Joy and ADAM
While Rapture and Columbia were brought about by a need to showcase the power and ingenuity of man, Wellington Wells depicts its cowardice. This cowardice comes in a readily available pill called Joy. For those lucky enough to never be trapped in the world of We Happy Few, Joy is a drug that erases your past and provides a sense of euphoria. A person could easily bash a rat to death and feast on its innards and think nothing of it, because Joy makes it all better. Of course, Joy has led to rising bouts of paranoia and aggression as well. Those on Joy (known as Wellies) are threatened by those who choose to remember (Downers).
This creates a society where everyone is a slave to the past, either avoiding it through the use of substances or embracing it and facing crushing depression as you helplessly try to escape. The splicers in BioShock may seem just as twisted, gorging on their ADAM, but they at least knew exactly what they were getting into. They are aware of their choices and they still choose to seek their perfection. There’s a sort of honor in that, an honor that the Wellies can never hope to understand.
