Yeah they can just be a regular person and live reasonably well with some fun. But their personality prevents them from this. They cannot have fun with what they have. The only thing fun for them is power and control over other humans. They want this power and control, not for serving the public, but for ambition.
Of course, people's personalities can't be controlled. What can be controlled though, is what kind of people should be allowed to ascend the political ladder.
That's why the poverty alleviation program was a smart move by Xi. Putting economics, and society benefits aside for a moment, Xi's brilliance is with finding a way to integrate politics into it.
Basically, you send everyone to go to poor regions, and you select your future generational political leaders from the most outstanding cadres. How long do you think these ambitious and power hungry people can last working in the fields with almost non-existent modern conveniences
Imagine dragging a modern person from his apartment in Beijing and sending him to a random mountain village all of a sudden lol
Even the most cunning person, won't last long. They might last a few weeks, even a few months, but eventually they will crack and their mask will fall through. In the end, the remaining cadres who successfully passed this stage, you can be almost certain that each one of them, really wants to serve the people.
