Lenin Selected Works
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The Significance and Shortcomings of Karl Marx
Class, Race and Corporate Power Volume 6 Issue 2 Article 3 2018 The Significance and Shortcomings of Karl Marx Chris Wright Hunter College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/classracecorporatepower Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Wright, Chris (2018) "The Significance and Shortcomings of Karl Marx," Class, Race and Corporate Power: Vol. 6 : Iss. 2 , Article 3. DOI: 10.25148/CRCP.6.2.008310 Available at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/classracecorporatepower/vol6/iss2/3 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts, Sciences & Education at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Class, Race and Corporate Power by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Significance and Shortcomings of Karl Marx Abstract In this essay I explain both why Karl Marx remains an important thinker and why he is in some respects inadequate. I focus on the central issue of 'materialism vs. idealism,' and briefly explore ways in which contemporary intellectuals still haven't assimilated the insights of historical materialism. In the last section of the paper I examine the greatest weakness of Marxism, its theory of proletarian revolution, and propose an alternative conceptualization that both updates the theory for the twenty-first century and is more faithful to historical materialism than Marx's own conception was. Keywords Karl Marx, Marxism, socialism Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. This article is available in Class, Race and Corporate Power: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/ classracecorporatepower/vol6/iss2/3 I often have occasion to think that, as an “intellectual,” I’m very lucky to be alive at this time in history, at the end of the long evolution from Herodotus and the pre-Socratic philosophers to Chomsky and modern science. -
Anarcho-Communists, Platformism, and Dual Power Innovation Or Travesty?
The Anarchist Library (Mirror) Anti-Copyright Anarcho-Communists, Platformism, and Dual Power Innovation or Travesty? Lawrence Jarach Lawrence Jarach Anarcho-Communists, Platformism, and Dual Power Innovation or Travesty? www.geocities.com from Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed usa.anarchistlibraries.net power discourse is concerned with government, with how to cre- ate and maintain a set of institutions that can pull the allegiance of the governed away from the existing state. Unless the partisans of dual power have worked out a radically different understand- ing of what power is, where its legitimacy comes from, how it is Contents maintained, and — more importantly — how anarchists can possi- bly exercise it within a framework that is historically statist, the discussion of “anarchist dual power” is a mockery of the anarchist What is “anarchist dual power”? .............. 8 principle of being against government. Love & Rage and the influence and legacy of Leninism . 13 18 3 rity, a curio from anarchist history, something to titillate the trivia- minded. What made it worth rediscovering? The anarcho-communism of the Platformists is eerily similar to the authoritarian communism of various Leninist gangs. From a cursory examination of their published rhetoric, it is difficult not to conclude that they have taken the “successful” aspects of a Lenin- ist program, a Leninist vision, and Lenino-Maoist organizing, and more or less removed or modified the vocabulary of the more ob- viously statist parts. The promoters of this hybridized anarchism — should it be called anarcho-Leninism? — draw on the Platform the same way that the writers of the Platform drew on Leninism. -
The State and Revolution: Theory and Practice Contents
The State and Revolution: Theory and Practice Iain McKay This is almost my chapter in the anthology Bloodstained: One Hundred Years of Leninist Counterrrevolution (Oakland/Edinburgh: AK Press, 2017). Some revisions were made during the editing process which are not included here. In addition, references to the 1913 French edition of Kropotkin’s Modern Science and Anarchy have been replaced with those from the 2018 English-language translation. However, the bulk of the text is the same, as is the message and its call to learn from history rather than repeat it. I would, of course, urge you to buy the book. Contents The State and Revolution: Theory and Practice ......................................................... 2 Theory .................................................................................................................... 2 The Paris Commune ........................................................................................... 4 Opportunism ....................................................................................................... 7 Anarchism ......................................................................................................... 10 Socialism ........................................................................................................... 18 The Party .......................................................................................................... 20 Practice ................................................................................................................ -
Ten Canons of the Proletarian Revolution
Ten Canons of the Proletarian Revolution New York Labar New$ Cornpan7 (Soclalfet Labor Partp) 45 Rose St., New Yark 1988 THE CREED OF A REVOLUTrONIST. Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone, Dare to have a purpose firm, Dare to make it known. -P&4 Ems of Damid Bs Lum. cwwmB 1905, HewYorL;~Nc~p"s& All rights reMmed. The Ten Canons of a Revolutionist are, as they originally stand, part of the second part-The Warning of the Gracchi--of 'Two Pages from Roman His- tory," being lessons deduced from blunders or weak- nesses of the two Gnccbi brothers in their struggle with the Roman patriciate. Beyond a doubt, these Ten Canons are the clearest, the most concise outline of con- duct of:the ProIetarian Revolution that have ever been permed They amount practically to a code of revolu- tionary conduct and tactical ethics. Because of this, we have considered it valuable and proper to publish them in handy pamphlet form by themselves, so that the rest of the material, however significant in itself, shall not detract attention fmm these revoIutionary canons, so important and essential that they ought to be engrayed on the mind of every revolutionist, the "leaders" as well as the rank and Me. The srrmqth, the cool, relentless and unassaabble logic of each of these rules of conduct, could never at any time fail to strike the revaIutionist, bur it is only since the Praletarian Revolution actually got into action that we can fully appreciate these revolutionary "ten commandments." So concrete are they that they might the rocks by the lure of the Cadmmt -
The Marxist Vol
The Marxist Vol. XII, No. 4, October-December 1996 On the occasion of Lenin’s 125th Birth Anniversary Marxism Of The Era Of Imperialism E M S Namboodiripad The theoretical doctrines and revolutionary practices of Vladymir Illyich Lenin (whose 125th birth anniversary was recently observed by the Marxist-Leninists throughout the world), have well been called “Marxism of the Era of imperialism.” For, not only was Lenin a loyal disciple of Marx and Engels applying in practice their theory in his own homeland, but he also further developed the theory and practices of the two founders of Marxism. EARLY THEORETICAL BATTLES Born in Tsarist Russia which was seeped in its feudal environment, he noticed that capitalism was slowly developing in his country. He fought the Narodniks who advocated the doctrine of the irrelevance and no-applicability of Marxism to Russian conditions. His first major theoretical work was the Development of Capitalism in Russia where he proved that, though in feudal environment, capitalism was rapidly developing in Russia. He thus established the truth of Marxist theory of the working class being the major political force in the development of society. Further, an alliance of peasantry under working class leadership will form the core of the revolutionary forces in the conditions of backward feudal Russia. Having thus defeated the Narodniks, he proceeded to demolish the theory of “legal Marxists” according to whom Marxism was to be applies in perfectly legal battles against capitalism. He asserted the truth that the preparation for the social transformation in Russia should be based on the sharpening class struggle culminating in the proletarian revolution. -
'Left-Wing' Communism: an Infantile Disorder
Resistance Marxist Library ‘Left-Wing’ Communism: An Infantile Disorder V. I. Lenin 2 ‘Left-Wing’ Communism: An Infantile Disorder Acknowledgement: “The Communist Parties and Parliamentarism” © Pluto Press, London; reprinted by permission. Resistance Books 1999 ISBN 0909196 88 5 Published by Resistance Books, resistancebooks.com Contents Introduction by Doug Lorimer................................................................ 5 I. A popular exposition of Bolshevik strategy & tactics...................................... 5 II. The origin & development of Bolshevism...................................................... 6 III. Parliamentary democracy & the proletarian revolution................................. 8 IV. The German Revolution and the German communists............................... 10 V. Marxism & the working-class vanguard........................................................ 13 VI. Winning over the vanguard & winning over the masses.............................. 18 VII. Mass action & tactical compromises............................................................. 20 VIII. Mass action & the united-front tactic............................................................ 23 I. In What Sense We Can Speak of the International Significance of the Russian Revolution .........................27 II. An Essential Condition of the Bolsheviks’ Success ...... 30 III. The Principal Stages in the History of Bolshevism ....... 33 IV. The Struggle Against Which Enemies Within the Working-Class Movement Helped Bolshevism Develop, Gain -
French Revolution 1789–1795
French Revolution 1789–1795 EVENTS THE THREE ESTATES 1789 May 1789 King Louis XVI of France calls a meeting of the Estates General (elected body of representatives from the Before the Revolution of 1789, three estates of French society; last convened in 1614) to French society was divided into solve financial crisis. Dispute begins over members’ powers three classes called estates. Members of the 3rd Estate were Jun 1789 Representatives of 3rd Estate declare themselves a denied the privileges of the 1st and National Assembly and swear, in the Tennis Court Oath, to 2nd estates. Revolutionaries fought draw up a new constitution for France. Members of 1st and against the injustice of this system, 2nd Estates join the National Assembly known as the “Old Regime.” Jul 1789 The Bastille (armory and political prison in Paris) is stormed by citizens after rumors that the King intends to 1st Estate suppress the National Assembly. Radicals form Paris Clergy of the Catholic Church 1790 Commune (to govern city) and National Guard volunteer (about 1% of population) force (to protect revolution). The Great Fear: peasant mobs ● Exempt from taxation overrun rural estates; many nobles leave France (they are ● Owned 20% of the land known as émigrés) ● Received annual payment of 10% of all citizens’ income Aug 1789 Rule of National Assembly begins (to Oct 1791) Aug 1789 Assembly issues the Declaration of the Rights of 2nd Estate Man (revolutionary manifesto and bill of human rights). Members of the nobility (about 2% Nobles and clergy agree to give up special -
Thoughts on Libertarian Municipalism
Thoughts on Libertarian Municipalism Murray Bookchin Age, chronic illnesses, and the summer heat oblige me to remain at home—hence I am very sorry that I cannot participate in your conference on libertarian municipalism. I would like, however— thanks to Janet Biehl, who will read these remarks—to welcome you to Vermont and to wish you well during the course of your discussions over the next three days. Some issues have recently arisen in discussions of libertarian municipalism, and I would like to offer my views on them. One of the most important involves the distinction that should be drawn between libertarian municipalism and communitarianism, a distinction that is often lost in discussions of politics. Communitarianism By communitarianism, I refer to movements and ideologies that seek to transform society by creating so-called alternative economic and living situations such as food cooperatives, health centers, schools, printing workshops, community centers, neighborhood farms, “squats,” unconventional lifestyles, and the like. Allowing for the works of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, the notable spokespersons of communitarianism have been Martin Buber, Harry Boyte, and Colin Ward, among many others. The word communitarian is often interchangeable with the word cooperative, a form of production and exchange that is attractive because the work is not only amiably collective but worker-controlled or worker-managed. At most, communitarianism seeks to gently edge social development away from privately owned enterprises—banks, corporations, supermarkets, factories, and industrial systems of agriculture —and the lifeways to which they give rise, into collectively owned enterprises and values. It does not seek to create a power center that will overthrow capitalism; it seeks rather to outbid it, outprice it, or outlast it, often by presenting a moral obstacle to the greed and evil that many find in a bourgeois economy. -
Marxism and the Solidarity Economy: Toward a New Theory of Revolution
Class, Race and Corporate Power Volume 9 Issue 1 Article 2 2021 Marxism and the Solidarity Economy: Toward a New Theory of Revolution Chris Wright [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/classracecorporatepower Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Wright, Chris (2021) "Marxism and the Solidarity Economy: Toward a New Theory of Revolution," Class, Race and Corporate Power: Vol. 9 : Iss. 1 , Article 2. DOI: 10.25148/CRCP.9.1.009647 Available at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/classracecorporatepower/vol9/iss1/2 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts, Sciences & Education at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Class, Race and Corporate Power by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Marxism and the Solidarity Economy: Toward a New Theory of Revolution Abstract In the twenty-first century, it is time that Marxists updated the conception of socialist revolution they have inherited from Marx, Engels, and Lenin. Slogans about the “dictatorship of the proletariat” “smashing the capitalist state” and carrying out a social revolution from the commanding heights of a reconstituted state are completely obsolete. In this article I propose a reconceptualization that accomplishes several purposes: first, it explains the logical and empirical problems with Marx’s classical theory of revolution; second, it revises the classical theory to make it, for the first time, logically consistent with the premises of historical materialism; third, it provides a (Marxist) theoretical grounding for activism in the solidarity economy, and thus partially reconciles Marxism with anarchism; fourth, it accounts for the long-term failure of all attempts at socialist revolution so far. -
At-Large Delegate Candidate Elections Packet
At-Large Delegate Candidate Elections Packet Voting is Open for DSA At-Large Delegates to the 2019 National Convention! Click here to vote How does voting work? There are 100 open positions for at-large delegates. We encourage you to read over the candidate bios and then to rank the candidates in order of your preference. Top Choice = 1, Second choice = 2, Third choice = 3, etc. This is a Borda style election. In a Borda election you have the option to rank all of the candidates. Your votes will be weighted so that your top choice has the most weight and last choice has the least weight. Although you can, you do not have to rank all of the candidates. For example, if you only like 10 of the candidates, you can choose to only include those people 1-10 and leave out the rest. You can find more information on Borda elections here Who can vote in the At-Large Delegate election? An At-Large DSA member is any member who does not belong to a chapter and who is current on their dues as of May 6th 2019 (or has made arrangements for the National Office to waive their dues). Based on DSA’s National Constitution and Bylaws, members of Organizing Committees are also considered At-Large Members of DSA. How do I find my voting code? If you receive DSA emails, your code was emailed to you on May 13. If you have opted out of DSA emails, or if we do not have a working email associated with your membership, your voting code was sent via paper mailing on May 13. -
Bookchin's Libertarian Municipalism
BOOKCHIN’S LIBERTARIAN MUNICIPALISM Janet BIEHL1 ABSTRACT: The purpose of this article is to present the Libertarian Municipalism Theory developed by Murray Bookchin. The text is divided into two sections. The first section presents the main precepts of Libertarian Municipalism. The second section shows how Bookchin’s ideas reached Rojava in Syria and is influencing the political organization of the region by the Kurds. The article used the descriptive methodology and was based on the works of Murray Bookchin and field research conducted by the author over the years. KEYWORDS: Murray Bookchin. Libertarian Municipalism. Rojava. Introduction The lifelong project of the American social theorist Murray Bookchin (1921-2006) was to try to perpetuate the centuries-old revolutionary socialist tradition. Born to socialist revolutionary parents in the Bronx, New York, he joined the international Communist movement as a Young Pioneer in 1930 and trained to become a young commissar for the coming proletarian revolution. Impatient with traditional secondary education, he received a thoroughgoing education in Marxism-Leninism at the Workers School in lower Manhattan, immersing himself in dialectical materialism and the labor theory of value. But by the time Stalin’s Soviet Union formed a pact with Nazi Germany (in the sum- mer of 1939), he cut his ties with the party to join the Trotskyists, who expected World War II to end in international proletarian revolutions. When the war 1 Janet Biehl is an American political writer who is the author of numerous books and articles associated with social ecology, the body of ideas developed and publicized by Murray Bookchin. -
Socialism and War.Pdf
SOCIALISM AND WAR SOCIALISM AND WAR BY G. ZINOVIEV and V. I. LENIN INmRNATIONAt PuBmHEIH NEW YO= 5 0. ~PAam~~ ..A b i'PamBrwa~l~f0~0F1905 7. Bs.smlr 8. -rao~hAm k ~T*sraoa.ra~Fnmm~~mO~~rmou 10. T# dP1Dr. CON-= IL Taa; THUEL~~~CAT AS^ rn How To FbeElr h ES wu.rae Bwrawns hm STAYS Po-? IS.OlrmcEvsoF~ 14 ST- llrtr Rmo~trmo~ I5.~~~arsrsTmorcAPm~ In Prcp~& w CQ~:Aw IIIrAnTm Dm- EmmIclb hmm- -O=K Am THE R~~EADxmU%SKf WoTA~CB OF TEE ~.DEHoQ~~~m PB]L Dzuommc Rmotrno~ TgC Nm*c Qumzon mFmmF~m-~ . , p. ~S~~MP.* . OF 3WUBM Am TBS WM OP l$U&lP% ;, OfSocialitato~W~ . 9 ~ofWarkh~ofMod!mt~.. '3 .. U 'Writ mmng dm S1awBoIdem fa&e Wm . ~and~of~verp,18 --,?ai b Folh camthd olh (k,PdIs1 .- Mem$* ............ f4 .~e.of~.1.. l5 .*..l5 r -Whtlehid-Chatl~*l,, . • - 16 '-lmsBasr~Mdf~. , . , a. 11 A FdseRefmm~ta+db*.. ..17 1 &~pof~~~d.. l9 - phion. .......... I9 ~whhtbOppo~banAn~$dfhp Wdmwith %la'NatfaPal Bourguo* d clam............. m . .$antd+l. ........... 2l IhSIogan of Mmxb ,bdm Slogan of hlfgnm- aryQd-]Dam~ ........ 2# ~1eufF~in~~.. rn ~ofnr~~.6 . 33 war ..**.****. H< 1 ~~~F~SI~..... *, s . ~PfNakteW~.... .S -- 3-- - 7-&----<.- - 4 n. ~~~cDP~W~. .na ThaBoqdhandthaWtrr. 27 %Working Clam adthe War . 2B % ksia~~Sd-Watio Wu1: Fraction in h Imperial Duma and the War . 30 TkB -uCTIOH OF THE ?~TIOBU. MktW of tha Social-Chrtu* and of the "Cmtre'' 34 strta of Mhin the OppoAtion . 36 The RWSdl-Demdc Uour Party and tho Third International .