Chapter 55 The Real World
"Okay, don't be angry first, let's sit down and talk carefully, seriously and professionally about everything you just saw."
In a remote corner of the Hufflepuff common room, Carl and Hermione found an empty seat and sat down.
Carl gentlemanly poured a glass of pumpkin juice for the other person, then sat quietly in front of the table, clasped his hands together and spoke.
"Before we start communicating, please repeat your accusation against me."
Hermione was almost mad at this moment. She first drank some pumpkin juice to moisten her throat, and then immediately spoke angrily.
"How could you do this? Those poor house-elves are already in a miserable situation."
"You actually want him to exploit them like this, isn't this slavery? This is a matter of principle, Mr. Karl."
"And your deception. On the one hand, you said you wanted to fight for the labor rights of Professor Binns, but on the other hand, you did this. You really..."
Hermione couldn't go on. She hadn't been so angry in a long time. She had never thought about it before.
It is unbelievable that someone among my friends could do such a thing. Slavery should have disappeared from history long ago.
Why does he still exist in this world, and with such double standards, doesn't that make him a complete liar?
Karl looked at the other person, first shook his head slightly, and finally smiled disdainfully.
To be honest, if I wasn't in Hogwarts, if it weren't for the other person's current identity, he would be my classmate.
He had a strong premonition that he and Hermione would become strangers, or even enemies in the end.
In his eyes, this girl has many advantages. She is smart, professional, has a strong learning ability, and her logical reasoning and thinking skills are top-notch.
But at the same time, there are also countless shortcomings, such as the naivety of European left-wing intellectuals, their overly strong sense of morality, and their elementary understanding of things.
These are impurities that need to be corrected urgently, or must be removed.
So Carl prepared to take action, starting with morality and innocence.
He asked, sitting up straight and looking at Hermione seriously.
"Before I start my defense, let me first ask you a question: what is the purpose of any intelligent creature participating in social labor?"
Hearing this, Hermione was stunned for a moment, but quickly answered.
“To receive wages for labor and the means of subsistence.”
Such a beautiful answer made Carl nod his head involuntarily. He was indeed the smartest brain in Hogwarts.
The knowledge is broad, but this is not enough, he said dimly.
"That's a pretty standard answer, Miss Granger, but there are some flaws, one of which is very important."
"That is the social respect and status that he can obtain in the social group he belongs to."
After Carl finished speaking, Hermione instinctively wanted to refute it because it was completely different from what was in the book.
But Karl interrupted her and said forcefully.
"What I am going to say next may make you feel uncomfortable, but please listen carefully with a heart of learning."
"Because this is the truth of this world. Anyone who participates in it never demands compensation that matches the value of his labor."
“It can even be said that in this world, the value of the labor produced by the vast majority of people does not reach them.”
As he spoke, Carl began to give an example. He used optical magic to create a floating globe in the air.
Then he marked all of sub-Saharan Africa with red light, and then said.
"This is the poorest place on earth, with per capita disposable income less than $100 a year."
"You can find a guide there to take you through the most dangerous desert, and the required salary is only $1000."
"In contrast, the salary for a professional tour guide in Europe is never less than 4."
"The difference is 400 times, the value of the service provided is the same, just because one person was born in Europe and the other was born in Africa."
Having said that, Carl didn't give Hermione any chance to refute and began to turn the globe to Asia.
"This is Asia, the world's factory and labor-intensive industry cluster. Every piece of clothing you wear in the Muggle world."
"Most of it is made by people here, but you have to understand that each shirt costs about £6."
“People here get less than half a pound out of it at best, and the workers who make the clothing.”
"The salary they receive is only about 1‰ of the price of this dress."
Hermione's worldview was shattered. She had never learned such knowledge in school.
She always thought that all children were like her, and all parents in the world were like his parents.
Have a decent job and a happy family.
The girl instinctively realized that what Karl was going to say next would be much crueler than what he had just said.
Sure enough, Carl did not stop telling the story, and the rotating globe pointed to Latin America.
The tone became increasingly cruel.
"This is Latin America. In the minds of Europeans, it has the mysterious Mayan civilization, Mexican peppers and the Carnival of the Dead."
"Tropical beaches and rainforests, but what they don't know is that there are countless wars and rampant drugs here."
"And they won't tell you, even if it's these criminal projects, such as the drug trade, represented by the CIA."
"It also accounts for 90% of the profits. The world will not let go of even the wealth of crime."
"Not to mention that it is filled with other things, such as arms smuggling, human trafficking, organ smuggling, one dollar for one sexual service, etc."
"Say no more, no more."
Hermione covered her ears and shook her head desperately, as if Carl's plain narration was like the whispers of the devil.
It almost drove her crazy, but after a brief thought, she seemed to still want to protect her world which was about to be broken.
He said loudly with all his strength.
"Then why do they have to do this? Crime is wrong, and can't this world be fair?"
“Why does it have to be like this?”
When the girl spoke, tears were already hanging in the corners of her eyes, but Karl did not show any sign of softening his heart.
He really had no intention of telling the girl in front of him the truth about the world so early.
I thought about staying with him and playing role-playing games for a while longer, but let this castle continue to serve as a wonderful utopia.
But life is always more exciting than novels, and sometimes we always encounter unexpected things.
Now that it has come to this, he has no intention of stopping. It is also a good opportunity to test this smart girl.
Are you qualified to move towards the future you have planned? After all, you are in your own team.
We don't need cowards who don't even have the courage to face the real world.
So Carl suddenly burst into laughter, as if what Hermione had just said was the funniest joke in the world.
Until the sadness on the girl's face was gradually replaced by anger.
Carl suddenly stood up, opened his arms and looked at Hermione and said.
"Because no one will tell you that the only way Mexican farmers grow marijuana and poppies is to grow them."
"It is because of the cheap agricultural products from the United States that it is impossible for them to survive normally through their own labor."
"Has anyone ever told you that the poverty in sub-Saharan Africa is due to Europe's plundering of its resources and debt trap?"
“Even the collapse of the colonial system was never a sign of progress, but was simply the result of keeping the sheep in one’s own fold.”
"It is too costly to produce wool and mutton. It is better to release them back into nature, which is cheaper and more profitable."
Having said this, Carl paused, turned his head slowly, and looked down at the girl's frightened face.
Said with a smile.
"No one has ever told you that the reason you can grow up without worries is that you maintain your innocence and kindness."
"It's not because of anything else, but simply because you were born into a middle-class family in the UK, that's all."
