Chapter 209 Three Questions
Perfect’s question made Kallen open her mouth to answer, but Purfict’s words, “Think carefully, think clearly before answering” made her fall into thinking.
Karen had never thought about the impact of independence before.
In the various information she came into contact with, everyone was saying that the current problems and sufferings in the New World colonies came from the exploitation and oppression of the empire.
Especially the war between the Empire and France for world hegemony more than ten years ago. Although the Empire won, the huge military expenditures and the impact of the war still caused heavy damage to the Empire.
In order to restore the economy and pass on conflicts, the empire transferred all the financial deficit caused by huge military expenditures to the New World colonies and began to impose heavy taxes on the colonies.
It was also from that time that the wave of independence movement began to rise.
People always preach that the empire transferred the huge military expenditures of the war that determined world hegemony more than ten years ago to the New World colonies. For this reason, it levied heavy taxes on the New World. All the wealth created by the people of the New World was plundered by the empire itself. Gone.
As long as the empire's rule in the New World can be overthrown and the people of the New World can control their own wealth, everyone will soon become rich and live a good life.
Karen used to believe these words, but after Perficott calculated an account for her and let her understand the tax structure of the New World colonies and the empire's financial revenue in the New World, Kallen Only then did he realize, how much money do ordinary people have in their hands?
It is true that the empire transferred huge military expenditures to the New World colonies, and there was no problem with the collection of heavy taxes, but this is not actually that relevant to ordinary people.
It is true that the heavy taxes imposed by the empire are really pressing on the heads of every people in the New World, but this tax rate has been calculated and is not set by the heads of the noble council. .
According to the tax rates set by the empire, although the living standards of the New World colonies will indeed decline, it will only drop from being able to eat one meal of meat in three days to being able to eat one meal of meat a week.
After all, the main areas that are heavily taxed are factories and business-related fields. These profitable industries are the focus of the empire's taxation. It's just that those black-hearted capitalists and factory owners refuse to cut off their meat and instead reduce workers. To pass on the contradiction through wages.
Otherwise, although the heavy taxes imposed by the empire did have a huge impact on the lives of the people in the New World, it was not to the extent that they could not survive or even risked beheading to achieve independence.
Of course, this level of high tax rates is not without problems, and it is acceptable for a short-term emergency. However, if high tax rates are maintained for a long time, it will indeed lead to further public dissatisfaction, until it triggers riots or even greater disasters.
Although Purficott often scolded the noble council as insects, these insects only care about their own interests and are not really brainless.
Although they set such a high tax rate, they also gave it ten years. The empire just wanted to close the accounts of the war deficit, not drain the New World colonies.
While not everyone wanted sustainable fishing, the Duke of Gloucester and the Queen herself teamed up to reject the proposal.
However, the independence movement in the New World broke out very quickly. It would be unbelievable to say that no one was behind this.
According to the subsequent investigation by the Imperial Intelligence Agency, it can be confirmed that the French provided financial and weapons support to the independence movement at that time. In addition, in addition to the support of external forces, although the main body of the independence movement at that time were passionate young people and urban citizens, a key point that cannot be ignored is that behind them were the promotion of the emerging bourgeoisie.
This is actually easy to understand. Because the New World colonies lacked the constraints of traditional aristocratic forces, capitalism developed rapidly in the New World. It also promoted economic development and allowed the emerging bourgeoisie to It became a major component of the New World colonies and an important vested interest.
They were dissatisfied with the empire's economic policies that restricted colonial power and imposed heavy taxes, which secretly promoted the development and expansion of the independence movement.
But when the empire showed its determination and strength to suppress it without hesitation, without sufficient support from external forces, they quickly retreated, and the independence movement also reached a low ebb.
Through these, Kallen at least figured out the first two of Purficott's three questions, namely why they want to be independent and what impact independence will have on them.
Answering these two questions also allowed Karen to see something clearly, that is, if ordinary people in the New World colonies want to change their living conditions, they do not actually need to seek independence, or in other words, they do not need to Use force to fight for independence.
This is not to say that armed struggle is undesirable, but that what they get is disproportionate to what they pay.
Before independence, they were squeezed by big capitalists and big factory owners. After independence, they will still be squeezed. They just subtracted some of the extra parts.
Before independence, I had to be oppressed by you. After independence, I will still be oppressed by you. Didn’t I become independent in vain?
Before independence, I still had the citizenship of the world's most powerful country. Who do I think the colonies are after independence?
So it’s not that independence is bad, but that the independence movement wants to overthrow not only the oppression of the people by the empire, but also the exploitation of the people by the bourgeoisie, and the latter is far more intuitive than the former.
This is like a person working in a factory, and the boss is ruthlessly exploiting him. Instead of saying something bad about the boss, he says something bad about the country. The boss gives him a little extra profit at the end of the year, and he still wants to praise the boss. Well, isn’t this putting the cart before the horse?
Perfect admitted that what he said to Karen was full of rhetoric, hints and inducements, but there was no element of sophistry, because what she said was the truth.
What do ordinary citizens and farmers know? As long as they have a mouthful of food to eat and their lives can go on, they will not have the thought of resisting.
Feeding a large family every day already consumes all your energy. How can you still have time to think about independence and freedom?
What led these people to resist imperial rule was actually the interest class behind them, the big capitalists and factory owners who were really harmed by the empire's economic policies.
And the so-called benefits that can be obtained after independence?
This is naturally the case for big capitalists and big factory owners. The mountain above their heads has been removed, and an emerging country is dominated by them. Why is it bad?
As for the people at the bottom? A little scrap of food slipped through the fingers, and that was enough to keep them busy.
"So for the third question, do you have an answer?" Purficott looked at Karen, whose whole outlook seemed to be being reshaped, with an inexplicable expectation in her eyes.
(End of this chapter)