从游戏术语到社会批判:"斩杀线"的概念迁移与民间理论建构OACHSSCD

"Execute Threshold"originally referred to a term used in online games.By the end of 2025,it was reinterpreted by Chinese internet users as a social metaphor used to expose the shortcomings of the American institutional system and to depict the financial vulnerability of American households.Through discourse construction by multiple actors,the term gradually evolved into a"folk theory"with explanatory and critical power.This transformation reflects a core issue in knowledge production in the digital age:how a gaming metaphor originating from niche communities can transcend its boundaries and become a conceptual tool for diagnosing the pathologies of capitalist systems,and how a folk concept can further develop into a systematic folk theory.From the perspective of the sociology of knowledge,this study constructs an analytical framework of"conceptual migration-discourse construction-risk society"to systematically examine the theoretical development of the concept of the"Execute Threshold".First,conceptual migration stems from the structural homology between the"critical threshold"in games and the"financial collapse threshold"in American society,which enabled cross-domain diffusion through incubation within digital platform communities.Second,discourse construction involves multi-actor collaboration:the folk concept of the"Execute Threshold"was translated and disseminated by internet users and subsequently articulated and elevated by media actors into a folk theory.Third,this folk theory is rooted in grassroots characteristics and metaphorical translation,and it possesses three key features:strong social diagnostic capability,emotional resonance,and an open theoretical structure,clearly distinguishing it from ordinary folk concepts or internet buzzwords.Focusing on non-elite forms of knowledge production in the digital era,this study proposes and defines"folk theory"as a new analytical category within the sociology of knowledge.It develops an analytical framework for the theorization of folk knowledge,reveals emerging patterns such as the downward shift of power in knowledge production,and further enriches the theoretical scope of the sociology of knowledge.The findings also provide bottom-up methodological insights for the construction of an autonomous Chinese knowledge system.