Unity and Division

It's not uncommon for workers to slack off in the Federal; many factory workers are used to it, and the situation Federal is more complicated than here.

With the protection of various laws and the support of Labor Union, even if capitalists know that workers are slacking off, they have no good way to solve the problem.

When capitalists push workers too far, they will strike, march, or even have lawyers from Labor Union file lawsuits against capitalists for exploiting and oppressing the human need for rest, forcing workers to perform high-intensity physical labor, and for not giving them time to rest.

This alone is enough to cost capitalists a lot of money, and various litigation costs and lawyer fees will become a huge burden.

The capitalists won. The worker apologized and resigned, so he suffered no loss, but the capitalists lost a lot of money.

But if the workers win, then the next step is a headache-inducing negotiation between the capitalists and the Labor Union, Labor Union will demand that the capitalists improve the treatment of workers in their factories and increase their rest time in order to ease the so-called labor-capital tensions.

This would result in significant losses, as capitalists would find it difficult to profit regardless of the outcome. Therefore, most of the time, as long as the workers' slacking off wasn't excessive or too serious, they would turn a blind eye.

Neil could be considered a semi-capitalist, but only a semi-capitalist because he was still in a state of partial understanding and had not yet grasped the essence of capitalism.

Thinking of this, Lin Qi decided to teach Neil a lesson. He took out a cigarette, lit it, crossed his legs, placed one hand on his lap and the other on the edge of the table. "Neil, do you know what the most prominent feature of the struggle between the Working Class and capitalists is?"

After asking that question, he probably felt it was a bit too vague, so he explained it in more detail, "What I mean is, do you know how the Working Class effectively resists the oppression and exploitation of capitalists, and how capitalists dismantle this resistance?"

Neil pondered for a moment seriously, then shook his head. His education and experience were limiting; he had worked as a laborer, but he couldn't feel the kind of resistance Lin Qi was talking about. "I don't really understand."

Lin Qi smiled without any surprise, "Workers fight against capitalists by uniting, and capitalists only need to give workers some internal competition to achieve their goal of dividing them."

"You may not feel it, but this form of confrontation has always existed, even now."

"One of the most important tasks of Labor Union is to unite workers. They establish worker branches in every factory to unite workers and form a force that can resist capitalists. You used to be a member of the union, so you should know this better than I do."

Some things, even if they are only separated by a thin veil, will remain unseen by others.

Upon hearing Lin Qi's words, Neil suddenly realized what was happening. His expression was one of surprise, as if his nose, which had been blocked for three days, had suddenly cleared, and a burst of inspiration rushed straight to the top of his head.

Back then, their factory frequently organized collective activities for the workers. Looking back now, wasn't that the workers' organization emphasizing the role of "unity"? The workers participated in activities together and demonstrated the power of "unity," forcing the capitalists to make concessions. For example, they would ask for half a day off to hold some union activities, and the capitalists, though embarrassed, eventually had to accept it.

But... he looked at Lin Qi again, and he had a special feeling that this knowledge was very important to him.

This is the benefit of money; it allows people to deal with problems calmly, rather than being sensitive. If the father and son were very poor at that moment, when they talked about this issue, Neil would likely have thought it was Lin Qi's provocation and humiliation.

But since they all have a lot of money, they are naturally able to calmly face these problems that are unlikely to embarrass them.

A poor person will try to avoid talking about their impoverished life, but a rich person is happy to talk about their past poverty. The difference in wealth leads to a difference in mindset.

Lin Qi took a drag of his cigarette and continued, "In order to deal with these united workers, capitalists went through a long period of trial and error and found a very effective method, which is Group Competition."

If Neil's nose had cleared one nostril just now, it cleared completely in an instant, and a rush of cool air made his mind incredibly clear! Before Lin Qi could finish speaking, "Faced with a united enemy..." he chuckled, "I might not have used that word accurately. If it were you, it would be best not to use such a word. The simplest way to deal with these united Working Class is to divide them."

"But capitalists can't be so blatant. They came up with a way to group workers into workshops or assembly lines and then designate a reward system without punishment to increase competition between groups."

"This system is very unreasonable, but the glory and substantial rewards will attract people in each group to compete for first place."

"At first, people's reactions may not be intense enough, but as time goes on, people's mentality will change, and soon their competitive spirit will increase, which will achieve the goal of dividing them."

"The workers develop antagonism and even hatred without any additional means. The capitalists only need to provide some glory and benefits periodically, and the united workers will fight each other to the death."

"If you pay attention to this, you should find that competition is everywhere."

Neil nodded almost subconsciously. There was already such competition in his workshop. The factory owner proposed to give extra bonuses to the workshop with the highest output, but there was no punishment for the other workshops.

This lack of a punitive system actually fueled fierce competition between the various workshops within the factory year after year.

Even during Labor Union events, people rarely spoke, and now he suddenly felt that the snitching that had happened a few times might have been done by people from other groups.

This exclusionary effect eventually led to a situation where, during this wave of bankruptcies, many workers' opinions could not be unified, which resulted in so many things happening later...

He suddenly realized, "You want me to do the same thing here, to divide the Natives outside and increase their internal competitiveness?"

Lin Qi nodded. "That's easy, but their level of civilization doesn't meet the Federal's minimum standards, so we need to give them some extra incentives."

"Divide them into at least three groups. At the end of each cycle, use a portion of the salary of the bottom-ranked team as a bonus to the first-place team, and deduct a portion of the salary of the second-place team to put into a bonus pool."

"Inside the smaller cycles, there's a larger cycle. If you've ever watched Rugby ..." Lin Qi said, Neil nodded Neil as he got to this point. He loved Rugby. "...then you'll understand the Points System."

"The salary deducted from the second place is then paid out in a lump sum to the group that scores first in a major cycle. This is meant to ignite everyone's competitive spirit and hatred. You don't even need to urge them; they will work hard on their own."

"Of course, to prevent some people from deliberately dragging others down, at the end of each small cycle, each group will be given a nomination opportunity, and workers who received more than half of the votes will be dismissed..."

As Lin Qi spoke, a rather infuriating smile appeared on his face. He licked his lips, revealing that this plan was actually an improvement plan to enhance internal competitiveness.

Everyone except the first place winner will suffer; only the first place winner will benefit. Everyone's interests are affected, including the second place winner.

Why not divide the workers into two groups? Because complete opposition could lead to tacit shift changes.

In this cycle, Group 1 is first, and in the second cycle, Group 2 is first. Therefore, it is necessary to control the number of beneficiaries, so that those who can benefit can only occupy a minority, and to give the majority of people whose interests have been infringed a chance to change the situation. They will then fight each other fiercely.

While Neil was still deep in thought, the Vice Manager had already shown a look of sudden realization. He glanced at the Vice Manager, who quickly smiled and lowered his head, his eyes filled with admiration and a hint of fear.

Neither of them realized that this method of dividing the working class through internal competition would first and foremost harm the capitalists themselves.

The disorderly competition within the industry has caused every capitalist great distress, which is why they have proposed various industry norms and standards to restrain each other's disorderly and chaotic competitive behavior.

Capitalists can do this because some of them hold the power, such as some large Group Company, where they are both "workers" and "bosses," so they can change the situation.

The Working Class is different, because they are only "workers" and can only ever be "workers," never "bosses." They cannot replace capitalists in setting orderly rules for competition in factories and worker groups.

As long as workers cannot truly replace capitalists as masters of the country, they cannot avoid the fate of being divided.

For as many years as capitalist society and capitalism have developed, labor and capital have fought each other, resulting in the current Federal having far more capitalist experience than other countries. This played a very significant role in the early stages of International Community development.

A few minutes later, Neil seemed to have completely figured it out. His expression was a mix of excitement, exaggeration, and a strange look. "You guys are scum!"

He said this from the perspective of a worker, because he had once been a worker himself.

Lin Qi smiled without saying a word, and Neil quickly followed up with the second half of the sentence, "But it works!"

How could it not be effective? This is experience that's at least a hundred years ahead of its time!

=① The reason for not deducting money is to avoid involving Labor Protection Act such as the Hourly Wage Law.