Why did Lenin decide to establish NEP?

Question by Lady_in_Red: why did Lenin decide to establish NEP if he thought that the Soviet Union was already Socialist?
Isn’t NEP in effect a form of capitalism? Wouldn’t he then be going back on his theory and siding with Marx?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Spellbound
Yes, NEP did have a large capitalist element to it; only the large enterprises and the banks were nationalised, and all small businesses and farmers were allowed to buy & sell on the open market.
The reason it was introduced was that the previous policy, War Communism, was failing to provide an economic growth at all. It was the state-sponsored theft of foodstuffs from the countryside to feed the cities. It wasn’t really a socialist policy – more a policy of necessity and desperation.
As the Civil War developed, the Bolshevik controlled area grew and became more stable, so a new policy was needed to kick-start the economy and to provide more food for the cities. Lenin realised that the only way to do this was to allow a degree of capitalism into the system. It was only meant to be a temporary measure, to be replaced once sufficient economic growth had been achieved.

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