Lenin goes on to reply “But we are also in favor of them!”, Vladimir Ilyich exclaimed loudly, “only we are opposed to cooperatives behind which kulaks, big landowners, merchants and private capital hide. We only want to tear off the mask of these pseudo-cooperatives and give the opportunity to big layers of the population to participate in a real cooperatives!”

They disagreed on the nature of many of these coops, and where to direct their movement. Kropotkin ultimately stood firm on his defense of cooperatives in total, while Lenin was skeptical that they could loosen restrictions during such a sensitive time.

It’s a good read for Anarchists and ML’s alike, both sides had legitimate concerns and mutual respect.