Stalin (1931) "“THE HARD LINE"

From Thedore von Laue (1997) "Why Lenin? Why Stalin? Why Gorbachev?: the rise and fall of the Soviet system"  p.147, as excerpted from Stalin (1931) "“THE HARD LINE”

"One feature of the history of old Russia was the continual beatings she suffered for falling behind, for her backwardness. She was beaten by the Mongol Khans. She was beaten by the Turkish beys. She was beaten by the Swedish feudal lords. She was beaten by the Polish and Lithuanian gentry. She was beaten by the British and French capitalists. She was beaten by the Japanese barons. All beat her--for her backwardness: for military backward­ness, for cultural backwardness, for political backwardness, for industrial backwardness, for agricultural backwardness. She was beaten because to do so was profitable and could be done with impunity. Do you remember the words of the pre-revolutionary poet [Nikolai Nekrasov]: "You are poor and abundant, mighty and impotent, Mother Russia." These words of the old poet were well learned by those gentlemen. They beat her, saying: "You are abundant," so one can enrich oneself at your expense. They beat her, saying: "You are poor and impotent," so you can be beaten and plun­dered with impunity. Such is the law of the ex­ploiters--to beat the backward and the weak. It is the jungle law of capitalism. You are backward, you are weak--therefore you are wrong; hence, you can be beaten and enslaved. You are mighty-therefore you are right; hence, we must be wary of you