The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 664 - 505: The Impact of Capital

The power of capital is strong, and its influence on Australasia is far from insignificant.

In just one month since the announcement of the Four-Year Plan, foreign investment in Australasia has increased more than threefold, with the most recent month’s foreign investment amounting to over 27.35 million Australian dollars.

Although the speed of Russian capital investment is not likely to be this high every month, there is no doubt that these investments can greatly stimulate the economic growth of Australasia, and the Australasian economy and industry will experience explosive growth in a short period.

These Russian capitalists are undoubtedly lucky stars for Australasia. With their help, the Four-Year Plan for Australasia is not just empty talk, but has a very high, even 100% probability of being realized.

While this is certainly a good thing, it may also bring some foreseeable problems.

First of all, Australasian labor laws must be implemented in the factories invested by these Russians.

The eight-hour work system, overtime double pay, and other regulations must be implemented, and the welfare treatment of the factory workers must be guaranteed.

This is no small challenge for these Russian capitalists, who have never had to deal with labor laws or human rights in Russia.

In the past, the Tsarist Russian government allowed these capitalists to exploit the common people, and even the Tsarist government itself exploited the common people.

But now things are different; in Australasia, they must follow the rules of the Australasian Government.

The Australasian Government takes human rights and workers’ welfare very seriously, and these will be the first to be protected.

Since the beginning of the industrial age, the power of workers has been strong. As long as the interests of workers are protected, the interests of the working class and the common people are also protected.

Most workers are common people; this is the result of the era. Protecting workers’ interests also protects the income of part of the common people.

With income, people can support their families, and naturally, they will not think about rebellion and revolution.

Capitalists can enter the Australasian market in two ways, either by directly establishing new companies and factories or by acquiring existing enterprises.

No matter the method, it will have a positive effect on the Australasian economy.

After all, when capitalists acquire existing enterprises, the original business owners are unlikely to sell at a low price, but rather will take the opportunity to sell at a high price.

Overall, the current development environment in Australasia is quite good, with no war impact, and relatively comprehensive prevention measures against influenza, so few enterprises go bankrupt, and most are profitable.

If a portion of local enterprises is acquired or forms a joint venture, it will enable more Australasian business owners to have sufficient funds to invest in other industries, or raise their living standards; in any case, money will be spent, creating a good cycle and promotion in society.

For a country, the best situation is to have an uninterrupted flow of money.

Some more extreme countries will promote people’s desire for consumption. Part of people’s consumption is returned to the government in the form of taxes, and part goes to the hands of others, starting the entire cycle once again.

In this way, money goes through multiple circulations, providing an unparalleled boost to the economy.

If this four-year plan is successful, the next four-year plan would become the mainstream plan of the Australasian government in the future.

After all, the term of office for each Cabinet Government is only four years, and compared to the original five-year plan proposed by Arthur, the four-year plan is more in line with the actual situation in Australasia.

Although inevitably, things accomplished in four years would be less than in five years, Australasia’s policies are always carried out under Arthur’s supervision and control, so the overall direction will never deviate.

Frankly, the influx of these capitals has also allowed Arthur to breathe a sigh of relief.

With the addition of these Russian capitals, some weaker areas of development in Australasia should be able to catch up in a short amount of time, or at least make up for the previous gaps.

Only a comprehensively developed country is healthy, and its development potential will be revealed.

Although Australasia has caught up in some respects, the total development time is only 19 years, which is still far behind those long-established countries.

Making up for this kind of disparity in historical depth cannot be fully understood by numbers alone; conservatively speaking, it will take at least ten years to bridge these gaps.

If we consider the impact of World War II, it might not be until after the war that Australasia becomes a truly powerful country in every aspect.

Although enjoying the benefits of capital brought to the country, it is necessary to prevent the downsides capital brings as well.

In World War I, capital played a crucial role in promoting the war. It’s not an exaggeration to say that some European countries and the United States were influenced by capital.

Capital swelled to such an extent that it could even provoke wars between countries. From the moment capital began to reveal its fangs, even a country’s policies could be influenced by it.

Not to mention World War I, even the future World War II would have the influence of capital. It may seem that Hitler started World War II, but was there really no influence from capital behind it? Absolutely not.

Even without Hitler, there would be others like him, influenced by capital, leading Germany to the battlefield; this is impossible to change by individuals alone.

The power of capital is thoroughly demonstrated in the United States in later generations. Behind every action taken by the United States, capital is present.

This is why Arthur is cautious about capitalists. These people would do anything once they have power, and Arthur’s wariness of the bourgeois class is on par with Soviet Russia.

However, at present in Australasia, Arthur himself is the largest capital, controlling most of the economy.

For such a monarchical country, especially when Arthur holds both economic and military power, there’s no need to worry about the influence of capital on the government.

After all, the wealth of the royal financial group is no joke; if a capital wants to influence the government, it must first see if it can withstand the offensive of the royal financial group.

Although the current royal financial group only has military industry and banking, the Royal Bank alone can cut off a significant portion of capital’s economic sources.

Keep in mind that the Australian dollar is issued jointly by the Royal Bank and the National Bank, and Arthur can control the issuance of the Australian dollar at any time.

With control over the currency’s roots, no matter how big the capital, Arthur can manipulate it at will.