in Russia to-day, the struggle which
absorbs the chief attention of all but the few Communist Churchills and
Communist Millerands who, blind to all else, demand an immediate pitched
battle over the prostrate body of civilization, is directed to finding
a way for Russia herself out of the crisis, the severity of which can
hardly be realized by people who have not visited the country again and
again, and to bringing her as quickly as possible into a state in which
she can export her raw materials and import the manufactured goods of
which she stands in need. I believe that this struggle is ours as well
as Russia's, though we to whom the threat is less imminent, are less
desperately engaged. Victory or defeat in this struggle in Russia, or
anywhere else on the world's surface, is victory or defeat for every
one. The purpose of my book is to make that clear. For, bearing that in
mind, I cannot but think that every honest man, of whatever parity,
who cares more for humanity than for politics, must do his utmost
to postpone the conflict which a few extremists on each side of the
barricades so fanatically desire. If that conflict is indeed inevitable,
its consequences will be less devastating to a Europe cured of her
wounds than to a Europe scarcely, even by the most hopeful, to be
described as convalescent. But the conflict may not be inevitable after
all. No man not purblind but sees that Communist Europe is changing no
less than Capitalist Europe. If we succeed in postponing the struggle
long enough, we may well succeed in postponing it until the war-like on
both sides look in vain for the reasons of their bellicosity.

CONTENTS

Introduction
The Shortage of Things
The Shortage of Men
The Communist Dictatorship
A Conference at Jaroslavl
The Trade Unions
The Propaganda Trains
Saturdayings
Industrial Conscription
What the Communists Are Trying to do in Russia
Rykov on Economic plans and on the Transformation of the Communist Party
Non-Partyism
Possibilities

***I am indebted to the editor of the "Manchester Guardian"
for permission to make use in some of the chapters of this
book of material which has appeared in his paper.

THE CRISIS IN RUSSIA

THE SHORTAGE OF THINGS

Nothing can be more futile than to describe conditions in Russia as a
sort of divine punishment for revolution, or indeed to describe them at
all without emphasizing the fact that the crisis