Eli’s Mind

(1) The primary differences discussed in this week’s videos between Marxism and Marxism-Leninism revolve around the role of the party and the approach to revolution. Marxism emphasizes a spontaneous, class-based revolution led by the proletariat, with the eventual establishment of a classless society. In contrast, Marxism-Leninism, as developed by Vladimir Lenin, advocates for a vanguard party to guide the revolution, viewing it as necessary due to the proletariat’s supposed lack of revolutionary consciousness. Additionally, Marxism-Leninism supports a centralized, authoritarian state apparatus to transition from capitalism to socialism, diverging from Marx’s vision of a decentralized, stateless society.

(2) Historian Richard Pipes’ statement, “Soviet Russia was the first society in history to outlaw law,” encapsulates the totalitarian nature of the Soviet regime under Lenin and later Stalin. In the pursuit of absolute control, the Bolsheviks subverted the rule of law, replacing it with arbitrary and often brutal enforcement of party dictates. The legal system became a tool of repression, used to suppress dissent and eliminate perceived enemies of the state. Consequently, the concept of justice was distorted, and the rule of law ceased to exist as an objective framework for societal order.

(3) Under Lenin, the Russian government underwent significant transformation, marked by the establishment of a one-party socialist state. Lenin’s government, known as the Soviet government, aimed to consolidate power in the hands of the proletariat through the dictatorship of the proletariat. It sought to achieve various tasks, including the nationalization of industry and agriculture, the redistribution of land to peasants, the implementation of centralized economic planning through War Communism, and the suppression of opposition through the Cheka (the secret police). Lenin’s government also initiated policies to promote literacy, women’s rights, and workers’ control over production, albeit often through authoritarian means.