Zhang Yiwu: Young people have more possibilities today

Source: Global Times

Dong Mingzhu recently said in a program that he found that many young people did not have a good positioning for their future. They will take "earning money" as the first condition for finding a job, and never think about what they can do when they get to society. On the other hand, Dong Mingzhu said that young people do not know hardships now, and in the past, there were a lot of people who went to work in workshops after graduating from college, but now many people can't do it. More like to do investment, finance, business administration, but if you do it, what if you don't have manufacturing. Her remarks have aroused the discussion and rebuttal of some young people, believing that such statements do not consider the situation of young people enough, lack of real concern for the lives of young people, and so on.

Such a discussion certainly has practical implications. Dong Mingzhu expressed his worries and uneasiness based on the experience gained in the manufacturing industry. And the young people who discuss with her have their own reasons, and such discussions help people better find different perspectives on the development paths of young people today.

Frankly speaking, Dong Mingzhu is not "standing and talking without waist pain", Dong herself came out of a difficult environment, and the difficulties she experienced when she was young may be more than many young people today. Based on her experience along the way, she believes that today's young people have high expectations of themselves on the one hand, but on the other hand, they have not shown stronger ability and will. Such statements can often be heard from the relatively old population, and it may be that Dong Mingzhu's "boss" identity makes these words seem not so good.

Young people who refute Dong Mingzhu also have feelings based on reality. This feeling cannot be easily resolved by the older generation with the more difficult material conditions of their youth. It is true that most of today's young people have basically solved the problem of food and clothing, and also have relatively better living conditions than when Dong Mingzhu started, but this does not mean that the anxiety and problems caused by young people based on the current actual conditions and changes in the overall social situation are not real. The difficulties and challenges faced by many young people are highlighted in today's environment and starting point, and to some extent, it is completely different from the environment of Dong Mingzhu in those days, and it may not be possible to accurately see the complexity of the problem by directly comparing it with the living conditions.

Some of the anxieties that young people show on the Internet about their own living conditions come from the material and spiritual real pressures they face, the lack of self-completion, and the difference between expectations for life and reality. On the other hand, they also carry certain senses of injustice, such as the ripples of public opinion caused by the recent rumor that "Tsinghua Affiliated Dual Nationality has been promoted directly to Tsinghua", which shows that young people are highly sensitive to the wealth gap that has been formed.

Even in the present, young people still need to strive and work hard to achieve a better life. It is not reasonable to measure oneself solely by the amount of money earned. At the same time, if there is no huge accumulation of wealth or special qualifications, in any society, it often takes young people about 15 years to solve the practical difficulties they face, and this situation will not change because society can provide basic security.

Some young people believe that there are not many opportunities in the early days of reform and opening up, and this statement is unfounded. The difficulty of going to college back then was unimaginable to today's young people, and social competition was far more intense than it is today. Now the thirst for talents in all walks of life is more intense than ever, as long as you have the ability, it will not be more difficult to achieve results than before. If we only want to rely on social change or help to solve all our own problems, it is neither realistic nor possible, and society can only provide basic conditions and guarantees.

Today's society provides a larger stage for young people than previous generations, young people have more possibilities, and to achieve it, you need to struggle to make yourself shine on a bigger stage. Young people have reason to expect more from themselves and make more solid efforts for bigger dreams. (The author is a professor at Peking University)