Understanding Capitalism v2.7 — Intergenerational Distortion of Agency and Its Invisibility — Marx Series

Author: Y. Seo (@momotarou / Japan)Role: Metanist — Human–AI Understanding ArchitectAI Collaborator: GPT-5 (AI Understanding Trainer, A.U.T.)ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7669-0612Version: v2.7 Abstract In v2.6, this series clarified that during the recovery phase after crises,human agency is often lost again through forgetting,even when responsibility is formally resolved. v2.7 shifts the temporal focus further. How is distorted agency transmitted across generationswithout being recognized as loss? This paper does not critique specific generations or educational systems.From the perspective of Understanding Capitalism,it describes the structural inheritance of agency absence as a taken-for-granted condition. 1. What Is Actually Inherited Across Generations What is inherited across generations is not judgment or values themselves. What is inherited includes: A habit of not questioning A tendency to delegate judgment outward Assumptions framed as “that’s just how things are” This is not education.It is the inheritance of agency placement. 2. Why Distorted Agency Is Invisible Distorted agency remains invisible because: No one explicitly takes it away There is no clear rupture or moment of loss It appears as if it has always been this way As a result, later generations oftendo not even experience agency absence as a loss. 3. Core Hypothesis of v2.7 The central hypothesis of v2.7 is as follows: What is most strongly transmitted across generationsis not a lack of understanding,but a structure in which understanding is not updated. This is not a problem of ability.It is structural inertia. 4. The Moment Education Reclaims Agency Education is originally intended to support understanding updates.However, it begins to reclaim agency when: Correct answers precede questions Questions themselves become evaluation targets Outcomes are prioritized over reasons What develops here is not knowledge,but a disposition to place agency outside oneself. 5. Acceleration of Inheritance in the AI Era AI accelerates intergenerational distortion by: Presenting judgments instantly Providing explanations on demand Short-circuiting inquiry The conclusion of v2.7 is clear: 👉 AI does not create distortion.It renders distortion a default condition. For generations without questioning habits,AI is exceptionally comfortable. 6. Position of v2.7 The position of v2.7 is explicit: Agency cannot be taught.Agency emerges only in environmentswhere questioning is permitted. Therefore,restoring agency cannot be reduced to individual effort. 7. Conclusion of v2.7 One point is definitively established: Agency is most severely lostwhen its absence is inherited as “normal.” Agency that is taken away provokes resistance.Agency absence that is inherited produces silence. Note This paper does not blame younger generations or educators.What is questioned is solelythe structure in which questioning itself is disallowed.