ABSTRACT
. . . A conscious choice was made in the fall of 1917, a choice that, as we can see today, has led us down a blind alley despite all the sacrifices borne and the heroic efforts made. The other options were discarded because of an unshakable faith in the scientific validity of the only correct, though still unbeaten, path. One can, of course, argue over whether the lamentable results were caused by deformations of socialist doctrine and practice or whether the initial premises themselves were wrong, and therefore the system built in accordance with them needs not reform but replacement. The truth will eventually be established. But that isn't what torments me. Another question is constantly on my mind. Who bears responsibility (in either case) for the countless victims, the poverty and the backwardness with which we have paid and continue to pay for the mistakes or deformations? . . .
