Leninism

(noun)

In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism.

Related Terms

Examples of Leninism in the following topics:

  • Democratic Socialism

    • Specifically, it is a term used to distinguish between socialists who favor a grassroots-level, spontaneous revolution (referred to as gradualism) from those socialists who favor Leninism (organized revolution instigated and directed by an overarching vanguard party that operates on the basis of democratic centralism).
    • Leninism is based on the philosophy of Vladimir Lenin, who advocated organized revolution led by a vanguard party.

  • Charismatic Authority

    • Bolshevik political cartoon poster from 1920 depicting Lenin sweeping away monarchists and capitalists; the caption reads, "Comrade Lenin Cleanses the Earth of Filth."

  • Capitalism

    • In the early 20th century, Vladimir Lenin argued that state use of military power to defend capitalist interests abroad was an inevitable corollary of monopoly capitalism.