The Press SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 1956. Sixth Five-Year Plan

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27872, 21 January 1956, Page 8

The Press SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 1956. Sixth Five-Year Plan

Russia’s new five-year plan, covering the years 1956 to 1960 inclusive, differs fundamentally from its five j predecessors in the emphasis it gives to complicated technical equipment instead of raw materials and tools. The purpose, of course, is to use machinery to increase productivity spectacularly; an increase of no less than 65 per cent, in industrial output over the five years is planned. Similarly, machinery is needed to effect a radical technological transformation in agriculture. While labour productivity in industry is to increase by 50 per cent., and in building by 52 per cent., in agriculture the increases are to be 100 per cent, on collective farms and 70 per cent, on State farms. Russian statistics are notoriously incomplete. Though targets for some products, such as ore, coal, steel, and electrical energy, are given in material terms, percentages of a previous figure (the material base of which is not given) suffice for other vital sectors of the economy. It is thus impossible to discover exactly what percentage increases mean. Moreover, even in Russia it has been recently acknowledged that much is lacking in the statistical basis of Soviet economics and planning. The obligation of economists to conform with Marxist theories handicaps the use of appropriate analytical tools. Though limited budgeting is naturallysuspect, no-one doubts that a stupendous effort to succeed in a virtual technological revolution will be made. This is indicated in the provision to create “50 per cent. “ more specialists and technicians ” in the five years. Though, for the reason mentioned above, it is impossible to translate this percentage into figures, there are sound reasons for believing that the base for this percentage increase is substantial. In the last few years Russia has given special attention to technical education. During his visit last year Mr Nehru was particularly impressed by Russia’s output of technicians and is said to have thought of copying Russia’s teaching schemes. It has yet to be demonstrated, of ' course, that a veritable army of new technologists manning new and complicated machinery, and backed by large additions to electrical energy resources, will increase productivity to the levels visualised in the plan. But leading economists do not place spectacular advance beyond Russia’s capacity. Russia can build on the experience of others. As one Western economist has said, Russia has only to apply methods known elsewhere to cover in one easy technical leap a century of hard-won Western progress. The Russian political system provides economic advantages which the free, capitalist nations do not possess. For instance, there is no question of Russian trade union practices being restrictive upon production. Under the Russian system trade unions are not instruments for bargaining for the benefit of workers, but instruments of the State to organise and encourage productivity. Similarly, with no private ownership there is no question of restricting production to support prices, no such obstacles as shareholders’ interests or patent rights, and capital creation is theoretically simplified by exacting sufficient by taxation from a population that is not in a position to protest. Industry can be co-ordin-ated by order not only throughout Russia, but throughout the satellite nations under Russian control. The Soviet system discloses many weaknesses. In the past the competitive free enterprise system, particularly in the United States, has increased production at rates far exceeding anything Russia has been able to achieve. An over-all chain of State planning must naturally depend for its strength upon the weakest link. Russia’s planning has suffered before from weak links, such as bureaucratic sloth, insufficient transport, lack of fully analytical surveys, and, particularly, failure of agriculture to fulfil its role as supplier of food and textiles. But the Russians are now clearly out to improve upon past performances and to remedy past deficiencies. The new five-year plan gives notice of a serious bid to “ overtake and surpass ” the capitalist West in industrial, atomic and agricultural development. It will be pushed forward regardless of political, human and moral costs. Though no-one doubts the strength of the Western capitalist nations to meet the challenge, they cannot be complacent about their resolution to do so.