The Great Chinese Vibe Shift

It is hard to overstate the significance of this shift. Meritocracy was virtually a national religion during the decades of economic reform. The assumption that hard work paid just rewards was so intrinsic to the national psyche, so hammered in by parental instruction and patriotic fable, that it was rarely analyzed. Only as times began to change did the Chinese term for meritocracy, youji zhuyi, begin to circulate as people grappled with the loss of a condition that they had so long taken for granted.

The zeitgeist shift that first began about a decade ago in China now feels complete. Isolated grumblings from students and tech workers about impossible workloads have evolved into a widespread belief that in today’s China, hard work no longer pays off. A 2023 survey conducted by two American scholars of China, Scott Rozelle and Martin K. Whyte, found that for the first time since the survey started in 2004, respondents said that having connections and growing up in a rich family mattered more than personal ability when it came to getting wealthy in China.

The zeitgeist shift that first began about a decade ago in China now feels complete. Isolated grumblings from students and tech workers about impossible workloads have evolved into a widespread belief that in today’s China, hard work no longer pays off. A 2023 survey conducted by two American scholars of China, Scott Rozelle and Martin K. Whyte, found that for the first time since the survey started in 2004, respondents said that having connections and growing up in a rich family mattered more than personal ability when it came to getting wealthy in China.

It is hard to overstate the significance of this shift. Meritocracy was virtually a national religion during the decades of economic reform. The assumption that hard work paid just rewards was so intrinsic to the national psyche, so hammered in by parental instruction and patriotic fable, that it was rarely analyzed.