People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

"Now, if I told you that killing you could save a country, would you be willing?"

Andorn hesitated.

Perhaps he was considering Ernst's problem, or perhaps he had doubts about the idea of ​​sacrificing himself to save the country, or perhaps he simply cherished his life, Andorn did hesitate for a moment.

Ernst did not urge him, but waited quietly for a while until Andorn stepped forward and gave his answer:

"I am willing."

"You are a saint."

Ernst's eyes showed a hint of admiration and respect.

Although it was just talk and not put into practice, the fact that Andorn could say "I do" at least shows that, in terms of public morality, no one could criticize him.

Public morality refers to morality towards public affairs, the public, and society. To be more specific, it includes freedom, equality, justice, and the rule of law. Ernst called pursuing these qualities "public morality," and those who could put them into practice perfectly were called saints.

Many people would treat this as mere polite talk and disdain to say it, but whether it's disdain or simply feeling embarrassed and ashamed to say it, Ernst dares not say, nor is it easy to say, but those who understand will understand.

However, Ernst wasn't particularly keen on associating with people who could do all of these things.

After all, he's a saint, "selfless and impartial." Making friends with such a person is like opening your eyes to a bright spotlight. As a civil servant with less-than-ideal moral standards and a somewhat flexible bottom line, Ernst found it a bit too much to handle.

But Andorn didn't seem to think it was a big deal. In response to Ernst's praise, he frowned and said, "I think it's a very worthwhile thing. If everyone can give a little love, the earth can become a beautiful home. If it requires me to give more, I will do so without hesitation."

If everyone in the world gave me a dollar, I could become a billionaire. I had that dream when I was a child.

Ernst thought to himself.

He finally understood Andorn completely and realized the difference between him and himself.

One is an extreme idealist, the other a flexible realist. Perhaps their starting point is to make the world a better place, but their paths... will never cross.

"Do you want to know my answer?" Ernst asked, looking at Andorn.

Andorn nodded, looking rather expectant.

That will disappoint you.

Ernst sighed inwardly with a touch of helplessness, but aloud he uttered his answer crisply and decisively:

"I do not want to."

"I don't want to die, I don't want to lose my hand, I don't even want to pluck a single hair from my head."

"In reality, if a pitiful person falls in front of me, I will reach out to help. If my actions can save a group of people, I will definitely do my best within my capacity. Just like the 'humanitarian' speech you gave me when you came to me. But this is reality, and I have to consider various factors, gains and losses, impact, and my conscience."

"If we're being reasonable, I won't give you a single penny."

Andorn remained silent in astonishment.

P.S.: The exam papers are in! The exam papers are in! The exam papers are in! The exam papers are in! Waaaaaah! I have to retake them next semester! Waaaaah!

Chapter 229 Andorn: I understand now, I will build my own earthly kingdom!

The *Liezi*, in the chapter on Yang Zhu, states: "The ancients would not give up even a hair's breadth to benefit the world, nor would they accept the entire world's wealth offered to them. If everyone refrained from harming even a hair's breadth and did not seek personal gain from the world, the world would be at peace."

This is the origin of the phrase "stingy".

Presenting facts and reasoning, the phrase "stingy" is often used today to condemn the stinginess of certain individuals, largely a result of the veneration of Confucianism and Mencius. This is because Mencius, one of the Confucian classics, describes Yang Zhu's teachings as follows: "Yang Zhu's 'for myself' is to have no ruler; Mozi's 'universal love' is to have no father. To have no ruler and no father is to be a beast."

This insult is indeed quite vicious. Under the Confucian concept of Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher, it means you have no ruler or father, which is basically like throwing your personality into the abyss. No wonder people have used this story for thousands of years, but they don't know much about the story behind it or Yang Zhu's teachings.

When Andorn heard Ernst's reply, his face showed undisguised astonishment.

By plucking a single hair, you can benefit several people. Isn't this a sure-fire way to make money? Why not do it?

Moreover, this was different from what he knew about Ernst. A person who could stand up and encourage the Grand Duke to evacuate the citizens of Londinium should not be such a stingy person.

But seeing Ernst's slightly helpless expression, he quickly realized what was going on.

Ernst set the tone for the discussion from the outset: they were reasoning and debating solely on a theoretical level. This did not mean they would actually do so in reality.

Scientists who study and discuss how to create more lethal weapons wouldn't actually try out weapons of mass destruction in real life, right?

After calming himself down, Andorn, though full of disagreement, still humbly asked, "Mr. Ernst, why do you say that?"

Ernst glanced at him and replied, "Because it's human nature."

"You and I have nothing but this physical body. If three people ask you for help and ask you to pluck a hair from their heads, this would be an infringement on your most precious, sacred, and inviolable life and property. No human being would agree to this."

"But this is just..."

“But this is just a single hair, making up only one ten-millionth of the body, right?” Ernst stared intently into Andorn’s eyes. “That’s only because you don’t care. Does nobody care?”

"The people of Yan love to grow beards. There is a proverb that says, 'A man without a beard is unreliable.' There is also a man with a beautiful beard who spends his whole life protecting his beard. A beard is just a single hair. If an unrelated person asked him to cut off his beard to save his life, do you think he would agree?"

Just because you don't care doesn't mean nobody else does.

In Ernst's view, some people spend their lives studying and pursuing fame, some spend their lives pursuing profit, some learn endlessly and wholeheartedly seek the truth, and some live alone and only wish for peace and quiet. These are just different personal pursuits. As long as it does not harm others, then one can "do as one pleases without overstepping the bounds."

For the sake of social development, we can advocate certain values, encourage the struggle for the collective good, and express our admiration for those noble individuals who sacrifice their own interests for the greater good. However, we must never force everyone to have the same virtues and values ​​as a saint!

That's going to cause trouble!

The lessons of Wang Mang, the "time-traveling emperor" often ridiculed by netizens, are still fresh in our minds. Whether he was a genuine time traveler seeking to promote collectivized large-scale production, liberate slaves, achieve equality, reform the government, and consolidate authority, or whether he was a pseudo-time traveler genuinely advocating a return to the past, implementing the well-field system, and respecting pre-Qin Confucianism, he failed. The reason for his failure is well-known—he implemented reforms out of step with the times, using his own values ​​to impose his own on the values ​​of the entire population, and engaging in the most outrageous or even slave-like practices in the most feudal era!

Therefore, Ernst will answer Andorn's question, and he will not give any other answer but will only say this—"stingy."

This is not superficial stinginess, but a genuine appreciation for one's own life, a cherishing of one's greatest wealth, and an understanding of the greatest need for a society's development—people.

“I respect your choice, but I also respect everyone’s choice. Respect is neither approval nor denial, but simply because I know that ‘the free development of each individual is the condition for the free development of all.’”

The latter half of this sentence comes from a famous work that has shaken the entire world—the "CCP Manifesto".

Andorn stood there, somewhat dazed, seemingly deep in thought. Ernst, however, didn't stop speaking:

"This is just one person; what about a group?"

"From the perspective of the collective, an individual is merely a part of the collective. If they are useful, they are like hands, feet, or limbs; if they are useless, they are like hair or body hair. If sacrificing hands, feet, limbs, hair, or body hair could save ten or a hundred people, would the collective be willing to do so?"

The collective would certainly not be willing. Because within the collective, there are already wills, interests, and relationships such as friends, partners, and colleagues; the collective is already such that a change in one part affects the whole.

Even in the most ideal situation, individuals are reluctant to act due to their own interests; how much less so would they be willing to act in a collective that represents the interests of many more people?

And this argument can even be further developed.

"From the perspective of a nation, a city is merely a part of the country. A large city is like the limbs, while a small city is like the hair and skin. If sacrificing one city could save ten cities, would the nation be willing to do so?"

"Let's go back to your original question. To this land, Laterano is just a part of it. Large countries like Victoria and Ursus are like limbs, while small countries like Laterano are like hairs. Sacrificing Laterano can save Victoria and Ursus. Do you think this land is willing to do that?"

Ernst didn't know if this land had a will, but even if it did, the answer was quite certain.

Who are Ursus and Victoria? And what is Lateran?

If we're going to perish, we'll all perish together. How can sacrificing one save another? Besides, why would the earth agree to such a losing proposition?

Andorn couldn't answer that question; he couldn't even answer "I do" without hesitation, as he had not long ago.

As Ernst said, being a person is already the ideal situation. Because all a person needs to cut off are their hands, feet, and body hair. But things are different when you go beyond that.

A collective is a human life, a nation is a city's life, and the land is a country's life!

Ernst didn't even need to explain anything. If Andorn were even slightly intelligent, he would have realized that this was not some "righteous, heroic self-sacrifice" at all. When he said "I do," in this context, he was making a decision on behalf of a person, a city, a nation, to send them to their deaths to save a group of unrelated people.

This is a more challenging version of the trolley problem.

As is well known, the trolley problem is unsolvable without adding any additional conditions.

For someone who is flawless in terms of public morality, this unsolvable problem of public morality is the problem that puts the most pressure on them.

After a long silence, just as Ernst, who had been resting with his eyes closed, was about to fall asleep again, Andorn finally spoke.

His expression seemed somewhat bewildered.

It wasn't that he didn't understand Ernst's words, but rather that he understood them too deeply.

He suddenly realized that even if he were to storm into the Papal Palace, find Ivangelista XI, and force him to reveal the truth about the Lateran Law, questioning why people who should be born equal are not, and whether the Lateran paradise could benefit Iberia and all of Terra, he would only have one answer for himself.

--cannot.

But this wasn't the most despairing thing for him. What truly disheartened him was another conclusion that arose from it:

If Lateran has a god, then this "cannot" is a conclusion drawn by "one person (god)" who is extremely stingy.

But if Lateran has no god, then this "cannot" is the answer that the millions of people in Lateran give him!

In that case, wouldn't it be better to have a god?

The law and God, in this way, gave his heart, which had lost its faith, a different kind of hope.

This is really...

"Then can't people do something to help others?"

Andorn's face was ashen, and his voice was hoarse as he asked the question. Ernst, seeing this, stood up with a wry smile and patted the shoulder of this rare idealist, the first person he had met on Terra who had asked him a question.

"of course can."

"Don't forget, this is just a theory. Mr. Andorn, don't let a theory discourage you from reality."

"Reality is both much more complex and much simpler than theory."

Ernst recounted each point to refute his own statement:

"In reality, some people in Yan Kingdom are fond of having beautiful beards, but when they are on the march and fighting, there are also generals who will cut off their beards to show their determination in order to boost the morale of their soldiers."

"In reality, people are not truly destitute. A mother is willing to risk her arms and limbs to catch her child falling from a high-rise building in exchange for her life."

"In reality, there are many firefighters, cavalry, and guards who are willing to risk their lives to save strangers in times of crisis."

"In reality, Ursus, Yan, Victoria, Letania, and other land-based nations have fortified cities lingering on their borders and in the far north and south. When war comes and crises break out, they are all prepared to exchange the lives of one city for the evacuation time of ten others."

"In reality, even on this cannibalistic land, when faced with threats from the scorching winds, the Infi Ice Plains, and the vast ocean, don't countries like Sami, Ursus, Yan, and Iberia stand on the front lines?"

He paused, looking at Andorn's eyes gradually regaining their light, and felt somewhat relieved:

"Ideals are ideals, and even the grandest ideals need to be put into practice in reality, otherwise they are just empty talk and daydreams. Striving for equal status between Liboli and Sakotta is not a wrong thing, but there are many ways to do it. Riots, attacks, kidnappings, and killing are one way, as are dialogue, negotiation, bargaining, and orderly protests."

"Helping others is not about cutting a piece of your cake for them, but about teaching them how to make a cake."

“I’m not really stingy. When I stood up to advise the dukes to evacuate the citizens of Londinium, it wasn’t to cut off the territory and resources of Sherag to support these people. In fact, the method wasn’t particularly clever; it’s just that no one had thought of it before, or they had thought of it but were unwilling to do it.”

"Is what you want to pursue something even more difficult than this?"

Andorn nodded knowingly, took a step back, bowed slightly to Ernst, and said, "I have learned a lot."

He suddenly felt that the Pathfinders organization shouldn't continue as a simple group for mutual support, or it should move towards becoming a KB organization that spreads rumors and destabilizes society in Lateran.

He held the title of "pioneer" in name only, but did not truly fulfill the obligations of a pioneer. Why couldn't he, like Mr. Ernst, not merely question but strive to change things? Why not unite others instead of sacrificing himself? Why not not only destroy the old order, but also, in the process of destroying it, create a new order that everyone can and is willing to accept?

Lateran may not be the paradise he desires, but it is the paradise in the hearts of many. Destroying it will not bring him any recognition or friends, but will instead attract hatred and enemies.

Therefore, what he wants to do is build a new paradise, a true earthly kingdom that conforms to Lateran doctrine, and even surpasses Lateran doctrine!

The true goal that the Pathfinders organization should strive to achieve is to build a society that can govern well even without spending a penny, a society that allows for free development without the sacrifice of anyone, and a society where equality is earned through hard work rather than empty words and fists.

This is the world that the elusive God desires; this is true liberation! This is the true gospel! This is the true will of God, deeper than the law!

He got it!

When he straightened up again, his face was radiant, as if he had countless new ideas and plans to implement. But before that, he took a deep breath, suppressed all his excitement, and solemnly requested Ernst:

"Mr. Ernst, I have one last request."

Ernst, still unaware that he had grasped something, was somewhat bewildered by Ernst's Sakorta-like erratic mood swings, but still nodded:

"you say?"

Andorn solemnly said:

"Could you introduce me to the Pope?"

Ivangelista XI, the Pope of Lateran, who held the secrets of Lateran.

Although Andorn no longer wanted to "sacrifice" Laterano to bring blessings to the poorer parts of the land, he still hoped to get that answer.

What makes Laterano different from Sarkaz? What makes Sarkaz different from Sarkaz?

And a new question arises—even if their paths diverge, could Lateran, like Sherag, become a partner on the road to realizing his grand ideals?

Ernst: ? When did I become your partner?

Sakta, you're so outgoing, aren't you!