ushernet Chapter 77 Flow of the Era (5)
Chapter 77 Flow of the Era (5)
30 years ago from now.
britain accounted for 47% of world steel production with about 7 million tons of steel.
they produced 120 million tons of coal annually and that overwhelming production capacity and price competitiveness had the power to make even america, which had sufficient technical capability, import industrial infrastructure and railways.
britain, possessing iron and coal that form the foundation of modern civilization, didn't stop there.
with the power of advanced civilization, they produced half the world's military ships by displacement and expanded their colonial empire faster than anyone.
hong kong, singapore, malaya, new zealand, burma, ceylon, egypt, australia, canada, ireland, india - each concession and colony was a pillar of the british empire.
would you believe that the british empire, a single country (including colonies), accounted for one-fourth of the world's gross domestic product (gdp)?
19% of earth's land area.
21% of earth's population.
held by a single country.
russia couldn't even dare compare with britain then. what's the point of comparing when gdp alone differed over threefold.
thus 30 years passed.
population, just counting europe, is more than germany, france, and britain combined.
oil industry, though still less developed than coal, is overwhelmingly first at 1.2 billion feet (about 19 million tons). america is second and austria-hungary empire third, but the dual monarchy is only 5% of total production.
coal, half the empire's coal comes from donbas and this too can be increased as much as desired.
after serfdom's abolition, mines including coal mines all completely collapsed and took time to recover, but even now we can extract as much as we want if we just input people.
gold, having bought since father's time for introducing the gold standard and supporting expanding economy with currency, we have 1.5 billion rubles. world's first. financial markets have also developed quite well through french banks.
steel industry is first in some fields like wrought iron but trending toward steel industry.
stay connected with empire
steel is similar to coal. we don't increase production because consumption is low, not that we can't increase it.
agriculture... i really wish it would decrease. this year's bumper crop made agricultural prices fall again.
and now we're seeing those fruits.
"still i worry about their harmful effects. corporate unity led by prodamet in metal industry, okean first in steamships, drozh in urban food. not just that. cartels of landowners owning sugar industry, ropit monopolizing logistics in azov and black seas. they only grew bigger through policy finance but still form cartels and monopolies."
"so, you dislike monopolies and cartels? should we bring in foreign companies for competition then?"
"you know that's not what i mean."
witte has extremely opposed entry of foreign capital and industry. yet he hates domestic russian industry's evils too, so to my eyes he clearly looks like nothing but a born bureaucrat.
however as ruler not bureaucrat, one must think differently.
i put my hand on witte's heavy shoulders as he sighed deeply rattling off countless company names.
"haah, prime minister. don't worry too much."
"how can i not worry?"
"they'll all face the blade someday anyway."
"...absolutely no purges."
i wonder if this is really the same prime minister who was just cursing capitalists as he stares into my eyes pleading absolute opposition.
"who said purges?"
"no nationalization either."
"i wouldn't do such inefficient things."
we don't even have talent to use as bureaucrats, what's the point of increasing state enterprises.
unless it's wartime, if i as tsar did such anti-capitalist things, only after-effects would come to the empire.
"witte, this country is not britain, france, or america."
"what do you mean by that..."
"since this country's founding, has there ever been a case of the bourgeoisie seizing power?"
even in the duma the bourgeoisie are just minor parties with no power.