Abstract：Neo-elite higher education differs from traditional elite higher education. It represents an important approach for promoting a good life and common prosperity in the new era. It is also an ideal type of higher education that is open， inclusive， and accommodating of differences in the era of mass higher education. In practice， influenced by the “comparative logic” of traditional elite higher education， the utilitarian value orientation of “instrumental use” has become prevalent in the current higher education， which can easily be mired by dataism and meritocracy under the pressure of a success-oriented mentality. Neo-elite higher education， however， adheres to the ultimate concern of “goodness” in value， taking the resonance of public rationality as its foundation. It consistently upholds the values of goodness in “purpose”， “process”， and “result”， and the value orientations of otherness， publicity， and inclusiveness. In order to re-imagine a new social contract that resonates between higher education and future society， neo-elite higher education needs to focus on people's feasible abilities and substantive freedom， strengthen the consciousness of value goodness， construct a benign and orderly governance ecology， maintain pluralism in co-construction， co-governance， and sharing within the communicative world， and realize the organic synergy between shaping souls and nurturing talent and driving social development.
2025, Vol. 64 
