The anger of the people at the bottom

The just past US election has surprised many scholars and prompted more people to think: What the hell is going on in this world? We grew up in the era of the Internet economy, and the mainstream discourse we received since childhood is that we live in "the best era". However, when we grow up enough to explore the outside world, we discover that the world is never that good. From a longer period of time, the turmoil in the Arab world, the refugee crisis in Europe, Brexit, Trump's victory in the election, and now the parade of the South Korean people, the world seems to have completely exploded the contradictions of savings. The documentary "The Age of Inequality" provides a perspective for our thinking on these issues.

Equality and freedom are a contradictory and inseparable part of the political system and specific policies, and the balance of these two values ​​is the core of every government policy. In the social context of the West, especially the United States, people tend to overemphasize freedom and believe that free competition is the source of social vitality. And globalization and technological revolution have promoted the continuous development of this idea, forming a common value concept among the elites, and the elites who have the right to speak have made globalization an inevitable glorious image. Various books such as "The World Is Flat" have given high praise to economic globalization. However, when people at the bottom are constantly instilled with a positive image of globalization, which is in sharp contrast to their deteriorating living environment, it naturally makes it questionable - since the huge economic development brought about by globalization, who is responsible for it? occupied? Take the American people as an example. They believe that the influx of immigrants has taken up a lot of welfare resources, and people from China and other regions have robbed them of their job opportunities... This is also Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan that has gained popular support. important reasons.


The widening income gap between elites and the masses also has implications for democratic politics. Elites use their huge economic and political resources to influence political decisions through elections, lobbying outside the hospital, etc., so that policies such as taxation are increasingly developed in their favor. As mentioned in The Age of Inequality, the elites pay far lower tax rates than the middle class. In addition, changes in the industrial structure caused many large factories to move overseas, and most American people began to shift from industries characterized by large-scale organizations to service industries with individuals as the core, which also caused the decline of powerful labor unions after World War II. Both of these reasons make it difficult for the voices of the people at the bottom to be heard, and their interests cannot be effectively safeguarded.


The widening income gap and the shrinking of the middle class have reduced the purchasing power of society, resulting in more industries going bankrupt and production stagnant. At the same time that the income of the working class is stagnant, the cost of living in American society is rising, and the cost of higher education is huge, which is an important reason for the economic depression. An economic crisis occurs when capitalists continue to expand production while the real purchasing power of society is low.

After a long history of low productivity and lagging economic development, China has gradually realized that freedom is an important driving force for social development. Since the reform and opening up, the concept of "letting some people get rich first" and "taking economic construction as the core" has brought about the prosperity of the past 40 years of reform and opening up, but there are also various injustices and inequalities. In this reality, the reality reflected in "The Age of Inequality" deserves our deep consideration.

In addition, the teacher played the documentary when I was taking a course in comparative politics. At that time, my classmate was very excited after watching it. She agreed with the point of view in the film. We should do something to influence this time. At this time, after a brief surprise, I was shocked. Before going to university, I also motivated myself to maintain my passion for the society, kindness and care for the people around me, whether I am doing studies or work. However, the university is full of utilitarianism, and everyone is constantly competing in student work, internships, and work. However, these can only be satisfied temporarily by vanity, and will never be able to live meaningfully. This is the embodiment of social development and changes in values, and it can also be said to be the trend of the times, but I don’t want to drown myself in the hustle and bustle of the crowd. What I want to tell myself is: please always be curious and responsible for the world consciousness.