The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 815: 609: The Ambition of the Minister of Agriculture_1

Chapter 815: Chapter 609: The Ambition of the Minister of Agriculture_1

The economic toll was not only evident in the Allies and Powers but also in the defeated nations of World War I, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Because of the so-called subcontractor factory model, Germany’s Industry had seen a resurgence over a period, having reached the scale of Germany’s Industry in 1905.

Although there was still a gap compared to the pre-war industrial scale, compared to the horrifically restricted state post-war, Germany had at least seen a revival in the industrial sector.

Similarly apparent was the case with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire lost Hungary, the industrial core remained in Austria and Bohemia.

The current industrial scale of the Austro-Hungarian Empire had recovered to the levels of 1910, and apart from the loss of Hungary, their situation was much better than that of Germany.

However, these countries’ industrial and economic resurgence had a clear characteristic: their currency’s actual value was decreasing, and the value of their money was continuously devaluing.

Although it seemed like the economies of various countries were constantly growing, and even the incomes of people were steadily increasing.

But the problem is, the value of money was continuously weakening, and the purchasing power of people’s wages was actually reducing.

While such economic growth had created a false sense of prosperity, it was like a bubble that could burst at any time.

People’s incomes appeared to grow, but their living standards were constantly declining. If all industries still can’t see such a crisis and continue to ramp up the production scale of finished goods, the outbreak of an economic crisis becomes inevitable.

But which government would willingly expose such an impending crisis? Never mind if this is beneficial for the government, it is of no advantage to the one who reveals it.

After all, one just needs to endure through one’s term in office; there will always be the next government to take the fall. But what if such a crisis is laid bare during one’s tenure? How then to resolve the crisis?

If one proposes a crisis but fails to resolve it, wouldn’t that government be the perfect scapegoat?

And these politicians are not fools; rather than exposing a crisis and alienating capitalists, they prefer to endure their term, then they can rely on their fame to write books or even be hired by those capitalists as corporate consultants, seizing the opportunity to make a fortune and so on.

With their experience of holding high positions in the government, and their influence in the political arena. Even if the books they write are a mess, there will be people willing to pay for their fame—this is the celebrity effect.

The two choices have become very clear. Almost no one is willing to risk exposing the crisis, and the choice for most is the second one: to go with the times, to go with the flow.

This is also where capital is quite frightening. While most of the time, Power is greater than money, money has an attraction to anyone.

When a country’s monetary and authoritative powers are intertwined, that is the scariest time for the People of that nation.

This is what Arthur could see and was adamantly trying to avoid.

As the largest capitalist in Australasia, Arthur’s purpose in setting up the election commission and controlling political parties with the Royal Parliament was to separate the capital and government of Australasia as much as possible, avoiding the influence of capitalists on officials.

In elections like those in the United States, it is easy for capitalists to intervene and foster candidates with influence among the common people.

“Your Majesty, our total food production has now exceeded 24 million tons, with an increase of over 7% from last year. We anticipate that by the end of the Four-Year Plan, our food production will at least surpass 26 million tons, far exceeding our consumption,” continued an excited Minister Mark.

Having regained the position of Minister of Agriculture, it was clear that Mark was set on accomplishing major events.

As the Minister of Agriculture from 1907 to 1918, Minister Mark had already accumulated a fair amount of merit, even earning the title of Sir.

But that was not enough for Minister Mark. If he could create new achievements during this term, given his good performance during World War I, it was not impossible for him to obtain a Baron Title of Nobility as well.

After all, a Baron is a noble title that can truly be inherited. This was not just for himself, but also for his family and offspring.

If he could really take this step, it would be a significant move towards joining the Aristocratic Classes, ensuring, at the very least, that the Mark family would be secured in life as long as no mistakes were made.

However, the threshold from Sir to Baron is relatively high, which is why there are already hundreds of Sirs, while there are only about twenty Barons.

The gap between hereditary and non-hereditary Nobility is stark, and sometimes this gap may be insurmountable within a lifetime if one is simply waiting for tenure.

The food production of Australasia met Arthur’s expectations.

This was also a characteristic of the era—the people’s enthusiasm for working in agriculture remained strong, without much discrimination against agricultural workers.

Though profits from simple farming did not compete with those of the Working Classes, agricultural workers often led more carefree lives, with a higher happiness index.

Despite the strict enforcement of the eight-hour work system for Workers, their standard of living was not as high as those in agriculture.

After all, most farm workers did not need to purchase a significant part of their food, but Workers had to buy nearly everything for their basic needs, creating an inherent difference.

If Workers are working for others, then Farm owners are working for themselves, which is the fundamental difference between the two.

In fact, most people engaged in agriculture live directly on their farms, not needing to purchase urban housing, thereby saving a substantial amount of money.

Agriculture and animal husbandry also have their own subsidies, and the government even helps with the sale of their products, ensuring that these farm owners have ample income.

Compared with the toil of working for others, there is already a significant number of people choosing to start their own farms or ranches, becoming free farm owners.

Especially now, with the new development of the land in the Mure River Basin being quite affordable.

This is characteristic of Australasia; with land plentiful and sparse population, land prices could never be too high.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the number of farms in the Capital Territory has already exceeded 5000, and the number of ranches surpassed 3000.

While most of these are relatively small-scale, their collective contributions to food and meat production are considerable indeed.

The rapid growth rate of food production in Australasia owes much to these small scale farms.