I'm guessing CLR James would have enjoyed this article. I don't have a detailed enough knowledge of the progress of the revolutionary movement from 1902 to 1917, but I find Lih's scenario convincing enough.
Once the Bolsheviks took power, though, they discovered how intransigent social reality was in comparison to their will to radically transform it. It is possible that Lenin's dream of 1902 exceeded reality, though he obviously gauged the potential of the discontent of the masses with the repressive tsarist regime and social order. The other question in all this is, except for enhancing historical consciousness, what relevance any interpretation of Lenin has for today, and esp. in a radically different type of society such as the USA. I used to say something comparable to "we must dream", but now I see only a pipe dream. On 11/8/2010 10:22 AM, c b wrote: > Lars T. Lih: ?We must dream!? Echoes of `What Is to > Be Done?? in Lenin?s later career | Links International Journal of > Socialist Renewal > > > By *Lars T. Lih* > > I appreciate the opportunity to look again at Lenin?s /What Is to Be > Done?/?especially since I have just completed a biographical study of > Lenin?s career as a whole (/Lenin/, forthcoming in the Critical Lives > series by Reaktion Books). One of the things I found?to tell the truth, > somewhat unexpectedly?was a series of echoes of /What Is to Be Done?/ > throughout Lenin?s entire career. So I thought it would be useful to > talk about some of the basic themes of Lenin?s book and tie each of > these themes to later echoes. > > Full article at http://links.org.au/node/1980 _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
