Lying flatism is a trending philosophy that has emerged in China and is practiced by young adults who choose to live a minimalist lifestyle and reject the pressures of society. Lying flatists refuse to participate in consumerist lifestyles, such as pursuing high-paying jobs, purchasing material possessions, getting married, or having children. They believe that personal efforts are no longer effective in improving their lives due to structural and societal factors.
I love this. So many countries are troubled by population decline yet aren’t doing much to make the future hopeful for people. I read somewhere that in the USA gen Z is more YOLO because they see no point in trying to work towards owning a home, raising children, etc. under the current conditions.
Yep, no point in racing towards life “milestones” that are no longer affordable or attainable for most people. Besides, the idea that these “milestones” are required for happiness is just an arbitrary societal pressure, and I think we all probably know someone who’s raced to check off all the boxes of these “milestones” but is unhappy, maybe because they rushed to marry someone they can’t even really comfortably talk to about serious things in a healthy constructive way, or maybe because they rushed to have kids without seriously thinking about what that commitment meant, or maybe because being a homeowner sucks up every ounce of savings they have so they have no flexibility to save, to travel, to do anything else
When I was younger, I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish like owning property and buying a new car. The generic list of milestones. As I entered the workforce and began working with people older than myself, it was super hard to shake off that unsettling feeling that none of those milestones made sense or didn’t seem to equal happiness.
The people I worked with rarely had good things to say about thier life situation. A constant stream of complaints towards significant others, property maintenance, car maintenance, children and the list goes on. I listened to those complaints and slowly grew to avoid those possible headaches after seeing the misery it brings.
I took some opportunities to do things for myself such as travel and living abroad for a few years. After returning, I had a plan to complete an apprenticeship and move to another country. That apprenticeship meant working with trades people and that was the most soul crushing experience. The vast majority of these people are miserable beyond words. They all attempted to follow that life script and all it brought was pain at the cost of their individuality and happinesss.
Their focus is so much on themselves and their own future that they can’t see beyond their own nose. They don’t care how their decisions affect other people. And even worse is that they encourage others to follow the same path of misery. They force their opinions on you as fact. They tear down any sense of self worth in order to push their way of life on you. They mock and ridicule you for living life differently. They get angry at you for not doing things exactly their way. They expect you to live life like them because if they suffer and are miserable, then you must suffer and be miserable too.
In reality, no one wants to struggle, suffer or live looking forward to misery. It’s encouraging to see do many younger people fight back against these old norms, even if it’s doing more of nothing.
Life isn’t meant to be productive at all waking hours. I believe life shouldn’t have such a forward focus on the future. It seems the modern focus is humanity in the stars. That view completely detracts from the beauty this planet holds which is a lot easier to appreciate when you spent time in the moment.
It will always leave me confused as to why people insist on living a lifestyle that requires so much complexity and maintenance. Maintaining all that maintenance is a path to burnout. I believe that a life which is simple, where your actions have meaning to yourself and local community would be more satisfying and healthier for both people and planet.