But however unfavourable the conditions for the socialisation of agriculture in Russia, and however stubborn the resistance made by the petty-bourgeois agricultural system, in rural Russia the future belongs exclusively to large-scale socialist agriculture.
105. Why does the Future belong to large-scale socialist Agriculture?
Large-scale capitalist methods have gained the victory over the methods of artisan production and peasant production, although it must be noted that in manufacturing industry this victory has been speedier and more complete than in agriculture. The communist economic system is yet more advantageous, yet more productive, than the capitalist economic system; in like manner, communist farming on the large scale will prove more productive than peasant farming on the small scale. If a pound is heavier than an ounce, and a hundredweight is heavier than a pound, it is obvious that a hundredweight is a great deal heavier than an ounce.
We must, however, discuss the matter in detail, and make it perfectly plain.
The first requisite is that in socialist agriculture all the land of the republic should be utilised in such a way that in every district, farm, and field, that particular crop should be raised (rye, oats, hay, flax, hemp, beetroot, Jerusalem artichoke, etc.) which, having regard to the quality and the peculiarity of the soil, would grow most advantageously. Precisely which crop is the most suitable, is a matter for agricultural experts to determine. In our peasant system of agriculture the very opposite frequently happens. For instance, wheat is planted, and yields a very poor crop, in places where flax would thrive; or rye is sown where wheat would do much better; or something even more stupid may be done.