Preface
At present, there is a wave of "hostility" in mainland society that cannot be ignored. People often vent their emotions violently over some minor incidents, and even turn into personal attacks and abuse. This kind of irrational negative emotion not only reflects some chronic diseases in social development, but also indicates potential adverse effects. It is necessary for us to deeply analyze the root causes of this phenomenon and put forward practical countermeasures to promote the harmonious and stable development of society.
1. Description of the phenomenon: The anger of the masses is becoming more and more serious
If you look at the recent trending topics on social media, you'll see that people are angry about certain events. From tracking the scandal of paparazzi secretly filming celebrities, to denouncing the food hygiene problems of a certain company, to denouncing the corruption of officials, the fierce emotional catharsis of the masses can be seen everywhere on the Internet.
This kind of "hostility" has permeated all aspects of life. A while ago, there was a collapse accident in a shopping mall, and the trapped people were rescued in time without much harm, but because of the "frightened" sentence of the management of the shopping mall concerned, they were considered to be unforgiving, and then they were attacked by public opinion in the style of wild bombardment, and the screen was full of curses.
We often see similar situations in restaurants, transportation, and public places. As long as the service personnel or other members of the public have the slightest negligence or improper attitude, it will immediately invite a wave of frenzied abuse and war of words, and both sides will lose their senses, and it will finally calm down, but it will soon evolve into public opinion demands for the other side to apologize or be laid off.
The anger of the masses seems to find an outlet everywhere. Whenever he opens his mouth, he speaks fiercely like "don't run" and "check your IP", his demeanor is rough and open-mouthed, and his rational thinking seems to have completely degenerated. In the face of this surging wave, the slightest carelessness may become a victim and be bombarded.
Have we really become so irritable and crazy? What kind of social psychology is at work? It is worth our in-depth analysis and reflection.
2. Question discussion: why does this phenomenon occur
1. The social issues behind the phenomenon
It is not difficult for us to find that the deep-seated reasons for the current anger of the masses actually reflect some chronic diseases and contradictions in social development.
First, there is the widening gap between the rich and the poor caused by unequal economic development. In recent years, the mainland economy has maintained sustained growth and per capita disposable income has risen, but at the same time, a small part of the population has accumulated huge wealth. According to statistics, the Gini coefficient of mainland residents' income in 2022 will be 0.468, exceeding the internationally recognized warning line of 0.4, reflecting a large gap in income distribution.
This extreme imbalance in the distribution of wealth has undoubtedly exacerbated the relative sense of deprivation among ordinary people. They see a small number of people spending money and worrying about food and clothing, while they themselves are under heavy pressure in terms of wages, pensions, medical care, etc., so they have a strong sense of inequality, jealousy and hatred towards the wealthy class.
Corruption and rent-seeking by some officials have also deepened the public's distrust of the system. Although the anti-corruption efforts have been intensified in recent years, some typical cases, such as the Huangnijian corruption case in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, have exposed the greed and corruption of some officials. There are even many scandals in the media that "naked officials" manipulated public property and deliberately sabotaged state-owned enterprises by their cronies during their tenure.
When ordinary people see these negative news, they can't help but doubt the impartiality and incorruptibility of those in power, and become disappointed and disgusted with the entire system and social order. As a result, public opinion has intensified their suspicion and hesitation against officials, and vented their anger in disguise.
The advent of the Internet era is also one of the triggers. Over the years, the Internet has enabled the dissemination of information to be opened, and any small negative event that passes through the "magnifying glass" of the Internet is often infinitely exaggerated, distorted and distorted, and spreads rapidly. Many unverified rumors and speculations are likely to be accepted as facts in this information explosion environment.
At the same time, another characteristic brought by the Internet is that people's emotions are easily engulfed. A small post that makes a splash can quickly engulf in a war of words and name-calling. In such an environment where negative energy is concentrated and diffused, the anger of the masses will continue to be amplified.
2. Psychological changes of the masses
Starting from the above social problems, it is not difficult to see that the hearts of ordinary people are quietly changing. On the one hand, unfair distribution has led to an increase in the "relative deprivation" of the masses. They see that the rich are squandering money and are strapped for themselves, and they are strongly dissatisfied and jealous of the rich people's flaunting of wealth, so they choose to vent their sense of inequality through name-calling.
On the other hand, negative news about corruption and official inaction has severely reduced the trust of ordinary people in the credibility of the government. In their eyes, those in power have long been corrupted and reduced to "puppets of the rich", unable to truly safeguard the people's livelihood and interests. With this kind of understanding, it is easy to turn dissatisfaction with corrupt officials into a hostile attitude towards the system as a whole.
At the same time, the nature of the Internet age has led to more and more extreme sentiment among the masses. Not only does it give people enough stage to vent, but it also makes it easier for people to get involved in "collective carnival-style" invective and war of words. Once you join this wave of anger, rational thinking will be completely lost, and endless anger will often further intensify and amplify the conflict.
It can be seen from the above that many social problems, such as economic inequality, power corruption, and public opinion guidance, are shaping the psychological roots of the masses' irrationality and anger and anger. They become increasingly disappointed and confused about the future, and can only vent their emotions to relieve their deep feelings of powerlessness, which has gradually evolved into a social disease.
3. Consequences
If the anger of the masses and the hatred of the rich and the hatred of officials continue to intensify, it will have a serious impact on social harmony and stability and will have an extremely adverse impact on the country's long-term development.
Economic construction will be seriously hampered. Excessive populist sentiment can undermine the confidence of entrepreneurs and investors, lowering their expectations of the social environment and their optimism about the future. In the face of endless verbal abuse and personal attacks, the wealthy will have to worry about their own safety, leading to the idea of moving their wealth out or reducing their investment. A massive loss of capital will inevitably increase the pressure on domestic capital formation, and economic growth will suffer a heavy setback.
Doubts about the credibility of the government will exacerbate social unrest. The escalation of anti-official sentiment will make the public increasingly lose trust in those in power, and thus become wary and skeptical of all policies and regulations. Once a major decision-making adjustment occurs, it may trigger the outbreak of stubborn public opinion, and the operation of society will be paralyzed. At the same time, large-scale demonstrations or violent incidents are more likely to occur from time to time, not only threatening public order, but also seriously undermining social stability.
The lack of rationality among the masses will also lead to the intensification of social contradictions, and the general lack of mutual understanding and tolerance will prevail. This undoubtedly increases the risk of social division and estrangement, and the contradictions and antagonisms between classes are more difficult to reconcile. Once the two sides stalemate, it will evolve into more intense conflict and confrontation, which will affect the healthy functioning of society.
Worse still, populism, once mainstream, radically distorts values. In this atmosphere, it is easy for people to lose the ability to think independently, blindly following collective emotions without thinking. Extreme populist tendencies will spawn nothing more than self-standard moral scrutiny and personal attacks, which can hardly have a positive impact on society at any time.
It can be said that fanatical populism and hostility have become a stumbling block to the mainland's progress and development. Therefore, we must attach great importance to and face up to this social phenomenon, take effective measures to defuse and correct it, promote social fairness and justice, and let the fruits of development benefit the people, so as to regain rationality and confidence and lay a solid foundation for the continued prosperity of the country.
Fourth, countermeasures and suggestions
In the face of the growing anger of the masses, we need to start from the source and adopt all-round and multi-pronged comprehensive measures to effectively promote social fairness and justice, resolve the alienation of public opinion, and maintain harmony and stability.
1. Strengthen wealth redistribution
It is necessary to adhere to the concept of common prosperity development and ensure that the fruits of development benefit all the people. On the one hand, it is necessary to further improve the income distribution system, establish a profit-sharing mechanism for asset appreciation and other links, and prevent the disorderly expansion of capital. On the other hand, it is necessary to increase the intensity of fiscal transfer payments, tilt towards the grassroots and people's livelihood, and strengthen social security and assistance for low-income groups, so as to effectively reduce their living pressure. At the same time, it is also necessary to further standardize the order of income distribution, protect the legitimate rights and interests of laborers, and ensure that workers are entitled to distribution.
2. Deepen anti-corruption and clean government
We should comprehensively strengthen the building of a clean and honest party style and resolutely curb the spread of corruption. First, it is necessary to continue to maintain a strict and high-pressure posture of punishing corruption, intensify the investigation and punishment, and investigate and deal with all those who are found to be corrupt. Second, it is necessary to further improve the mechanism for restricting and supervising the exercise of power, and plug the loopholes of power corruption in an all-round and full-chain manner. Third, it is necessary to intensify anti-corruption education and build a strong ideological and moral defense line against corruption and degeneration. In addition, it is also necessary to ensure that corrupt elements are severely punished according to law, and at the same time safeguard the enthusiasm of the contingent of cadres, so that innocent cadres can have a place to entrust them and earnestly solve their worries.
3. Improve public literacy
It is necessary to strengthen the rule of law and moral education for the whole people, and cultivate the public's sense of citizenship and social responsibility, so as to effectively curb extremist sentiments. First of all, it is necessary to popularize legal knowledge, enhance the public's concept of the rule of law, and enhance their reverence for the law. Second, it is necessary to strengthen ideological and moral education, advocate the values of rationality, tolerance, and tolerance, and consciously cultivate the good qualities of mutual respect and truth-seeking. In addition, efforts should be made to eliminate antagonism and antagonism and take the initiative to create a harmonious and friendly social atmosphere. At the same time, it is also necessary to strengthen the ecological governance of public opinion, reduce the spread of negative energy on the Internet, and form a positive energy environment.
4. Create a harmonious environment
It is necessary to earnestly promote the formation of a harmonious atmosphere in society at the level of institutional mechanisms. First of all, it is necessary to improve the channels for the orderly expression of interest demands, unblock the right of the masses to speak, and respond to reasonable interest demands in a timely manner. Second, it is necessary to strengthen the protection and supervision of the rule of law, severely punish acts that undermine social order, and maintain a normal way of life. In addition, it is necessary to straighten out the mechanism for resolving contradictions between the government and the people, smooth communication channels, and enhance the credibility of the government. At the same time, we will intensify social management innovation, actively prevent and resolve social contradictions, and create a harmonious social environment for the people to live and work in peace and contentment.
In short, curbing the anger of the masses requires the joint efforts of the whole society. Only by effectively resolving the issues of the most immediate interests of the masses of the people and promoting social fairness and justice through effective institutional safeguards and governance measures can we fundamentally resolve the masses' alienation from the system and their disappointment with society and promote a more harmonious and stable development of society.
5. Conclusion and expectations
The spread of the masses' anger has become a serious problem that cannot be ignored in the current society. If it is allowed to develop, it will certainly have a tremendous impact on the country's economic construction and social stability. We must address the root causes and fully implement comprehensive measures to strengthen wealth redistribution, fight corruption, improve civic literacy, and create a harmonious environment, so as to effectively resolve people's frustration and regain confidence in the future.
This requires not only the far-sightedness and wisdom of policymakers, but also the rational self-examination and joint participation of all citizens. Only when everyone can correctly understand the seriousness of the problem and earnestly assume their social responsibilities can we truly achieve the ideal vision of social harmony and national peace and security.
Let us call together to embrace rationality and inclusiveness, and stay away from extreme bigotry. Use trust and love to resolve confrontations, and use a broad mind to tolerate different voices. It is believed that as long as the whole society forms a consensus, makes concerted efforts and moves in unison, it will be able to reshape a fair and just social environment and realize the aspirations of all people for a better life. It's a long process but worth everyone's effort, let's take a solid first step together!