The consequences of the 996 working hour system:
"On the Chinese internet, the country’s current predicament – slowing economic growth, a falling birthrate, a meagre social safety net, increasing isolation on the world stage – is often expressed through buzzwords. There is tangping, or “lying flat”, a term used to describe the young generation of Chinese who are choosing to chill out rather than hustle in China’s high-pressure economy. There is runxue, or “run philosophy”, which refers to the determination of large numbers of people to emigrate. Recently, “revenge against society” attacks – random incidents of violence that have claimed dozens of lives – have sparked particular concern. And there is also neijuan, or “involution”, a term used to describe the feeling of diminishing returns in China’s social contract."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/24/what-is-neijuan-china-viral-buzzword-laptop-bicycle
@mapto@qoto.org an all-too-familiar example of how a totalitarian state fails to adapt to market needs:
"This became even more of a problem when the Chinese government announced its “double reduction” policy in 2021. Designed to ease the pressure on school students, the policy banned for-profit online and offline tutoring, torpedoing a sector that had previously been a major employer of young graduates. One study suggested that 10 million people lost their jobs as a result of the policy."