I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 340

Ideological conflict with a lifelong friend.

For Karl Marx, memories of the past, which felt like a very long time ago, flashed through his mind.

“Really… am I allowed to just browse all the materials I want?”

“Of course. I’ll assign you a secretary, so just tell them if there’s a book you want to see. And I’d like to have time to hear about your achievements and have discussions from time to time.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. I don’t know how to repay this grace…”

“The way you repay your debt to me is by publishing a book that benefits the world. Just don’t forget that.”

The foolish dream of a communist paradise that he had in his youth.

Marx trembled with emotion as he discovered a way to realistically achieve that dream.

“Everything in this world is related to the economy, and only by understanding the economy can the system’s integrity be maintained.”

“Listen, Marx.”

“Engels, it’s good to move towards communism. But the history of past revolutions proves that without a thorough theoretical foundation, it’s just empty talk, isn’t it? The whole world is run by capital right now. I will perfectly understand this monster called capital and present a new discourse that transcends it!”

Nothing can be achieved with haphazard logic.

Why did the French and German revolutions fail?

When the flames of revolution ignited throughout Europe, why didn’t a revolution occur in England?

Why do people in this country have a fit and treat you like a subversive if you even mention the word revolution?

All of this is ultimately connected to economic logic.

Marx originally intended to settle down at the British Library and focus on his studies.

However, the greatest benefactor of his life, Killian, provided him with the perfect conditions to do everything he wanted, and the situation changed drastically.

From vivid statistics not available in the library to reports containing detailed processes of how empirical data and theories are applied in reality.

Without even realizing it, Marx was transforming once again into a scholar who combined theory and practicality.

Moreover, Killian consistently called Marx for nearly 10 years or more, listened to his academic achievements, rejoiced, and spared no advice.

Unlike when they first met, Marx was surprised to learn that the more knowledge he accumulated, the more Killian’s insight exceeded his imagination.

As people say, you see as much as you know.

The more he grasped the essence of this ideology called capitalism, the clearer the path to communism behind it became.

The conversations with Killian were subtly influencing Marx in many ways.

“…So, the assumption I set is completely wrong.”

“It might be true if limited to Europe, but considering the universal history of mankind, it should be seen as not at all fitting. Looking at the entire world history, your theory cannot avoid the criticism that it forcibly combines this European system with human nature.”

“It’s a blind spot that I didn’t consider because I didn’t know the history of Asia.”

Marx was trying to argue that the economic system had developed from primitive communism to ancient slavery, medieval feudalism, and modern capitalism.

However, Killian told him about cases in Asia that he had not considered, and reminded him that the theory was by no means universal.

He also received considerable help in establishing scientific socialism from an ideological perspective.

“I am a scholar, not a revolutionary, so I am not directly presenting the path that a communist society should take.”

“But those who are inspired by your words will be different, won’t they? Many of the books you are writing now are based on materialism. However, philosophy and the humanities are written quite philosophically due to the nature of the field.”

“Is being philosophical bad?”

“It’s not bad. But it’s true that it leaves room for interpretation, and the more famous your theory becomes, the more you become a symbol, there’s no guarantee that dogmatism disguised as interpretation won’t arise, is there?”

“That’s not my responsibility…”

“It would be an excuse if you didn’t know or it was too late to deal with it, but you know now, don’t you? But if you just leave it alone, well. Someone might think you want to create a communist opium [a metaphor for something that dulls the mind and distracts from reality].”

Marx was fundamentally not favorable to religion.

That’s why he often criticized religion, but he had little sense that his ideology could be wielded as a weapon like religion.

Killian had said similar things when they first met, but at that time, he just thought it might be possible, but he didn’t seriously consider it.

However, the deeper his insight became and the more his scholarship deepened, the more he had to seriously consider Killian’s warning.

“A dogmatic society, a society where someone interprets words here and there and arbitrarily applies them to seize power, and a society that purges opponents and doesn’t try to listen to other people’s voices—isn’t this completely the religious world at the height of corruption?”

“I absolutely do not think that religion was created to deceive people.”

“That’s right. But even in religion, there are clearly words that say to be peaceful with each other and love your neighbor as yourself, but people turn a deaf ear to those words, don’t they?”

“But that doesn’t mean I can change my beliefs, does it?”

“You shouldn’t change them. But isn’t it ultimately an act of tarnishing your name and reputation to arbitrarily interpret your theory and erode society? Wouldn’t adding a warning against such people, a criticism of such people, make your insight even brighter?”

That certainly makes sense.

Marx believed that his identity was, after all, a scholar who clarifies and explores the truth of the world.

From that point of view, wouldn’t identifying in advance the bugs that try to manipulate his theory and pollute the world be seen as revealing a truth?

And how vertically would the evaluation of himself, who foresaw the existence of these people and prepared countermeasures, skyrocket?

It wasn’t so much that he was concerned about the evaluation of later generations, but rather he was convinced that going beyond simply establishing a theory and blocking the possibility of its abuse was a more high-dimensional task.

There are many who have left innovative theories in the world, but the name Karl Marx will symbolize something special that surpasses even those people.

“I understand. I will take Your Highness’s advice to heart.”

“In that sense, why don’t you study this this time?”

“What is this? *The End of Colonial Economy*?”

“To sum up the policies of the European powers right now, it can be said that it is ultimately securing colonies. But is managing colonies and sticking to simple resource exploitation really a sustainable method? This seems to be doomed even faster than the exploitation of the proletariat [the working class] by the capitalists that you are interested in.”

“That’s an interesting point of view. As Your Highness said, I think it would be interesting to analyze the correlation between the two and analyze how the colonial economy will collapse.”

From a long-term perspective, this can also be said to be a process of this world moving one step closer to true communism.

Marx began to regard this work of contemplating and analyzing the evolution of society as his calling.

Although the collapse of the colonial economy was shared only by a very small number of people, economic theories that simplified the theory were published without any problems.

He continued to expand his reputation in the British Empire.

* * *

When he was young, Marx believed that the dictatorship of the proletariat [a state in which the working class holds political power] was an inevitable process.

In order for capitalism to transition to communism, it was necessary to have a revolutionary transition period, and a process was needed to take responsibility for the intermediate stage.

But of course, there was a lot of criticism of this theory.

Killian immediately said that the dictatorship of the proletariat would inevitably lead to an oligarchical dictatorship [rule by a small group of people], and Marx did not deny this now.

In particular, Killian’s oligarchical dictatorship specifically referred to when this communist revolution did not occur at the appropriate stage, so it was even more impossible to refute.

“Power is like a drug that turns even a normal person into a monster. There’s a saying that if you want to see a person’s true nature, give them even a small amount of power, isn’t there? That’s how much power reveals a person’s ugly side. Not to mention the power to control the country.”

“Doesn’t that apply to Your Highness as well?”

“That’s why I don’t bother trying to seize more power than I have now. I know very well that going further from here won’t end well.”

“······.”

“If you ever seize power, you’ll know how empty the theory of philosopher kings is. Most of the people who say such things can say such comfortable things because they’ve never been in that position.”

An area impossible for humans.

So, a system, a society, must naturally create a direction for it to roll that way.

Marx began to see more and more clearly the direction he had to go.

“How does Your Highness view a socialist revolution occurring in a society where capital has not yet matured?”

“To put it bluntly, it can be said to be a disaster and a curse. What can those who are still at the level of agricultural countries do to build a communist paradise? Unless they are miracle alchemists who can alchemize [transform] rice from dirt.”

“In such a society, the dictatorship of the proletariat will inevitably be corrupted into a tool of purge…”

“Absolutely. That’s why it’s a disaster.”

That was it.

Even if it is ideologically completely established, if it is not realistically and economically independent, any good theory will become a useless dog.

Capitalism is no different.

If you go back to the ancient slave system era and talk about capitalism all day long, would it even be accepted?

He abandoned the existing theory that all societies go through the same development process, but the idea that communism is difficult to emerge without capitalism being completed still remained unchanged.

So, if you really want to see the advent of a communist society, wouldn’t it be natural to first perfectly complete capitalism?

After feeling that realization with his heart rather than his head, Marx grew once again.

As his overflowing talent and effort were combined with will, as well as a sense of duty and responsibility, the students and scholars who admired him grew day by day.

Not only that.

His achievements and accomplishments were recognized, and tremendous love calls poured in from all levels of academia, and he sat in the ranks of celebrities who had achieved great social success in anyone’s eyes.

Here, Killian is supporting him with money, so his standard of living has risen to a level that is not envious of any other aristocrat.

Originally, Marx was far from frugal, to the point where he said that there was no such thing as saving in his dictionary.

Until now, he had maintained such a life with the support of his friend Engels, but since the supporter had changed to the richest man in the country, how much would his level of luxury have risen?

He insisted on only the finest Burgundy wines from France, and he had to cut meat with a knife once a day to be satisfied.

He hired a wise housekeeper who could communicate with him to some extent because he was not interested in those who could not speak his language, and in addition to this, there was also the issue of his relationship with women, which was separate from his conservative views on sexuality.

If people who didn’t know him saw him, they would say, “How can someone who lives such a life talk about communism and the exploitation of workers?” But originally, Marx tended to keep his ideology and personal life separate.

Marx, who had gained fame, status, and wealth, enjoyed his favorite research and enjoyed luxury, and was enjoying the heyday of his life day by day.

Before he knew it, people began to call him the father of capitalism.

Marx did not bother to correct that title.

He was the one who would pioneer the modern truth that encompasses both capitalism and communism.

However···.

“Why don’t you know that that’s betrayal!”

It is said that true sages are not understood in any era, but even his once closest friend is criticizing him?

Marx looked at Engels, who was openly clicking his tongue and even pointing his finger in resentment.

The comrade of ideals who had seemed so reliable in the past. Now, he just seemed so pathetic and immature.