The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 816: 610: Royal Academy_1

Chapter 816: Chapter 610: Royal Academy_1

The economic recovery and prosperity of various nations had a noticeable feature, which was the continuous inflation of per capita income, even doubling compared to before the war.

But the question is, did the actual income of these countries’ workers really increase? Perhaps not.

Firstly, they faced longer working hours. The war caused the European powers to lose a large portion of their population, and the shortage of labor prompted some factories to exploit their workers.

Workers’ incomes appeared to increase, but they paid with much longer working hours than before, and their earnings per hour even decreased when calculated.

Moreover, with the rising commodity prices and the devaluation of currency, the quality of life and happiness index of the people were continuously declining.

Conversely, the workers of Australasia were markedly different from those European nations.

Australasia’s eight-hour work system was still fairly steadfastly implemented, although it temporarily shifted to a ten-hour work system during the war, but the workers’ incomes were also growing.

The greatest benefit for Australasian workers should be the eight-hour work system, a system not even some countries in later generations have implemented.

For Arthur and the current Australasia, the eight-hour work system was also deemed a suitable work time.

It could meet the country’s production needs while also allowing workers and citizens ample rest and entertainment time.

This is also why thus far, the Ministry of Civil Affairs hasn’t formulated too many welfare policies.

After all, just firmly implementing the eight-hour work system already made a clear difference compared to European nations, naturally enhancing the allure for immigrants.

As for those further measures, such as a higher percentage of medical reimbursements, higher income and subsidies, shorter work times, etc., these policies can be left for future monarchs of Australasia to implement.

For Arthur, his prestige among the civilian population had nearly reached its peak, so there was no need to utilize such policies to boost his reputation anymore.

However, it’s different for future monarchs. It’s essential for each monarch to carry out actions fitting for the era to entrench Monarchism deeply in people’s hearts and ensure the people genuinely recognize each monarch of Australasia.

Depending on the Royal financial group, future monarchs could also issue more detailed and generous subsidies and policies to win over public sentiment and enhance their prestige.

In this era, it was unnecessary. After all, too high a welfare system could make the people complacent.

If they were not worried about their basic needs without working, then how many would take the initiative to work?

If we’re talking about the class that lived the most carefree life currently, it should be the new nobles who were ennobled in large numbers after the war.

Although not numerous, adding up all the new nobles only came to a few hundred. But compared to common people, these nobles were already quite wealthy, with any given new noble being a middle-class individual with a net worth of several hundred to over a thousand Australian dollars.

As the King of Australasia, Arthur had the power to grant noble titles and also the power to strip them away.

However, such power was rarely used, unless a noble committed treason or completely went against the monarch’s interests.

Of course, besides admitting nobles’ children, the Royal Academy also allowed capitalists’ children to enroll for a fee.

The Royal Academy, from its earliest elementary levels to university, has corresponding educational districts, and is truly a place for nurturing talent from a young age.

This has led to a fundamental difference between the Royal Academy and other universities. Compared with other universities, the Royal Academy’s talent cultivation is more demanding, and its requirements for students are much stricter.

Of course, compared with ordinary universities, the Royal Academy’s control over ideological education is also very strict.

Whether they are capitalists’ children or nobles’ offspring, the first lesson they learn at the Royal Academy is how to be loyal and patriotic, considering loyalty to the royal family as the most important concept.

Such classes on ideological education would accompany all students of the Royal Academy throughout their academic journeys, until they graduated successfully from the Royal Academy and became the pillars of Australasia.

During this time, students who performed poorly, especially those who had objections to the principles of loyalty to the crown, would receive special attention from the Royal Security Intelligence Agency.

Fortunately, such individuals were ultimately rare, and the ideology of most students was quite influenceable.

After all, most of the students had been attending the Royal Academy since elementary school, and the minds of children are the easiest to influence. That’s also the true reason why ideological education classes start in elementary school.

Indoctrinating these children of the nobility and capitalists with loyalty to the crown from a young age ensures that they carry on this ideology throughout their lives.

If one has to point out the biggest difference between the Royal Academy and other universities, it would be the cultivation of interests and hobbies at the Royal Academy.

Apart from their academics, the curriculum at the Royal Academy also includes hunting, equestrian skills, and noble etiquette, among other things.

Beyond that, they will also be arranged into specific development directions based on their own areas of expertise.

Generally speaking, the most popular training directions among students of the Royal Academy are becoming an officer or a general.

But there are exceptions. The Royal Academy has also had success in the field of scientific research, attracting a part of the nobles’ children to embark on the path of research.

Arthur’s attitude towards the cultivation of these nobles’ offspring was to focus on nurturing a portion of the naturally clever and talented as the mainstay talents.

The rest, who were of average abilities, were loosely fostered. As long as these less capable nobles’ children received sufficient ideological education, their choice of profession was less important.

Regardless of the field they choose, in the end, they would contribute to the country. Moreover, for these nobles’ progeny, as long as they are not too dissolute and conduct themselves decently, they already meet Arthur’s requirements for most nobles.

After all, there aren’t that many geniuses, and it’s not realistic to expect every child of the nobility to become a pillar of the state.