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Communism, Marxism, Leninism and Maoism : A short

Introduction

Communism is an ideology which advocate for classless and stateless (not anarchist) society, in which

everyone have common ownership of all things and everyone suppose to get adequate opportunities for self

development and self expression. It promises efficient production and equitable distribution of resources,

ensures economic suffieciency to all and feeling of faternity among society.

Marxism is often considered as the foundation of communism. Marxism is the materialist view of the

develoment of the society which believes in ‘Dialect materialism‘ and provides that “History of mankind is

history of class struggle, hizacked by capitalist for their own benifit”. Marx predicted that, ” Capitalist system

embedded in itself, it’s own Seeds of destruction. He argued that because of explotation of proletariat by

bourgeoisie would lead to the formation of ‘sense of unity and faternity’ among proletariat , which end as the

class struggle and eventually establish a class less society”.

Leninism and Maoism are the practically corollary of

Marxism under different circumstances. Marx is the founder,

Engles is the architecht and Lenin is the builder of

communism through revolution which further streghthen by

Mao.Although Marxism, Lenisism and Maoism are the most

widely used schools of thoughts for communism but there

are some fundamental difference between them:

1. Marx argued that “proletarian” (Marx’s term to describe

the workers) revolutions could only occur in fully

industrialized and capitalist countries, , Lenin argued

that an underdeveloped and imperialistic nation such as

the Russia Empire, would be the first to turn communist.

He modified the Marxist theory of a dictatorship of the

urban workers to a dictatorship of the exclusive

communist party. Like Lenin, Mao disagreed with Marx

on the issue that a communist revolution could only be achieved in developed industrialized countries.

Mao’s variation of communism focused mainly on the gathering of rural farmers as opposed to urban

industrial workers as Mao himself was originally a peasant pig farmer. Mao describes his version of

communism as “Marxism adapted for Chinese circumstances.”

2. Marx believes that as the tension rise proletarian would lead to control the economic resources on the

ther hand lenin belives that the attainment of full communism involves two stages, viz, the (1)

Revolutionary stage (2) the post-Revolutionary stage. The first phase of the Revolution is

characterised by the forcible capture of political power by the proletariat, and its subsequent

employment to squeeze out from society the last remnants of capitalism. At this stage, the State

assumes the character of a class-state; the proletariat adopts a policy, of gradual extension of public

ownership by confiscating and appropriating private ownership.

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3. Marx emphasised on the class struggle within the same country because of hypothetical growth of their

‘sense of common faternity due to the exploitation but Lenin states that theory of Imperialism is the

strategic need for workers in the industrialized countries to bloc or ally with the oppressed nations

contained within their respective countries’ colonies abroad in order to overthrow capitalism, which is

evident by his slogan, “Workers and Oppressed Peoples of the World, Unite!”.

4. The other distinguishing characteristic of Marxism-Leninism is how it approaches the question of

organization. Lenin believed that the traditional model of the Social Democratic parties of the time,

which was a loose, multitendency organization was inadequate for overthrowing the Tsarist regime in

Russia. He proposed a cadre of professional revolutionaries that disciplined itself under the model

of democratic centralism.On the other hand Mao developed a strategy for revolution called Prolonged

People’s War in what he termed the semi-feudal countries of the Third World. Prolonged People’s War

relied heavily on the peasantry.

5. Although Maoism is critical of urban industrial capitalist powers, it views urban industrialization as a

required prerequisite to expand economic development and socialist reorganization to the countryside,

with the goal being the achievement of rural industrialization that would abolish the distinction between

town and countryside.Ulimatly we can conclude that Leninism and Maoism both utilizes the theories of

Marxism, however fit such in the reality of their society.Although the fundamental concept of creating

class less society is same but they use it differently according to their circustances.