On Cooperation

Lenin’s article on cooperatives. Since Lenin was ill the article was orally dictated, was published on January 4 and 6, 1923, in Pravda issue No. 115 and 116, on May 26 and 27, 1923. The Chinese translation is included in Vol. 43 of the second edition of the Complete Works of Lenin.

The cooperative system, that is, the system of giving small commodity producers the freedom to form production and sales cooperatives, was one of the most practical forms of state capitalism in Lenin’s New Economic Policy. In his work “On Grain Tax”, Lenin called it as one form of state capitalism, which is the intermediate link of the transition from small production to large-scale socialist production, and also the basic form of organizing millions of farmers. However, in recent years since the implementation of the New Economic Policy, cooperatives have not received enough attention. In order to further clarify the nature and role of cooperatives, Lenin wrote this article. The main viewpoints are: (1) The nature of cooperatives. In Lenin’s view, under the capitalist system, since the bourgeoisie controls political power and means of production, cooperatives are collective capitalist institutions. But under the premise that the proletariat controls the state power and controls the public ownership of means of production, the cooperative enterprise is a collective enterprise, which is completely consistent with socialism. For Lenin development of cooperatives was equal to the development of socialism. (2) It is absolutely necessary and possible for the Soviet regime to build socialism through cooperatives by gradually leading the small-scale peasant economy to socialism. Lenin pointed out that under the conditions of the New Economic Policy, cooperatives combine the private interests of farmers with the social interests, and make the private interests subordinate to the public interests of socialist construction. In terms of organizing and guiding farmers to participate in socialist construction, it is easy for farmers to accept cooperatives. (3) It is necessary to support the cooperative system, adhere to the principle of voluntariness, enable all residents to participate in the cooperatives, and give them all kinds of preferential and practical support in economic, financial, banking and other aspects. (4) We should combine the co-operation with the cultural revolution of the peasants. Lenin pointed out profoundly that only when Soviet Russia has fully realized the co-operation can it stand firm on the socialist base. The realization of cooperation and collective management of agricultural production requires certain ideological and cultural conditions. Therefore, it was an epoch-making task for Soviet Russia to carry out cultural work among farmers and create conditions for full cooperation. Lenin’s plan to build cooperatives in this article is of universal guiding significance to the construction of socialism in countries with backward economy and culture.