Chapter 998 High Tower Contest (32)_2

Batman had never heard Shiller speak in such a sharp and extreme tone. He didn't even know whether Shiller was expressing his political standpoint or emphasising their differences.

"But I never thought about exploiting workers." Batman looked at Shiller and said, "I pay them on time, never in arrears, and even worldwide, the employee benefits at Wayne Enterprises are among the best."

"But the existence of the bourgeoisie is evil." Shiller did not retreat an inch, he said, "Haven't you noticed?"

Shiller took a deep breath, raised his head, then dropped it again to say, "Let's not talk about reality, but take the mines as an example."

"You should have heard what the Red Devil just said. Do you think what he did is right? To grovel, put on airs, seize power, oppress others, is that what you want?"

Before Batman could answer, Shiller spoke for him: "Of course not. Neither you nor us would want such people in our ranks. So why do such people emerge?"

Shiller looked at Batman, waiting for his response. Batman pondered for a while, then said, "Because of power. With power comes the desire for power, and among them, those with weak morals, who stop at nothing, would seize power in unjust ways, oppressing others."

Shiller nodded and then asked, "So where does power come from?"

Batman frowned. His mind, filled with wisdom, immediately grasped the key point, but he didn't know what word to use to express his idea. So he said ambiguously, "Because of 'difference', I don't mean physical strength or size, but status."

"We use a more precise term to illustrate this 'difference': it's called 'class'." Shiller looked seriously at Batman and said, "On a narrow scale, power comes from the gap in class, so where does class stem from?"

Batman's eyebrows were locked, he took a long silence, then finally said, "Because of what each possess."

"The 'possessions' you refer to, we also have a term to define it, that's called 'capital'. Different amounts of owned capital, leads to various classes in the society, and power is one of the manifestations of class."

"The opposite of power is not responsibility, but class. The 'greater the power, the greater the responsibility' is a product of capitalism deliberately avoiding the topic of class, deliberately confusing concepts."

"Power will never be accountable to responsibility, it stems from class, thus it can only be accountable to class. Power is, and only is, a tool to maintain class."

Shiller made his logic very clear, so Batman understood what he meant to say. Looking at Batman, Shiller said, "The existence of classes is the root of all inequality, so our ultimate goal is to eliminate classes."

"But class is defined by the amount of capital one owns; where do you think you fall in that spectrum?"

Batman didn't answer, but he knew that Shiller didn't need an answer. The question was simply too straightforward; no matter if it was in hell or in reality, Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, was a capitalist who owned a massive amount of capital.

"Are you implying that the emergence of people like Moron is because of me? Even without power, his evil will lead him to harm others by other means." Batman pointed out a loophole.

"The issue you're bringing up is a legal one, or a question of the ultimate form of human society. We've discussed this before, but not in depth. Let's not talk about it today, because it's irrelevant to the answer you're looking for."

"You said the Red Devil is the brave one, the proletariat resisting heroically, but you also didn't deny that they are evil beings who benefit from power and class superiority. Isn't this a contradiction?" Batman quickly grabbed another loophole.

"This is the contradiction between action and intention. From a behavioral viewpoint, they are doing exactly what you and Merkel need them to do. They have independent thinking, the ability to put thoughts into actions, ambition and desires, and they are willing to make efforts for their own and their obtainable interests."

"Don't you think this is the exact opposite of the numbness you despise? It's just that from a human moral standpoint, they lack conscience, violated the social norms, and haven't completely violated them."

Shiller turned to look at the field where two Red Devils were already chiseling the Shadow Ore. However, due to the unique properties of the Shadow Ore, they were unable to harm the Hexagon hidden within it for the moment.

"Did you send the Shadow Monster to the battlefield?" Shiller asked.

"The Shadow Monster is not suitable for the battlefield." Batman's tone seemed a bit anxious. He knew what Shiller was about to bring up, but didn't know which old account he was referring to. He said, "This race is not suitable for battle, and besides, Hexagon's foot injury hasn't healed."

To his surprise, Shiller nodded without saying anything, but then he pointed out, "Did you let him join the working group?"

"His foot injury hasn't healed, he's not suitable for work." Batman replied again.

"Did he tell you this?" Shiller looked at Batman and asked, "Did he

tell you that he couldn't join the battlefield or work, so he needed you to pull strings for him?"

Batman shook his head, and Shiller turned his head back, looked down, then said, "Are you sure you're not exploiting your workers?"

"You use the power gained from the difference in class status to exempt your friend, that is, the Shadow Monster, from the hardship of combat and labor. But at the same time, the responsibility he did not undertake will be shared by others."

"Why do you make them fight?" Shiller raised another question, then answered, "For victory? What is victory for?"

Instead of placing himself in Hell, Batman put himself in Gotham, so he answered, "I wish they could live happily."

"But if victory belongs only to you, they will never have a happy life." Shiller seemed to have lost his patience of explaining slowly, so he blurted out,

"You won, but nothing will change, the people will not lead a happy life, because the victory does not truly belong to the people."

"The biggest obstacle between the people and victory, and the happy life you want..." Shiller stared into Batman's eyes and said, "is you yourself."