The Absolute at Large · Theme
Industrial Capitalism and Labor
How The Absolute at Large develops Industrial Capitalism and Labor.
The Karburator disrupts traditional labor and capitalism, making workers redundant and factories uncontrollable, while the Absolute's 'divine communism' forces a reevaluation of ownership, value, and work.
Where it surfaces
- I: The Advertisement
Bondy's reflections on the M.E.C.'s vast holdings and the economic crisis highlight the pressures of industrial capitalism.
- II: The Karburator
The invention is framed as a solution to industrial inefficiency, with Bondy's business instincts clashing with Marek's visionary zeal, highlighting tensions between capital and innovation.
- IV: God in the Cellar
Bondy immediately focuses on mass-producing Karburators for profit, treating the Absolute as a manageable commodity.
- VI: The Board-Meeting
The board meeting revolves around production, investment, and control of the Karburator factory.
- VII: Developments
The board's religious fervor leads to proposals to hand over establishments to workers, while the manager dismisses it as 'religious Bolshevism,' highlighting tensions between capital and labor.
- IX: The Ceremony
The ceremony showcases the alliance between industrialists (Bondy), the state, and the military, while workers are heard cursing behind the scenes.
- XI: The First Blow Struck
The Karburator is a product of industrial engineering, and its theft and repurposing highlight tensions between labor, ownership, and the new economy.
- XIII: The Chronicler’s Apology
The mass production of Karburators by Ford and Stinnes illustrates the scale of industrial capitalism and its global reach.
- XIV: The Land of Plenty
The Absolute's takeover of factories makes human labor superfluous, yet workers are consoled by religious illumination, highlighting tensions between capital, labor, and divine intervention.
- XVI: In the Mountains
Bondy claims the Absolute controls both industry and the masses, aiming for world supremacy through economic and labor power.
- XVII: The Hammer and Star
The Industrial Federation elects the Absolute as honorary President, and Absolute Stock rises, linking spiritual phenomena to economic interests.
- XX: St. Kilda
The Karburator shipments and colonial exploitation are discussed, linking religion to economic and industrial interests.
- XXIV: The Napoleon of the Mountain Brigade
The destruction of Karburators represents a rejection of industrial capitalism's core technology, though the chapter focuses more on military and political upheaval.
- The Battle of Hradec Králové
Hampl, a poor tailor, leads a social-revolutionary movement against the clerical and bourgeois city council, highlighting class tensions.
