Chapter 223: New Aristocracy_1

Gu Liang's accomplishments in sociology were, domestically, always considered on par with Kong Xiang, akin to the Sleeping Dragon and the Young Phoenix. Lu Qingfeng had often said that having Gu Liang as his subordinate was a waste of talent.

Therefore, at the onset of the "Reinforcement for the Future" project, Lu Qingfeng persuaded him to join.

And over a decade ago, after being awakened, he quickly took over from Lu Qingfeng and assumed the role of Minister of the Strategic Department.

Jiang Yu remarked, "Time flies; it feels like it was in another lifetime that we last sat down for a chat."

Gu Liang smiled and responded, "Time has always been humanity's greatest enemy!"

Jiang Yu chuckled and got to the point, "Today, I wanted to discuss with you the current social issues on Earth and in the Solar System State. You know about the Solar System State, right?"

"Yes, I was there at the time too. It's just that there were so many people, you didn't see me."

"That's good. I want to talk to you about the social issues on Earth and in the Solar System State, as well as future strategic directions."

Gu Liang organized his thoughts before speaking. "Let me begin with Earth.

"The Second Enlightenment Movement and other such movements were primarily about fighting for the right to subsistence.

"But looking at the current situation, these demands could very well become excessive.

"The fight for subsistence could evolve into demands for high welfare, and too much freedom isn't necessarily a good thing either."

At this point, Gu Liang sighed, "The most regrettable aspect of this new wave of thought is the complete denial of Eastern social philosophy and political systems.

"This is one manifestation of going to extremes. Eastern culture believes that everyone is a part of society, and the collective will should be placed above the individual will.

"Everyone should contribute something to society for it to improve and for everyone to benefit from it.

"Sadly, such ideas are regarded as a continuation of oppressive politics.

"The fact that this movement is labelled with Western events alone shows that it's a promotion of Western values."

Gu Liang then smiled, "Fortunately, you had already directed the Strategic Department to gather Eastern political wisdom early on. This will surely be a sharp weapon for the Solar System State in the future!"

Jiang Yu smiled faintly. He had asked Lu Qingfeng to compile the information in preparation for this day.

This was one of the advantages of being in God's View.

Previously, Jiang Yu had also warned the Star Defense Department and the Space Army, but that was when Chief Ji was the minister and Chang Weisi was the Space Force Commander.

However, from the current situation in China, it seems that Chief Ji's successors did not take Jiang Yu's warnings seriously; in fact, the subsequent Star Defense Ministers might not even be aware of them.

Gu Liang continued, "The conflicts between the different classes on Earth have only been temporarily alleviated. Although the old Solar System Defense Plan was scrapped, the old classes still exist.

"Bo Xiangdong, the Dean, saved two billion genetically modified humans. After that major epidemic, they stepped down from their pedestals, but they still control most of the resources in Earth's society.

"And those who haven't been genetically modified are still the impoverished working masses.

"Failing to break down these classes during this opportunity can pose a huge threat to Earth's future."

Jiang Yu nodded, thinking to himself how comforting it was to talk with someone from the same field who knew what he wanted to hear.

Then he fell into contemplation; in the original story, there were no classes of genetically modified humans. This could be a significant change in the future.

Although the genetically modified humans no longer dared to perform genetic modifications on their offspring, the resources and head starts in their hands could allow them to become a new privileged class.

Another point to consider is that the current Earth's population is over seven billion, which is double the number following the Great Rift Valley in the original text. This too is a significant variable.

Jiang Yu realized that from here onward, the future direction of human society might deviate. He couldn't rely too heavily on God's View anymore.

He took a sip of tea and asked, "Could you also talk about the situation in the Solar System State?"

Gu Liang nodded, "Did you notice at this morning's meeting? The core members of each department have begun to be quietly replaced by the children of officials.

"It's becoming increasingly difficult for civil servants of ordinary residence to be promoted to high positions.

"As the lifespan of residents in the Solar System State continues to increase, many will hold important positions for long periods, promoting their own people.

"This is also a great hidden danger! When ordinary residents realize that, despite their hard work and efforts, they can't change their social status over their long lives, they will become resigned to their fate and demoralized.

"The vigor and boldness that the Solar System State has accumulated over the years may vanish within a single generation, and the whole society may lose its vitality.

"What's even scarier is that this is a precursor to the formation of the New Aristocracy!"

Jiang Yu clapped his hands, "That's exactly what's been troubling me!"

He paused and then laughed, "At least I've found a like-minded person to discuss this with."

Gu Liang was also pleased, as he hadn't dared to speak openly about these concepts before, for fear of offending a lot of people.

Hearing Jiang Yu speak this way, he felt relieved. As long as the Wallfacer didn't become complacent about the current achievements of the Solar System State and maintained a cool head, these problems weren't insurmountable.

Jiang Yu took another sip of tea, "I have thought of some countermeasures. Help me think them through."

Gu Liang nodded.

"First is to increase the transparency of official appointments. The achievements of the candidates must be fully disclosed, but not a word about their family backgrounds, creating a psychological suggestion that we look at achievements, not backgrounds!"

Jiang Yu took a deep breath and continued, "This psychological suggestion is also a kind of pressure; it discourages manipulations by those appointing officials.

"The more critical point is to establish a relatively fair and just competitive order.

"Complete fairness and justice are impossible, as everyone receives different family education after birth, naturally leading to differences in abilities and advantages.

"However, we must try to ensure that the competitive order is as just and fair as possible and protect the channels for social mobility so that society always remains vibrant."

Jiang Yu paused again, "Finally, we should make use of the special environment of space to build more new colonies.

"And set a basic selection criterion: the first batch of officials for the colonies can only include those who are currently or have been in leadership positions, and this applies to only the officials themselves and their immediate family members.

"By entrusting the new colonies to new forces and continuously increasing the strength of new powers, we can effectively prevent the formation of space nobility."

Gu Liang laughed, "That last move is brilliant!"

After thinking it over, he added, "I've considered the first two points before. There should be a charter to make the assessment system more scientific and just."

Jiang Yu replied, "You all think of a way to achieve this. I will be awake for a while, so show me the results when you're ready."

Then he inquired further, "Does the Solar System State have any strategic plans for the future?"