Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 26 - From Marx to Mao

416DRAFT DECREE ON CONSUMERS’ COMMUNES 154The war, brought about by the conflict between capitalistsfor the division of the spoils of depredation, has resultedin untold ruin. This is intensified by criminal speculation andprofiteering, particularly among the wealthy classes, whichhave brought the tortures of hunger and unemployment tohundreds of thousands and even millions of people. Theneed to adopt extraordinary measures to aid the starvingand to wage merciless war on speculators has induced theworkers’ and peasants’ government to enact the followingregulations as a law of the Russian Republic:Every citizen of the state shall belong to a local (village,volost, hamlet, section of a town, section of a street, etc.)consumers’ society.The grouping of families in the consumers’ societies shallbe voluntary, except for the proviso that not less than twothirdsof the number of families in each society must belongto the non-affluent classes (i.e., workers, peasants notemploying hired labour, and so on).Apart from the purchase and distribution of products,every consumers’ society shall engage in the sale of localproducts. The boards of the consumers’ societies shall setup committees of supplies, and no transport of products shallbe permitted without the written sanction of the appropriatecommittee of supplies.Existing consumers’ societies are hereby nationalisedand shall be obliged to admit to membership the wholepopulation of the localities in which they are situated,without exception.If they so desire private individuals may purchase productsin the central stores and not in their local shops, but