**: Recommended by Lao Sun.
Sun Liping is a professor at the Department of Sociology, Tsinghua University
[Starting today, open a column, dialogue, and dialogue with student Xiao Xu. This form is more casual and more suitable for the moment
Xiao Xu: Mr. Sun, there is a little ** recently, I don't know if you have seen it. This little ** is about the anti-consumerism that is now popular among some young people. There is a very interesting sentence in it: it's not that down jackets can't be bought, but that military coats are more cost-effective. Some of the mentions and views in ** are also very enlightening for understanding some current social phenomena.
Sun Liping: As soon as you mention that sentence, I know that **. I watched it because I've been concerned about consumption. There are also some words in it that are also interesting. For example, this generation of young people does not play according to the routine, does not accept tradition, and the chain of contempt that used to be does not work for them, because they have long since begun to blacken themselves. They are no longer held hostage by the original values and standards, they are invulnerable, and they are setting off a disenchantment of consumerism. ** also talks about some very interesting phenomena, such as some young people driving electric wheelchairs to travel.
Xiao Xu: Then one of the questions I want to ask here is, what is the relationship between this and the current so-called weak consumption?For the current consumption, some say it is weak, some say it is downgraded, but no matter what it is called, most people attribute the reason to the problem of income, the inability of people to consume. So the question now is whether you can't afford to consume, or don't want to consume, that is, anti-consumerism?
Sun Liping: Realistically speaking, the problem of sluggish consumption, which people usually say, is not caused by a single cause. Unemployment and income, that is, spending power, are certainly the most realistic reasons. From this also derives what is commonly referred to as the question of anticipation. But in addition to this reason, there are two other factors that cannot be ignored. One is that the consumption of a part of the group is already saturated. The other is the change in people's consumption concepts. The latter two factors are related to the willingness to spend.
Xiao Xu: One of the inspirations you mentioned above for me is that we can't make a general attribution to the current consumption problem. But in order to make things more clear, I still want to simplify the problem a little: one is the ability to spend, the other is the willingness to spend, and the latter is simply called anti-consumerism, is there a relationship between the two?If so, what kind of relationship?
Sun Liping: We certainly can't say that there is some kind of anti-consumerism among young people all of a sudden. Consumption is human natureWho really thinks it's more comfortable to drive an electric wheelchair than a car?Who thinks a military coat is warmer than a goose?Who wants to eat bad if there is a good one?Many isms are shaped by reality. The word cost performance in that sentence is very revealing. But this price-performance ratio is generalized, not only between items, but also between benefits and costs. Do I want a military coat or a goose?The key depends on what kind of price to pay, that is, whether my effort is worth it. This is a change in the selection criteria.
Xiao Xu: I understand what you mean, what you mean is that anti-consumerism is to a large extent the product of the powerlessness in the face of consumption and the kind of kind of volume in reality. The price was too great, the hope was too small, so I chose to refuse. Then I would like to ask further, whatever the reason, will the value of anti-consumerism, once formed, continue?If so, it's a hassle.
Sun Liping: Once a value is formed, it has a continuous characteristic. And, judging from a longer period of time, at least some people have reached this time. We came from a time of poverty, and a little money is a matter of thirty or forty years. It's a kind of chafu. At this time, it is understandable that people are comparatively consuming. But there are two points, one is that there are no novelty and excitement for high consumption now. A girl from a good family said, don't tell me any famous brands, I've seen them, I'm good in clothes Uniqlo. Second, in the past high consumption, many people were in debt, and now it is clear that this is actually more uncomfortable.
Xiao Xu: According to you, anti-consumerism or downgrading consumption should not be a temporary phenomenon in the economic downturn. If that's the case, it's a very big deal. Many people are now pinning their hopes for economic recovery on reviving consumption, and if anti-consumerism prevails, it could have a significant impact on the economy. Especially in the current foreign trade environment, people are pinning their hopes on domestic demand.
Sun Liping: I think it is first necessary to correct a common misconception. People say that the current consumption situation is a sluggish consumption, which means that the original kind of hot consumption is normal, and today's consumption is abnormal. My opinion is quite the oppositeIt turns out that that kind of consumption is abnormal, it is advanced, excessive, or even overdrafted, and it is impossible to sustain. And now consumption is generally normalAnd, of course, more precisely, due to the state of the economy, due to unemployment and income, it is a little lower. But compared with the original kind of advanced and excessive consumption, it is difficult to say that it is not normal than that.
Xiao Xu: What should I do then?
Sun Liping: As I said a long time ago, we should face up to the reality that the kind of excessive consumption in the past cannot be repeated, and we should not pin our hopes on this. Admittedly, consumption is generally normal nowadays. The question to be considered is how we can base economic development on this somewhat up-and-down, but largely normal, consumption. Some people also say that how many people still have a per capita monthly income of less than how many yuan, and they still have huge consumption needs. Yes, but we have to know that it is not a question of consumption, it is a question of economic development. Can we regard the problem of food and clothing for some people before the reform as a consumption problem?