“China’s Communist Party has over 99m members. So it is no surprise that some are not up to scratch…The party chief often complains about his subordinates’ poor work ethic. But the root of the problem is not laziness, says Alfred Wu of the National University of Singapore. It is that under Mr Xi, members who mess up are punished harshly. Many therefore believe that it is better to keep their heads down than to show any initiative.” - How to Get kicked Out of the Communist Party/The Economist September 5, 2024
“Amid a widening culture of fear and a determination to put national security before the economy, the party has proved unable or unwilling to limit the scope of its interference in information flows…Moreover, as the public square empties it is a good bet that the flow of private information is becoming more distorted and less subject to scrutiny. No one wants to sign a memo that says one of Mr Xi’s signature policies is failing.” - Bad Information is a Grave Threat to China’s Economy/The Economist September 5, 2024
“Sense of agency refers to the feeling of control over actions and their consequences.” - James W Moore, What Is the Sense of Agency and Why Does it Matter?
Years ago I visited several eastern European countries, whose economic systems were still of the Communist "command and control" variety. One thing that struck me was how sullen and disengaged the workers in these countries seemed to be. They looked depressed - just going through the motions of their jobs with zero enthusiasm.
I later read that in East German factories, independent thinking and taking the initiative at work were discouraged and might even be punished (Frese et al, 1996). There was little workers could do to improve their situation; they were essentially cogs in a machine, with little sense of purpose but to get through the day and avoid trouble.
These East Germans may still have retained some sense of agency: they knew how to avoid negative consequences. Agency may be under greater threat in today’s China, because the country’s leadership sends mixed signals on how to stay within its good graces (show initiative but don’t fail) and undermines ambitious striving by limiting the flow of information necessary to achieve success.
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References
Frese, M., Kring, W., Soose, A. and Zempel,J. Personal initiative at work: Differences between East and West Germany. Acad. Manage. J. 39, 37–63 (1996). doi:10.2307/256630
Moore JW. What Is the Sense of Agency and Why Does it Matter? Frontiers in Psychology 2016 Aug 29;7:1272. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01272. PMID: 27621713; PMCID: PMC5002400.