Lenin and Revolution: A Critique—Yesterday and Today

ABSTRACT

Lenin’s theories and tactics are specific to the early twentieth century and cannot be repeated. His project should be considered in terms of its methodology, its understanding of capitalism, the political agency of the working class and the geo-political structures of economic and political power. Lenin combined political economy, geo-politics, political organisation and a sociology of social structure to form an innovative revolutionary praxis. He was correct in his appraisal of the social forces in support of revolutions in Russia. But he provided an over-optimistic prediction for the disintegration of monopoly capitalism and a partial analysis of the working classes in the advanced capitalist countries. His political approach requires a redefinition of countervailing forces and class alliances and a shift of focus away from the semi-periphery to the “strongest links” in the capitalist chain. His proposals for a “party of a new type” and the “dictatorship of the proletariat” require revision. A “renewal” of Lenin has to consider the contradictions of global capitalism and the re-territorialisation of classes. The author considers that a “return to Lenin” is not to adopt his policies but a prompt to reinvent a socialist political and economic vision derived from Marx’s analysis of capitalism.

KEYWORDS:

• Russian Revolution
• vanguard party
• dictatorship of the proletariat
• Marxism and democracy
• socialism

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 “Minority” in the sense of a sub-group within a larger group bound by some special ties, not in a demographic numerical sense.

2 See “Modern History Sourcebook: The Common Program of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, 1949.” https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1949-ccp-program.asp.

3 See “Constitution of the Communist Party of China.” https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Communist_Party_of_China_(2017).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David Lane

David Lane is Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK) and currently Emeritus Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge University. He was previously Professor of Sociology at the University of Birmingham. His recent publications include: Changing Regional Alliances for China and the West (with G. Zhu, 2018); The Eurasian Project in Global Perspective (2016); The Eurasian Project and Europe (2015); Elites and Identity in the Transformation of State Socialism (with V. Samokhvalov, 2014); The Capitalist Transformation of State Socialism (2014).