Many people wonder why the poor in America, despite having guns, do not resist. Aside from the theological shackles on thought, strict class segregation measures are also a reason. The poor can't even visit the rich people's communities, let alone see them.
People can't imagine what they have never seen. Someone like Selina, born in a slum, in an era when information media was not developed, could live her entire life without ever encountering people from the upper-class and have no idea what that lifestyle is like.
It's like people imagining the Emperor holding a gold hoe to till the land. When certain concepts do not exist in their minds, it doesn't stimulate much rebellious thinking. Because in their impression, no matter how powerful the Emperor is, at most, someone helps with the work. They can't conceive of the decadent aristocratic life devoid of labor, and thus don't desire such a life, reducing the strength of the will to revolt.
Many times, it's the poor who are unaware of the gap between rich and poor. Because you can't apply the advanced network information era to the past. Nowadays, except for Ghosts, you can see everything online, and naturally, the differences between people are easily realized. But with the closed, slow communication methods of the past, if there was an intention to block information, it was truly possible for people to be content with seeing just a narrow view.
Even in the information era, if there is an intent to guide thoughts, it's easy to create mental cages, leading people to believe absurd facts, let alone the past.
When Selina became wealthy, she experienced the life of the rich and compared it to her previous life in the slums, quickly realizing the enormous gap between them. This brought a significant psychological shock, making her aware of how objectively painful the suffering of the poor could be.
"I used to be very optimistic," Selina said, "because I really didn't feel that I was in a lot of pain. What does being born in a slum matter? I still grew up well. What does being a thief matter? At least I became the head of thieves; I'm already better than many people."
"Before, I disliked Bruce's pity toward me because I felt there was nothing pitiful about myself. I lived better than most in the slums; many envied me."
"But..." Selina sighed softly, "actually, now I understand a bit. I didn't feel painful before because I had seen so little. Back then, the best life I could get, even imagined, couldn't even touch the edge of a truly good life. That's somewhat sad, isn't it?"
"I can understand your subjective optimism and the objectively difficult days you lived through don't actually conflict," Shiller said. "The essence of finding joy in hardship is contentment. The easier you are satisfied, the easier it is to be optimistic."
"And satisfaction comes from your self-awareness and sense of worthiness. Under your conditions of self-awareness, the best life score a person can achieve is 10, and if you've achieved 8, and you feel you deserve an 8-score life, then naturally you feel happy, regardless of whether the full score is actually 100."
"And now, you've elevated your awareness to 100 and have a life scored at 90. The only question is whether you feel you deserve such a life. This is a matter of worthiness."
Selina fell into thought again. Shiller continued, "From my perspective, you have a high sense of worthiness. You believe you deserve all the beautiful things life has to offer. When you change environments, you might feel a bit of discomfort, resulting in irritation, but you never think, 'Do I really deserve such a good life?'"
"I indeed never thought about it," Selina said. "Even when I'm most troubled and doing psychological counseling, I never think along those lines. I'm so smart, strong, and fortunate; I've overcome great challenges, what could I possibly not deserve?"
"So, the issue does not lie there."
"You're kind of confusing me, Professor," Selina said. "On one hand, you say my current struggles stem from worthiness issues, but on the other hand, you say it's not about that."
"What I'm saying is that your problem isn't with your own sense of worthiness," Shiller explained. "You have a high sense of worthiness; you don't have internal conflicts due to inferiority, but that doesn't mean you don't have worthiness issues."
"You've made a leap from the bottom to the upper-class. Meanwhile, you are relatively steadfast; your recognition and sense of value have not been distorted, so you'll find some people undeserving of their current good life."
Selina was stunned, then had a sudden realization.
"From earlier attempts to fit in, this issue always existed. You asked me repeatedly, why some of Aisha's classmates' parents are so peculiar and how they even manage to live till now. When you ask these questions, you are actually wondering how they deserve it."
"You've seen many who are smarter, more diligent, and kinder, yet these people aren't living as well as those peculiar ones. Some might have died early, some are still trapped in the quagmire of the slums. The more peculiar people you see in the upper-class, the more this issue troubles you. Why, and on what basis?"
Selina was silent for a moment and then said, "You might not believe it, but I look down on most of them. Because they really... aren't smart enough, aren't strong enough, their emotions are quite unstable, and their personalities are awful."
She continued to explain, "It's not my stereotype. I've met many rich people who are far superior to me, like Bruce and Lex. What's that Iron Man's name again? He's also quite incredible. I'm not at all surprised these people are so wealthy."
"But, some people are just so stupid and mean. Sometimes I can't help but think, if I had grown up in their environment, or if Mike or Raven were in that situation, we would definitely be better than them."
"That's exactly the point, madam," Shiller said while cutting the food on his plate. "In primitive societies, those who possess the admirable qualities you mentioned would become the tribal leaders, the upper-class people of that era. They could use their wisdom and physical prowess to gain the most food, the largest house, and the rights to procreate. So, why doesn't it work in modern times?"
"Why?" Selina asked after taking a sip of wine.
"What is human nature? It's the process in which, over the course of civilization's development, we gradually forsake our animal instincts. Human nature is essentially non-beastly," Shiller paused and then continued, "Beasts are ruled by survival of the fittest and natural selection, where the old or unhealthy in the clan are left behind. However, humans have always tried to save them, which represents non-beastliness, or in other words, the embodiment of humanity."
"We oppose animal instincts, against adopting too brutal a survival approach of natural selection within the human race, instead helping each other so more people can survive. This is a correct survival strategy that has gotten us to where we are today."
"But, in opposing animal instincts, we gradually built a framework that's no longer judged by natural conditions, but by accumulation, inheritance, and stronger social qualities."
"Wait," Selina interrupted him, "This is too academic; is there a simpler analogy?"
"Alright," Shiller said, "You will notice that as humanity has developed, the importance of athletics has been gradually declining. In ancient times, the person who could chase prey the farthest was the most revered hunter in the tribe. In olden times, those who ran faster or could ride a horse longer could become soldiers and generals, maybe even emperors. But in modern times, they can only become sports stars. Sports stars do indeed make a lot of money and live better than many, but they are far from the ruling class and can't determine the future of society."
Selina nodded and said, "That seems to be the case."
"This is because humans are gradually abandoning the mode of deciding social status based on what nature gave us, which is the beastly mode. Instead, we are moving towards an extreme non-beastly mode, determining social status by what beasts lack, or in other words, things that aren't natural."
"What do most beasts lack? The inheritance of knowledge, the accumulation of wealth, education, and science. These are considered humane, civilized, and are above those beastly factors."
"Consequently, even if the wealthy descendants of old money families aren't strong or smart enough, their starting point is higher than the average person. Whatever they do achieves far more than ordinary people. But people from the slums, like you, like your friends who might be born with strong bodies and exceptional wisdom, aren't valued for these natural conditions. No matter how hard they struggle, they might never reach the threshold of the upper-class society."
"Are you trying to say this is perfectly normal?"
Shiller shook his head and said, "No, I just want you to understand that this shift in mode is not entirely without benefit for human development as a whole. Humanity has gained much through this mode, sustaining us to today and transforming society as it is."
"I understand," Selina said.
"However, whether this mode can be maintained forever, to the end, or whether it's the ideal form of society, the answer isn't necessarily affirmative," Shiller continued, "As you said, whether those who gained excessive power through family inheritance and accumulation, power which surpasses their virtues, can truly make the right decisions about this society's future remains uncertain."
Selina suddenly seemed enlightened. Shiller sighed and said, "The world is a huge makeshift stage. And the reason the world is a huge makeshift stage is because most decision-makers merely believe they have the ability to make decisions."
"So, don't doubt yourself, madam. It's not that you've misjudged them or there's some secret conspiracy. You can consider it as the inertia of societal development not being corrected in time, leading you and other stronger individuals to encounter them in the same circle."
"Thank you," Selina said, "I feel much better."
Then, as if thinking her expression wasn't sincere enough, Selina thought for a moment and said, "I don't know how to express it. When I talk about these things with my friends, they only comfort me by saying it's God's arrangement, encouraging me not to overthink. Only you would provide me with a detailed explanation of the underlying principles, Professor."
"I know very well that the long-term doubts in my heart don't come from me being paranoid or worrying unnecessarily. But sometimes, when people say it enough, I occasionally wonder and waver, whether it's me or the world that's wrong. Thank you for telling me that the issues I discovered are indeed issues, not just me being overly sentimental or overthinking."
"Of course not, madam," Shiller said, "This is indeed a social issue that has been carefully studied and discussed many times with numerous different answers. However, your ability to see it through your own eyes proves you have the potential of being a sociologist."
"Bruce said so too," Selina laughed and said, "When I asked him, he gave me another interpretation, which also made sense."