Proletarian revolution

A proletarian revolution or proletariat revolution is a social revolution in which the working class attempts to overthrow the bourgeoisie and change the previous political system.^[1]^[2] Proletarian revolutions are generally advocated by socialists, communists and anarchists.^[3]

Interpretations

The concept of a revolutionary proletariat was first put forward by the French revolutionary socialist and radical Auguste Blanqui.^[4] The Paris Commune, contemporary to Blanqui and Karl Marx, being viewed by some as the first attempt at a proletarian revolution.^[5]

Marx wrote of the class conscious proletariat being the active agent of revolution, which distinguished him from Blanqui who viewed a selective revolutionary conspiracy among all the lower classes as being the driving force of a proletarian revolution.^[6] This was also in contrast to the views of the communist William Weitling and the anarchist Mikhail Bakunin who viewed the lumpenproletariat as the driver of the proletarian revolution.^[6]^[7] Through Marx and Friedrich Engels' work they write that if the proletariat does not make up a majority, it must at least occupy an important position among the popular mass to achieve a proletarian revolution.^[8] Some later Marxists, such as Georgi Plekhanov, emphasized the need for a majority of the population to be proletarianized for a proletarian revolution to occur.^[9]

Marxists believe proletarian revolutions can and will likely happen in all capitalist countries,^[6]^[10] related to the concept of world revolution.^[11]^[12] The objective of a proletarian revolution, according to Marxists, is to transform the bourgeois state into a workers' state.^[13]^[14] A traditional Marxist belief was that a proletarian revolution could only occur in a country where capitalism had fully developed,^[15]^[16] though this changed with Russian Revolution.

The Leninist branch of Marxism argues that a proletarian revolution must be led by a vanguard of "professional revolutionaries", men and women who are fully dedicated to the communist cause and who form the nucleus of the communist revolutionary movement. This vanguard is meant to provide leadership and organization to the working class before and during the revolution, which aims to prevent the government from successfully ending it.^[17] Vladimir Lenin believed that it was imperative to arm the working class to secure their leverage over the bourgeoisie. Lenin's words were printed in an article in German on the nature of pacifism and said "In every class society, whether based on slavery, serfdom, or, as at present, on wage-labour, the oppressor class is always armed."^[18]^[19] It was under such conditions that the first successful proletarian revolution, the Russian Revolution, occurred.^[20]^[18]^[21]

Other Marxists, such as Luxemburgists^[22]^[23] and left communists,^[24]^[25]^[26] disagree with the Leninist idea of a vanguard and insist that the entire working class—or at least a large part of it—must be deeply involved and equally committed to the socialist or communist cause for a proletarian revolution to be successful. To this end, they seek to build mass working class movements with a very large membership. The Situationists' view is that as well as the standard proletariat being a driving force for revolution, other oppressed classes would also act as drivers.^[27]

Finally, there are socialist anarchists and libertarian socialists. Their view is that the revolution must be a bottom-up social revolution which seeks to transform all aspects of society and the individuals which make up the society (see Asturian Revolution and Revolutionary Catalonia). The anarchist view also holds that the proletarian revolution must abolish all aspects of the state, and that a "workers' state" should not be formed.^[14] Alexander Berkman said "there are revolutions and revolutions. Some revolutions change only the governmental form by putting a new set of rulers in place of the old. These are political revolutions, and as such they often meet with little resistance. But a revolution that aims to abolish the entire system of wage slavery must also do away with the power of one class to oppress another. That is, it is not any more a mere change of rulers, of government, not a political revolution, but one that seeks to alter the whole character of society. That would be a social revolution."^[28]

References

^ Liulevicius, Vejas (13 July 2020). "Russia: The Unlikely Place for a Proletarian Revolution". The Great Courses Daily. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
^ Lenin, V. I. (1918). "Chapter I: Class Society and the State". The State and Revolution – via Marxists Internet Archive.
^ Haupt, Georges (1979). "In What Sense and to What Degree Was the Russian Revolution a Proletarian Revolution?". Review. 3 (1). Fernand Braudel Center: 21–33. JSTOR 40240824.
^ Blake, William James (1939). An American Looks at Karl Marx. Cordon Company. p. 622 – via Google Books.
^ Spector, Maurice (15 March 1934). "The Paris Commune and the Proletarian Revolution". The Militant. Vol. III, no. 11. p. 3 – via Marxists Internet Archive.
^ ^a ^b ^c Blackburn 1976.
^ Eagles 2017, pp. 23–24.
^ Ree, Erik van (2012). "German Marxism and the Decline of the Permanent Revolution, 1870–1909" (PDF). History of European Ideas. 38 (4): 570–589 [574–575]. doi:10.1080/01916599.2011.652474.
^ Ree 2013, p. 32.
^ Engels, Friedrich (October–November 1847). The Principles of Communism – via Marxists Internet Archive. Further, it has co-ordinated the social development of the civilized countries to such an extent that, in all of them, bourgeoisie and proletariat have become the decisive classes, and the struggle between them the great struggle of the day. It follows that the communist revolution will not merely be a national phenomenon but must take place simultaneously in all civilized countries – that is to say, at least in England, America, France, and Germany.
^ Bukharin, Nikolai (1933). "Chapter 4: The Theory of Proletarian Dictatorship and Scientific Communism". Marx's Teaching and its Historical Importance – via Marxists Internet Archive.
^ Lenin, V. I. (1918). "Chapter 5: The Economic Basis for the Withering Away of the State". The State and Revolution – via Marxists Internet Archive.
^ Goichbarg, Alexander [in German]. Revolução Proletária e Direito Civil [Proletarian Revolution and Civil Law] (in Portuguese).
^ ^a ^b Guérin 1981, p. 14.
^ Lane 2020; Filho 2007; Ree 2013, p. 35
^ Lenin, V. I. (1918). "How Kautsky Turned Marx Into A Common Liberal". The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky – via Marxists Internet Archive.
^ Lenin, V. I. (1918). "Bourgeois And Proletarian Democracy". The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky – via Marxists Internet Archive.
^ ^a ^b Dunayevskaya 2017.
^ Lenin, V. I. (1916). "II". The Military Programme of the Proletarian Revolution – via Marxists Internet Archive.
^ Deutscher, Isaac (May–June 1967). "The Unfinished Revolution: 1917–67" (PDF). New Left Review. I (43).
^ Chácon, Justin Akers (2018). "Introduction". Radicals in the Barrio: Magonistas, Socialists, Wobblies, and Communists in the Mexican American Working Class. Chicago, IL.: Haymarket Books. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-60846-776-1.
^ Várnagy, Tomás (19 April 2021). "A Central European Revolutionary". Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^ D'Amato, Paul (2014). "Marx, Lenin, and Luxemburg". International Socialist Review. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^ Mattick, Paul (August 1938). "The Masses & The Vanguard". Living Marxism. Vol. 4, no. 4. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023 – via Marxists Internet Archive.
^ Pannekoek, Anton (1941). "The Party and Class". Modern Socialism. Vol. 2. pp. 7–10. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023 – via Marxists Internet Archive.
^ Chomsky, Noam (12 March 2013). "Noam Chomsky on Revolutionary Violence, Communism and the American Left". Pax Marxista (Interview). Interviewed by Christopher Helali. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015 – via chomsky.info.
^ Eagles 2017, pp. 24, 27.
^ Berkman, Alexander (1929). "25". Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism .

Works cited

Blackburn, Robin (May–June 1976). "Marxism: Theory of Proletarian Revolution". New Left Review. I (97).
Dunayevskaya, Raya (5 June 2017). "Lenin on Self-determination of Nations and on Organization After His Philosophic Notebooks". In Gogol, Eugene; Dmitryev, Franklin (eds.). Russia: From Proletarian Revolution to State-Capitalist Counter-Revolution. Brill. pp. 125–141. doi:10.1163/9789004347618_005. ISBN 978-90-04-34761-8. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
Eagles, Julian (2017). "Marxism, Anarchism and the Situationists' Theory of Revolution". Critical Sociology. 43 (1). SAGE Publications: 13–36. doi:10.1177/0896920514547826.
Filho, Almir Cezar (5 April 2007). "Moreno e os 80 anos do debate sobre a Revolução Permanente" [Moreno and the 80 years of the debate on the Permanent Revolution] (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
Guérin, Daniel (1981). Anarchism and Marxism.
Lane, David (22 April 2020). "Revisiting Lenin's theory of socialist revolution on the 150th anniversary of his birth". European Politics and Policy. London School of Economics. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024.
Ree, Erik van (2013). "Georgii Plekhanov and the Communist Manifesto: The Proletarian Revolution Revisited" (PDF). Revolutionary Russia. 26 (1): 32–51. doi:10.1080/09546545.2013.787807.

[1] Liulevicius, Vejas (13 July 2020). "Russia: The Unlikely Place for a Proletarian Revolution". The Great Courses Daily. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.

[2] Lenin, V. I. (1918). "Chapter I: Class Society and the State". The State and Revolution – via Marxists Internet Archive.

[3] Haupt, Georges (1979). "In What Sense and to What Degree Was the Russian Revolution a Proletarian Revolution?". Review. 3 (1). Fernand Braudel Center: 21–33. JSTOR 40240824.

[Blake1939-4] Blake, William James (1939). An American Looks at Karl Marx. Cordon Company. p. 622 – via Google Books.

[5] Spector, Maurice (15 March 1934). "The Paris Commune and the Proletarian Revolution". The Militant. Vol. III, no. 11. p. 3 – via Marxists Internet Archive.

[FOOTNOTEBlackburn1976-6] Blackburn 1976.

[FOOTNOTEEagles201723–24-7] Eagles 2017, pp. 23–24.

[8] Ree, Erik van (2012). "German Marxism and the Decline of the Permanent Revolution, 1870–1909" (PDF). History of European Ideas. 38 (4): 570–589 [574–575]. doi:10.1080/01916599.2011.652474.

[FOOTNOTERee201332-9] Ree 2013, p. 32.

[10] Engels, Friedrich (October–November 1847). The Principles of Communism – via Marxists Internet Archive. Further, it has co-ordinated the social development of the civilized countries to such an extent that, in all of them, bourgeoisie and proletariat have become the decisive classes, and the struggle between them the great struggle of the day. It follows that the communist revolution will not merely be a national phenomenon but must take place simultaneously in all civilized countries – that is to say, at least in England, America, France, and Germany.

[11] Bukharin, Nikolai (1933). "Chapter 4: The Theory of Proletarian Dictatorship and Scientific Communism". Marx's Teaching and its Historical Importance – via Marxists Internet Archive.

[12] Lenin, V. I. (1918). "Chapter 5: The Economic Basis for the Withering Away of the State". The State and Revolution – via Marxists Internet Archive.

[13] Goichbarg, Alexander [in German]. Revolução Proletária e Direito Civil [Proletarian Revolution and Civil Law] (in Portuguese).

[FOOTNOTEGuérin198114-14] Guérin 1981, p. 14.

[15] Lane 2020; Filho 2007; Ree 2013, p. 35

[16] Lenin, V. I. (1918). "How Kautsky Turned Marx Into A Common Liberal". The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky – via Marxists Internet Archive.

[17] Lenin, V. I. (1918). "Bourgeois And Proletarian Democracy". The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky – via Marxists Internet Archive.

[FOOTNOTEDunayevskaya2017-18] Dunayevskaya 2017.

[19] Lenin, V. I. (1916). "II". The Military Programme of the Proletarian Revolution – via Marxists Internet Archive.

[20] Deutscher, Isaac (May–June 1967). "The Unfinished Revolution: 1917–67" (PDF). New Left Review. I (43).

[21] Chácon, Justin Akers (2018). "Introduction". Radicals in the Barrio: Magonistas, Socialists, Wobblies, and Communists in the Mexican American Working Class. Chicago, IL.: Haymarket Books. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-60846-776-1.

[22] Várnagy, Tomás (19 April 2021). "A Central European Revolutionary". Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2024.

[D'Amato-23] D'Amato, Paul (2014). "Marx, Lenin, and Luxemburg". International Socialist Review. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2024.

[24] Mattick, Paul (August 1938). "The Masses & The Vanguard". Living Marxism. Vol. 4, no. 4. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023 – via Marxists Internet Archive.

[25] Pannekoek, Anton (1941). "The Party and Class". Modern Socialism. Vol. 2. pp. 7–10. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023 – via Marxists Internet Archive.

[26] Chomsky, Noam (12 March 2013). "Noam Chomsky on Revolutionary Violence, Communism and the American Left". Pax Marxista (Interview). Interviewed by Christopher Helali. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015 – via chomsky.info.

[FOOTNOTEEagles201724,_27-27] Eagles 2017, pp. 24, 27.

[28] Berkman, Alexander (1929). "25". Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism .

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References

Works cited