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The Benefits of Lifelong Learning

• Categories: Learning

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Published: Jan 30, 2024

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Table of contents

Benefits of lifelong learning, professional advantages of lifelong learning, cognitive and health benefits of lifelong learning, overcoming barriers to lifelong learning, promoting lifelong learning in society.

• National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE)
• World Economic Forum survey
• Journal of Vocational Behavior study
• Neurology research study

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What Motivates Lifelong Learners

• John Hagel III

Many leaders think it’s the fear of losing your job. They’re wrong.

Looking to stay ahead of the competition, companies today are creating lifelong learning programs for their employees, but they are often less effective than they could be. That’s because they don’t inspire the right kind of learning: The creation of new knowledge (and not just the transfer of existing knowledge about existing skills). The author’s research shows that those who are motivated to this kind of learning are spurred not by fear of losing their jobs, which is often the motivation given, but by what he calls the “passion of the explorer.” The article describes this mindset and how companies can create it among their employees.

It seems that everyone in business today is talking about the need for all workers to engage in lifelong learning as a response to the rapid pace of technological and strategic change all around us. But I’ve found that most executives and talent management professionals who are charged with getting their people to learn aren’t thinking about what drives real learning — the creation of new knowledge, not just the handoff of existing knowledge. As a result, many companies are missing opportunities to motivate their employees to engage in the kind of learning that will actually help them innovate and keep pace with their customers’ changing needs.

• John Hagel III   recently retired from Deloitte, where he founded and led the Center for the Edge , a research center based in Silicon Valley. A long-time resident of Silicon Valley, he is also a compulsive writer, having published eight books, including his most recent one,  The Journey Beyond Fear . He will be establishing a new Center to offer programs based on the book.

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Lifelong Learning

Ivan Andreev

Demand Generation & Capture Strategist, Valamis

February 17, 2022 · updated April 3, 2024

8 minute read

What is lifelong learning?

Importance of lifelong learning, examples of lifelong learning, benefits of lifelong learning, organizational lifelong learning, how to adopt lifelong learning in your life.

Lifelong learning does not necessarily have to restrict itself to informal learning, however. It is best described as being voluntary with the purpose of achieving personal fulfillment. The means to achieve this could result in informal or formal education.

Whether pursuing personal interests and passions or chasing professional ambitions, lifelong learning can help us to achieve personal fulfillment and satisfaction.

It recognizes that humans have a natural drive to explore, learn and grow and encourages us to improve our own quality of life and sense of self-worth by paying attention to the ideas and goals that inspire us.

We’re all lifelong learners

But what does personal fulfillment mean?

The reality is that most of us have goals or interests outside of our formal schooling and jobs. This is part of what it means to be human: we have a natural curiosity and we are natural learners. We develop and grow thanks to our ability to learn.

Lifelong learning recognizes that not all of our learning comes from a classroom.

• For example, in childhood, we learn to talk or ride a bike.
• As an adult, we learn how to use a smartphone or learn how to cook a new dish.

These are examples of the everyday lifelong learning we engage in on a daily basis, either through socialization, trial and error, or self-initiated study.

Personal fulfillment and development refer to natural interests, curiosity, and motivations that lead us to learn new things. We learn for ourselves, not for someone else.

Key checklist for lifelong learning:

• Self-motivated or self-initiated
• Doesn’t always require a cost
• Often informal
• Self-taught or instruction that is sought
• Motivation is out of personal interest or personal development

The definitive guide to microlearning

The what, why, and how-to guide to inject microlearning into your company.

Here are some of the types of lifelong learning initiatives that you can engage in:

• Developing a new skill (eg. sewing, cooking, programming, public speaking, etc)
• Self-taught study (eg. learning a new language, researching a topic of interest, subscribing to a podcast, etc)
• Learning a new sport or activity (eg. Joining martial arts, learning to ski, learning to exercise, etc)
• Learning to use a new technology (smart devices, new software applications, etc)
• Acquiring new knowledge (taking a self-interest course via online education or classroom-based course)

Incorporating lifelong learning in your life can offer many long-term benefits, including:

1. Renewed self-motivation

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut doing things simply because we have to do them, like going to work or cleaning the house.

Figuring out what inspires you puts you back in the driver’s seat and is a reminder that you can really do things in life that you want to do.

2. Recognition of personal interests and goals

Re-igniting what makes you tick as a person reduces boredom, makes life more interesting, and can even open future opportunities.

You never know where your interests will lead you if you focus on them.

3. Improvement in other personal and professional skills

While we’re busy learning a new skill or acquiring new knowledge, we’re also building other valuable skills that can help us in our personal and professional lives.

This is because we utilize other skills in order to learn something new. For example, learning to sew requires problem-solving. Learning to draw involves developing creativity.

Skill development can include interpersonal skills, creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, leadership, reflection, adaptability and much more.

4. Improved self-confidence

Becoming more knowledgeable or skilled in something can increase our self-confidence in both our personal and professional lives.

• In our personal lives, this confidence can stem from the satisfaction of devoting time and effort to learning and improving, giving us a sense of accomplishment.
• In our professional lives, this self-confidence can be the feeling of trust we have in our knowledge and the ability to apply what we’ve learned.

Sometimes lifelong learning is used to describe a type of behavior that employers are seeking within the organization. Employers are recognizing that formal education credentials are not the only way to recognize and develop talent and that lifelong learning may be the desired trait.

Thanks to the fast pace of today’s knowledge economy, organizations are seeing lifelong learning as a core component in employee development . The idea is that employees should engage in constant personal learning in order to be adaptable and flexible for the organization to stay competitive and relevant.

This type of personal learning is often referred to as continuous learning. You can read more about continuous learning and what it means for both the employee and employer here.

According to some researchers, however, there is criticism that organizations are leveraging the concept of lifelong learning in order to place the responsibility of learning on employees instead of offering the resources, support and training needed to foster this kind of workforce.

Do I need to be proactive about lifelong learning?

Most people will learn something new at some point in their daily routine just by talking with other people, browsing the internet based on personal interest, reading the newspaper, or engaging in personal interest.

However, if making more effort to learn something new is important for either personal, family, or career reasons, or there is a need for a more organized structure, then here are some steps to get started.

1. Recognize your own personal interests and goals

Lifelong learning is about you, not other people and what they want.

Reflect on what you’re passionate about and what you envision for your own future.

If progressing your career is your personal interest, then there are ways to participate in self-directed learning to accomplish this goal.

If learning history is your passion, there are likewise ways to explore this interest further.

2. Make a list of what you would like to learn or be able to do

Once you’ve identified what motivates you, explore what it is about that particular interest or goal that you want to achieve.

Returning to our example of someone having a passion for history, perhaps it is desired to simply expand knowledge on the history of Europe. Or perhaps the interest is so strong that going for a Ph.D. is a dream goal.

Both of these are different levels of interest that entail different ways of learning.

3. Identify how you would like to get involved and the resources available

Achieving our personal goals begins with figuring out how to get started.

Researching and reading about the interest and goal can help to formulate how to go about learning it.

With our history example: the person who wants to simply learn more about a particular historical time period could discover books in the library catalog, blogs, magazines and podcasts dedicated to the subject, or even museums and talks.

The individual who wanted to achieve A Ph.D. in history as a personal goal could research university programs that could be done part-time or online, as well as the steps one would need to take to reach the doctorate level.

4. Structure the learning goal into your life

Fitting a new learning goal into your busy life takes consideration and effort.

If you don’t make time and space for it, it won’t happen.

It can easily lead to discouragement or quitting the learning initiative altogether.

Plan out how the requirements of the new learning initiative can fit into your life or what you need to do to make it fit.

For example, if learning a new language is the learning goal, can you make time for one hour a day? Or does 15 minutes a day sound more realistic?

Understanding the time and space you can devote to the learning goal can help you to stick with the goal in the long-run.

5. Make a commitment

Committing to your decision to engage in a new learning initiative is the final and most important step.

If you’ve set realistic expectations and have the self-motivation to see it through, commit to it and avoid making excuses.

You might be interested in

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Trends in employee learning and development 2023 and beyond: future-ready workforce 

Lifelong Learning Plan Application Essay

Introduction, learning needs diagnosis, learning objectives, sources of learning, implementing learning strategies.

Renowned German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein once said that “wisdom is not a product of schooling, but the lifelong attempt to acquire it” (Hager, 2004 p. 23). Today, more than ever before, I hold these words in very high esteem as I chart my way forward and design my strategies to acquire the ‘wisdom’ that Einstein talked about by undertaking the challenge of lifelong learning. This paper is a blueprint of how I plan to go about achieving the goals of lifelong learning.

To effectively expound on the various dimensions contained in this paper it is imperative that I create a comprehensive understanding of what lifelong learning entails. The European Association of Executives (n.d.) defines lifelong learning as “…all learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competence within a personal, civic, social, and/or employment-related perspective” (p. 22).

This definition, in my view, demonstrates that learning can no longer be dichotomized into a place and time to acquire knowledge (university) and a place and time to apply the knowledge (the workplace); rather, it is a necessary life-long pursuit of knowledge that I must engage in if I expect to make a difference and invest into the future of my country Saudi Arabia.

As an individual who would like to take up a career in the domain of mechanical engineering, my learning needs revolve around several issues that I believe are key to not only a successful career in the domain, but also to a life that will assist my immediate community in Saudi Arabia achieve its potential through undertaking philanthropic work.

Consequently, my learning needs into the future include:

• Undertaking a comprehensive management course in a world-class learning institution to assist me realize my dreams of becoming a manager at the Saudi Arabian Oil Company;
• Undertaking short courses in information and communication technology (ICT) to keep abreast of the changing technology trends and learn to use different applications as they hit the marketplace;
• Undertaking short-term engineering courses provided by professional engineering bodies, with the view to constantly update my human capital at a regular interval in order to avoid skills obsolescence. It is clear that “…the durability of knowledge in the fields of science and engineering is much shorter than in other academic fields” (De Grip & Smits, 2012 p. 583), and;
• Undertaking short-term philanthropy and community development courses offered by various accredited institutions, with the view to efficiently and effectively be of service to my community and country.

To date, I am still influenced by the philosophical thought of John Dewey that “…work should assist workers to develop a capacity for judgment applicable beyond their practice at work” (Hager, 2004 p. 23).

To achieve this orientation, it is imperative that my engineering practice and discourse be informed by some overall concepts of purpose and intention that link to practices that are not obviously related to work at all, hence the importance of illuminating my learning objectives.

Overall, my lifelong learning objectives include:

• To Pass all the examinations for the mentioned courses with distinction;
• To internalize the skills and expertise needed to operate effectively and efficiently as a mechanical engineer in the future;
• To successfully transition to the knowledge-based society and be able to use my position as a manager to make positive contributions in others;
• To demonstrate excellent use of contemporary technology applications in my work practice, and;
• To be successful in uplifting the lives of fellow community and country members by helping them to achieve their dreams in life through community development initiatives.

Learning should be an integral component of people bent on achieving professionalism and excellency in whatever they decide to do (Williams, 2007). Indeed, extant literature demonstrates that people are always “encouraged to make meaningful choices about their learning and development at different stages of their working lives” (Leader, 2003 p. 361).

Upon graduating from the university, I plan to embrace various dimensions of learning such as the following:

• Learning contracts that will help me to not only identify the skills I shall need for my future practice role, but also to set my objectives in relation to my career and lifestyle:
• Group learning/collaborative learning involving collaborating with other management staff and mentors who share similar interests and orientations;
• Self-directed learning through interacting with professional engineering bodies and undertaking short courses on offer, and also by reading professional engineering articles and periodicals;
• Learning on demand by undertaking short on-line courses offered by various institutions to keep abreast of the various shifts in technology, and;
• Organizational learning through corporate training, technical meetings and on-the-job training.

Adequate financial resourcing is needed to implement life-long learning strategies (Hager, 2004), and I feel highly indebted to the Saudi Arabian Oil Company for standing with me and ensuring that I achieve my objectives in life through the provision of scholarships.

My learning needs revolve around becoming a professional engineer within the management realm, a technology expert having the capacity to apply various innovations and applications in my practice, and a philanthropist who will work with other community members and stakeholders to ensure that others benefit from my progress and insights.

These needs, in essence, translate into my learning options, hence the need to lay the groundwork through which I can successfully satisfy them. In my undertaking to fulfill these needs, it is not lost in me that I must cultivate a positive learning culture and promote positive perceptions of learning and raising awareness of its entitlements and benefits so that others may follow suit (Graff, 2012).

My plan for life-long planning will definitely be facilitated by emerging technologies that ensure flexibility and diversity in learning. Indeed, extant literature suggests that “…flexibility and diversity of learning provision is the cornerstone of an accessible curriculum” (Leader, 2003 p. 366). The Internet and the World Wide Web will be instrumental in ensuring that I achieve my goals of lifelong learning, which are planned as follows.

Table of Implementation.

Available literature reinforces a perception in me that lifelong learning should be viewed as a mere option but rather as a fundamentally important necessity (Hager, 2004). Similarly, the various works I have read on lifelong learning has reinforced a belief in me learning should not be confined to childhood or the classroom; rather, it should take place throughout an individual’s life and in a range of contexts (Williams, 2007).

As I take this bold step in designing my lifelong learning plan, I am persuaded to believe that I’ll face many challenges that may trigger some revisions to the plan. However, I believe that this plan will serve as a blueprint to guide me in the pursuit of knowledge for both personal and professional reasons.

De Grip. A., & Smits, W. (2012). What affects lifelong learning of scientists and engineers? International Journal of Manpower, 33 (5), 583-597.

European Society of Association Executives. (n.d.). What is lifelong learning? The view from the European Commission . Web.

Graff, J. (2012). Is the grass greener on the other side? Experiential learning, lifelong learning and career shift. On the Horizon, 20 (1), 74-83.

Hager, P. (2004). Lifelong learning in the workplace? Challenges and issues. Journal of Workplace Learning, 16 (1), 22-32.

Leader, G. (2003). Lifelong learning: Policy and practice in further education. Education + Training, 45 (7), 361-370.

Smidt, H., & Sursock, A. (2011). Engaging in lifelong learning: Shaping inclusive and responsive university strategies . Web.

Williams, M.A. (2007). Lifelong learning: Reflections of a junior doctor. Development & Learning in Organizations, 21 (4), 10-11.

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IvyPanda. (2024, January 20). Lifelong Learning Plan. https://ivypanda.com/essays/lifelong-learning-plan/

"Lifelong Learning Plan." IvyPanda , 20 Jan. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/lifelong-learning-plan/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Lifelong Learning Plan'. 20 January.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Lifelong Learning Plan." January 20, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/lifelong-learning-plan/.

1. IvyPanda . "Lifelong Learning Plan." January 20, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/lifelong-learning-plan/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Lifelong Learning Plan." January 20, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/lifelong-learning-plan/.

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Concept of Lifelong Learning

Welcome to our lifelong learning essay sample! Here, you’ll find a lifelong learning example from personal experience. Get some inspiration for your lifelong learning essay with the help of our essay sample.

Lifelong Learning Essay Introduction

Lessons from the military, lessons from employment, lessons from family life, lifelong learning versus book reading, optimization of lifelong learning, lifelong learning essay conclusion.

Teenagers share many things in common in their learning experiences as they grow up. Among this, is the long school life in which they are taught many life’s lessons on how to react to different situations that confront them at later stages of life.

They are forced to read different books from various writers so are to relive the experiences these writers had in mind and avoid making similar blunders. The books act as forerunners who inform them of the road ahead and help make appropriate choices.

However, I consider this not only misleading but obstruction from valuable lessons that one would never have learnt through their personal experiences. Unlike the ordinary classroom learning, lifelong learning conveys its lessons firmly and articulately. Through this form of learning the students have to plan their study topics and learn to assess themselves besides learning different uncorrelated lessons at the same time and in informal settings.

This is completely opposite to the normal classroom learning. Just as the learning process is different so are the lessons. Participation in a single activity in life could offer a range of lessons and deliver them in better a manner than any book would ever do (Knapper & Cropley, 2000).

I grew up in a military family and developed hatred for the profession due to the kind of life it drove us to. However, I served two years as a sergeant in Iraq before resuming civilian employment. Through amazing circumstances, I met my present wife with whom we have a charming daughter.

In each of these stages of life there were challenges that were faced but the most important were the lessons learnt in the process. The minor day to day experiences, I believe, have shaped my life to what it is today.

In my early teenage years, my father came home to a great celebration.He had just gotten a promotion as the military commander in a nearby barrack. This was great news but as he always said: with authority came responsibility. Later years of his career would be marked by a few technical appearances at home. This made me hate being a soldier.

However, when I enlisted for two years as an army officer, I began to appreciate the lessons that came with this line of work. The frequent change of residence that marked my life and of which I was now part of, taught me that goodbyes were a necessary and inevitable part of life.

Every time we changed location, I had to begin making new friends as well as get used to the new surroundings. This taught me that no matter how good things maybe in any particular situation, they were bound to change. No circumstance is permanent and all that matters in the end is the lesson we take as we go through the different stages of life.

Secondly, I learnt of the importance of blooming wherever one is and at whatever circumstance. One should do the best of every situation presented before them. There were several lives I had saved in the short period I served in the army.

Each time I recall them, I realise that every second life offers you a chance to shape history. Some of us are too engrossed in lamenting in our present circumstances that we hardly notice these opportunities. Being positive in whatever circumstance one is trapped in is often the best way to handle life.

Every day, a soldier’s life is different and comes with new things. There are great expectations and there are big disappointments. One minute we would be having fun and a second later we would be mourning a friend. This taught me to expect surprises from life and ensure we express our love to those we treasure whenever possible.

Procrastination of our feelings does not always pay and could cause us to live heavy-hearted for a larger part of our lives. When contemplating any investment, am usually prepared for any outcome and thus do not hesitate to make the right choices. Many of the times, I have ended up losing greatly but have equally succeeded in numerous other ventures due to this daring spirit.

There is no greater sacrifice than putting your life on the line for the sake of someone we love or have an obligation to protect. As a soldier, such judgment calls arise every once in a while. Moreover, life is often difficult with very few basic amenities. Therefore, soldiers basically survive. This taught me how to handle life when am hardest hit. I learnt that even with the little I have I can still share with a needy person and still live pretty much the same as before.

If I could risk my life for another then so can I risk my wallet. It is from these experiences that I made it an unwritten rule to make at least two contributions annually to a children’s home. This will help the children feel more appreciated and face life more courageously. Nothing is as fulfilling as a smile of gratitude from a soul that desperately needed one’s help. The feeling is wonderful.

In addition, life as soldier instilled the importance of respect, order and teamwork. There is no single battle that is worn by a single soldier. All battles are as result of careful planning under the stewardship of the leader and the contributions of each soldier no matter how small. I learnt how to respect those in authority as their decisions often bordered on life and death.

Moreover, every single thing must be assessed in detail without ignoring any information. Every detail is important even if not presently. This has helped me in my various business ventures as I maintain a keen eye for details. This shields me from property loss.

Once I completed service in the army, I took up a job as an insurance company manager. Here, new life lessons began to unfold. First was the how to handle people while remaining in authority. I learnt how to motivate workers to work harder without having to force them.

These are vital skills I apply in my personal businesses to date. Despite being entitled to a basic salary, I had to arrive first at work and leave the last. This were sacrifices I learnt came with management. Sometimes people work for a greater cause than just the monetary remuneration. It is more about how many people depend on you to make the right decision than it is about the money.

Moreover, one various occasions I made the right decisions but offended the greater majority. Later, the same people who were against my decision would come to congratulate me on the same if things turned out positively. From this, I learnt the importance of sticking by the right decision irrespective of the opinion of the majority.

This has formed the basis of my success in the stock market investments where public influence can easily cloud one’s judgment. It has also helped me forge better relationships with people when they realize I have their interests at heart in whatever decision I take.

Due to unfortunate or fortunate circumstances, I became a father at an early age. It was unfortunate because it happened when I did not have any source of income to support myself. However, today I view it as fortunate because of the lessons I learnt early in life.

Having a child and wife to look after made me responsible at a tender age. Despite having no meaningful job at the moment, I had to be creative enough to come ensure the two people in my life were comfortable enough. I started a small restaurant as my source of income long before I joined the army.

Though it did not succeed as I expected, the lessons I learnt from its failure formed the basis for the start of my successful chain of hotels, Beef inn. My first lessons in learning a business were acquired at the restaurant.

The difficult times forced me to halt any meaningful studies and look for means to survive. During this time, my dad succumbed to cancer leaving behind two teenage boys and the jobless mother. The responsibility of the whole family fell on my shoulders.

However, the smile on my daughters face (then barely two years) and my wife’s constant encouragement, taught me the importance of family in times of crisis. I also learnt skills of juggling work and family during this period. These are lessons that have served me all my life and will continue to do so all my life.

Taking a look at how much application I have made of the book-acquired knowledge compared to lifelong lessons, I realize the importance of this form of learning. First, lifelong learning helps discover and apply one’s natural talents. For instance, it is only through life’s experiences stated above that I discovered my business acumen that has ended up becoming an integral part of me.

Books only relate to us other people’s lives (sometimes fictional characters) rather than mould us into the people we should be. Secondly, lifelong experiences open up our thinking to help us exploit different options available.

Having a daughter at an early age and without any source of income forced me to think up alternatives of solving my problems. First I opened the restaurant and when this failed to kick off, I joined the army where I had a chance to learn numerous lessons.

Having undergone various challenging times and emerged victorious does not only make us stronger, but also wiser. Wisdom is being able to discern right or wrong by predicting the possible outcomes of each action.

Having a personal experience of a situation equips one with the relevant wisdom to evaluate similar life occurrences and make the best decision. Books cannot equip one with such amazing knowledge. A personal encounter is not comparable to a simple familiarization though a book.

In addition, lifelong learning assists us in finding purpose in our lives. Before my daughter was born, all that mattered to me was attending lavish parties and drinking alcohol with a bunch of friends. However, all that changed when the little bundle of joy came. I had to stay home with the mother and her or go find a reliable source of income. I now had a duty to dedicate myself to rather than waste my life.

When at the battle field, I had to ensure I came out alive every time as someone depended on me. She had added meaning to my otherwise meaningless life. No matter how many books I had read on the similar experiences, not a single one moved me enough to change. However one lifelong experience altered all that (Kember, 1997).

The best place to optimize lifelong learning is at the learning institutions. Universities and colleges dedicated to research avail the best platforms for promotion of lifelong learning. Students should be allowed to plan their research, determine the scope of this research and carry it out in informal places. The research topics should involve the integration of several topics so as to emulate life in all aspects.

However, if this has to happen, then the teaching format in these institutions has to take a different angle. For instance, students should be taught how to plan and assess their own research (Angelo & Cross, 1993). They should cease from being passive learners and become active learners who are conversant with the proceedings of the research. Peer assessment should also be encouraged greatly.

Lifelong learning does not take any definite sequence. It, instead, varies from person to person. Since all people are also different, the dissimilar experiences become the mostly appropriate in bringing out differences in our talents and abilities. This sets apart lifelong learning from ordinary literature studies that only impart the same knowledge and expected different results.

Angelo, T. & Cross, K. (1993). Classrooom Assement Technique . Sanfrancisco, Jossey-Bass,1993.

Kember, D. (1997). A reconceptualization of the research into the university academics’ conceptions of teaching. Learning and Instruction , 7, 255-275.

Knapper, C. & Cropley, A. (2000). Lifelong learning in higher education. London: Kogan Page.

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StudyCorgi. (2020, January 9). Concept of Lifelong Learning. https://studycorgi.com/concept-of-lifelong-learning/

"Concept of Lifelong Learning." StudyCorgi , 9 Jan. 2020, studycorgi.com/concept-of-lifelong-learning/.

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1. StudyCorgi . "Concept of Lifelong Learning." January 9, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/concept-of-lifelong-learning/.

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StudyCorgi . "Concept of Lifelong Learning." January 9, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/concept-of-lifelong-learning/.

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ILO Centenary

Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization, observed that today’s graduates do not possess skills to last during their whole working life.

14 March 2019

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ESSAY; Moscow's China Card

By William Safire

• Sept. 8, 1986

Every decade or so, China undergoes a political convulsion. In 1948-49, the Communists threw out the Kuomintang; in 1956, Mao's ''Great Leap Forward'' plunged the country into a depression; in 1966, the Cultural Revolution to purify the party brought on a new Dark Ages; in 1976-78, we saw Mao's would-be radical successors, the ''Gang of Four,'' replaced by pragmatic Deng Xiaoping.

Now we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the death of Mao, and some Pekingologists would have us believe that this decade's upheaval will not come.

Mr. Deng, at 82, has provided for his succession, we are assured: it's all set for Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang to succeed him, with Hu Qili of the next generation right behind. Not to worry, goes the current Edgar Snow-job: China's new era of ''commutalism,'' communism with a capitalist face, will march undisturbed into the next millennium.

I wonder. Maybe the conventional wisdom will prove right for once. But for argument's sake, let's look at what is happening in China through a different set of glasses, seeking truth from facts.

Fact number one is that a wave of materialism is sweeping across the billion people of China. After a generation of repression, good ol' greed is back in the saddle, and an I'm-all right-Deng attitude permeates the new entrepreneurs.

As a longtime expositor of the virtue of greed in powering the engine of social progress, I cannot cluck-cluck at this. But there is a difference between the materialism of the Chinese on Taiwan, who are accustomed to free enterprise, and the lust for the good life of available goods on the mainland, where a terrible thirst has been a-building.

Let us assume that the outburst of materialism in China leads to some reaction: that some spoilsport faction emerges to summon up the ghost of Mao's ideological purity, and that this new gang of fortyish Outs finds its way back in. It is at least a possibility.

I think that shrewd old Deng is well aware of this possibility. That is why, despite his ostentatious rejection of personal cultdom, he is preparing his most dramatic assault on the memory of Mao. That father of the revolution startled the world by breaking with the Soviet Union; Mr. Deng, playing a revisionist Lenin to Mao's Marx, wants to startle the world and overwhelm internal opposition by a rapprochement with Moscow.

Accordingly, fact two: He has abandoned his demand that Russia move back its huge army from the Chinese border, thereby double-crossing his own Army leaders. He has forgotten his requirement that Soviet forces be withdrawn from Afghanistan, thereby double-crossing his Westernish ally, Pakistan.

All Mr. Deng now asks of the Russians is that they try to squeeze their Vietnamese clients to pull out of Cambodia. Of course they'll try - ''best efforts'' is an easy promise - and since the Vietnamese are notoriously independent, Moscow cannot be blamed for not succeeding. Result: Mr. Deng takes the salute from atop the wall in Red Square.

That reestablishes his Communist credentials, defanging hard-left opposition at home. And it is Middle Kingdom orthodoxy; I suspect Chinese agents in the U.S. supply the K.G.B. with intelligence, just as Peking permits our Big Ears on its soil to overhear Kremlin transmissions. Chinese policy has always been to play the barbarians against each other.

This theory would also explain fact three: Mr. Gorbachev's seizure of a U.S. newsman as hostage. It is no coincidence that this particular hostage selection follows China's arrest and expulsion of a reporter for a U.S. newspaper. The Soviet leader, advised by Anatoly Dobrynin, must have known that this slap in the face would jeopardize a summit - and went ahead with his calculated humiliation, similar to Mr. Nixon's mining of Haiphong harbor before his Moscow summit in 1972.

Because the Russians now have the prospect of a pilgrimage to Moscow by Mr. Deng, they can taunt the U.S. President with impunity. As Mr. Dobrynin probably predicted, Mr. Reagan is reduced to begging for the hostage's release, in effect volunteering testimony to a Soviet court, in his eagerness to crown his Presidency with a peacemaking summit.

Now Mr. Gorbachev can hang tough, holding a show trial and thereby delaying negotiations with the U.S. until the Deng visit - or can graciously accede to the Reagan plea, thereby establishing his dominance. And the overconfident Mr. Reagan never suspected, as he sat down to summit poker, that this time the China card was in his opponent's hand.