Marxism–Leninism: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 16:04, 7 November 2023

Image representing Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Lenin, the main contributors to Marxism–Leninism

Marxism–Leninism is an ideological framework that originated in the application of Marxist theory to revolutionary practice by Vladimir Lenin and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It is based on dialectical materialism, the materialist conception of history, and Marxist political economy including the Leninist conception of imperialism.

After the success of the Russian revolution in 1917 and the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922, many communist parties around the world began to adopt Marxism–Leninism as their political line, and Marxism–Leninism was the main theoretical framework which guided the Korean, Vietnamese, Cuban, Laotian and Chinese revolutions as well as other successful national liberation and revolutionary movements in Africa and Asia.

Today, Marxism–Leninism is one of the theoretical foundations of governing communist parties in already existing socialist (AES) states, including China, Cuba, Korea, Laos and Vietnam. This is the political line of many communist parties waging class struggle.

Development[edit | edit source]

Origin of the term[edit | edit source]

In the 1920s, the term Marxism–Leninism was first formulated and defined by Joseph Stalin based on his synthesis of orthodox Marxist theory and Lenin's thought.

Lenin never used the terms "Leninism" or "Marxism–Leninism"; however, his ideas, which developed upon classical Marxist thought, were viewed by the Bolsheviks and many later communists as a major advance in Marxism.

Early texts[edit | edit source]

Major founding texts of Marxism–Leninism are Stalin's The Foundations of Leninism (1924) and Concerning Questions of Leninism (1926), these two are the most important texts from the compilation of Problems of Leninism, a compilation of texts written by Stalin that synthesize almost completely Marxism with Leninism; and The History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolshevik), which was produced by a commission of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1938.^[1]

Characteristics[edit | edit source]

Dialectical and historical materialism[edit | edit source]

See main article: Dialectical materialism

By virtue of being a Marxist ideology, Marxism–Leninism concurs with the core Marxist tenets of dialectical materialism. Dialectical materialism serves as an essential form of analysis for any Marxist ideology and thus is a core component of Marxism–Leninism.

Critique of imperialism[edit | edit source]

See main article: Imperialism

Imperialism as seen and described by Lenin is the highest stage of capitalism,^[2] involving the domination of the economy by monopolies and the export of capital as the principal form of exploitation and accumulation engaged in by the leading capitalist countries. Imperialism in the Leninist sense is essentially limited to the capitalist era.

Imperialism entails savage competition between the leading capitalist countries for colonies and spheres of influence, culminating in imperialist wars (such as the First World War, which Lenin witnessed).

Party organization principles[edit | edit source]

See main article: Democratic centralism

Marxist–Leninist parties usually adhere to the principle of democratic centralism which involves free debate within the party and democratic development of party policies by the party members and their elected committees and leaders, but strict adherence by party members to those policies once the policies have been chosen.

Strategy and tactics of revolution[edit | edit source]

See main article: Revolution

Marxist–Leninists hold that successful revolutions involve more than spontaneous, elemental action by the masses but require a vanguard party to provide them theoretical guidance and, in the revolutionary moment, tactical leadership. The vanguard (communist) party is based on full-time revolutionaries and is a repository of revolutionary experience.

Theory and practice of the dictatorship of the proletariat[edit | edit source]

See main article: Dictatorship of the proletariat

Marxist–Leninists adhere to Marx's two-stages model of communism, involving an initial, "lower" stage, often termed "socialism", which is transitional between capitalism and "higher" stage communism in which the state, money, and other vestiges of capitalism and class society no longer exist. In the lower stage a state, controlled by the proletariat, remains necessary to defend against counter-revolution and to guide society away from capitalistic behaviors and toward cooperation and the "free association of the producers" which characterize true or higher-stage communism. The lower stage is also known as the dictatorship of the proletariat since it involves control of society by the proletariat.

Belief in the necessity of the dictatorship of the proletariat distinguishes Marxism–Leninism from more anarchistic tendencies within social liberation theory.

Classification[edit | edit source]

The term Marxism–Leninism generally includes parties which took the Russian Revolution of 1917 as foundational, while other socialist formations, usually those are opportunist and reject the Russian Revolution including but not limited to libertarian socialism, eurocommunism, Austro-Marxism, Bernsteinianism, syndicalism, Anarcho-communism, DeLeonism, and social democracy.

References[edit | edit source]

↑ Ferenc Feher (1991), "Soviet Marxism", in Tom Bottomore, A Dictionary of Marxist Thought . (Anti-Soviet but informative).
↑ Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism

[1] Ferenc Feher (1991), "Soviet Marxism", in Tom Bottomore, A Dictionary of Marxist Thought . (Anti-Soviet but informative).

[2] Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Marxism-leninism symbol.png|alt=|right|frameless]]
+[[File:Marxism-leninism symbol.png|thumb|Image representing [[Karl Marx]], [[Friedrich Engels]] and [[Lenin|Vladimir Lenin]], the main contributors to Marxism–Leninism]]
-'''Marxism-Leninism''' is a scientific world outlook based on [[dialectical materialism]], the [[Historical materialism|materialist conception of history]], the [[Marxism|Marxist political economy]] including [[Leninism|Leninist]] conception of [[imperialism]]. It is the body of knowledge of the Marxist method applied to the strategy and tactics of [[revolution]] since its development by [[Vladimir Ulyanov|Vladimir Lenin]] and the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolsheviks]].
+<onlyinclude>'''Marxism–Leninism''' is an ideological framework that originated in the application of [[Marxism|Marxist]] theory to [[revolution|revolutionary]] practice by [[Vladimir Lenin]] and the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]. It is based on [[dialectical materialism]], the [[Historical materialism|materialist conception of history]], and [[Marxism|Marxist political economy]] including the Leninist conception of [[imperialism]].
-Marxism–Leninism was the guiding theory behind national liberation and revolutionary movements in [[Africa]], [[Asia]] and [[Latin America]]. After the success of the [[October Revolution|Russian revolution in 1917]] and the establishment of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]] in 1922, many [[Communist party|communist parties]] around the world began to adopt Marxism-Leninism as their political line, and Marxism-Leninism was the main theoretical framework which guided the [[Korean revolution|Korean]], [[Vietnamese revolution|Vietnamese]], and the [[Chinese revolution|Chinese]] revolutions.
+After the success of the [[October Revolution|Russian revolution in 1917]] and the establishment of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]] in 1922, many [[Communist party|communist parties]] around the world began to adopt Marxism–Leninism as their political line, and Marxism–Leninism was the main theoretical framework which guided the [[Korean revolution|Korean]], [[Vietnamese revolution|Vietnamese]], [[Cuban Revolution|Cuban]], [[Laotian Civil War|Laotian]] and [[Chinese Revolution|Chinese]] revolutions as well as other successful national liberation and revolutionary movements in [[Africa]] and [[Asia]].
-Today, Marxism–Leninism is one of the theoretical foundations of currently in govern [[communist parties]] in [[Communist Party of China|China]], [[Communist Party of Cuba|Cuba]], [[Lao People's Revolutionary Party|Laos]] and [[Communist Party of Vietnam|Vietnam]], and it is currently the political line of many [[Marxist-Leninist communist parties|surviving communist parties]] today.
+Today, Marxism–Leninism is one of the theoretical foundations of governing [[communist parties]] in already existing socialist ([[Actually Existing Socialism|AES]]) states, including [[Communist Party of China|China]], [[Communist Party of Cuba|Cuba]], [[Workers' Party of Korea|Korea]], [[Lao People's Revolutionary Party|Laos]] and [[Communist Party of Vietnam|Vietnam]]. This is the political line of [[Communist parties|many communist parties]] waging [[class struggle]].</onlyinclude>
-== Origin of the term ==
+==Development==
-[[Vladimir Ulyanov|Lenin]] never used the term "Leninism", nor did he include his ideas in the term "Marxism-Leninism". His ideas developed out of classical [[Marxism|Marxist thought]], which was seen by the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolsheviks]] as Lenin's contribution to Marxism.
+=== Origin of the term ===
+In the 1920s, the term Marxism–Leninism was first formulated and defined by [[Joseph Stalin]] based on his synthesis of orthodox [[Marxism|Marxist theory]] and [[Leninism|Lenin's thought]].
+Lenin never used the terms "Leninism" or "Marxism–Leninism"; however, his ideas, which developed upon classical Marxist thought, were viewed by the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolsheviks]] and many later communists as a major advance in Marxism.
+===Early texts===
+Major founding texts of Marxism–Leninism are Stalin's ''[[Library:The foundations of Leninism|The Foundations of Leninism]]'' (1924) and ''[http://www.marx2mao.com/Stalin/CQL26.html Concerning Questions of Leninism]'' (1926), these two are the most important texts from the compilation of ''[http://www.marx2mao.com/Stalin/POLtc.html Problems of Leninism]'', a compilation of texts written by Stalin that synthesize almost completely Marxism with Leninism; and ''[[Library:History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|The History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolshevik)]]'', which was produced by a commission of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1938.<ref>Ferenc Feher (1991), "Soviet Marxism", in Tom Bottomore, [https://comun.ourproject.org/documents/tom_b_dict/bottomore-a-dictionary-of-marxist-thought.pdf ''A Dictionary of Marxist Thought''] . (Anti-Soviet but informative).</ref>
 == Characteristics ==
 === Dialectical and historical materialism ===
+{{Main article|Dialectical materialism}}
+By virtue of being a Marxist ideology, Marxism–Leninism concurs with the core Marxist tenets of [[dialectical materialism]]. Dialectical materialism serves as an essential form of analysis for any Marxist ideology and thus is a core component of Marxism–Leninism.
 === Critique of imperialism ===
+{{Main article|Imperialism}}
+Imperialism as seen and described by Lenin is the highest stage of [[capitalism]],<ref>[[Library:Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism|Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism]]</ref>
+involving the domination of the economy by [[monopoly capital|monopolies]] and the [[export of capital]] as the principal form of [[exploitation]] and [[capital accumulation|accumulation]] engaged in by the leading capitalist countries.
+[[Imperialism]] in the Leninist sense is essentially limited to the capitalist era.
+Imperialism entails savage competition between the leading capitalist countries for colonies and spheres of influence, culminating in imperialist wars (such as the First World War, which Lenin witnessed).
 === Party organization principles ===
+{{Main article|Democratic centralism}}
+Marxist–Leninist parties usually adhere to the principle of [[democratic centralism]] which involves free debate within the party and democratic development of party policies by the party members and their elected committees and leaders, but strict adherence by party members to those policies once the policies have been chosen.
 === Strategy and tactics of revolution ===
+{{Main article|Revolution}}
+Marxist–Leninists hold that successful revolutions involve more than spontaneous, elemental action by the masses but require a [[vanguard party]] to provide them theoretical guidance and, in the revolutionary moment, tactical leadership. The vanguard (communist) party is based on full-time revolutionaries and is a repository of revolutionary experience.
 === Theory and practice of the dictatorship of the proletariat ===
+{{Main article|Dictatorship of the proletariat}}
+Marxist–Leninists adhere to Marx's two-stages model of communism, involving an initial, "lower" stage, often termed "[[socialism]]", which is transitional between capitalism and "higher" stage [[communism]] in which the state, money, and other vestiges of capitalism and class society no longer exist. In the lower stage a state, controlled by the [[proletariat]], remains necessary to defend against [[Counterrevolution|counter-revolution]] and to guide society away from capitalistic behaviors and toward cooperation and the "free association of the producers" which characterize true or higher-stage communism. The lower stage is also known as the ''dictatorship of the proletariat'' since it involves control of society by the proletariat.
-== Ideological Differences Between Marxism-Leninism and Trotskyism ==
+Belief in the necessity of the dictatorship of the proletariat distinguishes Marxism–Leninism from more [[anarchism|anarchistic]] tendencies within social liberation theory.
-Ever since Lenin died in 1924, Trotskyism has challenged Marxism-Leninism for the ideological leadership of the international communist movement. J.V. Stalin, 1879-1953, was able to meet and saw off this challenge, to the extent that Trotskyism became a marginal, exterior tendency in relation to the communist movement. However, the attacks on Stalin by the Khrushchevite leadership in the Soviet Union, and the consequent rise of revisionism in some of the most influential parties of the communist movement, served to breathe new life into the project inspired by Trotsky.
-This creed, Trotskyism, gained a substantial intellectual following in all the main imperialist countries due to its attacks on what they and the bourgeoisie call ‘Stalinism’. In attacking Stalin, and in fact, every country of socialist orientation, and regarding themselves as representing authentic Marxism, the activities of these pseudo-left sectarians promoted the propaganda interest of the imperialist bourgeoisie. However, the claims of Trotskyism rest not only on attacking Stalin and the countries of socialist orientation. These claims rest also on convincing certain intellectuals that Trotskyism is the continuation of Leninism. This is why it may be considered useful for us to present a synoptic exposition of the main ideological differences between Marxism-Leninism and Trotskyism as a guide for those who seek to examine this matter more deeply.
-=== The Russian Revolution ===
-Trotskyites argue that the October, Russian revolution of 1917 was the realisation of Trotsky’s theory of Permanent Revolution. The Marxist-Leninist position is that the revolution was made possible by the peculiar circumstances created by the 1914-1918 war and that without these conditions the transition to the socialist revolution would not have been possible.
-=== Labour Policy ===
-Following the revolution and civil war, Trotskyites argued for the militarisation of the trade unions, that is a policy of coercion towards the unions. Marxist-Leninists around Lenin, including Stalin, opposed the Trotskyite militarisation policy, arguing instead that emphasis must be placed on persuasion rather than coercion. This led to a serious factional dispute in the communist party between the Marxist-Leninists and the Trotskyites between 1920-1921. Lenin himself regarded Trotsky’s policy on the trade unions as representing a ‘reactionary movement’.(See: Lenin: Collected Works, Vol.32)
-=== The World Revolutionary Process In Regard to Socialism ===
-For Marxist-Leninists, socialism in one or several countries is a stage in the world revolution. Trotskyites argued that the policy of building socialism in one country was opposed to Marxism. The Marxist-Leninists argued building socialism in one country was an integral part of world revolution and, in fact would serve this process, in aiding the development of the latter. Since Trotsky did not raise the issue with Lenin, Marxist-Leninists can only assume that Trotsky’s real motives were of a factional nature. Or, with Lenin out of the way, following his death in 1924, Trotsky sought to impose his Permanent Revolution theory on the party.
-=== Industrialisation Policy ===
-The Trotskyites sought to impose an industrialisation and collectivisation policy on the communist party at a time when the party and the dictatorship of the proletariat were in a weak position. Marxist-Leninists around Stalin wanted to wait until the party and the state had gathered enough strength to oversee such a policy. This meant defending the mixed economy of the NEP period until the party had strengthened itself in the working class and in the countryside.
-=== The Question of Fighting Bureaucracy ===
-Trotskyites argue that after the death of Lenin a “Stalinist bureaucracy” emerged in the Soviet Union. This bureaucracy would undermine the revolution and to forestall this a political revolution would be necessary to remove the bureaucracy from power. Marxist-Leninists argue that the Soviet bureaucracy was more anti-Stalinist than ‘Stalinist’, a fact underlined by the frequent purges directed against it. In addition, Marxist-Leninists rejected the Trotskyite theory of a counterrevolutionary bureaucracy as completely one-sided, and argued that what was needed was not a political revolution to overthrow a supposedly counterrevolutionary bureaucracy, but rather there was a need to expose and purge the counterrevolutionary elements from the bureaucracy. The Trotskyite talk about a ‘political’ revolution to overthrow bureauracy represented a break from Marxism to Anarchism.
-=== The Policy of Peaceful Coexistence ===
-Soon after coming to power the Bolshevik communists, led by Lenin pursued a policy of peaceful coexistence with the capitalist states. The thinking behind this was to force the capitalist States, particularly the imperialists States, to live in peace with socialism, as far as foreign relations were concerned. This was not only based on the recognition that combined the imperialists States were by far stronger than the Socialist State, it was also because socialism, unlike capitalism, is not a warlike system. It is capitalism which needs war to increase profits for the monopolists, not socialism. While it is true that, on the one hand, the Khrushchevite revisionists distorted the communist policy of peaceful coexistence, it is also true, on the other hand, that the Trotskyites, and other pseudo-leftists rejected Lenin’s policy, wanting the socialist countries to act like capitalists and embroil the world into war.
-=== The Counterrevolution in the Soviet Union ===
-Trotskyites claim that the counterrevolution in the Soviet Union was the work of a supposedly “Stalinist bureaucracy”. Such a claim made no sense because not only was there no entity which could be called the “Stalinist bureaucracy”, but the Stalinists, i.e., supporters of Stalin, had been purged by the Khrushchevites in the 1950s. Marxist-Leninists maintain that the Soviet counterrevolution was led by the revisionists who had come to power after Stalin’s death. This counterrevolution was begun by Khrushchev and completed by Gorbachev.
-=== Communist History ===
-Trotskyites blame the defeat of revolutions in China, Germany, France and Spain on Stalin’s leadership of the Communist International. Marxist-Leninists have long argued that Stalin was in a minority in the Comintern. Therefore, the defeats experienced by the communist movement cannot simply be dumped at Stalin’s door. Only a concrete analysis, based on Marxism-Leninism, can throw light on how individual defeats came about.
-=== Revisionism ===
+==Classification==
-One of the slanders aimed at Stalin by the open and concealed Trotskyites is that he led the international communist movement into the camp of revisionism. However, neither now or in the past, have they been able to provide any documentary evidence to support these claims based on Marxism-Leninism. The truth is, that any study of the writings of Stalin shows, without any shadow of doubt that he remained a committed Marxist-Leninist all his life.
+The term Marxism–Leninism generally includes parties which took the [[Russian revolution|Russian Revolution of 1917]] as foundational, while other socialist formations, usually those are [[Opportunism|opportunist]] and reject the Russian Revolution including but not limited to [[libertarian socialism]], [[eurocommunism]], [[Austro-Marxism]], [[Bernsteinianism]], [[syndicalism]], [[Anarcho-communism]], [[Daniel De Leon|DeLeonism]], and [[social democracy]].
-=== Evaluation of Stalin ===
+== See also ==
-Trotskyites argue that Stalin betrayed the 1917 socialist revolution. However, in 1936, stunned by the gains that the Soviet Union had made under Stalin’s leadership, Trotsky had to pretend that this had nothing to do with Stalin. Marxist-Leninists argue that Stalin was a defender of the socialist revolution in the most inauspicious of circumstances. Furthermore, in his time Stalin successfully defended the socialist orientation of the Soviet Union against revisionists and other two-faced elements posing as communists in the party and State. When these concealed enemies of socialism were found out they were unfailingly purged by Stalin.
-=== Conclusion ===
+* [[Marxism-Leninism-Maoism|Marxism–Leninism–Maoism]]
-Trotsky and his followers joined the bourgeoisie and their henchmen, the Mensheviks, in a campaign to convince the workers, peasants and communists that socialism was impossible in the Soviet Union. They tried to undermine the confidence of the working people using an argument opposed to Lenin’s standpoint. The only conclusion is that Trotskyism played a counterrevolutionary role, hiding behind pseudo-left rhetoric. Promoting defeatism was the essential role of Trotskyism in regard to the Soviet Union.
+* [[Hoxhaism]]
+* [[Anti-revisionism]]
+* [[Quotes:Marxism–Leninism|Quotes on Marxism–Leninism]]
 == References ==
-<references /><ref>{{News citation|journalist=EspressoStalinist|title=A Brief Guide to the Ideological Differences Between Marxism-Leninism and Trotskyism|url=https://espressostalinist.com/marxism-leninism-versus-revisionism/a-brief-guide-to-the-ideological-differences-between-marxism-leninism-and-trotskyism/|retrieved=29-03-2022}}</ref>
+<references/>
-[[Category:Outline needs additional content]]
+[[Category:Marxism]] [[Category:Communism]]
+[[Category:Left-wing ideologies]]
+[[Category:Marxism–Leninism]]
+[[Category:Communist ideologies]]