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From the article: "One response, endorsed by the State Council, is to urge more graduates to take jobs at small, private companies. But a generation of people w
by tokenadult 13y ago
From the article: "One response, endorsed by the State Council, is to urge more graduates to take jobs at small, private companies. But a generation of people who grew up under the government’s 'one child' policy has proved risk-averse and slow to join or set up new companies.
"'I would not work for private companies, that is not secure — only state-owned ones,' Ms. Yan said."
That search for what was called during the 1970s "the iron rice bowl"--a secure job in a state-controlled organization--makes me wonder how much more innovation can be promoted in China's economy. Desiring that kind of security in employment would never make a Silicon Valley happen.
- hkmurakami 13y agoWhenever we see very different behavior in other countries compared to that of our own, we should recognize that those people have most likely made that decision for very rational reasons. The decision may be grounded in reasons ranging from monetary to status-driven reasons, but people perceive their environment accurately and made the best decisions for themselves and their families. People in general are not blindly dumb or obtuse. The vast majority of the time, they are making sound decisions for their current and future prospects. I used to think that the "US Way" was the best bar none no matter what the local situation or culture. Working in a different country and then observing the social and corporate dynamics from afar has made me realize that I was wrong. If people in China desire government jobs, it really does mean that that is the best option for them.
- pyre 13y agoNo one (at least not in this particular thread) is calling them stupid. The statement was made that when people are risk averse (even if such behaviour is rational), not much innovation (or even a Chinese Silicon Valley) can happen.
- chii 13y agothis line of reasoning is basically what leads to the tragedy of the commons, or problems such as the paradox of thrift (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_thrift http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_thrift), where everyone does what is best for themselves (which is fine in my books), but then leads to the overall decline of the system. The gov't needs to forcast these sorts of situations, and counter it before it becomes a problem.
- hkmurakami 13y agoI personally agree that it's fine for people to pursue their selfish means. Life is short and they have every right to maximize their ends, even if it means that the whole will come crumbling down in the not so distant future. Governments often ask their citizens to "chip in" and help them right the ship. IMHO such governments are usually inept and each person is honestly better off pursuing an every man for himself strategy.
- justincormack 13y agoPeople in Greece rationally wanted government jobs. Until the entire economy imploded. People in the US rationally wanted jobs on Wall Street until the entire economic.y imploded. In any country very few people are entrepreneurs so anecdotal evidence about a few graduates is not necessarily evidence of problems. Huge numbers of new businesses have been created in China in recent years. Profit margins are low and it is very competitive. But things are changing fast so there are opportunities.
- schainks 13y agolook at the average salary of worker bee at corporation X in China versus worker bee at government agency X in China. my money is on the government jobs paying better, too.