Marxism

Background Communism comes from the French word commun, or belonging to all Communism has a long history of those who believe that sharing ownership in society creates equality amongst all its members This would create a harmonious society free from conflict The impact of the Industrial and French Revolutions greatly influenced communist thinking: As the Industrial Revolution strengthened the desire for change, so the French Revolution encouraged people to believe that such a change was possible. Socialism emerged as a concept in the early 19th century, describing a society with shared ownership of wealth

Karl Marx A German philosopher and economist born in 1818, who lived in England for most of his life He was aware of the growing gap between rich and poor in newly industrialised countries such as the UK He believed a socialist or communist society would redress this balance

Marx went further than his socialist predecessors He suggested in his many writings that a socialist society was inevitable, whether it was wanted or not Marx wrote that the whole of human history was a struggle between the ruling classes and the downtrodden classes He believed the ruling classes naturally created their own opposition Capitalists, who were growing in number needed an army of ordinary workers, the proletariat Capitalism used a variety of institutions in order to maintain order over the proletariat, which Marx referred to as the superstructure.

Marx believed the proletariat would eventually tire of their conditions and rise up against the capitalists, seizing their wealth and ruling in their place. Society would then share in profits that had previously been owned by the few The workers would make up almost the entire population, leading to democratic rule Marx could not predict what would come after this rule by the workers, and he predicted that old rulers would prove dangerous for a while, a period who named the dictatorship of the proletariat. During this period, certain freedoms may have to be restricted before true socialism could be implemented.

Socialism and communism Under socialism there would be shared ownership, but people would still be rewarded depending on how much work they did Only when society had enough of everything to go around would communism develop Under communism, people would give what they were able to and take what they needed. There would be no need for states, armies or police forces, racial and gender equality.

The Communist Manifesto (1847-8) ‘Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE’

The spread of Marxism The theories of Marx convinced many, with many Marxist political parties being founded around the world. Lenin was particularly influenced by Marx’s ideas, sharing his hope and certainty that what they were doing was right. The most famous example of this was the 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power, however even here Marxism was not fully achieved, as a small working class took over a largely peasant country. Russia was not a capitalist society in the truest sense and therefore was not ready for socialism This need to fit a socialist policy in a country not ready for change would result in the oppressive communist regime with many changes to Marxism

The development of Marxism By the time of Marx’s death in 1883, it was becoming clear that capitalism was generating huge profits. Against Marx’s ideas, those in power of the more advanced countries ensured that a share of the increase went to the poorest members of society, the gap between workers and capitalists was not getting wider Even the poor were getting richer with pensions and unemployment pay improving conditions further

Marxism-Leninism

Each Soviet ruler interpreted Marxist ideas in their own way. Lenin realised that the workers would need support in their attempts to gain higher wages and better conditions Help was therefore given to workers striking in St Petersburg. The leaders of these strikes were exiled, but Lenin realised a change of tact was needed. He argued that rather than attacking the superstructure, it was better to attack the ruling elites at the base and overthrow the existing order

Lenin outlined his views in his 1903 work ‘What is to be done’ He believed there was no need for a democratically elected constituent assembly which would eventually be controlled by the masses Instead he argued for a Party Central Committee who would govern in the interests of the workers until the workers could take control themselves This caused a split within the Socialists in Russia into the Bolsheviks (Marxist Leninists) and Mensheviks (Marxists) After the October Revolution, Lenin began to implement his version of Marxism fully. There was still opposition in the party, most notably between Lenin and Trotsky, who wanted communism to spread throughout the world and not just Russia This changing policy shows a constant adaptation to policies in order to keep opposition to a minimum

Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism

After Lenin’s death and the ensuing power struggle that led to Stalin’s rise to power, more changes were implemented to Marxism-Leninism Stalin argued that the base of society could only be altered by using a special superstructure He therefore introduced a command economy and five year plans in order to prepare the base. Stalin was to assume total control of the superstructure to prevent the damaging infighting that had weakened Lenin’s rule Terror and the creation of a cult of personality were therefore to be utilised to gain the support of the people.

There is widespread debate over Stalin’s long term aims for adopting such a brutal and repressive regime. It may be that this system of government was the only one suited to Russia at the time, that Stalin’s megalomania drove him to such brutality or that he was simply building on foundations laid by Lenin

Destalinsation

Stalin’s oppressive regime had created many enemies, too afraid to speak out and tarnished the reputation of Russia abroad. After another power struggle, Khrushchev emerged as leader of the Party, sharing power under a system of collective leadership where responsibility was equally shared. However, dispute within the party forced Khrushchev to execute many of those that opposed him Khrushchev was also concerned that Stalin’s death would cause many to question communist rule and look for alternative forms of rule He therefore instigated a programme of deStalinisation which sought to renounce Stalin, discrediting many of his actions and labelling him as an enemy of the people. The cult of personality that Stalin had created meant many were not ready to hear such vehement words against a leader they respected and who they believed was working for the good of the country. This mounting opposition therefore caused Khrushchev’s fall from power in 1964

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