Negotiating Between Individualism and Techno-Nationalism: An Empirical Analysis of Chinese Maker Ideology and Practices

Over the past decade, the maker movement has gained prominence in China, garnering attention from policymakers, scholars, and practitioners. Although several studies have explored the movement’s macro-level impacts on the country’s economy and society, an adequate understanding of the individual makers’ lived experiences, practices, and ideologies remains elusive. This paper addresses this gap by examining how individual makers negotiate and respond to the global maker movement’s individualistic values and China’s state-led techno-nationalism. Framed by concepts of “critical making” and “maker ideology,” the study draws on qualitative data obtained from individual makers to offer insights into the evolving maker culture in China. Our findings suggest that Chinese makers have moved away from the Westernized critical-making paradigm and embraced a more techno-nationalistic orientation. By contributing to a nuanced understanding of the non-uniform and diverse development of the global maker movement in non-Western contexts, this paper sheds new light on the maker movement’s ongoing transformation in China. Plain Language Summary The maker movement has become popular in China in recent years, and while many studies have examined its impact on the country as a whole, little is known about individual makers’ experiences and beliefs. This paper aims to fill that gap by exploring how Chinese makers navigate the movement’s individualistic values and the government’s emphasis on technology development. The study finds that Chinese makers have moved away from a Western approach to making and embraced a more nationalistic perspective. By providing a better understanding of the maker movement’s development in non-Western countries, this paper contributes to ongoing discussions about the movement’s evolution in China.