The x question

In Marxism–Leninism, there is much debate over the various economic and cultural issues raised by the ongoing transition from capitalist society to socialist society. Certain key debates are referred to using the x question format. These include debates on women, the nation and others.

The woman question

The woman question is a series of debates beginning from the 1400s and ongoing today, regarding the political and economic emancipation and rights of women. The communist line on the women question is full emancipation of women in all economic, cultural and political sense. The various distinctions between women and men must, by crook or by hook, disappear. See Engel's On the Origin of the Family and The Woman Question by the Avelings for further reading.

The national question

In Stalin's work Marxism and the National Question, he describes a "nation [as] a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture." And further goes on to describe how a nation can be led by the bourgeoisie or by the proletariat. This leads to two possibilities for nationalism, namely the bad nationalism that is bourgeois nationalism as seen in countries like the United States, France and Saudi Arabia. As well its good version, which is the proletarian nationalism of Vietnam, Cuba and others. This is further colored by indigenous and oppressed (i.e. colonized) nations such as Palestine, Bolivia, and Iran.

The social question

Known as soziale Frage in Germany and in France, question sociale, this question going back to the very beginning of the transition from feudal society to capitalist society. The industrial revolution drew many people into cities and caused a population explosion as society began transitioning from largely agrarian to urban industrial settings. This caused much material and intellectual deprivation as inequality soared and caused the formation of the earliest socialist organizations.

Notably, the German bourgeoisie responded to these various issues by creating a national healthcare system, pensions, unemployment insurance in a successful attempt to prevent socialist revolution. See Engel's The Housing Question for additional reading.

The land question

Closely connected to the national question, the land question involves several ongoing political debates and actions, like the land back movement and land reparations for black Statesians.