The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-18

Party on "The Immediate Tasks Of
the Economic Policy"
adopted by the Political Bureau
on December "a, 1923, in execution
Of the decision taken by the Pie
nuns Of the Central Committee and
the Central Control Committee on
October Is. This resolution has to
be submitted for final confirmation by
the Plenum Of the Central Committee
concluded from yesterday
v. Home Trade and co-operatIves.
Under the New Economic Policy,
the organization of commerce has a
unique Importance because, by means
of the commercial apparatus, there
must be the closest linking up of the
nationalized industry with the peas
ant market. Every strengthening Of
the cooperative and of the state COM
merce and every enlargement of the
! field Of their octivity imply ar en-
largement of the sphere of the social
list economy. Every WEAKENING of the
positions Of the co-operatiyes and Of
the state commerce and every
strengthening Of the positions of tho
private middle-man, cealer and mer-
chant imply an enlargement of the
sphere of domination Of the bourgeois
capitalist conditions. The support,
therefore, of the co-operatives and the
development of the state commerce,
the winning by them of positions
from the private commercial capital
lists on the basis Of competition, the
economic employment of this capital
gained by them, form the most i'm
portant tasks Of the economic policy
of the Party.
In the meantime the crisis has
shown that the co-operatives and the
state commerce are not up to those
tasks which confront them: the tasks
of establishing an immediate connec-
ton between the state industry and
the mass consumers.
The insufficient fexibility and the
specialization Of the organs, the I'M
weildiness and the bureaucratism of
the commercial apparatus, the high
rate of the additional expenses, the
incapability of reaching the mass mar
ket, the insufficient adaptability to
the needs of the scattered many mil
lioned peasantry-all these demands
from the Party steadfast work for
eliminating these defects resulting
from the crisis. The, problems Of
commerce confront the Party in all
their immensely
vi. Private Capital.
The problem Of the relation be-
tween state and private capital
forms, at the present time, the most
important problem in the sphere of
economics, and it is decisive for the
relation between the class forces of
the proletariat. based on the nation
allied industry, and the new bour-
geoisie based on the elementary play
of free competition. BY establishing
the basis for the New Economic Pol
icy, which has fully justified itself and
requires no revision leading practi-
cally to return Of war Communism,
the Party has not only permitted pri-
vate capital to accumulate a certain
amount of capital resources derived
from commerce, but It has also hand
ed over for partial exploitation by pri-
yate capital a part of the means of
production at its disposal (conces-
sions, leases, etc.. In this latter
sphere the participation of private
capital is both absolutely and relative
ly negligible. The comparatively more
important role of private capital in
commerce is due to its greater adapt
ability to the retail trade and to the
supplying of the needs Of the scat
tered customers in the village.
The state capital cannot take upon
itself the rapid establishment of i'm
mediate connections with the whole
100 million mass of scattered produc-
tive peasantry. but also in this sphere
the growth of private capital must be
kept within certain limits by means
CT Strengthening the economic role of
the co-operatives and of the state
commerce and by means of an adop-
ton to the needs and conditions OF
trade in the village.
Help co-operatives.
One of the principal pre-conditions
for the strengthening of our positions
against private capital must be the
fixing Of reasonable prices. The Sow
let rule having concentrated in its
hanTs the principal mass Of products
which are needed by the village, inust
become capable OF ensuring that the
state organizations and co-operatives
sell more cheaply than the private
dealer. We must render the mass
consumer - worker and peasant -
aware of the superiority OF the CO.
operative and state trade OF those or
CARNATIONS based on private capital.
The cooperative organizations are
destined to play the chief role in trade
organization, especially in that of the