Leninism and Maoism are the core of Marxism today

[Tim Redd]

Most of what Lenin and Mao have written is/should be the core of Marxist theory today. That means most of what they have written on philosophy, economics, and political theory should be the basis of what it means to adopt a Marxist stance today.

I myself have problems with some of the things they have written on philosophy (e.g. self movement of a thing is decisive to its fate, whereas actually factors external to a thing often or mostly have a decisive impact on its development), but for the most part and in essence, I concur with their political stances and economic views in their various works.

If you reject or have a dislike for most of either person's writings I do not think you are a Marxist. Leninist and Maoist theory are the cornerstones of modern day Marxist action and ideology.

[ChangeAndChance]

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

[Atsumari]

Amen.

[Asero]

my tendency is the bestest and everyone else is not a True Marxist™

[Os Cangaceiros]

With Lenin you might have a stronger case, because if you're only qualifications for being a "Leninist" is merely an appreciation for his thought then you're including everyone from some left-communist groups to Trotskyists. The majority of people who would describe themselves as Marxists today probably have an overall positive view of Lenin. But Mao? That's stretching it.

Regardless, I do think that it's possible to be a Marxist and dislike Leninism/Maoism. But that's OK because that's just like, your opinion man...

[Tim Cornelis]

Criticism of 'Leninism'/Bolshevism: https://libcom.org/library/socialism-marx-early-bolshevism-chattopadhyay

Additional criticism of Maoism specifically, its voluntarism and its acceptance of "socialist commodity production" for instance.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

I've found that Lenin's writings have been useful to my understanding of capitalism and the movement to destroy it but, ya know, peasants aren't really a thing any more so I try to put his thoughts into context when applying them to the situations I find myself in. I'm not sure how Mao offers anything different or useful, however. I also generally feel that the 'core' of Marxism today should be Marx and Engels.

[Invader Zim]

Maoism is a load of reactionary drivel.

[Thirsty Crow]

Most of what Lenin and Mao have written is/should be the core of Marxist theory today. That means most of what they have written on philosophy, economics, and political theory should be the basis of what it means to adopt a Marxist stance today.

I myself have problems with some of the things they have written on philosophy (e.g. self movement of a thing is decisive to its fate), but for the overwhelming most part I concur with nearly all of their political stances and economic views in their various works.

If you reject or have a dislike for most of either person's writings I do not think you are a Marxist. Leninist and Maoist theory are the cornerstones of modern day Marxist action and ideology.

So I guess this thread is a grand new way of demarcating Marxism from those pesky faux-communist usurpers; and given the content of it so far I'm tempted to call it a blatantly troll thread that will never ever result in anything even remotely resembling a productive discussion.

[Q]

This thread is a useless waste of resources, let alone that it should remain in /theory.

So, I'm torn between putting it in trash and chit-chat. I'll go with chit-chat for now, but don't get your hopes up.

[mushroompizza]

So if you believe in what Karl Marx wrote but not Lenin you are not a Marxist?
Thats like saying if you like whats in the torah nut not the bible you are not a Jew.
:laugh:

[Thirsty Crow]

So if you believe in what Karl Marx wrote but not Lenin you are not a Marxist?
Thats like saying if you like whats in the torah nut not the bible you are not a Jew.
:laugh:
Just let this embarassment of a thread die in some kind of peace, would ya? :lol:

[Sasha]

Hoxha! Hoxha! Hoxha!

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

Yeeeeeaaa-no.

Also, I think Avakian has been raiding your garbage again.

[John Nada]

Mao's one of the most important Marxist theorists. Mao described how the superstructure influences the base, showed that the class struggle continues well into the DotP(though the "proletariat" part should've been a dead giveaway), as well as the threat of capitalist restoration as happened in the USSR, and helped develop protracted people's war doctrine, the influence of which reaches far beyond Maoism.

However:
When the peasant associations, under Communist Party leadership, establish their authority in the countryside, the peasants begin to prohibit or restrict the things they dislike. Gaming, gambling and opium-smoking are the three things that are most strictly forbidden.
Opium-smoking. The prohibition is extremely strict. When the peasant association orders the surrender of opium pipes, no one dares to raise the least objection. In Liling County one of the evil gentry who did not surrender his pipes was arrested and paraded through the villages. The peasants' campaign to "disarm the opium-smokers'! is no less impressive than the disarming of the troops of Wu Pei-fu and Sun Chuan-fang [27] by the Northern Expeditionary Army. Quite a number of venerable fathers of officers in the revolutionary army, old men who were opium-addicts and inseparable from their pipes, have been disarmed by the "emperors" (as the peasants are called derisively by the evil gentry). The "emperors" have banned not only the growing and smoking of opium, but also trafficking in it. A great deal of the opium transported from Kweichow to Kiangsi via the counties of Paoching, Hsianghsiang, Yuhsien and Liling has been intercepted on the way and burned. This has affected government revenues. As a result, out of consideration for the army's need for funds in the Northern Expedition, the provincial peasant association ordered the associations at the lower levels "temporarily to postpone the ban on opium traffic". This, however, has upset and displeased the peasants.
Distilling and sugar-making. The use of grain for distilling spirits and making sugar is everywhere prohibited, and the distillers and sugar-refiners are constantly complaining. Distilling is not banned in Futienpu, Hengshan County, but prices are fixed very low, and the wine and spirits dealers, seeing no prospect of profit, have had to stop it.https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_2.htm#g9

:(:(:(:crying::crying: If I can't smoke opium and drink liquor it ain't a revolution!:mad: To this I say:
Maoism is a load of reactionary drivel.

[Ismail]

Stalin called Mao and Co. margarine communists. And as he said (http://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/rdv16n1/china.htm) to a CPC delegation in 1949 (after outlining the laws of socialism): "If you understand this everything with the building of socialism in China will be fine. If you won’t you will do great harm to the international communist movement. As far as I know in the CPC there is a thin layer of the proletariat and the nationalist sentiments are very strong and if you will not conduct genuinely Marxist-Leninist class policies and not conduct struggle against bourgeois nationalism, the nationalists will strangle you. Then not only will socialist construction be terminated, China may become a dangerous toy in the hands of American imperialists."

And in the end China did ally with US imperialism.

[Thirsty Crow]

Stalin called Mao and Co. margarine communists.
There's so much potential here.

Margarine communist revisionists against full blown butter communists.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Mayo communists against miracle whip revisionism

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

There's so much potential here.

Margarine communist revisionists against full blown butter communists.

Sounds like a slippery slope...

[Tim Redd]

I've found that Lenin's writings have been useful to my understanding of capitalism and the movement to destroy it but, ya know, peasants aren't really a thing any more so I try to put his thoughts into context when applying them to the situations I find myself in. I'm not sure how Mao offers anything different or useful, however. I also generally feel that the 'core' of Marxism today should be Marx and Engels.

Mao wasn't just about peasant based revolution. He also developed the theory of continuing the revolution during socialism to the highest level/point it has ever been taken. Further the Chinese party under his leadership generated and made explicit excellent new ways for communists to be communists.

Mao and the Chinese Communist Party during Mao's leadership up to Mao's death in 1976 made explicit the most advanced positions that a communist should take toward various aspects of party life and life in general. Mao and the party delineated how a true communist should act and react to events, affairs and issues in nearly all of aspects of life. These came out in the slogans of the Red Book and in many party books and newsletters, like the Peking Review, that were published at that time.

And of course this was circumvented by the Chinese bourgeoisie led by Deng Xiaoping when they overthrew socialism at the death of Mao in 1976. Fyi, they also jailed the main proponents of Mao's line, the Gang of 4 (which included Mao's wife) as a part of overthrowing socialism in 1976.

[motion denied]

What is the 'true Communist' position on scrambled x fried eggs according to Mao and the Chinese Communist Party?

[Asero]

Maoism is a load of reactionary drivel.

ur mom is a load of reactionary drivel

[Asero]

What is the 'true Communist' position on scrambled x fried eggs according to Mao and the Chinese Communist Party?

doesnt matter as long as you break a lot of eggs

[Asero]

oh and the answer is omelettes

fried eggs are revisionist

[John Nada]

Maoism is a load of reactionary drivel. ur mom is a load of reactionary drivelOh no you didn't!:ohmy: L'Mao!:laugh:

[Tim Redd]

I've found that Lenin's writings have been useful to my understanding of capitalism and the movement to destroy it but, ya know, peasants aren't really a thing any more so I try to put his thoughts into context when applying them to the situations I find myself in. I'm not sure how Mao offers anything different or useful, however. I also generally feel that the 'core' of Marxism today should be Marx and Engels.

Lotso peasants in less developed countries. Also Lenin and Mao offer plenty of theory that applies to developed countries.

Lenin:
1) agitation and propaganda (creating public opinion) are the primary tools for educating and mobilizing the masses.
2) the proletarian revolutionary need to develop policy and action independent of the liberal bourgeoisie.
3) the proletarian revolutionary movement in each country should oppose its own bourgeoisie in world wars and colonial wars.

Mao:
1) during the epoch of the dictatorship of the proletariat the proletarian party and the masses need to wage a continual cultural revolution in order to oppose the policies and movement for the restoration of capitalism activated by the bourgeoisie that exists in the party and in the state government.
2) for the proletariat the superstructure should play the decisive role for leading the proletarian revolutionary movement to suppress the bourgeoisie and in conjunction with that to revolutionize and socialize society during the period of the dictatorship of the proletariat.