Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism (
Russian: марксизм-ленинизм,
marksizm-leninizm), strictly speaking, refers to the version of
Marxism developed by
Vladimir Lenin; see
Leninism.
However, in various contexts, different (and sometimes opposing) political groups have used the term "Marxism-Leninism" to describe the ideologies that they claimed to be upholding. The purpose of this article is to give an account of the historical and present uses of the label "Marxism-Leninism". The core ideological features of Marxism-Leninism are those of Marxism and Leninism, viz. belief in the necessity of a violent overthrow of
capitalism through
communist revolution, to be followed by a
dictatorship of the proletariat as the first stage of moving towards
communism, and the need for a
vanguard party to lead the
proletariat in this effort. It involves subscribing to the teachings and legacy of
Karl Marx and
Frederick Engels (Marxism), and that of Lenin, as carried forward by
Joseph Stalin. Those who view themselves as Marxist-Leninists, however, vary with regards to the leaders and thinkers that they choose to uphold as progressive (and to what extent).
Maoists tend to downplay the importance of all other thinkers in favour of
Mao Zedong, whereas
Hoxhaites repudiate Mao.
Lenin himself never used the term "Leninism," nor did he refer to his views as "Marxism-Leninism." However, his ideas diverged from classical Marxist theory on several important points (see the articles on
Marxism and
Leninism for more information).
Bolshevik communists saw these differences as advancements of Marxism made by Lenin. After Lenin's death, his ideology and contributions to Marxist theory were termed "Marxism-Leninism," or sometimes only "Leninism." Marxism-Leninism soon became the official name for the ideology of the
Comintern and of
communist parties around the world.
Within 5 years of Lenin's death,
Joseph Stalin completed his rise to power in the
Soviet Union. During the period of Stalin's rule in the Soviet Union, Marxism-Leninism was proclaimed the official ideology of the state.
Whether Stalin's practices actually followed the principles of Marx and Lenin is still a subject of debate amongst historians and political scientists.
Trotskyists in particular believe that Stalinism contradicted authentic Marxism and Leninism, and they intitially used the term "Bolshevik-Leninism" to describe their own ideology of anti-Stalinist and anti-Maoist communism.
After the
Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China each claimed to be the sole intellectual heir to Marxism-Leninism. In China, the claim that Mao had "adapted Marxism-Leninism to Chinese conditions" evolved into the idea that he had updated it in a fundamental way applying to the world as a whole; consequently, the term "Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought" (commonly known as
Maoism) was increasingly used to describe the official Chinese state ideology as well as the ideological basis of parties around the world who sympathized with the
Communist Party of China. Following the death of Mao, American Maoists associated with the
Revolutionary Communist Party (USA) subsequently coined the term
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, arguing that Maoism was a more advanced stage of Marxism. Many parties today believe that the current leadership of China has abandoned Maoism.
Following the
Sino-Albanian split, a small but substantial portion of Marxist-Leninists, such as
Alliance Marxist-Leninist and to a lesser extent
Ray O. Light Group, in the US, began to downplay or repudiate the role of Mao Zedong in the
International Communist Movement in favor of the
Party of Labor of Albania and a stricter adherence to Stalin.
In
North Korea, Marxism-Leninism was officially superseded in
1977 by
Juche, in which concepts of class and class struggle, in other words Marxism itself, play no significant role. However, the government is still sometimes referred to as Marxist-Leninist - or, more commonly, Stalinist - due to its political and economic structure (see
History of North Korea).
The other three
communist states existing today -
Cuba,
Vietnam and
Laos - hold Marxism-Leninism as their official ideology, although they give it different interpretations in terms of practical policy.
Most communist parties continue to regard Marxism-Leninism as their basic ideology, although many have modified it to adapt to new political conditions. Several communist parties, especially those previously associated with
Eurocommunism, have distanced themselves from the concept of 'Marxism-Leninism' and in many cases omitted it from their official documents. Some have started identifying themselves as 'Marxist, Leninist' or 'Marxist and Leninist' rather than 'Marxist-Leninist'. Still others use the term 'Marxist-Leninism' to imply that that there is another 'Leninism' that is not Marxist. The difference in such cases is that the historical connotation of 'Marxism-Leninism' is avoided.
In party names, the appellation 'Marxist-Leninist' is normally used by a communist party who wishes to distinguish itself from some other (and presumably '
revisionist') communist party in the same country. Most often, parties who place the term 'Marxist-Leninist' in their official name are those originating from the
anti-revisionist tradition, such as
Maoist or
Hoxhaist groups.
Popular confusion abounds concerning the complex terminology describing the various schools of Marxist-derived thought. The appellation 'Marxist-Leninist' is often used by those not familiar with communist ideology in any detail (e.g. many
newspapers and other
media) as a synonym for any kind of Marxism.
*
Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)*
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
