ON COOPERATIVES
(A Talk to Senior Cadres in the Border Region)
October 1943

[Text] There is another revolution this year in the development of production in the Border Region, that is, using the cooperatives to organize
the public and private labor force. As a result, positivism for production on the part of the masses is activated, labor efficiency is greatly
upgraded, and production is greatly developed.

In the past, what restricted the production force in the Border Region
from developing was feudal exploitation in the Border Region. One-half
of the Border Region has gone through a land revolution which has broken
up this kind of feudal bondage. The other half of the Border Region has
gone through rent and interest reduction, and feudal bondage was subsequently weakened. This amounts to the destruction of feudal exploitation by more than 50 percent throughout the Border Region. This is the
first revolution.

However, if we do not undertake a revolution in the method of production
by shifting individual labor to collective labor, our productive force
cannot be further developed. Thus, mutual help labor organizations built
on the foundation of individual economy (without destroying the foundation
of the private property system), such as the peasants agricultural production cooperatives, become very necessary. This is the only way to greatly
increase the production forces. According to the experience in the
Shensi-Kansu-Ninghsia Border Region, the labor of two general processing
and packaging workers is equal to that of three workers engaged in the
same type of work elsewhere. The labor of one model processing or
packaging worker in this Border Region is equivalent to that of two or
more similar workers elsewhere. If the labor force of all the peasants
is organized into a collective mutual help unit, the productive force of
the entire Border Region can be enhanced by 50-100 percent. This method
can be used in all anti-Japanese bases, and in the future throughout the
country. This will be an event prominently recorded in China's economic

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

history. In this kind of transformation there is no basic change in the
means of production, and the fruits of production still belong to private
individuals rather than the public, but the production relationship between
people has changed. This is a revolution in the production system. This
is the second revolution.

There is a total labor force of 350,000 people in the entire Border Region.
This year more than 30,000 people, or 10 percent of the total force, have
already been organized into processing or packaging teams for collective
labor. As to temporary mutual help labor teams, as far as Yenan is concerned, about 70 percent of the labor force has participated in such teams.
A higher percentage of the total labor force will be organized into such
teams next year. If the labor force in various counties organized into
collective labor organizations is increased from 10 to 20 or 30 percent,
the number of people participating in collective labor will reach 100,000.
Additionally, if all the counties can follow the example of Yenan in forming temporary mutual help labor organizations, and if all the part-time
labor force also participates in mutual help organizations, this will be a
very big labor army.

Production in our armed units, organizations and schools also has some
characteristics similar to those of cooperatives. For instance, each
company is a small cooperative, and each brigade is a big cooperative.
Among the various methods of cooperative production in armed units, organizations and schools, the experience of the Yang-chia-ling transportation
team is worthy of our attention. Before its reorganization this team had
8 wagons and 16 mules. Under normal conditions it should have a transportation capacity of 270,000 chin per day. But this team handled only
190,000 chin per day. This team had to be given a subsidy of 60,000 yuan
per month on top of standard provisions. For both public and private
benefit, this transportation team was reorganized into a cooperative this
year. It issued 80 shares against 8 wagons, 16 mules (later increased to
20 mules), and other equipment, and 20 shares against the 20 transportation
workers. The total number of shares was 100. Each month 20 percent of the
profit goes to the transportation workers and 80 percent to the cooperative.
All expenses for personnel, pack animals and equipment are paid by the
cooperative. It receives payment for its services according to weight
and distance. The cooperative is also responsible for improving the
livelihood of the transportation workers. This arrangement was unanimously
agreed upon by the transportation workers after some explanation. As a
result, the transportation capacity increased from 190,000 to 389,000 chin
per month, an increase of 100 percent. It exceeded the normal capacity
by 30 percent. At the same time the sense of responsibility and positivism
on the part of the transportation workers were greatly heightened, expenses
and equipment costs were reduced and more care was given to the animals.
For example, in the past, when a wheat flour bag had a big hole in it,
nobody paid any attention. Now the transportation workers bring with them
needles and thread, ready to mend the bags when they are torn. In the
past, cheating on animal feed was an open secret. Now this kind of corrupt
practice is gone. In the past, when there was any damage to the equipment,
requests were made for replacement. Now they improvise. In the past they

did not pay too much attention to the animals. Now the animals are better
fed. The operating expenses of the team are down by one-third after the
reorganization. In the past this team had to be subsidized in the amount
of 60,000 yuan a month. Now, without any subsidy, it has a profit of
several tens of thousands of yuan per month.

Considerable results were achieved after this method was adopted by similar
organizations. The transportation battalion of a certain management bureau
had 100 pack animals and 20 wagons. Before reorganization its monthly
transportation capacity was 1.2 million chin. After reorganizing into a
cooperative it raised its monthly capacity to 1.85 million chin, an increase
of 50 percent. Therefore, I ask everybody to give this kind of cooperative
method some consideration as to whether it can be applied to publicly
operated factories and farms.

These methods cannot be used by capitalist countries and the Kuomintang.
Only we can do this because our purpose is not to exploit the people, and
we follow the policy of taking care of both public and private interests.

In the army, for instance, the 359th Brigade made equipment with willow and
elm branches. The regulation is that if public tools are used in handicraft work, 80 percent of the proceeds goes to the public and 20 percent
to the individual soldiers. If no public tools are used, two-thirds of
the proceeds go to the public and one-third to the soldier. This method
not only provides goods needed by the public but also tends to increase
the subsidy for the fighters. It also contains the idea of cooperatives.

The cooperative by nature is to serve the masses. We have to think about
the interest of the masses, calculate for the masses and put the interest
of the masses first. This is the difference between us and the Kuomintang.
This is also the starting point as well as the end of the revolution of
Communist Party members. We came from the masses and will go back to the
masses. In seeking solutions for problems we start from the interest of
the masses and end with the interest of the masses. Then we can do a good
job in everything. Therefore, every Communist Party member should think
for the people; the responsible comrades in the armed units should think
for the soldiers; and the responsible comrades in organizations and schools
should think for the cooks and office workers. This kind of production
theory from the mass viewpoint tears down all the incorrect "theories" of
the past. Only this kind of theory for the masses can enable us to do a
good job in production.

I want our comrades everywhere to pay attention to the promotion of production by cooperatives. The production organization in armed units,
organizations and schools is a kind of cooperative. In addition, there
are other cooperatives, such as the transportation cooperative of the salt
transportation team and handicraft cooperatives organized by workers for
collective mutual help. Let us develop all these types of cooperatives.
Then the public, the private individual and the masses will be rich, and
the present difficulties at various bases behind enemy lines will be overcome.

--- Notes

o "Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung," Vol 4, 1944
*
"Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung," Vol 5, 1947