On Whose Side Will You Stand?
Surprisingly, the Austrian Kaiser's declaration of labor reforms didn't cause that much of a stir at first. Though it was a sharp left turn, it was nothing Bismarck and Wilhelm I hadn't done before. Rather, in America, France, and Britain, it was merely an object of ridicule.
They hurled all kinds of mockery, citing a lack of democratic legitimacy, inefficient welfare policies, and so on. Even the communist parties in various countries were utterly infuriated, claiming that they hadn't just compromised with reactionaries, but had become the hunting dogs of a feudal monarch.
But this image was completely shattered when news of the Hungarian Agricultural Cooperative reached Western Europe.
Western Europe was thrown into absolute shock. No, could this even be called a socialist revolution in the first place? The nobility and capitalists had made massive concessions, yet they were still perfectly intact, guarding their interests. And yet, ownership had somehow transferred to the workers' and peasants' councils?
It was chaos incarnate. Though it was... heavily mutated, Western European nations tentatively recognized the Hungarian Agricultural Cooperative Kingdom as socialist. But even after defining Hungary's true nature, neither the socialist camp, the liberal camp, nor the royalists could figure out whether they were a hostile force or a cooperative one. Even the Austro-Hungarian Empire remained quiet, aside from the Balkan issue and conflicts with the Ottomans and Russia.
"...Does your nation truly have no intention of exporting the revolution?"
"There seems to be a misunderstanding. First of all, no revolution has ever occurred in our Empire."
"Then what on earth is happening right now?"
"In Austria's case, we are merely embracing the workers in the name of Christ, in accordance with the decree of the Pope, who inherits the Apostolic See."
"And Hungary...?"
"It is nothing more than the Empire's subjects suppressing rebels out of loyalty to the Emperor. The Agricultural Cooperative is also an institution established in accordance with long-standing tradition."
The explanation from the Austro-Hungarian diplomat only plunged the situation deeper into a fog. Contrary to popular belief, rural self-governing communities like the Korean hyangyak are not a tradition unique to the Korean Peninsula. Wheat, for instance, is a crop that is highly difficult to consume without massive milling facilities. Thus, there was already a long-standing tradition of establishing communities centered around the processing and distribution of agricultural products. So... was the Agricultural Cooperative a feudal organization? Or a socialist cooperative? Thanks to this ambiguity, public opinion in Italy, Germany, and France caught fire over the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
"Finally, the Austrian hillbillies have shown their true colors!"
"People of Italy! Soon, the red Satan born in Hungary will march to crush the Italian nation!"
"We must sever our alliance with Germany and Austria immediately!"
Fitting for the country where fascism was first born in the original history, nationalist forces in Italy began to run wild, clamoring to recreate the glory of Rome. Thus, the Italian National Revolutionary Party was founded. Naturally, they engaged in street brawls with clubs against the Naples Agricultural Cooperative, which had been established under Hungarian influence.
"N-N-National revolution?! Your Majesty! You must never join hands with those people!"
"Indeed! Look at the precedents of Serbia and Russia. They will surely betray Your Majesty!"
"We, the Italian National Revolutionary Party, will respect the royal authority and the royal family."
"Then will you join hands with the Agricultural Cooperative instead? Remember the precedent of the late King, Your Majesty."
Italy was already in a state of chaos due to the proliferation of left-wing parties. On top of that, having been utterly crushed in an aggressive war against Ethiopia, a weak African nation, the King's authority had plummeted to rock bottom. In the end, Vittorio Emanuele II, despite witnessing the grim fates of the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Serbia, practically turned a blind eye to the tyranny of the National Revolutionary Party. He behaved exactly like the king who had historically shaken hands with Il Duce, Benito Mussolini.
Meanwhile, what of Germany?
"Though our ally may practice Catholicism, are we not all brothers under Christ?"
"Germany, too, must return to its days of glory!"
They paid close attention to the subtly reactionary nature of Stahl-Ferdinand Model. Historically, the Prussian royal family and nobility loved mixing modern ideologies with reactionary elements. Think about it. Nationalism itself was originally a revolutionary idea that went against the Vienna System. Yet, the Prussian aristocrats wielded that nationalism as freely as Bruce Lee swinging nunchucks, ultimately twisting what was once an ultra-left ideology into an ultra-right one.
"Is it acceptable to adopt the ideology that all people are equal under the Kaiser?"
"Among those 'all people,' the Junkers are even more special. For they are a gathering of the finest warriors defending the national community."
In the first place, the Stahl-Ferdinand Model possessed a military character, designed with preparation for a great war in mind. Even Vladimir Lenin had codified doctrines of guerrilla warfare, partisan tactics, and urban combat into the ideology, reinforcing this aspect even further.
For hundreds of years following the invention of gunpowder weapons, regardless of East or West, warfare had transformed from battles between elite knights into a clash of massive manpower and logistics—that is, mobilization power. Consequently, as the world progressed toward the modern era, it was only natural for the privileges of the warrior class to diminish while those of the citizen class rose. In a certain sense, the Stahl-Ferdinand Model seemed to run counter to this historical current.
While in massive trench warfare spanning thousands of kilometers, overwhelming mobilization capacity decided victory or defeat, in urban combat, guerrilla warfare, and partisan tactics, the emphasis shifted to chaotic skirmishes at the platoon and squad levels, where individual training determined the outcome. Look at the modern United States. In Afghanistan and Iraq, it was the capability of their 'special forces' that decided the fate of battles.
"Hasn't forming lines and unleashing concentrated infantry fire become an obsolete tactic only fit for the Napoleonic Wars?"
"Indeed. The narrower the front and the more science advances, the more concentrated infantry forces are rendered completely useless."
"Then Stahl and Lenin are absolutely correct. In offensive warfare, we must establish a wide front and strike the enemy's core with the rapid maneuver of dispersed, specialized infantry forces! This must be the future of warfare."
"Then we will need to lighten the infantry's equipment and replace flashy uniforms meant for friend-or-foe identification with highly concealable ones."
"In chaotic close-quarters combat, close-range firepower will be crucial. We need flamethrowers and shotguns!"
Naturally, the feudal German Empire, brimming with martial spirit, went wild for this. True to their reputation as Prussian war demons, they grasped the core concept and developed future tactics at an astonishing speed. Of course, even Shtal, who was ignorant of military matters, wanted to scream, 'You guys only failed because of your terrible logistics!'
And so, unlike Hungary and Italy where agricultural cooperatives were the trend, in Germany, bizarre entities like 'Grenadier Cooperatives,' 'Shocktroopers Cooperatives,' and 'Partisan Cooperatives' cropped up, leading to the strange phenomenon of arming factories and Junker-owned estates as reservist forces.
...The development of Athenian democracy began when citizens emerged as the main protagonists of the battlefield. In a militaristic state like this, if the labor movement is to succeed, the workers themselves must achieve military merit.
For these reasons, Eduard Bernstein, leader of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), stepped forward to actively support these cooperatives. In the first place, the concept of cooperatives was not orthodox Marxism, and it suited the palate of Bernstein, who had a penchant for reformist adaptations.
"That filthy revisionist is trying to integrate the workers' class struggle, including strikes, into capitalism!"
"Cooperatives are merely the result of compromising with the capitalist system; they can never be the revolution itself!"
Naturally, he came under fierce attack from orthodox Marxist revolutionaries like Rosa Luxemburg. In the process, the German left-wing camp was thrown into turmoil once again, and Wilhelm II, who reaped the benefits of their infighting, was the only one laughing.
Finally, what of France?
If Italy had veered right by allying with the National Revolutionary Party, and Germany had veered left through cooperativism, France was still locked in a fierce struggle over which path to take.
True to the land of la révolution, as if trying to recreate the Paris Commune, the citizens formed committees and erected barricades in every district of every city, following the Stahl-Ferdinand Model.
"We must entrust the governance of the state to organizations where every producer holds equal rights, such as trade unions or cooperatives!"
"We must form self-governing communities in every factory, every farm, and every street, and overcome France's crisis through the solidarity and integration of these communities."
These opinions themselves were identical. It was already a familiar concept in France, thanks to the tradition of syndicalism championed by Georges Sorel. The Hungarian Revolution had merely set fire to French culture.
But the problem was that the paths of the Stahlists who spontaneously emerged in droves across Paris differed as vastly as heaven and earth, regardless of whether they leaned left or right.
"The subjects of class struggle must be the various individual syndicates, such as workers' unions and peasants' unions. The state must be dissolved, and we must unite internationally at the level of each syndicate."
From traditional leftists like these anarchists and Marxists...
"Just like in Hungary, all producers in France must gather into a single syndicate and guide the affairs of the state as if they were one body!"
"Then on what basis should we define the boundaries of this 'national syndicate'?"
"The nation, of course! Our street consists of national-revolutionary cooperativists, and we belong to the National Self-Determination International!"
Groups attempting to restructure the entire state into fascism while retaining only the framework of cooperatives also began to appear one after another.
"We advocate for Avant-garde Stahlism!"
"...Excuse me? What on earth is that?"
"Ah, it is based on the psychoanalytic theory developed by Dr. Sigmund Freud, Comrade Stahl's subordinate."
"Then what kind of society are you trying to build?"
"State power has historically used force and capital to control the people. But now, state power is going beyond that, attempting to control even the human 'unconscious.' And the primary means of that control are sex and language. We seek to liberate sex and language."
At first glance, it sounded somewhat plausible. After all, wasn't liberation from sex and language exactly what the postmodernist camp babbled about day in and day out after World War II? Feminism, LGBTQ+, political correctness, and so on... Just hearing the words, one might think, Oh, that's just another new type of left-wing movement. But their actions were anything but.
"Squeeeeeeeak!"
"Whir, whir, beep beep!"
"...What on earth are you doing?"
"Ah, language did not emerge from humanity's inherent unconscious; it was born from societal coercion. Therefore, we must return to our primordial state, before language existed."
According to Stahl's subordinate, Freud, the treatment of neurosis lies in acknowledging the existence of the unconscious, sublimating it into consciousness, and thereby dissolving the unconscious itself. And our consciousness is constructed by the 'language' injected into us by society. If so? We must discard consciousness mediated by language and return to the unconscious!
"In our district, a community has been established that goes beyond non-verbal communication to anti-verbal communication! *Fart!*"
As all kinds of naked, unspeakably filthy acts unfolded behind the barricades, the Republic naturally could not sit idly by. Without a moment's hesitation, they dropped Tear Gas! When Stahl heard about this 'Avant-garde Stahl-Ferdinand Model'—an ideology that sounded as if it had been corrupted by a chaotic evil god—he felt like fainting on the spot.
"Herr Stahl! I am from the Vienna Journal! What are your thoughts on the 'Avant-garde Stahl-Ferdinand Model' that has recently become a hot topic in France?"
"I am from the Agricultural Cooperative Daily! They say that in their churches, they pray to Representative Stahl and Dr. Freud instead of Christ. Do you have any intention of answering their prayers?!"
"...That Avant-garde whatever-it-is is heresy. It has absolutely nothing to do with us. I don't know about anyone else, but Professor Freud would undoubtedly find it deeply insulting."
In any case, the true beginning of the 20th century could be defined by the emergence of 'ideologies' for which people were willing to trade their very lives. Liberalism versus Absolutism. Nationalism versus Internationalism. Communism versus Capitalism. Fascism (a.k.a. Satanism) versus smart, normal people with healthy bodies and sound minds, and so on. From the Second World War to the Cold War, the 20th century was adorned by these differing ideologies.
The Stahlism of the Austria-Hungary and the German Empire. The capitalism of Britain and the United States. The national-revolutionism of Italy and Serbia. And France, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire, which served as the battlegrounds for all these competing ideologies. Now, the battlefields of the Great War had been roughly drawn, and who would ally with whom had been decided. Slowly, the curtain was rising on the Great War.