Chapter 4986

Many people wonder why America's poor, who clearly have guns, do not rebel. Besides the theological shackles on thought, strict class segregation measures are also a cause. Besides the fact that the poor cannot enter the rich neighborhoods, they cannot even see them.

People cannot imagine things they have never seen. Like Selina, who was born in the slums, in that era when information media was underdeveloped, she might never have come into contact with upper-class people in her entire life, completely unaware of what that kind of life is like.

It is like people imagining the emperor holding a golden hoe and tilling the soil. When certain concepts do not exist in their minds, they do not provoke much rebellious psychology. Because in their impression, no matter how capable the emperor is, he is merely someone who gets help when working. They cannot conceive of a life of idle luxury and extravagant desires of the nobility, so they do not desire such a life, and their will to rebel is not so strong.

Often, it is the poor who are unaware of the wealth gap. Because one cannot apply the conditions of the internet-information age to the past. Nowadays, on the internet, besides ghosts, everything can be seen, so it is naturally easy to become aware of the differences between people. But back then, that closed, slow communication model, if one had the intention to block, could truly let people sit at the bottom of a well and watch the sky while feeling content.

Even in the information age, if one has the intention to guide, it is easy to establish a mental cage, making people believe some very absurd facts, let alone in the past.

And when Selina became rich, she experienced the life of the rich and contrasted it with her previous life in the slums, immediately realizing how great the gap was. This would bring her a great psychological shock, making her realize objectively how much suffering the poor endure.

"I used to be very optimistic." Selina said, "Because I truly did not feel myself to be suffering. What does it matter that I was born in the slums? I still grew up well. What does it matter that I was a thief? At least I became the head of the flying thieves as a thief, and I am already stronger than many people."

"I used to dislike Bruce pitying me, because I felt I had nothing to be pitied for. I lived better in the slums than the vast majority of people; I do not know how many people envy me."

"But..." Selina sighed softly, "Actually, I now somewhat understand. Before, I did not feel suffering, merely because I had seen too little. At that time, what I could obtain, even the best life I could imagine, might not even reach the edge of a truly good life. This is indeed somewhat pitiful, is it not?"

"I can understand, your subjectively optimistic attitude and, under objective judgment standards, the fact that you indeed experienced poor days, do not actually conflict." Shiler said, "The essence of finding joy in suffering lies in contentment bringing happiness. The easier it is to be satisfied, the easier it is to be optimistic."

"And satisfaction comes from your own cognition and sense of deserving. Under your own cognitive conditions, the best life a person can live scores 10, and you have already obtained 8, and you feel you deserve to live an 8-point life, so you naturally feel happy, regardless of whether a perfect score is actually 100 in reality."

"And now you, you have raised your cognition to 100, and are living a 90-point life. The only problem is whether you feel you deserve such a life. This is a deservingness issue."

Selina fell into thought again. Shiler continued: "In my view, you are a lady with a very high sense of deserving. You believe you deserve all good things in life. When the environment changes, you might feel somewhat unaccustomed, producing irritable emotions, but you will never think, 'Do people like me really deserve such good days?'"

"I really have not thought about that." Selina said, "Even when I am most troubled, coming for psychological counseling, I have never considered this aspect. I am so intelligent, strong, and lucky, I have come through mountains of knives and seas of fire, what is there that I do not deserve?"

"So, the problem is not in this aspect."

"You have got me a bit confused, Professor." Selina said, "On one hand you say my current distress comes from a deservingness problem, on the other hand you say it is not this aspect..."

"What I mean is, your problem is not in your own deservingness aspect." Shiler explained, "Your own deservingness is very high, and you will not suffer from inferiority and internal consumption, but that does not mean you have no deservingness problem."

"You have crossed from the lower class to the upper class. At the same time, you are relatively firm, your cognition and sense of value have not been distorted. So you will discover that some people do not deserve their current good life."

Selina was stunned, then suddenly enlightened.

"From the time you tried to fit in, this problem has always existed. You repeatedly asked me, why are Aisha's some classmates' parents so bizarre, how did they manage to survive until now. When you asked these questions, you were actually thinking, how do they deserve it."

"You have seen many people who are smarter, more diligent, and kinder than them, but these people live worse than them. Possibly they died early, or they are still stuck in the slums' mud puddles going in circles. The more bizarre people you see in upper-class society, the more you will be troubled by this problem. Exactly why, exactly on what basis."

Selina fell silent for a moment, then said: "Say it out loud and you might not believe it, I look down on most of those people. Because they really... are not smart enough, not strong enough, their emotions are unstable, and their personalities are terrible."

Then she explained: "This is not my prejudice. I have also seen many people richer than me who are much more capable, such as Bruce, and also Lex. What is that Iron Man called again? He is also quite capable. These people being so rich, I find nothing strange about it."

"But some people are simply stupid and evil. I sometimes really cannot help thinking, if I had lived from childhood in their environment, or if it were Mack, or Lavin, we would certainly be much better than them."

"This is exactly the key, madam." Shiler said while cutting the food on his plate, "In primitive society, people possessing those fine qualities you mentioned would become tribal leaders, that is, the upper class of that era. They could use their wisdom and physique to obtain the most food, the largest house, and breeding rights. So why does it not work that way now?"

"Why?" Selina asked after taking a sip of wine.

"What is human nature? It is the process of gradually discarding animality during the development of civilization. Human nature is non-animality." Shiler paused for a moment and then said, "Beasts follow the law of the jungle, natural elimination, the old or unhealthy in the group are abandoned. But humans have always tried to save them, this is non-animality, or the manifestation of human nature."

"We oppose animality, oppose adopting too cruel a survival way of natural selection within humanity, but instead help each other, letting more people survive. This is a correct survival strategy, helping us reach today."

"But in the process of opposing animality, we have gradually built a framework that no longer judges by natural conditions, but by accumulated inheritance and stronger sociality as the basis."

"Wait," Selina interrupted him, "too academic, is there a simpler analogy?"

"Alright." Shiler said, "You will find that, with human development, the importance of sports is gradually declining. In ancient times, the person who could chase prey the farthest was the most respected hunter in the tribe. In ancient times, being able to run faster or ride a horse longer could also make one a soldier and general, possibly even an emperor. But in modern times, one can only become a sports star. Sports stars indeed make a lot of money, living better than many people, but they fall far short of the ruling class, unable to decide society's future."

Selina nodded, saying: "It seems indeed to be so."

"This is because humanity is gradually discarding the use of nature's gifts to determine social status, that is, the animality model. Turning toward an extreme non-animality model, that is, relying on things beasts do not have, which are not natural, to determine social status."

"What things do most beasts lack? The inheritance of knowledge, the accumulation of wealth, education and science. These are considered human, civilized, and are superior to those animality factors."

"Thus, the wealthy heirs of old money families, even if not strong enough or smart enough, have a starting point higher than ordinary people. Just do something, and their achievements will far exceed those of ordinary people. While those born in the slums, like you, like your friends, they may be born with strong physiques and extraordinary wisdom, but because these natural conditions are not valued, even if they strive all their lives, they may still fall short of the threshold of upper-class society."

"You mean to say, this is quite normal?"

Shiler shook his head and said: "No, I merely want you to understand that this shift in model, for the overall development of humanity, is not entirely without benefit. Humanity has gained much through this model, enough to sustain until today, making society what it is."

"I understand." Selina said.

"But whether this model can be maintained forever, carried to the end, and whether it is an ideal social form, the answer is not necessarily affirmative." Shiler continued, "Just as you said, letting those who rely on family inheritance and accumulation, gaining excessive power, to the point where virtue does not match position, decide society's future, can they really make correct choices?"

Selina had another moment of enlightenment. Shiler sighed and said: "The world is a huge shoddy facade. And the world is such a huge shoddy facade precisely because most people who make decisions merely think they have the ability to make decisions."

"So, do not doubt yourself, madam. It is not that you misjudged them, or that there truly is some tremendous hidden matter. You can regard it as the inertia of human social development not being timely corrected, allowing you, who are much stronger than them, and these people to meet in the same circle."

"Thank you." Selina said, "I feel much better."

Then, seeming to feel this expression was not sincere enough, Selina thought and said: "I do not know how to say it. When I tell my friends about these things, they only comfort me that it is all God's arrangement, telling me not to think too much. Only you will give me a detailed explanation of the principles behind this, Professor."

"I am very clear that the long-standing doubt in my heart is not me being suspicious and paranoid, or worrying needlessly. But sometimes, after hearing it said many times, I occasionally also doubt and waver, whether it is me who is wrong, or the world that is wrong. Thank you for telling me that the problem I have discovered is truly a problem, not me being overly sentimental and thinking too much."

"Of course not, madam." Shiler said, "This is indeed a social problem that has been carefully studied and discussed many times, and already has many different answers. However, you are able to discover it with your own eyes, proving you have great potential as a sociologist."

"Bruce also said that." Selina laughed and said, "When I asked him, he gave me another answer, which is also quite reasonable."