Lenin Flashcards
What is the capitalist state according to Lenin?
An oppressive instrument of capitalists, comprised of a standing army, police force and bureaucracy.
Does capitalist democracy protect or challenge capitalism?
He’s ambivalent: he thinks it protects it, but less so than other bourgeois forms of government.
What is Lenin’s theory of the transition to communism?
His “two stage theory” describes a move from capitalism to socialism (or the dictatorship of the proletariat) and from socialism to communism
Weaknesses of Marx’s theory
Theory of state is undeveloped; class struggle is sporadic at best, few if any socialist revolutions; his theory of transition is almost non-existent
Transition from capitalism to socialism, according to Lenin
Violent revolution required. Capitalist state must be smashed, dismantled and a new worker’s state built on top
How does Lenin tweak Marx’s belief about the agents of revolution?
Lenin says workers must ally with peasants to succeed
Transition from socialism to communism
Natural evolution in which the state “withers away.”
Why do the two transitions differ according to Lenin?
In the second, the situation is flipped upside down. In the dictatorship of the proletariat, the majority rules, so no special repressive force is necessary to defend the socialist state against the old bourgeoisie.
Economic functions of the DoP
Means of production collectively owned and controlled; capitalists expropriated/suppressed; pay based on work (bourgeois equality)
Political functions of DoP
Army/police/bureaucracy abolished, people armed instead to form militia. Parliament replaced by soviets (small working political bodies). State offices reformed (elected, paid average wage, subject to immediate recall).
