The Bliss of Apathy in China

This year in September, the People's Forum released a report on China's top 10 social ills, among which ostrich syndrome (characterized by escapism, self-deception and an evasive manner) and phronemophobia, or the fear of thinking, rank high on the list. These disorders are actually a combination of decadence and cynicism, a manifestation which can be likened to what Nietzsche termed the Society of the Last Man, a condition in which people no longer dream or have any convictions, and blink every time they say the phrase, "We have found happiness."