Chapter 302: Can learning Zaun save Demacia?
The snack bar owner's words made Prince Jarvan and Garen fall into deep thought.
They probably understood.
The Piltover route is indeed useful, but the side effects are also serious:
First of all, the process of primitive accumulation of industrialization is very painful;
Secondly, even if we have completed primitive accumulation with great difficulty, achieved industrialization, and made the cake bigger, the subsequent distribution of the cake is still a problem.
However, this distribution problem is an inherent defect of the seed benzene-based economy and is destined to be unable to be completely solved.
"Then..." Prince Jarvan looked at the owner of the snack bar thoughtfully: "How did the Leader solve this problem?"
"If we learn from Zaun's approach, can we make all Demacians rich without experiencing any pain?"
"Huh?" The snack bar owner looked back at him with disdain: "Customer, have you read the book 'A Brief Account of Janna's Thoughts'?"
"Um... I've seen it." Prince Jarvan blushed.
He never expected that he, a prince of a country, would be repeatedly mocked by a snack bar owner on political issues.
But there was nothing he could do about it. For the past 18 years, this prince had only been building up his muscles and size, and had not seriously studied the art of governing a country.
Whereas in Demacia, various political theories are the precious family heritage of the nobles and are kept secret, in Zaun they are only daily content open to the public for study and discussion in newspapers, radio, and community conferences.
In comparison, his political literacy is actually not as good as that of Uncle Zuan, who has rich experience in building a government.
At this time, the owner of the snack bar explained mockingly: "Customer, if you really read that booklet, you should know that leaders pay most attention to specific analysis of specific issues--"
"You said Demacia should learn from Zaun. How do you learn?"
"The situation in Demacia and Zaun is so different. Can you copy our development experience?"
Unlike Demacia, an agricultural country.
Although Zaan was poor, it was by no means backward.
The shocking poverty of the people of Zaun is entirely artificially created by the Piltover tycoons and Zaun compradors who are too cruel and exploitative with their methods of draining the pond to catch all the fish and exterminating their own descendants.
In fact, Zaun is the most developed heavy industrial city in Runeterra. As early as 200 years ago, it had completed the primitive accumulation of seed benzene and achieved world-leading industrialization.
The cake here has already been made big enough.
All the Leader needs to do is snatch the cake from the Piltover Cartel and the Alchemist Baron, and then divide it among everyone as fairly as possible.
That is why the people of Zaun can become rich rapidly in just a few months.
This is not because the leader has some magical power to turn stone into gold, but because the leader helped them get back what rightfully belongs to them.
"Do you understand?"
"We in Zaun have already completed the primitive accumulation of industrialization. We only need to distribute it properly to make everyone rich."
"But what about you Demacia?"
To put it nicely, Demacia is a rich pastoral kingdom with a primitive and pure beauty.
To put it bluntly, it is a poor and backward agricultural country.
There is not a single cement road or electric pole in the entire country. In terms of industrialization, it is 100 years behind Noxus.
"You want to learn Zaan, but how do you learn it?" the snack bar owner asked again mercilessly.
"Uh..." Prince Jarvan said stubbornly, "I don't mean to copy Zaun's experience. I mean to learn Zaun's system..."
"Come on." The snack bar owner laughed and said, "Do you think that as long as you learn the system of Zaun and set up a Guild of Leaders in Demacia, you can become rich without any pain?"
"How can such a good thing happen!"
When Piltover was prosperous in the past, outsiders often instinctively developed superstition about Piltover's systems.
They thought that as long as their hometown learned from Piltover and implemented community self-governance and established a merchant council, they would miraculously become prosperous.
Now that the people of Zaun have become rich, many outsiders have begun to believe in Zaun's system, thinking that as long as their hometown learns from Zaun and sets up a Leaders Association, all problems will be miraculously solved.
"No, the Leader Association is also a human organization."
They also feel troubled by the same problems that Prince Jarvan is troubled by.
"We are not gods. It is not possible for factories to fall from the sky ."
"It doesn't mean that if Demacia is led by the leader, the primitive accumulation of industrialization will not be painful."
The theory of the leader is against exploitation.
But theory is theory, and reality is still very far from the ideal harmonious society.
In reality, even if the Leader were to lead Demacia, they could only achieve primitive accumulation of industrialization by extracting surplus labor.
For example, if an agricultural country wants to get rich, it needs industrialization, and industrialization requires factories, and factories require engineers and mechanical equipment.
Engineers need higher education, and higher education costs money. A lot of money.
Machinery and equipment need to be imported, and importing them costs money. A lot of money.
In addition, other areas that need money include scientific research, infrastructure, national defense, medical care, basic security... To achieve the industrialization of a huge country, the funds required are absolutely astronomical.
Even if we defeat all the nobles and landlords, there won’t be enough money.
So where can this money come from?
Since we cannot plunder externally, we can only extract surplus labor from within. The leader has come, and if we want to industrialize, we can only do this.
Then who will extract this surplus labor from?
Demacia is an agricultural country. The vast majority of the population are farmers, and the only goods that can be produced independently are agricultural products.
Naturally, the only way was to extract the surplus labor from the farmers of Demacia, mobilize the whole country to support industry with agriculture, and realize the primitive accumulation of industrialization.
"Guest, you want to 'become rich without any pain'?"
"But do you think such a process would be painless?"
"Our President Levi has said before that a Hextech radio that takes Zaun 100 man-hours to make would cost a farmer 10 years without food or drink to buy in Noxus."
"Then think about it. If Demacia needs to import an industrial machine, how many farmers will it need to pay, and how many years of labor surplus will it add up to?"
Prince Jarvan broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this.
At this moment, he finally realized that behind this simple phrase "primitive accumulation of industrialization" was a heavy price.
This is the only way for every industrialized country.
Even if the leader comes, this pain cannot be avoided.
"Then..." Prince Jarvan asked thoughtfully, "How is the Wind Leader's route better than the Piltover route?"
If even the Windleader cannot avoid this kind of pain, then isn't that the same as learning from Zaun or Piltover?
"Of course it's different!" The snack bar owner smiled preparedly:
“First, leaders can solve the problem of how to distribute the pie after it gets bigger.”
Yes, industrialization is accompanied by pain.
But after the pain, the leader can distribute the fruits of development that everyone has worked hard for as fairly as possible to everyone.
Piltover cannot do this. They seem to have done it on the surface, but in fact they have shifted the pain to Zaun and beyond their borders.
"That's the first point. Secondly, the Wind Leader can help Demacia alleviate the pain of this development process."
"Reduce?" Prince Jarvan asked puzzledly, "How to reduce?"
"It's simple," said the snack bar owner. "Let Zaun come to support Demacia."
Doesn't it cost money to develop industrialization, train technicians, import equipment, and build infrastructure?
It doesn't matter.
"We in Zaun can support you for less money, or even for free."
Free training for staff, machines are sold at a discount price, and infrastructure can also provide technical, equipment and financial support.
If Demacia spends less money, the Demacians will naturally suffer less.
"What?!" Prince Jarvan widened his eyes in disbelief.
He instinctively felt that this was a joke.
When will pie fall from the sky again?
Free aid, to put it bluntly, isn't this just using the Zaun people's money to subsidize the Demacians?
Would the people of Zaun be willing to do so?
In fact, many people are unwilling to do so.
But this trend of thinking that only prioritizes Zaun has been corrected in time by Levi.
"The theory of continuous progress proposed by President Levi is to solve the problem you mentioned." The snack bar owner said: "Customer, you should read more recent newspapers in Zaun."
"This..." Prince Jarvan still couldn't accept it.
Is the leader really so kind?
Even though Jarvan is a political rookie, he knows that there is no free lunch in the world.
Even the so-called free aid will inevitably come with various additional conditions.
"That was in the past," said the snack bar owner.
This is indeed the case in a world without trendsetters.
In other words, even if there are leaders, the facts will not change in a world without magic.
Because there are no miracles in a world without magic, leaders have to face the reality and the objective gap between countries and nations.
Compared with the ideal of world unity, everyone prioritizes fighting for the interests of their own country and nation.
Therefore, the so-called aid between countries is naturally bound to involve the exchange of interests behind it. If the interests of both sides cannot be aligned, even the best of brothers will still turn against each other.
This is reality. It cannot be easily changed by talking about ideals or shouting slogans.
But this is Runeterra, a world of magic and wonder.
"We have a great faith that transcends any identity, any nation, or any country - the Goddess Janna."
Prince Jarvan did not believe that Zaun was willing to help Demacia without asking for anything in return, because he still instinctively believed that Zaun and Demacia were basically two countries.
But under the banner of the goddess Janna, Runeterra can unite.
Zaun, Piltover, Demacia, Noxus... the boundaries between countries and the barriers between nations will eventually disappear under the common belief in Janna.
"We help you, not to get anything from you."
"Just because—"
“We are comrades.”
