Vladimir Lenin and Communism Ideology

If you're curious about Lenin's communism ideology, you've come to the right place. This article will introduce Marxism, explore Lenin's critique of capitalism, and explore his views on the disintegration of advanced imperial capitalism.

Lenin's interpretation of Marxism
Vladimir Lenin's interpretation of Marxist theory is a key work in the history of socialist thought. It presents the Marxist theory of the state, written in Lenin's characteristic style. It forms the foundation of revolutionary Marxism. The state is a political and economic system that is used by the ruling class to suppress the people.

In examining the history of Marxism, it is important to understand that Lenin's arguments are always related to the state and the dictatorship of the proletariat. The two are inseparable. This means that Lenin's theory can never be fully realized without analyzing real history.

Lenin's critique of capitalism
Vladimir Lenin's critique of capitalism traces its development to the time of imperialism. He believed that the rise of capitalism was due to imperialism's tendency to exploit poor and developing countries. This ultimately led to the development of capitalism in these countries, and improved the living standards in the dominant home country. However, Lenin erred in his understanding of the working class in advanced capitalist states, particularly in Western Europe. Moreover, the revolution that Lenin led in Russia in 1917 did not bring about a change in the basic class structure.

Marx and Lenin shared an orientation towards the world economy, but they were quite different in their approaches. Marx focused on western Europe as his chief empirical referent, while Lenin focused on Russian society at the end of the nineteenth century. He argued that capitalism was based on contradictions and was only able to solve these contradictions by introducing socialism into the world economy.

Lenin's critique of Stalinism
The First Five-Year Plan, which Stalin implemented in 1928, called for the rapid industrialization of the Soviet Union, putting emphasis on heavy industry. This plan set extremely ambitious goals: the total industrial output of the Soviet Union was supposed to double by the end of the Plan and heavy industry was to increase by three hundred and thirty percent. To achieve these goals, all industry was nationalized and managers were given predetermined output quotas. Workers were also required to form trade unions to increase their productivity. But the rapid industrialization caused widespread shortages of consumer goods.

The government also repressed the opposition, which included elements of the Communist Party. By the late 1930s, it was clear that Stalin had successfully eliminated any possible opposition. This led to a massive period of arrests and executions, known as the Great Terror. The terror lasted for months, with millions of citizens being sent to prison camps or killed.

Lenin's analysis of the disintegration of advanced imperial capitalism
The disintegration of advanced imperial capitalism was a major concern for Vladimir Lenin during the early 20th century. His analysis aimed to understand the fundamental causes of capitalism and the role of human action in this process. This approach is very different from identifying a specific policy for a particular context. Although Lenin's theory of socialist development was influential for more than 70 years, the current transnational capitalism has largely eroded his vision of socialist societies.

Lenin argued that the poor landless peasants and urban proletariat shared a common selling of labour power. These groups would combine to form a socialist ascendant class. By the late 20th century, this approach was not practical as global capitalism had become stronger.

Lenin's conception of socialist government
Vladimir Lenin's conception of socialism was derived from the views of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and is best reflected in his book, The State and Revolution. While Lenin did not fully adopt their conception of socialism, he never lost sight of their principles. Indeed, he believed that war communism could accelerate the transition from capitalism to socialism.

Lenin saw socialism as a society that is dedicated to the interests of working people. The basic means of production are reclaimed by the general public, and exploitation is largely eliminated. This system enables the common people to unleash their creative potential. Without exploitation, they can make enormous advances.

Lenin's ruthless campaign against reactionary clergy
In a sweeping indictment of Soviet Communism, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn noted that the conflict between the state and the church was a fundamental element of the rise of the Soviet Union. He pointed out that actions speak louder than words, and he cited the case of the Bolshevik government's raging anti-religious campaign in 1918, in which the Bolsheviks systematically plundered churches of their relics and plates. As a result, popular disorder erupted, and parishioners formed clubs to defend the churches.

In the summer of 1902, Lenin had moved to Munich to work with Plekhanov, and in April 1903, he was in London with Martov and Plekhanov. Plekhanov and Axelrod remained in Switzerland, but came to London for consultations.

Lenin's views on socialism
As his political career progressed, Lenin began to devote more attention to the subject of socialism. He began to focus more on what socialism would mean for Russia, and not on the utopian ideals of Marx and Engels. In contrast, Marx hardly ever wrote anything about socialism, and he had little knowledge of Russia's unique situation. After all, the world had changed since Marx's time and imperialism had risen.

In his view, the way a socialist society would work would depend on how much labor people did. In this system, the more work people did, the more they received in return. However, he also saw that this system could not be sustained indefinitely, and the appropriation of surplus products would be crucial in ensuring that the peasants would have enough food to live.