Capítulo 1219: Chapter 822: Mob Dilemma (Part 1)_1

"Hmm, I agree with your idea, but, I don't really understand what you mean by 'learning atmosphere.'" Roy pointed to the reception area, and Shiller led Jason to the side and sat down on the couch.

"Sorry, Professor, I also come from a gang background, so I didn't receive much formal education. What do you mean by 'learning atmosphere'?" Roy poured tea for Shiller from the kettle.

"No problem." Shiller said from the couch: "I can explain it slowly, after all. When I wanted to reform Gotham's transportation, not a single mayor was willing to sit on this couch and listen to me."

Roy felt a chill down his spine and managed a smile, "Take your time, I'll listen carefully."

"School is a place for learning. This is not a plea, not an emphasis, but a mere description of a fact. A school should naturally be a place for learning, and it should not require extra effort on my part to maintain this function. Everyone should recognize this, right?"

Roy nodded, acknowledging this point, even in Gotham, most people knew that school is a place to learn. If you don't want to study, why bother going to school?

"However, Education doesn't just require the existence of schools. A conducive learning environment doesn't exist solely with a quiet school. Students can't get good results simply because their teachers are responsible and diligent."

Roy hesitated and then asked, "Is it not? Can't students achieve good results if teachers teach well and students study diligently?"

Shiller shook his head, showing no signs of anger. In Gotham, the vast majority of people believe that if you really want to study, you should go to school, study hard there, and you will achieve good results.

He patiently explained, "Many parents think that schools can fulfill all education needs once their children are enrolled, but this is not the case. Educationally speaking, it can be divided into knowledge education and character education. From a methodological perspective, it includes school education, family education, and social education."

"School is where they learn knowledge. Of course, their social skills would also improve from interacting with peers. However, their character is formed through family and social education."

"Now, the situation in Gotham has reached a point where family and social education not only fail to take on the responsibility of character education but also negatively affect knowledge education. Do you understand what I mean?"

Although Roy never attended school, he wasn't stupid. After pondering for a while, he remarked, "Indeed, many parents in Gotham are not good at educating their children. Some are not responsible at all, having children when they feel like it and then neglecting them, causing so many orphans."

"Social education is even more crucial." Shiller gently tapped on the surface of the tea table. "The whole of Gotham lacks a learning atmosphere. This means people here do not recognize learning as a way to level up their social status..."

"To put it in a different way, if a Gothamite doesn't pursue an education, they still have plenty of work available, like being a thug in a gang. They have too many ways to climb the social ladder, like cheating, stealing, murdering..."

"After the development of the logistics industry, this situation did not improve but deteriorated. The labor shortage caused the majority of the population to skip the education phase and enter the intensive labor phase."

Roy sighed, "Of course, I know. Although the security situation in Chicago is bad, it's only in several districts. In others, the majority finish high school and a large portion progresses to university."

"There is, of course, the choice not to pursue higher education but to enter society early. Some do it for money, some do it out of interest, but they indeed have at least completed high school education."

Also, Roy added after pondering for a moment, "When I first came to Gotham, I specifically looked at the education rate here, and to my surprise, not only was East District Slum's education rate extremely low and the education rate in the North District, where many gang boss reside, was also terrifying."

"Because the cost of education is high, but the benefits are often implicit." Shiller observed as the tea leaves in his cup slowly sank. He said, "Due to the unique gang ecosystem in Gotham, the turnover of gang leaders outside the Twelve Families is very fast."

"Newly appointed people become rich overnight. They will be busy inheriting the predecessor's business, consolidating their positions, ensuring their safety, and they will almost have no spare energy to educate their offspring or let them receive a school education."

"As for the leaders among the Twelve Families, they do have spare energy and money, but their understanding of the advantages of education is insufficient. They would rather their descendants have more exposure to the family business, to excel among their peers in terms of experience and therefore help the family thrive."

"In terms of managing the gang business, they believe that the knowledge taught in school is not useful, and their experiences are more valuable. In such a situation, why would they send their children to school?"

"Most of the children of the leaders of the Twelve Families, despite having attended Gotham University, would not study seriously. They wouldn't read books, only socialize under the pretense of studying, or simply just graduate with a good-looking diploma."

"Moreover, the heads of the Twelve Families generally don't want their children to study abroad. Once you leave this city and stay removed from its unique ecological environment for too long, you may lose your competitiveness upon returning, which could in turn burden the family."

"Therefore, besides some wealthy businessmen in the South and West Districts and families that have a stake in mob industries but don't operate them mainly, who hope their children can receive a high level of education, people from other regions, even if they have money and leisure, tend not to favor educating their children."

Shiller paused briefly before continuing his analysis: "There's another reason for this situation - the pressure from the mob rules."

"If you were born into a gangster family, from childhood to adulthood, you need to learn not grammar or arithmetic, but how to survive and thrive within the complex mob rules."

"Studying grammar, arithmetic, and the arts, might improve your demeanor and speech, but if you don't understand mob rules and make a faux pas, you might lose your life."

"Hence, the vast majority of mob members, the second generation like Evans, would follow their parents to learn these rules."

"The implicit and default rules that they need to understand are so numerous that they have little spare time for systematic study. After all, in such an environment, survival is of primary importance."

"Also..." Shiller pointed out again, "the pressure brought by the mob society involves responsibilities beyond the rules."

"There are many members in a mob. If you want to lead them, you must have sufficient prestige. To have prestige, you need to demonstrate a responsible attitude and take concrete actions, leading them to seize resources and win competitions."

"Even Falcone himself must be responsible for the Falcone Family members. The pressure on Evans is so immense because, even if the members of the Falcone Family are few, he also has to be responsible for all Twelve Families. How does this leave him any time to learn from textbooks?"

Roy nodded, feeling that Shiller's analysis was very reasonable. The society defined by mob rules is so perverse, formed around competition and conflict, that everyone must be busy fighting with others.

The previous generation of mob bosses, after solidifying their positions and securing resources, would ask their children to enter this society as early as possible, to grab the initiative and stand out in the next generation's competition.

This means that they didn't have time to receive systematic education. And when they became successors and took over the mob, they would require their descendants to do the same. Thus, the level of education of future generations would constantly decline, as would the level of competition, eventually culminating into a dog-eat-dog world.

In a normal society, a person's speech, experience, wisdom, and logical thinking are more important than some default rules. If you excel and propose excellent solutions that demonstrate achievable benefits to everyone, you won't nee to worry about whether you can drink water or smoke at a shareholders' meeting.

But in Gotham's mob society, default rules are more important than personal excellence.

Alberto is a genius, just like his father. However, if he tried to break the rules, like smoking cigarettes instead of cigars, or adding ice to his drink at a gathering of the Twelve Families' leaders, no mob boss would respect him. They would think he was a clueless upstart, and no one would follow his lead.

Initially, the Godfather set the rules like shackles on all mob bosses, preventing them from completely losing themselves in the chaos.

These slightly dramatic practices and innumerable hidden rules actually serve as the beacon light of order, reminding them that they are still members of a civilized society and not directionless beasts.

However, today, this leads to another issue. With so many rules, they spend most of their time learning them and participating in this society, which leaves little room for systematic education. This will only lead to increasingly deteriorated conflicts and eventually a society with only rules, but no vitality or future."

"This system may have been effective in a certain era, but is bound to be superseded by modern society, as the demands for education levels in a tech-oriented society are growing with the acceleration of scientific and technological development."

Shiller said: "When the logistics industry started to grow, people thought it was the advent of another golden age, but completely missed the crisis behind this boom."

"The year is 1990, it may not be much longer before the old order recedes and a new tide arrives. Society will progress at an unimaginable pace until it transforms into something no one recognizes."

Looking at Roy, Shiller said: "I don't want this city to be abandoned by the times, having been already abandoned by normal society."

comentário 0 comentário

Votar

ENVIAR PRESENTE

Load failed, please RETRY