simultaneously deprived of labour power and cut off from the material means of production. We have to wrest by force of arms petroleum and coal from the landlords and capitalists. Here is our first great task. We have to set the work of production upon a proper footing. Here is our second great task. We are hard put to it, indeed!
Before the working class had become master of the whole country, this was not our affair. But now the working class is in power. Everything is at its disposal. It is responsible for the destiny of the country. Upon its shoulders rests the whole burden of saving the Soviet Republic from the miseries of famine, cold, and disorder. Before the working class rose to power, its main task was to destroy the old order. Now its main task is to construct the new order. Formerly it was the business of the bourgeoisie to organise production; now it is the business of the proletariat. Evidently, therefore, in the days of the most widespread disorganisation, all the thoughts of the proletariat, as far as this matter is concerned, must be concentrated upon the organisation of industry and the increase of production. To increase production means to increase the output of labour, to produce more goods, to work better in every possible way, and day by day to achieve better results. The time for fine phrases is past, and the time for hard work has come. No longer does it devolve upon us to fight for our rights in Moscow or in Petrograd; the working class has secured its rights, and is defending them at the front. What we have to do now is to increase the number of nails, horse-shoes, ploughs, locks, machines, great coats. These things have become absolutely vital if we are to avoid dying of hunger amid the ruin resulting from the war, if we are to be clothed, if we are to regain our strength, if we are to advance by rapid strides along the road to the new life.
The problem of increased production comprises a number of problems. How can we increase the quantity of the material means of production (machinery, coal, and raw materials); and how can we increase the amount of labour power? How can we best organise production (what is