ABSTRACT
What do we mean by primary accumulation in societies attempting the reorganisation of economic life on socialist lines? Since the term 'primary socialist accumulation' was originated in the Soviet Union, and Soviet experience provides the first case of such an attempt, our answer to this question is naturally coloured by our opinions about Soviet history, especially those received from the figures which have populated it. These opinions cannot be evaluated, and our question cannot be answered, without first undertaking a review of the historical background against which the concept of primary socialist accumulation first arose.
