Corvée and Socialism
Барщина и социализм
Date: 1917-09-14 (September 1)
Source: PSS vol 34
Translated by: AI (Claude)

Sometimes especially embittered opponents of socialism render it a service by the unreasonable zealousness of their "exposures." They attack precisely what deserves sympathy and imitation. They open the people's eyes to the vileness of the bourgeoisie by the very character of their attacks.

This is exactly what happened with one of the most vile bourgeois newspapers, "Russkaya Volya," which published on August 20 a correspondence from Yekaterinburg under the title: "Corvée." Here is what is reported in this correspondence:

"...The Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies has introduced in our city for citizens having horses, a natural duty to take turns providing their horses for daily trips on service for members of the Soviet.

A special schedule of duties has been worked out and each 'horsed citizen' is accurately notified in writing when and where and at what exact hour he must appear with his horse on duty.

For greater clarity, the 'order' adds: 'In case of non-fulfillment of this requirement, the Soviet will at your expense make an expenditure for hiring cabs in the amount of up to 25 rubles'..."

The defender of the capitalists is, of course, indignant. The capitalists look quite calmly at how the vast majority of the people toil all their lives in need, being not only "at corvée," but directly at hard labor of factory, mining or other hired work, and very often starving without work. The capitalists look at this calmly.

And when workers and soldiers introduced even a small public duty for capitalists, then the gentlemen exploiters raised a howl: "corvée"!!

Ask any worker, any peasant, would it be bad if the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies were the sole power in the state and everywhere began to introduce public duty for the rich, for example, obligatory duty with horses, with automobiles, with bicycles, obligatory daily work on clerical matters for counting products, the number of the needy, etc., etc.?

Every worker and every peasant, except perhaps the kulak, will say that this would be good.

And this is true. This is not yet socialism, but only one of the first steps toward socialism, but this is precisely what the poor people need urgently and immediately. Without such measures it is impossible to save the people from hunger and ruin.

Why then does the Yekaterinburg Soviet remain a rare exception? Why are such measures not applied throughout Russia long ago, not developed into a whole system of measures precisely of this kind?

Why, following the public duty for the rich to provide horses, is not introduced the same public duty for the rich to provide full reports on their monetary operations, especially on deliveries to the treasury, under such control of the Soviets, with the same "accurate written notification," when and where to submit the report, when and where to pay exactly how much tax?

Because at the head of the huge majority of Soviets stand SR ("Socialist-Revolutionary") and Menshevik leaders who in fact have gone over to the side of the bourgeoisie, entered the bourgeois government, pledged to support it, betraying not only socialism but also democracy. These leaders engage in "conciliationism" with the bourgeoisie, which not only will not allow, for example, in Piter to introduce public duty for the rich, but has been hindering much more modest reforms for months.

These leaders deceive their conscience and deceive the people by references to the fact that "Russia is not yet ripe for the introduction of socialism."

Why should such references be recognized as deception?

Because with the help of such references the matter is falsely presented as if it were about some transformation of unprecedented complexity and difficulty, which must break the habitual life of tens of millions of people. The matter is falsely presented as if someone wants to "introduce" socialism in Russia by one decree, without reckoning with either the level of technology, or the abundance of small enterprises, or the habits and will of the majority of the population.

All this is sheer falsehood. Nothing of the kind has anyone proposed. Not one party, not one person was going to "introduce socialism" by decree. What is and has been in question is exclusively such measures as, similar to the establishment of public duty for the rich in Yekaterinburg, are fully approved by the mass of the poor, i.e., the majority of the population, such measures as are technically and culturally fully ripe, provide immediate relief to the life of the poor, allow weakening the burdens of war and distributing them more evenly.

Almost half a year of revolution has passed, and the SR and Menshevik leaders are hindering all such measures, betraying the interests of the people to the interests of "conciliationism" with the bourgeoisie.

Until workers and peasants understand that these leaders are traitors, that they must be driven out, removed from all posts, the toilers will inevitably remain in slavery to the bourgeoisie.

"Rabochiy" No. 10, September 14 (1) 1917
Signature: N. Lenin

Printed from the text of the newspaper "Rabochiy"