It’s a Delicate Balance

‘Lying Flat’ was a movement in China that got banned by the CCP.

Tang ping (Chinese: 躺平; lit. ‘lying flat’) is a Chinese slang neologism that describes a personal rejection of societal pressures to overwork and over-achieve, such as in the 996 working hour system, which is often regarded as a rat race with ever diminishing returns.

Wikipedia

But it didn’t die, it went underground and re-emerged as “bǎi làn; lit. ‘let it rot’ – a milder version that didn’t involve quitting one’s job and living minimally, but rather just going really slow at work and giving up on ambitions.

It’s not unique to China. In fact it’s all over the place. In the United States it’s variant is known as ‘Quiet Quitting’ – also going slow at work. In South Korea it’s ‘Sampo Generation’. Sampo means ‘three’ and it referred to giving up on courtship, marriage and child-rearing. But this morphed into not just ‘four’, ‘five’, ‘six’, ‘seven’, ‘eight’, but nine (No-po); “employment, home ownership, interpersonal relationships, hope, health, physical appearance, and eventually life”. This is truly sad! ‘Freeter’ is – in Japan – a state of unemployment or under-employment, getting by on second-hand or recycled goods. NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) began in the UK and has spread to Europe, Asia and North America.

Analyses

Media the world-over have weighed in with their analyses of what’s causing all this and they’re remarkably shallow. In its post in May 2021, the Chinese news outlet Guangming Net provided this trite explanation:

Guangming Net believes that lying flat is a common phenomenon that happens in a wide range of countries and regions. The economy possesses a certain security function and diversified economic opportunity when an economy reaches the climax of a state, so the marginal utility of working overtime decreases, hence resulting in a passive young generation.^_[52]

It sounds like something a dysfunctional AI program might produce – but even AI would be more precise. Western media do a lot of beating about the bush, too, proving their worth in distracting the masses from the crux of the issue. Buried in it all somewhere is ‘economic inequality’ (the truth is always hidden in plain sight).

Of course that’s what it is. Ultimately, it’s the wealth pump keeping so many people on a treadmill of productivity, which is often anything but productive – such as real estate agencies and financial ‘services’.

The Sweet Spot

There’s no stopping the human need to have purpose and meaning in life. No amount of material gain, no amount of political or social exultation to ‘success’ will supplant it.

The Australian Dream of home-ownership is the bedrock of contentment. It is where we stop and relax, recover, love and mature.

Sadly, too often people don’t stop. They miss the mark.

For the lucky few who reach poverty escape velocity and ride a trajectory to wealth, many over shoot and pass that sweet spot of contentment. It’s too easy to do in a system that makes money out of money. It’s too enticing when money is so empowering. But that much money doesn’t make you happy. It just provides a ticket into an elite clique of self-obsessed exceptionalists.

Most of us will never have that problem. One problem many will have is hanging on to the hope of having it. They are the poor folk who vote against their own interests. For example, they’ll swallow the contrivance that inheritance tax is a death tax on their life’s earnings when it’s actually a tax that prevents the super wealthy passing on massive assets to entitled offspring. It redistributes what was hoarded throughout a lifetime – indeed lifetimes – more fairly across society. They compare themselves to the uber-rich and see equals, which is fair enough, but they are not equals in luck. They have vanity and self-interested in common – with a few exceptions at the top. They believe hard work is a trait they have in common, but the vast majority of elites spend most of their time sitting extremely pretty. There are the exceptions who can’t help themselves, but they admit to have a black hole in their chest or wishing they weren’t in their own heads.

It’s all very easy for an old, retired guy like me to talk about sitting pretty. What if you’re young and starting out in life?

How To Sit Pretty

You’re probably not going to end up sitting pretty in this (global, but especially Australian) economy if you lie flat. The good old days of affordable property are gone for the foreseeable future. But there are several things you can do without selling your soul to the devil.

Skill up and get a reasonably well paid job. Cooperate: Band together with people you trust and share the cost of a mortgage. When you’ve got one paid off, keep working together until the next house is paid off, and so on. This is what immigrant diaspora groups do for each other in Australia.

Investing up front in some future -proofing around the house can reduce your expenses and future workload. For example, ensure your home is either designed or retrofitted for passive heating and cooling. Some of this doesn’t cost a dime – it just requires forethought, such as not having a black rooftop in a hot climate and using materials that are durable and trouble-free. Minimize electronics and complexity. Do as much of your own maintenance as possible – it’ll keep you fit and alert. Distance your life’s needs from system dependence by, for example, having an orchard and some off-grid power and water.

What if you’re mature and behind the eight-ball financially? To me, the answer would be community. Depending on your finances, move somewhere affordable (a small town?), rent something modest and make it homely. Make yourself useful and value the connections. When you approach the end of life, you don’t need to own a home because everything becomes increasingly temporary. If you are sitting pretty, consider giving it all away before you die and enjoy witnessing the results.

Most importantly, when you’ve got that debt-free roof over your head – ease up. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Being physically and mentally healthy is an investment that takes time and resources. When you’re content, voluntary simplicity is easy.

Not everyone can live like this, but most of us will benefit from some of it, in some form.

Kicking Bad Habits

I’ve never seen anything in the media about how positive lying flat can be. It’s usually posited as a problem. In fact, it’s good for the planet and it can be very healthy for the individual. Of course, initially it is a negative reaction. Taken too far, it is self-destructive. However, as a response to cancerous growth and rampant materializm, it abounds with benefits for all. Less consumption might bring GDP down, but a measure of well-being that counts environmental health shows we gain when consumption falls. There’s less pollution. Healthier lifestyles reduce personal and public health expenses (again, another fall in GDP). I could go on – well-being is a virtuous circle.

However, once you’re sitting pretty, reassess. Most of us have never really had the chance to look inside and find out what our heart’s desire is. It might shock you. It might not. It might propel you to doing something really significant that you otherwise would never have tried. At least when you’re on your death bed you’ll be glad you lived your life as you wanted to, not as others wanted.