[Marxism] Leninism

["Charles Brown" <cbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Note how short is the wikipedia note on
Leninism






Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism (the
forerunner of Communism) and is a branch in its own right. It describes the
ideas developed mainly by the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, and it was
also put into practice by him after the Russian Revolution. ( "after" - CB)
The term Leninism came into widespread use only after Lenin's stroke ended
his active participation in the Soviet goverment. Since the 1920s, most
Marxists have described themselves as Leninist.

Lenin's theories have been a source of controversy ever since their
inception, having numerous critics across the political spectrum, from the
Left and radical Left (for example, social democrats, anarchists, and even
other Marxists, like the luxembourgists), to the center and center-left (for
example, political moderates and liberals), and on the Right (for example,
libertarians and conservatives) as well as the far Right (fascists and
Nazis). Lenin's constant theoretical fights with the Mensheviks, the
moderate wing of his own party, are especially notable, and Trotsky has been
his most prominent theoretical opponent. ( ! -  CB) The views of both have
been changing since the early 1900s, but they often found themselves in the
opposite camps.

In his book "What is to be Done?" (1903), Lenin argued that the proletariat
can only achieve a successful revolution consciousness through the efforts
of a Communist party that assumes the role of "revolutionary vanguard."
Lenin further believed that such a party could only achieve its aims through
a form of disciplined organization known as "democratic centralism," where
Communist Party officials elected democratically, but once they are elected
and other decisions are made through voting, all party members must follow
the decisions that have been made.

Lenin expanded on Marx's initial theories, taking into account the fact that
increasing class polarization and Communist revolution had failed to occur
in the developed world. Lenin liked Marx's basic definition of communism and
believed it would lead to the spread of Marxism. He attempted to explain
this by stating that imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism, and
that developed countries had created a labor aristocracy content with
capitalism by exploiting the developing world. He maintained that capitalism
could only be overthrown by revolutionary means, but added that due to
imperialism such a revolution would have to occur in a lesser-developed
country first, (the 'weakest link in the system of imperialism' in his
terminology), such as Russia. Lenin also supported the Marxist concept of
the "dictatorship of the proletariat" following revolution. Lenin's
dictatorship of proletariat was based on predominant representation of
industrial workers in government institutions, although the country was
mostly agrarian. According to Lenin's ideas, the working class is
democratically represented through local workers', soliders' and peasants'
councils known as soviets. Because the soviets are elected, they are
referred to as soviet democracy.

Knowing that according to Marx's theories, a socialist system would be
unable to develop independently in an underdeveloped country such as Russia,
Lenin proposed two possible solutions:

1.      The revolution in the underdeveloped country sparks off a revolution
in a developed capitalist country (for example, Lenin hoped the Russian
Revolution would spark a revolution in Germany.) The developed country
establishes socialism and helps the underdeveloped country do the same.
2.      The revolution happens in a large number of underdeveloped countries
at the same time or in quick succession; the underdeveloped countries then
join together into a federal state capable of overcoming the opposition of
capitalist countries and establishing socialism. This was the original idea
behind the foundation of Lenin's Russia later renamed the Soviet Union to
demonstrate to the rest of the world the validity of his control.

Either way, according to Marxism, socialism cannot survive in one poor
underdeveloped country alone. Thus, Lenin called for world revolution in one
form or another. His theoretical successors had to fit to his theory the
fact that the world revolution never happened.

Lenin's contributions to Marxist theory are controversial; some have
criticized them as revisionist. Some philosophers explain the theories of
Marx's ideological successors, such as Lenin, as an attempt to modify the
theory because it had made predictions that had never came true. Still,
Lenin's theories had a dramatic impact on Communist movements worldwide. It
is especially significant, that Lenin was the most successful practitioner
of Marxism. The influence of Leninist ideology has waned since the collapse
of the Soviet Union, but there are still Leninists today who have focused
their criticism on globalization, claiming it is a modern-day form of
imperialism.

Since Lenin's death, two major currents of Leninist thought have developed:
Marxism-Leninism and Trotskyism.




[edit]


External links


Works by Vladimir Lenin:

*       What is to be Done?
<http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1901/witbd/>
*       Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism
<http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/index.htm>
*       The State and Revolution
<http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/ch01.htm#s1>
*       The Lenin Archive at Marxists.org
<http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/index.htm>
*       First Conference of the Communist International
<http://www.marx2mao.com/Lenin/FCCI19.html>

Other links:

*       An excerpt on Leninism and State Capitalism from the work of Noam
Chomsky <http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/other/intellectuals-state.html>
*       Cyber Leninism <http://www.leninism.org/>



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