Tons, Pieces, Rubles

In the history of our economic science and practice there are clearly discernible periods in which preference has been given to indicators of one kind or another. In some instances physical indicators have been emphasized, and the management of the economy has been based on them and on administrative methods. At other times value indicators and economic methods of managing the national economy's enterprises and branches have been the "leaders." The periods in the first category include the years of War Communism, the first half of the '30s, and the postwar years up to the end of the '50s. The periods in the second category date from the introduction of the New Economic Policy to the end of the '20s, the second half of the '30s, the '60s, and the first half of the '70s. Presently preference is once again being given to physical indicators. Their champions aver that the role of value indicators became something of a fetish in the preceding decade and a half. The determining role was assigned to sales of output a volume indicator in value terms.