The goal of collectivization in the Soviet Union was to consolidate individual land and labors into collective farms. Stalin stated collectivization was politically necessary, Stalin also stated that collectivization needed to be gradual and voluntary, two things it was not. The landless peasants were meant to benefit the most form collectivization, since they were to be given an equal share of the profits. The problem was most peasants were not landless and they did not want to have to give up their lands and sell their harvest at the minimal price, and most peasants were forced into collectivization against their will. Collectivization also created many social changes, which lead to even more discontent and resistance among the peasants. When it first began collectivization was successful in harvesting enough to feed the urban population, this success lead the Central Committee to expand collectivization, ignoring Stalin’s earlier statement that collectivization should be gradual.
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The Central Committee’s mishandling of the implementation of collectivization, despite Stalin’s warnings really puzzled me. I was confused with why they would go against Stalin’s suggestions and create a system that completely changes all aspects of agriculture and farmers’ lives with the immediacy that they did.
The concept of collectivization is very interesting in that its ideals promote advancement of state through feeding its people but at the same time promoting a work ethic of standard and sub-par results. The resultant being the amount of food storage produced (grain, dairy, livestock). I agree with your post in that this was not a well executed policy from a strategic standpoint, as Stalin could not prevent the enforcing of collectivizing farmers by the agents of the Party(if that was even his intention). This was therefore a doomed effort from the start as the successful farmer population no longer had the incentive of reward to continue to prosper.