Help me with an essay: 'Is reform preferable to revolution?'

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

Hello Revleft,

This is an essay question I've chosen. I want to approach it with some Marxian and Anarchist ideas regarding revolution as a more preferable means of achieving the best political and social conditions. I also want to look at some contemporary ideas and obviously some reformist ideas.

What's some good reading that can address this question? Any books/chapters/paragraphs by Marx himself, or ideed some anarchists that can argue the case for revolution coherently and be referenced? The same for reformists too?

I've got so much Marxist literature and never know where to start, maybe some clever folks here can help me focus on some relevant texts.

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

I think I'm going to look at Lenin's 'State and Revolution' as one reference. Here's an idea for an essay plan:
[FONT=monospace]
[/FONT]- Intro - Reformism in theory (I need some influential reformist writers to look at here)
- Revolution in theory (Marx, Lenin, maybe some anarchist writers if relevant)
- Reformism and revolution in practice (I want to compare some practical applications of theory, for example a critical look at the USSR in relation to Leninist theory. Also some critical looks of reformism in practice - can you think of a good point of analysis for this?).

Does this look like a good way of approaching the question? What would be a good example of reformism in practice to contrast with the USSR in relation to Leninist theory?

[The Idler]

There are lots of articles at


Reformism versus revolutionary socialism | The Socialist Party

[graymouser]

A couple of classic essays:

Rosa Luxemburg, Reform or Revolution
Daniel De Leon, Reform or Revolution?