Digital Technology Empowers Rural Governance: Internal Mechanism, Functional Limits and Optimization Strategies

As an empowering governance tool, digital technology is a new driving force for rural governance and a booster for the modern development of rural governance. In the operation of rural governance, digital technology follows the internal mechanism of “individual empowerment-organization empowerment-community empowerment” . However, digital technology empowerment does not mean that digital technology is omnipotent. Due to the limitations of digital technology, such as the bias of instrumental rationality, the misunderstanding of “minimalism” , the intrusion of the will of power, and the constraints of institutions and organizations, the positive effects of digital technology empowerment in rural governance are suppressed. For this purpose, it is necessary to promote the value return of digital technology empowerment, consolidate the guarantee system of digital technology empowerment, clarify the application boundary of digital technology, and enhance the development ability of governance subjects, so as to promote the deep embedding of digital technology in the rural governance scene and release positive functions, so that it can truly become the driving force to help the modernization of Chinese-style rural governance and the realization of the goal of comprehensive rural revitalization.