Chapter 3323: Structural Oppression, the Essence of Power

However, under normal circumstances, no member of an Upper Family would actually do such a thing.

Being a member of an Upper Family is not equivalent to being a natural superior; illegitimate children like Aolin also have the opportunity to become members of an Upper Family, provided they obtain the approval of Aosimantusi.

But even with that approval, it is almost impossible for Aolin to become a family heir, and it is even impossible to provide him with any decent training; barely managing to train him into an Elite Mage would be remarkable.

Under these circumstances, as long as Aolin is not stupid, he could not possibly think of himself as a true member of an Upper Family and thereby boss Commoners around.

As for true members of an Upper Family, having received systematic training, they simply cannot bring themselves to banish Commoners; if they really were to do so, they might become the laughingstock of the Upper Family circles within Taiweimansa and even the entire Yierlan by the next day.

The authority of an Upper Family is not displayed through direct oppression of Commoners; in fact, the attitude of Upper Families in Elf society toward Commoners is mostly quite friendly.

Even Keman, who recognizes Golden Elf Supremacy, would not go so far as to let the most ordinary Wood Elf suffer any unbearable humiliation.

The oppression of the lower classes by the Upper Families, or rather the High Elves, exists throughout the entire process of social operation, such as restricting the spread of Magic.

They do not say that they forbid Wood Elves from learning Magic, but rather—

Wood Elves lack talent, no Mage is willing to take a Wood Elf as an apprentice, and the Academy is unwilling to accept them either, but if a Wood Elf is willing, they can come to the Academy to take the assessment.

If you pass, congratulations on becoming a glorious Magic Technician, from then on working in a workshop until you die. If you don't pass, then go back to where you came from; the best outcome thereafter would be to become a glorious Druid, working in the fields until you die.

If you can't do anything, that's fine too; even if you do nothing, the High Elves won't let you starve to death, but you won't be very comfortable either. If you want to be more comfortable, you only have to work harder.

As for the true Magic Academy that systematically teaches Magic, sorry, those are private societies and clubs that do not accept applications from outsiders, and the state cannot manage them either; if you are outstanding enough, the Academy will send you an invitation.

Beyond this, there is also the raising of prices, making the labor income of Wood Elves barely enough to support themselves; wanting to improve oneself by saving money is almost impossible.

In reality, there are also almost no channels for improvement.

In the eyes of the High Elves, the middle and lower-class Elves are just tools with different uses; for example, the middle class can help them save money, and once it reaches a certain level, they harvest it in one go.

The lower class is specifically for doing miscellaneous chores; the best of the lower class are those who don't think about anything and contribute wholeheartedly to the prosperity of the Elf World.

For such Elves, the High Elves are not stingy about giving a certain amount of honor; such honor is very respected and popular among the lower class, and can also serve as a certain qualification among the middle class.

But in the eyes of the upper class, that is nothing more than a few scraps of leftovers they bestow at will, just a means of controlling subordinates.

If any High Elf takes that seriously, they will only be considered unworthy of being a High Elf and will sooner or later fall to the lower class.

Therefore, regarding tools, as long as they haven't offended them, how could High Elves be so bored as to go and torture their tools? On the contrary, they must protect them well and maintain them regularly!

Although this cognition does not exist in the minds of every member of an Upper Family, in the actual process of acting and making decisions, they still unconsciously make the choices most favorable to them, which is to treat the middle and lower classes as tools and consumables.

Even if a very small number do not do this, they will quickly be excluded from the upper class and even suffer continuous suppression until there is no longer a single sound from them.

This is the most disgusting aspect of class solidification; individual will can no longer become a decisive factor, and the will of the group, or rather the class, occupies the dominant position, excluding and suppressing all voices and behaviors that do not conform to the interests of the class.

Under these circumstances, the lower class seemingly has no worries about food and clothing, but in reality, their future has long been severed, and they have merely become meat pigs for the upper class.

In the kingdoms of short-lived species, such a way of raising pigs might work; after all, Wisdom also needs time to grow, and by the time a short-lived species grows enough to recognize the status quo, they are already deeply trapped and unable to change it.

But as long-lived species, even if Elves don't read any books for hundreds of years, just by learning from life experience, they can gradually realize the cold cruelty of the current society and subsequently give rise to the idea of change.

And Magic is the only path to changing one's fate.

Xia Duo had long since witnessed the longing of the lower-class Elves for Magic, enough to overcome the long-standing contempt and disdain for Netheril Magic in the Elf World, just to seize what is very likely the only opportunity to change their fate.

Regarding this status quo, Xia Duo cannot completely change it for the time being, but he believes that intelligent life should not be treated this way, so he had the plan to actively spread Magic.

The technician route is generally the best choice for lower-class Elves to change their fate (gaining Knowledge of Magic); this route will not harm the interests of the High Elves, at least not within the foreseeable future, and instead will greatly increase the interests of the High Elves.

The reason for this, explained using the theory from Xia Duo's hometown, is—training lower-class Elves into Magic Technicians is effectively equivalent to increasing productivity.

But while productivity increases, the treatment of lower-class Elves will not improve much because of it; according to Xia Duo's speculation, it will likely remain the same as before—that is, a level where they have enough to eat and wear and can occasionally have some entertainment.

The benefits brought about by the increase in productivity are almost entirely taken away by the High Elves; this proportion will be far higher than in the past, and may even reach 99%!

This is the great growth in interests that the High Elves can foresee.

The only hidden danger, and also the only opportunity for the lower class, is coming into contact with Magic; as long as enough of the lower class come into contact with Magic, it will be enough to produce a qualitative change.

Just like on Earth, if one really wants to discuss who holds the most power, it is actually the lower class that holds more power; even for the violent apparatus, in the absence of fully automated robots, it still needs to be directly controlled by the lower class.

The upper class relies on systems, Faith, honor, money, etc., to control the lower class, and thereby control the most powerful violent apparatus.

If the minds of all the lower classes were connected in an instant, and all produced the idea of change, then those upper-class people who do not actually directly control power or resources could completely cease to exist!

The biggest difference between the Magic world and Earth is that the High Elves directly control the most powerful power; under these circumstances, the lower class wanting to change their fate may face the most cruel suppression.

Of course, the Magic world is not without its advantages, which is that as long-lived species, the Wisdom accumulated by Elves over hundreds of years allows the majority of their lower class to possess a higher level of consciousness than the lower class of humans.

Of course, one could also say that the longer one lives, the harder it is to endure long and endless oppression.