Chapter 34 : Political interests
In every country, there was always a group that was incredibly annoying to pre-modern rulers: the guilds.
In fantasy settings, these organizations are often portrayed as collective bodies of specific professions.
Beggars, merchants, craftsmen, bakers, and so on.
People with the same profession gather to build camaraderie and mediate to prevent conflict over resources.
“Of course, but they are incredibly closed off.”
Since large-scale commercial markets or a global economy were not active at the time, markets were small.
To prevent everyone from collapsing through free competition, guilds pursued strict monopolies.
If someone wasn’t a member, they would either be eliminated or have prices and distribution strictly controlled.
“They almost acted like pseudo-nobles.”
This was especially true for guilds made up of artisans like blacksmiths or stoneworkers.
As these were the core of the national economy, they understood the value they brought.
Arbitrary price adjustments or abuse of power were the norm.
At times, their immense influence allowed them to even take control of local or regional administrative authority.
And this behavior would inevitably anger the real nobility.
“Damned fools. How dare those lowly scoundrels act all high and mighty, demanding their rights be respected?”
“They don’t even bow their heads in front of the lords. Do they think they are our masters?!”
“If we punish them, the entire market in our domain will come to a halt in retaliation…”
Whether through arrogant actions or their excessive influence and abilities, guilds often became the targets of the anger and fear of the elites.
They were a nuisance, and while the rulers didn’t like them, they couldn’t act against them without risking severe consequences.
If it were a quiet and non-threatening guild, like a swordsmanship guild or a beggar guild, it might be different.
But since they were direct competitors for power, they couldn’t afford to ignore them.
“Count Siudad, have you read this?”
“Hmm?”
So, when The Wealth of Nations was published, it naturally attracted attention from various quarters.
*****
“Just dividing up the work increases production by leaps and bounds?”
“Isn’t that a ridiculously far-fetched claim?”
“Not really, considering the author is none other than Ishmael, who wrote The Art of War and The Population Theory. A master who wouldn’t suddenly spout nonsense.”
“That’s true, but…”
As emphasized by the original author (Adam Smith) and reiterated by the editor (Ishmael),the core idea of The Wealth of Nations was division of labor.
By dividing the work into distinct tasks and having an appropriate distribution system in place, production could increase exponentially.
[The most effective and cost-efficient way to transform a nation’s industry is by dividing the work.
Dividing the manufacturing process of various goods into separate tasks allows for smooth production even without perfectly skilled artisans.]
[Training a highly skilled artisan generally takes anywhere from 10 to 20 years.
However, training workers for a division-based process only takes 1-2 years at most.]
There was no need to have specialized skills in every field like craftsmen, and there was no longer a need to produce every kind of item.
However, the scale of the increase in production was so massive that it initially raised doubts.
Just changing the process slightly and improving the system increases efficiency by tens of times.
Does that even make sense?
If it were that easy to improve, why hadn’t it been done before?
“Well, if you don’t understand, let’s try an experiment. It won’t cost that much, right?”
“True, it’s just a matter of gathering a few apprentices… I’ll prepare the funds and materials.”
But due to the author’s established fame, the idea wasn’t completely dismissed.
The person who had revolutionized several aspects of the world couldn’t have been talking nonsense without any evidence, right?
Thinking that there was nothing to lose, the Spanish nobility each conducted their own practical experiments – Soon, they were astonished by the ridiculous results.
“…This works?”
“Th-thirty times more production? At that level, doesn’t it match the entire demand of the southern empire?”
“Immediately expand the factories! I’ll even use my personal funds to build them, and buy the machines!”
The production increased.
Ridiculously so.
While it didn’t multiply by hundreds, it easily saw a multiplication of tens.
Even the prices went down.
The labor input and work hours certainly increased, but the output was much greater.
In an era where labor costs made up most of the price, such an innovation was almost a miracle.
[In countries that have reached the final stage of wealth, wages and capital interest will both decrease sharply.
This is due to the intense competition among workers to maintain their jobs.
Wages will fall to a level where they can support the current number of workers, and unless the country expands, the number of workers will hardly increase.]
[The collective production resulting from division of labor will inevitably lead to a rise in the total wage amount.
However, when calculated per person or by unit of output, the amount will actually decrease.
This difference will cause short-term internal market changes, and in the long term, lead to economic disparities between nations.]
With this, the nobles naturally began to have similar thoughts.
‘At this point… if I don’t act, I’ll fall behind.’
‘Maybe I can take the industry that the artisans control?’
‘If I do this right, I can directly control the industry and economy of my entire territory, right?’
A golden opportunity had appeared, but there were many competitors, and everyone knew it.
They might even be able to topple the annoying artisan guilds.
It would be impossible to destroy them outright, but they could strip them of their authority, take away their monopolistic positions, and reduce them to mere laborers.
At that point, wouldn’t it be foolish not to act?
No, in fact, they had no choice but to act.
If they didn’t, they would fall behind and become failures.
“Wh-what? If we do this, we’re finished!”
“Let’s immediately submit a petition to the King! If we leave this as it is, the guilds will completely collapse!”
“Contact all the connections you know! We have to turn the public opinion around, even if it means using threats or bribes!”
Of course, there were opposing forces.
Primarily, those who would be directly affected, like the craftsmen.
If these changes were allowed, they would inevitably collapse both economically and politically.
To maintain their existing status and avoid facing the consequences of their actions, they had to stop the changes at all costs.
As a result, nearly every means was used.
They poured all their accumulated wealth and power into it.
Political manipulation, assassinations, bribery—anything that could be useful, they went ahead and did it.
Unfortunately, it didn’t have much effect.
“There’s talk lately about reducing facilities like factories…”
“Your Majesty, those are just the nonsense of the ignorant. Please don’t pay any attention to them.”
“The more goods we manufacture, the more stable the people’s lives will be, and the nation will prosper. How could we follow such foolish claims?”
“Is… is that so?”
“Yes. Such nonsense isn’t worth considering.”
The Spanish nobility was nearly unanimous in their opinion.
Although they usually bickered and competed with each other, this time, a common benefit existed.
Factory-based handicrafts, which involved gathering many unskilled workers, were businesses anyone could start.
Unlike mining or fishing, which required land, anyone with money could get involved.
In other words, it was an opportunity to carve out a new territory within the economic domain.
And it was a territory that could be developed and grown based on one’s ability and will.
But to stop this?
That was simply unacceptable.
Who would give up such a honey pot?
“But where will we find workers?”
“You’re worrying needlessly. They’re lying all over the streets.”
The nobles, who employed disaster victims without homes at a cheap price, eagerly invested their wealth to grow the nation’s industrial strength.
All of this, unbeknownst to them, was exactly what some troublemaker thought leader in Allein had desired.
*****
Another peaceful day at the academy.
Training the young students, shaping them to my liking, was truly an enjoyable task.
“So, dialectical materialism in socialism has, from the very beginning, a complete set of principles and laws, which makes it inherently prone to dogmatism.
The trend of emphasizing the infallibility of ideologies and thoughts, while valuing reason, ironically leads to irrationality—”
“Teacher, you’re going too fast!!”
“Who the hell came up with that nonsense?!”
“Hey, I told you all to study ahead. Once you understand it, it’s not hard, so stop whining.”
Despite the complaints, they all trudged along, following the lessons.
They made good use of the handouts and the summary printouts I made for them.
Perhaps because they were supposed to be top students at the academy?
They were surprisingly smart.
They were awake, alert in their thinking.
‘I’ll make sure to educate you properly—no, train you.’
Thanks to that, I had originally planned to only teach the beginnings of socialism, but I extended it to include communism as well.
If I have time later, maybe I’ll even teach them how to start a revolution—how to make Molotov cocktails, public speaking skills, and such.
Let my disciples spread the sickle and hammer to the world.
“We’ll have a quiz in the afternoon. If everyone passes, the class for today will be over. So just hang in there a little longer.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I don’t lie.”
Well, I can’t guarantee how difficult it will be.
As I was giving the lecture, pondering whether to have pasta or a hot soup for lunch,Kalia, who had been in the dormitory, suddenly burst into the classroom.
“Instructor!”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s a declaration of war! The Alcyone Federation has declared war on the Spanish Empire!”
Oh, damn.