Chapter 18: It’s Better to Be Happy Alone Than to Be Happy Together

  Chapter 18: It’s better to be happy alone than to be happy together

Looking at the labor protection law that just came out, Franz showed a satisfied smile, he knew that next the aristocrats and the bourgeoisie could no longer be eased.

The eight hour workday has been proposed, enough to see that the aristocrats have been enraged by the capitalists, and directly give them the bottom of the barrel.

From now on, the Austrian working class and the bourgeoisie would go their separate ways, the government had already given them what they wanted through the law, and the only obstacle was the capitalists.

Would the bourgeoisie dare to use the workers’ movement to seize power at this time?

Obviously not, now the enemy of the workers’ movement is no longer the government, but the bourgeoisie.

For a long time to come, the capitalists will have to fight the working class until one side makes concessions.

“Theron, spread the contents of our Labor Protection Act as quickly as possible, and remember to send a copy to the trade union organizations in Paris!” Franz commanded

It was the best of times and the worst of times, in 1847 there was only one country in the world that had completed industrialization and that was Great Britain.

The rest of the major European powers were in the process of catching up, and France’s industrial revolution was underway and wouldn’t be completed until the 1860s.

The industrial revolution in the German region was just beginning, both in Prussia and in Austria, and everyone was still in their infancy.

Raising labor costs and causing products to become less competitive?

This is not a problem at all, Austria’s biggest problem is the lack of markets, both workers and farmers, one by one, they are all poor, rely on what to buy goods?

Before the market is cultivated, to whom the products are produced and sold?

Export?

It’s not that Franz looked down on Austrian industry, the industrial products of this era were still the best of the British, and Austria’s fist product was still food.

So it is better to settle down and cultivate the market first, and then step by step to develop industry.

However, the solo pleasure is not as good as the pleasure of all, Franz so ecumenical people, surely will consider the people of the world, everyone’s life is not easy, urgent need to improve ah?

In this regard, he believed that the French people’s revolutionary stance was firm, and would certainly get the job done. Only when the living conditions of the working class are improved will the world become a better place.

Franz did not yet know that in the history books of the future, the Austrian government’s proposal of the eight-hour workday became the trigger for the European Revolution.

The March Revolution in Vienna, which was originally highly evaluated by historians, turned into a conspiracy and rebellion launched by the bourgeoisie dissatisfied with the government’s enactment of the Labor Protection Act under his butterfly effect.

The latter was the capper given by Franz himself, who was never soft when it came to fighting his enemies.

The future, to say nothing of the future, was by this time abuzz in Vienna. The newspapers published the Labor Protection Act as fast as they could.

Countless literati were writing about it, either praising or criticizing it, in short, everyone was enthusiastic.

The reformists are beginning to split, and one group is celebrating the fact that the Austrian reforms have finally reached a milestone, and many are optimistic that the government will continue to deepen the reforms soon after the Labor Protection Law.

The other faction was the capitalist interests, who attacked the government in the strongest terms for destroying the system of freedom, arguing that in a free country, all these issues should be decided by the market.

Over this issue, the two factions have been quarrelling. The capitalists, who were not willing to lose their interests, had begun to conspire, and the undercurrent spread from Vienna to the whole of Austria.

The workers of Vienna were first in disbelief, then in shock, and after the news had been confirmed, celebrations began again, as if to say goodbye to the days of misery.

……

Paris.

As the cradle of the revolutionary movement in Europe, the people of Paris have always been the most revolutionary of all, and the introduction of the Labor Protection Act by the Austrian government caused a sensation as soon as word of it came through.

Known for its conservatism, the Austrian government knew to legislate to protect the interests of the working class, and the July Dynasty actually did not yet do so, such an evil government must be overthrown.

Of course, rebellion is never overnight, the struggle experienced Paris trade union organizations, the first time to carry out a heated discussion.

Seeing that the Austrian government took the initiative to legislate to protect workers’ rights and interests, and also put forward the eight-hour workday, an advanced work model, many people also have expectations of the Paris government.

What if the grand old men in the Paris government suddenly figured it out? They are not asking for much, as long as they copy the Austrian Labor Protection Act.

From the end of 1847, the far-reaching strike movement in history began to break out in Paris. Hundreds of thousands of Parisian workers took to the streets to demonstrate for their rights.

Soon, this meaningful activity spread from Paris to the whole of France, and spread virally throughout the European continent, with strike movements breaking out in almost every European city.

The “eight-hour day” has become a flagship of the workers’ movement in this era, and the image of the Austrian government in the outside world has changed a lot because of being the first to enact labor protection laws.

It was the first time in the world that a government had legislated for the eight-hour day since the Englishman Robert Owen proposed it in 1817, and it had a far greater impact than the Austrian government could have imagined.

Prime Minister Metternich, who had long been criticized as a conservative, once again became the leader of the reformers, and the Austrian public highly praised him for this reform.

However, this was not what Prime Minister Metternich wanted. On the surface, he became the winner of the governmental struggle, not only thwarting the plots of his rivals, but also taking the reforms a step further and gaining the popularity of the people.

In reality, Prime Minister Metternich had a hard time, and under pressure from the nobility, he enacted the Labor Protection Law, which made him a sworn enemy of the bourgeoisie.

Are the capitalists to be trifled with?

Without a doubt, the answer to this is known to all.

Retaliation came so quickly, or a little out of the crowd’s expectations.

On November 24, 1847, the third day of the Labor Protection Act, the capitalists launched an organized strike movement, ninety percent of the factories and stores in Vienna closed down on that day.

The bourgeoisie also submitted a petition to the king demanding the revocation of the Labor Protection Law and the dismissal of the Metternich cabinet.

The Austrian government was in trouble. The strength of the bourgeoisie was stronger than expected, and even some of the noblemen were compelled by the capitalists to participate in the strike.

The time had come to test Chancellor Metternich, and if the problem could not be solved, it would not be long before Vienna would be in chaos.

……

(End of chapter)