New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-14
pse OF l>enine's Scheme Brings Famine to Russia
Now j
For Capitalisnl
He Destroyed
Failure of Industry Under
Communist Reign Is
Attended by Theft and
Secret Dealing in Food


COW, No. l for 1921, quoted in Prague
Nolya Rossii), that under the system
of acquisitions the government took
fiom the peasants not only their sur
Plus stocks of food but oftentimes
even the amounts they needed for their
own consumption"
In this same article Lenine also
summarized his views on the manner
in which he proposes to solve the prob
lem of industrial reconstruction. He
stated at the outset that it would be
ludlcrous to expect that the Soviet
regime should be able. with the re-
sources at its disposal. to reconstruct
large scale nationalized industry. This
would require the possession of large
centralized stocks of raw materials
fuel and foodstuffs, which are not
available. The only thing that remains
is small-scale production, which does
not require such centralized stocks of
raw materials, etc. But this small
scale production means private owner
ship and initiative, employment of
labor, profits, etc.
30 after three years assiduous work
directed toward the destruction of
Russia's capitalistic development Le-
nine now comes to the following rather
remarkable conclusion:
We must help the development of
small-scale industry. This means
resurrection Of the petty bourgeoisie
and of capitalism, no doubt and it
would be ridiculous to close our ewes
to this. To prohibit all private ex-
change Of commodities, which means
private trade and capitalism, and which
is indispensable as long as there exist
small-scale producers. would be stupid
ano suicidal for any party that may
attempt such policy"
Lenine Now Wants to
Promote Capitalism
Instead of arresting the development
OF capitalism, as he had ben doing for
over three years, Lenine now wants to
promote and encourage it. Only he
wants it to be different in kind. He
chooses to call it state capitalism" and
he vlsualizes four types of this kind of
capitalism
The first is in the form of conces.
sions, under which foreign capitalists
receive the exploitation rights to an
industry or an enterprise under the
control of the Soviet state. The sec
ond form is greater or lesser freedom
OF cooperation in production and trade
The third form is an arrangement be-
tween the state and private traders
for selling or buying operations on
commission basis. The fourth is very
much like the first, for it consists in
the farming out to private individuals
OF economic resources belonging to the
state. All these forms carry with
men, OF course, to some extent, a
process Of Decentralization and a re-
Taxation of the system of miitarized
Lenine admits very readily that all
these forms are very primitive Yet be
sees no other way except his peculiar
faith in electricity. He still believes
that If it were possible to electrify
the whole of Russia the transition
from the primitive capitalism. which
ne now attempts to create, to socialism
would be very simple. But that would
take no less than ten years, in his es-
tlmatlon, and in the mean time he is
willing that Russia should taste to her
hearts content the advantages of
primitive capitalism, which Russia i.
to receive from communism in OK
cnange FOR whatever economic advance
she had made in the course of the past
generations, all swept away by the
destructive processes Of the Coramu-
mist experiment.
Plan Would Be Bar
To Russian Industries
There is one stipulation. however
mat Lenlne made with regard to this
form of reestablishment Of capitalism
again IN the nature of an economic
compromise to conserve Loliticai mower
He is willing to farm out Russian in
dustres to foreign capitalists. but not
10 Russian ones. This is his justifica-
uon Tor state capitalism"; viz, that
IN this manner Russia would ACQUIRE
capitalists working for profit only and
not demanding political rights.
In view of Lenne's revised" no,;.v
It IS safe to say that, taken in its
economic implications, the communist
experiment in Russia has now com
pleted its cycle. Starting with the de-
structlon OF capitalism for the purpose
Of introducing communism, the Sovie.
regime merely succeeded in destr.vi,,
c2p ltal IS we'll as capitalism. Then j,
attempted to substitute sheer force
for economic production. Now if *
building up capitalism in order to reno
'umulate capital and in this manner
attempt to preserve communism.
There is monstrous incongruity in
tie whole situation. which mas now
been tragically emphasized by the ap-
pearance of the famine scourge. due to
a drought added to decreased agricul-
tural production. The key to this in
rnpor,,ifv l;ac H.