PolskiLenin
24th July 2011, 18:28
Across the world's political playing field, and even on this site, exist numerous groups clamoring for the unification of "All 'Marxists'" into united struggles.
These are dangerous opiates of political awareness as they promote the putting aside of differences that cannot be ignored. These crucial differences, not just programmatic or political, but also philosophical contrasts, are the very things that make variations or offshoots of Marxism complete contradictions to Marxism, the only true "right" revolutionary idea.
Marxism, Leninism, Trotskyism - these are one and the same, each one complementing or laying the bases for the other, and these are the "true Marxisms" that will work and have worked.
Maoism, Stalinism - the latter are the not Marxist. They will not work, have not worked, and uniting with them is detrimental to the revolutionary works of true Marxists.
"It is, I think, almost universally realised at present that the Bolsheviks could not have retained power for two and a half months, let alone two and a half years, without the most rigorous and truly iron discipline in our Party, or without the fullest and unreserved support from the entire mass of the working class, that is, from all thinking, honest, devoted and influential elements in it, capable of leading the backward strata or carrying the latter along with them.
The dictatorship of the proletariat means a most determined and most ruthless war waged by the new class against a more powerful enemy, the bourgeoisie, whose resistance is increased tenfold by their overthrow (even if only in a single country), and whose power lies, not only in the strength of international capital, the strength and durability of their international connections, but also in the force of habit, in the strength of small-scale production. Unfortunately, small-scale production is still widespread in the world, and small-scale production engenders capitalism and the bourgeoisie continuously, daily, hourly, spontaneously, and on a mass scale. All these reasons make the dictatorship of the proletariat necessary, and victory over the bourgeoisie is impossible without a long, stubborn and desperate life-and-death struggle which calls for tenacity, discipline, and a single and inflexible will."
-Lenin
The latter passage from Lenin's Left-Wing Communism speaks of the source of the Bolsheviks' success as the "iron discipline" of the party. This iron discipline is, as history has proven, crucial to the success of the Revolutionary Party's role in the proletarian revolution, and this self-mastery crucial to tenacious persistence on the part of the revolutionaries cannot be achieved when the very party itself is bogged down in the lack of unification over numerous contradicting tendencies.
"True Marxists" cannot continue to blend into amalgams with other "Marxists" offshoots. A party cannot move past the most naive, beginning phases of development without being characterized by a solid, strict political agenda and view.
Stalinists and Maoists will isolate the party from the people, and Luxemburgists will render the party useless and incapable of spearheading any action.
Lenin's words must be heard out. After all, it was his ideas that brought victory to the Bolsheviks in establishing the world's first Marxist state, and it was the ignorance and straight out opposition to Lenin that brought about one of the most brutal, oppressive regimes in history: the Stalinist U.S.S.R.
That's right, Stalinist...and yet some Marxists continue to "unite" with these people, choosing to ignore political reality. One would think this serious problem would be recognized, but, obviously not - hence the reason for this post.
Discussion and debate is good, and crucial to the strengthening of the revolutionary movement, and therefore Maoists and Stalinists should not be immediately rejected and their ideas ignored, but should be OPENLY received into an OPEN arena of STRICT criticism.
Keep them out of the party and out of the question, but not out of discussion.
These are dangerous opiates of political awareness as they promote the putting aside of differences that cannot be ignored. These crucial differences, not just programmatic or political, but also philosophical contrasts, are the very things that make variations or offshoots of Marxism complete contradictions to Marxism, the only true "right" revolutionary idea.
Marxism, Leninism, Trotskyism - these are one and the same, each one complementing or laying the bases for the other, and these are the "true Marxisms" that will work and have worked.
Maoism, Stalinism - the latter are the not Marxist. They will not work, have not worked, and uniting with them is detrimental to the revolutionary works of true Marxists.
"It is, I think, almost universally realised at present that the Bolsheviks could not have retained power for two and a half months, let alone two and a half years, without the most rigorous and truly iron discipline in our Party, or without the fullest and unreserved support from the entire mass of the working class, that is, from all thinking, honest, devoted and influential elements in it, capable of leading the backward strata or carrying the latter along with them.
The dictatorship of the proletariat means a most determined and most ruthless war waged by the new class against a more powerful enemy, the bourgeoisie, whose resistance is increased tenfold by their overthrow (even if only in a single country), and whose power lies, not only in the strength of international capital, the strength and durability of their international connections, but also in the force of habit, in the strength of small-scale production. Unfortunately, small-scale production is still widespread in the world, and small-scale production engenders capitalism and the bourgeoisie continuously, daily, hourly, spontaneously, and on a mass scale. All these reasons make the dictatorship of the proletariat necessary, and victory over the bourgeoisie is impossible without a long, stubborn and desperate life-and-death struggle which calls for tenacity, discipline, and a single and inflexible will."
-Lenin
The latter passage from Lenin's Left-Wing Communism speaks of the source of the Bolsheviks' success as the "iron discipline" of the party. This iron discipline is, as history has proven, crucial to the success of the Revolutionary Party's role in the proletarian revolution, and this self-mastery crucial to tenacious persistence on the part of the revolutionaries cannot be achieved when the very party itself is bogged down in the lack of unification over numerous contradicting tendencies.
"True Marxists" cannot continue to blend into amalgams with other "Marxists" offshoots. A party cannot move past the most naive, beginning phases of development without being characterized by a solid, strict political agenda and view.
Stalinists and Maoists will isolate the party from the people, and Luxemburgists will render the party useless and incapable of spearheading any action.
Lenin's words must be heard out. After all, it was his ideas that brought victory to the Bolsheviks in establishing the world's first Marxist state, and it was the ignorance and straight out opposition to Lenin that brought about one of the most brutal, oppressive regimes in history: the Stalinist U.S.S.R.
That's right, Stalinist...and yet some Marxists continue to "unite" with these people, choosing to ignore political reality. One would think this serious problem would be recognized, but, obviously not - hence the reason for this post.
Discussion and debate is good, and crucial to the strengthening of the revolutionary movement, and therefore Maoists and Stalinists should not be immediately rejected and their ideas ignored, but should be OPENLY received into an OPEN arena of STRICT criticism.
Keep them out of the party and out of the question, but not out of discussion.