Chapter 192:

Chapter 192:

Chapter 192

Comrade Secretary General?

What is it?

Well I dont mean to question your policy, but there is something I need to ask you about your intentions.

Molotov, who had been traveling around the world day and night at my command, came to me with a quiet question, as if he had something suspicious.

It was new for him to ask a question, as he had always been a mindless bureaucrat type. Whenever I ordered him something, he would always shout Yes, Comrade Secretary General! or Understood, Comrade Secretary General! and work hard. But maybe his training had paid off?

Alright, let me hear it.

Sir Is our relationship with the United States a friendly one or a hostile one? Our foreign ministry and overseas operations department are not sure how to proceed

Both.

Both I see Yes?

When I cut him off like that, Molotovs eyes widened in disbelief. Both. A relationship of both hostility and friendship.

But this strategy, the so-called dual-front strategy (), would be the word that symbolized our policy.

Ive told you many times, diplomacy is about getting along with the United States. The United States is the strongest power of this era, and we cant compete with them with just a few nuclear bombs. Havent you seen it?

Yes Yes, I have.

The food, materials, and industrial production that poured out of that vast land!

As soon as they started producing, they built a fleet larger than the one they lost at Pearl Harbor in just a few years.

The high-ranking officials who saw the power of the United States were quite intimidated.

Some of the more aggressive ones argued that the Soviet army and its allies could still overwhelm the United States on land.

But was there any need to fight?

Rather than wasting our national power by fighting, it is important to foster friendship by various means and grow our national power to match the United States.

Is Is that so?

Maybe we wont be able to catch up with the United States. But if the Soviet Union and the United States reach a similar level of economic development, the Soviet Union will win.

Why?

Their internal contradictions are paradoxically resolved by war, by tension. You know that, dont you? Imperialism, as the final stage of capitalism, solves the problem of overproduction by consuming military power, which is utterly useless.

Yes, yes. Of course, I do

Molotov, who was not well-versed in Marxist theory, seemed to ponder for a moment, but soon nodded as if he remembered.

It was simple to explain. Capitalism, as the productive force increases, does not always follow it with consumption, and falls into overproduction.

Who would want to raise the wages of the workers?

This overproduction would eventually lead to depression and ruin, according to Marxs thought.

But, in actual history, there was a slightly different solution.

Roosevelts New Deal policy, for example, solved the depression by expanding government spending and stimulating consumption.

And the easiest and fastest thing to increase in government spending was military spending. As Hitler did.

On the other hand, the Soviet Union, which controlled the productive force by the state, did not have to worry about the problem of overproduction.

It was just that the people were dissatisfied with the vulnerability of the light industry sector due to the waste of limited productive force in the arms race with foreign countries.

In the end, if the United States and the Soviet Union fought, the United States would gain more strength to last longer, but the Soviet Union would eat away at its own flesh and collapse.

That was my conclusion.

We dont need to join that game. Instead!

Instead?

We have to stimulate their internal contradictions.

Any system had internal contradictions.

The Soviet Union was still less so, but the so-called nomenklatura, the communist aristocracy, was expected to emerge, and the United States was, well, needless to say.

The gap between the rich and the poor, the racial problem, was still bubbling under the surface, but it had the power to turn the society upside down.

Look! That country! They are poorer and hungrier than us, but even so, education and health care are free, and no one falls into extreme poverty because they are sick. Not like some places where women are treated as second-class citizens in society, or where people of color, including blacks, are treated as beasts. Wasnt Comrade Lenin himself a quarter Mongolian?

Hey, where are you going?

I have to go back to work

Have some coffee before you go.

He snorted again, but eventually sat back down. A steaming hot and strong coffee was brought to them.

Mmm this is good

Why are you meddling in other peoples lives, mister?

Thats my job.

Really?

The man rummaged through his chest pocket and took out a business card from his wallet, which had only a few coins left.

John Williams? American Communist Party? Are you a commie, mister?

Well, most people call me that. I prefer the term socialist myself.

Ugh, I hate commies.

Why?

The man raised his eyebrows and looked sternly at the boy, who was whining. The boy frowned at the sudden question.

Why? Because people say theyre all bad.

So if many people say that blacks are lazy and stupid and deserve to be slaves, you would believe that?

Thats different

The man laughed as he saw the boy speechless. Another coffee here! With lots of sugar and cream! He shouted cheerfully and looked at the boy again.

Taking away what belongs to others and giving it away Thats violating their property rights, isnt it?

Wow, where did you learn that word?

At school.

You must have studied well.

The boy scowled as soon as the topic of school came up. He quickly relaxed his face when he saw the man smiling warmly and kindly at him.

Yes, I did pretty well. But I quit now.

Really? Why did you do that?

My teacher told me to. He said I should be realistic when I told him I wanted to be a lawyer How can a black kid like me ever become a lawyer? So I just gave up and left.

The mans smile faded and he listened to the boys story with a serious expression.

His father was a pastor, but he died in an accident, and his mother was admitted to a mental hospital.

He grew up in a foster home, where he also did well in school, ranking first in his class. But his teacher crushed his dream

The boy poured out his life story as if to vent his frustration. The man quietly ordered another cup of coffee and listened to his lament.

Youre right, sir. Damn it, my life is already messed up. Who would make a thief like me a lawyer? If Im lucky, Ill die in a flash from a cops bullet. If Im unlucky, Ill rot in jail for the rest of my life.

Do you want to go to school?

What??

Do you have any thoughts of going to school?

The boys eyes widened at the mans sudden question.

Theres a night school run by the party. Its mainly for elementary and middle school courses, but you can also complete high school courses. If you get a high school diploma and go to law school Well, you might become a lawyer.

No, no, is that true? I dont have any money?

We reds, you see We only rip off the rich, not the poor! Hahahahaha! The truth is, we have money coming from the Soviet Union. There are probably a few more places like this, but youre lucky.

Ill do it, I really want to. Ill definitely go to that school. Dont change your mind now.

Good! Thats great. Um Whats your name?

The boy hesitated for a moment. Was this real? It seemed too good to be true.

But he had nothing to lose in his life.

Malcolm. Malcolm Little.