Ideology
LeninismFar left
A Marxist approach holding that a disciplined vanguard party should lead the working class to seize power, then govern through a temporary revolutionary state to dismantle capitalism and build socialism.
Portrait: Raymond, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons
Core ideas
- A disciplined vanguard party leads the working class.
- A dictatorship of the proletariat as the political prelude to communism.
- Imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism.
- Seizure of state power by revolution, then use of the state to build socialism.
Where it sits on the 12 axes
On the Economy axis it sits at the extreme Collectivize end (100). On Government it leans strongly toward Security (80), and on Diplomacy toward Nationalism (40, so 60% Nationalism). Society leans a little toward Progressive (60). In this test it is the nearest neighbour of De Leonism, even though the two disagree on method. You are matched when your four scores are closest to these values.
The bar shows the position on each of the four axes an ideology is matched on; the middle mark is the centre.
Sample result
History
This doctrine was developed by Vladimir Lenin. In What Is to Be Done? (1902) he argued for a vanguard party of professional revolutionaries. Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism appeared in 1916 and The State and Revolution in 1917, the year the Bolsheviks took power in the October Revolution. In 1919 the Bolsheviks founded the Comintern to spread the model abroad. The term Leninism came into common usage at the Comintern's fifth congress in 1924, and the doctrine later became the official ideology, as Marxism–Leninism, of ruling communist parties.
Associated thinkers
- Vladimir Lenin
Common misunderstandings
- It is not identical to Marxism: it adds a theory of the party and of imperialism that many Marxists reject.
- It is not a synonym for Stalinism: that word names the policies and rule of Stalin's period, and its relation to Lenin is debated by historians.
Related ideologies
Is Leninism your closest ideology?
Take the test and see which of the ideologies your answers sit closest to.
Questions
What is Leninism?
A political ideology developed by Vladimir Lenin that proposes a dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to communism. Its main contributions concern the party, imperialism, the state and revolution.
Is Leninism left or right?
Far left in economics, since it seeks to abolish capitalism. It is also authoritarian in method, with a single leading party, so a single left-right line cannot capture it.
Leninism vs Stalinism?
It is the doctrine of the vanguard party and revolution developed by Lenin. Stalinism names the one-party rule associated with Stalin from 1927 to 1953, marked by a personality cult and highly centralised authority.
How does the 12 Axes test decide I am a Leninist?
The test compares your Collectivize–Privatize, Security–Freedom, Internationalism–Nationalism and Progressive–Traditional scores with each ideology's four values. The ideology with the smallest total distance is your closest match. The other eight axes are not used.