In recent years, various trendy catchphrases have been emerging incessantly on Chinese internet platforms, quickly becoming outlets for the public to vent their anxieties. Following the official ban on the “Three Major Theories” last year, a new trendy term “Slave Labor Theory” has surfaced recently, satirizing the current low-wage and exploitative labor environment in China.
According to a report by the United Morning Post on October 4th, at the “China Super Sports Car Championship” held in Shanghai on September 5th this year, a million-dollar supercar caught fire after a collision on the track. The on-site staff not only failed to rush forward to extinguish the fire but also panicked and threw away the fire extinguisher to escape. The ambulance arrived only after 15 minutes because the driver was sleeping at that time.
Internet users disclosed that these on-site staff were all temporary recruits, lacking systematic training and real-life experience. An informant revealed that the grassroots personnel on-site were actually security guards hired through multiple layers of outsourcing, earning a meager daily wage of only 60 yuan. “Do you expect someone to risk their lives for just a few bucks?” the informant questioned.
This incident has sparked heated discussions on social platforms such as Zhihu and gave birth to a new trendy term on the internet known as the “Slave Labor Theory.”
The so-called “Slave Labor Theory” refers to the notion that regardless of how advanced a system may appear, if any segment within it employs low wages, exploitative management, or the “slave labor” model of outsourcing, based on the concept of the “barrel effect,” the ultimate output of the entire system, whether products or services, will inevitably deteriorate into a “slave labor level” of low quality.
Internet users further discovered that this phenomenon is prevalent in everyday life. From kitchen staff spitting into dishes out of resentment to intense conflicts erupting between staff and customers in well-known chain coffee shops, all these incidents point to the same core issue: no matter how flashy the marketing at the forefront may seem, when companies continually exploit their grassroots workers, subjecting them to high pressure, low wages, and a lack of dignity, employee resentment and oversights will eventually backlash against the brand, dealing a devastating blow to the corporate image.
Reports indicate that in recent years, a plethora of such trendy “theory” catchphrases have emerged on Chinese internet platforms, reflecting the collective anxieties of contemporary youth. For example, the “Three Major Theories” that gained popularity online last year: the internet celebrity “Hu Chenfeng’s” “Apple-Android Theory,” internet sensation “Feng Brother’s” “Sexual Repression Theory,” and emotional blogger “Brother Dai Meng’s” “Strength-Work-Go-All-In Theory.”
The “Apple-Android Theory” distinguishes people and things based on their smartphone operating systems, suggesting a superiority of foreign products over Chinese products. The “Sexual Repression Theory” attributes all sorts of issues encountered in ordinary relationships to “sexual repression.” The “Strength-Work-Go-All-In Theory” criticizes some Chinese men for embracing the mindset of risking everything to marry and have children.
However, these types of opinions imbued with negativity and sarcasm often struggle to escape the censorship of the Communist Party. On September 22nd last year, the Communist authorities launched a new “Clear and Fresh Action” in the name of eradicating “malicious incitement of negative emotions.” The “Three Major Theories” were the first to be completely blocked, and several key internet celebrities were subsequently banned.
The “Slave Labor Theory” has raised concerns among internet users. One user expressed, “In the future, I will definitely avoid amusement activities and projects in China that heavily rely on maintenance guarantees like Ferris wheels, roller coasters, and bungee jumping. Because I don’t know if the equipment is being maintained by a professional engineer earning a monthly salary of 20,000 yuan or an outsourced worker earning 3,000 yuan per month.”