The revolution should begin by taking possesion of and keeping account of all food
It is evident that the smallest attack on private property will bring in its train the complete disorganization of the system based upon private property and wage labour. Society itself will be forced to take production in hand, in its entirety, and to reorganize it to meet the needs of all people. But this cannot be accomplished in a day, or even in a month, and it must take a certain amount of time to reorganize the system of production, and during this time millions of people will be deprived of the means of subsistence.
What then is to be done? There is really only one practical solution to the problem—instead of trying to patch up a situation which we ourselves have made untenable, we should proceed to reorganize production on a new basis. Thus the practical course of action would be that the people should take immediate possession of all the food of the insurgent communes, and keep strict account of it all. None should be wasted, and by the aid of these accumulated resources everyone might be able to tide over the crisis.
During that time an agreement would have to be made with the factory workers, the necessary raw material given to them, and the means of subsistence assured to them, while they worked to supply the needs of the agricultural population. Also, unproductive land, of which there is plenty, would have to be turned to the best advantage, poor soils enriched, and rich soils, which under the present system, do not yield a quarter, or even a tenth of what they might produce, would be submitted to intensive culture. It is impossible to imagine any other practical solution of the problem; and, whether we like it or not, sheer force of circumstances will bring it to pass.
References
- Kropotkin, Peter. (1892). The Conquest of Bread Chapter 5. Food (p. 103).