In 1917, Europe reeled under the weight of World War I as Europe threw the lives of an entire generation into a line of fire cut by machine guns, howitzers, and gas. Germany was hard pressed on two fronts, with Britain and France stubbornly holding the line in the west, while a poorly led and equipped Russian army was fighting in the east. Seeking to relieve the pressure on the Eastern Front Germany exported a firebrand revolutionary to Russia to fan the flames of rebellion in the Motherland. He called himself Lenin, and his crusade brought down a struggling provisional government that had assumed power after the abdication of the czar. In its place rose a new order in Russia that would change the face of that country. Though vehemently anti-capitalist in his rhetoric, Lenin proved himself to be an excellent political tactician in the early days of the Soviet Union, even if that meant adopting some tenets of capitalism to maintain control, as he did with his New Economic Policy (NEP).
Lenin's Peasant Problem
Lenin, like Karl Marx, deeply believed that the workers of the world were alienated from their work, and cut off from the wealthy bourgeoisie. Lenin believed that it was these capitalists who were to blame for the suffering of the Great War and that the only solution was to overthrow them in a communist revolution.
In order for such a coup to work, Lenin needed a social scapegoat, and Marx, provided him with one in the form of class conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. In order to swing the masses to his side, Lenin promised a state “in which the bourgeoisie will have no share whatsoever.” In a nation where the differences between upper and lower classes where extreme, with an almost non-existent middle class, such rhetoric resonated deeply with the lower classes. However, the resentment that such heated rhetoric stirred up led to further bloodshed between workers, and business owners after the establishment of the Soviet state and the centralization of the national economy.
Though conflict between capitalist and worker was a key piece of Lenin’s philosophy, it was incorporating the peasant class (a third class in Russian society) into the communist vision that presented a difficult challenge. Lenin employed his rhetorical skills to check potential dissent and resistance of the peasant class by promising them a place in the communist order:
"The peasants will understand that the salvation of the peasantry lies only in an alliance with the workers. We shall institute genuine worker control over production."
Here is where Lenin’s political skills are on full display. While the bourgeoisie formed a small class that could apparently be dispensed with, the peasants formed the economic backbone of agrarian Russia. Instead of liquidating the peasants, or raising their indignation, Lenin reached out a hand of opportunity in the form of the 1921 New Economic Policy.
The NEP
Essentially a limited form of capitalism, the NEP was designed to make a smoother and less sudden transition to socialism . It allowed peasants to sell their crops on the open market after having paid a food tax to the government. They were also able to hire labor, or lease it, on their own without state interference. By implementing the pseudo-capitalist NEP Lenin was simultaneously able to secure the loyalty and support of the peasantry and stabilize a Russian economy he was quickly loosing control of. However, despite the political success of the NEP, economic gains were short term at best and set a dangerous precedent for future Soviet economic policy.
In establishing the NEP and righting the swamped ship of Russian finance, the new central bank printed massive amounts of paper money in a nation were inflation was already running high . The higher inflation made the Russian ruble of little value outside the Soviet Union, and the consequence of this practice became apparent in the early 1990s when the dissolved Soviet empire’s economy and currency completely collapsed. In fact, in 1990 the value of the ruble had fallen so far that in the global market it lost ninety percent of its value .
In the final analysis, Lenin’s rhetorical flair in promising a grand coalition of peasant and worker rang hollow 70 years later when the failure of the communist system became known. However, this should not diminish acknowledgment of Lenin’s political skill in maneuvering the new Soviet Union through early growing pains. A more sobering lesson learned from Lenin’s NEP is one of policy making. The division that can occur between political rhetoric and reality often leads to misguided policies with long term negative effects.
In evaluating Lenin’s rhetoric, and the results it reaped, we can gain an understanding of the sheer genius of his political abilities. Despite conflicts of rhetoric and the end result, Lenin was able to use rhetoric to accomplish his goals of widespread support for the communist party, a stronger economic system, and “equality” of classes through class conflict.
Sources:
- Breese, Dave, Seven Men Who Rule the World From the Grave, Chicago. Moody Press, 1990.
- Bucholz, Todd G., New Ideas From Dead Economists, Revised Edition, New York. Plume, 1999.
- Hylton, Raymond ed., “Vladimir Lenin: the rhetoric of societal upheaval,” The World’s History Document Set, Upper Saddle River, N.J. Prentice Hall, 2001.
- Rempel, Gerhard, “The New Economic Policy,”
- Spodek, Howard, The World’s History: Volume 1, 2nd Edition, Upper Saddle River, N.J. Prentice Hall, 2001.
Tim Milosch - Tim Milosch writes from Southern California and welcomes comments on his articles. If you'd like to read more his writing, please view his ...
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