Vladimir Il'ich Lenin (1870–1924)
Author of State and Revolution
About the Author
Creator of the former Soviet Union, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (family name Ulianov) was born on April 10, 1870 in Simbirsk (later Ulianovsk), Russia, the son of a schools inspector. Lenin received upper class education and obtained a law degree in 1891, but he was moved to oppose the czarist Russian show more government, partly due to the execution of his brother, Alexander, who had participated in a plot to assassinate the Russian emperor. For taking part in revolutionary activities, Lenin was eventually imprisoned, publishing his work, The Development of Capitalism in Russia, from prison in 1899. Three years later, his pamphlet "What Is to Be Done" became the model for Communist philosophy. Lenin helped the Bolshevist movement that overthrew the czarist government and brought an end to Russia's war against Germany. As head of the new government, he put land in the hands of the peasants and brought industry under government control. An assassination attempt in 1918 wounded him, and two strokes in 1922 forced him to severely curtail government duty. He retreated to his country home in Gorki, where he died on January 21, 1924. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: George Grantham Bain Collection,
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division,
Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ggbain-34971
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division,
Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ggbain-34971
Series
Works by Vladimir Il'ich Lenin
The Emancipation of Women; From the Writings of V. I. Lenin (New World paperbacks, NW-130) (1969) 157 copies, 1 review
The Proletarian Revolution and Renegade Kautsky (Little Lenin Library, Vol. 21) (1975) 129 copies, 1 review
The three sources and three component parts of Marxism. Karl Marx. Frederick Engels (1975) 79 copies, 3 reviews
What the "Friends of the People" Are and How They Fight the Social-Democrats (1894) 38 copies, 1 review
V. I. Lenin: Selected Works - A One-Volume Selection of Lenin's Most Essential Writings (1971) 38 copies
Revolution, Democracy, Socialism: Selected Writings of V.I. Lenin (Get Political) (2008) 24 copies, 1 review
Marxism on the state: Preparatory material for the book The state and revolution (1976) 20 copies, 1 review
Lenin : Collected Works : Volume 34 : Letters : November 1895 - November 1911 (1966) 18 copies, 1 review
Selected Works in Twelve Volumes, Volume XII: Theory of the Agrarian Question (1977) 18 copies, 1 review
The revolutionary phrase; "left-communist" mistakes on the Brest peace (articles and speeches) (1975) 18 copies
Selected Works in Twelve Volumes, Volume IV: The Years of Reaction and of the New Revival (1908-1914) (1943) 12 copies
Selected Works in Twelve Volumes, Volume V: Imperialism and Imperialist War (1914-1917) (1935) 11 copies
he Beginning of the Revolution in Russia; The Revolutionary Army and the Revolutionary Government; Lecture on the 1905 Revolution (1971) 11 copies
Selected Works in Twelve Volumes, Volume VIII: The Period of War Communism (1918-1920) (1943) 9 copies
Die grosse Initiative : 4 Arbeiten zu Ökonomie u. Politik d. sozialist. Aufbaus / W. I. Lenin (1988) 9 copies
Selected Works in Twelve Volumes, Volume IX: New Economic Policy / Socialist Construction (1952) 9 copies
On Cooperation 9 copies
Selected Works in Twelve Volumes, Volume VI: From the Bourgeois Revolution to the Proletarian Revolution (1935) 8 copies
On Public Education 8 copies
Toward the seizure of power : the Revolution of 1917: from the July days to the October Revolution (1932) 8 copies
Selected Works in Twelve Volumes, Volume I: The Prerequisites of the First Russian Revolution (1894-1899) (1943) 8 copies
Keuze uit zijn werken, deel 1 8 copies
The United States of Europe Slogan [and]: The War Programme of the Proletarian Revolution (1966) 7 copies
The Economic Content of Narodism and the Criticism of it in Mr. Struve's Book (The Reflection of Marxism in Bourgeois Literature) (1974) 6 copies
Lenins kamp mot "ekonomisterna" 6 copies
Selected Works in Twelve Volumes, Volume II: The Struggle for the Bolshevik Party [1900-1904] (1934) 6 copies
Valda verk i två band 6 copies
A great beginning: The heroism of the workers in the rear : on "Communist subbotniks" (1977) 5 copies
Karl Marx en zijn leer 5 copies
Ausgewählte Werke. Bd. 3 5 copies
The Iskra Period 1900-1902 Book 1 5 copies
On the socialist state 5 copies
Lessons of the Revolution 4 copies
British labour and British imperialism: a compilation of writings by Lenin on Britain (1969) 4 copies
Opportunism and social-chauvinism 4 copies
Valda verk : i två band. 1:2 4 copies
Lenin: Collected Works - Volume 9 4 copies
Lenin and library organisation 4 copies
Keuze uit zijn werken, deel 2 4 copies
Keuze uit zijn werken, deel 3 4 copies
Valda verk : i två band. 2:2 4 copies
Valda verk : i två band. 2:1 4 copies
Acerca de la prensa y la literatura 4 copies
Valda verk : i två band. 1:1 4 copies
Acerca de la democracia socialista 3 copies
Revolutionen och staten 3 copies
The heritage we renounce 3 copies
V. I. Lenin on Marxism 3 copies
Obras escolhidas 1 3 copies
Samlade skrifter i urval. Bd 15 3 copies
La costruzione del socialismo 3 copies
Rivoluzione e polemica sul partito 3 copies
The April conference 3 copies
Om bolsjevikkerne og filosofien : tekster 1908-1922 til belysning af Lenins filosofiske kamp (1977) 3 copies
Lenin and Stalin on the state 3 copies
May Day 3 copies
Lenin on language 3 copies
Obras escogidas 3 copies
On the Soviet State Apparatus 2 copies
The Socialist Revolution 2 copies
One Step Forward, Two Steps Bacl 2 copies
Über Klassen und Klassenkampf 2 copies
Contre le courant 2 copies
Opere scelte, volume I 2 copies
Udvalgte Værker Bind 6: Den imperialistiske Krig. Den anden Revolution i Rusland (1914-1917) 2 copies, 1 review
Lenin: Selected Works - Volume 1 2 copies
Lenin: Selected Works - Volume 2 2 copies
Lenin: Selected Works - Volume 3 2 copies
Oorlog en revolutie 2 copies
Lenin: Collected Works - Volume 7 2 copies
Lenin: Collected Works - Volume 2 2 copies
Lenin: Collected Works - Volume 1 2 copies
Como Iludir o Povo 2 copies
A kommunista erkölcsről 2 copies
Tre scritti sul marxismo 2 copies
The Vladimir Lenin Collection: State and Revolution, What Is to Be Done?, & Imperialism: The Final Stage of Capitalism (2021) 2 copies
Staat und Revolution 2 copies
Samlade skrifter i urval. Bd 3 2 copies
Rivoluzione e indipendenza nazionale 2 copies
Sankalit Rachnayen 2/1 2 copies
Sankalit Rachnayen 1/1 2 copies
Opere scelte (in sei volumi). Vol. 6 2 copies
Opere scelte (in sei volumi). Vol. 4 2 copies
Opere scelte (in sei volumi). Vol. 3 2 copies
Opere scelte (in sei volumi). Vol. 2 2 copies
Opere scelte (in sei volumi). Vol. 1 2 copies
Dibattito sull'estremismo 2 copies
W. I. Lenin : keuze uit zijn werken 2 copies
Su Trotskij 2 copies
Lenin E L'Italia 2 copies
Lenin and Stalin on propaganda 2 copies
Imperializm Kak Noveishii Etap Kapitalizma (Populiarnyi Ocherk) [Imperialism as the Latest Stage of Capitalism (Popular study)] 2 copies, 1 review
Valitut teokset osa 2 2 copies
Valitut teokset osa 1 2 copies
Udvalgte værker 2 copies
Lucha sindical y lucha política 2 copies
The soviets at work : The international position of the Russian soviet republic and the fundamental problems of the social (1918) 2 copies
Obras Completas. TOMOS: XXVII - XXVIII - XXIX - XXX - XXXII - XXXV - XXXVI - XXXVII- XXXVIII - XXXIX - XL. (1957) 2 copies
New Economic Developments in Peasant Life (On V. Y. Postnikov's Peasant Farming in South Russia) 2 copies
Valitut teokset neljässä osassa. 1 2 copies
Enthu cheyanam ed 2 1 copy
Udvalgte Vr̆ker 1 copy
Sm̃tliche Werke 1 copy
Colloqui con i giornalisti 1 copy
OBRAS ESCOGIDAS 2 tomos 1 copy
LOS SOCIALISTAS Y LA GUERRA 1 copy
ACERCA DEL MOVIMIENTO 1 copy
Selections from Lenin 1 copy
Briefe 1905 - November 1910 1 copy
Staat en revolutie 1 copy
Revolutionair avonturisme 1 copy
l'imperialismo 1 copy
L'emancipazione delle donne 1 copy
レーニン選集〈第1〉 1 copy
Karol Marks 1 copy
ስለፓርቲና ስለፓርቲ ሕይወት ድንጋጌዎች 1 copy
レーニン選集〈第2〉 1 copy
Krótka biografia 1 copy
Sankalit Rachnayen 3/1 1 copy
Obras completas, XIV 1 copy
Obras completas, VII 1 copy
Obras completas, VIII 1 copy
Obras completas, X 1 copy
Obras completas, XI 1 copy
Obras completas, XII 1 copy
Obras completas, XIII 1 copy
Obras completas, XV 1 copy
Obras completas III 1 copy
Obras completas, XVI 1 copy
Obras completas, XVII 1 copy
Obras completas, XVIII 1 copy
Obras completas, XIX 1 copy
Obras completas, XX 1 copy
Obras completas VI 1 copy
Obras completas II 1 copy
Obras completas, XXIII 1 copy
Carlo Marx 1 copy
Bukhárin, teórico marxista 1 copy
Sobre la Guerra y la paz 1 copy
Obras completas I 1 copy
V. I. Lenin : cuestiones de la organización socialista de la economía nacional : recopilación 1 copy
Lenin 52 Cartas 1 copy
Dekrétum a békéről 1 copy
Obras completas, XXII 1 copy
Obras completas, XXIV 1 copy
Obras completas XLI 1 copy
Obras completas XLIII 1 copy
Obras completas XLIV 1 copy
Marx Engels marxisme 1 copy
Obras completas, V 1 copy
Obras completas XL 1 copy
Lenin on democracy and the trade unions : reports at the second All-Russian Trade Union Congress 1 copy
Obras completas XLII 1 copy
Obras completas XXXIX 1 copy
Obras completas, XXV 1 copy
Obras completas, XXXI 1 copy
Obras completas, XXVI 1 copy
Obras completas, XXVII 1 copy
Obra completas, XXVIII 1 copy
Devrimin Aynası Tolstoy 1 copy
Obras completas, XXIX 1 copy
Obras completas, XXX 1 copy
Uzaktan Mektuplar 1 copy
Obras completas XXXII 1 copy
Obras completas XXXIII 1 copy
Obras completas XXXIV 1 copy
Obras completas XXXV 1 copy
Obras completas XXXVIII 1 copy
Obras Escolhidas, vol. 2 1 copy
Long live Leninism 1 copy
Lenin on Marxism 1 copy
8: Gennaio-luglio 1905 1 copy
9: Giugno-novembre 1905 1 copy
11: Giugno 1906-gennaio 1907 1 copy
O Marxu in marksizmu 1 copy
14: 1908 1 copy
Об Азербайджане [Сборник] 1 copy
6: Gennaio 1902-agosto 1903 1 copy
O kulturi in umetnosti 1 copy
The Lenin Reader 1 copy
To the rural poor 1 copy
On climbing a high mountain 1 copy
Pisma Gorkemu 1 copy
Quaderni filosofici 1 copy
Opere scelte in sei volumi 1 copy
Stato e rivoluzione 1 copy
[1]: Che fare? 1 copy
19: Marzo-dicembre 1913 1 copy
23: Agosto 1916-marzo 1917 1 copy
27: Febbraio-luglio 1918 1 copy
28: Luglio 1918-marzo 1919 1 copy
29: Marzo-agosto 1919 1 copy
31: Aprile-dicembre 1920 1 copy
1: 1893-1894 1 copy
Bolcheviques en el poder: Una antologia del pensamiento revolucionario (Spanish Edition) (2011) 1 copy
Oeuvres Choisies, Tome 1 1 copy
אויסגעוויילט ווערק 1 copy
דיא טאקטיק פון באלשעוויזם 1 copy
OBRAS COMPLETAS. TOMO II 1 copy
Oeuvres Choisies, Tome 2 1 copy
פון פעווראל ביז אקטיאבר 1 copy
Oeuvres Choisies, Tome 3 1 copy
Que Faire? 1 copy
Dzieła Tom T V 1 copy
נאציאנאלע און אידישע פראגע 1 copy
The teachings of Karl Marx 1 copy
Opere scelte 1 copy
Lenin e a religião 1 copy
Oeuvres, Tome 14 1908 1 copy
Scioperi rivoluzionari 1 copy
Opere scelte, volume 2 1 copy
Ausgewählte Schriften 1 copy
Dzieła wybrane, tom I, II 1 copy
The birth of Bolshevism 1 copy
Dzieła Tom TI 1 copy
Marks Engels Marksizm 1 copy
Państwo a rewolucja 1 copy
Correspondencia : V. Lenin 1 copy
Marks, Engels, Marksizm 1 copy
Письмо в редакцию 'Искры' 1 copy
Il pensiero di Lenin 1 copy
Scritti sul programma 1 copy
Lettera al Congresso 1 copy
Selección de textos 1 copy
Gegen den Strom 1 copy
The April Conference 1 copy
Las tareas de la Revolución 1 copy
TOLSTOI 1 copy
Lenin Reader 1 copy
Imperializm Kak Noveishii Etap Kapitalizma (Populiarnyi Ocherk) Izdanie 3-E [Imperialism as the latest stage of capitalism (Popular study) 3rd edition] 1 copy, 1 review
The April Theses 1 copy
Women and Society 1 copy
The Deception Of The People 1 copy
Marks, Engels, Marksizm 1 copy
Obras escolhidas 2 1 copy
Obras escolhidas 3 1 copy
O književnosti 1 copy
Obras escolhidas 1 copy
Lenine 1 copy
Oeuvres choisies : Lénine 1 copy
Sobre a guerra e a paz 1 copy
On Proletarian Culture 1 copy
Marxbaad 1 copy
¿Qué hacer? 1 copy
Dharma aur Lenin 1 copy
Utvalgte verker i 12 bind 1 copy
lenin on Youth 1 copy
Articles on the Revolutionary Press, Volume 1: Lenin — Contributor — 1 copy
Udvalgte Værker, Bind 11 1 copy
Jefes, partidos y masas 1 copy
Utvalgte verker i 12 bind 12 Overgangen til fredeleg arbeid med å gjenoppbyggja nasjonaløkonomien (1978) 1 copy
Works by V. I. Lenin 1 copy
Utvalgte verker i 12 bind 11 "Venstre"-kommunismen - en barnesjukdom og andre artikler og taler, juli 1919 - oktober 1920 (1976) 1 copy
Κριτικά Σημειώματα Πάνω στο Εθνικό Ζήτημα - Για το Δικαίωμα Αυτοδιάθεσης των Λαών - Η Σοσιαλιστική… (1992) 1 copy
Udvalgte værker 1 copy
Partiye Qurulushi Heqqide 1 copy
Om Juniusbroschyren 1 copy
Dzieła wybrane, tom II 1 copy
V.I. LENIN I URVAL 1 copy
La guerra y la revolución 1 copy
Teokset : suomennos neljännestä venäjänkielisestä painoksesta. [19. osa : maaliskuu - joulukuu 1913] 1 copy
Lenin Werke 1 copy
Soviets at work: a discussion of the problems faced by the Soviet Government of Russia after the Revolution 1 copy, 1 review
Om strejker 1 copy
Om partiet 1 copy
Vybrané spisy II. 1 copy
Vybrané spisy III. 1 copy
Vybrané spisy IV. 1 copy
Vybrané spisy V. 1 copy
V.I.Lenin On Britain 1 copy
Vybrané spisy I. 1 copy
Temas de Ciências Humanas, 7 1 copy
The Handicraft Census of 1894-95 in Perm Gubernia and General Problems of “Handicraft” Industry 1 copy
Obras completas IV 1 copy
Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism (Penguin Great Ideas) by Vladimir Lenin (2010-08-26) 1 copy
Contra la burocracia 1 copy
Collected Works Volume 30 1 copy
The Irish Question 1 copy
L’tat et la Rvolution 1 copy
Τί νά κάνουμε; 1 copy
Lenin's Under a False Flag 1 copy
On Guerrilla Warfare 1 copy
Lenin reader 1 copy
Sull'arte e la letteratura 1 copy
Oeuvres V. Lénine 1 copy
In Siberian Exile 1 copy
Opere 1 copy
The young generation 1 copy
L'Informazione Di Classe 1 copy
Le Opere 1 copy
Opere scelte 1 copy
Om krigen 1 copy
What Lenin means to us 1 copy
The Second Congress of the Communist International : July 19 - August 7, 1920 : speeches and reports 1 copy
Arte, literatura y prensa 1 copy
Rok 1917 1 copy
L'imperialismo 1 copy
Il Socialismo E La Guerra 1 copy
Φιλοσοφικά τετράδια 1 copy
Vad bör göras? 1 copy
Sobre la Cooperación 1 copy
I Giovani E Il Socialismo 1 copy
Collected Works VOLUME XXIII 1 copy
Collected Works--Volume 9 1 copy
O estado e a revolução 1 copy
Vom Aufstieg 1 copy
W. I. Lenin 1 copy
Werke 1 copy
Ausgewählte Werke - Band 1 1 copy
Ausgewählte Werke - Band 2 1 copy
Ausgewählte Werke - Band 3 1 copy
EBTEKARE AZIM 1 copy
Lenin Werke Band 1-40 1 copy
Lenin művei 32 1 copy
Teokset 1, 1893-1894 1 copy
EL ESTADO Y LA REVOLUCIÓN 1 copy
ACERCA DE LA PRENSA 1 copy
LA FORMACIÓN DE LOS CUADROS 1 copy
OBRAS COMPLETAS 1 copy
Populismo y Marxismo 1 copy
Werke Band 24 1 copy
Ausgewählte Werke Band III 1 copy
Για το προλεταριακό κόμμα νέου τύπου: 100 χρόνια από την ίδρυση του μπολσεβίκικου κόμματος (2008) 1 copy
Marx - Engels - marxisme 1 copy
Selected works V. I. Lenin 1 copy
Essential Lenin, The 1 copy
Proletarskaia Revoliutsiia i Renegat Kautskii [The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky] 1 copy
Lenin: Selected Works Vol. 1 1 copy
Associated Works
The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884) — Introduction, some editions — 1,773 copies, 17 reviews
Social and Political Philosophy: Readings From Plato to Gandhi (1963) — Contributor — 273 copies, 1 review
Selected correspondence of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels (1975) — Contributor, some editions — 65 copies
The German Revolution and the Debate on Soviet Power: Documents, 1918-1919; Preparing the Founding Congress (1986) — Contributor — 30 copies
A Documentary History of Communism and the World: From Revolution to Collapse (1960) — Contributor — 14 copies
The Revolutionary Philosophy of Marxism: Selected Writings on Dialectical Materialism (2018) — Contributor — 9 copies
Teoría económica y economía política en la construcción del socialismo — Contributor — 3 copies
Dialectical Materialism: An Introduction to Marxist Philosophy — Contributor — 1 copy
Centa datreveno de la naskigo de Vladimir Iljiĉ’ Lenin : [tezoj de Centra Komitato de Komunista Partio de Soveta Unio] — Associated Name — 1 copy
Illustrated history of the Russian revolution — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich
- Other names
- Ulyanov, Vladimir Ilyich
- Birthdate
- 1870-04-22
- Date of death
- 1924-01-21
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Kazan State University (1887 | Law | expelled)
University of Saint Petersburg (1892 | Law) - Occupations
- Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Soviet Union (1922-1924)
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Socialist Federative Republic (1917-1924)
Member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1917-1917)
Member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1919-1924) - Organizations
- Bolshevik Party
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union - Relationships
- Krupskaya, Nadezhda Konstantinovna (spouse)
- Short biography
- Lenin was a communist theorist and revolutionary who oversaw a working class victory during the Russian Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet Union. He was one of the most important authors in the theory and history of Marxism-Leninism, and his writings have been used by worker's movements in every country.
Lenin's theory is remembered for his introduction of the concept of the Vanguard Party and for the application of Marxism onto modern imperialism, which had emerged after Marx's death. - Nationality
- Russia
- Birthplace
- Ulyanovsk, Russia
- Places of residence
- Simbirsk, Russian Empire (birth)
- Place of death
- Gorki Leninskiye, Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
- Burial location
- The Lenin Mausoleum, Red Square, Moscow, Russia
- Map Location
- Russia
Members
Reviews
Cai de paraquedas nesse livro, e posso dizer que é uma boa leitura, em que o autor convincentemente conceitua imperialismo como o estágio monopolista do capitalismo em que o capital financeiro e as operações de financeirização passam a dominar o cenário mundial. Assim, através da livre competição chega-se nos anti-mercados do meio do século XX (os cartéis, as fusões, a influência generalizada do financeiro), caracterizados pela enorme concentração de renda e capital bancário show more dos grupos importantes, com a conjunta divisão do mundo entre os que tem colônias e os que são colônias. Cheio de dados e citações de economistas não-marxistas, há aqui o trabalho de explicitar o que foi escondido, esfumaçado e omitido "ingenuamente" nas descrições do desenvolvimento capitalista. Há socialização da produçã, similar à da própria Rússia, como Lenin pontua, mas sem distribuição nenhuma, e a oligarquia financeira passa a ter um poder enorme de ingerência; a exportação passa a ser tipicamente de capital e não de produtos, fato que o colonialismo prepara. O que é importante é a tendência geral do sistema de enredar tudo isso, ao mesmo tempo que permite a continuidade da exploração, no aprofundamento da desigualdade social e nas relações entre oligopólios que operam acordos mais que ações de competição. Que isso não resulte num monopólio mundial à pax romana e que o bem de todos via planejamento total não seja alcançado são duas coisas que hoje afirmamos, mas que Lenin já afirmava, talvez muito precocemente, nos anos 10, mais de um século atrás. show less
A series of sound-bite quotes sandwiched between reproductions of modernist Russian artists' paintings, and revolutionary and Soviet propaganda posters. It's a nice-looking book, and a handy source of t-shirt slogans, but shorn of context the naïve reader (which includes me) is at the mercy of the editors of the Bodleian Library as to just how representative this selection is of Lenin's thought.
That stated, I find myself vehemently agreeing with Lenin, whilst vehemently disagreeing with show more Lenin. I seem to be with Lenin as to the nature of oppression of the masses by millionaire (now billionaire) capitalists, whilst parting ways over his solution of violence and terrorism. I'm afraid I'm one of those leftist pacifists he seems to have disapproved of, which, I think, means he'd have considered me a capitalist lacky. But, perhaps I'm reading too much into what are essentially a collection of communist aphorisms. I think I need to read something a bit deeper to get a better sense of Lenin's philosophy. show less
That stated, I find myself vehemently agreeing with Lenin, whilst vehemently disagreeing with show more Lenin. I seem to be with Lenin as to the nature of oppression of the masses by millionaire (now billionaire) capitalists, whilst parting ways over his solution of violence and terrorism. I'm afraid I'm one of those leftist pacifists he seems to have disapproved of, which, I think, means he'd have considered me a capitalist lacky. But, perhaps I'm reading too much into what are essentially a collection of communist aphorisms. I think I need to read something a bit deeper to get a better sense of Lenin's philosophy. show less
Penguin Great Ideas editions are so convenient to carry around when you know there will be a waiting period. I saved this one for just such a situation. Writing in 1916, Lenin builds upon Marx to propose a theory of imperialism as the most recent (at the time) stage of capitalism. The interplay between capitalism and colonialist imperialism is a lively topic in the context of climate change these days, considered in [b:The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis|57331880|The Nutmeg's show more Curse Parables for a Planet in Crisis|Amitav Ghosh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1623551679l/57331880._SX50_.jpg|89724924] by Amitav Ghosh and [b:White Skin, Black Fuel: On the Danger of Fossil Fascism|56708410|White Skin, Black Fuel On the Danger of Fossil Fascism|Andreas Malm|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1623412638l/56708410._SY75_.jpg|88659555] by Andreas Malm & the Zetkin Collective for example. Lenin considers the key characteristic to be consolidation of massive monopolies, which capture primary commodities, are facilitated by the financial speculation of vast banks, and follow the shape of colonial empires. He notes that imperialism existed before capitalism, and indeed different forms of imperialism coexisted with earlier forms of capitalism. What he describes is specific: 'the colonial policy of finance capital'.
Lenin is at pains to point out that this reduction in competition leads to greater labour exploitation and does not reduce the instability and tendency to crisis in capitalism; indeed the opposite. As the First and Second World Wars demonstrated, imperialist and economic rivalries can encourage catastrophic conflicts.
[b:Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism|179609|Imperialism The Highest Stage of Capitalism|Vladimir Lenin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431981127l/179609._SY75_.jpg|173526] is both of historical interest and continued relevance. It describes globalisation, albeit not by that name, and the increasing consolidation of the banking industry into monopolies that are heavily interdependent with big corporations and governments. That certainly hasn't changed and led to the 2007/8 financial crisis. Moreover, the independence of former colonies has not freed them from financial exploitation by rich countries, often their former colonisers. This certainly has contemporary resonance:
Lenin foresaw that, given the instability of globalised capitalism, the economically dominant counties would change over time. He already saw Britain as in decline and of course China has become a huge economic power in the past 40 years. The monopolistic and parasitic structure of the global economy that he describes is still useful, although capitalism has taken destructive new turns over the subsequent century. The detailed and ill-tempered refutation of Kautsky's alternative definition of imperialism has less relevance, other than historical. Lenin ends by acknowledging the difficulty of countering imperialist capitalism, due to 'opportunism' i.e. worker solidarity being undermined by incorrect theories, political policies that create a minority of privileged workers, nationalism, etc. I found [b:Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism|179609|Imperialism The Highest Stage of Capitalism|Vladimir Lenin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431981127l/179609._SY75_.jpg|173526] a quick and interesting read, one notable for describing economic phenomena that were freshly redicovered and critiqued in the nineties and noughties. RIP V.I. Lenin, you would have loved analysing platform enshittification as a consequence of monopolistic surveillance capitalism. show less
Lenin is at pains to point out that this reduction in competition leads to greater labour exploitation and does not reduce the instability and tendency to crisis in capitalism; indeed the opposite. As the First and Second World Wars demonstrated, imperialist and economic rivalries can encourage catastrophic conflicts.
[b:Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism|179609|Imperialism The Highest Stage of Capitalism|Vladimir Lenin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431981127l/179609._SY75_.jpg|173526] is both of historical interest and continued relevance. It describes globalisation, albeit not by that name, and the increasing consolidation of the banking industry into monopolies that are heavily interdependent with big corporations and governments. That certainly hasn't changed and led to the 2007/8 financial crisis. Moreover, the independence of former colonies has not freed them from financial exploitation by rich countries, often their former colonisers. This certainly has contemporary resonance:
But if capitalism did these things it would not be capitalism; for uneven development and wretched conditions of the masses are fundamental and inevitable conditions and premises of this mode of production. As long as capitalism remains what it is, surplus capital will never be utilised for the purpose of raising the standard of living of the masses in a given country, for this would mean a decline in profits for the capitalists; it will be used for the purpose of increasing those profits by exporting the capital abroad to the backward countries. In these backward [now known by euphemisms like 'less developed' or 'developing'] countries profits are unusually high, for capital is scarce, the price of land is relatively low, wages are low, raw materials are cheap.
Lenin foresaw that, given the instability of globalised capitalism, the economically dominant counties would change over time. He already saw Britain as in decline and of course China has become a huge economic power in the past 40 years. The monopolistic and parasitic structure of the global economy that he describes is still useful, although capitalism has taken destructive new turns over the subsequent century. The detailed and ill-tempered refutation of Kautsky's alternative definition of imperialism has less relevance, other than historical. Lenin ends by acknowledging the difficulty of countering imperialist capitalism, due to 'opportunism' i.e. worker solidarity being undermined by incorrect theories, political policies that create a minority of privileged workers, nationalism, etc. I found [b:Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism|179609|Imperialism The Highest Stage of Capitalism|Vladimir Lenin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431981127l/179609._SY75_.jpg|173526] a quick and interesting read, one notable for describing economic phenomena that were freshly redicovered and critiqued in the nineties and noughties. RIP V.I. Lenin, you would have loved analysing platform enshittification as a consequence of monopolistic surveillance capitalism. show less
Many people dismiss Lenin, and Marxism in general, because they are usually associated with the bureaucratic tyranny of the Stalinist regimes of Russia, Eastern Europe, China etc. But these regimes had/have nothing to do with genuine Marxism, as anyone who reads this book will see. The so-called “communist” states were actually state capitalist systems controlled by a ruling class of bureaucrats who betrayed the democratic aims of the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Lenin follows Marx and Engels show more in showing that the existence of the state is a result of the existence of class exploitation and class conflict in society. (In pre-class societies, the state did not exist.) As Marx said, “...the state is nothing but a machine for the oppression of one class by another...”
This is obvious in the case of ancient Roman slave society or medieval feudalism, but it is less obvious in modern capitalist societies, because capitalists usually hide their class rule behind a veneer of “democracy”. But as Lenin says in this book:
“Bourgeois democracy, although a great historical advance in comparison with medievalism, always remains, and under capitalism is bound to remain, restricted, truncated, false and hypocritical, a paradise for the rich, and a snare and deception for the exploited...”
In modern capitalist “democracies” the electorate and parliaments do not have real power. The ruling class capitalists can use their economic power to force governments into line; they control the media and the top levels of the civil service; and if all else fails they can resort to force, through their control of the police and armed forces.
Lenin agreed with Marx’s view that a revolution was necessary in order to achieve socialism for two reasons: firstly, because the ruling class would not give up power peacefully; and secondly, because it was by going through the experience of class struggle that the working class’s ideas would change on a mass scale and the majority would be won over to socialist ideas and become “fitted to found society anew.”
Lenin did not want to seize power in a coup. He wanted to win over the majority of the exploited and for THEM to take power. When Marx and Lenin talked about the “dictatorship of the proletariat”, they did not mean that Marxists would rule OVER the working class, they meant rule BY the working class. This workers’ state would then gradually be replaced by a classless society in which the state would “wither away”.
Marx’s model for a democratic workers’ state was the short-lived Paris Commune, where all officials were elected, subject to recall at any time, and paid only an average worker’s wage; and where the army and police were replaced by a workers’ militia. Lenin’s idea was that the soviets (workers’ councils) would also follow this highly democratic model. Bourgeois “democracy” should be replaced by something much MORE democratic. John Reed's book "Ten Days That Shook The World", for example, shows how democratic the soviets were in their early days.
The February Revolution of 1917 had got rid of the Tsar, but it brought to power the Provisional Government which continued to take part in the bloodbath of World War One. Lenin argued for a new revolution, which eventually took place in October.
October would only be a "coup" if the Bolsheviks took power without majority support. In fact they only took power when they had won a majority on the soviets, with the previous majority of SRs and Mensheviks having been voted out. Even the Menshevik Martov admitted that the workers were solidly behind the Bolsheviks by October.
Lenin’s idea was that the Bolshevik party should compete with other parties on the soviets. The fact that the soviets later ended up as being a one-party system was a sign of the FAILURE of the revolution: it was not what Lenin had intended.
Lenin expected the Russian Revolution to spark off revolutions in other countries. (Indeed there was a failed revolution in Germany.) But the isolation of the Russian Revolution, the horrors of the Civil War initiated by the “Whites” and intervention by foreign powers in support of the White armies combined to destroy the foundations of the new regime.
It is claimed by anti-Marxist historians that Leninism led directly to Stalinism. But Stalin actually had to DESTROY the last vestiges of genuine Leninism in order to consolidate his counter-revolution. Incidentally, given that it was the isolation of the Russian Revolution which ultimately led to its demise under Stalin, it was not the politics of Lenin's Bolsheviks which led to Stalinism, it was the LACK of mass Leninist parties in other countries.
After Lenin’s death Trotsky kept alive the genuine Marxist idea that socialism means workers’ democracy, but unfortunately he clung to the idea that Russia had become a degenerated workers’ state, whereas in fact it had become under Stalin a bureaucratic state capitalist regime. show less
Lenin follows Marx and Engels show more in showing that the existence of the state is a result of the existence of class exploitation and class conflict in society. (In pre-class societies, the state did not exist.) As Marx said, “...the state is nothing but a machine for the oppression of one class by another...”
This is obvious in the case of ancient Roman slave society or medieval feudalism, but it is less obvious in modern capitalist societies, because capitalists usually hide their class rule behind a veneer of “democracy”. But as Lenin says in this book:
“Bourgeois democracy, although a great historical advance in comparison with medievalism, always remains, and under capitalism is bound to remain, restricted, truncated, false and hypocritical, a paradise for the rich, and a snare and deception for the exploited...”
In modern capitalist “democracies” the electorate and parliaments do not have real power. The ruling class capitalists can use their economic power to force governments into line; they control the media and the top levels of the civil service; and if all else fails they can resort to force, through their control of the police and armed forces.
Lenin agreed with Marx’s view that a revolution was necessary in order to achieve socialism for two reasons: firstly, because the ruling class would not give up power peacefully; and secondly, because it was by going through the experience of class struggle that the working class’s ideas would change on a mass scale and the majority would be won over to socialist ideas and become “fitted to found society anew.”
Lenin did not want to seize power in a coup. He wanted to win over the majority of the exploited and for THEM to take power. When Marx and Lenin talked about the “dictatorship of the proletariat”, they did not mean that Marxists would rule OVER the working class, they meant rule BY the working class. This workers’ state would then gradually be replaced by a classless society in which the state would “wither away”.
Marx’s model for a democratic workers’ state was the short-lived Paris Commune, where all officials were elected, subject to recall at any time, and paid only an average worker’s wage; and where the army and police were replaced by a workers’ militia. Lenin’s idea was that the soviets (workers’ councils) would also follow this highly democratic model. Bourgeois “democracy” should be replaced by something much MORE democratic. John Reed's book "Ten Days That Shook The World", for example, shows how democratic the soviets were in their early days.
The February Revolution of 1917 had got rid of the Tsar, but it brought to power the Provisional Government which continued to take part in the bloodbath of World War One. Lenin argued for a new revolution, which eventually took place in October.
October would only be a "coup" if the Bolsheviks took power without majority support. In fact they only took power when they had won a majority on the soviets, with the previous majority of SRs and Mensheviks having been voted out. Even the Menshevik Martov admitted that the workers were solidly behind the Bolsheviks by October.
Lenin’s idea was that the Bolshevik party should compete with other parties on the soviets. The fact that the soviets later ended up as being a one-party system was a sign of the FAILURE of the revolution: it was not what Lenin had intended.
Lenin expected the Russian Revolution to spark off revolutions in other countries. (Indeed there was a failed revolution in Germany.) But the isolation of the Russian Revolution, the horrors of the Civil War initiated by the “Whites” and intervention by foreign powers in support of the White armies combined to destroy the foundations of the new regime.
It is claimed by anti-Marxist historians that Leninism led directly to Stalinism. But Stalin actually had to DESTROY the last vestiges of genuine Leninism in order to consolidate his counter-revolution. Incidentally, given that it was the isolation of the Russian Revolution which ultimately led to its demise under Stalin, it was not the politics of Lenin's Bolsheviks which led to Stalinism, it was the LACK of mass Leninist parties in other countries.
After Lenin’s death Trotsky kept alive the genuine Marxist idea that socialism means workers’ democracy, but unfortunately he clung to the idea that Russia had become a degenerated workers’ state, whereas in fact it had become under Stalin a bureaucratic state capitalist regime. show less
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 1,117
- Also by
- 23
- Members
- 12,622
- Popularity
- #1,853
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 165
- ISBNs
- 805
- Languages
- 24
- Favorited
- 21





















