This society has countless opportunities that drive countless poor people crazy, and then once they get carried away, they are ruthlessly harvested. Why do the poor go crazy and then get harvested? Mr. Lu Xun's "Crawling and Bumping" embodies this point.
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E7%88%AC%E5%92%8C%E6%92%9E
There are two paths for people at the bottom of society. Those who can make it out in today's society fall into two categories: the "Roll Kings" and the "Wild Path." The Roll Kings, needless to say, are more capable and work harder than you. They have been top students since childhood, hold various leadership roles in organizations, learn multiple languages, and are energetic and tireless. They are also imaginative, daring to think and act without fear of getting their hands dirty, and full of drive. Therefore, they can access higher quality resources.
The other type is the Wild Path: using unscrupulous means to realize the dream of sudden wealth.
Those who dare to exploit others, the big influencers and various self-media celebrities. They often refer to their audience as "family," unaware that "family" and "family" are just a word apart, yet worlds apart. They carve out bloody paths through the evils of human nature and the exploitation of others. Mr. Lu Xun had already articulated these two paths in his essay "Crawling and Bumping" in the previous era.
Regarding these two phenomena, Mr. Lu Xun said that this is a habit that has existed since ancient times in the old society, not subject to human will. The poor always strive to crawl upwards, aiming to reach the status of the wealthy. Slaves also strive to climb up, seeking to reach the status of their masters. But interestingly, although few can actually climb up, everyone believes that the ones who can are themselves.
Only by providing this false hope can everyone be content to farm and toil, to pick up dung. Nowadays, farming has turned into working overtime under the 996 system to exchange for houses and cars. But with so many trying to climb, and only one path, it is bound to be very crowded. Honest people climb step by step according to the rules. Meanwhile, clever people start to push others aside, knocking them down, stepping on them, kicking their shoulders and heads to climb up. Most people are still just climbing, convinced that their enemies are not above them. The real problem is that the common people are too lowly positioned to see the heights. Therefore, they do not blame those who build this heavenly ladder but rather complain about those who are climbing alongside them, occupying their spots. So most people endure everything, trying to climb up step by step, only to be pushed down, then climb up again, endlessly.
Climbing up is too hard, so what to do? Some people turn dark, and someone behind you says: "Bump." With legs still trembling, they bump forward. This is much easier than climbing; no strength is needed. If you bump well, it's 500,000 yuan, with money, power, and everything, a single move to change fate. If you bump poorly, you just fall down a level, but what does that matter? They were already lying on the ground, and some people are just bumping for fun, not afraid of falling at all. Climb a bit, roll a bit, bump a bit, fight a bit. The wheels of the times roll forward; looking at technology and material, we have indeed changed a lot. Looking at thoughts and concepts, I personally feel that Mr. Lu Xun is still the same Lu Xun, writing with piercing insight and speaking with cruelty. "Crawling and Bumping" captures the bitterness of ordinary people at the bottom.