Karl Marx was a philosopher (“Marxism”) whose philosophical thoughts aimed at the elimination of the division among classes in society where the working class or the society would eventually have ownership of the means of production. He proposed that this could be achieved through the abolition of capitalism, which exploited the working class, and this in turn could be achieved through a revolution by the working class. Karl Marx believed that the working class could emancipate themselves on their own. He claimed that the working class would revolt in an unconscious and unorganized manner at first but that as the working class became more experienced, the revolution would become “more consciously socialist and democratically organized by the workers themselves” (“Marxism vs. Leninism”). Marx believed this to be the way to achieve a communist society. From Marx’s point of view, the working class would understand socialism in a spontaneous manner, which meant that no outside intervention was needed to bring this about.
On the other hand, Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov or Lenin was more of a political figure (“Leninism”) and although he was also a proponent of the Marxism ideology, he thought that it was incomplete in that it didn’t lead into action. For this reason, it could be said that Leninism was the application of the principles put forward by Marxism.
For Lenin, the working class was incapable, on their own, of abolishing capitalism due to their lack of education. In his own words, Lenin said that “if socialism can only be realized when the intellectual development of all the people permits it, then we shall not see socialism for at least five hundred years” (“Marxism versus Leninism”). As such, Lenin asserted that in order to facilitate the abolition of capitalism, a vanguard party that consisted of professional revolutionists was needed to rule on behalf of the working class and lead the working class into revolution. The vanguard party became known as the Communist Party, which was ruled by democratic centralism, a doctrine where decisions were democratically made but which was imposed by a central mechanism that could not be refuted (McCarthy). This then became the way by which Lenin would appoint himself as the dictator of Russia.
In conclusion, it can be said that while both Marx and Lenin believed that communism would be achieved only through the abolition of capitalism, they differed in their ways of achieving this. Marx believed that the working class would emancipate themselves on their own while Lenin believed that a vanguard party that consisted of professionals was necessary to mobilize the working class revolution. In this way, it can be said that Marx laid out the founding principles for establishing communism while Lenin applied these principles and put them into action. Finally, Marx was a philosopher whose aim was to achieve a classless society where equality prevailed while Lenin was a political figure whose aim was to assume dictatorship over Russia.
Works Cited
"Leninism." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia
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"Marxism." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia
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“Marxism versus Leninism.” Socialist Standard Mar. 1990. No. 1027. Web. 5 Apr. 2012.
McCarthy, John. “Marxism.” formal.stanford.edu. Stanford University, 17 Oct. 1995. Web. 5
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