Jianfang Jin, the author, received his BA in economics at one of China’s elite universities, Nankai University. Upon graduation, he was assigned to an administration and policy department of the Chinese State Council, where he was able to observe the overall political and economic developments in China.

In 1985, he went to the United States on his own and earned an MS from Purdue University. Thereafter, he engaged extensively in business in the United States and China and was an eager student of the great social and economic changes occurring in the world in our times. Mr. Jin currently works as the CEO of a public company in Vancouver.
 
 

Q&A

1. What inspired you to write this book?

In 2008, the world financial crisis first broke out in the United States, then spread throughout the world. Governments rushed to the rescue with enormous funds and temporarily stemmed the tide. But the consequences were quick to follow. Inflation suddenly took hold of the emerging countries. European sovereign states fell into one debt crisis after another. The U.S. federal government and Chinese local governments struggled under heavy debts. Inventories piled up and over-capacity brought about the ever-present risk of stagflation. Crisis after crisis rolled over the world, year after year, beyond anyone’s experience. In this era of upheaval and change, people are asking in shock and panic: where do we go from here? When all kinds of “capitalism,” “socialism” and hybrids of the two have gone out with the tide, what would be the future social economic form? Facing the challenge of an ever-changing future, people are resorting to new thinking to explore the coming social economic mode and to find a way to control present-day society.

 
2. Where does this book take place?

It takes place in China. I started writing this book in China and then completed it in USA.
This book, originally in Chinese language, has received the widespread attention of not only the Chinese media, but the leaders of China as well. The book first came out in 2011 and a second revised edition in 2012. The Chinese media has gone so far as to describe it as being of “epochal significance,” while some have even hailed it as “the blueprint for future reform in China.” The depth of its significance can be seen from the fact that already its influence is evident in new policy changes made by the Chinese leadership, while my theory of “profitable currency” has clearly been adopted by the central banking authorities of China.

 
3. What makes your book different from other books like it?

The General Theory of Eco-Social Science is a very remarkable, comprehensive and groundbreaking piece of work. The book has a well-rounded structure, rich contents, and combines theory with practice, giving it a strong ability to guide practical action. The main contents of the fourth section of the book, “Theory of Ecological Economics,” have already found their way into the major policies of the Chinese government in its present economic system reform. This includes the ideas of “the driving force behind creativity” and “making the market the decisive force in resource allocation.” The chief contents of Section V, “The Theory of Eco-currency,” is becoming the theoretical source of the new monetary policy of the central bank of China. The main contents of Section II, “Ecological Society,” will become an important theoretical source for future political system reform in China.

 
4. Is there a particular passage from your book you’d like us to utilize? If so, please provide.

Ecological civilization and ecologism: Ecological civilization will appear after the agricultural and industrial civilizations in human history. It shall integrate human activity with the systems of ecological circulation in nature to seek harmonious synergy between humans and nature, humans and society, and among humans themselves. It shall have a sustainable mode of production and mode of consumption to build a society complying with the natural environment and natural resources and operating on the basis of the laws of nature. Ecological civilization is a form of human civilization in which nature eco-entities, social eco-entities and human body eco-entities meld into one.
 
Ecologists in pursuit of an ecological civilization realize that the newly risen production mode is the economic basis of a society of ecological civilization, which is guided by market demand and corresponding production relations in the form of a supply network based on the market. The newly risen production mode and production relations will thoroughly change the operational mode of industrial society which was dominated by profit orient of industrial capital.
 
Ecologism advocates the building of a society conforming to the natural environment and natural resources, and operating on the basis of the laws of nature. It advocates social fairness and justice on the basis of equal and free competition. It advocates the realization of social governance and operation through the principle of “inspiration and guidance” *, “orderly competition” * and “overall co-balance” *. It holds that “inspiration and guidance” can raise people’s self-consciousness and help them become self-disciplined. “Orderly competition” will preserve the vibrancy of the social organization. Stressing the interdependence between humans and the natural environment and taking the initiative in building and adjusting all kinds of equal social competitive mechanisms will result in the “overall co-balance “of human society operation.
 
Ecologism holds that the activity of human society must comply to and satisfy the responsibilities imbued in humankind by nature. Human society must understand its functions and roles in the earth eco-entity, especially in the circulatory systems of the nature eco-entity, and through self-organized orderly activities, fully perform its functions and roles in nature. Humankind should respect and protect the nature eco-entity and effectively utilize resources in the course of sustainable development and existence.
 
The General Theory of Eco-Social Science is a creative work of original theories. The author partially absorbed the reasonable ingredients from modern biology, ecology, physiology, economics, sociology, philosophy, management, and traditional Chinese culture. The major source of the theories, however, comes from profound thinking of the author, whose practical experience has been accumulated in many years. It is the theoretical crystallization of his understanding about the human society, its history, its present and its future.