When everyone is talking about long-termism, it means that there’s nothing good left in the short term. Here in our place, the concept of long-termism is nothing unusual. In a reality with limited resources, you have to queue to wash your hands, take a number to eat, be assigned a spot to attend school, wait for a lottery to buy a car, and even stand in a long line for the elevator. When life is devoid of certainty, everything must be scheduled and waited for. Ordinary people have no choice but to accept delayed gratification. When there is no comfort in the present and smoothness becomes a privilege, ordinary people can only look toward an distant future that doesn’t even exist.