Better Fewer, But Better

The last important work of Lenin’s late years is the sequel to “How We Should Reorganize the Workers’ and Peasants’ Inspection”. It was dictated on March 2, 1923, and published in Pravda issue No. 49, March 4, 1923. The Chinese translation is included in Vol. 43 of the second edition of the Complete Works of Lenin.

In February 1920, Soviet Russia had set up a state supervisory organ to supervise the activities of state organs and economic management organs, namely, the “Workers and Peasants Inspection”. But Lenin thought that in improving the state organs, it was harmful to pursue quantity and be eager for success. On the contrary, it disturbed the organs and people’s minds, even if it was not detested at least it was very sad. For this reason, Lenin dictated this article, and further clarified the principles and tasks of the Party’s Central Supervisory Committee and the Soviet Government’s Inspection Institute of the Workers and Peasants in reforming state organs and improving the quality of their work. Lenin explained a rule that should be abided by in improving state organs: it is better to have less quantity but higher quality. It points out the talent conditions for the establishment of a real socialist Soviet organ: the advanced workers who strive for socialism and the educated and trained people who have knowledge; it puts forward the specific tasks and requirements for the reform of the state organ: first, learning, second, third, learning, and then inspection, so that what they have learned can be truly learned and applied. Lenin hoped that the Inspection Institute of Workers and Peasants, as a tool for improving state organs, would be transformed into a real model organ, and its position would be raised to a particularly high level, so that its leadership would have the power of the Central Committee; it is required to break through the general staff establishment standards immediately and resolutely, select the staff of the Inspection Institute of Workers and Peasants by special methods and strict assessment, so that they can be competent for the organizational and management work, complete the task of thoroughly cleaning up the bureaucracy of the state organs and dragging the old style of work, build the state organs that practice economy and consolidate the Soviet regime.

Lenin also demanded that the general plans for future work, policies, and strategies be linked to the tasks of the re-organizing the Workers and Peasants Inspection. He argued that only by completing the important task of re-organizing and rectifying our state apparatuses can we smoothly advance the grand strategic undertaking for socialist construction, such as the development of large machinery industry and electrification. This article expounded the principles and specific guidelines for improving the state apparatuses and pointed out the direction for promoting this undertaking in practice.