Lenin, What is to be Done

Lenin asserted five points regarding what a successful revolution needs. Firstly, he stated that no movement could succeed without “a stable organization of leaders to maintain continuity.” Secondly, that revolutionary organization becomes more important “as the masses are spontaneously drawn into the struggle,” which basically means that the larger the movement is, the more cohesive it must be. Thirdly, that the revolutionary organization must “consist chiefly of persons engaged in revolutionary activities as a profession.” Fourthly, that in countries with autocratic governments, the revolutionary organization would be harder to catch if it restricted people “who have been professionally trained in the art of combating the political police.” Fifthly, that if the revolutionaries “professionally trained in the art of combating the political police” were restricted, a larger amount and a wider variety of people would support the revolution.

One thought on “Lenin, What is to be Done

  1. This is a good summery of Lenin’s essay. Lenin is largely giving instructions for revolution, but I always find Lenin that he’s rather short sighted. He preaches that if the current system is gone, everything will be better. However, that is where he leaves the instructions, and ignores the scramble and disarray that would happen after revolution.

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