Helpless generation should help itself
- Source: Global Times
- [04:26 January 18 2010]
- Comments
By Wu Meng
Once labeled the "lost generation," those born in the 1980s are beginning to reach their thirties.
They are getting their final academic diplomas, marrying their loved ones, buying houses, and many of them are becoming parents.
At an age of taking more social and family responsibilities, a lot of them call themselves slaves – house slaves, car slaves, and even more surprisingly, child slaves.
The phrase "lost generation" first appeared in online forums and bulletin boards, where a lot of post-1980s generation express their sense of helplessness and anxiety over raising a child. With mortgages to pay and parents to support, raising a child is nothing but expense. Therefore, they label themselves "child slaves."
Like many other self-propagating narratives in online forums, their complaints may have some basis in truth, but most of them are a collection of negative sentiments. The preceding generations, those born in the 1970s and 1960s, have suffered real hardship in struggling to feed themselves, find a place in school and continue their education. The so-called slave titles self-servingly adopted by the post-1980 generation are totally imaginary ones.
Their illusion is partially due to their lifestyle and spending habits. They believe in the "spend it when you can" philosophy. Though they earn a moderate income, they act like big consumers. Their desperation is fueled by the unexpected rise in property prices in big cities in recent years.
The Chinese case is not an isolated one. According to Miura Atsushi, a famous Japanese critic, between the 1950s and 1970s, a similar generation emerged in Japan as well. This 100 million plus middle class pushed Japan's economy to its peak. But recently, this middle class was divided into two – one extremely rich, and the other poor, which immediately affected Japanese economy and social stability. The huge rich-poor gap contributed to Japan's economic collapse, and is causing social unrest.
However, Japan adjusted its tax policies and systems of redistribution to close the gap. Linked to these were adoption of policies to help the poor and redistribute social wealth.
In China, in the last decade, the proportion of payment for labor in GDP has been continuously declining. But enterprise revenues are increasing. This has led to the "work more, make less" phenomenon.
The government should help this group resolve their problems by adopting policies to control property prices and increase employment. Equally, there should be policies and measures to help the helpless "child slave" generation.
On the other hand, such complaints are meaningless. Life is not easy, and has never been easy. Compared to earlier generations, they are enjoying a dream life. What is required is a change of attitude and a more pragmatic lifestyle.
