Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 13 - From Marx to Mao

308V. I. LENINBut that is not all. The revisionists, too, would havebeen right. Here is another argument advanced by ourhome-grown economist:“If I am not mistaken, I [Pyotr Maslov] happened to bethe first [that’s the sort of fellow I am!] to lay specialemphasis on the difference between the significance of thecultivation of the soil and of technical progress for the developmentof farming, and, in particular, for the strugglebetween large-scale and small production. Whereas theintensification of agriculture and the further expenditureof labour and capital are to an equal extent less productiveboth in large-scale and in small farming, technical progress,which increases the productivity of labour in agricultureas it does in industry, creates enormous and exceptionaladvantages for large-scale production. These advantagesare determined almost entirely by technical conditions.”... You are muddling things up, my dear man: theadvantages of large-scale production in commercial respectsare of great importance.... “On the other hand, cultivation of the soil can usuallybe applied equally in large-scale and in small farming”....Cultivation of the soil “can” be applied.Evidently, our sagacious Maslov knows of a type of farmingwhich can be conducted without the cultivation ofthe soil.... “For example, the substitution of multiple-croprotation for the three-field system, an increase in the quantityof fertilisers, deeper ploughing, etc., can be equallyapplied in large-scale and small farming, and equally affectthe productivity of labour. But the introduction of reaping-machines,for example, increases the productivity oflabour only on the larger farms, because the small stripsof grain field can be more conveniently reaped or mown byhand.”...Yes, undoubtedly Maslov was the “first” to succeed inintroducing such endless confusion into the question! Justimagine: a steam plough (deeper ploughing) is “cultivationof the soil”, a reaping-machine is a “technical implement”.Thus, according to the doctrine of our incomparable Maslov,a steam plough is not a technical implement; a reapingmachineis not the further expenditure of labour and capital.Artificial fertilisers, the steam plough, grass cultivation