SPEECHES DELIVERED DURING THE DISCUSSION OF THE DRAFT RESOLUTION ON QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY

28 MAY
It seems to me that we should not adopt Amendment 108, because doing so would necessitate a detailed explanation of the amendment itself. Of course, if revolution breaks out in Europe, we will naturally have to adjust our policies accordingly. As you know, civil war—always closely linked to this kind of revolutionary upheaval—may, for a time, even temporarily worsen our situation. Admittedly, this period will be brief; it is, of course, difficult to predict the duration of civil war in other republics. But once the conflict ends in victory, we will change our policy in such a way that we may well declare: let us forego taxation altogether and instead rely entirely on commodity exchange. This must be explained to the peasants, for otherwise they might think: “So, are we going back to prodrazvyorstka again?” For this reason, I believe it is better not to add any of these provisions. After many long years of revolution in Europe and civil war, the day will come when, without any tax at all, we will conduct economic affairs purely through commodity exchange. This is already stated in the resolution adopted by the Congress, which stipulates that taxes will be gradually reduced. It is precisely to this very point that the forthcoming victorious revolution—whose long years of struggle are now being brought to a swift conclusion—will lead.
2 109
Comrades, we actually held extensive discussions on this very point within the committee, and disagreements arose. At first, Milyutin objected to the phrase “struggle against anarchic…