Oliver's expression finally changed. His eyes widened slowly, and he looked at Shiller with a shocked expression. Shiller took a breath, smiled at him, and said, "Surprised, aren't you? I don't seem like it, do I?"
"But... aren't you... aren't you of German descent?" Oliver stammered for a while, finally managing to spit out this sentence. Suddenly, he froze again, turning to Shiller, he asked, "You weren't born in Berlin, were you? East Berlin??? Or somewhere in West Berlin close to the east???"
"You're smart, Oliver, but in fact that's irrelevant. My experience probably isn't too different from yours; you also encountered Marxism during your university years, right?"
"I'm not... I..." Oliver slightly tilted his head, saying, "I've only read some of his works, the most famous ones, and it's been a long time since..."
"Have you forgotten them?"
Oliver pursed his lips and didn't speak. After being silent for a while, he said, "As you should know, once you deeply study those theories, you'll never forget them."
Shiller smiled slightly again, saying, "I know of course, that's why I dared to tell you. But even if you're not a Marxist, the state in which you're facing these things, doesn't resemble a capitalist's descendant at all, you should be naturally enjoying all this."
"There's no such thing as 'should'!" Oliver was somewhat angry. He felt he had been humiliated. He said, "I can't decide where I was born! Given the choice, I would rather have been born in a slum than to use blood-stained money!"
Shiller revealed an anticipated expression. The reason he dared to say these things to Oliver was because he knew that in the comics, Green Arrow was a left-wing hero, an officially acknowledged Marxist who would send his fellow heroes Das Kapital for holidays.
Moreover, his Hardworking Heroes comic series with Green Lantern Hal is the most famous and influential left-wing comic series in history. It discusses many issues that don't get down to the roots and seem rather conservative, but it's still a representative comic empathizing and concerning itself with the lower class. Before this, no comic had ever discussed such real problems.
In the comics, Green Arrow decided to become a hero after returning from survival on a deserted island, witnessing the many miseries of the lower class. Although the comic didn't specifically describe this change, thought pillars can't be built in a day or two.
Therefore, Shiller speculated that Green Arrow Oliver could not have been exposed to Marxism only after returning from the deserted island; he should have read related works earlier. At least, his was a left-leaning ideology.
Although it sounds amazing that the descendant of a large capitalist family is a Marxist, it's rather normal in this era. Regardless of whether it's the old noble class or the petty bourgeoisie, those who bring their own supply of food are never scarce. Philby is a perfect example.
But evidently, Oliver is currently at a stage of confusion. The Marxist works he's read can answer theoretical questions, but they can't provide him with more effective ideological weapons. He's still in the stage of thinking out of thin air, hence the more he thinks, the more confused he becomes.
"I know you've drawn a lot of knowledge from those works. The theories will solve a lot of your problems. But in this world, problems will always outnumber solutions, such as how Mexico ended up developing like this or how we can remedy this situation."
"Perhaps, you've thought of some methods, but your inner self can't confirm whether they're too violent or feasible. Or even if they are, how can we really implement them?"
Oliver stared at Shiller. He could hear his inner voice echoing. He pursed his lips but didn't say a word, while Shiller continued,
"You feel guilty, thinking that you've drawn wealth from others' pain and death, but guilt can't motivate you down that path. If you can't nurture any real determination, no amount of self-blame will make sense."
Oliver rubbed his palms together and took quite a while before asking, "What do you think I should do? Should I read those books again? Can I find the answer in them?"
"It depends on whether you're willing to pay the price."
Oliver lifted his head, staring directly at Shiller. He heard some other implications in Shiller's tone. Oliver understood this hint. So, he started feeling a dry throat.
He took a deep breath, poured himself a large glass of water with trembling arms, and drank it all in one go. He slammed the glass hard on the coffee table; his facial muscles trembling a little.
"Are you... asking me to join? I think I...," Oliver started swallowing frantically. He knew he was making a risky decision. This could be the last step towards plummeting into the abyss, but it could also be the last second before dawn. All he knew was that at this moment, he didn't know anything, and he didn't want to know anything.
"No, I'm simply introducing you to a discipline, a theory, a method. I won't ask you to do anything. You can act as if this conversation never happened."