Chapter 53: Change
Chapter 53: Change
“We don’t need to concern ourselves with the next generation of individuals, but we can still decide what kind of people we become. We can still decide what kind of world we create!”
“We were born with nothing, and we leave with nothing. Disagreements and conflicts will still arise between us as different individuals, fighting for our varied interests. But any conflict between us remains confined to a single lifetime. When we are born, there are no lasting conflicts between us.”
“But those who support traditional family rearing are different. Not only do they clash with us, they also have fundamental conflicts of interest among themselves.”
“We actually don’t need anything from them, nor do we need them to exist. Yet, they require our submission, our existence, to maintain what they desire.”
“This is the core reason why our victory is inevitable.”
“We are walking the right path. Upholding Collective Social Rearing is the foundation for achieving this right.”
“We transmit our ideas through shared beliefs. They rely on bloodlines. In this, we are demonstrably more advanced, without question.”
“Because, even if we split into different groups ourselves due to differing beliefs, beliefs themselves can change in transmission. Outdated ideas can be replaced by better ones. This difference enables our progress.”
“For them, however, this method of inheritance through blood is fixed, unchangeable. A thousand years ago, ten thousand years from now, this core principle remains rigid.”
“Their fate is failure.”
“Friends, Comrades. What we’re actually doing is not defeating them, but creating a wholly new world.”
These were the words spoken by the leader of this small nation advocating Collective Social Rearing to its soldiers, just before another brutal hot war broke out between the small nations supporting Collective Social Rearing and those backing traditional family rearing.
Qin Yu, passing through this small nation, naturally heard the speech.
The intense, raging battles unfolding between the two sides now didn’t really surprise Qin Yu much upon reflection.
Reviewing history showed that significant change rarely comes without drawing blood. Sometimes, breakthroughs in pure science or technology resulted in lives lost – much less so in situations like this current conflict between these two factions.
And now, the words of this leader promoting Collective Social Rearing weren’t simply empty slogans. They stemmed from a core internal logic.
The widespread adoption of Collective Social Rearing required more than just children raised by the system believing in it.
The ‘selfishness’ inherent in humans, or life itself, seems etched into our genetic instincts.
Maybe a few exceptional individuals could transcend this instinct through great ideals and willpower, but inducing an entire group, every single person, to rise above ‘selfish’ impulses is incredibly hard.
Therefore, while the small nations championing traditional family rearing were driven by this very ‘selfishness’,
here, the nations supporting Collective Social Rearing also relied fundamentally on ‘selfishness’ for their drive.
The crucial difference was this: In a society practicing Collective Social Rearing, personally giving birth to and raising an individual child offered zero benefit – it was the opposite, a net loss.
Holding onto the belief that personally raising children yielded no positive gain became the key reason nations advocating Collective Social Rearing could sustain that system long-term.
Features seen as objectively necessary for traditional family rearing in other nations appeared distinctly different within these Collective Social Rearing societies.
Travelling through this nation, Qin Yu observed a particular phenomenon: ‘Ideological inheritance’ had largely replaced ‘genetic inheritance’.
Naturally, this shift brought new problems.
The fundamental reasons for supporting traditional family rearing, or hoping for direct descendants, extend beyond a family continuing after one’s death. Two core needs prevailed:
‘Care in old age’ and ‘the natural extension of influence’.
Continuation after death held little meaning in their Collective Social Rearing society.
However, the latter two needs, concerning one’s later life stages, manifested differently under ‘ideological inheritance’.
The first need, ‘care in old age’, pointed to individual security in later years. It wasn’t about having enough money for retirement, the availability of societal eldercare support, or even who would provide care.
It was about who would step forward to assert the rights of the elderly while they still lived.
In youth, people operate within society’s mainstream. They can stand up for themselves.
But everyone ages. Growing old inevitably moves people toward the margins of society. Then, their ability to voice their needs and assert their rights diminishes significantly. What happens then?
Put more starkly:
If someone became bedridden in old age, a caregiver from the Social Upbringing Bureau or a dedicated societal eldercare agency could be hired to look after them.
But what if that caregiver mistreated them?
There would be official channels to complain, yes, but the elderly person might well lack the strength or means to pursue it then.
In traditional family-based societies, families played a role in mitigating some of this risk – imperfectly, but significant.
Within this Collective Social Rearing nation implementing their own solution, another group needed to become the voice for those growing old and increasingly marginalized.
Thus, a new moral concept took shape in this Collective Social Rearing nation: individuals who inherited someone’s specific ideology (ideological heirs) or those who received gifts from someone’s estate (estate beneficiaries) acquired a moral obligation toward the aging individual who selected them.
In essence, it resembled a ‘master-disciple’ relationship, emphasizing succession and mutual responsibility within the mentor-protege bond.
Significant social pressure bound these ideological heirs and estate beneficiaries.
Then came the need for ‘extension of influence’.
In traditional family-based nations,
individuals primarily leveraged the natural bonds of blood to extend their reach and grasp more social resources across a wider network.
This wasn’t inherently good or bad; it simply existed as a method to fill a need within their framework.
Within the Collective Social Rearing nation,
a shared ideology linked individuals instead.
Meeting the need for influence thus shifted onto those chosen as ideological heirs.
The broader societal moral pressure on ideological heirs incorporated this aspect.
Namely: If a person selected you because you shared their specific ideals and vision,
and entrusted you with their social influence and work, you were then obligated to persist with the cause upholding the ideals they held so dearly and even carry on their specific directives. Essentially, you became their living legacy.
Violating this obligation after accepting such a bequest incurred severe pressure – essentially strong shunning.
This applied to individuals and also to groups.
Accepting membership within a group bound by ideology then meant accepting collective responsibility to maintain the group’s survival and continuity.
Based on Qin Yu’s observations during his travels, this practice was now deeply ingrained across almost every domain within the Collective Social Rearing nation, appearing commonly among businesses, organizations, and professions in many fields.
This system inevitably created significant drawbacks, stifling the evolution of newer ideas and slowing the speed of progress overall, even impacting scientific research and innovation within academic circles.
Furthermore, within this nation,
social hierarchy itself remained.
It was firmly rooted and rigidly structured – stratification was starkly visible.
It clearly wasn’t a utopian perfect world.
But compared to its neighbor sticking firmly to traditional family rearing, it still represented a dramatically more advanced progression in many significant ways.
None of this was pre-determined; it all unfolded later.
Everyone had roughly equal opportunities.
Social classes existed, but movement between them happened quickly.
The paths upward and downward were wide open.
So perhaps because of this,
within this small nation where Collective Social Rearing was widespread, society as a whole was much more active than their opponents over there.
…
As for Qin Yu’s own leanings between the two sides,
as an Absolute Immortal and the inventor of the Human Reproduction Device,
he naturally favored Collective Social Raising.
Or rather, the emergence of this very situation couldn’t be separated from Qin Yu himself.
Qin Yu hoped the whole Human Civilization could integrate sooner.
And if Collective Social Rearing could be fully implemented worldwide,
the integration of Human Civilization would become much easier.
Besides, fundamentally, if human society could become more dynamic and develop faster,
it would help Human Civilization endure longer.
For most people, how long Human Civilization survived beyond their own limited lifespans didn’t concern them.
But this matter was deeply relevant to Qin Yu, the Absolute Immortal.
Because Human Civilization was unlikely to outlast him.
However,
in this lifetime, Qin Yu didn’t directly participate in the specific fighting between these two small nations.
Whether Collective Social Rearing or Family-Based Rearing would ultimately triumph,
should be decided by the whole Human Civilization.
Qin Yu only needed to keep a closer eye, ensuring things didn’t escalate and destroy Human Civilization altogether.
Right now, Qin Yu was merely passing through these two small nations.
…
“Boss, who do you think will win this war?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Definitely us.”
While traveling in this small nation that supported Collective Social Rearing,
Qin Yu ate at a city restaurant and chatted casually with the owner.
“Why?”
“Because of the Human Reproduction Device! As long as it exists, we can produce people non-stop. These past years, we’ve steadily added population according to plan. But over there? They’re fighting, and their population increase gets smaller every year. They even reject using the Human Reproduction Device. How can they possibly beat us?”
The answer was specific and offered an interesting perspective.
Qin Yu couldn’t help smiling upon hearing it.
“Hey, young man, where are you from?”
“Huaxia Nation. Traveling.”
“Hey! We’re at war here, and you’re traveling? Impressive!”
The restaurant owner gave Qin Yu a thumbs-up.
Qin Yu smiled but didn’t reply.
Similarly,
on the other side, when he entered the other small nation supporting Traditional Family Rearing,
Qin Yu again found a shop to chat with the owner.
“Young man, you don’t understand. We will win. Everyone worldwide who believes in family rearing and wants their own children will support us. And we will fight to the end. I don’t want to be ‘left without descendants’.”
“Why?”
“What kind of question is that? Do you support Social Rearing? Isn’t this natural? Who will take over my shop if I have no children? Who will support me when I’m old?”
Seeming a bit angry, the shop owner stared at Qin Yu.
“Young man, you really don’t understand. You’re young. But I’m old now. When half your life is over and your own path is set, your only hope rests on your children.”
“My only hope now is that my son and daughter succeed, letting me enjoy a comfortable old age. Do you understand?”
Qin Yu felt no particular emotion at his words. He simply looked at the man and said,
“But others have sons too. Richer people have sons too.”
“Go away! Get out! You’re not welcome here! Get out!”
As if suddenly provoked, the store owner flew into a rage and chased Qin Yu out.
Qin Yu remained calm, doing and saying nothing further.
The shop owner himself, however, felt restless and agitated after driving Qin Yu away.
…
Currently, these two small nations,
though both engaged in actual fighting, had completely different internal spirits.
Within the Collective Social Rearing nation, people were confident of their victory.
Though they were fighting fiercely, life inside remained relatively stable.
Within the Traditional Family Rearing nation, despite receiving resource support from various groups worldwide, confidence wasn’t very strong.
While Qin Yu ‘toured’ these two small nations,
even activating Intangibility to drift near the battlefields,
the Collective Social Rearing nation began gaining clear advantages.
Influenced by this, many smaller surrounding nations on the Europa Continent started announcing the full adoption of Collective Social Rearing.
The nation holding onto Traditional Family Rearing, though bolstered by many Family-Rearing supporters flowing in from these neighboring Collective Rearing nations adopting the change,
was showing signs of being gradually surrounded.
Collective Social Rearing within Human Civilization acted like a tidal wave; once reaching a certain scale, it became unstoppable.
In other nations,
though perhaps not as extreme as this fighting Collective Rearing nation,
children raised through Collective Social Rearing demonstrated remarkable upward mobility after growing up.
Because power, though seemingly top-down, fundamentally remains bottom-up.
How much power you hold depends not on your position, but on how many people obey your commands.
Once Collectively-Reared children made up a portion of society,
they couldn’t be excluded from the mainstream.
And for most people, when choosing someone to be their superior,
all else being equal, choosing a Collectively-Reared, childless person to be your superior,
or someone with a family and children to be your superior…
was an easy choice.
This applied whether you were raised by Collective Social Rearing or Traditional Family Rearing.
The current state of Human Civilization, the global situation,
was largely a magnified manifestation of this very small phenomenon.