Karl Marx:Communist Manfesto?

Question

If Karl Marx believed that goverments were obsolete in his Communist Manifesto, why then did Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin and the rest of the Bolsheviks twist it to make it a political party.
I have never fully understood this. Enlighten me.

To clarify. Why did the Bolsheviks twist Marx's ideas of Communism to make it a political party? The idea of Communism was that there was no need for goverment. The workers were suppose to rise up and overthrow their masters in the factories. If the workers control the factories, then there is no need for government or am I missing something in Marx's ideas.

Answer 1

Karl Marx NEVER intended communism to be adopted in Russia. he only predicted it to be enveloped by the world's leading industrialists such as England, France and Germany.

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Lenin and Trotsky especially became smitten with the ideologies of Marx and used the best bits to form a hybrid pack of ideologies for Russia. Lenin understood the necessity for simplicity which is why he diluted the economic theories of Marx to the elementary levels, which could be understood by the proletariat, peasantry, etc.

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The creation of a communist society was most spectacularly attempted in Russia by Lenin and the Bolsheviks in the 1917 Russian Revolution. This led to the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. After Stalin's rise to power, millions were killed in famines, the gulag, and the Great Purge. Many have argued that these events conclusively prove the evil of communism, and ought to place communism on a par with fascism as unacceptable in the public discourse. While some have defended the USSR, at least by comparison to capitalist nations, others have responded that the USSR was not an implementation of Marx's ideas, being state capitalist or bureaucratic collectivist either from the start or after Stalin's take-over.

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MARXISM:

Marxism refers to the philosophy and social theory on one hand, and to the political practice based on Marxist theory on the other hand (namely, parts of the First International during Marx's time, communist parties and later states). Karl Marx, a 19th century German, Jewish, socialist philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, often in collaboration with Friedrich Engels, drew on G.W.F. Hegel's philosophy, the political economy of Adam Smith and David Ricardo, and theorists of 19th century French republicanism and socialism, to develop a critique of society which he claimed was both scientific and revolutionary. This critique achieved its most systematic (albeit unfinished) expression in his most famous work, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, more commonly known as Das Kapital (1867). He believed that a revolution would be the catalyst in the transformation from capitalism to socialism. Locating itself at the far left, Marxism has been situated largely outside the political mainstream since its inception and up to the present day, although it has played a major role in history. Today, Marxist political parties of widely different sizes survive in most countries around the world, while the influences of Marx's philosophy may be found in many non-Marxist works.

BOLSHEVIK IDEOLOGY:

The Bolsheviks believed in organizing the party in a strongly centralized hierarchy that sought to overthrow the Tsar and achieve power. Although the Bolsheviks were not completely monolithic, they were characterized by a rigid adherence to the leadership of the central committee, based on the notion of democratic centralism. The Mensheviks favored open party membership and espoused cooperation with the other socialist and some non-socialist groups in Russia. Bolsheviks generally refused to co-operate with liberal or radical parties (which they labeled "bourgeois") or even eventually other socialist organizations, although Lenin sometimes made tactical alliances.

During the First World War, the Bolsheviks took an internationalist stance that emphasized solidarity between the workers of Russia, Germany, and the rest of the world, and broke with the Second International when its leading parties ended up supporting their own nations in the conflict.

Answer 2

The Bolsheviks recognized the need to guide a nation through socialism towards the ultimate goal. Unfortunately, however, they adopted the sprawling bureaucracy of the Russian Imperial Government as their own, so preventing an effective transition. The answer is less bureaucracy, not more. Also, they implemented GOVERNMENT control as opposed to GROUP control- Marx is adament that farmers and factory workers should own their workplace in common, not the government.

Answer 3

Karl Marx did not believe governments were obsolete, but that they would become obsolete. He saw the worldwide communist revolution of the proletariat and subsequent establishment of a socialist proletariat-based government as a necessary step towards true communism. Once the revolutionary government had redistributed wealth and the people were ready for true communism, it was supposed to voluntarily dissolve itself, beginning the era of true communist paradise.

Of course, that would never happen any more than the bourgeosie would voluntarily dissolve their government. Marx failed to account for the corrupting nature of power. Once the formerly-oppressed gain power, what they really want is to oppress their former oppressors, not to end oppression entirely. The proletariat become the new bourgeosie.

Answer 4

~You need to re-read Marx. Then you have to realize that the communism he described was never tried (at least by those who called themselves communists - although it did work rather well for the Iroquois and the Jamestown settlers for a few years). Then you need to relate it to history, socialology, philosophy, evolution and political science. In short, you need to learn to think. Lenin, and any other leader under any other form govenment, counts on people like you who don't know that little trick. That's pretty much how they do it.

Answer 5

Groucho Marx: Horse Feathers?

Answer 6

Ugh.. I did a report on karl marx this year. people just twist things the way they want to to benift their own interests.

Answer 7

Lennin and his followers were incompetent people..
They chosed to livein kremlim instead of making it a university or something..
Ruthless people indeed..
If you want an example of sincere leaders who brought socialism
take Mao zedong of china for example..he rode on bycyles,lived in a simple house,a simple life style and sincere to his country..
Look how he helped his country be prosperious
Being sincere to your caus and being capable matters a lot..

Answer 8

Because absolute power corrupts absolute

Answer 9

What is the question? Please clarify