Revolutionary Socialism
Marxist-Leninist Countries at height of Cold War
Overview
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Leninism and the Vanguard Party
Trotsky and the Permanent Revolution
Stalin and Socialism in One Country
Mao and Third World Revolutions
The Goal
“The bourgeoisie, during its rule of scarce one
hundred years, has created more massive and more
colossal productive forces than have all preceding
generations together. Subjection of nature’s forces to
man, machinery, application of chemistry to industry
and agriculture, steam-navigation, railways, electric
telegraphs, clearing of ground -- what earlier century
had even a presentiment that such productive forces
slumbered in the lap of social labour?”
-- Communist Manifesto
The Goal
• Because capitalism has generated
these enormous productive forces, we
can envision a world where we can use
that social production for social welfare.
Capitalism doesn’t allow
us to enjoy the leisure time
made possible by the
increased productivity of
capitalism. Socialism will.
Labor
Time
Leisure Time
The Goals
• The Communist Manifesto includes a
variety of goals -- long and short term -of the communist movement
• Long term goals include:
– Abolition of Private Property
– Community of women
– “True” Freedom & Democracy
The Goals
• It also includes some short term goals,
including:
– graduated income tax
– abolition of inheritance
– centralized credit, communication
– free education for children
– abolition of child labor laws
The Roads to Socialism
• Marx and Engels helped unify the
socialist movement in Europe
• With their death, and the resolute failure
of capitalism to collapse as expected,
leadership of the worker’s movement
looked for ways to hasten the advent of
socialism
Roads to Socialism
• In their writings, Marx and Engels
sometimes support democratic change,
and sometimes the need for violent
revolution
• Various wings of the socialist movement
look to ground their policies in the
writings of Marx and Engels
• Why?
Roads to Socialism
• The key is the claim
to have developed a
“scientific” socialism
• What’s special about
“science”?
Roads to Socialism
• You can’t dispute the law of gravity
• You can’t argue with
science
• So, the socialists after
Marx attempt to use
the method to support
their policy prescriptions
Evolutionary Socialism
• One road to socialism that eventually
becomes social democracy argues that
the change from capitalism to socialism
will be a protracted affair and that we
need to use democratic means to
achieve a democratic society
Evolutionary Socialism
• Eduard Bernstein
(1850-1932)
• German social
democrat
• Best known for
“revisionist” theory
of Marx (as opposed
to Lenin’s “orthodox”
Marxism
Evolutionary Socialism
• Bernstein argues that a really “scientific”
approach would take new evidence and
modify the theory to conform to the science
• Points out that capitalism has not developed
in the manner predicted by Marx
• Argues for the need to re-examine Marx’s
presuppositions and modify (or revise) the
theory to accommodate the new reality
Evolutionary Socialism
“That the number of the wealthy
increases and does not diminish is not
an invention of bourgeois ‘harmony
economists,’ but a fact established by
the boards of assessment for taxes,
often to the chagrin of those concerned,
a fact which can no longer be
disputed…”
Evolutionary Socialism
“One has not overcome Utopianism if one assumes
that there is in the present, or ascribes to the present,
what is to be in the future. We have to take working
men as they are. And they are neither so universally
pauperised as was set out in the Communist
Manifesto, nor so free from prejudices and
weaknesses as their courtiers wish to make us
believe. They have the virtues and failings of the
economic and social conditions under which they live.
And neither those conditions nor their effects can be
put on one side from one day to another.”
Evolutionary Socialism
• In other words, we need, as Marx and Engels
suggested, to take people as they actually
are, not as we want them to be and work with
the real materials we have
• Most workers, as it turns out, have more to
lose than their chains and may be unwilling to
make the leaps to socialism that we would
like
Evolutionary Socialism
• That means we need to slow things
down, and work to improve the
conditions now and set the stage for
bigger changes to come
Evolutionary Socialism
“Constitutional legislation…is stronger than
the revolution scheme where prejudice and
the limited horizon of the great mass of the
people appear as hindrances to social
progress, and it offers greater advantages
where it is a question of the creation of
permanent economic arrangements capable
of lasting; in other words, it is best adapted to
positive social political work.”
Evolutionary Socialism
• In other words, we
may be on a long
and winding road to
socialism, freedom,
and democracy
Revolutionary Socialism
The other road to
socialism may be
considerably
shorter, and that’s
by violent revolution
Revolutionary Socialism
• V.I. Lenin
(1870-1924)
• Leader of the
Russian revolution
of 1917, the first
successful Marxist
revolution in the
world
Revolutionary Socialism
• Argued no need to “revise” the theory of
scientific Marxism to conform to new
facts
• Rather, we need to use the theory to
explain new facts
• Marx and Engels saw communism as a
global struggle, and Lenin sought to
apply their analysis to global capitalism
Revolutionary Socialism
• Capitalism has
morphed into
Imperialism, as Marx
and Engels predicted it
would
• It has survived
because it has
managed to “buy off”
its own worker class at the expense
of the poorer countries in the world
Revolutionary Socialism
“Monopolies, oligarchy, the striving for
domination and not for freedom, the
exploitation of an increasing number of small
or weak nations by a handful of the richest or
most powerful nations-- all these have given
birth to those distinctive characteristics of
imperialism which compel us to define it as a
parasitic or decaying capitalism.”
-- “Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism
Revolutionary Socialism
• It’s the “decaying” stage, in the sense that
imperialism can only work for so long
• The Bourgeoisie will quickly run out of poor
countries to exploit
• When the world is fully divided up, the
contradictions of capitalism that have been
buried by imperial conquest will return to the
forefront
Revolutionary Socialism
• In other words, the scientific study of
capitalism reveals that capitalism has evolved
into Imperialism, a stage at which capitalist
countries conquer and
exploit lesser developed
countries
• This exploitation allows
capitalists to bribe their
own proletariat
Revolutionary Socialism
• When the world is
divided up, the
richest countries will
either have to fight
each other to
conquer and control
the poorer areas
Or...
Revolutionary Socialism
• The class struggle
will play out first as
national struggles in
the poorer countries
• Loss of the colonies
will then mean
return of the class
struggle at home in
the capitalist
countries
Revolutionary Socialism
Revolutionary Socialism
• Because the
revolutionary class has
been distracted, we
need to begin the
revolution on the
periphery of the
capitalist states
• The working class,
though, in the
peripheral states is not
yet fully developed, in
most areas it is “precapitalist”
Therefore…
Revolutionary Socialism
“At this point, we wish
to state only that the
role of vanguard fighter
can be fulfilled only by a
party that is guided by
the most advanced
theory.”
-- Lenin,
“What is to be Done?”
Revolutionary Socialism
“The history of all countries shows
that the working class, exclusively
by its own effort, is able to
develop only trade union
consciousness, i.e., the conviction
that it is necessary to combine in
unions, fight the employers, and
strive to compel the government to pass
necessary labour legislation, etc.”
-- What is to be Done?
Revolutionary Socialism
“Working-class consciousness cannot
be genuine political consciousness
unless the workers are trained to
respond to all cases of tyranny,
oppression, violence, and abuse, no
matter what class is affected – unless
they are trained, moreover, to respond
from a Social-Democratic point of view
and no other.”
The Vanguard Party
• The only way we can get the working
class to move beyond the “trade union”
mentality is if we have a political party
that speaks on its behalf and acts in its
interest
The Vanguard Party
“Class political
consciousness can be
brought to the workers
only from without, that is,
only from outside the
economic struggle, from
outside the sphere of
relations between workers
and employers.”
-- What is to be Done?
The Vanguard Party
• The role of the Communist Party then, is to
act as a revolutionary force to develop the
class consciousness of the working class
• As a revolutionary force, the party will then
fight for the interests of the working class
• The revolution will begin in the periphery and
spread, creating a crisis within capitalism
which in turn will raise the classconsciousness of the proletariat in capitalist
countries and usher in the socialist future
The Vanguard Party
“And the dictatorship of
the proletariat, i.e., the
organization of the
vanguard of the
oppressed as the ruling
class for the purpose of
suppressing the
oppressors, cannot
result merely in an
expansion of
democracy…
The Vanguard Party
“the dictatorship of the
proletariat imposes a
series of restrictions on
the freedom of the
oppressors, the
exploiters, the
capitalists. We must
suppress them in order
to free humanity from
wage slavery, their
resistance must be
crushed by force….”
The Vanguard Party
“Democracy for the vast
majority of the people,
and suppression by
force, i.e., exclusion
from democracy, of the
exploiters and
oppressors of the
people-- this is the
change democracy
undergoes during the
transition from
capitalism to
communism.”
Russian Revolution
• In the wake of the collapse of the Tsarist
regime in Russia, a provisional government
was established in Moscow (March 1917)
• Then in October 1918, the Bolsheviks, a
faction within the revolutionary movement in
Russia that was led by Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky,
etc., seized control of St. Petersburg
(renamed Petrograd) and declared the
establishment of a socialist republic
Russian Revolution
• In the wake of the Bolshevik takeover,
widespread civil war breaks out (1918-1922)
before the Bolsheviks could consolidate
power
• Eventually Lenin and the Bolsheviks triumph
and establish the first Marxist government in
the world
Russian Revolution
• The triumph of Bolshevism put the Russian
working class at the forefront of history
• Much optimism in creating a new form of
social organization, one free of oppression,
exploitation, and alienation
• The Bolsheviks, the proletariat, and Russia
are leading the world into a freer, more
democratic, more egalitarian form of social
organization
Russian Revolution
• 1918 Constitution of the USSR (Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics) captures
this optimism nicely
– See particularly:
• Chapter 2, article 3
• Chapter 3, article 4
• Chapter 5, articles 9-11, 13-22
Russian Revolution
• The thinking is that this
revolution will serve as
something of an example for
the proletariat across the
capitalist countries
• For this to occur, though, the
vanguard party needs to
organize and engage on an
international scale
• The party needs to build
alliances across national
borders
Stalinism
• Lenin dies in 1924, which leads to
intense power struggle to find a
successor to guide and protect the
revolution
• The failure of proletarian revolutions to
materialize beyond Russia causes
major theoretical and political crises
within Bolshevik leadership
Stalinism
• Main factional rift is whether the
socialist future can be created in one
country and then spread, or if instead it
requires a global advance first
• Stalin and his supporters argue for the
former; Trotsky and his supporters
argue for the latter
Stalinism
“With regard to countries with a belated
bourgeois development, especially the
colonial and semi-colonial countries…the
complete and genuine solution of their tasks
of achieving democracy and national
emancipation is conceivable only through the
dictatorship of the proletariat as the leader of
the subjugated nation, above all of its
peasant masses.”
-- Trotsky, The Permanent Revolution
Stalinism
•Leon Trotsky
(1879-1940)
Josef Stalin
(1878-1953)
• Trotsky was ally of
Lenin’s during Russian
Revolution (1917)
• Initially served as
Foreign Minister for the
USSR, but eventually
became head of the
military and navy (19181920)
• After Lenin’s death
(1924) he loses an
intraparty power
struggle to Stalin
Stalinism
• Leaves Russia and
ends up in Mexico
where he continues his
writing and political
activities on behalf of
the 4th International
• Convicted in abstentia
(1936) in “show trial” of
conspiring to kill Stalin
• Assassinated by Soviet
agent in Mexico City
(ice pick to head while
he was reading in his
study)
Stalinism
• Once Stalin wins the
power struggle, he
quickly moves to
consolidate power
• To defend the
revolution, he cracks
down on dissent (real or
imagined) and sets
about centralizing
power in the communist
party and in the state
Stalinism
• In order to safeguard
the revolution and
secure the way to the
bright future of
socialism, all the forces
of society must be
under control of the
communist party*
*recall, the communist
party represents the
interests of the working
class, and that the working class is everybody
Stalinism
• To that end, the media,
the schools, and the
arts all must be
marshalled and
deployed in ways which
advance the socialist
agenda and defend the
regime from counter
revolutionaries,
revisionists, capitalists
and other enemies of
socialism
Stalinism
“In the Union of Socialist Soviets the workers and
peasants government has called upon the whole
mass of the population to help build a new culture –
and it follows from this that the responsibility for
mistakes, for hitches, for spoilage, for every display
of middle-class meanness, for perfidy, duplicity and
unscrupulousness lies on each and all of us. That
means our criticism must really be self-criticism; it
means that we must devise a system of socialist
morality as a regulating factor in our work and our
relationships.” -- Maxim Gorky, “Soviet Literature”
Stalinism
• In 1932, a formal policy governing the
arts was introduced, and in 1934, the
Soviet Writers Union officially endorsed
the new policy: Socialist Realism
• The stated purpose of socialist realism
was a call for artists to depict the world
of the proletariat in a dignifying,
optimistic and intelligible manner
Stalinism
• The point of art was not simply to
interpret or reflect the world of the
working class, but rather to help change
it for the better
• Abstract art, formalism, etc. were
dismissed
Stalinism
• Beginning in 1934, Stalin initiates massive
purges of those believed to be betraying the
revolution
• Millions of people are killed either directly
(through execution) or indirectly (through
famine created by the executions and
government policies)
• 1936 new Constitution
meanwhile...
The Permanent Revolution
“Insofar as capitalism
has created a world
market, a world division
of labor, and world
productive forces, it has
also prepared the world
economy as a whole for
socialist transformation.”
-- Permanent
Revolution
The Permanent Revolution
“The dictatorship of the proletariat which has
risen to power as the leader of the democratic
revolution is inevitably and very quickly
confronted with tasks, the fulfillment of which
is bound up with deep inroads into the rights
of bourgeois property. The democratic
revolution grows over directly into the
socialist revolution and thereby becomes a
permanent revolution.”
The Permanent Revolution
• Capitalism needed to introduce the
ideas of liberty and democracy in order
to protect private property
• But in treating private property relations
as a “natural” right, rather than a social
construct, capitalism perverts the true
meaning of “democracy” and liberty
The Permanent Revolution
If we want true
freedom and
democracy, then we
need to substitute
the “dictatorship of
the bourgeoisie”
with the “dictatorship
of the proletariat.”
Maoism
• If we are going to have true democracy,
and
• If true democracy requires a roughly equal
distribution of wealth,
and
• If a roughly equal distribution of wealth requires the
abolition of private property,
then
• We need a revolution, because democracy is unlikely
to get things done on the necessary scale.
Maoism
“The enemy will not
perish of himself.
Neither the Chinese
reactionaries nor the
aggressive forces of
U.S. imperialism in
China will step down
from the stage of
history of their own
accord.”
So violent revolution
is necessary, and …
Maoism
• If Lenin is correct, and the proletariat in
the capitalist states has become
corrupted
• Then the socialist revolution can only
begin in the periphery, in pre-capitalist
states
Maoism
• Mao Zedong
(1893-1976)
• Leader of the
Chinese Communist
Party and the
Chinese Revolution
• Came to power in
1949, led China until
his death in 1976
Maoism
“If there is to be revolution,
there must be a
revolutionary party. Without a
revolutionary party, without a
party built on the MarxistLeninist revolutionary theory
and in the Marxist-Leninist
revolutionary style, it is
impossible to lead the
working class and the broad
masses of the people in
defeating imperialism and its
running dogs.”
Maoism
Mao’s idea was that out
on the periphery, where
there is no real
industrial working class,
the vanguard party can
lead the peasant class
to topple regimes which
support imperialist
countries or the
imperialists themselves
Maoism
“A revolution is not a dinner
party, or writing an essay, or
painting a picture, or doing
embroidery; it cannot be so
refined, so leisurely and
gentle, so temperate, kind,
courteous, restrained and
magnanimous. A revolution
is an insurrection, an act of
violence by which one class
overthrows another.”
Maoism
“Every Communist
must grasp the truth,
‘Political power
grows out of the
barrel of a gun.’"
Maoism
So the struggle for
democracy then begins
with the peasant and
working classes of the
lesser developed
countries, in the form
of national liberation
movements initially.
Maoism
• Literature and the arts serve an
important role here in helping to reach
and educate a relatively illiterate
population
• Indeed, the Chinese Constitution
(Article XXII) mandates socialist realism
as the official art of the country
Maoism
• But as the
revolutionary parties
of the world succeed
in linking up, the
communist
revolution will
eventually come to
the industrialized
west
Maoism
• Capital will have no
where left to run, no
place to exploit
• Without that escape
valve, capitalists can
no longer buy off
their own working
class
Maoism
The proletariat in the
industrialized
countries will
become increasingly
radicalized and
increasingly class
conscious
Maoism
• And at that point the
communist
revolution will
triumph and the
dictatorship of the
proletariat begins
• Democracy and
freedom will reign!