Just read this analysis about China's "lying flat" movement,and it's not some simple social trend ah . The whole thing is apparently a direct result of the one-child policy from decades ago.
According to one Japan Times report,that policy really weakened the bargaining power of normal families and also reduced number of high-consumption households . One scientist,Yi Fuxian from University of Wisconsin-Madison,pointed out that household disposable income as a share of GDP fell from almost 66% in 1980s to just 44% recently .
And that income drop has choked internal consumption . This has led to what experts are calling a "pathological manufacturing boom" . Think about it,China makes up 28% of global manufacturing value but is only 12% of global household consumption. That is a huge mismatch .
So the country has to depend on industrial subsidies instead of its own people buying things . This creates a very unstable job market for young generation now entering workforce.
And tbh,this is where real pressure cooker situation begins for the youth.
The average work week has hit 49 hours . In some extreme cases,people are working 60 hours . This leaves zero time for personal relationships,forget starting families . This kind of exhaustion is what fuels whole "lying flat" idea of just opting out of the rat race completely.
Few key facts from the report:
- Work week reaching 60 hours — significantly higher than the 38-hour average in the United States
- Graduates surge to 12.22 million — outstripping the capacity of underdeveloped services sector
- Service sector jobs at 47% — a figure far below that of other major advanced economies
But report also says that many young people don't even have luxury of "lying flat" . Without stable jobs or family support,millions are just pushed into gig economy . They end up becoming delivery drivers or live-streamers just to get by.
So you have this huge number of highly educated graduates,but not enough professional jobs for them . This seems to be the biggest challenge for Beijing rn.
It's just a cycle of high education,no good jobs,extreme work hours,and then complete burnout . How is entire generation supposed to build a future in this kind of system…
