It is not surprising that some friends have different opinions on my judgment that the big cities in China's developed coastal areas have entered a "society of abundance". My judgment is based on this consideration, the mainland has generally entered a moderately prosperous society, while the large cities in the developed coastal areas have a higher level of development, and if we refer to the internationally accepted statistical standards, many indicators in these places have entered the ranks of developed countries, so we must note that what I call "affluent society" actually has a specific direction.
When a place enters a rich society, the conditions for the people living here, especially the young people, to achieve self-development will become more sufficient, and the main conditions here are as follows:
First, the improvement of material conditions. Needless to say, after entering a society of abundance, people's material life has been significantly improved, and it can be said that the material resources required for basic life no longer need to worry about this, in other words, they have no worries about food and clothing. When you don't have to run for food and clothing, your survival is guaranteed, and it is possible to focus more on the areas you are more interested in, develop your hobbies, and explore your potential. In layman's terms, it means that only when you have eaten enough can you have the leisure to devote yourself to something more meaningful.
Second, the widespread use of education. After entering the affluent society, the education level of the whole society will be significantly improved. Some people may have a different view on this judgment, believing that the level of education in China's big cities is not very high, and the development is uneven, otherwise there will be no "school choice fever" and various "involution" of parents. Is there any truth to this statement? Yes. But it's a bit one-sided. It is important to note the fact that there are indeed uneven levels of schools in our big cities, but even if a school is not of a high level, if compared with underdeveloped countries and regions, the overall level is still relatively high. On the one hand, these people can better support economic and social development, and at the same time, because of the improvement of their own education level, they will have a stronger interest in all kinds of new knowledge and new skills, and this interest itself has planted the seeds for everyone's self-development in all directions.
Third, the promotion of scientific and technological progress. Science and technology are the primary productive forces, and the formation of a prosperous society depends on the rapid development of science and technology, and at the same time, the formation of an abundant society is conducive to the continuous progress of science and technology. If we look at it, we will find that among the developed regions and large cities that have formed an affluent society, the concentration of talents is the highest, and scientific and technological resources are most likely to be concentrated here. The progress of science and technology can greatly expand the scope and depth of human activities, which directly affects the self-development of people living in this area, which is also an important "positive externality" of scientific and technological development. In particular, in today's society, the application of advanced technologies such as the Internet, artificial intelligence and biotechnology has not only changed our way of life, but also provided unprecedented development opportunities for more people. Needless to say, let's talk about the popularization of the Internet, especially mobile Internet technology, let us open the door to new fields at once, now if you want to learn a new skill that you are interested in, such as playing the piano and painting, if you put it in the past, you may only have to find a teacher nearby to sign up for learning, it is difficult to register here, but now you can find a teacher online from any place to learn. Anyone who has read my official account in the past knows that I have always had a point of view, that is, institutions such as "University for the Elderly" should not be handed over to the government as the content of "learning for the elderly", but should return to the positioning of "having fun for the elderly" and become a club run by the people. At the same time, the various learning needs of the elderly can be more shouldered by the Open University (i.e., the TV University in the past). You see, this is the most typical example of using the blessings of new technology to achieve human self-development. Examples include remote work and digital entrepreneurship in the virtual world.
Fourth, the mobility of the population has increased. Affluent societies go hand in hand with urbanization, or in other words, affluent societies must first emerge in large cities. If we look at the big cities in the developed coastal areas of the mainland, we will know that there are a large number of foreign populations in these cities, and most of these foreign populations are young and middle-aged, most of these people are more willing and able to change their own destiny and social status, and the entry of these populations will play a role in the city of "stirring up a pool of spring water", driving more people to strive for their own development and improve themselves. At the same time, it should also be noted that the city is a society of strangers as well as a society of legal principles, and this kind of social environment is less susceptible to the influence of traditional factors such as family affection, clan, and customs, and is conducive to creating a relatively fairer external environment for the all-round development of all kinds of people.
Fifth, the development of culture. The first big cities to enter affluent societies are often also regional cultural gathering places, and the more such large cities, the stronger the cultural openness, diversity and inclusiveness. If this is a bit abstract, you can observe the degree to which ordinary people in big cities, especially megacities and third- and fourth-tier cities, tolerate all kinds of novelties such as "fancy clothes", and you will understand why some people "flee back to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou" after "fleeing Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou". At the same time, there is another factor that cannot be ignored, that is, there will be more foreigners living in such big cities, and these people will bring us some cultural elements from abroad. It is precisely because of this cultural openness, pluralism and inclusiveness that the people, especially the young people, in these big cities have more creativity and imagination, which can be directly transformed into the motivation and ability of self-development.
Fifth, the impact of the policy environment. In the first large cities to enter the affluent society, because the government officials here are relatively faster to contact the latest changes in the outside world, and in general, these cities are more able to provide good social governance and social services to the public because of their relatively high level of economic development and relatively strong public financial capacity. The two most prominent aspects here, on the one hand, are a good development environment, which can be said to be a "business environment" in a narrow sense, that is, a policy environment that encourages enterprises and individuals to innovate and start businesses, such as necessary tax policies, entrepreneurial support policies, etc., and in a broad sense, it also includes encouraging policies for individual ability improvement. On the other hand, there are necessary social security guarantees, such as unemployment, medical care and pension systems, which can establish a relatively complete social safety net for everyone, and protect everyone to the greatest extent in the pursuit of personal self-development, more confident, no worries.
It is precisely because people in a wealthy society have this opportunity and possibility of self-development that people in big cities in developed coastal areas, especially young people, will have more exploration and attempts, constantly improve their knowledge and skills, and provide a broader space for personal development. That's what makes big cities so appealing. Many years ago, I read a book called "The Triumph of the City", which talked about the many benefits of urbanization, and today we are discussing the mutual achievement of urbanization and affluent society, and the affluent society promotes the all-round development of people, which should also be "the triumph of the city".
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