Page:Vladimir Ilyich Lenin - About the Co-operative Societies (1924).pdf/9

 power of the exploiters has been overthrown, and all the means of production (with the exception of those which the workers' state voluntarily and conditionally leaves in the hands of the exploiters under concession) belong to the working class.

We now are justified in saying that for us co-operation is (with the abovementioned "little" exception) synonymous with the growth of Socialism. At the same time we must admit a fundamental change in our entire standpoint with respect to Socialism. This fundamental change is that we formerly laid—and had to lay—chief emphasis upon the political struggle, the revolution, the seizure of power, whereas the primary emphasis must now be placed upon peaceful, organisational, "cultural" work. I should like to say that the center of gravity has moved to the cultural work for us, aside international relations, where chief emphasis lies upon the duty of defending our positions on an international seale. But aside from that, when we limit ourselves to domestic economic affairs, the center of gravity of our work lies in cultural activity.

Two great, epochmaking tasks stand before us. Firstly, the reorganisation of our apparatus, which is worth almost nothing, and which we took over in toto from the previous epoch. During the five years of struggle we did not succeed and could not succeed in obtaining tangible results in this field. Our second task is our cultural work among the peasantry. And this cultural work among the peasants as an economic goal will be taken care of by the co-operatives. Under the conditions of complete co-operative organisation we would already stand with both feet upon Socialist ground. But these conditions of complete co-operative organisation presuppose such a cultural level of the peasantry (especially the peasantry as a huge mass) that complete co-operation is impossible with a cultural revolution.

Our opponents have often told us that we have thoughtlessly undertaken the job of realising Socialism in a country with deficient culture. They make a mistake however when they think they can justifiedly blame us for not having begun the work form the point of attack demanded by theory (various pedants). For us the political and social revolution was only the forerunner of the cultural upheaval, the revolution on the threshold of which we nonetheless now stand.

This cultural revolution will suffice us, in order to become a completely Socialist .country. But this cultural revolution demands extraordinary efforts of a cultural (fight against illiteracy) as as well as material nature, because a certain development of the material means of production, a certain material basis is necessary for our transformation into a cultural country.

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