The Waikato Times TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1934. HUMAN NATURE CONQUERS THE SOVIET.

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19453, 18 December 1934, Page 6

The Waikato Times TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1934. HUMAN NATURE CONQUERS THE SOVIET.

When the Bolshevik revolutionaries .unloosed a red carnage over Russia in the early days of 1917, there was no tyranny a political doctrine. The very weaknesses of the Tsaii ? , invited revolt, and under the strain of mismanage " c opportunity was seized. It was not for some years a offlc i a } of Communism, as the world was later to know it, made appearance. When it did, it announced with a 0U 5. 15 . ~ pation of human nature, the abolition of class i » for levelling of all mankind, and the substitution of in era nationalism.

It is permissible now to query to what extent the and economic system introduced in Russia has change rather loosely and vaguely called human nature. e communism is a thing which the idealist can accept as a most att°aX> thing, but the evidence available from Russia suggests that its practical application has not been altogether a success. T is no doubt that human nature has had its effect upon the Soviet regime. In the first Five Year Plan there were symptoms of the terrific strain through which the people were passing; ” frequent arrests on charges of sabotage, espionage, counterrevolution, with the Ogpu continually exercising its right.to execute persons without a regular court trial. Now howev r, the Ofn» has been recognised under a Commissariat of Interna > lost its right of summary death penalty, apd is also to ose con i • over the special troop units it formerly maintained.

Another trend which has been demonstrated by the foreign policy of M. •Litvinoff' is the growth of Soviet patriotism. A. years ago it was bad form for a Communist to show enthusiasm over Russia as a country. The international aspect of bolshevism was stressed. The fading prospects of converting the world to the Soviet ideal, however, coupled with the tasks of internal construction, have reawakened a national consciousness, as is shown by the fact that Russia is looking for political alliances with the other Powers, whereas formerly she damned them all impartially “capitalist imperialists.”

Wealth is still denounced, chiefly because every door-that leads to the accumulation of a large personal fortune has been barred and bolted. However instead of the stimulus to acquire monetary wealth, the Soviet system offers to men who rise high in the hierarchy of political and industrial administrators the incentive of power, accompanied by a standard of living which is still far above the bleak Soviet average. The salaries in themselves are quite small, but an important post in the Soviet Union carries with it numerous perquisites such as the use of a comfortable apartment, a motorcar, the right to eat at a nominal charge m the best restaurants, a private car for rail travel and numerous other advantages.

The whole tendency now is not to diminish material inequality, hut to increase it by insisting that the more skilled and industrious worker should receive more than his fellows.. The only difference between this system and the capitalist system is that it prevents the accumulation of comforts, wealth and power which can be handed down to hereditary successors. Piecework is returning into its own, and it is forming a powerful modifying influence on the collectivism which is applied in industry.

The urge for increased production is the chief factor in this tendency towards urging the worker to greater efforts by the bribe of material comforts. Leaders of industry are now showing a definite inclination to give the material interests of the individual fuller consideration within the iron framework of an economic system that permits no private ownership of means of production. It would appear that in freeing human nature the Soviet has freed the only thing which could master the rigidity of its theoretical doctrines. Certainly the present policy of the administration is definitely moulded towards a study .and solicitude for the individual. In other words the problem is to find how much individualism is needed to make a collectivist system work,, just as in other countries it is a problem to decide how much collectivism i@ necessary to make an individualist system work.