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For The Benefit of Mankind
Part of the Wandering Earth Short Stories book, ‘For The Benefit Of Mankind’ tells us about an assassin of the highest order and his most unusual contract. Normally his targets are the rich or powerful, people that others want removed, but this time he has been employed to kill poor people. Mind you, aliens known simply as the Elder Brothers have arrived and there are changes afoot if humanity is to survive.
59 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
June 18, 2021
Liu Cixin is an unadulterated genius, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
If someone wrote poetry in mathematical progression, in the backdrop of a scientific revolution, with social experiments thrown in just for the sake of it, you might get something close to him. Even then I'm not sure.
Simple concept brilliantly done. Take a bow, maestro.
If someone wrote poetry in mathematical progression, in the backdrop of a scientific revolution, with social experiments thrown in just for the sake of it, you might get something close to him. Even then I'm not sure.
Simple concept brilliantly done. Take a bow, maestro.
August 10, 2020
The Wages of Humanity was a short story that managed to pull my three-point-five-star rating up to a four-star rating. It started a bit slowly, and it took a while for me to become invested. However, once it was moving, I was intrigued. It’s a story that gets the reader thinking, one that contains more than appears on the surface.
Without a doubt, this quick read is more than worth devouring.
Without a doubt, this quick read is more than worth devouring.
March 20, 2022
Capitalism at its prime
August 4, 2016
Income inequality scifi
August 25, 2024
This is a flat out communist propaganda! The fate that was brought on the elder brothers by the “inequality” of capitalism, would be brought on/ had been brought on people by communist governments by design and in record times! Liu Cixin is one of the most creative writers I’ve come across, but it’s clear, from this story and other stories, that he is in total alignment with the globalists agenda that are unfolding before our eyes in real time.
January 2, 2023
Yet another amazing sf short story from Liu Cixin. The story explores what happens when capitalism is taken to its extreme. Completely mind bending and thought provoking ideas.
June 29, 2020
I'm lucky to be alive. I was running while listening to this book and it took a lot of willpower to not jump into oncoming traffic to make the stupidity stop.
Even if you overlook the ridiculous premise, the storytelling was simply atrocious. We jump around between essentially unrelated subplots before getting one stupid 'twist' after another. The protagonist was a lifeless cliche whose pitiful attempts at backstory were laughable at best. The rest of the characters were equally hollow who said and did things that made no sense, even within the context of the setting. And what annoyed me the most was that the antagonistic force that set the 'main' plot of the story in motion would have seen through the frankly idiotic attempt to 'game' their moronic system.
Even if you overlook the ridiculous premise, the storytelling was simply atrocious. We jump around between essentially unrelated subplots before getting one stupid 'twist' after another. The protagonist was a lifeless cliche whose pitiful attempts at backstory were laughable at best. The rest of the characters were equally hollow who said and did things that made no sense, even within the context of the setting. And what annoyed me the most was that the antagonistic force that set the 'main' plot of the story in motion would have seen through the frankly idiotic attempt to 'game' their moronic system.
January 8, 2018
Bewildering yet again. Fulfilled all my expectations. I just cannot get over how genius this author is.
Another thrilling tale that keeps you wondering. Once more, my only disappointment was to know there is not more material on this.
Another thrilling tale that keeps you wondering. Once more, my only disappointment was to know there is not more material on this.
August 17, 2020
This is a dystopia showing what can happen if the gap between the rich and poor grows to the extreme. And what will be if the AI does everything and most people become useless.
When greed is the only merit, being opposite to greed becomes a crime punishable to death.
When greed is the only merit, being opposite to greed becomes a crime punishable to death.
December 23, 2021
What the billionnaires did in the short story is beguiling. But the entire short story looks like an abominable propaganda by Marxists and Maoists, particularly the preposterous description by the man from the Earth No. 1.
March 31, 2015
Interesting companion to Taking Care of the Gods but ultimately wasn't swayed.
February 14, 2023
Collected in The Wandering Earth: Classic Science Fiction Collection, this story is also titled For the Benefit of All Mankind. The first half of this story is all about Smoothbore and how he was recruited, then trained to become an assassin at some secret Assassin academy where he learns some basic tenets, like don't let your clients and units (targets or marks) get too close to each other, and the gun NEVER asks questions or takes sides, just does its job. All very cold blooded. This arc reminded me of the anime Assassination Classroom, except the kids and teachers aren't as charming.
So he grows up, things happen and we get to the present day. 13 members of the Standing Committee of the Council for Liquidation of Social Wealth give him a job to kill 3 extremely nondescript people. He recognizes the bosses, extremely wealthy capitalists but not the intended targets. As Smoothbore surveils the targets, all of whom are poor people, he begins to question why they've been selected. He breaks another rule and the council let him "ride along" on their mission as they distribute wealth. He figures it out.
“My paintings describe poverty and death. If I became a millionaire overnight, my art would die.”
Eventually there's a very telling conversation with an alien that puts everything into perspective.
“And that is the story of First Earth, the story of two billion poor people and one rich man.”
“If you did not intervene, would our world repeat this tale?” Smoothbore asked after the First Earthling finished his narration.
“I do not know. Perhaps, but perhaps not. The course of a civilization is like the fate of an individual - fickle and impossible to predict.”
At this point I felt the author switched directions so many times I was going to get whiplash from all the plot twists. Part of me felt the alien's world was extremely unjust because Capitalism got to the point where even air and water were unaffordable (!!!) but the thinly veiled excuse to extol the virtues of communism is equally as bad.
Liu Cixin thus leaves it up to the reader to decide which position our morality will take. That's why this is a 5⭐ story because it made me think about stuff I normally don't want to think about. I was kind of sad to realize things COULD go this far, since we do live in a capitalist society where those without money are constantly being preyed on and treated badly.
There is wealth inequality, which causes resentment, riots and death. There is also proof that giving everyone freebies to "level the playing field" doesn't help society progress as we just get a bunch of lazy, entitled, useless, non-productive humans. The real answer should be something in between, but humanity hasn't quite figured out the solution to this problem yet.
So he grows up, things happen and we get to the present day. 13 members of the Standing Committee of the Council for Liquidation of Social Wealth give him a job to kill 3 extremely nondescript people. He recognizes the bosses, extremely wealthy capitalists but not the intended targets. As Smoothbore surveils the targets, all of whom are poor people, he begins to question why they've been selected. He breaks another rule and the council let him "ride along" on their mission as they distribute wealth. He figures it out.
“My paintings describe poverty and death. If I became a millionaire overnight, my art would die.”
Eventually there's a very telling conversation with an alien that puts everything into perspective.
“And that is the story of First Earth, the story of two billion poor people and one rich man.”
“If you did not intervene, would our world repeat this tale?” Smoothbore asked after the First Earthling finished his narration.
“I do not know. Perhaps, but perhaps not. The course of a civilization is like the fate of an individual - fickle and impossible to predict.”
At this point I felt the author switched directions so many times I was going to get whiplash from all the plot twists. Part of me felt the alien's world was extremely unjust because Capitalism got to the point where even air and water were unaffordable (!!!) but the thinly veiled excuse to extol the virtues of communism is equally as bad.
Liu Cixin thus leaves it up to the reader to decide which position our morality will take. That's why this is a 5⭐ story because it made me think about stuff I normally don't want to think about. I was kind of sad to realize things COULD go this far, since we do live in a capitalist society where those without money are constantly being preyed on and treated badly.
There is wealth inequality, which causes resentment, riots and death. There is also proof that giving everyone freebies to "level the playing field" doesn't help society progress as we just get a bunch of lazy, entitled, useless, non-productive humans. The real answer should be something in between, but humanity hasn't quite figured out the solution to this problem yet.
July 17, 2022
Pedantic, heavy handed Marxist screed. Characters vey cardboard cut out and undeveloped. Stone cold killer with a crack in his emotional armour. Ruthless, self-satisfied business people convinced of their own virtue with standard Marxist justifications for their actions. Criminals equated with business moguls. Pure, honourable saintly poor. Then that really OTT, way-too-on-the-nose and overlong monologue at the end in case you missed the blunt "Capitalism bad, communism the best" message that was already way too obvious.
Nothing interesting or clever about the sci-fi premise except, maybe, the idea that there are other earths out there and the fastest to tech would come to devour the others. So all in all, terrible story and a waste of university level study.
The messages are blunt and simplistic. If the rich would just give everything away, then the world would be perfect and we could all be equal and that would be paradise. Seems like it was written by a 10 year old.
Disappointing considering all the good things I've heard about this author.
Nothing interesting or clever about the sci-fi premise except, maybe, the idea that there are other earths out there and the fastest to tech would come to devour the others. So all in all, terrible story and a waste of university level study.
The messages are blunt and simplistic. If the rich would just give everything away, then the world would be perfect and we could all be equal and that would be paradise. Seems like it was written by a 10 year old.
Disappointing considering all the good things I've heard about this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2022
read for eng102
CRAZY. if the matrix and animal farm had a baby, this would be it. why could i imagine this actually happening.
"killing others became a pleasure for smoothbore, more addictive than any drug. he lived to smash the delicate jade vessels called 'humans', to watch the red liquid contained within gush out and cool to room temperature. that alone was the truth – that any warmth in that liquid was only ever a charade."
"the rich and the poor were no longer the same species. the rich were as different to the poor as the poor were to dogs. the poor were no longer people."
CRAZY. if the matrix and animal farm had a baby, this would be it. why could i imagine this actually happening.
"killing others became a pleasure for smoothbore, more addictive than any drug. he lived to smash the delicate jade vessels called 'humans', to watch the red liquid contained within gush out and cool to room temperature. that alone was the truth – that any warmth in that liquid was only ever a charade."
"the rich and the poor were no longer the same species. the rich were as different to the poor as the poor were to dogs. the poor were no longer people."
February 29, 2020
Smoothbore's back story was fun to read, but it seemed kind of irrelevant overall. I get that they wanted to portray him as an cold hard operator capable of turning on his employers, but perhaps the amount of detail was not necessary.
The Last Capitalist portion of this story was great. It was genuinely hilarious to me. Capitalism taken to its absolute extreme! I just hope the author realizes how absurd this depiction of Capitalism is.
The Last Capitalist portion of this story was great. It was genuinely hilarious to me. Capitalism taken to its absolute extreme! I just hope the author realizes how absurd this depiction of Capitalism is.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2021
Refreshingly different from Cixin's other short stories, but still characteristically written.
November 18, 2021
Really lofty intellectual ideas - he perhaps tries to tackle too much at once, but he’s got a really fresh voice and take on society that I’ll allow it.
July 20, 2022
A simple story about the rich and the poor told to a devoted assassin by an alien from the Elder Brother planet.
September 19, 2022
read for uni
October 20, 2022
Todo bueno con Cixin Liu! Increíble
January 26, 2023
Cixin Liu loves to punish humanity with a trip to Australia
July 17, 2023
Heavy-handed social justice scenario (which comes across inauthentic given the author's political views)
January 10, 2024
A perfectly Cixin-esque reduction of capitalism ad absurdum on an interplanetary scale. Do we expect anything less??
January 27, 2024
made me feel bleak out of my mind but the hitman thing was fun at least
Read
October 2, 2025because why was this actually peak
January 21, 2017
Liu's writing style is always enthralling...
August 28, 2022
Genius.
November 25, 2019
An OK book. Not a very “Sci-Fi” story. A few unique ideas but gets predictable often. Lacks character development. 2.5/5.0.
April 16, 2024
This story was a refreshing take on wealth inequality
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews