Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 546 - 543 Radical Faction and Conservative Faction

The retired population was numerous, while those replenishing it were few, but the total workload had barely changed. The process of population compression was inherently painful.

Zhou Hua glanced at the television and said, "Change the channel, the radical faction and the Conservative faction are arguing again."

"What’s going on? What new plan does the radical faction have?" Wang Haifeng asked, eating a couple of peanuts.

Times were changing, and so naturally was human society.

By conventional definition, the Conservative was an extension of the power of the initial New Human Government.

They firmly believed that humans needed to accomplish this great goal. Predecessors had already put in eight hundred years of effort; with just six hundred years left, how could they abandon it midway?

This force has always been firmly pushing the goal forward, including the Transcendents returning from the Virtual World; they were essentially members of the Conservative faction, even though this push was breeding public discontent and gradually eroding the government’s credibility... As long as the plan was completed, all contradictions would be resolved.

Meanwhile, the radical faction was the most recently emerged political force. Dissatisfied with the current state of human civilization, they tried to initiate a series of internal reforms, with increasing public happiness being paramount.

Currently, to achieve this grand goal, the majority of the civilization’s productivity was spent, decreasing the quality of life and leading to widespread public grievances. Some individuals even chose to shorten their lives, retiring early to enter the Virtual Space—an absolutely abnormal behavior!

Of course, the radical faction also believed that the grand goal must be completed, as not doing so would dishonor their ancestors and antagonize the Tos Civilization. But how to achieve it both well and quickly was another issue altogether.

"...To kidnap a person’s lifetime to the wheel of an entire civilization is unethical and inhumane!"

Zhou Hua imitated the hollow political slogans of the radical faction leader, laughing heartily.

"Humans need freedom, the power to freely choose their work..."

"After graduating, students should not become just precise screws!"

"This brainwashing style of education needs to be radically reformed."

People who were slightly older knew these slogans were difficult to realize; chanting a slogan is simple and beautiful, but how to truly implement it?

Wang Haifeng said, "You are wrong; most people don’t consider whether these slogans are naive or achievable; they only care about the stance of these slogans and whether they can satisfy their inner desires."

Humans as a species have a strong tendency to hold onto their stances.

If something aligns with one’s stance, even if it’s wrong, people will choose to support it.

Conversely, if something does not align with one’s stance, even if it reflects objective reality, people will reject it.

If one’s mind is biased, everything they perceive turns skewed.

Citizens of the New Human Civilization, although well-educated, have not changed fundamentally in their human nature. Current public discontent was gradually accumulating, and public opinion was slowly shifting.

Politics is all about hat management, meaning putting a tall hat on the public to achieve a sense of superiority at the psychological level.

The New Human Civilization had witnessed many stories in history, including the fall of the Earth Civilization and various underdeveloped low-level civilizations.

Compared to those civilizations, people felt a sense of moral superiority.

To maintain this sense of superiority, they did not mind sacrificing some of their own interests to pursue "civilizational progress," the goal of the New Civilization School.

But now what? Working endlessly in the dark, the dominant ideology was slowly changing, and that tall hat was about to fall off.

Life was unsatisfactory, at least not as satisfactory as before, not as one imagined... so people needed to vent.

The easiest way to vent emotions was to criticize the government’s inaction, thinking that changing the government might improve everything...

This has never changed for tens of thousands of years. People think that if they were leading, things would definitely be better.

"Doesn’t it sound ridiculous? We’re in the interstellar era, yet it’s still the same."

Wang Haifeng sighed, "I’ve been reading history books recently and found some very interesting stuff. In the 21st century, there was a small country with frequent government changes and frequent public protests. Do you know why they protested?"

Zhou Hua said, "Because the economy was bad."

"You’re wrong; they wanted more social welfare!"

Zhou Hua, puzzled, said, "Isn’t social welfare an economic issue?"

Wang Haifeng laughed, "No, no, no, they didn’t consider economic issues... They just wanted more social welfare. They elected whoever would give them social welfare."

"And then?"

"Of course, they changed the government. The old government was forced out because the new government had promised to increase social welfare."

"After the government changed, it turned out that there was no money, so they could only issue welfare by borrowing from foreign countries; otherwise, it was impossible. The promises were not fulfilled, so the people started to make trouble, and the government kept changing."

The current government faced the same problem. In reality, resources for food, clothing, housing, and transportation were abundant, but people were still not satisfied.

People wanted more rest time, which was not necessarily unreasonable, but considering the timing...

Similarly, the slogans proposed by the radical faction indeed had a certain degree of agitation, and many young people responded. They didn’t care much about the process of achieving it; they only cared about reaching a better outcome.

Even if the outcome was likely to be illusory and unachievable, they would still believe in it.

"With the passing of the older generation and the severe aging, people were under increasing work pressure. The political power of the radical faction began to rise gradually. It wasn’t like before. Decades ago, it was just a minor issue."

"Social transformation is really complex," Wang Haifeng shook his head and ate another peanut, "but many historians from the New Civilization History predicted this issue centuries ago, which is quite impressive."

"But they didn’t propose any solutions. Perhaps there simply aren’t any solutions and the only way is to endure it."

"Or maybe... actually, there are some solutions, but they’re not effective and could lead to bigger problems?"

He wasn’t very interested in any radical or conservative factions, but he knew that it was crucial not to have internal chaos at this moment.

One premise was that the grand project plan could not be abandoned.

Despite the noisy debates on television programs, the vast majority of citizens remained silent, relying on social inertia, they would continue with their work.

The power of the radical faction was far from enough to overthrow the conservative rule. Even they themselves didn’t dare to abandon this plan and could only play around the edges.

Every year, the New Human Side met with the Tos Civilization to discuss the construction status of their planet engines and oversee each other. How much work everyone had done and how much thrust each engine provided was clear at a glance with professional instruments. Both sides had to be honest.

However, after a "honeymoon period" of one or two hundred years, friction gradually increased because there were always some mistakes in the construction of the planet engines.

A mistake meant mutual accusations and conflicts.

Fifty-three years ago, a planet engine from the New Human side malfunctioned, going dark for 33 days and causing the planet’s rotation to deviate by 0.03 milliseconds!

As a result, the Human side was fiercely criticized by the Tos People at the annual meeting, as if the whole plan was about to fail.

Of course, the Tos People also made such mistakes and were criticized by the Human side.

In short, each mistake made by both sides decreased the margin for error. These were just contradictions caused by engine failures; if there were actual collisions due to delays in construction, the entire plan would fail, and both sides would have no choice but to go to war!

"So, the radical faction knows their limits; they can’t afford a real war. The plan has to continue," Zhou Hua also picked up a wine glass and took a small sip, "Their methods are too idealized. But it seems like people’s lives would indeed be better off."

"In the current situation where technology can’t be greatly improved, the best method is to expand the population to reduce aging. With a larger population, more can be done, and productivity naturally increases."

"With increased productivity, working hours can be strictly controlled, improving the public’s happiness."

"Expand the population?" Wang Haifeng said sarcastically, "By that time, the spaceships at the interstellar trading market won’t be able to fit so many people. Who stays behind to perish with the neutron star? Or will people be packed into Virtual Space and taken away?"

"Yes, they do want to pack people into Virtual Space and take them away, abandoning the physical body, but the old government disagrees, strongly disagrees, and is mostly opposed."

"Why don’t they agree?"

"They say the laws related to Virtual World Technology are the key constitutional laws of Humanity, which should not be touched unless absolutely necessary."

"The radical faction thinks these rules are too rigid. Even if it’s the constitution, it was set by humans and can be amended. Now is a critical time, so what if it’s amended?"

At this point, the two also had their disagreements. Wang Haifeng felt that the constitution should not be changed lightly, but Zhou Hua thought it was feasible.

A person can be rational, the disagreement among ten people can barely be wise, and a thousand people can’t even manage wisdom. Everyone has their own thoughts and can only be restrained by universal values.

A civilization? With so many people, no one can convince anyone else, and they may start to think that some inexplicable methods are actually good.

"Beep!" Suddenly, a piercing shriek sounded from the communicator.

The two, who were arguing, looked down. It wasn’t anything serious, just a machine malfunction, which the intelligent robot couldn’t handle and needed human intervention.

"I’ll go, let’s not argue anymore."

"Are you sure it’s okay after drinking?" Zhou Hua said with a smile.

"Of course!" Wang Haifeng waved his hand, put on his Power Armor, and disappeared into the pitch-black earth.

...

(This Chapter has over three thousand words. Today there are double monthly tickets, you can go grab a red packet, and if you have any extra tickets, please cast one!)