Life-Value Reflow Theory: An Ontological and Structural Reconstruction of Economic and Social Dynamics
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Taking the irreversible physical duration T of the individual as the absolute benchmark of scarcity, this paper proposes the “Life-Value Reflow Theory” as a unified interpretive framework for human existence and economic phenomena. Moving beyond Marx’s labor theory of value and Heidegger’s being-towards-death, the theory defines humanity as a “variable within order”: while the human spiritual world is inherently disordered, it collides with and anchors itself to material logic, thereby generating a life-value Reflow capable of cross-generational transmission. The paper first establishes the ontological foundation—Life Whole (W) = T × (Resources × Pursuit)—and distinguishes three modalities of reflow: personal, economic, and social. It then reconstructs the emergence and convergence mechanisms of the average rate of profit through a minimal three-person exchange model, laying the groundwork for subsequent analyses of class differentiation and node privilege. The paper concludes that, within the insurmountable finite duration T, humanity need not seek to transcend the system itself; rather, merely loosening the mechanisms of over-extraction in the reflow process is sufficient to enable the Life Whole to unfold more fully, achieve affirmation, and attain dignity within its given boundaries.
Author: Chen, Guoyong
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7140123871
Cites:
Cited by:
Related to: