Marx, Zhuangzi & Psychology Marx + Zhuangzi · Everyone is inherently whole

Marx Series

What Opportunities Does the Present Era Offer?

I turned bearish in early 2020 and declared the onset of a Kondratieff-wave depression in 2022 (previous post: “Five Kondratieff Cycles”). The past few years have unfolded as expected.

Of the world’s three great bubbles, Chinese real estate has already burst, Japanese government bonds are teetering, and US stocks are in peril.

We are now at a point where the dividends of an entire Kondratieff wave have been exhausted. The situation is grim and leaves no room for wishful thinking. Previous posts: “The College-Graduate Dividend and the Dividend from Engineers’ Involution Are Just Beginning” and “This Is Not Industrial Upgrading, but a Downgrading of Global Industry.”

But what dividends are available now?

I. Learning Dividends

One source is the development of the internet and the sharing of experiences by industry insiders, ordinary people, and people in the middle and lower social strata.

  1. The dividend from studying science and engineering

More reading lists, book reviews, explanations, accounts of personal journeys, psychological support, and open courses from leading universities. Computer science is a particularly striking example.

  1. The dividend from studying the social sciences

More diverse values, sharing and comparison of classic works, and more criticism that punctures mystiques. As someone born in the 1980s, I was deeply influenced by liberalism. Around the age of 30, I held the Austrian School in high regard. It took another couple of years before I turned toward Marxism-Leninism.

  1. The dividend from studying the arts and pursuing a general education

Previous post: “A General-Education Reading List for Workers”

  1. The dividend from studying psychology

More accessible explanations, lectures, and films; experts and people from all walks of life sharing through independent media; and more ordinary people and comment sections in which to find resonance. This is also one of the ways Xiaohongshu has helped me.

  1. The dividend from studying Zhuangzi and lying flat

Zhuangzi represents the pinnacle of Daoism and Chinese philosophy, but his uncompromisingly revolutionary and critical character made him hated by Confucians. In a feudal agrarian society, it was far too difficult to go your own way, withdraw from worldly pursuits, and lie flat. Even personal safety was hard to secure.

Today, with excess production capacity, it is easier to stay fed and clothed, and there are more opportunities to withdraw from worldly pursuits and lie flat on a lower income. Social values have become more diverse, and the complete dominance of elitism and social Darwinism in the mainstream has shifted slightly. Single people, those who choose neither marriage nor children, outsiders, and others face less social pressure.

A life of alternating work and lying flat, like that of the “Sanhe legends”; going to Yunnan and elsewhere to lie flat on a shoestring, however tough the conditions; or lying flat with middle-class resources—all have become possible.

  1. The dividend from studying Marxism

The 70 years of dividends since World War II have been a period of ebb for Marxism. The economy expanded enormously, and everyone turned toward money. Once those dividends are exhausted, capitalism bares its fangs. Large numbers of intellectuals and university students struggle to rise through the class hierarchy, while the small and micro bourgeoisie are anxious. Issues such as capitalism, feudalism, bureaucratism, and Bonapartism appear before us more starkly. As long as we open our eyes and look, it becomes easier to understand the various questions Marxism addresses.

What is the benefit? Truth helps people see the world clearly. For example, it directly guides my investing. Previous posts: “If Engels Were Still Alive, He Would Be a Value Investor Too” and “The Guiding Role of Marxism in Psychology.”

II. Dividends in Understanding

  1. The dividend in exercise and health maintenance: knowledge about nutrition, exercise science, and maintaining health is easier to access, with more mystiques being punctured,
  1. The dividend in healthy relationships: seeing what relationships built on mutual recognition, respect, nourishment, and support for each other’s flourishing should look like.
  1. What being yourself looks like

III. Dividends in Taking Action

  1. The humanistic dividend

The more humanism is lacking, the more it will ultimately yield dividends. Consider the explosive popularity of phenomena such as Pangdonglai and Dao Lang.

  1. Being a good person still yields dividends, but you cannot be a people-pleaser. You need to be a good person with wisdom, boundaries, and high standards. Previous post: “The Dividend from Being a Good Person in a Zombie World”
  1. The dividend from being yourself

Few people are themselves, so being yourself yields dividends. No explanation.