Investigation on invisible housework of modern people in 2023

Original slot value and little sister slot value

"Why do family affairs without names become my work?"

In the animated film Crayon Shinchan, the words of Mama Meiya, which revealed the truth about invisible housework, expressed the voices of countless people.

Different from routine housework such as laundry and cooking, invisible housework is often not named, but it takes a lot of time and energy and has to be done.

Dust at the bottom of the sofa should be cleaned frequently, hand sanitizer and toilet paper should be updated in time, and family seasonal clothes should be washed, aired and stored …

Because it is relatively trivial and tedious, the time and energy spent on invisible housework are often ignored.

When people talk about invisible housework, they always involve topics such as giving, quarreling, value, distribution and helplessness. Some people call it "making a mountain out of a molehill", while others urgently say that "its value should be taken seriously".

We launched the "2023 Modern Invisible Household Survey" and invited 5210 adult men and women to participate in it. The following are the attitudes of TAs.

Women who think housework can’t be done at all,

Nearly three times that of men.

"How long does it take to do housework before you can have a clean and complete home?" On social platforms, the discussion about housework is very popular.

In the survey, we found that there are obvious differences between modern men and women on this issue.

Nearly 60% of men think that a family’s housework needs "2 hours or less" every day;

Women don’t agree with this: less than 40% think that they can finish housework in "2 hours or less" every day.

What is the general attitude of women towards the time-consuming problem of housework?

The answer was revealed: the number of women who "feel that housework can’t be finished at all" was the highest, reaching 24.82%, nearly three times that of men (8.37%).

Apart from men and women who live alone, "married women who live with their partners and children" do the most work, and more than half of them say that "housework is almost done by themselves".

An interesting phenomenon is that male friends often don’t apply this rule-

Among those who never do housework, "unmarried men living with their families" accounts for the highest proportion, followed by "married men living with their families".

On the whole, "married women" undertake more housework than "unmarried women" and "married men" undertake less housework than "unmarried men".

This situation also has clues in the keyword "housework undertaker".

In addition to "self/me", most people mentioned female elders such as mother and mother-in-law.

35.07% of men hold the view that "the housework is almost the same at home", while only 22.43% of women have the same idea.

In addition, the number of men who choose "I don’t know or haven’t noticed" is 1.6 times that of women.

Similar phenomena are not rare.

According to the fourth survey of women’s social status in China, the average total working hours of working women are 649 minutes, of which 495 minutes are paid.

At the same time, the time for women to take care of family members and cook/clean/do daily shopping is 154 minutes, which is about twice that of men.

Not only that, as netizen @ Qingshan shared: Many women in the workplace have to take care of housework after work.

According to the survey, 76.1%, 67.5% and 63.6% of children aged 0-17 in China are mainly taken care of by their mothers.

However, as more and more young people form families, TAs tend to reach a consensus on housework:

If you can’t decide on housework, look for cleaning.

Modern people’s attitude towards housework focuses on "forbearance".

Sweeping robots become the most popular "little helpers"

For modern people, doing housework is more like "passive trigger skills"-

The opportunity for over 8 adults to do housework is "unbearable", while 5 adults are "helpless".

It can only be said that the legendary "who works more depends on who can’t stand it" does apply.

Although we always talk about "who wants to do housework", 20% of our friends in the survey said: I like it!

TA people enjoy the state of doing housework, feel decompressed, and like the feeling of restoring cleanliness and order.

Of course, "I don’t want to do it" is in line with the aspirations of more people. In the selection of "favorite housework", the answer of the highest vote is concise: no, no.

In particular, the attitude towards "cooking" fully confirms the phrase "honey of A is arsenic of B"-

In the most annoying and favorite housework PK, cooking is on the list.

After 00, the little friend @ 京京京京京京京京京京京京京京京京京京京京京京京2014 Buying food, preparing food, cooking and washing dishes are not very good.

Life and work are stressful, and trying to "free your hands" is the right solution rather than enduring pain-

More than 7 adults said that they or their families had purchased related electrical appliances.

Among them, the most recommended and used are: sweeping robot, dishwasher and vacuum cleaner.

Netizen @peanut Passion Amway: sweeping robot, dishwasher, electric lifting clothes dryer and air freshener, four great inventions of invisible housework.

However, don’t accept Amway yet.

Many domestic experts shared their experience with us: sometimes electrical appliances may bring new problems.

"Sweeping robots and vacuum cleaners themselves need to be cleaned" and "Dishwasher washes dishes, I wash dishwashers" are the hardest hit areas, and other troubles may follow-

"The family feels useless."

"With tools, doing housework has become a matter of course."

"The more you buy, the more chaos at home."

Adult’s housework experience:

There are thousands of housework, and "children" account for at least half.

Although people pay more and more attention to gender equality and housework distribution, most families in China are still more traditional in housework distribution.

Women have done more work in washing/ironing/storing/drying clothes, buying food, cooking and taking care of children.

Men are more responsible for washing dishes, sweeping/sucking floors/mopping floors, taking out garbage, repairing electrical appliances/furniture, and taking care of their partners/elderly people.

The gap in "storing clothes" is particularly obvious: the proportion of men who have done this housework is 6.5%, while that of women is 90%.

The biggest difference between men and women who often do invisible housework is "tidying up the wardrobe in different seasons", with a gap of 34.25%.

In most families, the person responsible for answering "Where did you put the down jacket last winter?" and "What about my short sleeve last summer?" is a woman.

"There are millions of invisible housework, which can’t be finished in three days and three nights" is the common idea of this generation of adults.

Among the "invisible housework" added by everyone, the most frequently mentioned keywords are:

Children, baths and pets.

For the sake of children and hairy children, it may be used to summarize the lives of most adults.

The housework related to "bathing" is the most unexpected detail that everyone adds.

Netizen @ hakimi explained: It may involve helping children and the elderly to bathe, transferring and returning toiletries, removing mildew and wiping, scrubbing the floor and so on.

Children’s related housework is "an iceberg hidden under the water".

Children should wash bottles, wash toys, make complementary food and sleep when they are young; When children grow up, they should check their homework and prepare clothes for various courses …

The novice mother @Lynn mentioned: "Many mothers have heard the phrase" You will rest when your child sleeps "; But I don’t care, even if the child is resting, it is difficult for the mother to stop. "

Housework has a greater impact on women,

"Giving is not recognized" is the most maddening.

Affected by children, housework and other reasons, more than 30% of women said that their income has decreased.

Promotion, further education, promotion and other benefits are also "heavy losses".

Regardless of men and women, the biggest emotional trouble brought by housework is: the inequality between time and energy and the sense of gain.

Nearly 80% people feel that they are squeezed by housework for a lot of time and energy;

Family members do not cooperate, do not recognize, or even destroy, which makes people feel helpless, angry and collapsed.

Among the troubles about housework, one word is frequently mentioned: powerlessness.

"I tried my best, but I didn’t change it." "I promised to do it, but I always scribbled to deal with it." "I have to rework it when I finish it."

People who do housework are not only afraid of "not knowing the darkness at night during the day", but also "only themselves want to change from beginning to end"

"The housework is too complicated, the cutting is constant, and the reason is still chaotic."

Someone once suggested that "people who do housework should be paid a certain fee", and we also collected your opinions-

Among nearly 70 adults who choose "should", the proportion of women is 72.15%, while that of male friends is only 34.16%.

Differences in ideas and attitudes have led to quarrels. Seven adults revealed that there had been disputes and discussions about housework.

At the same time, nearly 6 adults said that quarreling did not solve the problem.

Disputes, cold war, breakup and divorce, after trying various schemes, many people, such as netizen @ hedgehog’s summer, can only sigh helplessly: housework is the hidden love killer.

Among those who "have never quarreled because of housework", the most common reason is that some people silently undertake, hire a nanny/cleaner, and share it equally.

TA’s suggestions on "invisible housework"

Who should do housework in a family?

Some people say that "men are careless and women are careful and suitable for housework" (we also launched a survey on this statement, and finally got some beautiful but not suitable words);

Some people also say that "a family doesn’t have to be so clear about who is doing it or not."

But in the long run, housework will inevitably become someone’s "obligation": one party has long been unable to face up to grievances and anger because of personal efforts; The other party’s business is irrelevant and hangs high, further intensifying contradictions.

How to change this situation? The TAs also gave their own suggestions.

For your answers, we also summarized the following key messages-

1. Avoid interference and substitution by elders.

@ Sweet Potato: When I live with my husband and children, my husband can still do a lot of housework after work. Since the mother-in-law came to take care of the child, she would silently do it for her or forbid him to do housework. It is easier to break the rules than to establish them.

2. Refuse to beautify housework as "obligation" in the name of love.

@ Rong: The husband and wife do it together, and whoever has time will do it. Life is hard enough, so don’t be internal.

3. We should also stress principles and stand firm on housework issues.

@ Yangyangyang: It is natural for one person to finish housework actively after the quarrel. In the long run, the problem will be more serious.

4. Don’t shy away from discussion and argument.

@ 芺?: Don’t give up because the quarrel is fruitless and the results are hard to maintain. The quarrel/discussion is essentially a communication. If you want to solve the problem, you must first ask the question.

5. Develop daily habits and start from "small"

@Fay: The previous generation of women did not think deeply, and this generation of women began to think deeply; What I can do is to educate boys to take on housework. Of course, this is a new housework.

-Write it at the end-

Thanks to all the friends who participated in the survey for providing us with real data and feelings.

Life is always a chicken feather, but it always has different ways to pick it up.

In the second half of the chapter on obscure family affairs in Crayon Shinchan, dad Hiroshi asked himself: Why can’t such a simple thing be done? Why?

How to thoroughly solve housework problems and the troubles caused by housework problems? As the old saying goes, "Honest officials can’t break housework", and housework problems in daily life can’t be avoided, and they can’t escape.

For all of us, what we can do may be to change the subconscious mind that housework belongs to those who can’t stand it, that housework belongs to those who have a living eye and that I’ll help you do it.

With housework, there is a home;

Instead of "having a home, there will be endless housework."

Original title: "Cohabitation is the collapse of the house, what murdered my love? 》

Read the original text

In Chess-Game 2016, the word "chaos" in the Middle East takes the lead, and many countries are involved in chess.

  Cctv newsIn 2016, looking back at the situation in the Middle East, the word "chaos" was still at the forefront, and the war continued, and Syria and Iraq were undoubtedly the two main battlefields in this chaos.

  On these two battlefields, there are threats from extremist organizations, contests between religious factions, wrestling between neighboring countries, and the game between great powers … … The complexity of the situation makes it difficult to see it clearly for a time. This game of chess in the Middle East is getting finer and finer. Among them, on the battlefield in Syria, many parties are strangling each other and their strength is changing, showing an obvious "robbery" situation.

  Syria: "Robbery" chaos is like a big country wrestling

  The so-called "robbery" in Go means that both black and white sides surround each other’s pieces. In this situation, if the round is white, you can eat a sunspot; If the wheel is dark, you can also eat a Bai Zi, and so on, there will be no solution in the cycle. This situation is quite similar to the development of the situation in Syria this year.

  Beginning in 2016, the Syrian battlefield is still fierce. With the support of Russia, Syrian government forces gradually gained the upper hand against extremist organizations and opposition forces supported by the United States and its allies.

  In view of the increasingly serious terrorist threat, there were signs of easing between the United States and Russia on the Syrian issue. With the opportunity of sending troops to Syria, Russia successfully forced the United States to return to the negotiating table, and the United States also became loose on the issue of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s stay.

  On February 22, the United States and Russia reached an agreement on a ceasefire between the parties to the Syrian conflict. On March 14th, under the impetus of all parties, the Syrian government and the opposition held "substantive" peace talks in Geneva. But on the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unexpected statement.
 

  Russian President Vladimir PutinI believe that the Ministry of National Defense and the armed forces have generally completed the tasks assigned before, so I ordered the Ministry of National Defense to withdraw its main forces from Syria from tomorrow (March 15, 2016).

  In September 2015, Russia officially announced that it would send troops to Syria and carried out several rounds of air strikes against extremist organizations in Syria. Before Russia’s intervention, the Syrian government forces were at a disadvantage in the confrontation with the opposition armed forces and extremist armed forces supported by the West, and the Bashar regime was in jeopardy. After Russia intervened, according to Putin, the Syrian government forces "made a fundamental reversal in the fight against international terrorism". On the occasion of successive victories, Putin suddenly announced his withdrawal, which seems unreasonable, but Russia’s entry and exit on the Syrian battlefield is of great significance.

  Li Shaoxian, Dean of China Arab Research Institute of Ningxia University.Russia forced the United States and Russia to seek dialogue and cooperation through military actions. In fact, his announcement of withdrawal did not stop military operations in Syria. At the same time, he still said that the action against extremist organizations in Syria would not stop. In fact, he won himself the initiative, and he could attack and retreat.

  The secret of "robbery" lies in transformation. Although Russia has withdrawn its main forces from Syria, it has no intention of strategically withdrawing from the Middle East, and still retains a certain military strength in Syria. Russia hopes to negotiate with the United States, but if the United States refuses to negotiate or lacks sincerity, Russia’s reserved successors can continue to "rob the dispute" at any time and force the United States to deal with it.

  On August 16th, Russia made another move in the Middle East. For the first time, Russian warplanes took off from Hamadan Air Force Base in Iran to carry out air strikes against extremist organizations in Syria. This was also the first time that Russia used a third-country military base to attack extremist organizations in Syria.

  The power contrast between Russia and the United States in the Middle East has quietly changed. Earlier, Russia delivered the S-300 air defense missile system to Iran, and this cooperation between the two countries has made the United States feel like a sore throat.

  The entry of Russian military forces into Iran is also enhancing the strategic position of Iran, a Shia power, in the Middle East, which also scares Saudi Arabia, a Sunni power that is a traditional power in the Middle East and a "deadly enemy" of Iran. The combat knife that Putin waved this time not only pierced the United States, but also deeply stabbed Saudi Arabia.

  In addition to Iran, Turkey, which shares a border of more than 900 kilometers with Syria, has never withdrawn from the game of chess in the Middle East. In 2016, at the critical stage of the development of the situation in Syria, Turkey’s relations with the United States and Russia have undergone dramatic changes.

  Turkey guards the main throat of Russia going south, and it is also the only channel from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea — — Bosporus Strait and Da Daniil Strait are an important link in the anti-terrorism layout of the United States in the Middle East, and they are also NATO’s eastern defense lines to contain Russia. However, the seemingly solid relationship between the United States and Turkey changed after an attempted coup in mid-July. Turkey asked the United States to extradite Gulen, a religious figure suspected of inciting a coup, but it was rejected by the United States, and the relationship between Turkey and the United States gradually faded.

  At the same time, Turkey and Russia are rapidly approaching. In November 2015, a Russian Su -24 fighter plane was shot down by Turkey on the Turkish-Syrian border, and the relationship between the two countries deteriorated rapidly and once fell to freezing point. In June this year, Turkish President Erdogan sent a letter to Putin, apologizing for shooting down the fighter plane before. Subsequently, the relationship between the two sides quickly warmed up.

  Although Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, was assassinated on December 19th in full view of the public, this shocking event did not "reverse" the warming Russian-Turkish relations, but instead urged the two countries to "stand together" more closely. In the complicated chess game in the Middle East, Russia and Turkey need each other and borrow from each other, which is the fundamental reason for the two countries to eliminate interference and get close quickly.

  Turkey and the United States have been at odds from close allies, but they have been talking with Russia from a distance, which is intriguing. On a black-and-white disk, the color of Turkey becomes bright or dark.

  On August 24th, in the border area between Syria and Turkey, an elite Turkish army crossed the border into Syria in a high profile. Turkey declared that the move was aimed at cracking down on extremist organizations, but it implied a "dark chess". Just after Turkey sent troops to Syria, the TV station Russia Today simulated and formed a "Syria Crisis Chat Group", which reflected the most realistic interest entanglement among Turkey, the United States and Russia in the form of simulated dialogue.

  Russia:Should we try diplomatic means to solve the problem?

  US Vice President Biden:We supported the actions of the Turkish army, and we also dispatched fighter planes to cover it.

  Turkey:By the way, we also fight against Kurdish armed forces.

  Kurdish armed forces:America, help! Aren’t we allies?

  United States:This is a complicated negotiation process. Please step back first.

  This huge chessboard in the Middle East is never as simple as the game between Sunspots and Bai Zi, and there are never only two players in the Middle East, the United States and Russia. Faced with the opportunity of restructuring the Middle East, regional powers are competing in succession, and the entanglement of interests also makes this chess game more and more complicated. In the face of multi-party wrestling, the United States and Russia have to pause here before they can continue the game.

  Syrian battlefield: the conflict between the United States and Russia intensified behind the middle-set fight against Aleppo

  In the autumn of 2016, the layout of all parties in the Middle East has taken shape, and the chess game in Syria has also entered the middle stage.

  On September 10, the United States and Russia reached an agreement on the cessation of hostilities between the Syrian parties again, but the agreement soon became a dead letter. The United States and Russia accused each other of breaking the agreement, and the contradictions between the two sides intensified again.

  It is not surprising that the ceasefire failed and the agreement was destroyed. In the face of the practical interests of the Middle East, Russia and the United States obviously prefer "fighting".

  In October, the fighting in many places in Syria, especially in Aleppo, a major town in the north, rose sharply.

  The war in the past four years has ravaged this beautiful ancient city, which was built in the 6th century BC and is considered as one of the oldest settlements in human history.

  However, Aleppo, which is in ruins, is a "battleground for military strategists" — — Aleppo is the economic center and the second largest city in Syria before the war. It is located in the west of Syria, about 45 kilometers away from the Syrian-Turkish border, where Syrian government forces, Syrian opposition armed forces, Syrian Kurdish armed forces and extremist organizations are intertwined.

  The competition between Syrian government forces and the opposition in Aleppo is becoming increasingly fierce. In a series of siege and anti-siege tug-of-war, the Syrian government forces gradually gained the upper hand, besieged the opposition forces in the eastern part of Aleppo and continuously reduced their sphere of influence.

  Near the end of the year, the Syrian government forces made significant progress. On December 22nd, the Syrian military announced that it had completely recovered Aleppo. After four years of Aleppo campaign, Bashar regime has become more active and has more obvious advantages in the domestic battlefield.

  In chess, there is another trick called "pressing", which, as the name implies, is to press the opponent’s chess pieces at a low position, so as to gain momentum and stand out for yourself.

  In October, Russia announced the deployment of the S-300 air defense missile system in Syria. On November 15th, Russia’s only active aircraft carrier, Kuznetsov, took all carrier-based aircraft and other weapons and equipment to the Mediterranean Sea to join the campaign against extremist organizations in Syria. With the cooperation of Russia, the Syrian government forces have won successively.

  In the face of Russia’s "continuous pressure" situation, the United States responded hastily and opened up another battlefield — — Raqqa, the so-called "capital" of extremist organizations.

  Raqqa is located in northern Syria, 160 kilometers away from Aleppo. Raqqa province, where it is located, borders Turkey and has an important strategic position. Raqqa is the main hiding place of extremist organizations, and it has fallen into a tight encirclement and is like an island.

  The United States expected to open up the battlefield in Raqqa and relieve the pressure of Syrian rebels trapped in Raqqa, but the situation did not develop as expected by the United States. The main force to attack Raqqa is the Syrian Democratic Army led by Syrian Kurdish armed forces. Although Kurdish armed forces are supported by the United States, they have always been a thorn in Turkey’s side, and the United States is caught between the two.

  At present, the progress of Raqqa recovery war tends to be slow. Syria’s "Motherland" newspaper believes that the "half-hearted" military action of the United States in Syria is not to eradicate extremist forces, but to attempt to aggravate the chaos by proxy and accelerate the division of Syria. The recovery of Raqqa is nothing more than a propaganda war.

  Under the tearing of all parties, the danger of "fragmentation" in Syria is growing. The situation in Syria, chess to the middle, is as complicated as ending.

  Similar to Syria, another war in Mosul, a city in northern Iraq, is also fierce and intertwined. But in contrast, the picture of Mosul campaign is clearer than that of Syria. In the chess game on the battlefield in Iraq, the start of 2016 is quite clear. Compared with the decline of the Iraqi army in the face of extremist organizations two years ago, in 2016, the multi-party encirclement and suppression of extremist organizations continued to advance. It is imperative to recover Mosul.

  Moreover, at present, the contradictions among various parties in Iraq are prominent, the people’s voice for reform is rising, and the government urgently needs a victory to win more trust.

  Iraq: Mosul recovery war starts, and the undercurrent of the United States and Russia surges.

  In the early morning of October 17th, local time, the campaign codenamed "Here We Come, Nineveh" was held in the base camp of extremist organizations in Iraq — — It officially started near Mosul. For more than two months, the Iraqi Joint Action Force has been advancing from the east, south and north, recovering many villages and entering Mosul from the east. It is worth mentioning that in the battle of Mosul, the United States personally took the lead, the US military directly participated in air strikes, and heavy vehicles and helicopter gunships also appeared many times.

  The Obama administration’s term of office is coming to an end, and Mosul has also become the anti-terrorism legacy that this US government hopes to leave behind.

  In the Middle East chess game in the United States, the battle of Mosul has the function of "killing two birds with one stone". The campaign to recover Mosul mainly started from the east, north and south, leaving only a gap in the west.

  Russia’s "Independent" believes that this move is to "drive" extremist organizations to Syria, intensify the situation in Syria and weaken the strength of the Syrian government. Public opinion believes that this is also the hope of the United States to compete with Russia for the right to speak in the Middle East.

  On the battlefield in Iraq, the United States has a clear layout, but it is not easy to play this chess game. As early as before the Battle of Mosul, Turkey, Iraq, Kurds and others began to quarrel over the control of Mosul, hoping to fill the power vacuum left by the defeat of extremist organizations, which also made the original complicated situation more confusing.

  Turkey’s "uninvited arrival" did not surprise the outside world. Previously, although the Iraqi government repeatedly reiterated its opposition to Turkey’s cross-border entry into Iraq, Turkey sent troops to the Turkish-Iraqi border and stationed troops near Mosul.

  Why does Turkey have to send troops? Like Turkey’s purpose in sending troops to Syria, its "heart knot" is still Kurds.

  In addition to the Kurds, the infiltration of Iranian forces is another worry of Turkey. Although Iran claims that it was not directly involved in the Mosul war, its influence on the Shiite-led Iraqi government cannot be underestimated.

  Turkey joined forces with Saudi Arabia, Iran’s sworn enemy, to stop the rapid growth of Iranian Shiite forces on the battlefield in Iraq.

  The war is still going on, and the outcome has not yet been determined, but there is no doubt that all forces have their own plans for the future of Mosul and have begun to exert their strength. It is hard to predict who will go in and who will go out.

  2017 is coming, and the United States, Russia and other regional powers, which have played fiercely in the Middle East chess game for one year, are gradually becoming clear about the political division in the Middle East as the parties settle down on the chessboard in the Middle East, but how to move the following chess path still makes all parties quite headache.

  When will the "official son" stage come to the United States and Russia or welcome the new year?

  In the face of the current chess game in the Middle East, what worries Russia most is that it is stuck in the quagmire of the Syrian war.

  However, Russia has never been absent from the Middle East crisis. Whether it is the veto vote on the Syrian crisis resolution in the Security Council, the mediation behind the ceasefire agreement, or the military operations still being carried out with the Syrian government forces, Russia has always shown the world its influence in the Middle East.

  The term of the Obama administration in the United States is coming to an end. In 2017, what changes will happen to the United States in the Middle East chess game depends on the choice of President-elect Trump. Trump once expressed his position on the situation in the Middle East.

  US President-elect TrumpWe spent $6 trillion in the Middle East, which is enough for the United States to rebuild twice, but look at our roads, bridges and tunnel airports. If I represent some kind of denial, it is a denial of the long-term political situation in the United States.

  Since western scholars began to call this land "Middle East", it has always been the battlefield of the game between big countries. The sharp change in the pattern of the Middle East in 2016 reflects the evolution of the world trend. America’s strategic eastward shift is bound to limit and reduce its investment in the Middle East. In order to reduce investment and maintain its dominant position, the United States’ Middle East policy is facing great confusion and entanglement, and many changes in the Middle East are rooted in this.

  In the new round of "competition" in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran and other regional powers are undoubtedly the protagonists standing at the front desk.

  However, these big countries, which are either intransigent or strange bedfellows, have their own strengths and weaknesses, and no one can completely dominate the regional situation. In the words of John Mill, an expert on Middle East issues at the Jamestown Foundation in the United States, "In the Middle East, there are always people who think of themselves as brilliant players with fire, because the powder keg here is so dry that even a spark may cause a violent explosion, and they will regret it when they are bombed ‘ Why should I strike that match ’ 。”

  It is difficult to rebuild political order, and the chaos in the Middle East may continue.

  In 2016, the situation in the Middle East has undergone historic changes: Islamic extremist forces represented by extremist organizations have sprung up in the Middle East, Iraq and Syria have actually become fragmented, Egypt has lost its position as the leader of the Arab world and was replaced by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been marginalized, and Iran has risen rapidly. The United States can’t stop in the Middle East, and Russia has returned to the Middle East strongly. The chaos in the Middle East remains the same, but the pattern has changed greatly.

  Dominique, special adviser of the French Institute of International Relations? Moisi pointed out that "the Middle East will not easily overcome the profound differences in the region. It is disintegrating under our eyes. " It is difficult to restore the original order and rebuild the new political structure. I am afraid that the chaos in the Middle East will be long-term and complicated.

How to construct the basic institutional arrangement of primary distribution, redistribution and tertiary distribution coordination

  Author: Song Xiaowu (Professor, China Institute of Income Distribution, Beijing Normal University)

  Since the reform and opening up, we have learned from the experience and lessons of developed market economy countries, combined with the actual situation in China, and after arduous exploration, we have initially established a socialist market economy distribution system. Since the 15th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee has repeatedly reiterated its adherence to the distribution system with distribution according to work as the main body and multiple modes of distribution coexisting. In 2019, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee adopted the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China’s Decision on Several Major Issues Concerning Upholding and Perfecting the Socialism with Chinese characteristics System and Promoting the Modernization of the National Governance System and Governance Capacity, which juxtaposed the distribution system of "distribution according to work as the main body and coexistence of various modes of distribution" with "socialist market economic system" and "public ownership as the main body and common development of various ownership economies" and raised it to a basic socialist economic system. Practice has proved that the distribution system with distribution according to work as the main body and coexistence of various modes of distribution has greatly mobilized the enthusiasm of enterprises and employees and provided a basic platform for the sustained and rapid growth of China’s economy, which we should adhere to for a long time. At the same time, we should also see that in the field of distribution, the problem of imbalance is increasingly prominent and the problem of inadequacy still exists. On the road to common prosperity, how to further deepen the reform of the distribution system and build a coordinated income distribution system of primary distribution, redistribution and tertiary distribution is a new challenge.

  Primary distribution, redistribution and tertiary distribution are closely related to each other, and each of them follows different principles. Primary distribution is the foundation. Under the condition of socialist market economy, the market plays a decisive role in the allocation of resources. Labor, land, capital, technology, management and data should all be allocated by the market, and each should be rewarded according to its contribution. The secondary distribution is based on the primary distribution. Without the reasonable and legal primary distribution of income from all walks of life, it is difficult for the country to establish a standardized secondary distribution system including basic social security, taxation and financial transfer payment. The third distribution should encourage and guide high-income groups to enhance their sense of social responsibility, actively participate in and set up social welfare undertakings, and it is based on the initial distribution and redistribution. We can imagine that if the initial distribution still allows enterprises to eat from the same pot as the state and employees to eat from the same pot, and egalitarianism prevails, there will be no third distribution.

  Some people think that "the initial distribution depends on the market, the redistribution depends on the government, and the third distribution depends on voluntariness". This summary is concise and easy to remember, but it is also somewhat simplified. In terms of initial distribution, if the market system is relatively mature and sound, there is no big problem with the formulation of "initial distribution depends on the market" in principle. However, China has turned from a planned economy to a socialist market economy, and the market system construction, especially the factor market construction including labor, is still not perfect. For example, the urban and rural household registration system and the basic public service system closely related to it have divided the labor market, resulting in the income of nearly 300 million migrant workers being depressed for a long time. Obviously, the initial distribution of migrant workers can not be simply solved by the individual labor contract relationship such as independent employment of enterprises and independent employment of migrant workers. The deep-seated problem is how the government can further break the administrative division between urban and rural areas and accelerate the cultivation of a unified labor market. In 2020, the central government issued the Opinions on Building a More Perfect System and Mechanism for Market-oriented Allocation of Factors, proposing to deepen the reform of the household registration system, smooth the channels for settlement, "explore and promote the cumulative mutual recognition of the years of household registration in the same city in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and other urban agglomerations", "liberalize and relax the restrictions on urban settlement except for a few megacities, and try to register the household registration system with the habitual residence", "establish a mechanism linking basic public services such as urban education, employment and entrepreneurship, medical and health care with the permanent population,Promote the allocation of public resources according to the size of permanent residents. " Implementing the above policies and measures will greatly accelerate the process of urbanization of migrant workers and is of great significance to narrowing the income distribution gap. For another example, it is also an indispensable responsibility of the government to adjust the minimum wage guideline, strengthen the supervision of the labor market, and provide public services for employment.

  "Redistribution depends on the government" is no problem in principle. Basic social security, taxation, financial transfer payment and other redistribution systems are implemented by government legislation. China has established a social security system covering the whole people, exempted agricultural taxes and reduced the burden of corporate taxes and fees during the epidemic period, increased support for poor areas such as the old and the young through financial transfer payments, and promoted the equalization of basic public services, and made great progress in secondary distribution. The problem now is that China’s redistribution system has not played a sufficient role in stabilizing the initial distribution gap. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, in view of the prevailing social background of egalitarianism, it was proposed to introduce the incentive principle of initial distribution into redistribution, which was understandable under the historical conditions at that time. After 40 years of reform and opening up, great changes have taken place in China’s social and economic life. While creating a miracle of rapid economic development, many problems have gradually accumulated, among which the gap in income distribution is very prominent. In this case, the reform of the basic social security system in the 14 th Five-Year Plan and the next period should emphasize and improve its fairness and mutual assistance. In terms of tax system, the proportion of direct taxes in China is still low, in which the highest marginal tax rate of labor remuneration is higher than the capital income tax rate. Among the direct taxes in China, the property tax, inheritance tax and gift tax, which are mainly aimed at flow income and adjust the gap of stock property, have been brewing for many years and have not been introduced. Long-term accumulation will certainly enlarge the wealth gap of residents.Therefore, during the Tenth Five-Year Plan and in the future, the focus of government redistribution should be on stabilizing the excessive gap in initial distribution.

  The formulation of "three distributions depend on voluntariness" is not rigorous enough. Voluntary donation is certainly worth promoting and affirming. In 2016, China promulgated the Charity Law, which clearly stipulates that "charity activities should follow the principles of legality, voluntariness, honesty and non-profit", and "the state encourages and supports natural persons, legal persons and other organizations to practice socialist core values, carry forward the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, and carry out charity activities according to law". The third distribution is still in its infancy in China, and there is still a big gap between the per capita donation and that of developed countries. However, the number of billionaires has surpassed that of the United States, ranking first in the world. From the international experience, if there are no taxes such as inheritance tax and gift tax, it is difficult to develop the three distributions in a standardized way only by propaganda and moral inspiration. With the platform of inheritance tax and gift tax, at the same time, giving tax incentives to charities and other social welfare undertakings, establishing institutional mechanisms conducive to the healthy development of charitable organizations and strengthening supervision and management, the three distributions can be more fully developed.

  To sum up, the primary distribution focuses on mobilizing the enthusiasm of market competition at all levels of society, so that all sources that can create wealth can fully emerge. Redistribution focuses on the equalization of basic public services, correcting the "Matthew effect" of the market and laying a solid foundation for social stability and sustainable economic development. The third distribution focuses on charity and public welfare, so that the fruits of economic development can better benefit all citizens. The distribution system in these three areas should be adjusted and combined according to different stages of economic and social development. It is the basic platform to realize common prosperity to build a distribution system with different emphases and internal connections.

  Guangming Daily (October 9, 2021, 02 edition)