The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has issued a report on last year's life quality index. No matter what the survey's findings are, many people feel they are "poorer than others", says an article in China Youth Daily. Excerpts:

The reason why many people feel poorer than others is quite simple. Had the gap between the rich and poor not been as wide as it is, many people would not have felt poorer than others. The unequal distribution of social wealth has left many people with a sense of deprivation.

So many people feel "poor" because they do not get enough opportunities to improve the quality of their lives, rather than not having enough to eat or pay for the other necessities of life.

"Poverty at heart", as the media have described the feeling, is worse than actually being poor. The reason for that feeling of helplessness among people is the existing income distribution system.

But apart from trying to point at the defects in the income distribution system, people should try to find out whether they suffer from "poverty at heart". The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences report shows that people fear poverty more than betrayal in personal relationship such as love or friendship, or even loss of dignity, which to some extent shows their endless pursuit of material benefits.

The society we live in today is overly materialized. People have become used to measuring happiness with material gains instead of cultivating their inner selves. Perhaps the problem is not with the system alone, but with the mindset of people today.

(China Daily 01/17/2011 page9)