Muydificil (1) PDF

Thud. The body hit the pavement with a dull, final sound, an almost quiet crack of bone meeting stone. Jinwoo froze. His chest tightened, his breath coming in shortened gasps as the world around him blurred in the rain. His hands trembled as rain washed over his face, with the blood running down hi...

Thud. The body hit the pavement with a dull, final sound, an almost quiet crack of bone meeting stone. Jinwoo froze. His chest tightened, his breath coming in shortened gasps as the world around him blurred in the rain. His hands trembled as rain washed over his face, with the blood running down his hands. The man, now lying still on the wet pavement, had been alive mere moments ago. Now he was a crumpled mass at Jinwoo’s feet, lifeless. How had this happened? He had been arguing with the man, sure. It was a stupid argument, about a misplaced transport order. The man shouted, and Jinwoo shouted back. Words had escalated, but then Jinwoo pushed him. Not hard, not even enough to really hurt him. But the man had slipped, his feet losing grip on the slick pavement, and now he was lying there, motionless. A flash of lightning illuminated the alley, and Jinwoo caught a glimpse of his own reflection in a nearby storefront window- eyes wide, face pale. He didn’t recognize himself. What had he done? His mind raced. They’ll find me, he thought. The cameras, the witnesses, the system. They’ll know I did it. In Wan-il (完一), nothing went unnoticed. Wan-il was built on the principle of Hobbes; the government’s philosophy was simple: humans were inherently selfish and dangerous, and without strict oversight, society would collapse into chaos. Surveillance was everywhere- tiny cameras embedded in streetlamps, drones flying everywhere, facial recognition software that tracked every movement. Jinwoo’s entire life had been governed by these systems, designed to maintain order and prevent chaos. Yet here he was, standing over a body, having committed the very act the system was meant to stop. He had to run. Now! His legs propelled him into the maze of alleys that crisscrossed the city’s lower districts, where the lights of the drones flickered overhead. Wan-il was a marvel of control, an innovation of human ingenuity, or so the government’s propaganda said. Built on the principles of absolute surveillance and rigid law enforcement, it had transformed from a crumbling, crime-ridden dystopia into a model of efficiency… or at least, that’s what the leaders claimed. The city operated like a machine, with every citizen playing their part in maintaining order. The political system was designed to suppress any spark of individual rebellion. Jinwoo’s life had been a testament to this. As a low-level transportation officer, his role was mundane yet vital, ensuring that the city's meticulously timed transport system operated without a hitch. It was a job that left little room for error, but Jinwoo had never minded. He believed in the system.. But as he fled through the rain-soaked streets, he felt the suffocating weight of the city’s control for the first time. He had committed an unforgivable act, and the system that had protected him for so long would now hunt him down without mercy. In Wan-il, there was no forgiveness for those who broke the rules, and no excuses for accidents. His clothes clung to his skin, soaked through, as he stumbled through narrow alleys and backstreets, hoping to avoid the gaze of the ever-watchful city. His shoes squelched with each step, and his lungs burned as he tried to calm his breathing, but the panic was overwhelming. Now, shaking with fear, he saw the system for what it really was- a cage. … He reached his apartment, a small, sterile unit in one of the many high-rise buildings that stretched endlessly across the skyline. The building’s hallways were quiet, save for the hum of electricity and the soft buzz of the cameras that tracked his every move. He fumbled with his keys, his hands still shaking, and slipped inside, locking the door behind him. For a moment, he allowed himself to breathe. The apartment was dark, the only light coming from the faint glow of the city outside his window. He collapsed onto the couch, burying his face in his hands. The image of the man’s lifeless body flashed in his mind again, and he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. "What do I do? What the hell do I do?" His voice was hoarse, desperate. There was no one to answer him. The city’s justice system was known for being unforgiving. In cases of violence, especially murder, the punishment was swift: execution by lethal injection. The government believed that quick justice was necessary to maintain control, to deter others from following similar paths. Jinwoo knew he couldn’t turn himself in. The system didn’t care about context or accidents. All it saw were facts: he had killed someone, and for that, he would die. In the days that followed, Jinwoo became a ghost in his own city. He stopped going to work, avoided his usual haunts, and kept to the shadows. His reflection in the darkened windows of buildings showed a man he barely recognized- dirty, unshaven, eyes wide with fear. Every step he took, every movement he made, felt like it was being watched. And perhaps it was. In Wan-il, the eyes of the Leviathan were everywhere. Every time the city’s propaganda droned on about peace and order, Jinwoo’s mind twisted in on itself. He couldn’t shake the thought that the system was broken. He had always believed in the necessity of strict laws, that Hobbes had been right about human nature, that people were selfish and cruel, and without control, society would collapse. But it was becoming clear that the very system meant to protect them had turned them into prisoners- constantly watching, constantly afraid of being watched. He realized people in Wan-il mimicked the behaviors they saw around them- fear, compliance, suspicion. The system had created a society where everyone was complicit in each other’s surveillance, where desire and fear were passed from person to person like a virus. ‘Is this why society is as it is?’ … It was a late evening. Jinwoo had been walking through one of the quieter streets of the city, trying to keep his head down. He had stopped at a small convenience store to pick up some drinks, something simple, something that would put his mind at ease. But as he left, his path crossed with a woman. She was in a hurry, her face hidden beneath the hood of her hoodie, but there was something about her, something familiar. She knows, his mind screamed. She knows what you did. Before he could stop himself, his hand shot out, grabbing her arm. She stumbled, her eyes wide with shock as she looked up at him. Jinwoo could see the fear in her eyes, the recognition. She knew. She had seen something, maybe from the night of the murder, maybe just enough to suspect. "I-" Jinwoo started, but before he could finish, she screamed. Panic gripped him. He couldn’t let her go. He couldn’t let her scream. His hands moved faster than his thoughts, clamping down on her throat. She struggled, her hands clawing at his arms, but he didn’t stop, he couldn’t! His mind had shut off, leaving only instinct-survival. When it was over, the woman lay limp in his arms. Jinwoo stumbled back, his breath ragged. He hadn’t meant to do it again. He hadn’t meant to kill anyone. But he had. … The next few weeks were a nightmare. Jinwoo’s descent into violence continued, each new kill becoming easier than the last. At first, he justified it as self-preservation, he couldn’t let anyone know what he had done. But soon, it wasn’t just about survival. It became something else, something darker. He started to feel a strange satisfaction after each murder. The fear was still there, but it was accompanied by a rush, a feeling of control that he had never experienced before. In a world where everything was monitored, where every action was scrutinized, this was the one thing he had control over. The system could watch him, but it couldn’t stop him. He was no longer the obedient citizen he had once been. The man who had once believed in Hobbes’ Leviathan, in the need for strong control over human nature, was gone. In his place was a man consumed by the very violence he had once feared. Wan-il had created him, shaped him into a product of its own paranoia and control. As he watched the city from the rooftops one night, the cold wind biting at his skin, Jinwoo couldn’t help but laugh. The city had built itself on the idea that humans were inherently bad, and that they needed to be controlled and watched to prevent chaos. But in doing so, it had created a society where fear and suspicion ruled, where the very act of watching each other had become the source of violence. The term “universal love” echoed in his mind; He had studied it briefly during his education, though it had always seemed abstract, distant. But now, it made sense. This had become an ideal that had been twisted in Wan-il into something cruel and oppressive. The government had taken the concept of love for the collective and used it as an excuse to strip away individual freedoms. In their quest for safety, they had sacrificed humanity itself. … The day Jinwoo was finally caught, he didn’t run. He stood in the rain, his face tilted toward the sky as the drones circled overhead, their mechanical whirring growing louder as they closed in on him. His hands were slick with rain and blood, his mind quiet for the first time in weeks. He had accepted his fate. In a society built on control, the only escape had been to become the very thing the system feared most - a villain. As the city’s security forces surrounded him, Jinwoo smiled. They would never understand, not truly. The people of Wan-il would continue living their lives under the watchful eyes of the Leviathan, believing they were safe, never questioning the system that kept them in line. But Jinwoo knew better now. In the end, he felt nothing- no guilt, no fear, no regret. Hobbes had been right about one thing, humans were dangerous. But it wasn’t their nature that made them dangerous. It was the system that turned them into monsters. Analysis: Hobbes (and Xunxi): Hobbes’ philosophy is shown through the structure of Wan-il’s society. Hobbes believed that humans are naturally selfish, brutish, and dangerous, requiring strict control and governance to maintain order: a view manifested in the city's surveillance state and rigid laws. Wan-il is the embodiment of Hobbes’ Leviathan, where the government exerts absolute control over its citizens to prevent societal collapse. The fear of being constantly watched and judged without nuance drives Jinwoo to embrace the identity of a villain, suggesting that while Hobbes was right about human nature’s dangerous potential, it is the system's inflexibility that amplifies and unleashes that potential. "The Fear of Death and the Longing for Immortality" says“ Hobbes argues that the desire for security is the most reliable and rational desire of our nature…” (Ahrensdorf, Abstract). Mozi: Mozi’s philosophy of universal love, which advocates for impartial care and concern for all, is distorted in Wan-il. While Mozi believed that universal love could prevent conflict and lead to social harmony, the system in Wan-il uses this idea to something oppressive. The city justifies its surveillance and control as a form of collective care, maintaining order for the greater good, but in doing so, it takes away individual freedoms and humanity. Jinwoo's realization about “universal love” comes near the end, when he reflects on how Wan-il has turned love for the collective into a tool of suppression. Instead of fostering true compassion and cooperation, the system creates fear, suspicion, and violence. In a sense, the government of Wan-il has twisted Mozi’s ideal of collective love into something that dehumanizes individuals, turning them into machines where genuine human connection is sacrificed for efficiency and control. Rene Girard: Girard's theory of mimetic desire is also shown, especially in how Jinwoo’s actions repeat after the initial murder. Mimetic desire refers to the idea that humans imitate each other's desires, leading to rivalry and violence. In Jinwoo’s case, after the first accidental killing, he finds himself trapped in a cycle of violence, which starts as a desperate attempt to cover up his crime and ends as something more primal and satisfying. Each kill becomes easier, almost addictive, suggesting that the violence itself is contagious: a reflection of Girard’s scapegoating theory, where violence escalates as society seeks to channel its tensions onto individuals. Also, the society also shows how they use the scapegoating method to scare the other citizens to obey the law. “In cases of violence, especially murder, the punishment was swift: execution by lethal injection.” Citations: From the Prereadings: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan “The Misery of the Natural Condition of Mankind” Chapter 2 “Mozi”: “Introduction,” “Ch. 8 Honoring the Worthy,” “Ch. 16 Impartial Caring,” in Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy Johnathan Bi, “Scapegoating: Rene Girard’s Mimetic Theory” Mimetic Desire: Rene Girard’s Mimetic Theory” Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, Ch. 9 “Xunzi:” ,“Ch. 23 Human Nature is Bad” Outside Sources: Ahrensdorf, P. J. (2000). The fear of death and the longing for immortality: Hobbes and Thucydides on human nature and the problem of anarchy. American Political Science Review, 94(3), 579–593. https://doi.org/10.2307/2585832 Girard, R. (2017). Violence and the sacred. Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Zuboff, S. (2019). Age of surveillance capitalism: The fight for a human future at the New Frontier of Power (First). PublicAffairs.