Although the complete abolition of middlemen in the field of distribution is the aim of socialism, and although this aim will ultimately be realised, it is obvious that we cannot expect in the immediate future to achieve the entire destruction of the apparatus of retail trade.
116. The Apparatus of Distribution.
Appropriate socialistic distributive organs must be created to deal with the great masses of products requisite for the supply of the population, in so far as these products now pass through or will shortly pass through the hands of the State. These distributive organs must have the following characteristics. They must be centralised. Centralisation will ensure the most equitable and accurate distribution. It will reduce the cost of maintenance of the apparatus, for under socialism this apparatus will require far less expenditure of labour power and of material means than were requisite for the apparatus of private trade. The socialist distributive apparatus must work swiftly. This is of the utmost importance. It is essential, not merely that the apparatus should demand the minimum expenditure of strength and means on the part of the State, but in addition that it should not involve the waste of a minute of any consumer’s time. Otherwise, great loss would be involved for society as a whole through the unproductive expenditure of energy. Under a system of private trade and in the normal conditions of the capitalist economy, the consumer, provided he has money, can procure whatever he wants whenever he wants it. In these matters, the socialist apparatus of distribution must be at least as good as that of private trade. But in view of the high degree of centralisation, there is considerable risk that the socialist apparatus will degenerate into a cumbrous and dilatory machine in which a great many articles will rot before they reach the consumer. How is an efficient distributive apparatus to be constructed?
Two possibilities were open to the Soviet Power. It could create an entirely new distributive apparatus; or it could make use of all the organs