Apathy Is Not Moral Decay — It Is the Reflex of Obedience Under Tyranny
By Hu Lili Chief Editor: Luo Zhifei Translator: Lu Huiwen
The phrase “harmonious society,” in the Chinese government’s narrative, represents political correctness. But in reality, this slogan has been used to muffle countless cries of despair and to whitewash violence and apathy. It is not a vision of social harmony, but a form of political anesthesia—a spiritual castration of the people.
China today is anything but harmonious. Even “stability” is a manufactured illusion conjured by the state’s iron grip. What the regime calls “harmony” is in fact a forced, suffocating silence—an airless atmosphere created by suppressing criticism and choking free expression.
When a child lies bleeding on the ground and bystanders merely look away; when a woman is dragged and humiliated in broad daylight and the crowd says nothing; when a delivery worker collapses and dies on the street while the world walks past without blinking—these are not coincidences. They are the conditioned reflexes of a society trained into apathy. These are not isolated events—they are blood-soaked screams buried beneath the regime’s propaganda of “harmony.”
This chilling social reality is not the product of moral decline, but the calculated result of authoritarian engineering: a society where people no longer trust one another, no longer care about the world beyond themselves. This is not just alienation—it is a regime-designed pathology, forged through brainwashing, censorship, and fear-based punishment.
Yes, rapid urbanization and the relentless pace of life have widened social gaps—but the deeper problem is institutional distrust. Government power is exercised arbitrarily and never held accountable. Ordinary citizens have no avenue for redress. Inequality widens. Social mobility is blocked. The state media sings hymns of “stability,” while silence and despair fester in the streets. In such an environment, “Don’t speak, don’t stand out, don’t get involved” becomes the unspoken rule of survival.
What is considered “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”?
Posting a tweet. Speaking a truth. Filming a video.
You think you’re exercising a right? No—you’re threatening “stability.”
To the regime, stability means: the people stay silent, the truth stays buried, and society stays deaf.
Dissenters are criminalized. Facts are reframed as “isolated incidents.”
The slogan of “a harmonious society” has become a fig leaf for injustice and a diversion from accountability.
Let us be clear: apathy is not human nature. It is the byproduct of authoritarian rule. When a society sees every act of kindness as a threat, every moment of empathy as a risk to “social order,” it has already lost its moral foundation. Its “harmony” is merely the silence of despair—the pain of a people who no longer know how to cry out.
So we must ask again:
Who uses the word “harmony” to mask suffering?
Who uses “stability” to justify violence?
Who uses “the system” to smother the people’s cries?
The answer is as plain as day:
It is the Chinese Communist Party—monopolizing power, manipulating truth, and crushing public will.
If China is ever to move toward genuine harmony, it must take a historic step:
End one-party rule.
End the blockade on information.
Return power to the people.
Rebuild a system that truly belongs to them.
Only by dismantling this lie-built order can we create a real society—a society with flesh and blood, where people can speak, express, and help each other without fear; where care is not punished, and compassion is not met with danger.
Only when dictatorship ends will apathy retreat.
Only then will “harmony” cease to be a lie and become a living reality.
作者:张兴贵(大陆中国民主党员)
编辑:王新叶 责任编辑:罗志飞 鲁慧文
马克思主义,它曾以“自由”与“平等”的空口号激励了19世纪的劳工运动,让无数人以为看到了理想社会的幻象。然而其理论的缺陷与实践的失败,表明这一理想社会难以兑现,只会让人类社会陷入奴役与贫穷的深渊。
一、理论的局限:空想的逻辑漏洞
马克思主义主张消灭私有制、通过暴力革命实现“按需分配”,理想很崇高,但其逻辑存在严重缺陷:
首先,私有制是经济激励的基石,中央计划导致信息不对称与资源错配。私有制赋予个人努力与回报的关联,激励创新与生产,消灭私有制就破坏了经济激励的基石。而马克思主义主张将生产资料收归国有,由中央计划分配资源,但中央计划者无法掌握市场中分散的、动态的需求信息。这种信息不对称导致了资源错配,生产停滞,最终,社会财富终将枯竭枯竭(来自哈耶克《通往奴役之路》一书)。
其次,按需分配的不可操作性:需求的主观性使分配标准沦为掌权者的工具,催生出特权阶层。马克思主义的理想是实现人类的解放,建立一个无阶级、自由平等的社会。这种理想很崇高,但由于违背了人类的本性而无法达到。人类的需求多样且主观,谁来定义“需要”的标准?答案是掌权者。这一过程不可避免地导致权力的高度集中,普通人的需求被忽视,所谓的“平等”沦为少数人操控的工具。最终,集中权力不仅无法实现平等,反而催生新的特权阶层。
最后,暴力革命的后果:列宁的“先锋队”理论预示了权力的集中在逻辑上势必会走向独裁。暴力革命需要强力领导,但权力一旦集中,便难以分散。列宁的“先锋队”理论要求少数精英掌控革命进程,这在逻辑上预示了独裁的必然性。
二、历史的教训:奴役与贫穷的疮疤
理论的缺陷在实践中会被放大为巨大的灾难。经济学家阿马蒂亚·森指出,市场经济通过价格机制调节供需,而苏联的计划经济导致资源严重浪费与生产停滞。让我们以历史的镜子,审视马克思主义的实践带来的严重后果。
苏联:1917年革命后,斯大林的计划经济导致物资匮乏,数百万人死于迫害或饥荒。中央计划经济造成物资匮乏,1985年苏联人均GDP仅为美国的1/3(世界银行数据),民众排队数小时只为购买面包求温饱。斯大林的集权统治更是导致大清洗,数百万人死于迫害。这不是平等,而是贫困;这不是自由,而是奴役。
中国:1949年后的土地改革和“大跃进”试图实现马克思主义的理想,却导致了灾难性的后果。1949-1978年的土地改革与“大跃进”造成约3000万-4500万非正常死亡(《毛泽东的大饥荒》)。改革开放后,中国引入市场经济,中国才逐步摆脱贫困,亿万人的生活水平才显著提升。这一转变证明,马克思主义只会导致社会的极度贫穷。
其他案例:朝鲜1990年代饥荒(约60万人死亡)与古巴经济停滞,均验证了计划经济的低效:经济崩溃、自由受限、人民困苦。马克思主义的试验场,留下的只有奴役与贫穷的疮疤。
三、人性的现实:自由驱动繁荣
马克思主义忽视个体追求自由与利益的天性。人性是理性与自利的结合,追求自由与个人价值是我们的本能。马克思主义试图通过集体主义压制这一本能,定会导致社会的严重倒退。
亚当·斯密的“看不见的手”表明,自由市场通过竞争与激励推动创新。从工业革命到信息时代,市场经济显著提升生活水平。个人追求自身利益,通过竞争与合作推动社会整体福祉。虽然资本主义并非完美,但它通过自由选择与激励机制,释放了人类的创造力。从工业革命到信息时代,科技进步、医疗改善、生活水平产生了质的飞跃,这无一不是自由市场的成果。反观马克思主义,扼杀了社会创新,窒息了经济活力。
托克维尔警告,强制平等可能导致“平等的压迫”。真正的公平源于机会平等,而非消灭差异。马克思主义的实践历史验证了这一逻辑:拥有平等之名,却剥夺了个人自由,普通人被奴役于体制,特权阶层却凌驾于众人之上,从而制造了权力的严重不对等。
结论:
马克思主义的理想在思想逻辑与社会实践中均不可行。以自由市场为基础,辅以社会保障和法治,是实现繁荣与公平的更可行路径。马克思主义建立在空想之上,它的实践也带来灾难的后果,它的幻象已被逻辑与历史的铁锤粉碎,它许诺的自由与平等不过是奴役与贫穷的伪装。
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