by Zheng Yefu, professor of Sociology at Peking University
This is a speech he gave on October 12, 2014, as part of the series speech organized by “Gao He Fen Xiang (Go High)” (高和分享). The theme of this series of speech was “the arrival of post-materialism”.
1, Planned economy made people starve, while capitalism encourages people to explode their belly. There is no perfect system.
1,计划经济让人们吃不上饭，资本主义则鼓励人们撑破肚皮，没有一种制度是完美的。
2, There are four major areas of critique. First, a big shift of values and their providers. In today’s Western world there is no second ideology. There is just one ideology, which is consumption. The biggest promoters and providers are business people, instead of politicians.
2, 第一部分，人生观及其提供者的大转换.
在今天的西方世界中没有第二个意识形态，只有一个意识形态，就是消费;这种人生观的最大鼓吹者和提供者是商人，不是政治家。
3,Only business people could display the good life in great detail with beautiful depiction. They could tell you what to eat, what to drink, where to live and which car to drive. They tell you, “open a bottle of Remy Martin, and good things will come naturally”. Therefore, if the good life is advocated as a kind of life value, businessmen definitely are the monogamy of this power of discourse.
3, 只有商人才可以具体而微、活灵活现地展示好生活。他们可以告诉你吃什么，喝什么，住什么房子，开什么车子，告诉你“人头马一开，好事自然来”。所以说，如果把好生活作为人生观来鼓吹的话，商人必将成为这话语的垄断者。
4, (After basic needs are satisfied) how to fulfill the void of meaning of life has become a question. Two forces compete to fulfill this void. One is from businessmen. We have mentioned earlier that on one hand businessmen strive to promote promotion, and on the other hand they create the life value that’s centered on consumption. However, another kind of work can’t be conducted by businessmen alone. Businessmen can only sell them. The second work needs the help of theorists. Businessmen need the right kind of theorists to help with their campaigns. That’s where happiness-centered philosophers come from.
4, 怎样填补生活意义的真空，成了一大问题。两股力量在力争填补这个空白。一股力量就是商人，我们前面已经说到了，商人们一方面在推动消费，另一方面在营造以消费为核心的人生观。但是后一种工作，光靠商人是不行的，商人只能够去促销。后一个工作还需要理论家来出场，要有和商人的活动相配合的理论家来出场，这就是提出了快乐哲学的理论家们。
5, Second, critique on happiness philosophy. I believe it is ridiculous to say that people live on the pursuit of happiness. I think it trivializes and simplifies life. I think there are three pursuits in life, instead of just one. Which three pursuits? Comfort, stimulation and recognition (cow’s vagina, 牛逼). The third pursuit. “Cow’s vagina”, which reveals its meaning - the admiration and flaunting of sex. How did modern society go wrong? It went wrong because it confused these three and hoped to use one method to satisfy all these three pursuits.
第二部分，快乐哲学批判
所以我认为用这样一个支点来解释人生是荒诞的，是小看了人生，简化了人生。我认为人生不是一种追求，是三种追求。哪三种追求呢?舒适，刺激，牛逼。第三点追求叫牛逼。这个词的词源为“牛屄”，本身就透露出它的含义，就是性崇拜与性炫耀。那么现代的社会的误区在什么地方?最大的误区在于它混淆了三者，企图用单一的手段去满足这三种追求。
6,Third, critique on consumerism. Flaunting consumption has exceeded since the ancient time. It is because there are two kinds of needs in human nature, one is comfort, the other is flaunting (recognition).
6, 第三部分，消费主义批判
炫耀式的消费古已有之。因为人的本性中有两种需求，一个是舒适，一个是牛皮。
7, In this process businessmen are the leaders. They dominate society and they create the consumption ideology. Of course in the process of creating ideology, theorists of happiness philosophy help businessmen.
7, 在这个过程当中商人是首领，商人支配了这个社会，商人造就了消费的意识形态，当然在制造就这个意识形态的时候，还有快乐哲学的理论家们帮助商人。
8,In my understanding of capitalism, there are several intrinsic contradiction. One intrinsic contradiction is the perfection of machinery and the flaws of human being. The second intrinsic contradiction is that it makes everyone have a split personality. One side of human being values work ethic and becomes workaholics - they work super hard. Another part of them becomes shopaholic. These two work together naturally. If you don’t shop till you drop, do you need to work as hard?
8, 我理解资本主义有这样几个内在的矛盾。一个内在的矛盾是机器的完美与人的残缺。
资本主义的第二个内在矛盾是它使得每个人都具有了两重人格。一重人格是讲究工作伦理，成为工作狂，极其努力地辛苦地去工作。另一重人格消费狂。两重人格，天然地联手。你不疯狂地消费，还需要疯狂地工作吗?
9, Fourth, fulfilling the void after being physically fed, and gain recognition. After people have satisfied their basic needs to be fed they face two possibilities: one is degradation, the other is upgradation. Material prosperity and the concept of democracy stimulated one thing: people’s desire to gain recognition. In the past only few people aspired to be acknowledged by others. As the increase of material wealth and the promotion of the concept of democracy, there are an increasing number of people who hope to be acknowledged. This is difficult. More people want to be noticed, more people don’t want to be forgotten.
9, 第四部分，温饱解决后空虚的排遣和牛皮的获得
温饱解决后人面临着两个可能性，一个是堕落，一个是升华。
物质的繁荣与民主的观念刺激了一个东西：人们追求被承认的欲望。在过去的社会里只是有少数人可以怀抱更大的被别人承认的欲望。随着物质财富增长，随着民主观念推行，渴望被承认的人越来越多。这事很难办。更多的人希望被注意，更多的人希望不被忘记.
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