In his paper, What is to Be Done (1902), Vladimir Lenin, the future founder and leader of the Soviet Union, outlines his argument for what will eventually be called Leninism. Rather than strictly adhere to the ideas of Karl Marx for creating a communist state, Lenin determined that Russia was not the prototypical industrial society ready for a Marxist revolution. Therefore, he determined that a “hybrid” form of Marxism was necessary for Russia. What is to Be Done argues for these alterations specific to Russia.
As you read the paper, explain how Lenin’s theory veers away from orthodox Marxism? What does Lenin think of the lower classes? Where will the power of the revolution reside? Why?
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Lenin's theory takes the general concepts of Marxism and "updates" them by giving more power to a select group of people (the Vanguard) and less to the general population. Marx believed in capitalism, but Lenin took it a step further by wanting to use imperialism to rule the world. He believes that the "Export of capital should be more important than the export of goods." Lenin thinks that the lower classes are not able to organize a socialist revolution for themselves because they have no idea of politics. They need a carefully selected group of leaders to create a revolution. The power resides in this small group, "the vanguard." The vanguard must be focused on the goal, and they must prove their devotion towards it. They are given power because if they are liked, they will attract masses of people which will make the revolution easier to achieve.
ReplyDeleteLenin thought that the revolutionary social democrats should be professionals, which is why he felt they should be above other people. He feels that the people of lower classes can't have an social revolt because they don't know anything about politics, which in other words means they are not as smart as the social revolutionist are. Lenin believed that the professional revolutionariness should have more power than the others they strive to reach their goal.
ReplyDeleteLenin veers from Marx in many key ways. The most major of these was the creation of the intellectual vanguard. The intellectual vanguard was designed to be a group of 12 to 15 educated men who would lead the revolution. These men would not be part of the proletariat class, simalar to Lenin, who was raised as part of the educated upper class. The vanguard would have to be highly organized and the men apart of it would have to be professional revolutionaries. They would have to be confident in the ideas of the revolution and know the details of it. This varies severely from the Communism put forth by Marx, because Marx envisioned a Proletariat uprising. He thought that the lower class would form a class conscious and overthrow the capitalists. This cannot happen when the vanguard initiates the revolution.
ReplyDeleteLenin sees a minimal role for the lower class in the revolution and subsequent ruling of Russia. He has created a two class society, with the intellectual vanguard, later known as the Bolshevik Party, leading, and the lower class following. Unlike Marx's classless society, this society has two distinct social classes.
Lenin veers from Marxism in that he believes in the idea of the Vanguard Party. This was the elite party that would consist of full time revolutionaries dedicated to organizing the proletariat and the Soviets. The original Marxist idea was that a violent revolution consisting solely of the proletariat must occur. Unlike Marx, Lenin did not propose that the proletariat dictates the government following the revolution, but however, that the government be taken over by the Vanguard Party. He thought this because he felt the lower class was incompetent, and unable to lead a government.
ReplyDeleteLenin veers away from Marx because Marx's main focus is the endless economic struggle for the working proletariat in capitalism.Marx wants the workers who actually make the country work-to rise up in revolution to distribute the wealth equally to the actuall workers.Lenin sees the labor unions as important but says the workers/lower class are 'amateur' revolutionaries.They need the organization of revolutionaries to keep things 'stabile', but still be patient to keep their power.They will be trained and their only job will be to be revolutionaries and build a revolution.This will benefit the people by keeping order(behind the scenes).The masses will still push the revolution forward, but the revolutionaries need the power to keep it on track.
ReplyDeleteLenin veers away from Marxism because he takes all of the power for himself and the vanguard instead of distributing it among the people in a Marxian way. Lenin creates 2 classes: the upper class vanguard, who run the government and make up well under 5% of the total population, and the common lower class citizen, who make up over 95% of the total population and who Lenin believed were not capable of having a say in governing affairs. Also, instead of having the lower classes rise up and revolt, he continues to oppress them and instead has the vanguard lead the revolt, believing that they were more capable of seizing control and making intelligent decisions. The vanguard now has to make intelligent decisions for all of the lower class Russians, for Lenin believes they are not capable of making wise decisions for themselves.
ReplyDeleteLike Marx, Lenin advocated the use of revolts to overthrow the government. Unlike Marx, Lenin believes
ReplyDeletean elite group of people should lead the revolutionaries in battle. He wanted the revolts to be coordinated and well planned.
He views the lower class as "foot soldiers" and should be led by the higher, more oriented classes.
Lenin based his ideas off of Marx, but because of the conditions that he was presented with in the case of Russia, instead he had to make some changes. For example, marx preached that the lower class would rise up and overthrow the upperclass by force. Marx also wanted to harness the entire population of the lower class. Similarly, Lenin wanted a revolution, but instead of the masses he relied on the vanguard. These people were a select few who were smarter and better and represented the masses. These are the core differences between Lenin's society and Marx's society.
ReplyDeleteThe basis of Lenin's movement is the same as Marx in terms of the need for revolt, but the one major aspect is who controls that revolt. For Marx it would have been the lower class revolting against the upper class in order to attain one social group. Marx wanted an equal society where everyone and everything was equal. For Lenin, he wanted that as well, but Lenin did not trust the lower class and felt that if he were to have a proper revolution he would have to have intellectual people in charge of that revolt. These people were known as the vanguards and later known as the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks controlled the revolution from the start and basically dictated what the people did. All power resided in them up until the fall of the USSR in 1991.
ReplyDeleteLenin's theory is like the new version of Marxism. Lenin uses the concepts of Marxism, but shifts the powers to the Vanguard, rather than the average population. Lenin changed Marxist ideas of capitalism into ideas of ruling the world with imperialism, or in other words social darwinism. He believes that lower classes aren't intelligent or responsible enough to organize a revolution. However, the Vanguard is the perfect group, with the perfect knowledge of politics, to lead a revolution. With a successfully thought out and planned revolution will come masses of people because they will like it. These are the main differences between Lenin and Marx.
ReplyDeleteLenin shifts away from the power being distributed to everybody and keeps it to just himself and a small group of people called the Vanguard. He decided to have them be in charge because they are intelligent and therefore have plenty of knowledge that must be used to lead a revolution. Also, he give the power more so by force in a form of imperialism. He also sees that the Vanguard able to attract the rest of the masses who will then become the basis of that movement.
ReplyDeleteVladimir Lenin does not want to copy the Marxist theories but wants to adapt them. He adapts them by giving more power to the Vanguard, taking away power and possessions from the lower class, in some cases the Kulaks. Lenin believes that the lower classes cannot organize anything and do not deserve the power that the upper classes have. He gives this power that used to be possessed by the lower classes to the Vanguard because he does not think that they can be trusted with it. This makes the Vanguard a very select few that are out numbered by the lower classes greatly. Lenin gives the Vanguard more power because he trusts them more than any of the lower class. They are essentially his own little army. This method was used by many leaders, such as: Stalin with the KGB, and Hitler with the Gestapo. Lenin selected some of these people in the Vanguard because he thought that their thoughts and ideas would make it easier for the Revolution to progress and develop.
ReplyDeleteLenin's theory is similar to Marxism in stating that, "all distinctions between intellectuals and laborers must be obliterated"(Lenin). However, Lenin feels that it is essential for the advancement of the communist revolution for power to lie in the hands of a select few. Lenin established the Vanguard, which was the select members of Russia that made political decisions. On another note, Lenin believes that the lower classes are insignificant, and should have no influence on the actions of the Russia. In other words, he believes that the lower classes were only useful as objects of the revolution in order to successfully carry out the Vanguard's plans.
ReplyDeleteJust as Karl Marx, Lenin believes in revolution. But the the revolution is not able to be performed at its best with the people of the lower class leading it. There must be special people from the upper class whom can handle the organization of a revolution because of their fortunate opputunities to be educated well; unlike the lower class. Lenin believes that the lower class is only significant for the dirty work of the revolution, and that the upper class should handle the major tasks of carrying out the mission of a revolution.
ReplyDeleteLenin's theory on a socialist revolution is essentially a modification of Marxism that suits 20th century Russia. Lenin revises the capitalist view of Marxism to include imperialism, with the ultimate goal of controlling the whole world. In addition, Lenin does not trust the revolution in the hands of the poor majority, as they do not have the necessary political experience. Therefore he feels that a "vanguard" of revolutaries must be organized to keep the working class in check.
ReplyDeleteLenin uses Marxism as a mask to hide what he really wants, a nation where a few smart men enjoy the fruit of the working class (non-bolsheviks). Leninism betrays core beliefs of Marxism. Marx believed the working class needed to be forced to revolutionize because of unbearable conditions. Lenin wanted a vanguard, a very small privilidged portion of the population, to spur and guide the revolution. Unsurprizingly when the small privlidged portion of the population, the vanguard, was given control they chose to hoard the wealth for themselves. While this seems very similar to the reign of Nicholas II Lenin was better at keeping the mob from forming through strict control of every aspect of a Russian citizens life.
ReplyDeleteLenin is arguing here for a highly educated and invested group to exclusively govern a large body of relatively uneducated and less aware group of people. The spin that he puts on marxism will enable a select few to govern a poor majority. These select few, in theory, would be able to see what was best for those less educated, those without a sense of a bigger plan. In practice, it is clear that the Vanguard does not have the interests of those whom it governs in mind, but rather seeks to exploit the power given to them to suit their wants.
ReplyDeleteLenin's theory veers away from Marxism because he believes that the forced revolution of the working class was caused by unbearable conditions, another reason it veers away from Marxism is because he wanted a select group of people to be the leaders of the revolution. The problem with the small select group was it corrupted by the selfishness of the people within it the group for wealth. The reason for Lenin to be able to withstand the outbreak of the "mob-like" group was because he a strict but strong control over the ideals of the Russian life style.
ReplyDeleteLenin's piece on Social Revolution uses Marxist beliefs as influential tools that make Lenin's claim for power easier. For example, Karl Marx never stated that "that no movement can be durable without a stable organisation of leaders to maintain continuity". Lenin wanted to head an organization of revolutionaries to help stablize the government and create a classless society. However the paradox is that by trying to rule a classless society by an oligarchy, Lenin created a higher, more priveliged class, who were the revolutionaries.
ReplyDeleteWhile Lenin believes that the lower classes need organization because the organization is what is needed for a revolution to occur, he demonstrates the fatal flaw of Communism: once the proletariat overthrows the bourgeosie in teh name of making a classless society, the prolateriat will unenviatably become the upper class.
"What is to be Done" is an example of Marxism being manipulated to fit the needs of a power hungry dictator in Lenin.
lenin is different from marx in the sense that he has a group of people to back him, the Vangaurd, who were prepared and new how to initiate an uprising, unlike the proletariats who had a sudden uprising of the people. He feels that the Vangaurd will attract the mob to their cause, and recruits only the brightest of people, giving them power through a form of imperialism so that they may be able to lead a revolution.
ReplyDeleteLenin strays from Marxism in his support system that could initiate his ideals, the Vanguard. Lenin gets some of the brightest and most influential minds to help him start the revolution. Lenin also differs from Marx because he believes that the revolution will be caused by conditions that the bourgeoise could no longer handle.
ReplyDeleteLenin also adds imperialism to his ideas which strays from Marx's views
ReplyDeleteJust like Marx said, Lenin himself too believes that there needs to be a revolution however he feels that it can not be in the hands of the lower class since he feels they have no experience whatsoever and that they will not be able to handle it. Furthermore, Lenin thinks that the revolution would be best served if only a few select people with political experience handled it. In essence what he is saying almost applies to the fundamentals of Imperialism in that there is a lower race which is the lower class and that one must conquer the other being the Vanguard. Finally with a successful revolution lead by the Vanguard many will follow.
ReplyDeleteLike many of my other classmates, (who clearly read the passage rather than simply paraphrasing what the students above them said, considering the word Vanguard itself isn't even in this pamphlet... good work. Lenin's "vanguard party" is the Bolshevik party, vanguard simply refers to the type of party) have stated, Lenin wants a revolution, but the problem is within the lack of organization. He believes that the leaders should be organized so that they are all leaders within the community, rather than what Lenin believes to be the asinine poor. When the revolution is led by the poor, it's generally badly organized and won't work well. With the elected leaders of the Bolsheviks being intelligent professionals, the revolution will flourish and become popular. This is Imperialism. Lenin's belief that the stupid poor should be ruled over by the professionals is the Imperialism, rather than the idea that "there is a lower race which is the lower class and that one must conquer the other being the Vanguard." Lol?
ReplyDeleteLenin took the idea of Marxism an tried to upgrade it. Lenin wants a revolution but he wants it to be organized. He doesn't believe the lower class should revolt because they would lose control and wouldn't know how to govern theirselves. Also, they knew nothing about politics or leadership.The Bolsheviks would have to lead the revolt in order to be succesful. They were professional revolutionaries. If you put it all together, Lenin wanted the richer, more intelligent people to rule over the lower class. This relates back to imperialism when the Europeans came over to Africa to rule over the natives and "westernize" their traditions.
ReplyDeleteLenin used the ideals of Marxism and applied them to Russia, which was not the perfect fit for a Marxist state. Marxism depended on a very industrialized state and an uprising of all the oppressed factories workers, but Russia was not fully industrialized and the working class did not make up the total population of Russia. To make a Communist state in Russia, he created a hybrid form of Marxism ideals. Instead of having the proletariat lead the revolution, he would have the Bolshevik Party lead it, and the masses of Russia would be the driving force. From this we can assert that Lenin viewed the lower classes as unintelligent and unfit to rule the state. The Revolution would lie in the Bolshevik's hands, but the masses of Russians who were influenced by the Bolsheviks would be the driving force.
ReplyDeleteLenin tweaked Marxism to make it compatible and practicable in Russia. While Marx called for the uneducated and oppressed working class to revolt, Lenin found the lower class not fit to properly topple and direct the state to Communism. Lenin called upon an elite few, the "vanguards" to stimulate and streamline a proper, "scientific" revolution that would lead to Communism. By doing this, Lenin does not meet Marx's vision of a classless society. Rather, Lenin creates a polarized society with the power and wealth unevenly distributed to the masses.
ReplyDeleteLenin makes marxism beneficial to Russia, by distributing more power to a specific group of people, and less power to the general people. While Marx believed in capitalism, and a rise of the working class, Lenin felt that the lower class was incapable of leading this revolution, and cannot properly lead Russia to a communist state, because they haven't been involved in politics. The power therefore, rests in the hands of those few people that Lenin chose, to keep the power of Russia, and because they are appreciated, and well known, they will make an easier transition to this revolution. :)
ReplyDeleteIn the early 20th century, when Vladimir Lenin sought to revolt against the current Russian government, he first turned towards Marx and Engels' for guidance. However, a Marxist revolution was not a perfect fit for Russia at the time. The population was widely dispersed over a gigantic country. For this reason, Lenin believed that organization was the most difficult aspect of the revolution. The majority of the was peasants wh lived of the land and found profits through agriculture. Therefore, seeing as there existed little industry or large factories, it became difficult for the lower classes to sink into extreme poverty, thus developing a class conscious. Lenin saw the masses as stupid and unfit to rule the state. Therefore, a select group of professional revolutionaries would organize and guide the revolution. this group of intellectuals became known as the Bolshevik party. Though Lenin attempted to dissolve all class boundaries between the intellectuals and laborers, the members of the Bolshevik party enjoyed many more luxuries than the common people. The revolution was under the control of the party, however the masses were truly the driving force.
ReplyDeleteLenin veers from Marx's beliefs because Lenin believes that the revolutionary social democrats should be professionals, not just random citizens. Because of the time that Lenin lived in, a very small amount of people where he lived did not have an education better than 8th grade. Because of this, Lenin did not trust the lower class at all. Therefore, the professionals (a.k.a. Intelligent, learned individuals) would have the overwhelming power during the revolution.
ReplyDeleteLenin differs from Marxism because he believes that the lower classes alone do not have the intelligence of the necessary skills to begin a succesful revolution. He says that they only know enough to form unions but they do not have enough experience to fight against the political leaders in the Soviet Union. The lower class would not be able to organize the themselves well enough for a revolution. The power of the revolution will reside in the experienced revolutionaries who make being a revolutionary their sole job, they work as a Social Democrat. The professional revolutionaries would be key to the success of the revolution because they would have the knowledge to guide the masses and understand the workings of the politicians.
ReplyDeleteLenin believed that what needed to change in theory of Marxism was whom the power and opportunity was directed towards. In Lenin's theory a select group of people gained the title of Vanguard. These special selected people held all power and decision making and were deemed worthy enough to rule. This group of people was the only ones considered educated enough to rule compared to the working class who would not be able to achieve a revolution on their own. Lenin twists Marx's view in capitalism and believes in an empirical based society.
ReplyDeleteLenin's hybrid most notably differed from classical Marxism, by the elite corps, called the vanguard to lead the masses. The vanguard were people who were smarter than the rest of marx's proletariat, and were given all power in Russia. Lenin did not think the working class man had the intelligence to know what was good for him and his country, and his hybrid disregards their input. Because of Russia not being a fully industrialized country, he could not be a classic marxist and create the utopia. With one class leading the revolution, the power falls squarely to them, them being the vanguard. This allowed for the exploitation of the workers which is associated with Russian history.
ReplyDeleteRussia was not a prime candidate for a Marxist revolution. Russians jobs were not industrialized enough in the rural areas or oppressed enough by capitalist to achieve class consciousness. For this reason, Lenin would be forced to veer away from the mold of Marxism. Rather then waiting for the masses to unite, he would have to stimulate their organization and unite them against a common enemy. Lenin believed the masses of Russia did not have the intellect or experience, in leadership and revolutionary tactics, to overthrow the Russian government. Lenin believed that a successful revolution would have to be led by a small group of professional revolutionaries who only focused on the revolution. Lenin warned that the act of revolting against the government was far too complicated to be trusted in the hands of the masses. He sought a select few who were experienced revolutionaries. Lenin wanted to keep the group small because he believed this was the only way to preserve the safety and secrecy of the movement. If the movement was led by to many it would be exposed and destroyed. Lenin's plan worked to perfection, his small group was able to unite the masses against the Russian tsar and overthrow the government.
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ReplyDeleteIn this essay, Lenin takes Marx's theoretical outline of communism (found in "The Communist Manifesto") and attempts to exercise the theory in Russia. Several issues arise, however, as Marx presents a society that's far too rational and is incompatible with the irrational aspects of humanity. Therefore, Lenin is forced to make severe adjustments to the system and ends up defeating its purpose all together. He states, "...all distinctions as between workers and intellectuals, and certainly distinctions of trade and profession, must be obliterated." Yet, in his attempt to obliterate distinction, he generates a different distinction between an "inner party" and an "outer party." Lenin's failed attempt of communism clearly proves the incompatibility between Marxism and reality and demonstrates that there can never be a truly classless society.
ReplyDeleteLenin's theory strongly disagrees with Marxism because his theory requires a group of people who will lead the union. This group of people is highly educated and basically better than the rest of the citizens. These upper class and educated men who are above the others will lead the union according to Lenin's theory. However, Marxism states that the working class or the proletariat class will start a revolution which will influence the others which will eventually change the nation. Therefore, the means of achieving this change in the nation strongly differs between marxism and Lenin's theory.
ReplyDeleteand sweeet tolu..you didn't even read the thing yourself..
-JC Lee
Lenin believed that Russia was not a perfect country in the sense of being able to overthrow the upperclass and make the state equal. There was a lack of funds and their country lacked the industrialization to accompany the overthrowing. He also believed, unlike marx that a select group of people were needed to run the revolt and maintain organization when the country was formed into the communist state. The hybrid he speaks of is shown when he says "the wider will be the circle of men and women of the working class or of other classes of society able to join the movement and perform active work in it....". This means the country would not be a classless, completely even society, but one have a range of people in the classes that are relatively similar.
ReplyDeletemarxism put more emphasis and faith/trust/dependance in the lower class whereas Lenin believes them to be "amateur revolutionaries" and the will not get the job done. since lenin knew that the lower class could not become poor/desperate enough, he crated a group of 'professional revolutionaries. (bolsavic party)
ReplyDeletemine seems short but i anwsered all the questions
ReplyDeleteLenin's views significantly veer from orthodox Marxism, especially in their views of the lower classes' ability to cause a successful revolution. Lenin believes that the lower classes, although they have the ability to "realise the necessity for combining in unions, for fighting against the employers and for striving to compel the government to pass necessary labour legislation," do not have the ability to cause a revolution. In fact, he says that the "theory of socialism" was a product of the intellectuals.
ReplyDeleteLenin believes that the power behind a revolution must reside in the organization of Social Democrats, because their political struggle "is far more extensive and complex than the economic struggle the workers carry on against the employers and the government." Lenin repeatedly states that the key to a revolution is its organization.
Lenin thinks that there should be a group of people who lead instead of having a dictator. He believes the group should rule with an iron fist and be able to make tough decisions. In Marxism, the lower class is the group of people who decide on how to shape the nation. Through revolution, they will change the way things work. Lenin's theory differs because he believes solely the upper class will command. With his attempt to take away all distinction of classes like in Marxism, he actually makes it worse, separating the classes even further.
ReplyDeleteLenin's views on the revolution are contrast to those held in orthodox marxism. Lenin views the lower class as almost a liability to the revolution because he believes their ability to revolt and cause a revolution is lacking. Lenin believes that the revolution must be caused by a focused, dedicated group of individuals who make it their job to cause and follow through with a revolution. This is severely different from Marxism which believes the proletariat and the oppressed workers are the key to a successful revolution.
ReplyDeleteLenin used the ideas of traditional Marxism and incorporated his own ideas into these beliefs. Lenin believed in giving all power to a certain group of upper class people because they were best fit to lead/revolt. He did not give power to the working or lower class because he thought that their lack of education prevented them from leading a revolution. These ideas differed from tradtional Marxism because Marx wanted to give all power to all classes in order to make them equal.
ReplyDeleteCasas shut up please
ReplyDeleteSorry this is a lil late!
ReplyDeleteVladamir Lenin's ideas are very similar to Karl Marx's. For example, the both wanted a revolution. However, Marx wanted the revolution to come from the lower class who was fed up with their meager lives. Lenin on the other hand wanted an intellectual revolution. A select few men were part of an intellectual group called The Vanguard. Lenin had confidence that these "dozen experienced revolutionaries" were smart enough to carry the entire contry of Russia on thier back into Leninism. Also, Marx never made mention about the many large groups of revolutionaries that Lenin loved. These organizations would gather and teach Leninism and read illegal literature in order to support Lenin and his Vanguard.
Lenin believed that the lower class should not be put in a position of authority and instead believed that a select group of individuals, the vanguard, should be given more power. Lenin did not trust the lower class and thought that they were too stupid to lead a revolution. This differs from Marx as he believed that the revolution should be a proleteriat uprising where classes become non-existent and everyone is equal.
ReplyDeleteThe Vanguard is pretty cool, Tolu is wrong.
ReplyDeleteLenin explains that the Bolsheviks had to control everything as opposed to Marxism which believed that the lower class had to revolt. Marx believed that there should be no social classes, and all should be equal, but from Lenin's perspective, how can it all be equal if there is one controlling everything, so he thinks that there should be atleast two social classes.
Lenin believed in one social class just like Marx, however he did not trust the lower class yet. This is why Lenin spilt Russia into two classes. The first is the lower class which will contain about 95% of the population. The second is the upper class which will contain 5% of the population. The upper class will be previous middle class educated men. This five percent will have complete control over all of Russia
ReplyDeletehaha tim
ReplyDeleteCasas should be banned
ReplyDelete