Question

How did Lenin’s ideas differ from Karl Marx’s?

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

Lenin's ideas differed from Marx's in a few key ways:

1. Vanguard Party: Lenin believed in the concept of a vanguard party, a small, disciplined group of professional revolutionaries who would lead the proletariat in overthrowing the capitalist system and establishing a socialist state. Marx, on the other hand, believed that the proletariat would spontaneously rise up and overthrow the capitalist system on their own.

2. Imperialism: Lenin extended Marx's theory of imperialism, arguing that it was the highest stage of capitalism and that it led to the exploitation and domination of non-Western countries by Western imperial powers. Marx did not specifically address imperialism in his writings.

3. Role of the State: Lenin believed that the state must be smashed and replaced with a dictatorship of the proletariat in order to achieve socialism. Marx, on the other hand, believed that the state would wither away on its own once capitalism was overthrown.

4. Revolution: Lenin believed that a violent revolution was necessary to overthrow capitalism and establish socialism. Marx believed that socialism could be achieved through a peaceful, democratic process.

Overall, Lenin's ideas can be seen as a more practical and hands-on approach to achieving socialism, while Marx's ideas were more theoretical and focused on the underlying economic forces at play in society.