This article attempts to investigate an intellectual journey of Luo Dunwei, one of the elite thinkers in the era of Republic of China, particularly focusing on the development of his theory for the reorganization of Chinese society during 1920s and 1930s. In concrete the article examines three notable periods: the period of the May Fourth Movement when Luo Dunwei paid attention to the matters of family and women; that of the National Revolution when he identified himself as social reformer rediscovering and internalizing the historic value of the Three People’s Principles; and finally, early- and mid- 1930s when Luo devoted himself to theorize the discourse of controlled economy in order to realize the Principle of the People’s Livelihood. In a broader scope, it aims to implicate how Luo’s changing perceptions on the contemporary Chinese society reflect and go beyond the overall intellectual trend of modern Chinese history. More practical goal lies in gaining more concrete sense on the significant connection between the Principle gone through modern China and the theory of controlled economy in the 1930s. Luo Dunwei consistently emphasized analysis with the methodology of Social Science based upon the objective reality of China. He actively reacted to the contemporary trend by not reserving himself from disclosing his ideas. Luo closely examined core agendas of Chinese society during 1920s and 1930s such as gender issue, Marxism, rule by people, the National Revolution, class issue, and the Principle of People’s Livelihood, which was also the process of establishing his own thoughts. By and large, Luo gradually rediscovered the importance of reorganizing economy for the revolution of China as the completion of the National Revolution. He—in the midst of active confirmation for the ideological value of the Three People’s Principles as the trend of the most precise reflection of the contemporary China—recognized the realization of the Principle of People’s Livelihood as the core of the Chinese revolution above all. Luo developed his economic thesis with regard to the controlled economy as the most effective method for it. By such analyses in the article, it is expected to confirm the ideological inclusiveness of the Principle of People’s Livelihood which has functioned as the signifiant of Economic Democracy. In the meantime, it was also to remind us of the fact that the thinking and action seeking for non-Capitalist paths like the Principle work as the significant research topic that goes beyond various political subjects and time periods.