Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 274 Globalization means that all the chaebols in the world unite

New York, USA.

"Hello, Mr. Zheng. Please allow me to solemnly introduce to you the pride of our Rockefeller family, my son, Nelson Rockefeller. In your Chinese, I hope you will continue to take good care of him in the future."

Zheng Yi: "No, no, I'll need your help in the future. Your son is truly a handsome man. As we say in Chinese, a tiger father will have a dog son."

"Mr. Zheng, please. I have specially ordered someone to prepare Chinese dishes to entertain you today. Please, please."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

After staying in Japan for half a month, Zheng Yi did not have time to finish all the things, so he rushed to New York accompanied by Marshal Mai.

However, Marshal Mai could not be Zheng Yi's introducer, at least not on the surface, and in fact, they were not on the same plane.

Because Zheng Yi came to the United States this time to join the Republican Party, and everyone knows that Zheng Yi is extremely rich, and there is a high probability that he is the richest man in the world in terms of personal wealth, and Marshal Mai is really special. He is a Republican leader with military power.

As the election is approaching, he, a man holding guns, comes back with Zheng Yi, a man holding the purse strings. It is too high-profile and not good.

General MacArthur returned to the country this time nominally to report on his work. After all, Japan has now liberalized its trade, and he needs to explain and apply to Congress. Although, in fact, he had already made a decision without prior approval, so doesn't he still have to go through the motions?

The person who was responsible for connecting him was naturally Nelson Rockefeller.

The Rockefeller faction, founded by Dewey and also the largest faction within the Republican Party, refers to him, Rockefeller.

Here we have to talk about the political characteristics of the United States: as long as there is a little separation, everyone can do anything.

In other words, anything that can be done to appear reasonable is reasonable.

This person's official position is actually not very high. He has only been Assistant Secretary of State before. Now he does not hold any real position in the government. He just follows Dewey and helps him build cliques.

Because he did not hold a high official position, was not sensitive, and came from the Rockefeller family, with a father like John Rockefeller, most people in the United States, regardless of their official position, had to give him face.

And everyone knows that he is not greedy for money. He is generous in his daily life. Whether he is treating people to meals, giving people gifts, or arranging any benefits, he does not have to worry about being investigated.

No matter who is corrupt, it is impossible for him to embezzle. One million or eight hundred thousand US dollars is not enough for other people's pocket money, but he can openly bribe them.

"As a billionaire, what's wrong with me paying my good friend to become a member of parliament? Who can find fault with me?"

So he became the most useful liaison officer within a faction.

In name, the so-called Rockefeller group is just Nelson Rockefeller's circle of friends.

Even though more than half of the bigwigs in the Republican Party are his friends.

All connections and transactions within the faction are connected with him as the core.

But so what? As the son of a wealthy family, he just loves making friends. Who can stop him?
It is obviously a particularly unreasonable factionalism, but it is very reasonable in the United States.

Of course, this faction itself is not without political ideas. The characteristic of this group of people in American politics is extreme pragmatism. Whether it is internal or external, they only look at actual interests and don't pay much attention to ideology.

American plutocracy families can easily influence American politics through similar means.

At least it's on the left and right of the Republican Party, but the Democratic Party is still a little behind.

Historically, after Dewey's failure, this man later took over Dewey's position and became the governor of New York State and the actual leader of the Rockefeller faction, stepping out from behind the scenes to the front stage.

However, although he could control a large number of congressmen behind the scenes and greatly influence American politics, he was not able to do so when he stepped into the public eye. He was defeated in three elections. The American people knew this and most of them could not accept a member of the Rockefeller family as president.

You're controlling us behind the scenes, and you still want to get on the table? Even if you have money, you can't do whatever you want.

So this man only became the vice president in the end. In fact, although he had a huge network of contacts, he failed to make any significant political achievements. Even his international fame was far less than that of his trusted younger brother, Henry Kissinger, whom he discovered and promoted.

In fact, this is the person Zheng Yi wants to be.

Or perhaps it is the man behind this young Rockefeller, his father, John Rockefeller Jr.

He was also the owner of Standard Oil of California.

Little John: "Mr. Zheng, would you like some wine? This bottle is a treasure my father left me after he died. I don't even know the exact year. It's French brandy, the best wine. Of course, I should entertain the most distinguished guests. Nelson, pour Mr. Zheng a glass of wine."

"Thank you very much. It's an honor. I'm deeply grateful. We're all old friends, and we're not strangers. Mr. Rockefeller, I'll be frank."

"Oh, of course, Mr. Zheng, please."

The Rockefeller family is Zheng Yi's largest partner in the United States. Zheng Yi had initial contact with their family as early as when he was drilling for oil in Saudi Arabia. The initial start-up capital used for the development of Penang was earned from their family.

It's just that Zheng Yi was just a small figure at that time, and he never met John from beginning to end. However, later, Zheng Yi built a refinery and they cooperated a lot during the Anti-Japanese War. Although they were not very familiar with each other, they were a real community of interests.

The two of them can even be considered to have a de facto cross-holding relationship with each other, which is one of the reasons why Zheng Yi can only choose to join the Republican Party and not the Democratic Party.

To some extent, throughout the 4s, 5s, and 60s, the Rockefeller family was one of the biggest behind-the-scenes forces in the Republican Party.

There may not even be one.

In fact, Rockefeller is really Zheng Yi's role model. He also hopes that he can become another Rockefeller in the United States, hiding behind the scenes to control the Republican Party.

Although, even he knew about it and he didn't know whether this could be considered behind the scenes.

Zheng Yi said, "Now that I've joined the Republican Party, we're close comrades from now on. I have to be frank. I personally think, Nelson, you've done an excellent job, but it's far from good enough."

"I even think that the entire Republican Party, including Mr. Dewey, has not done well enough on some issues. In terms of political mobilization, it is actually weaker than the Democratic Party."

If it were someone else, Wu Li Kan Hua would have been kicked out as soon as he even stepped through the door and dared to speak so arrogantly about these two generations of Rockefeller.

However, when Zheng Yi said this, the two Rockefellers were not annoyed at all. Instead, they looked solemn and sat up straight unconsciously.

"Mr. Zheng, please speak."

Zheng Yi: "Hmm... Mr. Nelson, you are an excellent politician, at least when it comes to building relationships. However, a very important issue is that the politicians you have won over are mostly mature and experienced politicians, as well as technocrats and senior civil servants."

Nelson: "Yes, our faction basically networks all the good, mature politicians in the Republican Party."

Zheng Yi: "So, what about young legislators? Young legislators, young people who haven't become legislators but are interested in participating in politics, junior legislators from various states and cities, and even those cultural celebrities and opinion leaders who have a relatively influential influence on society and politics?"

Nelson was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Zheng, you know this is impossible. How could we possibly have the energy to do that? For us, as long as we can help Mr. Dewey successfully run for president, that's enough to protect our interests, right?"

Zheng Yi: "Will Mr. Dewey definitely win this election? I don't think so. The popularity of radio and television has given the American people a real sense of participation. In my opinion, next year's election will be the first truly significant election in American history."

"Mr. Nelson, have you ever thought about how the Republican Party would cope if Mr. Dewey didn't get elected next year? How would we maintain and protect our own interests when the Democrats come to power next time?"

"This is Mr. Du Wei's second time running for office. He lost to President Ronaldinho before, and everyone could say it was innocent. President Ronaldinho's prestige is simply unmatched. But if he loses this time to President Du, who is widely considered incompetent, what will his political future be? No one will trust a loser who has lost twice in a row. Then, without our core leader, how can our entire faction unite?"

Upon hearing this, the two Rockefellers couldn't help but frown.

Finally, it was John D. Rockefeller Jr. who spoke up, "Zheng, you're worrying a bit too much. The Democrats have been in power for too long, and we're not the only ones who are dissatisfied and disgusted with them. For more than a decade, the government's hand has been gripping us like an iron clamp, and we're almost suffocating."

Zheng Yi interrupted, "But the Democrats have been really successful over the past decade or so, haven't they? Under Ronaldinho, the United States emerged from the Great Depression, won World War II, and has essentially secured its position as the world's dominant power. Your suffocation is the price of America's rise."

"Of course I know that American capitalists, tycoons, and even the political middle class have begun to be dissatisfied with the Democratic Party. Even within the Democratic Party, you find everything that Xiao Luo left behind unbearable."

"But isn't the US election about who gets the most votes? Let me put it bluntly. This election is about whether you, or us tycoons, are more powerful when we join forces, or whether the people are more powerful."

John sneered at the words, "The people? What do the people know? Zheng, you don't really believe in the so-called power of the people, do you?"

Zheng Yi heard this but remained silent.

Even if you teach someone a hundred times, they won't learn it. Even if you teach someone once, they will learn it. For someone like John, even he couldn't change his mindset before something happened. Saying more would be useless and would only affect their already not-so-close relationship.

Is it a taboo to talk about deep things with someone you just met?

Besides, in this time and space, Dewey might not lose with his own help.

However, Zheng Yi said, "Okay, Mr. John, Mr. Nelson, let's put the process and predictions for this election on hold for now. We can discuss this issue after next year's election."

"But I think that even if Mr. Dewey can ultimately win, our faction and the way we are doing things currently still have huge problems and it will be difficult to sustain it in the future."

Zheng Yi knew very well that the Rockefeller faction in the United States would completely decline in the future and even be completely marginalized politically.

The Rockefeller faction of later generations is of course no longer the so-called circle of friends of Mr. Rockefeller. It actually refers to the Republican establishment that serves big capital, big financial groups, and especially industrial capital.

They are often referred to as "traditional old-school Republicans." In fact, they are all old stubborn people who still run politics according to the old traditions. They are openly ridiculed by a know-it-all man as "Republicans in name only."

"First, simply winning over people through conflicts of interest and personal connections is limited. Mr. Nelson is a very good politician, but even so, his circle of friends is still limited, even if you include friends of friends."

"Furthermore, if we do this, our influence will always be limited to a very small number of upper-class people. We won't be able to win over the young elites. On the contrary, if young people want to get promoted, there will certainly be people who will choose to serve as our lackeys, and then wait for seniority to come before us."

"If it's a period of rapid social development and rapid expansion of overseas interests, with new wealth constantly emerging and power vacancies opening up for us to hand over to these young people, then that's still feasible. But what if society enters a period of relative stagnation?"

"Instead of being treated like a dog, it's better to give it a try. Honestly, in American society, this isn't difficult. After all, the real political resource is votes, and those with votes don't necessarily like old people. For young people, the people we can win over are too old, but not old enough. Young people are unwilling to wait."

"Similarly, society won't remain stagnant forever. The passage of time will inevitably give rise to new asset tycoons. If our circle is too small and they can't squeeze in, they'll turn to the enemy, join other factions within the Republican Party, or even join the Democratic Party."

It is said that someone once did a study and found that the number of friends a person can maintain in his or her lifetime cannot exceed 250.

Although I don’t know whether this thing is accurate or not, the general meaning is correct. This is the biggest drawback of chaebol-style politics.

Many Chinese people in later generations would imagine that the politics of each country are monopolized by some kind of chaebol or something. This statement is actually both right and wrong. The way the chaebols control politics is basically the same as the dilemma of the Rockefeller faction. They really don't have such a large social circle.

This method is only applicable to oligarchic politics. Even in capitalist countries, we should not underestimate the power of the people. This method may have been able to cover the sky with one hand before the popularization of television media, but it is actually not very effective after that.

It seems that among modern countries, only Japan has the chaebols with relatively high control power.

"Secondly, groups that leverage relationships and interests are inherently pragmatic. As businesses, we also need political stability. We hope that the politicians we work with can be as mature and rational as possible."

"However, this type of political group is at a disadvantage in a two-party system, especially if public participation in politics increases in the future. You know, groups often lack sufficient discernment."

Nelson: "Is it wrong to be mature and rational?"

Zheng Yi: "Most of the time, they're right. But in elections, they're wrong, absolutely wrong. Electoral politics isn't about who's smarter, more resilient, or who can better govern the United States. Didn't you just say, 'People don't know shit?'"

To put it bluntly, pragmatists are just chameleons in politics. The characteristic of the Rockefeller school in the United States is that they only value the political interests of the country rather than the political interests of parties and small groups. They take a relatively cautious attitude towards any bill, but once it is implemented, they will resolutely implement it.

Isn't this just courting death?

For voters, this means a lack of a base. After all, you do this one moment and that the next, but voters don't understand a thing about national interests, especially American voters. In their eyes, their rulers' actions for the sake of national interests are hypocritical, dishonest, and untrue to their beliefs.

Most people really think that ideals and other things are very important. What about national interests? For the vast majority of people in this world, unless they are people who are highly involved in keyboard politics, who can really understand where the national interests lie?
Besides, the Rockefeller group is not really dedicated to the people, and traditional industrial capital also has its limitations.

This is even more true for politicians. A pragmatic political group will sway because of practical interests, but interests themselves are fluid.

Today we have the same interests and I form an alliance with you, but what if our interests conflict tomorrow?

In comparison, things that are almost like religions, such as freedom, the rule of law, equal rights, women's rights, and even LGBT, once a politician has a basic political stance, it is impossible for him to waver easily.

This is called the base.

Political groups that are too pragmatic will definitely suffer great losses in the future.

When the Rockefeller father and son saw Zheng Yi so bluntly pointing out a bunch of so-called shortcomings, they were really confused for a moment.

It should be said that there is some truth to it, but the problem is that people have been doing this for more than a hundred years.

Imperialism? It's like this all over the world.

Although they would not disagree, they still believed that the current situation was far from serious, and only asked:

"So how should we respond?"

Zheng Yi: "Friend, of course we still have to make connections. However, I believe that in future elections, relying solely on personal connections to maintain a small circle is no longer enough to maintain our chances of victory and control. Besides tangible, unstructured, and systematic interests, what we really need is a vague, but at least correct, slogan, an ideological output."

Nelson: "Doesn't that make them the Democratic Party? Religion and the Cold War narrative are their go-to tactics for winning votes."

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "Then do you think their Cold War narrative makes sense? The Soviet Union seems far behind us Americans in terms of national strength."

John frowned and said, "Zheng, you should know very well that what is scary about the Soviet Union is not its national strength, nor its industry, resources, or population quality. No matter how powerful their tanks are, they can't cross the Atlantic and reach our doorstep.

What's truly terrifying about the Soviet Union is their ideology. Currently, all European countries have been infiltrated on a massive scale. If we don't strictly guard against them, or even fight them at all costs, once their ideology spreads, people like you and me will be..."

Zheng Yi interrupted with a smile, "Isn't this the Democrats' narrative? How come even you two believe it? Mr. Rockefeller, the biggest advantage of the Republican Party, especially this faction of ours, over the Democrats is that we have more practical experience."

"Our people have more practical experience than theirs, we can raise funds more easily than them, we know how to make money in the industry better than them, to put it bluntly, we are better at doing practical things than them. Yet, we don't compare with them in these aspects, and instead we compete with them in the area where they are better at deceiving people?"

John: "This... can't be said to be false, right? This danger does exist."

Zheng Yi: "So what's the solution? Defend it with all your might? Or launch a coup in another country? Or send our soldiers, fresh from a world war, to the battlefield and fight a life-and-death war across the Atlantic Ocean with a nation at least six times more powerful than Japan?"

"Is the economy still viable? Are businesses still profitable? Are we still able to make ends meet? Ultimately, this is what the Democrats are good at."

John: "What do you mean by narrative?"

Zheng Yi: "It's simple. What's so terrifying about the Soviet Union's ideology? It's nothing more than exploitation. To put it bluntly, similar ideas have existed in China since ancient times. In essence, it's just a case of 'Are there any kings, princes, generals, or ministers of different races?'"

"However, all of this is premised on a single, internal conflict within a single country, creating an illusion. What if it's globalization? What if the oppression itself is the United States, oppressing other countries?"

Nelson: "You mean, colonial plunder?"

Zheng Yi: "Of course not. Let me be frank. As far as I know, in the past few years since the victory, American workers' wages have risen rapidly, and some low-level jobs are also understaffed. So what if we move our factories to Europe and let Europe produce our products for us, while we Americans do nothing and just enjoy the benefits?"

"To put it more extreme, why can't we use a large number of workers from Japan to work for us and be oppressed and exploited by us? The quality of Japanese workers is also very high. They are a defeated country. What's wrong with us making them work like slaves every day? Anyway, they won't have the right to vote."

"This is also beneficial to us. As far as I know, labor costs in the United States have risen sharply in recent years, and factories are simply overwhelmed with orders. Why can't they invest around the world and entrust them to the governance and management of us, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation?"

"The United States only needs to attack everywhere to maintain our hegemonic world order system. In this way, won't the class contradictions be transferred to us and foreign countries? With our military strength, do we still fear foreign wars?"

Nelson: "But if we move all our industries away, or use a large number of foreign workers, what will Americans do?"

Zheng Yi: "Americans, of course, enjoy a good life. At least we can brag about it first. This is our ideological narrative."

John: "You mean turning the United States into a big SAARC?"

"The Democratic Party has its own ideological narrative, and we have ours. Can the working people of the world really unite? I think it's a dream. But I think it would be much easier if the bourgeoisie of the world united. Isn't the SAARC a global union of the bourgeoisie? Didn't I come to the United States this time to join you?"

"If a country wakes up and starts to oppose the United States, will we just switch to another country? All countries in the world have to accept our donations. Who dares to bite me?"

"As long as we join forces, I believe the world will be ours. We can control the entire world, let alone the United States."

"Of course, we have to give it a nice name. Is this globalization?"

(End of this chapter)