Saturday, March 24, 2007

If The British Empire Had Followed The Soviet Model

After a long war of attrition with Germany, and subsequent hunger and general ill-being of the country's political and economic situation, Socialists stage riots in England and ask for more democracy. After several skirmishes with the weakened Royal Army, they end up creating a provisional government. An emergency cabinet is set up, with a John Smith in charge. Later, another, a much stronger majority party, the Communists, attack the Buckingham palace, the Provisional Council of Ministers and arrest the Royal family. The King, the Queen and all the princes and princesses are assassinated. John Smith, overthrown by the Communists, flees the country.

The Communists institute the Dictatorship of the Masses and declare martial law. All property is confiscated from the rich, and all the aristocrats are mercilessly shot. Later, a new government is formed with a Peter Brown in charge. All the British colonies around the world who had been reeling under the heavy weight of the Crown feel that now may be a propitious moment for them to finally declare their independence. Rebellions take place all across the Empire. The Communists, in response, gather a huge army and put down the revolutions with the most brutal application of force, killing untold thousands of Indians, Chinese, Trinidadians and Burmese. Ireland is invaded, subdued and its political status remains in limbo until further notice.

Peter Brown, a devout Communist, is also a patriotic Englishman. He realizes that England is soon going to lose all its colonies and the neighboring countries of Wales and Scotland. He proposes the following solution: The British Empire is going to become a huge conglomeration of various free republics, and it will change its name as well. It will no longer be a monarchy, but, instead, it will be ruled by a group of political councils.

Therefore, it will, from now on, be known as The Union of Councilist Democratic Republics. ( UCDR) It will be a permanent gathering of many formerly British countries and colonies with common defense and currency. The countries will be potentially independent republics that will surrender its military, custom, postal , and border concerns to the main country, from now on to be known as a “republic“, too: the English Federative Councilist Democratic Republic (EFCDR). This republic will be “first among equals” in the new country of USDR.

Other founding republics of UCDR will be: The Scottish Councilist Democratic Republic, The Welsh Councilist Democratic Republic, the Irish Councilist Democratic Republic, and the Indian Councilist Democratic Republic. Communist troops from these five founding republics are quickly dispatched to Burma, Hong Kong, Barbados and the British Virgin Islands where people are trying to declare independence, and they pitilessly crush all the attempts of the locals to win freedom for themselves. The Irish Republican Army leaders in Dublin and Belfast are arrested and executed. The organization of the IRA is disbanded with many of its common soldiers sent to exile in Kashmir and Nepal.

The new country begins to solidify and expand. New republics are added as time goes by and all fights for any real sovereignty are brutally put down by the UCDR troops led by England.

By now we have the following new “republics “ joining (very much involuntarily):

The Barbados Councilist Democratic Republic
The Trinidad and Tobago Councilist Democratic Republic
The Cape Councilist Democratic Republic, with the Autonomous Dutch Republic as part thereof.
The Nigerian Councilist Democratic Republic
The Palestinian Councilist Democratic Republic consisting of Arab and Hebrew Autonomous Democratic Republics.
The Burmese Councilist Democratic Republic with Karen and Shan Autonomous Councilist Republics as parts thereof.
The Kuwaiti Arab Councilist Democratic Republic
The Australian Anglo- Celtic Councilist Democratic Republic with Aboriginal Autonomous Republic as part thereof.
The Canadian Anglo-Ukrainian Councilist Democratic Republic with a Quebecois and several Native Indian Autonomous Councilist Democratic Republics as parts thereof.
The New Zealand Anglo-Celtic Councilist Democratic Republic with a Maori Autonomous Councilist Republic.
The Malaya Councilist Democratic Republic with a special Chinese and a special Indian Autonomous Republic as parts thereof.
The Rhodesian Councilist Democratic Republic.
The Kenyan Councilist Democratic Republic.
The Tanzanian Councilist Democratic Republic which includes the Autonomous Councilist Republic of Zanzibar.


Several small islands in the Pacific and the Atlantic, as well as some Black countries in Africa are allowed to become independent; they have little political or economic value. Their independence is highly lauded in the UCDR media, and shown to the rest of the world as a sign that the Great UCDR is, in fact, a freedom-loving State that respects wishes of smaller peoples for free and democratic self-determination.

The English Republic (EFCDR) will ,from now, on consist of several regions, such as East Anglia, Midlands, The Falklands, The Red London region and one Autonomous Councilist Republic of Cornwall. Why autonomous Cornwall? Well, the people there are Celts, so we are going to let them have a semi-independent parliament and allow them to teach all subjects in Cornish in their schools. They will, however, have no right to secede in the Constitution of the Union.

The Indian Councilist Democratic Republic will have the Autonomous Republics of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh as its integral components, but not as parts of India Proper.

Under the new Constitution ,all republics, the big ( Constituent ones) and the smaller, Autonomous ones within the big ones, will have the right to run most of their local affairs in local languages and conduct primary and secondary education in them. On the university level and in other post secondary schools, subjects will have to be taught in English.

Only the “big “republics will be able to secede from the Union after a proper referendum is conducted. Autonomous republics will have much harder time if they try to secede. A new citizenship and a multi-national Councilist People are proclaimed. A Palace of Councils is built in Red London. Every “big” republic now has a seat in it. English people, the Scottish and the Welsh predominate ,but there are also plenty of Africans, Indians, Malays, and other token representatives of the new multi-national state each speaking for their respective union republics.

Peter Brown dies , but ,before his death ,he secretly warns the government not to allow any non-English people to become the next Secretary General, however, it is too late. A Ramesh Singh, an Indian who had been able to settle in London in the past because of his party connections takes over. He is a deeply disturbed person. Having been called a “bloody Paki” all his life, and unable to speak English without a heavy Sub-continental accent, he is now determined to prove his power all across the UCDR. Singh conducts indiscriminate purges and establishes a Calc -The Councilist Administration of Labor Camps-a system of penal servitude colonies all across the country.

Most such colonies are in Asia and Australia, and they slowly fill up with hundreds of thousands of disgruntled citizens who work as slaves in penal factories and plants producing weaponry , clothing and machinery for UCDR. Many die of exposure and horrible working conditions ,but, in their place, new prisoners are swiftly brought in on trumped -up charges.

Internal passports are issued. In each passport, the name, address and birth place and date are marked. There is also a “nationality” paragraph which is determined by the government based on the ethnic blood lineage of the person. Nationality and citizenship are now two different concepts. Everybody is a Councilist by citizenship However, they are of different ethnic origins- read: nationalities. White people with names such as John Smith have “English” written in their passports. White people with names such as Sean McCormick have “Scottish” written on the same line. Australians, South Africans and New Zealanders are also mostly classified as English, Irish, Scottish or Welsh based on genealogical research. Afrikaners are called Dutch. They are not trusted and are kept in the Autonomous Dutch Republic in South Africa.

One needs to produce multiple birth and death certificates of one’s ancestors and then, based on those, the government decides who is to be designated as what. The term “British “ceases to exist, and those who say they are British, are automatically given 20 years in the Calc.

The government appoints a Ministry of Nationalities that decides how to classify some 100 plus other ethnic groups of the UCDR. The Jews are designated as Hebrews, and sent to Palestine; various African people are only designated as Nigerians or Kenyans and tribal ties are not considered at all. Kuwaiti- and Palestinian Arabs have the word “Arab” written in the internal passports. Soon, the huge number of nationalities is duly registered, and respective histories of these peoples are published in school books. It is taught how these had been oppressed by their neighbors and their own overlords until the elder brothers, the English, came, saved, and enlightened them. Now, all these nationalities are united under one common multinational government with a seat in the Councilist capital- Red London.

Gypsies, however, are declared a non-indigenous nationality and are not given an autonomous republic, but, instead a tiny Gypsy Autonomous District is established for them in the north of Pakistan because that is where they are originally from ( according to the UCRD anthropologists) . They are strongly encouraged to move there, and those who do not , are often imprisoned. Some are allowed to settle in non-Gypsy areas and work in circuses. Most are harassed by both the police and the local population.

A strict housing registration is implemented. One can visit another city or a republic, but is not allowed to move there without obtaining a police registration and a release from his/her republic or city. For that, one needs a job, and to have a job, one needs a police registration. A catch 22. Only people with good connections, those in the direct employ of the CPCU- Communist Party of the Councilist Union, and the very talented ones, with good jobs can move more or less freely around the “former “British Empire. Arabs and Indians can come to London on official business, but few can move there. All must carry internal passports on them most of the time. People without passports are imprisoned and sent to the Calc. As a result of such strict policies, most people in London are now ethnically English, and most people in India are Indians, except in Delhi and Bombay, where most officials are either English or Scottish. They are living just like they used to during the Raj: with butlers, big mansions, private drivers, etc.

You see, big English party bosses from London and also, many Scottish and even Welsh and Irish nationalities can relatively easily relocate to India and live a good life there, but only a tiny number of the Indian republic’s bosses can get a permit to live in Red London or The Hero City of Glasgow. Many heads of governments in India and the Autonomous Pakistani and Sri Lankan republics are English, but there are only a tiny number of token Indian officials in the English republic.

Also, because of the way the centralized supply lines have been set up , most of the wealth from the East flows back to Red London to make Red London party chiefs even richer while impoverishing the brotherly republics of Asia and Africa.

No one is allowed to travel abroad without a special permission, and an exit visa of which very few are given, out every year except, of course, to trusted government officials and CSS (Committee of State Security) agents. Foreigners are let into the country only after a very careful scrutiny, and they must adhere to a government -approved itinerary. Many visas are denied from the outset. The ones who are “lucky” to get in, are followed everywhere by the CSS. Those who are thought to be spies, are arrested and sent to labor camps.

Collectivization of agriculture starts. Peasants are put on collective farms and individual land is confiscated. Huge fertile areas in Malaya and Burma and their cities are cleared of the locals, and many English, Welsh and Scottish people are brought in to settle, all in the name of “expanding the brotherly union.” As in India, they are given cushy jobs as heads of rural councils and factory directors.

The result is quite a few indignant and recalcitrant locals who are quite unhappy about the situation, but these are promptly declared “enemies of the people” and are either executed, or resettled in the mountains of Pakistan and poorer regions of Kenya where many die from various physical privations and attacks by local tribes. Those who are obedient and faithful to the ideals of UCDR are still allowed to stay in rural areas of their republics, but their internal passports are taken away from them by local rural councils. They cannot leave their villages, and are forced to work as virtual slaves to make English/Scottish/Welsh-dominated UCDR even more glorious, and turn Red London into the City of Gold.

Those Indians and Pakistanis as well as Hong Kong Chinese who come to Red London in hope of settling down find that it is similar to how it would be if they had to travel to another country- they need visas to stay there. But even if they are lucky to get a long term visa in the capital of UCDR, they are still routinely harassed by the London Bobbies and constantly told to go back to their “Wog Republics“.

In the meantime, movies, poetry, paintings, sculptures and song glorifying UCDR life and its democratic system, are produced all over the country. The Palace of the Peoples is built in Red London where delegates ,dressed in various ethnic clothes, perform dances and sing in their native languages, after which, they are hurriedly sent back home because London should be an English city, and these, if they stayed, would violate its demographic homogeneity.

A party of Red Pioneers and the Union of Councilist Youth become training organizations for future Communist bosses from all republics. Medical care is free but of low quality. Higher Education is free, is conducted in English, and most large universities are in London. There is a quota on students who are not “white”, and there is another separate quota on Dutch Afrikaners who are seen as troublemakers and a rebellious non-native group.

Twenty years after the founding of the UCDR, Germany, Japan and Italy attack the country. Nationwide mobilization takes place, and the seat of the government moves from London to the capital of the Brotherly Republic of India, Delhi. Comrade Singh, the Father of the Peoples ,temporarily stops purges and collects a huge multi-ethnic fighting force. All the nationalities of the enormous country unite under one slogan- “For Motherland, for Comrade Singh!“. After four years of fighting and the death of some 20,000,000 Councilists, the enemies are defeated and the purges resume. The soldiers who had allowed themselves to be taken into captivity are whisked away by their own government never be heard from again. Local languages are becoming more and more suppressed in favor of English ,and those who insist on publishing reading materials or songs in them are ridiculed as bourgeois nationalists and enemies of the Union. Secret plans are also drawn to rid The Cape Republic of the Dutch minority.

In the meantime, the United States, Russia and other democratic countries outside of UCDR begin the process of building a nuclear bomb to protect themselves against the possible encroachment by the Communists. UCDR joins the arms race by creating its own nuclear weapon and detonating it in Afrikaans-speaking areas of the Cape Republic effectively eliminating the “African Dutch” from the face of the earth. This further scares foreign countries and they start producing even more atomic and, now, neutron weapons.

Many countries in Asia and Africa, however, having been convinced by very active international UCDR propaganda turn communist and join UCDR‘s political camp. Other countries join the democratic Russia, USA and France. The two political camps exchange hostile rhetoric and military threats. The menace of an all-out nuclear war starts looming closer and closer.

However, Secretary Singh suddenly dies before a serious atomic confrontation with other countries could take place.

The government cabinet , The Councilist Polit. Bureau, is reshuffled and Jim Jones, a Welshman, comes to power. He exposes the crimes of Ramesh Singh, and a temporary thaw takes place both among the Councilist republics and UCDR and other countries. Foreign travel becomes easier, foreign relations- more open. A space program is established , and, in few years, a Councilist Artificial Satellite called “Fellow Traveler” circles the Earth. Other countries, however, see it as the evidence that UCDR can now attack them from outer space. This scares them into developing space programs of their own and even more advanced nuclear weaponry.

UCDR puts a man in space, an Englishman named Bob Stevens. This further escalates the Space and Arms race. For the next 25 years UCDR and its satellite on the one hand, and the capitalist countries of East and West are caught in an uneasy stand-off until Jones dies and a peace loving Michael Fitzpatrick comes to power. He offers peace to the countries on the other side of the political divide, dismantles the Calc penal system, disbands the KSS, and declares a policy of “Voicefulness”. People are now free to voice their opinion, and some take it as a sign that even more decisive action can be taken.

Suddenly, union republics begin declaring independence one by one. First, Ireland, then India, then the Cape Republic, until they all peel off. Eventually, Wales and Scotland go their own separate ways and England itself tells the UCDR government to leave London. Soon, all that is left of the Great Union of Free Councilist Republics is England with its Autonomous Republic of Cornwall. This is not allowed to secede because it was never a “Constituent” republic of the defunct union. Cornwall separatists begin fighting for independence but are quickly put down by Red London’s troops. The world stands silent and only other Celtic nations offer some lip service in its support. Cornish people are declared a nation of bandits and many young Cornwallers disappear into the English prison system never to be heard from again. Some Bretons, Northern Spaniards and other Celtic fighters are arrested and deported back to their countries.

However, all the republics, constituent and autonomous, soon find out that they are way behind the capitalist world in the production of goods and services. No one needs their shabby clothes and low quality cars, and overpriced and very crude raw materials. They quickly learn that they still need each other and, therefore, they form a loose confederation of formerly British-controlled nations. With the word “British” being legal again, they form The British Commonwealth of Nations.

The Union experiment caused untold hardships and astronomical numbers of dead, millions of crippled lives, and an immeasurable degree of human suffering. Even though, allegedly, the Communists’ original intention was to unite diverse peoples of the Empire, they, in the end, ended up recreating the old Imperial structure but with much harsher laws and much more brutal political and social restrictions.

They say: the more things change the more they stay the same. I say, sometimes, the more they change the more they become a worse version of the same.

Unions of Republics? Don’t try those at home!

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