Marxism-Leninism

Marxism-Leninism is a term which originated in Stalin's Soviet Union to describe the official Soviet ideology, which was presented as a higher stage of Marxism, as interpreted and in places added to be Vladimir Lenin. Marxism-Leninism was adopted by all sections of the ComIntern as their basic ideology, and continues to constitute the ideological backbone of communist parties around the world.

Historical usage

Stalin, in contrast to several contemporary revolutionaries, did not write a significant body of theoretical work. "Stalinism", strictly speaking, refers to a style of government or political practice in general, rather than an ideology per se; however, during the period of Stalin's rule in the Soviet Union, a set of interpretations of the works of Marx and Lenin which were in concordance with Stalinist practices was established and disseminated, the term Marxism-Leninism coined to describe it.

The repudiation of Stalin in the Soviet Union and elsewhere after his death and Khruschev's famous Secret Speech led to an anti-revisionist movement, led by the People's Republic of China and Mao Tse-tung in particular, who claimed to represent true Marxism-Leninism in the line of Stalin. As time went on, the claim that Mao had "adapted Marxism-Leninism to Chinese conditions" evolved into the idea that he had updated it in a fundamental way applying to the world as a whole; consequently, the term "Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse Tung Thought" was increasingly used to describe the official Chinese state ideology, more commonly known (along with its offshoots) as Maoism. American Maoists associated with the Revolutionary Communist Party (USA) subsequently coined the term Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to refer to what they saw as the tradition of revolutionary thought abandoned by Mao's successors in China and carried on by committed revolutionaries such as themselves.

China's anti-Stalin opponents (and some pro-Stalin ones, such as Bill Bland in the United Kingdom) disagreed and insisted that Mao was espousing a new ideology, Maoism. Some Mao supporters subsequently acknowledged the important originality of Mao's thought and embraced this term, or the term Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.

In North Korea, Marxism-Leninism was officially superceded in 1977 by Juche, in which concepts of class and class struggle, which is to say Marxism, play no significant role. This did not lead to significant changes either in the conduct of the North Korean state or in its relationship with the Soviet Union or China.

Current usage

Most communist parties continue to regard Marxism-Leninism as their basic ideology, although many have modified it to adapt to national political conditions. Several communist parties, especially those previously associated with Eurocommunism, have distanced themselves from the concept of 'marxism-leninism' and in many cases omitted it from their official documents. Some, have started identifying themselves as 'Marxist, Leninist' or 'Marxist and Leninist' rather than 'Marxist-Leninist'. The difference in such cases is that the historical connotation of 'Marxism-Leninism' is avoided.

Today the appellation 'Marxist-Leninist' in used in party names by groups originating from the anti-revisionist tradition, such as Maoist and Hoxnaite groups. Often names such as 'Communist Party of X (marxist-leninist)' were adopted to distinguish those parties from the mainstream, pro-Soviet communist parties.

Popular confusion abounds concering the complex terminology describing the various schools of Marxist-derived thought. The appellation 'Marxist-Leninist' is often used by those not familiar with socialist ideology in any detail (e.g. many newspapers and other media) as a synonym for any kind of Marxism.