LOL: Summoner of Goddess Janna

Livi sternly rejected Nasus' request.

Because this proposal to protect the independence of the Shurima region is in serious conflict with the underlying logic of the Janna Dominion Alliance in Runeterra.

The Runeterra Janna Lord Yi Alliance aims to break the barriers between various ethnic groups and regions in the past and realize the great unity of the people of the world through the belief of Janna Lord Yi.

How could it possibly recognize a Shurima region that was established under the logic of national sovereignty and regional sovereignty?

Nationalism, this thing may be good or bad.

When countries all over the world are doing this, you'd better do it too.

Moreover, many times you can’t do it even if you don’t want to. Just like facing the butcher knife of the Noxians, it is impossible for the Demacians not to shout "For Demacia", and it is impossible for the Ionians not to shout "Ionia will never be destroyed".

However, times have changed.

In the future, all of Runeterra will have Janna as the leader and the people of the world will unite. You, Shurima, are still here to pursue national independence and regional protection... Isn't this purely reversing the course of history?

To put it harshly:

Everyone is opening their doors to contribute to the construction of Runeterra, but you, Shurima, are keeping your doors closed to protect the region. Do you want to live without doing anything and want the whole world to benefit you?

"No, absolutely not." So Li Wei sternly refused: "The branch must obey the leadership of the general meeting, and the local area must obey the command of the central council. This is our discipline."

"Mr. Nasus, I understand what you are thinking."

Those who ascended were all from feudal rulers. If they can leapfrog to modern nationalism in one step, put aside their noble status, and treat their Shurima compatriots equally, they are already very progressive.

It is unrealistic to expect them to quickly accept the leader’s spiritual philosophy of fighting for the happiness of all mankind.

but...

"This is our belief and our bottom line. We cannot give in." Levi's tone was very serious.

The Ascended Ones must be more advanced in their thinking.

Otherwise, if we don’t change our thinking, we will have to change our people sooner or later.

"You?!" Azir heard the edge in Levi's words. He felt that his self-esteem was hurt, but he didn't want to have an attack.

So he held it in for a while and then said sarcastically: "Mr. Levi. Even the Shurima Empire, which was in its prime at that time, did not control vassal areas such as Icathia like the Wind Leader's attempt to control Shurima. "

"You leaders say that the country will perish."

"But you have established an unprecedented and powerful state machine that can cover the entire Rune Land, is more majestic than the ancient Shurima Empire - isn't this very contradictory?"

Azir didn't speak politely.

But Li Wei replied calmly: "First, I must repeat one point of correction. The leader is not any kind of old ruler."

"What you did to Icacia should be called colonial plunder. This is completely different from the alliance center's control of the place."

The Shurima people asked Icathia to pay tribute to slaves every day, but they also refused to allow the Icathians to enter the empire's ruling class and obtain the qualifications for ascension, and finally forced Icathia to rebel.

This means that from the beginning, the Icathians were not regarded as one of their own, but only treated as slaves for the empire to suck blood.

But do leaders have the selfish intention of benefiting themselves at the expense of others and favoring others over others? of course not.

"Second, your grasp of Janna's theory is not very good." Levi retorted tit for tat.

"We leaders believe that the 'country' is the product of irreconcilable class contradictions."

"So when the harmonious society of distribution according to needs comes, class conflicts will be completely resolved, and the state apparatus in the traditional sense will disappear."

"This does not mean that the state apparatus has to disappear now."

"Because distribution according to needs has not been achieved at all and class contradictions have not been eliminated."

"When you use this sentence to accuse us, it's like asking a person who is eating why he still holds the bowl when he is full and can put it down."

"Well..." Azir was speechless.

But Nasus seemed to be inspired by Azir's words.

He no longer started from the perspective of nationalism and regionalism, but took a different approach and discussed institutional issues with Li Wei:

"Mr. Li Wei, you seem to admire the leader's current centralization system very much."

"The public must obey the leadership of the association, the branches must obey the orders of the general meeting, and the local areas must obey the central command——"

"I admit that such a system is very efficient. It can concentrate its efforts on major tasks, coordinate the overall situation, and develop scientifically."

"I also know that Janna's faith determination ensures the purity of the Wind Leader team, allowing you to avoid all the disadvantages caused by the concentration of power."

"But there is one drawback that you cannot avoid - that is, saints also make mistakes, and mistakes are inevitable."

"And the current centralized system of leadership will only amplify mistakes infinitely."

You can accomplish great things by concentrating your efforts, but if you fail, it will definitely cause greater losses.

And unlimited power means unlimited responsibility. As long as something goes wrong, the public's resentment will definitely be directed at you.

Therefore, it is better to divide the powers and responsibilities together and let each region develop freely under the laws of the market. Nasus suggested.

"This..." Levi was a little surprised.

A great bachelor is worthy of being a great bachelor. He didn't expect Nasus to ask such a profound question.

This is no longer simply a discussion of the decentralization of power between local and central authorities, but a discussion of the rationality of the leader's entire centralized system.

"In fact, similar issues have also triggered discussions in the public opinion circles in the Twin Cities." Levi said.

"Oh?" Nasus raised his eyebrows in surprise: "In the twin cities where the leader has the strongest power, there is still someone who dares to question you?"

"Haha." Levi heard Nasus' hidden accusation.

He smiled and replied: "It is precisely because we are the strongest that we have absolute freedom of speech."

"..." Nasus was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh: "Indeed."

Is the Shurima Empire afraid of criticism? Won't. Because they have hundreds of Ascended Ones.

The leader is already too strong to be shaken.

And the thread of faith is there. No matter how many objections everyone usually has, they all know who to follow and who to believe in the end.

"So I respect those who oppose it. Those who can still stand up and oppose at this time are all people with true beliefs."

"The opinions they put forward may not be correct, but they can also be used as jade from other mountains, allowing us to examine and reflect on ourselves."

Levi said sincerely. He didn't pretend to be generous either.

He really respects those true opponents who have their own opinions, no matter how outrageous their opinions are.

And what he hates is just those pseudo-opposition people who act according to the prevailing circumstances.

For example, the literati at Piltover Daily.

Before the leader became successful, this group of people wrote articles every day to criticize the leader, describing the leader as a group of psychopaths who hate the rich and are the bottom scum of Zaan who want to get something for nothing.

But when the leader gained power, this group of people changed their attitude 180 degrees. They praised the leader in newspapers every day and did not dare to write even the slightest negative content...

"This kind of people are real pests." Levi commented unceremoniously: "These people used to talk about the spirit of freedom, and then they talked about Janna's righteousness. In the final analysis, they are just the flattery of power by those who admire the strong."

He criticized this phenomenon in the Twin Cities.

Therefore, under Levi's guidance, everyone discovered that the Leader did not physically eliminate dissidents like Noxus;

Nor is it like Piltover, which respects freedom of speech on the surface but secretly sends family spies to physically eliminate opponents.

Therefore, they dared to stand up and express their opinions.

"The opinions you just raised, Mr. Nasus, are the issues we have focused on."

"That is whether the current centralization of the leader is unreasonable. Is the theory of the leader as a 'vanguard' correct?"

In the Twin Cities, even within the Leaders, there are a few voices that oppose this.

Some radical leaders believe that since the state machine will eventually die, then as believers in Janna, they should artificially accelerate this process.

As long as everyone becomes a leader and has a high degree of ideological awareness, then the existence of a state machine is unnecessary.

"Do you think this is right?" Levi asked.

"This..." Nasus thought thoughtfully. These people's proposals seem to be more radical than his idea of ​​decentralization.

In the end, he chose not to stand with these radicals: "No, I don't completely agree."

"Because material determines consciousness, and social existence determines social consciousness." Nasus thought of the Ionian proverb that Taliyah once mentioned: "A solid warehouse will reveal etiquette, and having enough food and clothing will reveal honor and disgrace."

"The high level of ideological awareness that everyone can possess cannot exist alone without highly developed productive forces."

“As long as a harmonious society has not been realized and private ownership has not disappeared, there will be no situation where ‘everyone is a leader’.”

"That's right." Levi nodded.

He knew a Zaun snack bar owner who sold Demon Swamp frog meat.

That guy's theoretical foundation is extremely solid, and he is even more of a leader than a leader.

But he is just a wind chaser with shallow beliefs and cannot be regarded as a true leader at all.

There is no other reason. Just because he cares more about making money than sacrificing for the leader's beliefs.

And this kind of value cannot be eliminated before the realization of a harmonious society, and will exist widely.

Therefore, at this stage, it is almost impossible for a social system that does not require the rule of the state machine to function well and relies solely on the individual consciousness of citizens.

"I understand what you mean, Mr. Levi." Nasus did not stop retorting: "You want to tell me that the state apparatus still needs to exist."

"But you seem to have misinterpreted my question. I don't mean to question the existence of the state apparatus - I just want to say that maybe we don't need a state apparatus with such a powerful center."

Nasus questioned again.

He didn't think what Levi just said could convince him to recognize the leader as his "father".

"There's no rush, we'll analyze it step by step." Levi replied calmly.

Nasus now recognized the need for a state apparatus. So does its center need to be so powerful?

"It is needed, and it must be needed."

"The leader must be the vanguard of the struggle and the core of the leadership of the great cause."

"Why?" Nasus frowned.

"First of all." Levi replied well prepared: "You have to know that most areas of Rune Land are still in an extremely backward state of poverty and desolation."

The main enemies of the leader now are not even advanced people like the Ziben family, but warlords, nobles, landlords, masters from all walks of life...

Without strong administrative capabilities, scattered workers and peasants will not be able to organize to eliminate the old forces, and backward areas will not be able to quickly break free from their shackles and quickly move toward industrialization and modernization.

"Yes, the industrialization process of Runeterra still needs the strong leadership of the Wind Leader to promote it." Nasus recognized this point.

"But this does not necessarily mean that a powerful center is needed, right? An independent Shurima branch is also capable of completing the transformation of Shurima society and subsequent industrial development."

Nasus said confidently. Isn't it just to clean up those tribal warlords and integrate resources to develop industry?

They can do it on their own without the need for central command.

This time, Levi did not answer directly.

He looked towards the distance, where the Ionian wood weavers were working hard to restore greenness to Shurima.

"Mr. Nasus, did you know?"

"When the Wind Leader decided to organize 1,000 wood weavers to support Shurima, some people in Ionia even said that the Wind Leader was no different from Noxus. They were all bandits who came to plunder Ionia. .”

"This..." Nasus fell silent.

Levi added: "When the Leader decided to launch long-term industrialization assistance for Shurima, some workers in Zaun also had opinions."

"They believe that the leader is ruthlessly depriving them of their blood and sweat to pay 'tribute' to a feudal empire."

At first glance, what these Zaun workers said seemed to make sense.

How can the profits created by their hard work be used to subsidize a group of foreigners?

But just rephrase it: "Zaun refuses to make transfer payments to backward areas."

"Zu An's father is my father. People from other places don't come here to beg for food."

"Can you still agree with this statement?" Li Wei asked again.

"..." Nasus was even more speechless.

He understood what Levi meant.

"If there is no strong leadership from the leader center and decentralization of power to local branches, then..."

The branch will definitely give priority to being responsible to the residents in its jurisdiction and will give priority to catering to the public opinion of the residents under its jurisdiction.

"The consciousness of Lord Janna cannot awaken spontaneously in the hearts of the public. It needs to be instilled from the outside by the leader."

This does not mean that without the leader, everyone will lose their spirit of resistance and will not engage in struggle.

Resisting oppression and exploitation and fighting for one's own rights and interests are human instincts and do not need to be taught by leaders.

But this is just "fighting for one's own rights"——

What about others?

Do they care about the suffering happening in other places around the world outside of Zaun?

Some progressives do. But overall, absolutely not.

Just like Zaun now:

If public opinion is followed completely, the second-line construction plan led by the leader can be stopped now.

The wall to prevent immigration could be re-erected the next day by the defeated Zaans.

It's not that they are bad.

But now we are still in a private ownership society, and money is still very important.

This is destined to give priority to their own interests rather than others.

"If we decentralize power and let regional owners take the lead, this strange phenomenon will definitely occur:"

"The Zaun people who have been influenced by Lord Janna will have a very rebellious spirit."

"You can see in the news every day their various struggles to fight for their own rights, and then you shout in your heart, 'It deserves to be an old revolutionary base.'"

"But at the same time, these Zaun people will enjoy the rubber shipped from the Shurima slave plantations, the parts provided by the Noxian sweatshops, and the food smuggled from the Demacia noble estates with great peace of mind."

"They may talk about equality for everyone every day, but in fact they don't take much action."

"Because the branch of Zaun only needs to be responsible to the people of Zaun, and the people of Zaun only need to be responsible for their own good lives."

If this is the case, then the Wind Leader will build at most a few in Runeterra, a so-called developed area similar to Piltover.

Most areas in Runeterra will still sink into poverty and backwardness forever.

As for the unified society in Janna's theory...that is even more impossible to achieve.

"Without the leader as the core of the leadership of Janna's cause, it will be impossible to achieve great unity throughout Runeterra and build a truly unified society."

"At least at this stage of society, the public still needs the leadership of pioneers."

"Mr. Nasus, do you understand this?"

"..." Nasus pondered silently.

At this time, Levi stood up calmly: "Mr. Nasus, the 'business' is all over, it's time for me to leave."

"I hope that next time we meet, you can think about things from the perspective of a leader, rather than a Shurima leader -"

"In this case, we are truly comrades."

With that said, Levi extended his hand to Nasus in a friendly manner.

Nasus looked at Azir beside him. I saw that Azir also fell into deep thought because of the debate between the two just now.

"Yeah." Nasus sighed.

He held Levi's "little hand" with his big jackal paws, and then said in a serious tone: "I will think carefully about the issue you mentioned."

"Comrade Levi..."