Dr Hewlett Johnson - right or not?

Esteemed Dr Hewlett Johnson,

After having analysed the current state of the USSR, I do agree with thee that the five year plan brought glory to Stalin as an individual showing how he quickly started turning around an entire nation, whilst simultaneously bringing misery to his people.

Throughout your document thou clarifies that when in the USSR, the people lack the human quality of fear. The lack of emotion has been caused by the treatment and conditions in which people find themselves, their the low wages, the poor factory conditions etc., this brutality leads to the human aspect of the USSR citizens being ruled out so that they are grateful for everything they could get their hands on, suppressing the true misery which was brought to them by the five year plan. Throughout the 5 year plan, their conditions worsened, with yet less food and poorer housing, whilst being able to see the lifestyle of the Aristocracy. Right now, 80% of the USSR's population are peasants, which are cruel overworked by the factory owners, rarely have enough food, live in slums, there are no restrictions to child labour, safety, working hours and there is no consideration for educations for the lower class. This shows how the glory brought to Stalin with his Five year plan cost him the well-being of his society, leaving them in utter misery.

On the side of the industrialisation however, the benefits were noticeable. What was before a dismal output from the USSR, was improved, through setting different goals (even if almost always unrealistic) which had to be met. If these unrealistically high targets were not met, even in the inhuman conditions in which the lower classes worked, they could find themselves severely punished for not meeting the standards. Furthermore the wages in the USSR fell by half of what they once were and prisoners were used to create public monuments. This made the peasants suspicious of the new government which Stalin set out to create, along with all of the policies which were enforced alongside it. Source 16 provides an example of the unfamiliar tools which the peasants now have to use to meet the targets, abandoning their traditional life which they are familiar with, and stepping forwards into an uncertain new age. Even now, with the rapidly declining food production, already lead to the death of millions of peasants, even in the richest of agricultural regions.

Although the total output of the industrialisation did drastically improve, Stalin forced his people to move into a modernised world, which lead to the inhuman working conditions, ultimately meaning that Stalin was the cause of thousands of deaths within his own country, giving him glory at the vain of his workforce.

Sincerely,

Marnix B.

#IndividualsandSocieties #Stalin #USSR