usatvline Chapter 318: Man can conquer nature
Chapter 318: Man can conquer nature
"No! They are all commodities in the eyes of capitalists." Lin Jingzhe said with cold eyes.
"Oh my god! Kids have lunch loans. They've been around since the early 20th century, and they were number one in the world back then." Lin Xingzhi was stunned, then explained, "Lunch loans are loans from Congress to schools, which then order and prepare food for students. If a family can't afford the expensive lunches, a financial company will provide the loan, which accrues interest and students are required to repay after graduation. The original intention of this loan was to solve student hunger, but it actually increases students' financial burden."
"My mother's approach to solving the problem of food for poor students is completely different. She subsidizes schools, gives them money, or tops up their meal cards." Lin Jingzhe said with a gentle look in his eyes, "Children in mountainous areas get free lunch. No matter how poor we are, we must not neglect education, and no matter how hard it is, we must not let our children suffer." His eyes moved as he continued, "I'm afraid of hurting the children's self-esteem, so I directly check their spending statistics in the background and quietly deposit subsidies into the poor students' meal cards."
"I know!" Lin Xingzhi nodded seriously. "Our student loans are interest-free and can be repaid after graduation. The interest rate is not high. You can pay it back in two or three years at the fastest, or five or six years at the slowest. Americans pay off their college loans for a lifetime."
Lin Jingzhe snorted softly, "What's so strange about this? During the Great Depression of 1934, capitalists would rather pour out the milk than give it to the workers. Official statistics show that 70,000 to 80,000 people died." Lin Jingzhe said calmly, "I've forgotten what I learned in the textbooks!"
"I haven't forgotten it, I just haven't seen it. It was a long time ago, so the impact was small. Now it's the 21st century, and agriculture has been modernized." Lin Xingzhi said with emotion.
"So what if it's modernized and mechanized? Capitalists would rather export than sell at low prices to their own people." Lin Jingzhe snorted. "American capital controls the land in Brazil. Brazilians can't afford to buy their own food, so they starve. That's why there are so many slums. India is the same. They don't have enough food themselves, yet they still export food."
"The caste system means over a billion people aren't considered human beings," Lin Xingzhi said with a cold gaze. "The most terrifying thing is that people still sell blood to support their families. It's like Xu Sanguan has returned." He continued, "I found a comic book published in the US in 76 that actually encourages blue-collar workers to sell blood for a living."
"In the 2006 movie 'The Pursuit of Happyness', poor people made a living by selling blood. Why are you so surprised?" Lin Jingzhe said with a deep gaze.
"I thought it was a minority, but who knew it was such a common phenomenon?" Lin Xingzhi said after swallowing.
"Now that the three major American automakers are playing with finance, blue-collar workers are suffering even more," Lin Jingzhe said with a raised eyebrow. "It's more like a shift away from the real economy and towards the virtual economy, with industry hollowing out and more of the middle class sliding into poverty."
"Can American manufacturing ever come back? Just like Detroit, the auto city, can it regain its former glory?" Lin Xingzhi said with some concern. "I hope it continues to rot."
"No! Industrialization requires engineers and skilled workers, and it takes time to train them." Lin Jingzhe rolled his eyes gracefully and said, "You can check how many locals are in science and engineering departments at American universities."
"Haha..." Lin Xingzhi shook his head and laughed, "A lot of Chinese and Indians."
"The Americans don't know how to industrialize at all. Back then, Europe and the United States industrialized after the Age of Discovery, a period of scientific innovation that was largely accidental. They discovered technology first, then industrialization, and then used this advantage to expand their lead with massive, violent warships and powerful artillery, ultimately colonizing the globe." Lin Jingzhe's dark eyes pierced his mind, "Why the Age of Discovery?"
"It's because the Middle East is holding Europe and Asia back that people are risking their lives to sail in order to survive." Lin Xingzhi said with his starry eyes blinking.
"So Western industrialization was a natural process. The benefits of science and technology itself drove social development." Lin Jingzhe said with a cold look in his eyes. "It wasn't that these countries took the initiative to do anything." He raised his eyebrows slightly. "In ancient times, we built the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, the Zhengguo Canal, and the Grand Canal. We irrigated the land and turned rivers and marshes into fertile fields. These were all proactive transformations. We believe that man can conquer nature."
"I kind of understand. They're all passive, or driven by capital interests." Lin Xingzhi's eyes flickered as he said, "The technological boom in the US after World War II was due to technology and capital brought in by Europe. Yet, he thinks he's so great, because of his racial advantage."
"Industrialization appeared out of nowhere during the thousand years of darkness in the Middle Ages. Do you believe it?" Lin Jingzhe said with eyes frozen like ice.
"Weiwei said that if you go to the museum, you'll see that our technological changes are continuous, without interruption." Lin Xingzhi said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "We have so many books summarizing science and technology in ancient times."
"The Yongle Encyclopedia is a library that summarizes the scientific knowledge of our ancestors, with diagrams and illustrations." Lin Jingzhe said with a cold look in his eyes, "There were many missionaries in the Ming and Qing dynasties."
"They stole it back." Lin Xingzhi said with a sullen face, clenching his fists. Then he added, "You need evidence to prove this."
"Some things are common sense. There were no apples in Britain during Newton's time. When Watt invented the steam engine, people didn't drink hot water in Britain, so where would they get kettles? Let them use carbon 14 dating! Don't they believe in science? We have to do carbon 14 dating on all our cultural relics, and we have to send the extracts to Europe and the United States for processing?" Lin Jingzhe raised his eyebrows and snorted coldly, "They definitely wouldn't dare. Just look at some ancient Western buildings. Would they dare?" He then said, "Where is the American Declaration of Independence stored?"
"The American National Archives are housed in a sealed, bulletproof and moisture-proof display cabinet," Lin Xingzhi said with a gentle gaze. "I went to see it specifically during my study tour."
"It's only been over 200 years, so it must have been well-preserved! But the writing has faded." Lin Jingzhe said with a deep gaze, "The writing on those Greek masterpieces that have been stored for thousands of years is still clearly visible. It's amazing!"
Lin Xingzhi narrowed his eyes slightly and fell into deep thought.
"One person can write millions, even tens of millions, of words. Even Confucius's Analects were written by his disciples," Lin Jingzhe said sarcastically. "Our Analects only has a little over 15,000 words, while we have the Hundred Schools of Thought. They, on the other hand, can cover dozens of disciplines. They're truly remarkable. This person didn't exist before the 13th century. He doesn't appear in any Western literature. He just suddenly appeared."
"This can't be said? It will subvert the Western-centrism." Lin Xingzhi sat up straight and said.