Chapter 469: Democracy(2)
Chapter 469: Democracy(2)
In Volume 4 of Blood and Iron, Hitler returns to the Nazi Party after his imprisonment and begins his election campaign in earnest.
Having used Mussolini as a role model for his failed coup, he decides to seize power through legal means instead.
However, this was merely a surface-level strategy; behind the scenes, he continued to employ political thugs and engage in various forms of corruption.
Of course, given the social climate of the time, you were considered a fool if you didn't resort to violence and corruption. It was just more evidence of how dysfunctional the Weimar Republic had become.
[Democracy and elections? A society where everyone is given the right to vote?]
[Is it a system similar to the Commoners' Assembly in the Kingdom of Ters?]
[It's a more advanced system. Regardless of status, everyone can elect their leader.]
And when you talk about elections, you cannot leave out democracy. Readers questioned this political system, democracy, which they were hearing about for the first time.
A political system where every citizen, regardless of status, holds sovereignty and the right to vote. Honestly, just saying that wouldn't make it easy for them to grasp.
So, I provided a more detailed explanation, starting with how democracy was born.
The Glorious Revolution broke out in England in 1688, leading to the passage of the Bill of Rights; the American Revolution in 1776 saw the birth of the world's first 'President.'
Finally, the French Revolution in 1789 saw the heads of the King and the nobility roll, turning democracy into a reality.
However, there is a point that must be clearly addressed: there is a distinct difference between democracy and 'liberalism.'
[A system that grants every subject the right to vote to elect a king sounds ideal, romantic, and peaceful. But if a king elected by 51% of the vote oppresses the remaining 49%, is there 'freedom' in such a place?]
Surprisingly, those words were a critique raised by a noble of the Kingdom of Ters, Count Kamar—the same noble who had quietly helped me during my trial.
In fact, a scholar from my previous life once made a similar famous remark while criticizing democracy.
That quote, in particular, clearly defines the line between liberalism and democracy. If it weren't for that distinction, socialism or communism might never have emerged.
More importantly, the person who exploited democracy to its extreme was the protagonist of Blood and Iron, Hitler.
After the failure of the Munich Putsch, he used democracy strictly as a 'tool' to completely suppress freedom.
In other words, Count Kamar's critique was essentially a precise prophecy of Hitler's future.
[Nothing in this world is perfect. The political system of democracy is ultimately being applied within the world of Blood and Iron.]
[To put it bluntly, giving a hero like Xenon the same single vote as anyone else is discrimination in itself!]
[The choice of the majority is by no means always right.]
Because of this, some scholars, especially philosophers, criticized democracy. I had expected this to some extent, so I wasn't particularly disappointed.
[The very act of granting sovereignty and voting rights to all 'citizens' could lead to the nation's development.]
[The majority's choice isn't always right, but there is immense merit in simply listening to their voices.]
[Perhaps talents who can truly develop the country will be discovered? Since everyone holds equal power.]
However, not all scholars were purely critical; there were those who viewed it positively as well.
This included not only scholars from commoner backgrounds but also nobles. Their opinion was that even if it meant relinquishing power, democracy was necessary for the nation's progress.
While various arguments for and against democracy were exchanged, one fundamental question eventually surfaced.
[But why?]
[Is it a system that is absolutely necessary for the current situation?]
Indeed. While there were many arguments for and against democracy, scholars unanimously asked: Is it necessary right now?
There is a saying that democracy grows by feeding on the blood of dictators and citizens. And this world had already established a slight foundation through the Jayros Revolution.
However, while the Jayros Revolution was similar to the French Revolution, it also resembled the Glorious Revolution that brought about the Bill of Rights.
In other words, unless such a revolution broke out again, the chances of democracy being born were almost non-existent.
Count Kamar's critique, in particular, was highly effective in dampening enthusiasm. Even in the Kingdom of Ters, where a Commoners' Assembly exists, people are extremely sensitive regarding 'freedom.'
'Well, that's not for me to decide.'
I was simply informing them that such an option existed. As I've mentioned repeatedly, this world and Earth are fundamentally different in many ways.
So, a system might emerge that is similar to the democracy I knew, yet different. Or perhaps a system never seen or heard of before might appear.
Furthermore, democracy has a very serious flaw: long-term policy planning is nearly impossible.
Therefore, from the perspective of Demons or Elves, who generally have long lifespans, it isn't a particularly efficient ideology.
'The Kingdom of Ters is one thing, but if you think about it, the Dwarves are actually the closest to democracy.'
The very racial characteristics of Dwarves are focused on creation and invention. They respect the work of others while focusing on their own improvement.
Machina, the land of the Dwarves, claimed to be a monarchy, but honestly, it was a monarchy in name only.
The government only regulated things that posed a major threat to the nation, leaving everything else to the individuals.
Moreover, since they were currently accelerating the invention of the magical locomotive, a rather interesting political system might emerge there.
'Once the Industrial Revolution hits, it'll settle in naturally.'
Science and culture have always shared a close relationship. If you look closely at history, the environment for such things to emerge is inevitably created.
Democracy will appear one day, even if it takes a strange form. Once the Industrial Revolution explodes, the world will become far more complex than before.
Of course, I don't know if I'll still be alive and well by then. Divine power can extend one's lifespan, but there must be a limit.
For now, all I can do is write diligently. Whether they fight over democracy or not, the choice is theirs to make.
[A tearful, desperate struggle between Hitler and Goebbels. But the actual vote count is abysmal...]
[I don't know what a general election is, but 2.6% is very low. Can they really take over the government?]
So, for now, let's focus on Hitler and Goebbels' pathetic display. Before the Great Depression hit, the Nazi Party was nothing more than a group of nobodies.
Though Hitler had become an overnight star through the Munich Putsch, the Weimar Republic at the time was receiving financial aid from the United States.
Even with prices spiraling out of control, the German people were doing well enough to eat and live, so they didn't pay much attention to the Nazi Party.
That is, until the 'Great Depression' hit and the global economy collapsed.
[If the Great War that occurred before was 'Hell,' then the Great Depression is 'Purgatory.']
[A place where you can't find work, let alone food. Truly Purgatory itself.]
The Great Depression—a disaster that no one could handle because they didn't know why it happened, or perhaps because there were too many reasons to handle.
I described the United States during the Great Depression not as a 'Hell' filled with tragedy, but as a 'Purgatory' overflowing with despair.
A situation where stocks plummeted again and again, and investors and businessmen threw themselves off the roofs of buildings.
I depicted the image of a father struggling to feed his children by any means necessary, as the number of homeless people increased due to the overflow of the unemployed.
[Was it an unavoidable disaster? Or was it a disaster that could have been prevented?]
[The world where the Machine Revolution broke out and the world we live in are so different...]
[If a Machine Revolution were to break out in this world, it's a disaster that could truly happen here as well.]
However, people only focused on the Purgatory-like situation; the Great Depression itself was difficult to understand.
And understandably so, as the Industrial Revolution had made economy and finance far more complex.
Of course, concepts like economy, finance, stocks, and bonds are established in this world as well. It was just too difficult to apply them to the Great Depression.
Still, because they treated Blood and Iron as 'fantasy,' people focused on the story itself rather than trying to fully understand the mechanics.
[Just what kind of war was the Great War that it brought such a Purgatory in its wake?]
[All of this happened because of that one Great War. Otherwise, there's no way the entire world, not just one country, would have collapsed.]
[Perhaps the Weimar Republic printing money recklessly caused the collapse of the European economy...]
This also resulted in the First World War, the root of all these events, coming into the spotlight. I described it here as the 'Great War' rather than the First World War.
Occasionally, readers who caught on questioned why it was called the Great War and not the First World War, but since only a few noticed, the question was mostly buried.
In any case, Volume 4 of Blood and Iron ends by showing the United States in shambles due to the Great Depression.
From Volume 5 onwards, I plan to write about the Weimar Republic, which also becomes a mess due to the Great Depression, and the process of Hitler seizing power on the back of that chaos.
'They'll start getting an eerie feeling soon.'
They are already harboring doubts about whether democracy is right, thanks to the critique raised by Count Kamar.
Naturally, they can't help but feel uneasy about Hitler, who seizes power through that very democracy.
However, the readers tried to ignore it. Even if Hitler held some strange ideologies, his love for Germany seemed sincere.
In the readers' minds, Hitler was already etched as a 'patriot' and 'someone with the potential to be a hero.'
'After the Night of the Long Knives, I'll have to depict Stalin's Great Purge as well.'
The Great Purge—the reason the Soviet Union was helplessly pushed back in the early stages of the German-Soviet War.
Because of the Great Purge, a vast number of capable officers vanished, and the results were clearly seen during the Winter War with Finland.
It was so bad that Hitler saw it and thought, Wait, those guys are just an empty shell? and decided to invade.
Anyway, while things were getting noisy due to the introduction of democracy in Volume 4 of Blood and Iron, I leisurely began my preparations.
Preparations for what?
[The Animus show great interest in the democracy featured in Blood and Iron...]
[Grand Chieftain Zinai Krochuker: "If we only move by the logic of power, we are no different from barbarians."]
What else? Preparations to get ganged up on.
The seeds I had sown through Leona had returned in a completely unexpected direction.
'Wait, is this guy just making up an excuse because he doesn't want to be the Grand Chieftain?'
I'll have to look into that in detail later.
*
As numerous opinions regarding democracy were being exchanged following the release of Blood and Iron Volume 4...
Unlike the Xenon Biography, Blood and Iron had evolved into a work where not just readers, but experts gathered to offer their critiques.
A world where mana and magic do not exist at all. A world where only humans, one of the weakest races, exist. A world where the existence of gods is uncertain.
A world that struggled to survive in such conditions, only to achieve rapid growth through a 'Machine Revolution.'
While most people treated this world as 'fantasy,' a small number of people did not.
On the contrary, they predicted it as a future to come and focused their research specifically on 'science.'
"Is there any progress?"
"No. It's almost impossible to even get close to Xenon. Unless he comes to us first, it'll be impossible for us to meet him."
"Even if the opportunity arises, the Minerva Empire would likely refuse."
"Hmm..."
Bronze skin that looked tanned by the sun, and silver eyes. Finally, patterns drawn like tattoos under their eyes.
Though their hair colors varied, these people, who shared distinct characteristics, were engaged in conversation.
The man presumed to be the leader expressed his frustration as he listened to their opinions. For what purpose were they hoping to meet Xenon?
"Is it really necessary to obsess over that weapon called a 'gun'? Why not focus on other activities instead?"
A slender woman cautiously asked the frustrated man. She was a woman with deep silver hair that matched her silver eyes.
At that question, the man, Asala Band Sae, let out a sigh before speaking.
"What other activities? You mean training warriors?"
"Yes."
"Do you really think our people, who are only good with our hands, can defeat the knights of the Empire?"
"..."
The woman fell silent, seemingly having no answer to Asala's retort. Yet, she didn't look like she was giving up, as if she still harbored some lingering regret.
At this, Asala sighed again and spoke in a heavy voice.
"The Empire has many talents. Too many. Enough to completely crush our Stavirk region."
"Then why..."
"Because the Empire would also suffer heavy losses. Besides, they're in a situation where they have to worry more about the Northern Region than us right now."
The Stavirk region was originally incorporated into the Minerva Empire, but at some point, their desire for independence grew strong.
Some said it was the work of demon worshippers, others said it was due to the Empire's oppression, but fundamentally, it was because of 'discrimination.'
The Stavirk people were historically known as the most skilled craftsmen after the Dwarves.
In other words, from the Minerva Empire's perspective, they were nothing more than an excellent 'weapon production factory.'
Accordingly, the Minerva Empire initially promised generous treatment, but as time passed, discrimination began.
Furthermore, after establishing friendly diplomatic relations with Machina following the Race War... I shall omit further explanation.
That said, the Empire cannot give up the Stavirk region. As Isaac had explained, the Stavirk region was a 'peninsula,' a terrain similar to the Republic of Korea in his previous life.
"In the meantime, we must invent this thing called a 'gun' no matter what. To do that, a meeting with Xenon is essential, but..."
"The problem is that it's not working out."
"Sigh... you're right."
The residents of the Stavirk region were also in a very difficult position. To their left and above sat the Minerva Empire, while to their right and below lay the Kingdom of Ters.
If they were to quietly reintegrate into the Empire now, the Kingdom of Ters would apply pressure; yet, if they were to receive support from the Kingdom of Ters, the situation might worsen.
For now, they were in a position where they had to build up their 'military' by any means necessary. To the Minerva Empire, the Stavirk region was a 'nuisance they couldn't let go of.'
They had to build up enough justification so that the Empire would rather just give them up cleanly.
"Anyway, are you making it now? It just needs to be similar."
"For now, we are using gunpowder like a cannon, but it will take a long time."
"It doesn't have to be exactly like the ones in Blood and Iron. Even if it's just a single shot, as long as it's more powerful than a crossbow."
What Stavirk needed right now.
"For us, it's firepower. Individual firepower is the only answer."
It was power.