different groups, as well as in the lack of coordination between economic development and environmental protection, social governance, and other aspects. This transformation of the principal contradiction is an accurate grasp of the new stage of China's social development and puts forward new and higher requirements for the work of the Party and the state. That is, while continuing to promote economic development, greater attention must be paid to the quality and efficiency of development, and efforts must be devoted to solving the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development, in order to meet the people's diverse, high-level needs for a better life. During this period, the "new-quality-ization" of laborers became prominent; laborers no longer engaged in monotonous, mechanical labor, but possessed a considerable degree of professional skills and knowledge and needed to exert their innovative capacity in their work. Along with the rapid changes in digital technology, tool systems such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence have greatly increased the technological content of the means of labor. At the same time, the scope of the objects of labor has been greatly broadened, including not only material products but also new production factors such as non-material data and information. It was precisely against the backdrop of this change in the principal social contradiction and the new requirements of economic development that General Secretary Xi Jinping first proposed the category of "new quality productive forces" in September 2023. This is the Party Central Committee's profound insight into and strategic deployment for the driving forces of China's economic and social development. At the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC in 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping, from the strategic height of comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization, further made a systematic deployment for "cultivating and developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions." Cultivating and developing "new quality productive forces" aims to precisely fill development shortcomings, thoroughly implement the new development philosophy, build a new development pattern, promote high-quality development, and achieve a comprehensive leap in social productive forces. Academia must refine and elevate rich practical experience into systematic economic theory, integrate the valuable experience of decades of reform and opening up into regular insights, and continuously enrich and improve the theoretical framework of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics, thereby guiding practice and demonstrating the vitality of theory. During this period, the compilation of textbooks on socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics tended to closely link with China's actual conditions. The organization of their content usually revolves around core topics such as institutional construction, operational mechanisms, development models, and opening up to the outside world. Although these textbooks are close to the national conditions in terms of content, in terms of structural arrangement and logical construction, they have, to a certain extent, shown a passive following of policy guidance and a lag in theoretical innovation, reflecting the urgent need for a forward-looking perspective in academic exploration.

党的十八大以来，习近平总书记多次强调，实现社会主义现代化，实现中华民族伟大复兴，最根本最紧迫的任务还是进一步解放和发展社会生产力。1981年，党的十一届六中全会指出，我国社会主要矛盾是“人民日益增长的物质文化需要同落后的社会生产之间的矛盾”，这一表述反映了当时我国经济和社会发展的基本情况，即人们的基本生活需求与国家相对落后的生产能力之间的不匹配。随着时间推移，特别是进入新时代以来，国家的经济社会发展取得了巨大成就，社会生产力水平显著提高，人民的生活条件和生活质量有了极大改善，社会主要矛盾也随之发生了变化。在党的十九大报告中，这一矛盾被重新定义为“人民日益增长的美好生活需要和不平衡不充分的发展之间的矛盾”。这一转变意味着，人民群众的需求不再仅仅局限于物质和文化的基本层面，而是扩展到对更高品质生活的追求，包括更好的教育、更稳定的工作、更满意的收入、更可靠的社会保障、更高水平的医疗卫生服务、更舒适的居住条件、更优美的环境等。同时，发展不平衡不充分的问题成为制约人民美好生活实现的主要障碍，这体现在地区之间、城乡之间、不同群体之间的发展差异，以及经济发展与环境保护、社会治理等方面的不协调。这一主要矛盾的转化，是对我国社会发展新阶段的准确把握，对党和国家的工作提出了新的更高要求，即在继续推动经济发展的同时，更加注重发展的质量和效益，致力于解决发展不平衡不充分的问题，以满足人民群众对美好生活的多元化、高层次需求。这一时期，劳动者的“新质化”突显，劳动者不再从事单调、机械的劳动，而是具备相当程度的专业技能知识并需要在工作中发挥其创新能力。伴随数字技术日新月异，大数据、云计算、人工智能等工具体系极大地提高了劳动资料的技术含量，同时劳动对象的范围被极大地拓宽了，不仅包括物质产品，也包括非物质的数据、信息等崭新的生产要素。正是在这样的社会主要矛盾变化和经济发展的新要求下，习近平总书记于2023年9月首次提出了“新质生产力”这一范畴，是党中央对我国经济社会发展动力的深刻洞察与战略部署。在2024年党的二十届三中全会上，习近平总书记站在全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化的战略高度，进一步对“因地制宜培育和发展新质生产力”作出了系统部署。培育和发展“新质生产力”旨在精准补足发展短板，深入贯彻新发展理念，构建新发展格局，推动高质量发展，实现社会生产力的全面跃升。学术界要将丰富的实践经验提炼升华为系统的经济学理论，将数十年改革开放的宝贵经验整合为规律性洞见，持续丰富和完善中国特色社会主义政治经济学的理论框架，以此指导实践，彰显理论的生命力。这一时期，中国特色社会主义政治经济学教材的编写趋向于紧密联系中国实际，其内容组织通常围绕制度构建、运行机制、发展模式、对外开放等核心议题展开。尽管这些教材在内容上紧贴国情，但在结构安排和逻辑构建方面，一定程度上显现了对政策导向的被动跟随，以及在理论创新上的滞后，反映出学术探索对于前瞻视角的迫切需求。

For a long time, the role of Marxist political economy as a precise tool for guiding economic practice has not been fully explored. This phenomenon may be attributed to the inherently critical orientation of Marxist political economy, whose core lies in revealing social contradictions rather than directly providing specific, detailed, optimal development paths for different historical stages of development. However, since the New Era, the proposal of a series of categories of Xi Jinping's economic thought, such as "new quality productive forces," has provided an opportunity for socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics to transcend, accelerating the process of adapting Marxist economic theory to the Chinese context.

长期以来，马克思主义政治经济学作为指导经济实践的精密工具的角色未得到充分发掘。这一现象或可归因于马克思主义政治经济学本质上的批判性定位，其核心在于揭示社会矛盾而非为不同历史发展阶段直接提供具体详实的最优发展路径。但是，新时代以来，“新质生产力”等一系列习近平经济思想范畴的提出为中国特色社会主义政治经济学提供了超越的契机，加速推进了马克思主义经济理论的中国化进程。

III. Construction of an Analytical Framework for the Category of "New Quality Productive Forces"

三、“新质生产力”范畴的分析框架构建

As mentioned above, the proposal of the category of "new quality productive forces" is a profound response to the path of high-quality development in the new period. It aims to explore, under the new stage of development, how to cultivate the form of productive forces that drives high-quality development, and the fundamental ways to unlock their development potential. This category integrates the valuable experience of the historical development of productive forces and the latest practical achievements. It is not only a policy choice for China to respond to the changes unseen in a century and promote the adjustment of the domestic industrial structure, but also an innovative development of the Marxist theory of productive forces. The category of "new quality productive forces" simultaneously carries the dual mission of policy guidance and academic exploration. It is both a deep analysis of practical problems and an active exploration of theoretical frontiers, embodying the dialectical wisdom of combining theory and practice.

如前所述，“新质生产力”范畴的提出，是对新时期高质量发展路径的深刻回应，旨在探索在新的发展阶段下，如何培育驱动高质量发展的生产力形态，以及解锁其发展潜力的根本途径。这一范畴融合了生产力发展历程的宝贵经验和最新的实践成果，不仅是当前中国应对世界百年未有之大变局、推动国内产业结构调整的政策选择，而且是对马克思主义生产力理论的创新性发展。“新质生产力”这一范畴同时承载着政策导向与学术探索的双重使命，既是对现实问题的深度剖析，也是对理论前沿的积极探索，体现了理论与实践相结合的辩证智慧。

(I) Review of the Policy Discourse on "New Quality Productive Forces"

（一）“新质生产力”的政策话语梳理

As a policy discourse, "new quality productive forces" emphasizes a practice orientation, answering three questions from a practical perspective: what kind of productive forces are developed when developing "new quality productive forces," how to develop "new quality productive forces," and for whom to develop "new quality productive forces."

作为政策话语的“新质生产力”侧重实践导向，从实践的角度回答了三个问题：发展“新质生产力”是发展怎样的生产力，怎样发展“新质生产力”，为谁发展“新质生产力”。

First, what kind of "new quality productive forces" to develop. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "New quality productive forces are advanced productive forces with high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, where innovation plays a leading role, breaking away from traditional economic growth modes and paths of productive forces development, and conforming to the new development philosophy." Regarding the main direction of attack for "new quality productive forces," General Secretary Xi Jinping also gave specific explanations: "Actively cultivate strategic emerging industries such as new energy, new materials, advanced manufacturing, and electronic information, actively cultivate future industries, accelerate the formation of new quality productive forces, and enhance new momentum for development." Based on General Secretary Xi Jinping's relevant expositions, scholars have concretized "new quality productive forces" into digital "new quality productive forces," collaborative "new quality productive forces," green "new quality productive forces," blue "new quality productive forces," and open "new quality productive forces."

首先是发展什么样的“新质生产力”。习近平总书记强调：“新质生产力是创新起主导作用，摆脱传统经济增长方式、生产力发展路径，具有高科技、高效能、高质量特征，符合新发展理念的先进生产力质态。”对于“新质生产力”的主攻方向，习近平总书记也作了具体说明：“积极培育新能源、新材料、先进制造、电子信息等战略性新兴产业，积极培育未来产业，加快形成新质生产力，增强发展新动能。”在习近平总书记相关论述的基础上，学者们将“新质生产力”具象化为数字“新质生产力”、协作“新质生产力”、绿色“新质生产力”、蓝色“新质生产力”和开放“新质生产力”。

Second is how to develop "new quality productive forces." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, we have put forward many major theories and concepts regarding economic and social development, among which the new development concept is the most important and primary." [1]1 "New development concept" (新发展理念): A set of five development concepts—innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing—formally adopted by the CPC around 2015 to guide China's economic and social development. The new development concept answers a series of theoretical and practical questions concerning the purpose, driving force, mode, and path of development. To accelerate the development of a new qualitative state of advanced productive forces, it is necessary to fully implement the new development concept. The primary characteristic of "new quality productive forces" is innovation. "Developing new quality productive forces is an intrinsic requirement and a key focus for promoting high-quality development; we must do a good job on the innovation front and accelerate the development of new quality productive forces." [2]2 "Confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, confidence in the system, and confidence in the culture": This is the standard rendering of the "Four Confidences" (四个自信), a political slogan introduced by Xi Jinping. This requires creating new technologies and new industrial sectors through "creative destruction," and achieving the transformation and upgrading of traditional industrial sectors through "creative transformation." In this process, old and new technologies, as well as old and new sectors, both repel and integrate with each other. This movement of the unity of opposites is precisely the key to the qualitative change of productive forces. Strategic emerging industries and future industries are important carriers of "new quality productive forces"; the process of their development and growth is the process of the formation of "new quality productive forces." According to the 2024 Government Work Report, the government has formulated multiple industrial support plans, focusing on cultivating strategic emerging industries, including fields such as artificial intelligence and green energy, and has introduced a series of tax incentive policies to support enterprise innovation, encouraging enterprises to increase R&D investment. [3]3 The 2024 Government Work Report is the annual report on the work of the State Council delivered to the National People's Congress in March 2024. Furthermore, the government is also promoting the deep integration of the digital economy with the real economy, building a modern industrial system. This series of policies aims to improve total factor productivity and achieve high-quality economic development.

其次是怎样发展“新质生产力”。习近平总书记指出：“党的十八大以来我们对经济社会发展提出了许多重大理论和理念，其中新发展理念是最重要、最主要的。”新发展理念回答了关于发展的目的、动力、方式、路径等一系列理论和实践问题，要加快发展先进生产力新质态，必须全面贯彻新发展理念。“新质生产力”的首要特征是创新，“发展新质生产力是推动高质量发展的内在要求和重要着力点，必须做好创新这篇大文章，推动新质生产力加快发展”。这就要求通过“创造性破坏”创造出新技术和新产业部门，通过“创造性转型”实现传统产业部门的转型升级，在这一过程中新旧技术和新旧部门间既相互排斥又相互融合，这种对立统一运动正是生产力发生质变的关键所在。战略性新兴产业和未来产业是“新质生产力”的重要载体，其发展壮大过程就是“新质生产力”的形成过程。据2024年《政府工作报告》显示，政府制定了多项产业扶持计划，着重培育战略性新兴产业，包括人工智能、绿色能源等领域，出台了一系列支持企业创新的税收优惠政策，鼓励企业加大研发投入。此外，政府还推动数字经济与实体经济的深度融合，构建现代化产业体系。这一系列政策旨在提高全要素生产率，实现经济高质量发展。

Finally, for whom to develop "new quality productive forces." The question of development "for whom" is the most critical issue that needs clarification in the development of productive forces. Human social production activities aim to satisfy needs; human needs are the fundamental driving force for the development of social production. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Only by adhering to the people-centered development philosophy, insisting on development for the people, development relying on the people, and development achievements shared by the people, can we have a correct outlook on development and modernization." [4]4 Xi Jinping, "Speech at the 27th Collective Study Session of the Politburo of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC" (January 11, 2021). The comprehensive and free development of human beings is both the means and the end of "new quality productive forces."

最后是为谁发展“新质生产力”。发展“为了谁”是生产力发展最需要明确的问题。人类的社会生产活动是以满足需要为目的的，人的需要是社会生产发展的根本动力。习近平总书记指出：“只有坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，坚持发展为了人民、发展依靠人民、发展成果由人民共享，才会有正确的发展观、现代化观。”人的全面自由发展是“新质生产力”的手段也是目的。

(B) A Review of the Academic Discourse on "New Quality Productive Forces"

（二）“新质生产力”的学术话语梳理

Productive forces, as a product of historical development, have their connotation continuously enriched over time, and "new quality productive forces" are the new outcome of the intersection of logic and history within this dynamic evolutionary process. For this newly proposed category of "new quality productive forces," following the basic logic of theoretical construction, it is particularly appropriate to start with an analysis of its core constituent elements. There are three criteria for measuring the quality of a conceptual category: first, the concept must possess a clear connotation that can profoundly reveal the essence of the object; second, the concept must have a clear denotation, defining the scope of its application; finally, the concept must be operational, meaning it can be applied to empirical research through quantification or comparison. Next, we will attempt to conduct a concise and systematic scholarly examination of the category of "new quality productive forces," aiming to clarify the core content of its definition and delineate its boundaries.

生产力作为历史发展的产物，其内涵随时间而不断丰富，而“新质生产力”便是这一动态演进过程中逻辑与历史交汇的新成果。对于“新质生产力”这一新近提出的范畴，遵循理论构建的基本逻辑，从其核心构成要素入手进行分析显得尤为恰当。衡量概念范畴的质量有三项标准：首先，概念需具备清晰的内涵，能深刻揭示对象的本质；其次，概念应有明确的外延，界定概念的适用范围；最后，概念应具有可操作性，即能够通过量化或对比等方式应用于实证研究之中。接下来，我们将尝试对“新质生产力”范畴进行简练而系统性的学理化审视，旨在明确其定义的核心内容、界定其边界范围。

First, research on connotation. The exploration of the connotation of "new quality productive forces" focuses on its essential attributes and the causes of its emergence, specifically broken down into an analysis from the ontological dimension and an investigation of its causes. Research at the ontological level delves deeply into its logical foundation, theoretical significance, characteristic description, structural components, formation trajectory, and contemporary value, providing a sophisticated exposition from the philosophical perspective of the mutual transformation of quantity and quality and the dialectical movement between productive forces and relations of production. The background for the birth of this category is the profound transformation of the national development environment and the new challenges faced by the progress of productive forces, reflecting a deep reflection on economic achievements and a precise grasp of the laws governing the evolution of productive forces. The deepening interpretation of the connotation can be unfolded from two dimensions: on the one hand, "new quality productive forces" are manifested in the innovative reorganization and leap in efficiency of the constituent elements of productive forces. The traditional three elements—labor force, means of labor, and objects of labor—have undergone a comprehensive transformation and upgrading, transforming into a new qualitative state marked by "high-quality" human capital, "new medium" technological tools, and "new material" resources. These new-type elements interweave to form an efficient ecosystem of interdependence and close linkage. On the other hand, the core of "new quality productive forces" is viewed from the dual perspectives of "new" and "quality." The "new" here encompasses multiple aspects such as technological innovation, model innovation, emerging industries, emerging fields, and new growth drivers, representing the frontier and pioneering; while the dimension of "quality" emphasizes a comprehensive improvement from the material base to quality standards and then to product quality, marking a leap in productive forces from quantitative accumulation to qualitative change, a fundamental transformation in the depth and level of development. The definition of the connotation of "new quality productive forces" is not only a description of the current state but also a forward-looking guide for the future development path.

一是内涵研究。“新质生产力”的内涵探索，聚焦于其本质属性与催生动因，具体细化为本体论维度的剖析与成因的探究。本体论层面的研究深入挖掘其逻辑基点、理论深意、特性描述、结构组件、形成轨迹及时代价值，从质量互变及生产力与生产关系辩证运动的哲学视角来精辟阐述。该范畴的诞生背景，是国家发展环境的深刻转型与生产力进步面临的全新挑战，映射出对经济成就的深刻反思及对生产力演进规律的精准把握。内涵的深化解读，可以从两个维度展开：一方面，“新质生产力”体现在生产力构成元素的革新重组及效能飞跃上。传统三要素——劳动力、劳动工具、劳动对象——经历了一场全面的转型升级，转变为以“高素质”人力资本、“新介质”技术工具和“新材质”资源为标志的新质形态，这些新型要素交织成一个相互依赖、紧密联动的高效生态系统。另一方面，从“新”与“质”的双重视角来透视“新质生产力”的核心。这里的“新”，蕴含了技术创新、模式革新、新兴产业、新兴领域及新增长动力等多重面向，代表了前沿与开创；而“质”的维度，则强调从物质基础到质量标准再到产品品质的全面提升，标志着生产力由量的积累跃升至质的飞跃，是发展深度和层次的根本性变革。“新质生产力”的内涵界定，不仅是对现有状态的描述，更是对未来发展路径的前瞻性指引。

Second, research on denotation. The gestation and growth of "new quality productive forces" are rooted in the combined effect of multi-dimensional driving forces and have a profound impact on many fields. First, education plays a core role, laying a solid foundation for the germination and growth of "new quality productive forces" by accelerating the knowledge renewal and skill iteration of the labor force, as well as promoting the high-end transformation of the knowledge system. Second, the strengthening of scientific and technological innovation as a driving force continuously breaks through existing boundaries, leading revolutionary changes in production methods, and is a key engine for generating "new quality productive forces." Finally, currently, the activation and market-oriented allocation of data elements, the comprehensive digital transformation of economic activities, and the vigorous rise of digital economy formats jointly outline the clear trajectory and dynamic mechanism for the formation of "new quality productive forces." The rise of "new quality productive forces" exerts a powerful driving force for the reconstruction of the modern industrial system, the reinforcement of national economic security, and the promotion of high-quality development. This not only demonstrates the dynamic balance between the progress of productive forces and the satisfaction of social needs but also profoundly embodies the value orientation that gives equal weight to economic development and social justice. Examined from the height of value rationality, the ultimate pursuit of "new quality productive forces" is to promote prosperity shared by all people, that is, common prosperity. It is an active response and practical exploration of the ideal state of fair distribution of economic achievements and comprehensive social progress. Therefore, the cultivation and development of "new quality productive forces" is not only a natural process of technological progress and industrial upgrading but also an important pathway towards a more just, inclusive, and sustainable society.

二是外延研究。“新质生产力”的孕育与壮大，根植于多维度动因的综合作用，并在诸多领域产生深远的影响。首先，教育扮演着核心角色，通过加速劳动力的知识更新与技能迭代，以及促进知识体系的高端化转型，为“新质生产力”的萌发与壮大奠定了坚实的基础。其次，科技创新作为驱动力的强化，不断突破既有界限，引领生产方式的革命性变迁，是催生“新质生产力”的关键引擎。最后，当前，数据要素的激活与市场化配置、经济活动的全面数字化转型，以及数字经济业态的蓬勃兴起，共同勾勒出了“新质生产力”形成的清晰脉络和动态机制。“新质生产力”的兴起，对现代化产业体系的重构、国家经济安全的加固、高质量发展的推进，均释放出强大的推动力。这不仅彰显了生产力进步与社会需求满足之间的动态平衡，还深刻体现了经济发展与社会公正并重的价值导向。从价值理性的高度审视，“新质生产力”的终极追求在于促进全民共享的繁荣，即共同富裕，它是对经济成果公平分配、社会发展全面进步理想状态的积极回应与实践探索。因此，“新质生产力”的培育与发展，不仅是科技进步与产业升级的自然进程，更是通往更加公正、包容与可持续发展社会的重要途径。

Third, research on measurement. Current assessments of "new quality productive forces" can be summarized into four main approaches: The first type of research relies on the basic composition of productive forces, namely laborers, objects of labor, and means of labor, to construct a comprehensive evaluation framework, and uses the entropy method to quantitatively analyze the state of progress of productive forces. [5]5 The entropy method is a statistical technique used to assign objective weights to indicators based on the degree of variation or dispersion in the data. The second type of research subdivides "new quality productive forces" into three subcategories—technological, green, and digital—and accordingly establishes a comprehensive evaluation system, using an improved entropy weight-TOPSIS model to precisely measure its development level. [6]6 TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) is a multi-criteria decision analysis method. The entropy weight-TOPSIS model combines entropy weighting with TOPSIS. The third method focuses on the hallmark characteristics of "new quality productive forces," namely high technology intensity, high-efficiency transformation, and high-quality output, combined with the optimal allocation of production factors and value leap. Based on the dual perspective of factor composition and value change, it designs an evaluation index system and uses the entropy method for dynamic assessment. [7]7 The entropy method is a statistical technique used to assign objective weights to indicators based on the degree of variation or dispersion in the data. The fourth strategy focuses on the driving efficiency of scientific and technological innovation, constructing an evaluation index system from three strategic dimensions—technological innovation capability, industrial upgrading capability, and factor innovation capability—and systematically assessing the improvement status of "new quality productive forces" using the entropy weight method. [8]8 The entropy weight method is a statistical technique used to assign objective weights to indicators based on the degree of variation or dispersion in the data. These four types of methods together provide diverse perspectives and tools for understanding and quantifying the progress of "new quality productive forces."

三是测度研究。当前关于“新质生产力”的测评可归纳为四种主要途径：第一类研究依托生产力的基本构成，即劳动者、劳动对象及劳动资料，构建综合性评估框架，并采用熵值法来量化分析生产力的进步状态。第二类研究将“新质生产力”细分为科技、绿色及数字三个子类别，据此建立综合评价系统，运用改进的熵权-TOPSIS模型来精确衡量其发展层次。第三类方法聚焦于“新质生产力”的标志性特点，即高技术密集、高效能转化与高品质产出，结合生产要素的优化配置与价值跃升，基于要素构成与价值变迁的双重视角设计评价指标体系，利用熵值法进行动态评估。第四类策略着重于科技创新的驱动效能，从技术创新力、产业升级力、要素革新力三个战略维度构建测评指标体系，应用熵权法系统性地评估“新质生产力”的提升状况。这四类方法共同为理解和量化“新质生产力”的进展提供了多元化的视角与工具。

(C) Reinterpretation of the Connotation of "New Quality Productive Forces"

（三）“新质生产力”的内涵再阐释

As discussed above, when exploring "new quality productive forces," research often starts from the two core dimensions of its intrinsic essence (connotation) and external extension (denotation). However, when these theoretical attempts are applied to practice, especially when measuring the same object—"new quality productive forces"—it is not difficult to find the diversity and difference in measurement methods, leading to a certain degree of category confusion.

如前所述，探讨“新质生产力”时，研究往往从其内在本质（内涵）与外在扩展（外延）两个核心维度入手。然而，当这些理论尝试应用于实践，特别是当测量同一对象——“新质生产力”时，我们不难发现测量方法的多样性和差异性，导致了一定程度的范畴混淆。

Based on the aforementioned theoretical accumulation of existing research, empirical summaries of the development history of productive forces, and a comprehensive review of current research progress on "new quality productive forces," we propose a political economy analytical framework of "real-world challenges – policy responses – theoretical construction," as shown in Figure 1. Overall, this framework not only reflects the dynamic interaction between theory and practice but also embodies the process of starting from practical problems, undergoing policy adjustment and feedback, and ultimately promoting the deepening of academic theory, which aids in understanding the category of "new quality productive forces."

基于前述对已有研究的理论积淀、生产力发展历程的实证总结，以及对现有“新质生产力”研究进展的全面梳理回顾，我们提出了一个“现实挑战-政策因应-理论构建”的政治经济学分析框架，如图1所示。整体上看，这一框架不仅反映了理论与实践的动态互动，也体现了从实际问题出发，经由政策调整反馈，最终促进学术理论深化的过程，有助于理解“新质生产力”这一范畴。

"New quality productive forces" essentially marks a significant leap in the theory of productive forces. It highlights the leading role of technological innovation, propelling the economy beyond traditional growth trajectories and aligning with the demands of the era of high-quality development. This is not merely an abstract theoretical conception but a concrete manifestation and new practical form of traditional productive forces models during the economic transformation and upgrading to the stage of high-quality development. The concept of productive forces itself contains historical and theoretical depth, while "new quality productive forces" is more specific in theory, more directional in practice, and closely linked to policy orientation and social practice. While crossing the boundary between academic inquiry and policy formulation, there also exists a frequently overlooked dimension – the interactive influence between the two, which is precisely the key aspect this paper seeks to explore in depth. This perspective requires us to examine it from the internal logic of knowledge evolution. As some scholars have pointed out, the production and construction of knowledge face two major challenges: first, the external challenge posed by newly emerging practical experiences to existing knowledge, the so-called "external difficulties"; second, the internal incoherence and contradictions within the existing knowledge system triggered by these external challenges, the "internal difficulties." From this perspective, the proposal of the category of "new quality productive forces" is a positive response to the changing external environment, a policy practice plan for targeted strategy adjustment to adapt to the requirements of the New Era. The core of "new quality productive forces" lies in its strong practical orientation, its precise response to real-world needs and forward-looking layout.

“新质生产力”实质上标志着生产力理论的一次显著飞跃，它凸显了科技创新的引领角色，推动经济超越传统增长轨迹，顺应了高质量发展的时代需求。这并非仅是一个抽象的理论构想，而是传统生产力模式在经济转型升级至高质量发展阶段的具体体现与实践新貌。生产力概念本身蕴含着历史与理论的深度，而“新质生产力”则在理论上更加具体，在实践中更具导向性，同时紧密关联政策导向与社会实践。在跨越学术探讨与政策制定的界限的同时，还存在一个经常被忽视的维度——二者间的互动影响，这正是本文力求深入探讨的关键所在。该视角要求我们从知识演进的内在逻辑出发加以审视。正如有学者所指出的，知识的生产与建构活动直面两大挑战：一是新出现的实践经验对既有知识构成的外在挑战，即所谓的“外部困难”；二是这些外部挑战所触发的既有知识体系内部的不协调与矛盾，即“内部困难”。以此来看，“新质生产力”范畴的提出是对变化的外部环境的积极回应，是针对性地调整策略以适应新时代要求的政策实践方案。“新质生产力”的核心在于其强烈的实践导向性，是对现实需求的精准呼应与前瞻布局。

Within the broad horizon of the Marxist theory of productive forces, the category of "new quality productive forces" clearly delineates a blueprint for development: emphasizing the cultivation of a higher-skilled labor force, the adoption of technology-intensive means of production, and the expansion of broader areas of resource utilization. This concept was nurtured amidst the wave of the new technological revolution, aiming to elucidate the new requirements and realization paths for the current development of productive forces. It is a profound theoretical planning of how "new quality productive forces" emerge in response to the times and how they should be cultivated. In short, the "new" in "new quality productive forces" focuses on depicting the ideal form of productive forces, i.e., what characteristics and levels of productive capacity they should possess; while the dimension of "quality" focuses on exploring the mode and environment for the growth of this new type of productive forces, particularly the innovative relations of production in which it can thrive. "New quality productive forces" deepens our understanding of the dialectical unity of productive forces and relations of production, and clearly indicates that the growth of "new quality productive forces" depends not only on technological innovation and the enhancement of human capital but also strongly calls for the optimization of the institutional environment and mechanism guarantees that match them. In other words, the cultivation process of "new quality productive forces" is essentially a process of reshaping and perfecting new types of relations of production, requiring us to continuously explore on the path of deepening reform, ensuring that institutional innovation advances in tandem with the development of productive forces. This theoretical contribution effectively compensates for the previous limitation of insufficient attention to the dynamics of productive forces development, adding vivid contemporary content to the theoretical treasury of Marxist political economy.

在马克思主义生产力理论的广阔视阈中，“新质生产力”范畴清晰地勾勒出了一幅发展蓝图：强调培养更高技能的劳动力、采用科技密集型的生产工具以及拓展更为广泛的资源利用领域。这一理念在新技术革命的浪潮中孕育而生，旨在阐明当前生产力发展的新要求与实现路径，是对“新质生产力”如何应运而生及如何培育的深刻理论规划。简而言之，“新质生产力”的“新”聚焦于描绘理想中的生产力形态，即应具备何种特质与水平的生产能力；而“质”的维度，则侧重于探索这种新型生产力成长的方式与环境，特别是它在何种创新型生产关系的土壤中得以茁壮成长。“新质生产力”深化了我们对生产力与生产关系辩证统一的理解，并明确指出了“新质生产力”的成长不仅依赖于技术创新与人力资本的提升，还强烈呼唤与之相匹配的制度环境与机制保障的优化。换言之，“新质生产力”的培育过程，本质上是重塑和完善新型生产关系的过程，要求我们在深化改革的道路上不断求索，确保制度创新与生产力发展同步推进。这一理论贡献，有效弥补了以往对生产力发展动态关注不足的局限，为马克思主义政治经济学的理论宝库增添了鲜活的时代内容。

Delving deeply into the Marxist theory of productive forces, we find that Marx, in classic works such as *Capital*, not only expounded the importance of the material dimension of productive forces but also emphatically discussed the indispensability of the spiritual dimension of productive forces. The latter includes multiple levels such as ideology, scientific cognition, policy orientation, and daily life customs, constituting a multi-layered system that exerts a profound influence on material productive forces, playing a role in stimulation and guidance. This perspective suggests that when discussing the category of "new quality productive forces," we must clarify its development goals and service objects, which is a core issue involving values. Whether as a key term in policy orientation or a frontier category in academic inquiry, the positioning of "new quality productive forces" must be rooted in the actual needs of the people. The Marxist political party consistently adheres to the people-centered principle; the formulation and implementation of its productive forces policies are not only a display of economic strategy but also a manifestation of ideological stance, directly linked to the criterion for judging whether productive forces are fettered or liberated. As Mao Zedong discussed in *On Coalition Government* [9]9 "On Coalition Government" (《论联合政府》) is a political report delivered by Mao Zedong at the Seventh National Congress of the CPC in April 1945, outlining the Party's program for post-war China., the fundamental criterion for evaluating policy effectiveness lies in whether and to what extent it promotes the development of the people's productive forces. Deng Xiaoping, in his Southern Talks [10]10 The "Southern Talks" (南方谈话) refer to a series of speeches made by Deng Xiaoping during an inspection tour of southern China in early 1992, which reaffirmed the course of reform and opening up and market-oriented economic reforms., also reaffirmed that the effectiveness of reform and opening up and socialist construction should be judged by whether it promotes socialist productive forces, enhances national strength, and improves the people's living standards. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC [11]11 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in November 2012, marking the beginning of the Xi Jinping era and the formal introduction of the concept of the "Chinese Dream" and the goal of comprehensively deepening reform., General Secretary Xi Jinping has also repeatedly emphasized that in the process of comprehensively deepening reform, the yardstick for progress in productive forces should focus on two key points: "whether it effectively promotes the comprehensive economic and social development" and "whether it genuinely enhances the sense of gain of the masses." This thread of thought not only highlights the CPC's consistent people-centered development thinking but also provides profound guidance for our understanding of the development direction and value orientation of "new quality productive forces."

深入探究马克思主义生产力理论，我们发现马克思在《资本论》等经典文献中，不仅阐述了生产力的物质维度的重要性，还着重论述了生产力的精神维度的不可或缺性。后者包括意识形态、科学认知、政策导向到日常生活习俗等多个层面，构成了一个多层次的体系，对物质生产力产生深远的影响，起到了激发与引导的作用。这一视角提示我们，在探讨“新质生产力”范畴时，必须明确其发展目标与服务对象，这是一个涉及价值观的核心议题。不论是作为政策导向的关键词汇，还是学术探究的前沿范畴，“新质生产力”的定位必须植根于人民的实际需求之中。马克思主义政党始终坚持人民至上的原则，其生产力政策的制定与实施，不仅是经济策略的展现，更是意识形态立场的体现，直接关联着对生产力是束缚还是解放的评判标准。正如毛泽东在《论联合政府》中的论述，评价政策成效的根本在于其是否以及在多大程度上促进了人民生产力的发展。邓小平在南方谈话中亦重申，改革开放与社会主义建设的成效，需通过是否促进社会主义生产力、增强国家实力、提升民众生活水平来评判。党的十八大以来，习近平总书记也多次强调，在全面深化改革的进程中，生产力进步的标尺应当聚焦于两个关键点：“是否有效推动经济社会的全面发展”以及“是否切实增强了人民群众的获得感”。这一思想脉络，不仅彰显了中国共产党一以贯之的以人民为中心的发展思想，也为我们理解“新质生产力”的发展方向与价值取向提供了深刻的指导。

Conclusion

结语

This paper, from the perspective of the interaction between policy and theory, deeply analyzes the formation process of the category of "new quality productive forces." We first rooted ourselves in the Marxist theory of productive forces, and through a systematic review of general theoretical and specific theoretical dimensions, constructed a theoretical reference frame for "new quality productive forces." Subsequently, we traced the evolutionary path of productive forces policy discourse since the founding of New China, revealing that policy discourse not only responds to real-world changes but also provides rich practical cases for the development of academic theory, demonstrating the distinct characteristic within the field of political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics that policy discourse leads and shapes academic discussion. On this basis, we carefully distinguished and analyzed the different expressions of "new quality productive forces" in policy initiatives and academic inquiry. It is noteworthy that academic exploration of this category exhibits a dual-track trend: one track focuses on interpreting the internal logic of the policy and its trajectory of change over time and space, while the other is dedicated to excavating the theoretical origins and historical development context behind "new quality productive forces." However, the lack of interaction between these two discourses constitutes a deficiency in existing research. In light of the above observations, we propose the theoretical model of "real-world challenges – policy responses – theoretical construction," aiming to reinterpret the category of "new quality productive forces," emphasizing its inherent value orientation, stage-specific characteristics, and practical foundation. The proposal of this framework not only helps deepen the understanding of the generative mechanism of "new quality productive forces" but also highlights its dynamic evolution within a specific socio-economic context and its profound impact on the real world.

本文从政策与理论互动的视角，深入剖析“新质生产力”范畴的形成过程。我们首先植根于马克思主义生产力理论，通过对一般理论与特定理论维度的系统梳理，构建了“新质生产力”的理论参考系。随后，我们追溯了自新中国成立以来生产力政策话语的演变路径，揭示了政策话语不仅响应现实变迁，还为学术理论的发展提供了丰富的实践案例，展现出在中国特色社会主义政治经济学领域中，政策话语引领并塑造学术讨论的鲜明特点。在此基础上，我们细致区分并分析了“新质生产力”在政策倡议与学术探讨中的不同表达。值得注意的是，学术界对这一范畴的探究呈现双轨趋势：一类侧重于解读政策的内在逻辑及其随时间空间的变化轨迹，另一类则致力于挖掘“新质生产力”背后的理论渊源与历史发展脉络。然而，这两种话语间互动的缺失成为现有研究的不足之处。鉴于上述观察，我们提出“现实挑战-政策因应-理论构建”的理论模型，旨在重新阐释“新质生产力”范畴，强调其蕴含的价值取向、阶段性特征及实践基础。这一框架的提出，不仅有助于深化对“新质生产力”生成机制的理解，还凸显了其在特定社会经济背景下的动态演化及其对现实世界的深刻影响。

The main conclusions of the article are as follows. First, "new quality productive forces" contain a profound value orientation. As a bridge connecting academic inquiry and policy direction, it not only focuses on the progress of material production but also reflects the Party's people-centered development thinking. In the process of theoretical deepening, consideration should be given to balancing material and spiritual productive forces, recognizing that "new quality productive forces" both indicate the development goal and define the development path and its ultimate service object. Just as Engels emphasized the interactive relationship between the economy and politics, the practical requirements of the political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics demand that when the state promotes the development of "new quality productive forces," it must both advance the development of advanced productive forces and serve the well-being of the people, emphasizing that the Party's leadership is an inseparable part of China's socialist market economy system, reflecting the dialectical relationship of mutual penetration and interaction between the economy and politics. Second, "new quality productive forces" possess distinct stage-specific characteristics. They are not a category that emerged out of thin air, but rather a concrete manifestation and the latest practical form of the Marxist theory of productive forces at the stage of high-quality economic development, representing an inheritance and development of traditional productive forces theory. Third, "new quality productive forces" highlight their practical essence. They are not only a theoretical guide but also a guide to action, directing China's path of productive forces development in the New Era, embodying the scientific spirit that theory originates from practice and guides practice. Fourth, the proposal of "new quality productive forces" demonstrates the pioneering role of policy discourse in theoretical innovation. From reform and opening up to the present, including the theory of the primary stage of socialism, the establishment of the socialist market economy system, the new development concept, high-quality development, and the most recent category of "new quality productive forces," all prove that policy direction has, to a certain extent, led academic exploration, indicating that there is still room for continuous improvement in the theoretical deepening of policy discourse.

文章的主要结论如下：一是“新质生产力”蕴含深刻的价值取向。它作为连接学术探讨与政策导向的桥梁，不仅聚焦物质生产的进步，也映射出党以人民为中心的发展思想。在理论深化过程中，应平衡物质与精神生产力的考量，认识到“新质生产力”既标示了发展目标，也规定了发展路径及其最终的服务对象。正如恩格斯所强调的经济与政治的互动关系，中国特色社会主义政治经济学的实践要求国家在推动“新质生产力”发展时，既要促进先进生产力发展，也要服务于人民福祉，强调党的领导是中国社会主义市场经济体制不可分割的一部分，体现了经济与政治相互渗透、相互作用的辩证关系。二是“新质生产力”具有鲜明的阶段性特征。它并非凭空出现的范畴，而是马克思主义生产力理论在经济高质量发展阶段的具体体现和最新实践形态，是对传统生产力理论的继承与发展。三是“新质生产力”凸显其实践本质。它不仅是理论导向，更是行动指南，指导着我国在新时代的生产力发展路径，体现了理论源于实践、指导实践的科学精神。四是“新质生产力”的提出彰显了政策话语在理论创新中的先行作用。从改革开放至今，包括社会主义初级阶段理论、社会主义市场经济体制的确立、新发展理念、高质量发展，以及最近的“新质生产力”范畴，均证明政策导向一定程度在引领学术探索，说明政策话语的学理化深化仍具有持续提升的空间。

This article can provide the following reference for using the category of "new quality productive forces" in the New Era to accelerate the deep integration of policy practice and academic theory in the political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

本文对新时代下运用“新质生产力”范畴，加速中国特色社会主义政治经济学的政策实践与学术理论的深度融合可提供如下参考。

First, regarding the economic analysis of "new quality productive forces," its research path should be distinguished from the research path of pure natural sciences. While science and technology are indeed the core driving force for the development of "new quality productive forces," economic research, as a social science, should focus more on exploring how to innovatively reform the forms of production and labor organization, as well as the mechanisms of commodity exchange and income distribution, based on the reality of "high-quality labor force," "high-tech labor tools," and "extensive labor objects." Guided by practice, it should accelerate the construction of new relations of production adapted to the development of "new quality productive forces," break through institutional obstacles, and realize paths of productive forces development with local characteristics.

一是针对“新质生产力”的经济学分析，其研究路径要区别于纯粹自然科学的研究路径。固然科学技术是推动“新质生产力”发展的核心驱动力，但作为社会科学的经济学研究，更应侧重于探讨如何基于“高素质劳动力”“高技术劳动工具”和“广泛劳动对象”的现实，创新性地改革生产、劳动组织形式，以及商品交换和收入分配机制，以实践为引领，加速构建适应“新质生产力”发展的新型生产关系，突破制度障碍，实现具有地方特色的生产力发展路径。

Second, given that "new quality productive forces" simultaneously bear the dual attributes of academic theory and policy practice, deeply understanding their connotation requires us to both thoroughly study policy documents, deepening our understanding from a policy perspective and exploring their internal connections with the new development concept, the high-quality development strategy, the theory of Chinese-path modernization, and so on; at the same time, we must also deeply excavate the theoretical logic behind them, paying special attention to the dynamic interaction between theory and practice, policy and academia, and clearly defining the connotation and extension of "new quality productive forces."

二是鉴于“新质生产力”同时承载学术理论与政策实践的双重属性，深入理解其内涵要求我们既要深入研读政策文件，从政策视角深化对其理解，探讨其与新发展理念、高质量发展战略、中国式现代化理论等的内在联系；同时，也要深入挖掘其背后的理论逻辑，特别注重理论与实践、政策与学术之间的动态互动，明确界定“新质生产力”的内涵与外延。

Third, continuously promoting the effective transformation of policy discourse into academic discourse is crucial for consolidating our confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, confidence in the system, and confidence in the culture. This not only provides solid theoretical support for timely and appropriate policy formulation but also continuously enriches and perfects the theoretical system of the political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics, enhancing the ability to counter the discourse power of neoliberalism in the global ideological struggle, and contributing Chinese wisdom to the construction of a new order for global economic governance.

三是持续促进政策话语向学术话语的有效转化，对于巩固我们的道路自信、理论自信、制度自信和文化自信至关重要。这不仅为适时适度的政策制定提供了坚实的理论支撑，也不断丰富和完善中国特色社会主义政治经济学的理论体系，增强了在全球意识形态竞争中抗衡新自由主义话语权的能力，为构建全球经济治理新秩序贡献中国智慧。

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗