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The Cynosure

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their initiative and self-expression, the people commenced to bring into realization what Lenin daily impressed upon them in simple and popular language. While the masses had been absorbed by the struggle and their creative work upon which they fell as the starved do upon food, Lenin diplomatically persuaded the people and forced the Party to organize not a simple army, but a "red army of the workers and peasants", to protect the conquests of the revolution, and to repulse the imperialists. Thus was created a huge strictly disciplined army, separated from the people and in juxtaposition to the people. Under the pretext of protecting and maintaining order and the fight against criminals was organized a most common garden variety of police force; under the pretext of fighting against speculators and counter-revolutionists was created a political secret police; while the promise was made that bureaucracy and its privileged clerks would be abolished, there had been created a bureaucracy the equal of which the world had never seen before. In fact, the new bureaucracy had come to be a new class of lords. Capital punishment, it was promised, would be abolished. Instead, wholesale shootings became an everyday occurrence.

The people were called to freedom, but were led into a stable of state slavery under which human life became less than worthless. The people were called to the banner with the promise of the abolition of piece-work remuneration and other sweat-shop methods of exploitation. Yet, no sooner had they secured the power, than, in the name of the good of the toiling masses and of socialism, it was found expedient "to apply in practice, and to investigate the value of piece work, and the application of any progressive and scientific points of the system of Taylor." (The Soviet Government Problems of the Day, Vol. 15, p. 209). Now after many years of communist over-lordship, Russia has become a country of terrible exploitation, and miserable compensation for the work.

Prior to usurpation of the government powers, Lenin and the Bolsheviks maintained that every female-cook must take part in the affairs of the government. Yet, no sooner had they gathered the power to themselves, than Lenin declared to these cooks, "in order to govern you must know how." Do not shove your swinish snouts among the privileged. Where the goat is tied, there she must browse, and cooks must cook, not govern.

Only a while before, initiative and self-expression had been lauded. But no sooner had the usurpation of power been accomplished, than initiative and creative will of the workers were denounced as "petty bourgeois laxity." They were no longer praised as virtues and were replaced by a call for "discipline to the point of compulsion and dictatorship." (Vol. 15, p.213). Lenin began to talk of the need to introduce "unopposed obedience



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