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Marxism-Leninism

Marxism-Leninism. The Divisions within Marxism – Peaceful, or Violent Revolution. Orthodox Marxism – Karl Kautsky – “scientific socialism” makes the coming of communist society inevitable and opens the door to both political and revolutionary evolution toward this goal

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Marxism-Leninism

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  1. Marxism-Leninism

  2. The Divisions within Marxism – Peaceful, or Violent Revolution • Orthodox Marxism – Karl Kautsky – “scientific socialism” makes the coming of communist society inevitable and opens the door to both political and revolutionary evolution toward this goal • Marxism of the Right – Eduard Bernstein – Evolutionary socialism – Most goals of Marxism could be satisfied through ballot • Marxism of the Left – V.I. Lenin – Marxists should clash with the capitalists instead of cooperating with them

  3. The Readiness of the Proletariat • Orthodox Marxists believed in spontaneous uprising of the proletariat – Revolution is historically inevitable • Revisionists disavowed violence • Leftist embrace the need to prepare and lead the proletariat toward revolutionary action

  4. Twentieth Century Russia • Backward – Half Asian and half European • Intelligentsia alienated from power and open to a wide range of radical ideas • Three million proletariats out of 129 million citizens – 80 percent of citizens are peasants • First major Russian Marxist group formed in Switzerland by Georgi V. Plekhanov • Spontaneous revolution unlikely

  5. Lenin’s Life • Vladmir Ilich Ulyanov - 1870-1924 • Alexander III highly reactionary Czar • Lenin’s brother executed for role in plot to assassinate Czar • Lenin becomes radicalized and becomes spokesman for Marxism in Russia • Spends time in prison and exile • Lenin becomes leader of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Marxists advocating for a close knit organization of revolutionaries • Revolution of 1905 • Revolution of 1917 brings Lenin home to pursue power within the chaos of Russia

  6. Four Themes from Leninism • Revolutionary Leadership and the Party • The Doctrine of Permanent Revolution • The State and Revolution – Dictatorship of the Proletariat • The Theory of Imperialism

  7. Revolutionary Leadership and the Party • Communist party should be a close knit, revolutionary organization, dedicated to bringing about the revolution, p. 152-153 • Alliance between workers and peasants essential to successful revolution • Class consciousness can be produced by revolutionary leadership

  8. The Doctrine of Permanent Revolution • The special circumstance of Russia required that the revolution bring Russia through capitalism to socialism • Speed the bourgeois revolution along to bring about the proletarian revolution • Democratic centralism allowed Lenin’s party to take leadership when other parties were still debating the crisis

  9. The State and Revolution • Initial optimism and hope of revolution for universal revolution confronts reality • Lenin tried to balance the needs for state survival with the needs of universal revolution • The dictatorship of the proletariat becomes the mechanism for realizing state power – a transfer culture is needed to bring about the development of capabilities to bring abut a genuine socialist society

  10. The Theory of Imperialism • Why are the proletariats of the West not revolutionary? • Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, 1916 • Competition requires colonies and civil war at home is avoided by exploiting those in less developed countries – Super profits enable capitalists to bribe labor elites – Eventually wars for colonies will reveal the crisis of capitalism • Wars of national liberation become an important part of laying the groundwork for worldwide revolution

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