Extraordinary Voyage-Chapter 701 - 603 The Iron Fist of Tyranny

"Extinction?!"

Even for Saint Angel Bellenus, who had weathered thousands of years of storms with a tranquil mindset, he couldn’t help but break his calm demeanor upon hearing Aiven’s judgment, wondering if he had misheard.

This is like discussing cremation or sea burial before the baby’s head has even emerged during birth!

Bellenus couldn’t help but become concerned.

For gods with the main divine position as [Humanized Divine Position], human society is one of their important sources of power.

For the Extraordinary World, the Spirit Realm connects to the mental world of all intelligent life. The more thriving the intelligent beings are (in terms of both quantity and quality), the tighter the connection with the Spirit Realm, which results in more spiritual energy radiating from the Spirit Realm, and the prosperity of the Extraordinary World.

Even though billions of mortals live and die swiftly on a cosmic scale, they are the most fundamental and vital part of this world, and key to the overall advancement of the world.

A world without intelligent life has no future to speak of.

Even, if gods could fully understand everything in the human world, why fear trends?

Seeing the disbelief on the faces of the three, Aiven calmly explained first:

"Indeed, because the operation of capital has its deeply ingrained internal contradictions, which they themselves cannot resolve.

So I assert: First, capitalism is bound to perish; second, will the development of capital destroy royal authority? Not necessarily; third, can [Capital Divine Position] be checked? Yes."

Ever since becoming the proud ruler of vast lands, these were issues he had always contemplated, and many policies had already been implemented in Georgia and the Far Sails Territory.

If regarding the chaos in the Ilya Kingdom, Aiven stands on the second layer, Bellenus is already on the third. But regarding the concept of [Capital], the latter still stands at the first layer, while the former has already reached seven or eight layers high.

After all, Aiven, in his past life, had been shaped by ideology since childhood, determined to become... a successor!

Upon hearing Aiven’s firm assertion, the three, whose emotions fluctuated greatly, stared at him as if clutching at straws.

"[Capital] is not a new phenomenon. Actually, as early as the enclosure movement the Kingdom first began two hundred years ago, the embryonic form of the asset-owning class had already started to emerge.

Thousands of farmers were driven off their own lands, turned into destitute wanderers, beggars, laborers—the process of separating direct producers from the means of production.

The merchants relied on large pastures and workshops to develop the wool textile industry, earning their first pot of gold, which many scholars call the ’sheep eating men’ movement.

Back then, the so-called large-scale agriculture and livestock industries were essentially agricultural asset owners occupying land and other means of production, employing workers, and engaging in large-scale market-oriented corporate agriculture and pasturage operations..."

As he said this, Aiven looked at the Queen, whose expression grew slightly unnatural at the mention of ’sheep eating men’:

"However, in the past agricultural era, limited by the total scale of land, output was hard to invest back into industry, to be transformed into ’money generating money’ capital. This class, although existent, was not very strong.

The emergence of the steam engine, however, achieved a leap in productivity, able to create wealth with unparalleled efficiency, constantly converting output into new capital (more steam engines, production lines, factories), and in turn creating more value.

This demonstrated that ’productivity’ fundamentally determines production relations!

The development of ’productivity’ leads to profound changes in production relations, thereby constantly changing society, rather than the so-called ’capital.’

And it was after Queen Isabella’s accession that the real invention of the modern steam engine and the onset of the steam industry began, ultimately sourced from—the ’Alchemy School’ with which the Kingdom had formed a contract that Aiven still didn’t know.

As an excellent monarch, the Queen, upon receiving the hint, pondered thoughtfully, then continued along Aiven’s words:

"This means that the fundamental existence of the current emerging class is not actually the [Capital] that the entity is working to consolidate, but rather our powerful productivity in hand that corresponds with production relations!

[Capital] is downstream, while our [Productivity] is upstream, so..."

Aiven nodded lightly, believing that after this hint, the combination of a mature politician and a demigod would no longer be led by the nose.

With a gentle clap, he looked at the three whose faces had rekindled with brilliance and continued:

"Returning to the initial question, why is capitalism inevitably going to perish, and in this process, the predicament of ’royal authority’ is essentially the same problem."

Pursuit of profit is [Capital]’s strongest source of power, always seeking to appreciate. And its appreciation ultimately has to be realized by the expansion of commodity production, but commodities ultimately need to be consumed.

If national power is held by the asset-owning class, there will inevitably be no effective regulation of their own actions. When production exceeds the total social demand to a certain extent, a major recession caused by ’overproduction’ leading to factory closures and economic depression will occur.

Actually, society’s self-adjustment ability is not as strong as many imagine. Simply put, it’s because when asset owners are in charge, there is structural mismanagement.

Therefore, driven by profit-seeking, there is an inherent contradiction between production expansion and the limited nature of personal consumption—a contradiction that will explode one day.

This is the root cause destined to trigger the economic crisis of "capitalism."

"Once you grasp this essence, even if the [Capital] Divine Position hasn’t yet been condensed, those with such mechanisms can deliver a heavy blow to it!

Before the asset holders find a way out and make self-adjustments, the tidal waves of economic crises are enough to make that existence wish they were dead. It happens once every ten or several decades, that sour taste, tsk tsk..."

Clap!

Listening to this, Belenus couldn’t help but clap his hands.

After Aiven peeled away the layers, the mist before them slowly cleared, painting the scene of assets going bankrupt en masse during the economic crisis, factories abandoned, and people’s livelihoods declining, as if right before their eyes.

And how could the "God of Black Wings," closely bound to the Divine Position, remain untouched?

Not to mention the tidal economic crises; encountering it even once is enough for us to seize the opportunity and show it a hefty color.

The Saint Angel looked at this young man favored by both the Goddess and the World’s Favor, with unconcealed admiration in his eyes. Also in the mortal world, it is rare to have such an extraordinary perspective to penetrate the laws of social development as though having witnessed such social changes in person.

’Let me think, what kind of reward would be fitting for this extraordinary wisdom?’

Meanwhile, Isabella and Liweina were more concerned with the "Royal Authority" issues closely related to themselves:

"Count Galliot, in this transformation, can [Royal Authority] eventually triumph over [Capital]?"

Belenus also gazed intently; Aiven has already explained the origins and ultimate outcome of [Capital]. However, the process of development in between is the most important, and it’s the torrent they are about to face.

"Your Majesty, although [Capital] will eventually disappear, it requires a very long cycle.

Regarding the current social progress, at least throughout the entire steam industry era, the asset-holding class cannot be eradicated. Even if one wave of people is eradicated, there will always be proletarians evolving into a new asset-holding class.

Because "capitalism" truly represents the production relations currently fitting the productive forces, it will not perish until all the productive forces it can accommodate are fully exploited.

However, we have already discussed the possibility of completely preventing the implementation of a full private ownership system by having the state control important sectors related to people’s livelihood, carrying out top-tier macroeconomic design..."

It can be said that whoever holds the means of production is the asset holder.

They can be privileged asset holders, collective asset holders, state asset holders, so even in line with historical development and world trends, Royal Authority doesn’t necessarily have to be an obstacle that must be overthrown.

Following the evolving rules of capitalism with the development and continuous perfection of productive forces, from free capitalism (industrial slave society) to monopolistic capitalism, and then to state capitalism, it’s a gradually maturing process.

Even without external interference, "state capitalism" is the choice of [Capital] itself!

In this process, the role of the government or [Royal Authority] is to intervene and reform the [free capitalism] that is difficult to self-perfect through economic, administrative, and judicial power, eventually establishing a true [state capitalism].

And "direct distribution and redistribution" is one of the regulatory roles the government should have.

The people are the cornerstone of the country; any social transformation has to unite the power of the majority and let them benefit.

Otherwise, even if weak mortals can’t overthrow the dominance of the Extraordinary, the acute opposition between the upper and lower classes will lead to domestic chaos, and it will surely be impossible to build a first-class global power.

So [Capital] is not a monstrous threat, and [Royal Authority] is not in complete opposition, but the laissez-faire liberalism is. The key lies in whether a balance can be achieved, which most tests the governance strategies of the ruler.

Subsequently, Aiven provided the final summary to the now enlightened three:

"Early detection and early treatment, no matter how much struggling the nascent [Capital] does, sooner or later, it must end up in our hands. Suppress it from the source, shackling it during development, and toll its death knell when the productive forces reach a sufficient level.

And the bare strength is the most enduring and tenacious Life Force of ’Royal Authority’ through all ages!"

Aiven gently clenched his fist, and the air crackled.

"However, everything relies on the comparison with peers; after the asset holders seize power, they should soon reveal their true colors, allowing the grassroots people to clearly see their behavior and the essence of this class’s ’exploitation’ and ’plunder.’

Then mobilize the alliance’s forces to thoroughly extinguish this usurping spark, letting the other restless asset holders within the alliance and the great existence behind them who only thinks of good times, re-experience the meaning of: the iron fist of despotism!"

However.

What Aiven didn’t fully disclose is that in this logically coherent theory.

When the "state capitalism," accompanied by the progress of productive forces, reaches its limit, it’s already close to the dawn of socialism. After the complete demise of capitalism, the countless proletarian class may rise to replace the asset-holding class at that time...