COMMON RESISTANCE

MANUAL INTRODUCTION TO MARXISM-LENINISMO

What it is, what it believes in and where to start studying

Marxism-Leninism should not be understood simply as a list of political opinions or as a set of phrases attributed to Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. It is a theoretical and political tradition developed from the Marxism of Marx and Engels and later developed by Lenin and by different revolutionary currents.

This article aims to serve as a entrance door to study. It does not replace the reading of the original works and does not intend to present all currents within the communist movement.

1. WHAT IS MARXISM?

To understand Marxism-Leninism, it is first necessary to understand Marxism.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels sought to analyze society not only from the ideas of people, but also from the material conditions in which they live.

One of the fundamental concepts of this analysis is the historical materialism.

In a simplified way, historical materialism seeks to understand how societies are transformed from the relations between production, economy, social classes, political institutions and material conditions.

That does not mean that ideas do not matter. It means understanding that they are related to the concrete conditions of society in which they arise.

Social classes

For Marxism, the history of class societies is marked by conflicts between groups with different positions within the production process.

In capitalism, Marx's fundamental division occurs between:

Luxembourg: class that controls the main means of production and obtains wealth through economic activity.

Proletariat: workers who, without the main means of production, need to sell their workforce to obtain their livelihoods.

This division does not alone explain the whole contemporary society, which has several classes, class fractions and intermediate positions. However, it is fundamental to the Marxist analysis of capitalism.

2. WHAT IS CAPITALISM FOR MARXISM?

Capitalism is a system based on the production of goods, private ownership of means of production and wage labor.

One of Marx's central ideas is that the workforce also becomes a commodity.

The worker sells his labor force in exchange for a salary. During the production process, however, the value produced by the worker may be higher than the amount corresponding to his salary.

It is in this process that Marx develops the concept of surplus value.

The surplus value is fundamental to understand capitalist exploitation in the Marxist analysis: the capitalist appropriates part of the value produced by the worker.

This does not simply mean that all profit is the result of an individual worker being "stealed" directly. This is a structural explanation of the relationship between capital and labour.

3. CLASSES' FIGHT

If different classes have different material interests, conflicts between them become part of the very structure of society.

Class struggle can take various forms:

  • strikes;

  • wage claims;

  • rights movements;

  • political disputes;

  • trade union organisations;

  • popular movements;

  • conflicts around property and the distribution of wealth.

For Marxism, these disputes are not isolated accidents. They are part of the contradictions existing in capitalist society.

Therefore, understanding policy also requires understanding who has economic power, who works, who controls the means of production and what interests are in dispute.

4. THE STATE

Marxism also seeks to analyze the state materialisticly.

Instead of automatically considering it as a completely neutral institution, Marxists ask:

Which classes have the greatest influence on their institutions?

How does economic power influence political power?

What interests are protected by laws and institutions?

This does not mean that each civil servant or every state decision directly represents the interests of a single individual or economic group.

The question is broader: the State is inserted in a society divided into classes and its institutions function within these social relations.

5. WHAT IS SOCIALISM?

In Marxism, socialism is related to overcoming capitalist social relations and the transformation of the property of the means of production.

The central idea is that the main means of production cease to function predominantly as private property for the accumulation of capital and become subject to forms of ownership and social control.

This is related to the construction of a society in which production is organized to meet social needs, and not mainly to generate private profit.

However, it is important to avoid common simplification:

socialism does not simply mean "the state controls everything".

There are different conceptions about property, planning, economic democracy, market, state and political organization within the various socialist traditions.

6. THE COMMUNITY

For Marx, communism represents a society that overcomes the class divisions and fundamental social relations of capitalism.

In this perspective, communist society would not simply be a state-run capitalism.

The objective would be to overcome the very conditions that make certain forms of class domination necessary.

It is in this context that the idea of a society without classes appears.

The discussion about the disappearance of the state must also be carefully understood. In Marxist thinking, this does not simply mean abolishing institutions overnight. The traditional conception is that, with the overcoming of social classes, the State as an instrument of domination of one class over another would progressively lose its function.

7. Where does Lenin enter this story?

Vladimir Lenin was not simply someone who "invented" a new ideology separate from Marx.

He sought to develop Marxism in view of the concrete conditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Its main contributions are related to issues such as:

  • revolutionary organization;

  • political party;

  • imperialism;

  • State;

  • revolutionary strategy;

  • relationship between workers and political power;

  • analysis of the concrete conditions of a revolution.

That is where the importance of the so-called Marxism-Leninism.

The term, however, gained different historical meanings and was later used by different movements and states. Therefore, studying Lenin directly is more important than simply accepting a prompt definition of the term.

8. THE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY

One of Lenin's main issues is the need for political organization.

In What to do?Lenin argues that the economic struggle of the workers alone would not be enough to develop a revolutionary political consciousness.

Hence, his defense of a political organization capable of bringing together militants, studying reality, organizing workers and acting politically.

It is important not to confuse this with the idea that a small elite should simply govern on behalf of the workers.

The central question for Lenin is the conscious political organization of the working class.

9. IMPPERIALISM

Another fundamental concept in Lenin is imperialism.

In Imperialism, Upper Stage of Capitalism, published in 1916, Lenin seeks to explain the transformations of capitalism of his time, highlighting the concentration of capital, the formation of large companies and banks, the export of capital and the dispute between great powers.

His analysis seeks to relate economics and international politics.

For Marxism-Leninism, therefore, international wars and conflicts should not be analyzed only through the individual decisions of rulers. It is also necessary to investigate:

  • economic interests;

  • market dispute;

  • resources;

  • political influence;

  • relations between large powers;

  • economic dependence;

  • strategic interests.

That does not mean that every war has a single economic cause. Concrete analysis should consider each situation historically.

10. THE QUESTION OF REVOLUTION

For Marxism-Leninism, a profound transformation of society would not simply occur by replacing one ruler with another.

The revolution is understood as a transformation of the social and economic relations themselves.

This involves questions like:

Who controls the means of production?

Who has political power?

How is the economy organized?

How do workers participate in decisions?

Which institutions reproduce class relations?

Therefore, the revolution is understood as a social and political process, and not only as a momentary event.

11. THE DISCOVER OF THE PROLETARIAT

This is one of the most often misunderstood concepts.

In the classic Marxist vocabulary, dictatorship of the proletariat does not necessarily mean the existence of a personal government or a military dictatorship.

The term refers to the political power of the working class during the transition period between capitalism and a classless society.

The idea starts from the understanding that every state is related to power relations between classes.

Thus, if capitalism is characterized by the political domination of the bourgeoisie, the socialist transition should represent the political domination of the working class.

The concrete form of this organization was the subject of huge historical and theoretical disputes.

This is precisely why studying experiences such as the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and other revolutionary processes requires historical analysis and not just favorable or contrary propaganda.

12. DEMOCRACY AND MARXISM-LENINISMO

An important issue for any serious study is the relationship between socialism and democracy.

Marxism-Leninism traditionally criticizes the idea that democracy is only the existence of periodic elections.

The question is:

Is there democracy when the population has formal political rights, but huge economic differences determine who has the greatest influence on society?

From this, Marxists advocate forms of political and economic democracy that increase the effective power of workers.

At the same time, the historical experiences of the socialist states raise important debates on political pluralism, freedom of expression, repression, bureaucratization and popular participation.

These issues should not be hidden.

Studying socialism also means studying its problems, contradictions and defeats.

13. What about BRAZIL?

Marxism-Leninism should not be applied mechanically to the Brazilian reality.

Brazil has a specific historical formation: slavery, colonialism, land concentration, late industrialization, economic dependence, regional inequality and private relations with international capitalism.

Therefore, understanding Brazil requires studying its own history.

A Brazilian Marxist needs to ask:

  • How were the Brazilian social classes formed?

  • What was the role of slavery?

  • How did the transition to wage work take place?

  • How did Brazilian capitalism develop?

  • What is the relationship between Brazil and international capital?

  • How does land concentration influence society?

  • What is the role of the Brazilian working class?

  • How do popular movements and unions work?

  • What are the characteristics of the Brazilian State?

The theory must serve to understand the concrete reality, not to replace it.

14. WHAT DO LEENINIST MARXISTS DEFEND?

There is no universal list accepted by absolutely all groups using the term "Marxist-Leninist". However, in general, this tradition usually defends:

ECONOMY

  • overcoming capitalism;

  • socialisation of the main means of production;

  • reduction of the exploitation of labour;

  • economic planning in some way;

  • production focused on social needs.

POLICY

  • political organization of the working class;

  • class struggle;

  • revolutionary transformation of society;

  • political power of the workers;

  • Proletarian internationalism.

SOCIETY

  • combating inequality;

  • extension of social rights;

  • universal education and health;

  • combating exploitation;

  • The emancipation of workers.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

  • opposition to imperialism;

  • international solidarity between workers;

  • criticism of colonial and neocolonial domination;

  • defence of self-determination of peoples.

15. WHAT IS NOT MARXISM-LENINISMO?

It is also important to avoid some simplifications.

Marxism-Leninism is not simply:

"The state must control everything."

It's not either:

" Every country that declares itself socialist automatically is socialist."

And it's not:

"Just hand out money to end capitalism."

Nor does it mean accepting without question all that Communist governments have done historically.

A Marxist position can defend socialism and at the same time critically study concrete socialist experiences.

Theory should not replace historical research.

16. WHERE DO YOU START STUDING?

We do not recommend starting directly with Marx's most difficult texts or the more complex internal debates of the communist movement.

A possible sequence would be:

LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

1. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels — Manifesto of the Communist Party

First contact with concepts such as class, bourgeoisie, proletariat and class struggle.

2. Friedrich Engels — Basic Principles of Communism

Short text in question and answer format, useful for familiarization with fundamental concepts.

LEVEL 2 — MARX

3. Karl Marx — Labour and Capital

Introduction to the relationship between wage and capital.

4. Karl Marx — Salary, Price and Profit

It helps to understand wages, profits, exploitation and economic struggle.

5. Karl Marx — The Capital, Book I

It is the most important study of this sequence, but also much more difficult.

There is no need to try to understand everything in a first reading. The ideal is to proceed slowly and consult support materials.

LEVEL 3 — HISTORICAL MATERIALISM

6. Karl Marx — Preface to Contribution to the Criticism of Political Economy

A relatively short text to understand the relationship between material production, social structure and historical transformations.

7. Friedrich Engels — From Utopian Socialism to Scientific Socialism

It presents Engels' distinction between different socialist traditions and explains fundamental concepts of so-called scientific socialism.

LEVEL 4 — LENIN

8. Vladimir Lenin — State and Revolution

Fundamental to understand the Marxist conception of state, revolution and transition to socialism.

9. Vladimir Lenin — What to Do?

Study on political organization, conscience and revolutionary party.

10. Vladimir Lenin — Imperialism, Higher Stage of Capitalism

Introduction to the Leninist analysis of capitalism and international relations.

LEVEL 5 — APPROVAL

After these texts, the reader can proceed to:

11. Marx — The Civil War in France

12. Marx — Critical of the Gotha Program

13. Lenin — The Theses of April

14. Lenin — Forgetfulness, Child Disease of Communism

15. Lenin — The Development of Capitalism in Russia

From here on, it is important to start comparing different Marxist interpretations.

17. Don't read it unless you agree to it.

A serious political study should not consist in seeking only texts that confirm what we already believe in.

After studying the Marxist foundations, it is also useful to know liberal, social-democratic, anarchist, conservative and other socialist currents.

This allows us to distinguish:

what Marx really wrote;

what Lenin really defended;

what subsequent interpreters have stated;

and what we ourselves are inferring.

It is also essential to critically study the history of the Soviet Union, the Chinese Revolution, Cuba and other socialist experiences.

Neither anti-communist propaganda should replace history, nor communist propaganda should.

18. THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE

Marxism-Leninism is based on a fundamental question:

How can a society divided into classes be transformed into a society in which the exploitation of one class by another ceases to exist?

To answer that question requires much more than decorating concepts.

It requires studying economics, history, politics, philosophy and the concrete conditions of each society.

For Communist Resistance, studying is part of the political struggle itself.

We don't just want to repeat words like "capitalism," "imperialism," or "revolution."

We want to understand what they mean, how they work in the brazilian reality and what consequences they have for the concrete life of the population.

Knowledge should serve to understand reality.

And understanding reality must serve its transformation.

COMMON RESISTANCE

Study. Organize. Fight.

For the emancipation of the working class.

For the transformation of society.