China's Economic Woes

Happy Year of the Dragon!

​New on the site this time:
 
Two texts, both having to do with China’s flagging economy and what to do about it. 
 
The first, “Are Young People Starting to Envy the Incomes of Confinement Nannies and Delivery Drivers?” seems to be advising Chinese young people in search of a job to take a look at blue-collar jobs like pet-grooming or bricklaying.  I would not have paid much attention to this were it not published in the high-profile Beijing Cultural Review.
 
The second, "Joining the Don't Buy Crowd," celebrates the end of consumerism and the reembrace of saving money and living simply.
 
Neither of these pieces is a major statement but both speak to the fundamental issue of the legitimacy of the Party-State if China has truly entered an era of slow (or even “normal”) growth.  A rising tide lifts all ships and makes the work of any government easier.  A falling tide poses other challenges, especially when China’s rising tide produced a belief in China’s uniqueness and a China model.  At some point, China’s intellectuals will surely participate in whatever rethinking this crisis provokes, but I confess to not seeing a lot of this in what I read these days.  I’ll keep looking.
 
I would also like to share a link to an article just published in English by my friend and colleague Wu Fei, who teaches in the Philosophy Department of Beijing University, and who I met while in Beijing last spring.  The article suggests some of the directions China’s New Confucianism is taking these days, even if I’m not sure Wu appreciates that label.
 
I’ll be hitting the road again on Sunday.  Will be in Oaxaca, Mexico, between February 25 and March 9, Bogotá and the Colombian Amazon between March 9 and March 19, Arequipa, Peru, between March 19 and 24, Lima between March 24 and 28.  Then I’ll be in Lausanne for several weeks, and will give a few talks in Germany in late April.  I’m not counting on meeting up with RTCD followers on my Mexico-Colombia-Peru trip, but would love to be surprised.  I’ll update when I can.