Leninism | 8values ​​Interpretation of ideological ideology in political test

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Leninism is a political ideological and doctrine system founded and developed by the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Ilyic Lenin in the early 20th century. It is considered to be a new development of Marxism in the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution. It not only guided the victory of the Russian October Revolution and established the world's first socialist country, but also profoundly influenced the proletarian revolution and socialist movements around the world. By gaining insight into Leninism, we can better understand the historical processes of the 20th century and provide a new perspective on contemporary political and social issues. If you want to explore your political stance, try the 8values ​​political test .

The origin and background of Leninism

The birth of Leninism is inseparable from the special historical environment of Russia at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries and the development stage of global capitalism. During this period, capitalism developed to the stage of monopoly capitalism, that is, the era of imperialism. Its inherent contradictions were unprecedentedly sharp, and Russia became the focus of various contradictions and the center of revolution.

Lenin (Russian: Ленин, Romanized: Lenin), formerly known as Vladimir Il'yich Ul'yanov (Russian: Владимир Ильич Ульянов, Romanized: Vladimir Il'yich Ul'yanov, April 22, 1870-January 21, 1924), was born in a wealthy intellectual family in Russia. His elder brother Alexander was executed for his involvement in the plot to assassinate the Tsar, an incident that had a profound impact on the young Lenin and prompted him to embark on the path of revolution. Lenin was deeply influenced by the thoughts of German philosopher Karl Marx in his early years, and actively introduced Marxist theory to Russia. He studied the development status of Russian capitalism in depth and pointed out that although Russia is relatively backward in economy and culture, it is the "weakest link" in the world capitalist chain and has the conditions to take the lead in the socialist revolution.

Although Lenin himself never called himself a "Leninist" but regarded himself as a follower of Marx, the term "Leninism" began to appear after the Second Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1903 and was systematically elaborated and popularized by Stalin after Lenin's death (1924).

The core theory of Leninism: vanguard, proletarian dictatorship and imperialism

The theoretical system of Leninism covers many aspects such as philosophy, political economy and scientific socialism, and has made new developments and enriched Marxism. Among them, the theory of vanguard , proletarian dictatorship and imperialism are its core components.

The vanguard theory of revolution

Lenin believed that in a backward country like Russia, the working class could not spontaneously develop socialist consciousness and needed a highly organized, disciplined vanguard party composed of professional revolutionaries to lead the revolution. The task of this vanguard party is to instill revolutionary theory and political consciousness into the working class, and guide them to overthrow capitalism and establish socialism.

Lenin's 1902 book "What to do?" This view is elaborated in detail in 》. He believes that revolutionary parties should be "the spokespersons of the people" who can respond to various forms of oppression and tyranny and summarize it as a unified picture of police violence and capitalist exploitation to illustrate the world historical significance of the proletarian liberation struggle. It is worth noting that Lenin’s initial vision of the vanguard was not “eliteism”, but emphasized that it was rooted in the most class-conscious workers.

The necessity of proletarian dictatorship

Leninism emphasizes that the dictatorship of the proletariat is an inevitable stage in the transition from capitalism to socialism after the proletarian revolution. At this stage, the working class led by the vanguard party held political power to suppress the bourgeois resistance, consolidate the results of the revolution, and create conditions for the ultimate establishment of a classless communist society.

Lenin regarded the dictatorship of the proletariat as the greatest democracy for the broad masses of the people and the unity of the dictatorship of the exploiters. He believed that in Russia, the Soviet regime was the best form of proletarian dictatorship. Although some critics believe that Lenin's proletarian dictatorship was violent and centralized, Leninists believe that this was a necessary means to defend the results of the revolution and prevent the restoration of the bourgeoisie at a critical moment of the revolution.

Imperialism: The Supreme Stage of Capitalism

Lenin's analysis of imperialism is one of his major contributions to Marxism. He believes that imperialism is the highest stage of capitalist development, and its characteristics include the emergence and development of monopoly , the formation and domination of financial capital , the special significance of capital output , and the formation and division of the world of international alliances .

Lenin pointed out that the inherent contradictions of capitalism, especially the pursuit of higher profits, led to capital exports and global empire expansion, forming the exploitation of colonial and semi-colonial countries. This excessive exploitation allows the bourgeoisie of the suzerain state to temporarily appease some of the working class in its country, thereby shifting the focus of the revolution to colonial and semi-colonial countries with relatively backward economic and cultural economies and cultures. This is typical of Russia.

Leninist democratic centralism: Party organizational principles

Democratic centralism is the fundamental principle of Leninist party building. It was defined by Lenin as “ total freedom of discussion and unity of action .” This means that all views within the Party should be fully put forward and discussed, but once a resolution is formed through democratic procedures, all Party members must obey and implement it unconditionally.

This organizational principle is designed to ensure the party's ideological unity and action unity , while allowing internal criticism and debate. Historical data show that there was sufficient democracy within the early Bolshevik parties, and Lenin was in a minority position many times and needed to win the majority support through debate. However, under Stalin's rule, democratic centralism was distorted, internal democracy disappeared, becoming a tool for individual centralization and bureaucracy.

The revolutionary strategy and flexibility of Leninism

Lenin was a pragmatic and highly flexible political strategist . He emphasized that " specific analysis of specific problems " is the "living soul" of Marxism and opposes dogmatism and abstract formulas. Lenin's political thinking and actions always revolve around a core issue: how to win and consolidate the regime.

Leninist strategies include:

• Strategic use of violence : Lenin believed that the ruling class would not give up power peacefully, and therefore, armed struggles were required to overthrow the existing order if necessary.
• Strategic compromise and retreat : In the revolutionary process, Lenin did not exclude the necessary compromise and retreat, such as signing the Brest Peace Treaty to win rest time, and implementing the "new economic policy" to restore the national economy. He regards this as "retreat to advance" and accumulates strength for the new offensive.
• Grasp the "specific links" in the historical chain : Lenin emphasized that at any specific moment, it is necessary to find key links that can drive the overall situation and concentrate on solving them to promote the realization of strategic goals.
• United Front Strategy : Lenin advocates establishing alliances with other political forces, and even temporary and unstable allies should strive for the opportunity of "joint strike" to achieve common phased goals.

All these reflect Lenin's flexibility and pragmatic spirit of constantly adjusting policies and policies in accordance with actual conditions under the complex and changing revolutionary situation.

The inheritance and development of Leninism and Marxism

Leninism is the successor and developer of Marxism. Under new historical conditions, Lenin creatively applied and developed Marxist philosophy, political economy and scientific socialist theory.

• In philosophy : Lenin developed Marxist philosophy, deepened and enriched dialectical materialism and historical materialism, emphasized the decisive role of practice in cognition, and proposed that the law of unity of opposition is the essence and core of dialectics of materialism.
• In terms of political economy : Lenin used the principles of Marxism to analyze the new characteristics of capitalism in the imperialist stage, put forward the assertion that "imperialism is the highest stage of capitalist development", revealing its monopoly, parasitic, corrupt and dying nature, and regarding it as "the eve of the proletarian socialist revolution."
• In terms of scientific socialism : Lenin developed the Marxist doctrine of socialist revolution based on his research on imperialism. He revealed the law of imbalance in the political and economic development of capitalism under the conditions of imperialism and came to the scientific conclusion that the socialist revolution might first win in a country (i.e., the "one country's victory theory"). This theory was a major development of Lenin's Marxist revolutionary theory, and also laid the theoretical foundation for the victory of the October Revolution in Russia.

Lenin also inherited and developed Marxist theory on the dictatorship of the proletariat, the alliance of workers and peasants, and the theory on the construction of a new type of proletarian party. It can be said that Leninism has brought Marxism to a new stage of development.

The Practice of Leninism: Russian Revolution and Socialist Construction

The practice of Leninism takes the 1917 Russian October Revolution as its most prominent example. Under the leadership of Lenin, the Bolshevik Party successfully launched an armed uprising, overthrew the Provisional Government, and established the world's first socialist country - Soviet Russia. After the victory of the revolution, the Soviet regime promulgated the Peace Act and the Land Act, which met the urgent demands of the people for peace, land and bread.

However, the post-revolutionary Soviet Russia faced severe challenges, including armed intervention in international imperialism, civil war, economic collapse and famine. During this period, Lenin led the Soviet government to implement the policy of " war communism " (1918-1921) to concentrate limited resources to deal with war and famine.

After the end of the Civil War, Lenin realized the limitations of wartime communist policies and introduced the "New Economic Policy" (NEP) in 1921. This policy allows the limited development of private capitalism, free trade and commodity monetary relations under state supervision, and replaces the surplus grain collection system with food taxes. Lenin believed that under the conditions of backward economic and cultural conditions in Russia, state capitalism can be used as the "intermediate link" in the transition from small-scale production to socialism, and is a necessary means to develop productivity and create the material foundation of socialism.

In addition, Lenin also emphasized the transformation of the focus of work , shifting the focus of the Party and the country from political struggle to economic and cultural construction, and put forward a series of theoretical and specific measures to develop a small peasant economy, guide peasant cooperation , use private capitalism and incorporate it into the track of state capitalism , and carry out cultural revolution .

Leninist internationalism and national self-determination

Leninism has a distinct internationalist color. Lenin believes that capitalism is a global system, and victory or failure of a place will affect the rest of the world. Therefore, the liberation struggle of the proletariat must also be international.

After the collapse of the Second International (1889-1916) in support of the imperialist war, Lenin established the Communist International (Third International) in 1919, aiming to unite revolutionaries around the world and command world revolution.

On the issue of nationality, Lenin clearly distinguished between the nationalism of the imperialist power (oppressive, reactionary) and the nationalism of the oppressed nation (progressive, worthy of support). He firmly advocated the right to national self-determination , that is, all ethnic groups have the right to decide their own destiny, including the right to establish an independent state, and opposes Greater Russian chauvinism. He believes that recognizing and supporting the right of self-determination of oppressed nations is a necessary condition for realizing international unity of the proletariat and jointly opposing imperialism.

The difference between Leninism and Stalinism and other schools

After Lenin's death, Leninism experienced complex development and evolution in theory and practice, resulting in different interpretations and schools.

• Marxism-Leninism : Marxism-Leninism (Russian: марксизм-ленинизм, English: Marxism-Leninism) strictly refers to Marxism developed by Lenin. Many different political groups use the term "Marxism-Leninism" and use it as the fundamental theory of this party's theoretical system. The vast majority of the Communists still regard "Marxism-Leninism" as the basic guiding ideology, although many of them have supplemented thisism based on new needs of the political environment.
• Stalinism : Many critics, including Trotskyists, believe Stalinism is a distortion and deviation from true Leninism. They pointed out that during his reign, Stalin established a bureaucratic system of one-party dictatorship, intra-party dictatorship, personality cult and highly centralized bureaucracy, which were essentially different from the collective leadership , intra-party democracy and the idea of ​​opposing bureaucracy advocated by Lenin during his lifetime. In his Will, Lenin clearly criticized Stalin for his rudeness and excessive power, and suggested that he be removed from the position of General Secretary.
• Trotskyism : As another major branch of Leninism, Trotskyism developed by Leon Trotsky, advocating constant revolutionary theory and opposing bureaucracy . Trotsky believed that the socialist revolution must be a global and continuous process, and opposed Stalin's theory of "one country builds socialism."
• European Communism : In Western countries, some communists proposed European Communism, advocating the realization of socialism through parliamentary democracy rather than violent revolution, and maintaining greater democracy within the party and society, which is different from the proletarian dictatorship and vanguard theory emphasized by Lenin.

Criticism and controversy about Leninism

Since its birth, Leninism has been accompanied by various criticisms and controversies. It mainly focuses on the following aspects:

• About centralization and democracy : Critics believe that Leninist vanguard theory and proletarian dictatorship tended to centralize and suppress democracy, laying the foundation for the later tyranny of Stalinism. However, some scholars and followers argue that centralization during the Lenin period was a temporary measure in special circumstances such as civil wars and foreign interference, and that Lenin himself had worked hard to fight bureaucracy and pursue a broader people's democracy.
• About the violent revolution : Leninism advocates the strategic use of violence to overthrow capitalism, which is regarded by some as an ethical question. But Leninists believe that this is a necessary means to fight against the stubborn resistance of the ruling class and achieve human liberation.
• Regarding economic development forecasts : Lenin's judgment that imperialism is the "highest" and "last" stage of capitalism, and his excessively rapid estimate of the process of world socialist revolution, has proved biased in practice. Capitalism shows stronger vitality and self-regulation ability.
• Regarding dogmatism : Although Lenin himself opposed dogma and emphasized "specific analysis of specific situations", some critics believed that in later developments, especially during the Stalin period, Leninism became a rigid dogma, hindering the further development of theory and adaptation to new situations.

Leninist heritage and contemporary revelation in the 21st century

Although the era in which Lenin was far away, his thoughts and practices still have important implications for the political ideological analysis and socialist movement in the 21st century.

• Understanding Global Capitalism : Lenin's analysis of imperialism is still of reference value for understanding contemporary globalization, the dominance of financial capital, and international inequality.
• The wisdom of organization and strategy : Lenin's experience in the establishment of the Party, the united front and revolutionary strategies provides valuable reference for how today's social movements organize the masses, form effective forces, and respond to complex challenges.
• The profound pursuit of democracy : Lenin's emphasis on the core position of democracy closely combines it with the working class's struggle for socialism. He believes that true socialism must be based on the most thorough revolutionary democracy, and that comprehensive liberation can only be achieved through the democracy of the working class and the oppressed people.
• Criticism and Innovation : Lenin's spirit of seeking truth from facts and constantly correcting theories to adapt to practice, encourages contemporary Marxists and progressives to not stick to past experiences when facing the challenges of the new era, but to creatively develop theories and strategies and promote social change.

Leninism is a system of thought full of complexity and versatility, and cannot be simply judged by "good" or "bad". In-depth study of Leninism helps us draw wisdom from history and better understand and transform the era we live in. Through political spectrum coordinate analysis , you can further explore the relationships and differences between different political ideologies, so as to have a clearer understanding of your position in the complex political picture.

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