Six Harmony Bell
During the first lunar holiday, WeChat New Year among relatives and friends, "tiger tigers grow mighty", "live dragons live tigers", "tiger spirits soar to the sky" and "like tigers with wings" have become high-frequency words. But some people did not forget to joke, "Even if you have the power of nine bulls and two tigers, you can't stand and " - indeed, the word "introvert" has become very popular in recent years, and it has also been selected in the "Cheerful Words" "Top 10 buzzwords of the year. Why do many people talk about "involution", and then talk about it?
First of all, what is "involution"? "The original meaning refers to the phenomenon that human society stagnates or cannot be transformed into another advanced mode after a certain stage of development has reached a certain form." This is the explanation on Baidu Encyclopedia. Many people still don't understand it. If you replace it with a similar word, such as "internal friction", "stock competition", " diminishing marginal effect ", "low-level repetition", in an unbreakable "platform period", etc., it may be better to understand.
Regarding "involution", the public criticism has never stopped. "The company also worked overtime collectively until two o'clock, which is too busy!" "The neighbor's child signed up for three interest classes outside of class, can the child be so busy..." The inner volume shouted out the voices of many people. And because of "involution", "lying flat" seems to have become a reasonable attitude towards life.
's description of the inner volume,
has two stories that are widely circulated: the first story of
takes place on an isolated island in the sea. Although the islanders work at sunrise and rest at sunset, due to the limited arable land resources on the island and the population increasing every year, the life of the people on the island is getting worse and worse. In the past, each person could eat two steamed buns per meal, but after ten years, he can only eat one. In another ten years, he may not even be able to drink porridge.
The second story is in a border town. Before , the shoe stores here were closed at 6 o'clock in the evening, the supply and demand were basically equal, and everyone was happy. However, one day, a store owner postponed the closing time to 11:00, which caused more customers to be separated, and other stores had to open stores until 11:00. This will cause everyone to work 5 more hours a day to get the same income as before. The
story sounds very simple - the scarcity of resources cannot be matched, and the vicious competition is harmful to others.
However, these two stories hide the most crucial precondition of
. The first premise of
: The island and the town are two completely closed environments. Apart from cultivating the land and growing food, the islanders cannot go fishing, nor can they go to the trees to pick fruit, and of course they cannot go out to sea to find new continents. On the other hand, the owner of the shoe store in the town is extremely uphold the local spirit, and there are outsiders who come to the local store to firmly resist, and they will never go out to develop. The second premise of
: The islanders on the island only know how to wield hoes for farming. They can't invent a plow truck that improves production efficiency, nor can they develop a new variety of grain like " hybrid rice " that can increase the yield per mu. As for the owner of the shoe store in the town, apart from only producing identical leather shoes, no one would sell slippers, cloth shoes, and high-heeled shoes, nor would anyone think of upgrading the design and comfort of shoes. In their minds, if they want to get more customers, there is no other way than to push the opening time again and again. In order to highlight the scarcity of resources, the two stories of
set the place in a closed place. We can recognize that isolated islands in the sea and border towns are indeed isolated places with constant resources. But don't forget that the scarcity of resources is an eternal topic of human beings. For the entire human group, is the earth not an island?
One of the major causes of America's worrying about the world is what they often claim: with the earth's existing fossil energy sources and the current level of human productivity, it can only support 1 billion people to live a comfortable life.
In this regard, the United States firmly believes in , a zero-sum game, . In the past, we fought the oil war, but now we are promoting the theory of threats from other countries and engaging in trade protectionism and trade wars.
Let's see what China is doing? For the world, we advocate a community with a shared future for mankind, promote the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", and drive countries along the route to activate resource elements to create a better future. Domestically, in the past ten years, we have devoted resources and a large number of poverty alleviation cadres to the most barren and resource-deficient areas in China, helping the masses to do everything possible.Find a way out for development, and finally complete the great achievement of lifting nearly 100 million rural poor people out of poverty.
So what is involution? The easiest way to judge is to look at the way you treat and use resources.
1. "Internal volume" is to repeatedly compete with the stock,
dissipates energy in low-level repetition.
involution is an imported word, the English name evolution, and the opposite of this word is evolution. Involution means "inward evolution", and the key to understanding involution lies in the word "inward".
The phenomenon of involution was first proposed by an anthropologist after seeing some kind of decorative art. This art is somewhat similar to the traditional totem of New Zealand Maori, its biggest feature is the unlimited repetition of the same shape, pattern and color. At first glance, you will think it is exquisite and meticulous, but it will inevitably become monotonous after reading too much. Because several styles overlap and repeat a lot, creativity and variety are not displayed.
is one of the representatives of bringing this infinitely repetitive art form to the extreme. Some people say that it is the well-known gothic building . down, but couldn't find much new ideas.
It is precisely because of human imagination and creativity that a large number of scientific and technological inventions have appeared; because of the spirit of upward exploration, we can have today's tops and nine-days to catch the moon, and five-oceans to catch turtles. Involution, on the other hand, does the opposite, becoming more and more complex in an inherent pattern. The core crux of involution is that low-level repetition in a closed system and repeated games with the stock cannot create increments.
And even more deadly, the consequences of "involution" have a certain lag.
You may be "invoking", but you don't realize it, because the changes in work and life are not obvious, but when you really find out, it is too late.
For example, the "mid-life crisis" that is hotly debated in the society and the layoff of old employees by large factories, many employees feel aggrieved, why should they be replaced by a new person after they have worked hard for decades? This may be because a few decades ago, you developed inwardly and stagnated. The so-called ten-year experience is actually only one year, and the next nine years will be repeated at a low level.
If pressure and internal friction are visible crises, then internal friction is a silent erosion. People who fall into involution may be trapped in it for a long time without realizing it, and they are deeply tired but happy.
For example, at that time, Kodak's image shooting business spread all over the world, and it was a century-old enterprise spanning two centuries. But in the face of the advent of digital technology, it cannot get rid of its mindset, believing that the traditional products that once brought huge profits can continue to be effective. Therefore, its focus is not only on the research and development of new technologies, but on the continuous development of the original film and film cameras, which consumes a lot of energy, which is completely useless compared to the new digital product .
For example, some of the Guinness World Records that people are keen to watch. Some people set up a running water banquet, which is 100 meters long, and then some people set up 200 meters and 300 meters; Although every time it can attract a large number of onlookers and even trigger a wave of hot searches, what's the point of it other than wasting manpower.
Generally speaking, the inner volume is honey with a chronic poison hidden in it, and the body is slightly ill, but fortunately there is a sweetness to taste for the time being. In the midst of involution, you are exhausted and exhausted, thinking you are carving a beautiful work of art, but it will not stand the test, maybe it is just a flying stone, and it will shatter.
Second, since you know that "involution" is not good, why can't
come out? The inherent value concept of
1 and cannot correctly identify and treat "internal volume", and even regard it as a standard.
is mainly manifested in the following aspects: First, regards dogma as a canon. For example, long-outdated concepts are still being implemented without understanding, and some old folk customs have long lost their original meaning and realistic soil, but some people still spend a lot of energy on them. second is to treat complex as advanced . Like micro-engraving and micro-engraving are just forms of art, the artistic connotation will not exceed normalAlthough there are still some people who are willing to practice on walnuts, rice grains and even hair. A job is clear and clear, but a large number of report meetings and review meetings have to be held. This is to regard superficial refinement and formal complexity as advanced and advanced. The third is to equate time with the precipitation of . Instead of focusing on output and improving efficiency, it is more about who works longer hours, who sits longer in the office, who makes up more class hours on weekends, and who doesn’t even understand the direction of anxiety. The fourth is to regard conformity as a progressive . When a hot spot appears, everyone is rushing to it. If others do it, you will be very nervous. Regardless of whether it is related to your original goal or whether it is in line with your main business, you will bite the bullet and go forward. The media said that if you want to cultivate artistic cells, you should quickly let your children learn music and art; the media also said that learning intelligent robots, scratch and Python programming is very important.
2, are too addicted to the comfort zone and lack the motivation to break through from the inside. The most prominent performance of
is the "resource trap". For example, after oil was discovered in Venezuela at the beginning of the last century, not only did it pay off all its foreign debts, but its average annual GDP growth rate was as high as 6.4%. But until today, Venezuela has not established its own industrial system, and once the oil price falls, the economy will immediately decline. Another example is Brazil. From the export of mahogany and gold in the colonial era to various minerals today, Brazil's natural resources can be described as rich, but up to now, economic development is often referred to by economic circles as "food for the sky". There are also some old-style capitalist countries that have not been spared the introversion, relying on the original solid family background to vigorously engage in welfare society. As a result, many citizens are too lazy to work, let alone innovate, and the whole society is depressed and difficult to return. Involution is a comfort zone. Once the external environment changes, it is only a matter of time before it is eliminated.
3, The external competition continues to pressurize, and the requirements for "outward volume" are getting higher and higher. Over the past 40 years since the reform and opening up, the average annual growth rate of China's GDP has been very dazzling, which is also a miracle in the entire history of human development. Compared with some developed countries, the GDP growth rate of the United States is 2-3%, Germany is hovering around 1%, and Japan is almost zero. This does not mean that these developed countries are in decline, but that they have passed the period of rapid development, which is the "incremental era". In the incremental era, all industries are waiting to be developed, and opportunities and stages are everywhere. However, when the development reaches a certain level, resource development and all walks of life tend to be stable, and society will gradually enter the "stock era".
In the stock era, it is becoming more and more difficult to expand "outside", and to pursue greater profits, one is to compete for the opportunities of others and fall into high-intensity competition, and the other is to desperately seek inward and do the same thing. Fine and fine. For example, Japan's automobile industry will pull up a strip of fluorescent lamps tens of meters long, and look for the smallest defects that cannot be found by the naked eye through illumination and reflection. But once it hits the road, the car may be dented again by the small stones splashed on the road, so the "excellence" that deviates from the main contradiction is actually not too meaningful.
Today, the growth rate of China's GDP is also slowing down, and this slowdown has brought us a clear perception: competition has intensified, and it is becoming more and more difficult to find a job and make money. The reason for this perception is the shrinking of resources and the higher requirements of society for skills. We need to have stronger skills in order to ride the waves and stay at the forefront.
3. In the era of involution, how should we break the game?
From the perspective of the whole society, involution is essentially a short-term "discomfort" caused by the slowdown of economic growth and the switch from the incremental era to the stock era. This kind of discomfort has been experienced by the developed countries in the past, and some have not even gotten rid of it. "High-intensity competition in the stock era" is a new normal that we must gradually adapt to as we move towards a higher stage of development. At the same time, the so-called involution is actually a reshuffle of society. In the past, those who were good at pursuing quantity and striving for speed took the lead and gained opportunities, but now, solidification, hiding in the comfort zone and too one-dimensional refinement will become eliminated by "involution"object.
This requires us:
First, insist on learning and continue to pursue breakthroughs and innovations. The half-life of 's usefulness in the past was about 30 years, and now this cycle has gradually dropped to 5 years or even shorter. This requires us to constantly update the known and explore new knowledge, otherwise we can only stay in a low-level stock comfort zone. To get rid of involution, it is necessary to create increments, maintain vigorous vitality, dare to go against the wind, have the courage to strive for excellence, step out of the "comfort zone", step into the road, and make more productive and creative efforts.
The second is to clearly understand the strengths and advantages of individuals and develop differentiated. Which university did go to, what major did you choose, and what industry did you pursue after graduation? Many people are always accustomed to putting their eyes on others in the future, and when people get together, it is easy to cause resource constraints and evolve into high-intensity competition. In fact, everyone's life can bloom with its own splendor, and you don't have to always do the same things as others. Aside from the utilitarian of and dig deep into its own unique advantages, you can also create your own outlet.
The third is to maintain a high-spirited fighting spirit. People cannot stand without spirit, and a country cannot be strong without spirit. If you want to achieve something, it is normal to be stressed. But now when some people talk about "involution", they seem to find a reason why they can "lie down", "Look, it's meaningless to work hard" "As long as I lie flat enough, I can't roll in. on his own head". In fact, lying flat can never save involution, and what drives social development is always a steady stream of struggles. Because when more and more people lie down, their desires still converge, and involution will also be derived from lying down.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the 2022 Spring Festival group meeting , "In the year of the tiger, we must continue to write the Chinese society with the characteristics of the Chinese society with the majesty of the tiger, the vitality of the tiger, and the spirit of swallowing thousands of miles. A new chapter in the history of the great cause of
!" This era of
offers many opportunities to every ordinary person, and the state makes every effort to ensure everyone's fairness and justice, and active new faces can be seen every year on the list of achievements in various fields. On the way forward, we must not only dare to break through involution, jump out of the inherent competitive state, get rid of the "red ocean" and enter the "blue ocean"; we must also throw away the "Buddhist system" and stay away from "lying flat", so as to fight for the day and live up to the time. With a sense of mission, it is magnificent to ride the wind and break the waves of thousands of miles!
(original title ""Inward Rolling Vortex", how to recognize and break the situation?". Edited by Wu Yingqiu)