God Arises
Religion and Society
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unnatural system—produce violence, but it was
also an inhibiting factor in human endeavor. The
country where the effects of this policy could be
seen on the largest scale was the U.S.S.R., where one
of the first departments to come under the influence
of this “ideal” was that of agriculture. Ever since the
Bolshevik revolution of 1917 there had been
continual attempts in Russia and in other
communist countries to collectivize agriculture, and
bring farming entirely under the control of the state.
The greatest thrust towards collectivization was
initiated in the 1930’s by Joseph Stalin (1879-1953).
It soon became clear, however, that the transition
from private to public ownership would not be
smooth. In order to ward off the threat of
starvation, the state awarded plots averaging 0.3
hectares each, to collective farmers. These plots
were to be farmed privately, in order to augment
the farmers’ income and ensure that they were not
swamped by the wave of sudden transition from
individual to collective farming. This was
considered as a “temporary evil”, a concession to
necessity, which would be disbanded once the
