To some degree, it is.

I took my kids back to Beijing this summer. We usually ride Bejing subway during the non-rush hours. Often there are only 5 to 10 people waiting to get on the subway, but there is always someone try to cut in line,some are old women >50, and they all tried to push through my son because he is the smallest one in the line. You would think the old people, who often are the victims of such barbaric acts, who often are grand parents,  shouldn't be people to do kind to children. And yet some do just that.

It seems to me the pressure for survial is so intense, it is turing people into cold-blooded monsters that care about nothing and nobody but themselves.