China

Out of context: Reply #449

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  • yuekit6

    https://qz.com/2019322/why-lying…

    During its seven decades of ruling in China, the Chinese Communist Party has become increasingly skilled at crushing street protests such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square student demonstrations. But the government is now facing a new form of resistance that may be a little harder to put down—“Tang Ping” (躺平) or lying flat, a passive approach to life that subtly thwarts the government’s desire to foster a hardworking and productive populace.

    The concept advocates an almost monastic outlook, including not getting married, not having children, not having a job, not owning property, and consuming as little as possible.

    For many, this is almost the only way in an authoritarian country to fight against the growing pressures from long work hours, skyrocketing housing prices, and the ever higher cost of raising children. Lifestyle philosophies based on rejecting ambition, and being a cog in China’s capitalist machine have been spreading in recent years, and “lying flat” is the latest culmination of such trends...

    yuekit 6Permalink
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    • so they got hippies now?pango
    • It reminds me a bit of recent Western lifestyle trends like minimalism, moving off the grid, digital nomad etc.yuekit
    • They frame it as a political thing here but it's more a response to extreme capitalism and living costs IMO.yuekit
    • "not having a job, not owning property, and consuming as little as possible"
      Sounds a lot like communism.      palimpsest
    • ^ it sounds like rejecting capitalismkingsteven
    • ^ exactlypalimpsest
    • Lying flat is the perfect way to describe those lazy fuckshotroddy
    • soon they're going to have long hair freaky people.pango
    • Lol at Hotroddy. They reject communism and you still hate them.PhanLo
    • roddy can relate about lying down, with all the bootlicking he does.face_melter
    • @palimpsest: "not owning property" yes, and "consuming as little as possible" not officially, but still a yes...rzu-rzu
    • ... however being employed is/was usually mandatory in communist states, so being an "unproductive parasite" does not fit well with the working class utopiarzu-rzu
    • Those commies only want government handouts. That is their utopia.palimpsest
    • I thought commies got gov handouts already, no question asked. isn't that the difference to the capitalists?uan
    • I don't think there are many handouts in China. They don't have much of a welfare system at all.yuekit
    • Lying down on the job is the American way...bunch of lazy fucks.utopian
    • Sounds like posh c*nts on a 'Gap Yah'.
      https://youtu.be/eKF…      microkorg
    • This isn't a widespread thing, it is only 'kids' from well-to-do families who can afford to do this. Or from families where the parents are stupid enough...microkorg
    • ..to support their 'Golden Child'.microkorg
    • Lol, ya, they live under an authoritarian boot so it must be the capitalism they’re reacting too. 2xlolzGnash
    • LOL Gashutopian
    • or could it be authoritarian capitalism? im not sure if its a thing but if its a thing china's doing it.pango
    • https://gaodawei.wor…yuekit
    • https://gaodawei.wor…yuekit
    • ^ Read these you will get the idea. It's anger at diminishing opportunity, rising costs and being stuck in an endless work culture.yuekit
    • it's not necessary anger, it's a different view of how life works.uan
    • It's the state of mind you naturally reach doing inner work.uan
    • Translated from Chinese post: "Even if the bees in the beehive work hard to collect honey all their lives, the honey collected will be enjoyed by the beehiveyuekit
    • maker. No matter how hard a hen in a chicken farm lays eggs, she cannot escape being slaughtered in the end."yuekit
    • Talks about how the average worker would have to work for 20-30 years just to save up the down payment of a house in a first tier Chinese city now.yuekit
    • The funny thing is stereotype of Chinese is that they are all ultra hard working and obedient, but this shows that even they are getting sick of that shit.yuekit
    • na yuekit...next thing you'll type is they are human beings ;-)uan
    • sounds like what western society experienced before. or is experiencing still.pango
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