STATE CAPITALISM

LENIN; On State Capitalism, During the Transition to Socialism

A CONCESSION ON THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY 29
Draft Decision for the C.P.C
1) The C.P.C. finds the direction of the railway and its general plan acceptable;
2) considers a concession to representatives of foreign capital generally, as a matter of principle, permissible in the interests of developing the country’s productive forces;
3) considers the present concession to be desirable and its implementation a practical necessity;
4) to speed up a practical and final decision on this question, its sponsors to be asked to produce evidence of their declared contacts with solid capitalist firms capable of handling this job and shipping the materials;
5) an ad hoc commission to be directed to submit a final draft contract within. a fortnight;
6) the Military Commissariat to be instructed within a fort night to give its findings from the strategic and military point of view.

Written February 4, 1919 Vol. 42, p. 124

From a letter TO THE AMERICAN WORKERS
... I am often asked whether those American opponents of the war against Russia-not only workers, but mainly bourgeois- are right, who expect from us, after peace is concluded, not only resumption of trade relations: but also, the possibility of receiving concessions in Russia. ·

I repeat once more that they are right. A durable peace would be such a relief to the working people of Russia that they would undoubtedly agree to certain concessions being granted. The granting of concessions under reasonable terms is desirable also for us, as one of the means of attracting into Russia, during the period of coexistence side by side of socialist and capitalist states, the technical help of the countries which are more advanced in this respect.

N. Lenin
Published on December 17, 1919 in the newspaper The Christian Science Monitor, No. 20
Vol. 30, p. 39

From INTERVIEW WITH LINCOLN EYRE, CORRESPONDENT OF THE AMERICAN NEWSPAPER "THE WORLD"
"And your peace terms?"

" I t is idle to talk further about them Lenin returned emphatically. "All the world knows that we are prepared to make peace on terms the fairness of which even the most imperialistic capitalists could not dispute. We have reiterated and reiterated our desire for peace, our need for peace and our readiness to give foreign capital the most generous concessions and guarantees. But we do not propose to be strangled to death for the sake of peace.

"I know of no reason why a socialistic commo!1wealth like ours cannot do business indefinitely with capitalistic. countries. We don't mind taking their capitalistic locomotives and farming machinery, so why should they mind taking our socialistic wheat, fl.ax and platinum. Socialistic corn tastes the same as any other corn, does it not? Of course, they will have to have business relations with the dreadful Bolsheviks-that is, the Soviet Government. But it should not be harder for American steel manufacturers, for instance, to deal with the Soviets than it was for them
to deal with Entente governments31 in their war-time munition deals."

Published on February 21, 1920 in the newspaper The World, No. 21368 , Vol. 42, p. 177