Capto Iugulum

[Lord_Iggy]

And thus, we see that even the broad political stripes of leftism, liberalism and socialism still contain major ideological divides within themselves.

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

Further ongoing work:

 

[JohannaK]

Oh, yes, OTL 20s art!

 

[christos200]

Ecuador's Proletarian Revolution was about a man, Ericko, who after he overthrowed a dictator, he tried to make capitalist reforms and make the regime more liberal, but he was stopped by the Army, he then declared elections and lost them. After the Democratic Government decided to also do capitalist reforms, the Army and the people couped the Government and Ericko was made once again leader of Ecuador. Ericko then tried to make small capitalist reforms, mainly allowing private companies and democratize Ecuador, but he was invaded by most of South America. However, he put up a brave resistance, but he was betrayed by his soldiers, lost his nation to foreign invasion and died in jail.

So I dont think that Ecuador was really Proletarist. It was more of a revolutionary state, whose leader tried to make capitalistic reforms, but he failed until Peru and Colombia took over the nation.

In my opinion, Ecuador, as it is now, is what Ericko (me) would have wanted, except for the King.

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

@christos200: In my own opinion, Ecuador's Revolution was about overthrowing the old capitalist ways, and then for some reason (i.e. you) the leader went crazy and starting trying to restore the stuff the people just overthrew less than a year before.

@JoanK: I do love me some OTL 1920s. Overall though, I feel that the picture above effectively conveys a period of modern growth and structure, while at the same time hinting at the possibility of ominous developments and uncertainty of the future.

 

[JohannaK]

@JoanK: I do love me some OTL 1920s. Overall though, I feel that the picture above effectively conveys a period of modern growth and structure, while at the same time hinting at the possibility of ominous developments and uncertainty of the future.

Oh yes, it does. What I meant is that the style of it looks very... 20s-30s.

 

[Lord of Elves]

Nordiska Revolutionen -- Scandinavian Proletarism​

The Revolution and the Nation

Scandinavian Steelworkers' League Workers' Trade Congress representatives accompanied by Syndikalistika Partiet fanatics in the streets of Stockholm​

Unlike the Revolution in other nations, or much of international communism as we understand it "in OTL", Scandinavian proletarists do not style themselves so much as the usurpers and reformers justly overthrowing a supremely evil and fundamentally incapable power structure as much as adherents to the liberal, forward-thinking ideal of Scandinavian politics, standing at the crest of the newest wave of history that shall sweep away all remnants of the world that existed before. Scandinavian proletarism does not reject the society that came before it as much as its adherents, particularly its intellectuals, believe that the Pre-Revolutionary Society is inferior to and must be improved and built upon in order to arrive at the Revolutionary Society. Revolutionary fervor is tied to a nationalist belief in the fundamental superiority and goodness of the Nordic, Scandinavian state (the Fatherland), as much as it is to the goal of democratization of labor, the end of wage slavery, and the creation of the truly egalitarian society envisioned by the early proletarists. The interpretation of "traditional proletarism" that was embraced first by the architects of the Revolutionary Government is that strong, centralized authority must be given all ultimate power over the course and workings of the Revolution in order to arbitrate a "Benevolent Dictatorship of the Proletariat" that will be impartial and unyielding to regional, personal and monetary interests, and entirely concerned with the welfare of the Revolution and the Revolutionary State. This strain of thinking is built largely upon the famous Scandinavian liberalization of the mid-19th century (regarded now as the fight by centralizers and modernizers against a national apparatus which was semi-feudal, and hostile to democratiztion), and many proletarist intellectuals cast themselves in the same light as the Rikstag's earliest parliamentarians and that movements greatest thinkers. To proletarists in Scandinavia, the Revolution is not the usurp of rightful authority but a continuation of Scandinavia's place at the vanguard of European politics, where Scandinavians boldly push forwards into the future as an example to all other peoples. Slightly less official, but still an underlying belief that fuels much Revolutionary fervor beneath the surface of the Revolutionary Society, is the feeling that the "ancien regime" (so to speak) capitalist ruling establishment betrayed the people of Scandinavia when it allowed the glorious Nordic Fatherland to be defeated in the Great War. Similarly to Germany's fascists blaming the nation-less Jewish usurer for Germany's loss, Scandinavian proletarists believe the greed and self-importance of Scandinavian industrialists and capitalists is the root factor of that nation's defeat at the hands of the transatlantic powers. The unwritten, but generally held, belief that ultimately what is best for the nation is best for the Revolution is a guiding principle for Scandinavian proletarists who believe fervently that the Nordic Fatherland is at the vanguard of the international struggle for Revolutionary Equality, is important additionally to a sense of Nordic nationalism and superiority. OTL falangism and its concept of Hispanidad are ideas that are not alien to Scandinavian proletarists, who popularized the use of the term "Fatherland" to refer to Scandinavia shortly after the December Coup.

The Revolution and Labor

Scandinavian women pose with rifles and in factory uniforms in commemoration of the Act of Revolutionary Equality, giving women the right to work for the Revolution in the factories of the Fatherland​

Colleague Mannerheim's First Five Year Plan's (details vary, it either "occurred" from 1909 to 1914 or 1910 to 1915) goal was to establish the Revolutionary Society in which labor was democratized, the old capitalist economic system of the past had been disbanded, and the principles of what Mannerheim and his fellows in the Revolutionary Government called "Revolutionary Syndicalism" had been instilled at the very core of the economic apparatus. The extremely arcane and intricate bureaucracy that exists in order to maintain and safeguard the democratization of labor in the Workers' Commonwealth bares some passing resemblance to the web of departments, party organizations and governmental programs which govern the economy of the Peoples' Republic of China and its relations with foreign, capitalist investors, but is distinct. The goals of the First Five Year Plan and the democratization labor fall in more with the principles of the "Authentic Falange" and early falangism, which held that the establishment of economic and social syndicalism was imperative to the health of the state and the nation. Scandinavia's most influential labor unions are often tied to the Revolutionary Government, greatest among these the Scandinavian Steelworkers' League, the importance of the steel industry and Scandinavia's spot as the world's primary producer of industrial steel being relevant to the goals of the Revolution. Labor union hierarchy varies greatly; labor unions have to be approved by the Revolutionary Government, and so those organizations which are given a "green light" are often given a wide hand in their dealings. So long as the labor unions send representatives to the Worrkers' Trade Congress, and stay true to the ideals of the Revolution as laid down and/or applied by the Revolutionary Government, they are welcome to do business within the Workers' Commonwealth. The relationship of labor unions to each other and to their employees is not that different from the relationship between privatized corporations as much as all workers from the highest to lowest possess a share of the profits. This "democratization of labor" which is at the heart of syndicalism provides incentive to work and representation in work to all the workers, and as Scandinavian Steelworkers' League notable Christian Lundeberg put it, "Ensures the glorious freedom of labor for all time."

The Revolution and Government

First Proletarian and Colleague Mannerheim reviews the parade of the Fatherland Proletarian Army​

The Revolutionary Government is not so much a Stalinist personality cult as an authoritarian power structure built around the force of personality of the singular Karl Mannerheim, whose role in the creation of the Revolutionary State and the adoption of its "Revolutionary Syndicalism" echoes more of Mustafa Kemal than Adolf Hitler. Mannerheim, and the other largely-anonymous members of the Revolutionary Government, represent a greatly varying set of perspectives on how best to achieve the goals of the Revolution of the Proletariat in Scandinavia and abroad. The principle behind the creation of the Revolutionary Government is that of the "Benevolent Dictatorship of the Proletariat", that the Revolution's interests are best advanced by the creation and maintenance of a supremely-powerful executive authority that can direct and control the progress of the Revolution in order to ensure the welfare of the Revolutionary State and the welfare of the Revolution. The form this has taken in Scandinavia is predominantly that of a coordination and combination of economic, political and military interests that support and benefit from the Revolution and seek to ensure the Revolution's success. The organization of the Revolutionary State is of passing similarity (as I understand it, anyway) to the organization of the Peoples' Republic of China, whereas democratic elections may in some sense occurs, political authority and power remains safely in the hands of the proletarists among whom only minor schisms and ideological rifts exist. Mannerheim's force of personality is far more generally accepted than Stalin's, and again more comparable to Ataturk's than to Hitler's. Mannerheim and persons like him within the Revolutionary Government and the Fatherland Proletarian Army believe that proletarism is the best way possible with which to further the interests of the Fatherland. The Revolutionary Government rules absolutely in the beneficent interest of the Revolution and the workers, and interferes only when and where it finds it necessary to do so, delegating power judiciously to the Manniskorstag and the labor unions.

The Highly General and Unspecific Summary​

I've said it frothing at the mouth, and I'll say it again, proletarism (at least in Scandinavia) =/= OTL communism. What we have is much more like a kind of syndicalist fascism, Revolutionary Syndicalism and all that, or Third Way fascism than communism. Colleague Mannerheim plays a role much more like that of Ataturk to the early Turkish Republic than of Hitler or Stalin to Nazi Germany and the Russia of the purges. Hopefully my blabbering has been elucidating to some of you, but in the case that it was too muddled with in-universe references and terms (as I suspect is the fact) I'd be glad to answer any questions about the nature of Scandinavian proletarism and its practice/the ideology behind it.

 

[Grandkhan]

Thats actually really interesting, because what LoE's set up is a form of Communism without much central planning at all.

So how is production dictated? Is there still a market mechanism or do the Unions and Syndicates just produce whatever they think is needed without thought for whether its needed by society as a whole?

Also, I absolutely love the new logo. Very modern and foreboding.

I have to say, I'm really excited about moving into the Twenties. The interwar years are basically the most interesting period of history for me, so I'm really looking forward to this period of the NES.

 

[Lord of Elves]

Thats actually really interesting, because what LoE's set up is a form of Communism without much central planning at all.

So how is production dictated? Is there still a market mechanism or do the Unions and Syndicates just produce whatever they think is needed without thought for whether its needed by society as a whole?

The labor unions of the Workers' Trade Congress conduct business between each other however best they see fit. Essentially, all the resources of the Society are marshaled for the purpose of the Revolution. "Company" property is owned communally by the workers of a labor union, who elect leaders which decide how to use it, or at least that's the stated ideal. What is more accurate is that the economy is kept both solvent and functioning by adherence to the authority of "labor intellectuals" and "labor industrialists" who have become a kind of nouveau rich, Revolutionary Government-approved leadership class that monopolizes control of the labor unions. Their ranks are largely made up of either long-term Revolutionary Vanguard conspirators/social proletarist party members or Liberal Party members turned proletarists, essentially the old guard of what there was of a proletarist movement prior to the December Coup.

The Workers' Trade Congress labor unions communicate between themselves and establish or change the state and nature of domestic markets to benefit the goals of the Revolution (among which is internal economic prosperity), the entire process lead and orchestrated by the labor union officials and supervised by the Revolutionary Government. Their verdicts, or whatever you want to call them, can be overturned by government programs like Mannerheim's Five Year Plans.

So I wouldn't go so far to say that there is no controlling economic mechanism, as much as that mechanism is informal and unofficial as it is the aggregate consensus of the uh, powers that be, which control the labor unions and do the business of the Revolutionary State. But essentially, the labor unions are for profit, the stipulation is that the profits ought to benefit the workers (who ought to have representation and a fair share) and the Revolution.

 

[christos200]

@christos200: In my own opinion, Ecuador's Revolution was about overthrowing the old capitalist ways, and then for some reason (i.e. you) the leader went crazy and starting trying to restore the stuff the people just overthrew less than a year before.

Well, the leader would have not been so crazy if he did not border Brazil, Colombia and Peru and at the same time he did not had a modern army.

 

[Luckymoose]

Brazil is the absolute least threat in that situation.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Nya Sverige

Dammark

Västermark

Haroldstad

Adlö

Previously in our journey through Vinland, we have traveled westwards from the capital, on the Atlantic coast, to the Pacific Island of Adlö. Now, we set sail northwards, bound for the port of Dimmafjorden. Here, at the northwestern extreme of the continent lies a landsdel of sublime majesty, and of a size greater than entire nations...

Norrland

Spoiler :

Norrland is the largest landsdel by far, stretching across the whole of the Vinlandic Northwest, from the Bering Sea in the west to the Eriksson Sea in the east, stretching as far south as the city of Kråkaborg, nestled in the heart of the Klippiga Bergen. Skraelings fled from the south into this area throughout the 1800s, though the limited supply of food and conflict with neighbouring tribes would prove to be devastating for their populations. Long a poorly-mapped frontier, the first two decades of the 20th century have seen modern civilization enter this region for the first time. Placer gold strikes on the Vildaflod, at Byström and Gyllenström brought on the initial wave of development, while mines for hard rock copper, silver, zinc, would later provide a more lasting basis for the landsdel’s economy.

Vast projects of western infrastructure development saw southwestern Norrland linked by riverboat and railway to the rest of the country, cementing Norrland’s place as Vinland’s latest frontier. Today, this landsdel has the highest growth rate per capita in all of Vinland, and its rich mines have brought prosperity to many. While it is highly reliant on imported food, its natural wealth is unmatched anywhere else in the nation. With a new, planned capital city being established at Norrahuvudstad, it seems like this new age of growth and development is here to stay.

Flag

 

[Luckymoose]

!PROLE FLAG ALERT! Initiate Operation Vinland Extermination!

 

[Azale]

I'm going to do a background for all 153 of America's states and blow you out of the water, Vinland!

 

[Lord_Iggy]

I designed that flag before ChiefDesigner posted his, as you will note if you read the thread.

Besides, it makes sense. Ursa Major is a symbol of the north, and the UPRA put it in their flag to represent the idea of freedom... and in their cultural context, freedom lay northwards.

 

[Luckymoose]

I designed that flag before ChiefDesigner posted his, as you will note if you read the thread.

Besides, it makes sense. Ursa Major is a symbol of the north, and the UPRA put it in their flag to represent the idea of freedom... and in their cultural context, freedom lay northwards.

Except it did not in this TL.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Plenty of slaves escaped to Vinland. There are several references to it, and I can recall one cultural section where a significant novel was written by an escaped slave who settled in Vinland.

Besides, it's sort of hard to flee from America to Brazil on foot.

 

[Luckymoose]

They must not want liberty hard enough.

 

[Milarqui]

Besides, you cannot escape from America to Brazil, it would be like escaping Africa and ending in Kongo.

 

[Luckymoose]

What? Are you insinuating that Brazil is a not the free, slaveless society that it has been for generations?