Decision to trade with humans

Old Major's foundational speech had explicitly forbidden any engagement in trade, the use of money, or dealings with human beings — these were classed among the evil habits of Man that animals must never adopt. The early revolutionary resolutions, passed at the first triumphant Meeting after Mr. Jones's expulsion, had reaffirmed these prohibitions, and the animals remembered them as a cornerstone of Animalism. Yet the imperatives of the windmill, which had become the central project of the farm, soon overrode ideological purity. The construction required materials — paraffin oil, nails, string, dog biscuits, iron for horses' shoes — that could not be produced on the farm, and the windmill's machinery would have to be purchased. Napoleon, who had expelled Snowball and consolidated his authority, recognized that the farm could not remain autarkic.

One Sunday morning, when the animals assembled in the big barn to receive their orders, Napoleon announced that he had decided upon a new policy: from now on, Animal Farm would engage in trade with neighbouring farms. He framed the decision not as a commercial venture but as an urgent necessity, insisting that the needs of the windmill must override everything else. To obtain funds, he would sell a stack of hay and part of the current year's wheat crop, and later, if more money were needed, the eggs would have to be sold — a sacrifice, he said, that the hens should welcome as their own special contribution to the building of the windmill. The animals felt a vague unease; they were certain that resolutions against trading with humans had been passed, but their memories were hazy. The four young porkers who had previously protested when Napoleon abolished the Sunday Meetings raised their voices timidly, but they were promptly silenced by a tremendous growling from the dogs. The sheep, as usual, broke into a bleating of "Four legs good, two legs bad!" and the momentary awkwardness was smoothed over.

Napoleon then raised a trotter for silence and assured the animals that there would be no need for any of them to come into contact with human beings — he would take the whole burden upon his own shoulders. He had already engaged a Willingdon solicitor, Mr. Whymper, to act as intermediary between Animal Farm and the outside world; Whymper would visit the farm every Monday morning to receive his instructions. The speech ended with the customary cry of "Long live Animal Farm!" and the singing of Beasts of England, after which the animals were dismissed. Later, Squealer made a round of the farm to set the animals' minds at rest, arguing that the resolution against trade had never been passed — it was pure imagination, traceable to lies circulated by Snowball. When the animals asked if the resolution existed in writing, Squealer pointed out that nothing of the kind was written down, and they were satisfied that they had been mistaken. The trade policy was thus instituted, marking a decisive departure from the original revolutionary principles and inaugurating a new phase in which Napoleon's regime would increasingly rely on human intermediaries and the logic of economic necessity.