Marxism and what Lenin and Stalin did with it

Superstructure

• Base of society maintained and established by ruling elite, which benefitted elite to detriment of others

• Tsarist Russia foundation was agricultural serfdom with a small amount of industrialisation

• To maintain this a superstructure of institutions needed by ruling class to establish order → Marx believed this was unfair, likely to lead to conflict

• He thought only way to fix was to destroy the base → Russian intellectuals thought that serfdom and capitalism should be replaced by more egalitarian society

‘Labour theory of value’

Claimed that under capitalist economy proletariat would never gain full value of efforts; wages taken away and given to capitalists with profits in excess of what was required to maintain industrialisation.

Reaction of ‘labour theory of value’ in Marx’s eyes

Revolution/worked uprising to overthrow system

But Marx thought backwardness would prevent this??

Dictatorship of proletariat

• Class struggle → final part of ongoing conflict throughout history between social groups

• Resolved when workers seized control of means of production, distribution and exchange

• Before classless communist society there would be dictatorship of proletariat → political control in hands of workers

What did Bolsheviks do with this

Modified it to suit circumstances → end of Civil War 1917-21 Marxism-Leninism, from 1927-53 Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism

Lenin ideas early on

• Embraced Marxism by early 1890s

• Initially both him and Martov (radical newspaper Iskra co-editor) supported worker attempts to gain higher wages + better working conditions

What happened after help was given to organise strikes in St Petersburg (1895, 96, 97)

• Authorities exiled ringleaders

• When Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party (RSDLP) formed in 1898 to unite Russian Marxists, Lenin and others argued over strategy

• Lenin thought authorities’ reaction to strikes proved that ‘superstructure’ would always prevail to keep workers in their place

• Thought better to overthrow ruling order by attacking the ‘base’, not gaining concessions within capitalist system

1902 Lenin pamphlet

• ‘What is to be done?’

• Arguing that the dialectical phase of Marxism could be speeded up in Russia

• Said that a Party Central Committee led by professionals could govern in interest of workers until workers could govern

• Dictatorship of proletariat

Reaction to Lenin 1902 What is to be done and approach to Marxism

• Caused uproar in RSDLP

• 1903 deep split in Bolsheviks (Marxist-Leninists) and Mensheviks (other Marxists)

When did Lenin start to implement Marxism-Leninism

After October Rev. 1917

What caused Russian Civil War

Opposition to Bolshevik ideology and rule → one idea is that Lenin welcomed war as opportunity to eradicate bourgeoisie

Lenin’s toleration of the ‘moderates’ as within party there was still debate over strategy, even after Reds defeated Whites

Replaced War Communism with NEP

Reaction to NEP

Radical members criticised NEP as being a bourgeois concession.

Trotsky pushed for a move towards a ‘Permanent Revolution’, which entailed spreading communism throughout world

Stalin ideas on Trotsky permanent revolution

Trotsky views criticised by Stalin → preferred policy of establishing ‘socialism in one country’

Said that Communist Party could not influenced growth of communism elsewhere until it was firmly established in Soviet Union.

After death of Lenin in 1924

Power struggle within the party over how Russia would be governed. By 1927 Stalin gained leadership of the party, promoting Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism

Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism ideas on ‘base’ of society

This could only be permanently changed by utilising particular type of ‘superstructure’ → using command economy centred on Five-Year Plans and collectivisation

Superstructure had to be highly personalised under total control of one individual → he said this would prevent damaging infighting.

Disagreements labelled bourgeois and dealt with.

Use of propaganda + cult of personality and repression to enforce ideology.