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p The Soviet Union has extensive experience of planning social reforms and scientifically directing social processes. The content and organisational forms of administration are constantly improved in the process of building socialism and communism, this being accompanied by changes in society’s class pattern and the growth of the economy and the cultural level of the people.

p Guided by the Marxist-Leninist teaching on society and by Leninist principles of administration, and led by the Communist Party the Soviet people have scored outstanding achievements in the most diverse fields of social development. The Soviet Union is the first country in the world to have completed the building of socialism, a highly organised society with a modern economy, developed social relations and rich spiritual life.

p The building of this new society was not devoid of difficulties, shortcomings and errors in leadership, particularly errors and distortions of a subjective nature. The Communist Party brought to light and rectified mistakes, surmounted difficulties and shortcomings and thereby adapted the direction of social processes to the requirements of life, to the objective course of development.

p Lenin regarded scientific direction of social processes as one of the basic tasks of communist construction. He not only worked out the principles for giving scientific direction to these processes, but also consistently implemented them. He was convinced that socialism would triumph over capitalism in methods of administration as well.

p At the present stage of communist construction—due to the growth of socialist economy, the improvement of social relations, the development of culture and the country’s colossal achievements and plans—administration has become an extremely complex matter. Today, as never before, there is a need for a searching and comprehensive analysis of the trends of social development, of the intricate intertwining and interaction of the various aspects of social life, and for paying scrupulous attention to the requirements of 209 objective laws and their operation under concrete conditions and in concrete sectors of construction. That is why the Communist Party attaches such tremendous importance to the problems involved in scientifically administering society and gives these problems its closest attention.

p The Party is determined to develop and improve the Leninist principles of administration in line with presentday requirements. This is testified to by its latest decisions on economic, political and inner-Party problems, and by the fact that scientific and realistic direction of social processes is becoming firmly rooted in the practice of the Party and the government.

p In this respect, the decisions of the October 1964 and later plenary meetings of the C.C. C.P.S.U. are of fundamental importance. The measures decided upon at these plenary meetings to improve the leadership of the country’s political, economic and cultural life mark, as has been noted at the 23rd Congress of the C.P.S.U., the advent of a new stage of development of socialist society. The Leninist principles of administration have been further developed in these decisions. For example, further elaboration was given to the principle of objectivity and concreteness insofar as the new steps to improve the management of industry and agriculture not only conform with the requirements of objective laws but also take into account the intricate circumstances in which these laws operate and the specific manifestation of these laws under concrete conditions and in definite spheres of the economy. In implementing these measures meticulous attention is paid to the social laws of socialist development, particularly the laws and categories linked up with commodity-monetary relations, which are an objectively necessary accessory of socialist society. Emphasising that commodity-monetary relations can be directed under socialism, the Party demands that use should be made of the accompanying mighty economic levers (profit, credit, wages and salaries, and so forth) to secure the optimal management of individual enterprises and of the whole economy. In addition to improving planning, serious attention is given to economic incentives, to taking the interests of people into consideration, to harmoniously combining the interests of society, the staffs of enterprises and each individual citizen. Economic incentives induce every person and 210 every enterprise to use the latest machines with the purpose of boosting labour productivity, improving the quality of the output and enhancing efficiency.

p The measures charted by the Party further develop the principle of democratic centralism. The ramified, strictly centralised management of industry founded on a single state plan is combined with broader operational and economic independence of the individual enterprises, with greater local initiative, with the extension of the democratic foundations of management and with the creation of conditions enabling the people to participate more actively in economic management and to exert a greater influence on social processes.

p At the 23rd Congress of the C.P.S.U. the bettering of economic management and of the administration of social life as a whole through the steady improvement of planning, the provision of incentives for economic growth and the correct combination of centralised planned leadership with greater economic initiative and independence of industrial enterprises was characterised as one of the major tasks of economic development for 1966-70. It was stressed at the Congress that present-day conditions make it binding upon executive personnel to be proficient in economic leadership, uproot formal, armchair management, apply the latest scientific methods of management involving the use of modern computer technology, and secure a reduction of the managerial apparatus. The Congress paid special attention to the need for greater efficiency in production, pointing out that this could be achieved on the basis of technical progress, by improving the organisation of labour and production, making more rational use of basic assets and investments, bettering the quality of output and enforcing strict economy.

p The Leninist, efficient and scientific method of directing communist construction is gaining a firm foothold in all spheres of social activities, ensuring fresh achievements and the elimination of errors and shortcomings. While improving the forms and methods of directing communist construction, the Party is steadfastly cleansing these forms and methods of elements of voluntarism, subjectivism, harebrained schemes, ostentation and political fireworks. It is giving them a solid, strictly scientific foundation and 211 bringing them into line with the requirements of the objective laws of socialism.

p The Party is activating the role played by the Soviets of Working People’s Deputies and mass organisations in the promotion of economic, political and cultural development and taking steps to improve the organs of administration and consistently apply democratic principles in their work, and further encourage the people’s initiative. The consistent implementation of Leninist principles of administration, the steady improvement and development of these principles and the working out of new forms and methods of administration in conformity with the present-day level of social development and the achievements of science and technology are the earnest of the success of communist construction.

Let us now turn to the concrete tasks of the building of communism and to the ways and means of carrying them out.