I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 188

Became a Hidden Tycoon of the British Empire 188

I Hate the Communist Party (2)

Turns out, I, who possess the greatest wealth in the world, am the hope of communism?

Staring blankly at Engels, who was spouting nonsense that wouldn’t even qualify as third-rate trash, I watched him calm down and clear his throat.

However, perhaps misunderstanding my dumbfounded gaze, he abruptly changed the subject.

“Ah, I was too excited and committed a discourtesy. It must be difficult for Your Highness to understand the unfamiliar concept of communism.”

No, I understand it very well.

I probably know it better than you guys, who are just now concretizing the concept of communism.

What’s absurd is why I’m suddenly being singled out as the standard-bearer of that communism.

“Communism is a concept already haunting Europe. My friend Marx and I are working to concretize this concept and establish it as a theory. In simple terms, communism is about liberating the working class in the truest sense through the abolition of private property and the communalization of the means of production.”

“The key is to prevent individuals from monopolizing the means of production, right?”

“Exactly. To understand it immediately after hearing only a brief overview shows great insight. Until now, the history of mankind has been a continuous struggle between the masses and the ruling class, with thesis, antithesis, and synthesis occurring, which then divides again into new thesis and antithesis, creating an entirely new synthesis. The system that human civilization will ultimately reach in this evolving history is communism.”

A common misunderstanding about communism is that it equally distributes all wealth, defying human selfishness.

The flawed idea is that no matter how hard you work, everyone gets the same result, so there’s no motivation to work.

Therefore, the logic is that sabotage occurs and the nation’s competitiveness declines, but this is just simple anti-communist propaganda that doesn’t understand communism at all.

If that were the case, you’d be on a direct course to the Gulag [Soviet forced labor camps] or the coal mines, so how would that be possible?

Of course, most communist countries in modern times were not purely communist, but it’s impossible to establish a purely communist country in the first place.

That’s because communism itself is a concept that can only emerge when capitalism reaches its limits.

“Yes, yes. It’s good that you’re enthusiastic about your studies, but it seems to me that there are some contradictions in that communism you’re talking about.”

“Of course, since it’s in the early stages of conception, there may be theoretically insufficient parts. We would be grateful if Your Highness could point them out.”

Wait, if I point out the contradictions, wouldn’t that be helping these two make the Communist Demonic Cult [a derogatory term implying a dangerous and heretical ideology] more organized?

I was going to subtly point out the contradictions of communism and suggest that it would be faster to modify capitalism instead, but things seem to be going strangely.

“First of all, according to your theory, a communist state cannot exist.”

“That’s right. Ultimately, the state must disappear for a true communist paradise to unfold. Even if a proletarian dictatorship is established, that is still a socialist state, not a communist society.”

“But has such a dictatorship ever dissolved itself in history? There have been rare cases of people relinquishing dictatorial power, but even then, eventually a new group or individual seized power.”

This is actually the reason why Marx and Mikhail Bakunin later parted ways.

Bakunin criticized that hoping for the state to disappear in a proletarian dictatorship, which is an intermediate stage between capitalism and communism, is just a religious belief.

And as a result, his words were correct.

No socialist country on Earth has ever practiced true communism.

And the reason is too obvious.

“Your ideology is theoretically excellent. It’s idealistic, and many workers would be moved to tears upon hearing your ideology. And I think there may be countries that start revolutions to create this communist society, but is that what you want?”

“That… is not it. If we had such subversive thoughts, how could we have dared to utter such words in front of Your Highness, the national treasure of this country?”

“Well, I guess so.”
The two young men who haven’t even published the Communist Manifesto yet couldn’t possibly have the desire to paint all of Europe with a red wave, overthrow capitalism, and complete the communist revolution.

As Engels said, if that were really the case, they wouldn’t have said anything about being the hope of communism in front of me.

“But the possibility of people being influenced by your words is quite high. And even at first glance, there are too many loopholes to exploit. Not only exploitation but also too many aspects that can be distorted. The possibility of flowing into a dogmatic atmosphere is also high. Have you considered all these possibilities?”

What I said are all the limitations and criticisms of communism in history.

And strictly speaking, this cannot be resolved.

No matter how talented Marx is, even if he’s a superstar who can play with people’s minds and drive both fans and haters crazy, what can’t be done, can’t be done.

However, young Marx had never thought about such things, so he asked in a puzzled tone.

“Exploitation or distortion, you say?”

“First of all, according to your theory, that communist society can only emerge when capitalism has fully developed, right? But is there any country on Earth that shows such signs?”

“Not yet. That’s why we think Your Highness…”

“Ah, wait, let me finish. In my opinion, a country that can achieve such a society will not appear for a long time.”

This is something that will never happen until at least the early 21st century, so I can guarantee it.

Then what if an era comes when AI and automation technology are developed to the extreme?

If a singularity occurs where AI, superior to humans, replaces office work and even conducts scientific research, wouldn’t the very existence of workers disappear as machines replace people?

In the end, whatever happens, I don’t think the communism that Marx envisioned will be realized in reality.

And in fact, whether this is actually possible or not is not really important.

If it’s just a simple daydreamer’s fantasy, you can just laugh it off.

The real problem is that this communist ideology is excessively attractive to the majority of workers in this era and has a structure that can be too easily distorted into a dictatorship.

How easily did socialist countries in history adopt dictatorial regimes?

“If I were a revolutionary who wanted to change reality, I would first borrow your ideology to overthrow the country and seize power, claiming to create a true socialist paradise. And under the pretext of proletarian dictatorship, I would ruthlessly purge all opposition. Since bourgeois countries might invade at any time, wouldn’t I have to create a strong army first? And to avoid falling behind other countries, I would have to accelerate industrialization. Don’t you think it’s a very good form for dictatorship?”

“Isn’t that an abuse of theory? Such misuse will inevitably lead to self-correction…”

“It won’t. It’s clearly a proletarian dictatorship to achieve communism, and those who are purged are said to be forces that reject this, so how can there be self-correction?”

This is also a method that the mustached man [Joseph Stalin] in Russia would later use very usefully.

“Wouldn’t it be possible to prevent dictatorship by creating several more theories to prevent it in advance?”

“That’s exactly the problem. This ideology inevitably takes on dogmatism if there is someone who establishes it. The logic of capital that dominates the current era doesn’t have someone who initially advocated for it. It’s just that there are studies that analyze phenomena that naturally appear according to the flow of the times and the economy. But what if you create this communist ideology and Engels spreads it?”

“…”

Marx seemed to be thinking about it seriously, but I already know the results.

Capitalism was not created because someone said it was right, but because the times naturally reached that point.

Therefore, when contradictions arise in the system, they can fiercely debate, modify, and supplement it, constantly changing through success and failure.

The fact that they were able to hurriedly incorporate some elements of socialism after seeing several countries overturned by the communist revolution is also thanks to this.

“So, Your Highness, are you saying that our theory is fundamentally wrong?”

“I didn’t say that. I also agree with the insight that the contradictions of the current economic structure and the fact that society will eventually not be able to withstand it if it continues to deepen.”

“I think so too. In my opinion, such signs are already appearing all over Europe. A big event will break out within three years at the latest.”

“I agree with that.”

The fact that all of Europe except Great Britain will be swept up in the flames of revolution in three years from now means that he really has tremendous insight.

That’s why he mastered all fields, from philosophy and humanities to politics and economics, and left a tremendous mark on history.

A truly outstanding person is outstanding.

So, I thought that if things didn’t work out later, I could secretly eliminate those two, and the red taste of communism wouldn’t cover Europe.

But after continuing the conversation, my thoughts changed a bit.

Communism in history claimed the legitimacy of its birth based on historical materialism, and although it ended in failure, the inevitability of its birth cannot be denied.

No matter how smoothly I develop this Great British Empire and create an environment where workers can breathe, I cannot change the entire 19th century.

Even if I’m amazing, how can I stop communism from emerging in Russia or other countries?

If I kill Marx, Marx-style communism will not emerge, but communism armed with other bizarre logic will definitely be born.

Compared to the theoretically well-established Marxism, it may be more flawed and less systematic, but it is also possible that it will be more dangerous.

So, what should I do?

The initial plan was to coax and appease Engels and Marx to make them revisionist capitalists.

Even if they are geniuses, I thought there was a possibility if they were still young men of similar age to me, but unfortunately, that didn’t seem so easy.

“We will never forget the grace of Your Highness for listening so well to our words and giving unexpected pointers. Certainly, it seems that because you are the one looking down on the country from above, there were blind spots that I had never thought of from my perspective. When I return, I will think with Engels about how we can supplement this further.”

“No, you can’t escape the limitations in the end if you do that. As you said, isn’t the flaw in the theory you’re thinking of now that it’s too idealistic? This is happening because you haven’t experienced how irrational, absurd, and crazy things happen when actually running a country.”

Marx and Engels seemed to have no disagreement on this point, and they nodded obediently.

If the position from which you look at something changes, your perspective will naturally change.

These were owners of intelligence who could immediately understand such a simple fact without having to explain it in detail.

“You guys ultimately have no intention of giving up your theory, right? The communism you talked about is something that comes out when capitalism develops to the end, and your belief that I am an ideal person who can achieve such a society remains unchanged, right?”

“…That’s right, but…”

“Then just stay here and watch what I do and refine the theory a little more. I will also consider incorporating parts of your theory into reality if there are any. And if there are parts of the theory that are not realistic, it would be much better for you to criticize them firmly like now, right?”

“Really, is that okay? But why would you go so far for us… Ah! As expected, Your Highness also agrees with the essential parts of our theory!”

Yeah. No. I hate the Communist Party.

However, in this era, communism is like a hydra, constantly sprouting new heads from the side even if you cut off its head, shouting ‘Hail Hydra’ like an infinitely regenerating zombie.

If we cannot create a world where capitalism is supplemented and there is no room for communism to gain a foothold, we cannot completely eradicate that ideology.

Then, in the end, isn’t there only one answer?

“Isn’t creating a society where everyone in this world is happy the ultimate ideal of a politician? I will complete this capitalism and move towards a better society, so please lend me your wisdom.”

“I understand. We will talk among ourselves first and give you an answer right away.”

If you can’t beat them, join them.

In this case, it will be absorption, but whatever, it doesn’t matter.

If those Communist Demonic Cult members recognize me as the Supreme Heavenly Demon, shouldn’t I just pretend to fit in?

However, to unify the martial world [a metaphor for achieving ultimate power or influence], you must have the power to do so, so the first priority is to complete capitalism.

Until then, anyone who vaguely advocates a red-flavored revolution is just a spy trying to abuse the ideology.

The deadline is until the healthy capitalism I envision can take root perfectly.

By then, everyone will know the truth that heretical demonic cults can never covet the right path, right?

A truly absurd situation where the martial arts alliance leader of capitalism also serves as the Heavenly Demon of the Communist Demonic Cult.

No. If you think about it the other way around, isn’t this the true unification of the martial world?

I want to ask if this is real, but surprisingly, it’s all true and not a dream, but reality.

I don’t know how I ended up here.