from marx to lenin an evaluation of marx's responsibility for soviet authoritarianism

[...]... critics of Marx and Marxism shared many of Marx' s presuppositions, particularly about man's perfectibility Some of the major critics of Marx and Lenin were themselves socialists and Marxists It is to these critics we must turn for an appreciation of the dangers of Marx' s project The pursuit of Utopia, or the adherence to Utopian ideals before about the time of the First World War was not considered to be... attempt to implement Marx' s project can avoid authoritarianism, and whether the attempt to avoid authoritarianism means the end of Marx' s project Critics of Eurocommunism, such as Urban, maintained that 'the progression from Marxism to Leninism, and from there to Stalinism inheres in Marxism itself'.4 The Eurocommunists' progressive repudiation of Stalinism, Leninism, and the dictatorship of the proletariat,... Introduction for too many adjustments to lead to anything but idle speculation But it is certainly not idle to ask in what relation Leninism and the early Soviet state stand to Marx' s principles Nevertheless, it may be argued that this study falls into an equally vicious trap by employing the notion of Marx' s 'responsibility' for Soviet authoritarianism But it is not my intention to haul Marx before some... between Marx and Soviet authoritarianism is a complex historical and theoretical problem, unsatisfactorily explained with recourse to formulae about Marx' s 'utopianism' In an area as contentious as the study of Marxism, however, I shall count as success the revealing and illumination of some of the areas which must be examined to produce a satisfactory account of the Marx- Lenin relationship Many people... that Lenin made substantial and fundamental changes to Marx' s project Some of them see Leninism as primarily a modernizing ideology for pre-industrial societies John Kautsky, a descendant of one of Lenin' s major post-1917 antagonists, argues that Leninism is not merely a perversion or misunderstanding of Marxism but more specifically an adaptation of an ideology born in an industrial environment to. .. be asked to establish the relationship between Soviet authoritarianism (for this is their chief concern with Lenin) and Marx' s project I contend that it is mistaken, or unproductive, to ask, what is the relationship of Leninism to Marxism, or, was Lenin a Marxist? There have been any number of attempts to define Marxism to make it operational in the sense of excluding individuals and groups: from Lukacs's... thought and Leninism can yield the foundation for a judicious assessment of their relationship I shall explain why the formulae are no substitute The formulae seek to show that Marx' s project was inherently flawed Their inventors believe that beneath the actual links between Marx and Lenin there lies a 'weak link', or an 'original sin', which makes the transition from Marx to Lenin, and thence to an authoritarian... selecting from a number of leading ideas to which Marx tried to give coherence and equal importance Thus it is not my aim to construct 'what Marx really meant', or the 'essence' of Marxism, as a standard by which to measure all contenders for the title Marx' s work is a synthesis of competing strains of thought; its essence is that it doesn't have 'an essence' Adhering consistently to this approach to Marxism... confronted by an electoral reverse: 'Better the risks of democracy than the tragedy of dictatorship.' 14 But while the Eurocommunists relied almost solely on the Russian context to explain (and justify) Soviet authoritarianism, the West European context was not their sole explanation for adherence to the democratic road to socialism For there were possibilities for the 'democratic transformation' of the state... disagreements 'Marxism' here is used not to mean a set of substantive doctrines, but to evoke the idea of a unity and diversity something like that of a family: members share some characteristics, but they may not all share any one characteristic To say Lenin was a Marxist is to move no closer to answering the real problem of whether his theory and its Soviet consequence have a relationship to Marx' s project . Press, 2012 FROM MARX TO LENIN An evaluation of Marx& apos;s responsibility for Soviet authoritarianism DAVID W. LOVELL History of Ideas Unit Institute of Advanced Studies The Australian National. spokesman for the Spanish Communist Party, explained: Eurocommunism seeks to find ways of achieving the Socialist trans- formation of society by means of democratic methods, and of advancing towards. attempt to implement Marx& apos;s project can avoid authoritarianism, and whether the attempt to avoid authoritarianism means the end of Marx& apos;s project. Critics of Eurocommunism, such as Urban,