Programme of the World Revolution/Chapter 16
CHAPTER XVI.
NO TRADE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE RUSSIAN BOURGEOISIE AND FOREIGN IMPERIALISTS.
(NATIONALISATION OF FOREIGN TRADE.)
At the present time every country is surrounded by other countries on which it depends to a considerable extent. It is very difficult for a country to manage without foreign trade, because one country produces more of one product than another, and vice versa. Blockaded Germany is now experiencing how hard it is to do without a supply from other countries. And should England, for instance, be surrounded by as close a ring as is Germany, it would have perished long ago. The Russian industry, nationalised by the working class, cannot possibly dispense with certain goods from abroad, and on the other hand, foreign countries, especially Germany, are badly in need of raw material. We must not forget even for a minute that we live in the midst of rapacious capitalist States. Naturally enough these plundering States will try to obtain everything that they require to further their aims of plunder. And the Russian bourgeoisie, that has been so hedged in and persecuted in Russia, will be very glad to enter into direct contact with foreign imperialists. There is no doubt whatever that the foreign bourgeoisie could pay the Russian speculators even more than does our own home-made, true-Russian patriotic bourgeoisie. A speculator, as we know, sells to him who pays the most. And so we have only to give our bourgeois the chance of exporting goods abroad, and foreign plunderers the possibility of arranging their little business affairs here, and the Socialist Soviet Republic would have little cause to rejoice at the results.
Formerly, when the question of foreign trade arose, the discussion confined itself to two points; whether high import duties on foreign goods were necessary or whether they should be abolished altogether; that is to say, Protection or Free Trade. During the last years of the reign of capital, capitalists were very active in carrying out the policy of Protection. Thanks to this the syndicalists received additional profit. Having no competitors or rivals within the country, they were the monopolists of the home market, the high wall of import duties protected them from foreign competitors. In this way, by the aid of high duties, the syndicalists, that is the biggest sharks of capital, could fleece their countrymen shamelessly. Making use of this double extortion of their countrymen, the syndicalists began to export goods abroad at extremely cheap prices in order to displace or remove their rival syndicalists of other countries from their path. Naturally these cheap prices were only temporary. As soon as they had removed their rivals they immediately raised the prices in the newly-conquered markets. It was in order to carry out this policy that they required high customs tariffs. In raising a cry about the defence of industry the syndicalists were really clamouring for a means of attack, for means of economic conquest of foreign markets. And as always happens in such cases, these professional impostors on the people were disguising their plunder by a pretence of guarding the national interests.
A few Socialists seeing this, put forward the demand for Free Trade between the different countries. That would have meant everything being left to the chances of a free economic struggle between individual bourgeoisie. But this war cry was left to hover in mid-air; it was simply of no use to anybody. For what syndicalist would reject a proposition of additional profit? And since he received this additional profit only owing to his being immune from foreign competition thanks to the high customs tariff, how do you expect this syndicalist to reject such high duties? First of all it is imperative to overthrow the syndicalists. Our first object is a Socialist Revolution. This is how the question was answered by true Socialists, by Communist Bolsheviks, as we now call them. And a Socialist Revolution means the institution of such an order where every thing is in the hands of an organised State of the working class. We have seen what harm private trade causes within the country: the harm done by this kind of trade between different countries is not less. In other words, abolishing Free Trade within the country whilst establishing it abroad is sheer nonsense. Equally absurd, from the point of view of the working class, is the system of taxation of foreign capitalists. A third way out is wanted, and this consists in the nationalisation of foreign trade by the proletarian State.
What does this mean? It means that no one who lives upon Russian soil has a right to make business agreements with foreign capitalists. If anyone is caught at it, he should be fined or imprisoned. The whole of the foreign trade is carried on by the Workers' and Peasants' Government. The latter carries out all transactions whenever occasion arises. Supposing American machines are being offered in exchange for certain goods or for a certain amount of money or gold, whilst some Germans offer the same machines at a different price and on different terms. The workers' organisations (Government Soviet organisations) consider whether it is necessary to make the purchase and of whom it should be more advantageous to buy. In accordance with their decision the machines are bought in the place, and upon terms which are the most profitable. Products bought in this manner are distributed to the population without any profits being made out of them, because the transaction is carried out not by capitalists to make money out of the workers, but by the workers themselves. In this manner the domination of capital would be abolished in this department as well. The workers must take the business of foreign trade (as they have done and are doing) into their own hands and organise it so that not a single swindler or speculator or shop-keeper should be able to evade the workers' watchfulness.
It is clearly understood that capitalist smugglers should be dealt with mercilessly. They should be made to forget all their tricks. The management of economic life is at present the business of the working class. It is only by the aid of a further strengthening of this order that the working class can attain its final liberation from the remnants of the accursed capitalist order.