Chapter 1488 - 33: Year-End Economic Conference (Part 2)

Chapter 1488: Chapter 33: Year-End Economic Conference (Part 2)

The peasants of the Tsarist Russia era certainly did not live better than those in the Soviet era, but the conditions of the peasants under the Russian Labor Party were clearly not ideal either.

Although Soviet agricultural issues have been criticized for a long time, the fact remains that the living standards of most peasant groups improved significantly compared to the Tsarist era.

In reality, Russia’s agricultural sector was inherently weak. If Russian agriculture in the Tsarist Russia era had reached the level of the United States and East Africa, the Russian Labor Party wouldn’t have had to stir up so many issues later on.

However, if Russian agriculture during the Tsarist Russia era had developed to the level of the United States and East Africa, Russia wouldn’t have become a weak link in the imperialist chain, and the Russian Labor Party likely wouldn’t have come to power.

Moreover, the fact that Soviet peasants had better living standards than those in the Tsarist Russia era is not particularly commendable, as it’s a vertical comparison. It’s like comparing the current East African peasants’ living standards to those of the last century, which naturally should be higher.

Unless East African society remains stagnant, which is clearly a very small probability, human societies are generally in a process of continuous development and advancement over time. Even in feudal societies, civilization progressed slowly, as new technologies and innovations keep emerging.

Sure, there are times in human history when there’s regression, such as the Germanic people interrupting ancient Rome, or the Mongols conquering Eurasia, but it’s certain that most of the time, eras are progressing.

With the development of the temporal dimension, most countries should naturally make progress. Even in the Tsarist Russia era, Russia was constantly evolving, so as a latecomer, if Soviet peasants’ lives were worse than the Tsarist Russia era, the country would have basically reached its end.

Therefore, social development should not only focus on vertical temporal comparisons but also on horizontal ones. One significant reason Soviet agriculture had so many problems was because the reference point had shifted to the agriculture of countries like Europe and America.

Agriculture was a significant shortcoming for the Soviet Union, a problem that persisted until the Soviet Union collapsed, which makes it fair game for Ernst to heavily criticize Russian agriculture under the Russian Labor Party.

That being said, currently, using agricultural development issues to criticize Russia might not be effective, as Russia is not yet the Soviet Union. Under Vladimir’s new economic policy, Russian peasants are praising the Russian Labor Party.

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The East African Government’s focus cannot always be on Russia or other countries worldwide. In 1921, the most pressing issue for the East African Government was the difficulties encountered in economic transition.

With more than half of 1921 already gone and the East African five-five plan having been implemented for some time, not only has the East African economy not warmed up, but it has continued to sink into a state of depression.

This has made recent meetings related to the economic sector in East Africa even more frequent.

Thus, the East African economy remained lukewarm up to the year’s end, and Ernst provided relevant summaries at the economic meeting at the end of 1921.

"No country can sustain high-speed development indefinitely, and we in East Africa are no exception. Since the 1870s, the East African economy has maintained rapid growth."

"This rapid growth continued until the end of the World War, meaning the era of high-speed economic development in East Africa sustained for nearly fifty years."

"In just fifty short years, East Africa has become one of the world’s substantial emerging industrial powers, which is extremely rare in history."

"However, it’s precisely because of this that, at the start of the five-five plan, we are dissatisfied with the current pace of national economic development. But when compared with other countries worldwide, the state of the East African economy is actually quite decent."

Overall, in 1921, East African economic conditions were better than those of other imperialist countries, above the passing line.

However, compared to the fifty-year development of the East African economy, the economic development from 1920 to 1921 can be said to be a trough.

Most people are accustomed to the fast-paced development of the past fifty years, so they are obviously dissatisfied with the current slowdown in the East African economy.

However, Ernst remained clear-headed, recognizing that the current economic situation represents the real level of development. From the last century to the first twenty years of this century, the East African economy could achieve leaps due to colonial benefits, the momentum of the second industrial revolution, and Ernst’s foresight, allowing East Africa to seize various historical opportunities.

With multiple advantages stacking up, it would be difficult for East Africa not to develop rapidly. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, as long as a country wasn’t in a completely absurd state, development wouldn’t be too poor. Even backward regions and colonies could make significant progress.

East Africa could not only absorb the technology and industry outflows from Europe but also existed as an independent sovereign nation, free from external restrictions. Together with colonial benefits, East Africa should have at least reached the level of Tsarist Russia early in this century.

"Currently, the global economy is in a period of downturn, and since 1910, the East African economy has begun integrating with the International Community, so this impact was within our expectations."

"Moreover, given the current industrial upgrade and transition, in the next five to ten years, we should remain calm, boost confidence in economic development, further consolidate the foundation of the national economy, and continually enhance the rules and institutional construction of the domestic market."