專家：“斬殺線”削弱的是美制度優勢敘事

最近，“斬殺線”（kill line）一詞在中文社交平臺引發熱議。它原本是個游戲術語，指游戲里某個角色的生命值低于某個臨界點，很容易被對手“一擊斃命”的“生死界限”。

如今，“斬殺線”被用來形容美國家庭經濟的極端脆弱性：一次意外開支就足以讓中產階層陷入財務絕境。

The term "kill line", borrowed from gaming culture to describe a critically low health point, is trending on Chinese social media platforms as a metaphor for the precarious finances of many US households, where a single crisis can push families into ruin.

2025年12月8日，在加利福尼亞州舊金山，一名無家可歸者和他的狗一起睡在人行道上。Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu via Getty Images

美國近期調查顯示， 59% 的民眾無法負擔 1000 美元的意外開支，約 67% 的工薪族過著 “ 月光 ” 的生活。

A study by Bankrate, a US consumer financial services company, found that 59 percent of people surveyed could not cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, while PNC Bank's 2025 report noted about 67 percent of US workers live paycheck to paycheck.

2025年11月15日，在馬薩諸塞州切爾西的La Colaborativa食物儲藏室，工人和志愿者向人們分發食物。該儲藏室每周為該地區數千有需要的人提供幫助。JOSEPH PREZIOSO / AFP

一篇關于硅谷程序員失業半年淪落街頭的熱帖，更揭開無數美國家庭“一根稻草壓垮駱駝”的殘酷現實。

The discussion gained momentum in recent weeks after a viral post detailed the story of a former JavaScript engineer in the US who, despite earning a six-figure salary, became homeless within six months of losing his job.

專家指出，美國將醫療、住房等基本需求高度市場化，把風險轉移給個人，導致社會系統“容錯率極低”。

Experts said the "kill line" metaphor reveals a "low fault tolerance" in a US system where essentials like healthcare and housing are for-profit and highly focused on financial outcomes, moving risk to the individual.

2025年3月，在科羅拉多州丹佛的Every Child Pediatrics，一名醫生正在為一位女孩進行檢查。一項研究發現，美國是世界上養育孩子最昂貴的國家，父母平均從孩子出生到18歲花費近60萬美元。Hyoung Chang / The Denver Post

與之形成鮮明對比的，是中國日益完善的社會保障體系，正為14億人民筑牢抵御風險的“保護傘”。

This stands in stark contrast to China's expanding social security system, which experts say acts as a "high-resilience floor" for its 1.4 billion population.

中國已建成世界上規模最大的社會保障體系。基本養老保險覆蓋10.72億人，醫療保險覆蓋率超95%，失業、工傷保險參保人數五年間分別增長數千萬。這張以“五險一金”為基石、社會救助為補充的安全網，不僅托住民生底線，更通過“發展型保障”賦能個人。

China's safety net is based on the "five insurances" — pension, healthcare, unemployment, work injury, and maternity coverage — alongside the housing provident fund and further bolstered by social assistance schemes such as dibao (the minimum living allowance).

西南交通大學社會保障專家楊一帆指出，美國模式會將市場競爭中的成敗主要歸因于個人特質，并將社會福利視為一種可能扭曲市場激勵的“成本”；而中國堅持以人民為中心，通過集體行動分散風險。

Yang Yifan, a social security expert at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, Sichuan province, said that while Chinese policies seek to defuse risks facing individuals through institutional efforts, the US system often frames success or failure as matters of personal effort or talent, treating social welfare as a potential burden on market efficiency.

今年是中國宣布全面打贏脫貧攻堅戰五周年。中南財經政法大學減貧專家吳海濤強調，中國更注重“造血式”幫扶，通過教育、醫療、就業的系統性投資，推動社會整體向上。

Wu Haitao, a poverty reduction scholar, said that China focuses on "empowerment" through systemic investments in education, health, and employment — building resilience from the ground up.

截至2020年，中國提前10年完成聯合國2030年減貧目標，讓超過8億人擺脫極端貧困。

China's poverty alleviation efforts have lifted over 800 million people out of extreme poverty since the early 1980s, and meet the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goal on poverty reduction a decade ahead of schedule.

脫貧后“五年過渡期”政策、對易返貧人口的動態監測、義務教育零輟學、醫保覆蓋率穩居99%以上……這些扎實的舉措，將貧困人口“扶上馬送一程”，構成了中國遠離“斬殺線”的制度底氣。

The commitment to durability of the poverty relief is reflected in policy: even after households officially exited poverty by 2021, support was maintained for another five years to prevent sliding back into poverty — a practice officials describe as "helping them onto the horse and accompanying them for part of the journey".

2025年11月27日，在臨縣湫水柏林苑易地扶貧搬遷安置點的柏林苑幼兒園，孩子們在戶外玩耍。新華社記者詹彥 攝

中國社會科學院美國研究所助理研究員朱晨歌認為，“斬殺線”正削弱美國制度優越性敘事。只有將發展的成果普惠到全民，讓所有人都能在社會中自由、自足地發展，這個國家在社會治理上才稱得上成功。無論國際形勢多么風高浪急，這樣的國家才能巋然不動。

Zhu Chen'ge, an assistant researcher in US diplomacy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said phenomena like the "kill line" are undermining narratives of US institutional superiority and its development model.

"Only when the fruits of development benefit all citizens, allowing everyone to develop freely and independently within society, can a country be considered truly successful in social governance," he said. "A nation built on such inclusive and sustainable foundations will stand firm."

“斬殺線”背后，是發展理念的深刻分野。當世界面對動蕩與不確定，中國正用一張牢不可破的安全網，書寫“民之所憂，我必念之；民之所盼，我必行之”的生動答卷。

記者：李磊

跟著China Daily

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