Leninism
Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism, the branch of communism from which the other branches are based. 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. The term Leninism came into widespread use only after Lenin's stroke ended his active participation in the Soviet government (Zinoviev popularised the term at the fifth congress of the Communist International). Since the mid-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. 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 are elected democratically, but once they are elected and other decisions are made through voting, all party members must follow those decisions.
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, and agreed with Marx that a revolution could 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 argued that a revolution in an underdeveloped country could spark 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.
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 his theory to 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 attempts to modify the Marxist theory necessary because Marxism had made predictions that had never come 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.
External links
Works by Vladimir Lenin:
- What is to be Done?
- Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism
- The State and Revolution
- The Lenin Archive at Marxists.org
- First Conference of the Communist International
Other links:
