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$etween Lenin and de#ocrac, Lenin and violence, and Lenin and Stalin. 8t will conclude with a

suggestion that iek has focused on one aspect of Lenin in 9:9; that while i#pressive, is not

terri$l relevant to todas new left. There is however another Lenin in 9:9;, une"a#ined $ iek,

that #a $e #ore prosaic( $ut #ight $e so#ewhat #ore useful for the +9stcentur.

Theory )n! (r)tie in 1917

iek sas that it is crucial to e#phasi7e the relevance of ;/.

This idea was like a thunder$olt inside the &ussian socialist #ove#ent. Cntil now, the idea

that a poor countr such as &ussia, with a large peasant population, could proceed directl to a

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workers revolution, was the propert of a ver s#all #inorit, $est represented $ Trotsk. Lenin

had the courage to a$andon his old theories, co#e over to the su$stance of Trotsks position

*without, however, ever for#all saing so/, laing the ground for Trotsk and his followers *the

8nter%District 1o##ittee 0 in &ussian, Mezhrayontsi or Mezhrayonka/ fusing with Lenins Bolsheviks

in the su##er of 9:9;.9ro# that point on, until the rise of Stalin, the &ussian &evolution was pre%

e#inentl identified with Lenin and Trotsk as an insepara$le tea#.

iek concludes his reprints with a section of Lenins works written in the i##ediate run%upto the insurrection that overthrew the provisional govern#ent. 5ere, Lenin is #aking ever effort to

persuade so#e of his #ore conservative co%thinkers, that there is a place in !ar"is# for the art( of

insurrection. Being a !ar"ist, he argues, doesnt #ean waiting for the laws of histor to work

the#selves out, $ut to stud those laws to deter#ine how $est to activel intervene into their

working out( in order to further the interests of the working class and the oppressed. At certain

#o#ents, that intervention can take the for# of preparing an insurrection, so#ething #ost !ar"ists

considered the preserve of the unscientific anarchists. Lenin disagreed. 5e said first, that in certain

circu#stances it waspossiblefor socialists to organi7e an insurrection, $ut it #ust rel not onconspirac and not upon a part, $ut upon the advanced class ... 8nsurrection #ust rel upon a

revolutionary upsurge of the people. ... 8nsurrection #ust rel upon that turning-pointin the histor

of the growing revolution when the activit of the advanced ranks of the people is at its height(

*iek ++$- 99;/. But Lenin went further. B 3cto$er 9:9;, he was writing that not onl was

insurrection possi$le, it was also necessary. 8t is clear that all power #ust pass to the Soviets( $ut

in practice the transfer of power to the Soviets now #eans ar#ed uprising ... To repudiate ar#ed

uprising now would #ean to repudiate the ke slogan of Bolshevis# *All Eower to the Soviets/(

*iek ++$- 9=+/.

These are re#arka$le writings fro# a ke figure active during one of the critical turning

points of the twentieth centur, a #o#ent when o$jective forces *war and econo#ic crisis/ had

engendered #ass #ove#ents of #illions, creating conditions where the deter#ined actions of an

organi7ed #inorit *the Bolshevik part/ could change the course of histor. !aking these readings

availa$le to a new generation is e"tre#el worthwhile. This worthwhile project is, unfortunatel,

seriousl flawed $ a Fuite #istaken *and at ti#es Fuite confusing/ analsis of these ideas.

.emor)y )n! the st)te

To $egin with, we are presented with a ver one%sided insurrectionar( Lenin, who has no

use for the struggle for refor#s. iek asserts that Lenins State and Revolution*Lenin- 9:G/ a ke

te"t of the 9:9; revolution, is arguing that in so far as we still dwell within the doain of the State,

we are legiti#atel entitled to e"ercise full violent terror, since, within this do#ain, ever de#ocrac

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is a fake ... since the State is an instru#ent of oppression, it is not worth tring to i#prove its

apparatuses, the protection of the legal order, elections, laws guaranteeing personal freedo# ... 0

all this $eco#es irrelevant( *iek ++$- 9:+/. Eerhaps this is iek $ending the stick( to #ake a

point. ?lsewhere, he shows a #ore nuanced understanding of Lenins attitude towards for#al

de#ocrac. 2hen Lenin underlines that there is no

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Cnited States, $ut a #ass assertion of the right of African A#ericans to e"ercise their franchise'

This great rising of the oppressed laid the foundation for all the ke social #ove#ents of the 9:Is

and 9:;s. 2hat was the ten%#illion strong Eolish trade union SolidarnoJK, $ut a #onu#ental

effort to win de#ocrac against repressive Stalinist state capitalis#' This enor#ous de#ocratic

#ove#ent at the $eginning of the 9:Gs laid the $asis for the under#ining of Stalinist

totalitarianis# at the end of that decade. 2hat was the great #ove#ent against apartheid in South

Africa, $ut a #illions%strong re$ellion against lack of de#ocrac, and an assertion of the right of theBlack #ajorit to enter into the official real# of politics' 2hat were the #ove#ents for

independence in 8ndia, the 1hinese revolution, the anti%colonial uprisings in Africa, $ut #ove#ents

$ the oppressed #ajorit to assert their de#ocratic right to sovereignt' 3f course iek 0 as a

person of the left 0 would have supported the struggles of the workers and poor of !ississippi,

6dansk and Soweto. 5owever, his careless gloss on Lenin 0 that it is not worth tring( to i#prove

the protection of the legal order, elections, laws guaranteeing personal freedo#s...( 0 leads in the

opposite direction, to a political position of indifference towards these #ass struggles for

de#ocratic refor#.This is not Leninis# as Lenin would have recogni7ed it. !ost of Lenins adult political life

was organi7ed around the struggle for the e"tension of de#ocrac, what iek clai#s the Lenin of

9:9; would have seen as a struggle not worth tring(. Lenin of course knew the li#itations of

conte#porar de#ocrac. 8t was Lenin who in 9:9: said, the #ost de#ocratic $ourgeois repu$lic

is no #ore than a #achine for the suppression of the working class $ the $ourgeoisie, for the

suppression of the working people $ a handful of capitalists( *Lenin 9:G;- 9>9/. But Lenin, and all

thinkers, has to $e put into conte"t. This 9:9: state#ent on de#ocrac was written at the high

point of the spread of the &ussian and ?uropean workers council #ove#ent, which showed in life

the possi$ilit of an alternative to $ourgeois de#ocrac, the #uch #ore de#ocratic workers

de#ocrac $ased on direct de#ocrac at the workplace. 5is 9:9; State and Revolution0 where he

develops at length the theor of a workers council $ased de#ocrac 0 was written after three

ears of $ar$arous world war, and in the conte"t of a fierce reaction against the e$ruar, 9:9;

revolution, a reaction with parlia#entar socialists at its head.

Take Lenin in a different conte"t 0 at the #id%point of what would co#e to $e known as the

9:> &evolution. 8n Hul 9:>, the first wave of strikes had su$sided, and the second wave *that

would lead to the esta$lish#ent of histors first workers councils/ had not et $egun. 8n this inter%

regnu#, unli#ited terror reigned in the streets( *Trotsk 9:;9- G/ according to Trotsk, along with

&osa Lu"e#$urg, the 9:> revolutions great historian. 8n this conte"t, Lenin wrote- The full

develop#ent of the productive forces in #odern $ourgeois societ, a $road, free, and open class

struggle, and the political education, training, and ralling of the #asses of the proletariat are

inconceiva$le without political freedo#. Therefore it has alwas $een the ai# of the class%

5

http://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/f/r.htm#freedomhttp://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/f/r.htm#freedom

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conscious proletariat to wage a deter#ined struggle for co#plete political freedo# and the

de#ocratic revolution( *Lenin 9:;;d- >99/. There is nothing uniFue a$out this Fuote. This

orientation towards advocating de#ocratic refor# was central to his political theor and practice

while organi7ing against the autocrac.

8t is outside the scope of this article, $ut in the conte"t of a discussion of Lenin and

de#ocrac, one particular de#ocratic de#and distinguished Lenin and his part fro# all others of

his ti#e 0 his and their insistence on the right of oppressed nations to self%deter#ination. 8t washere that Lenin parted co#pan with &osa Lu"e#$urg, who had #an strengths as a political

theorist and activist, $ut 0 $ecause she feared that its independence #ove#ent would not $e led

$ Socialists 0 did not support the right of Eoland to self%deter#ination *Dunaevskaa 9::9, Davis

9:;I/. Lenins insistence on this de#ocratic right divided hi# fro# the refor#ists of the Second

8nternational *who consistentl lined up with this or that i#perialist power/ and later fro# his

successor, Hoseph Stalin, whose counter%revolution against the &ussian workers state in #an

was $egan with an attack on the right of s#all nations 0 including his own ho#eland of 6eorgia 0

to e"ercise their right to self%deter#ination *Lewin 9:;, Lenin and Trotsk 9:;>/. The contrastcouldnt $e greater- Lenin the revolutionar de#ocrat, who on his death$ed saw the i#portance of

the de#ocratic de#and of national self%deter#ination Stalin the counter%revolutionar autocrat

whose consolidation of power involved the $rutal suppression of the oppressed nationalities.

Lars T. Lihs introduction to the ideas of Lenin highlights clearl the de#ocratic content to

the lifes work of Lenin and his socialist current. 3verthrowing the autocrac 0 in other words,

achieving political freedo# 0 is vital not onl for &ussia $ut for the workers who can then set out on

the directroad of openpolitical struggle.

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/e!emptive Violene0

ieks deconte"tuali7ed and therefore overl a$stract outline of what he calls Lenins

theor of the state, leads to an ultraleft( dis#issal of the struggle for de#ocrac. Cltraleft is a ter#

descri$ing political theor and practice that sounds ver left%wing( *we are #uch #ore radical than

those fighting for de#ocrac/ $ut in practice is highl conservative *we stand on the sidelines with

ar#s folded while #illions put their lives on the line for de#ocratic refor#/.+But this is onl part ofthe pro$le#. 5is ultraleftis# is tangled up with a grotesFue fascination with violence.

These two aspects of his theor 0 ultraleftis# and a fascination with violence 0 are linked.

ieks ultraleftis# reveals itself in his utter conte#pt for a long list of political activities. M(decins

sans fronti)res, 6reenpeace, fe#inist and anti%racist ca#paigns( are e"a#ples of what he calls

interpassivit- of doing things not in order to achieve so#ething, $ut to prevent so#ething fro#

reall happening, reall changing. All this frenetic hu#anitarian, Eoliticall 1orrect, etc. activit fits

the for#ula of

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The individual alone in front of the E1 screen( #a $e iek, $ut it is not the #odern

proletariat in either the office or the factor. iek would $enefit fro# so#e class analsis. OTPhe

fil#4s starting point is the #isera$le lives #an ordinar people have. But the ever#an character

and the fil#4s narrator, plaed $ ?d )orton, is not our average worker. 5e is e#ploed $ a

leading car co#pan to see how far the can get awa with unsafe vehicles $efore the have to

recall the product( *Shooter 9:::- unpaginated/. )orton is a #e#$er of the Erofessional !iddle

1lass 0 what we used to call the pett%$ourgeoisie 0 a section of societ that is prone to e"tre#eindividualis#. &adical( versions of this individualis# can end up with a fi"ation on individual

violence. Acts of individual violence are often seen as the onl wa to resist capitalist societ,

$ecause the class standpoint of the pett $ourgeoisie is divorced fro# the da%to%da collective

work and struggles of the #ass of the oppressed, and therefore distant fro# the great potential

power of working%class collective action.

The classic theoretical e"pression of this is the chaotic thinker 6eorges Sorel. There were

left%wing revolutionar sndicalists at the $eginning of the last centur who saw Sorels philosophic

justification of the role of violence *$est e"pressed in his Reflections on iolence as part of theirideological ar#our in the fight against capitalis#. 8n 9:>, Sorel declared flatl that

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the answer we need( sas Tler at one point. And the fat used in the #aking of their soap' 8t

co#es fro# a liposuction clinic, allowing for the following line- 8t was $eautiful. 2e were selling rich

wo#en their fat asses $ack to the#( *incher, 9:::/.

!ar" talked a$out the working class $eco#ing the su$ject of histor. or iek however,

su$jectivit is individuali7ed in a wa that is characteristic of thinkers who do not root their thinking

in class analsis. The first lesson of *ight +lub( he writes is that we cannot go directlyfro#

capitalist to revolutionar su$jectivit- the a$straction, the foreclosure of others, the $lindness to theothers suffering and pain, has first to $e $roken in a gesture of taking the risk and reaching directl

out to the suffering other 0 a gesture which, since it shatters the ver kernel of our identit, cannot

fail to appear e"tre#el violent( *iek ++$- +>+/. But working class su$jectivit 0 understood as

the develop#ent of class consciousness 0 is not an individual gesture of risk taking and violence. 8t

is a product of collective work and collective struggle, so#ething co#pletel a$sent in ieks

analsis.

This picture of ieks fascination with violence, helps illu#inate his ver particular reading

of State and Revolution, e"a#ined earlier. The ke for hi# is not the e#ancipator vision of thewithering awa of the state. The ke is the fact that ever de#ocrac is a fake( and thus we are

legiti#atel entitled to e"ercise full violent terror.( Qiolence, for iek, is an end in itself. 8t was not

for Lenin. Lenins generation of socialists was Fuite aware of the so#eti#es violent nature of the

struggle for change. The were, after all, operating inside a repressive Tsarist autocrac. Si$eria

and prison were the al#ost inevita$le reward for $eco#ing a political activist. Lenin 0 like !alcol#

R in the 9:Is 0 was a defender of the right of the #ass #ove#ent to resist the violent attacks of

the state, including the right of the oppressed to use violence in return. But $oth Lenin and !alcol#

R knew that this was not an end in itself. The ke was developing the capacities of the #ass of the

working class as a whole. Tactics had to $e chosen that were calculated to $ring a$out the direct

participation of the #asses and which guaranteed that participation( *Lenin 9:;;c- 9:/. or those

activists who cele$rated violence as an end in itself, Lenin had ver strong words. .!/ithoutthe

working people all $o#$s are powerless, patentl powerless ... an appeal to resort to such terrorist

acts as the organi7ation of atte#pts on the lives of #inisters $ individuals and groups that are not

known to one another #eans, not onl thereby$reaking off work a#ong the #asses, $ut also

introducing downright disorgani7ation into that work.( Acts of terroris# $ individuals can create a

short%lived sensation( $ut that is followed Fuickl $ apath and passive waiting for the ne"t bout0

*Lenin 9:;;c- 9G: and 9:9/.

8n a certain sense, it is unfair to Lenins opponents to use the# in such a wa to critiFue

ieks positions. Lenin was pole#ici7ing against the Socialist &evolutionaries, a group on the left

focused on the revolutionar potential of the peasantr. Lenin #ight have profoundl disagreed with

their tactics, $ut he dealt with the# seriousl and at length $ecause the were engaged in political

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work on a #ass scale. 8n the tu#ultuous epoch of revolution in 9:9;, a $ig section of the Socialist

&evolutionaries would join with Lenins Bolsheviks in the new part of the revolution. ieks

cele$ration of violence, $ contrast, is not rooted in #ass work of an sort. 8t is totall and utterl

individualistic.

ieks cele$ration of the violent individual reflects a profound pessi#is# in the political

#ass. This is characteristic of all such individualistic cele$rations of violence 0 so#ething that

Lenin argued #ade the#, in spite of their left%wing rhetoric, ver si#ilar to those whose hori7onsare li#ited to the parlia#entar struggle for refor#s. The British socialist 6areth Henkins

su##ari7es Lenins point succinctl. Both the terrorist and the parlia#entar refor#ist evaded the

central role of how workers the#selves would change societ ... 3ne tendenc su$stituted terror for

#ass work, the other refor# for revolution. ... neither looks to working class self%activit as the lever

for revolutionar change( *Henkins +I- I;/.

iek is using his role as an intellectual in the #ost irresponsi$le of fashions. or hi# these

are just words, to shock and i#press an acade#ic audience. But there are activists in the world

tring to find theories and practices that will help the# deal with the oppression and e"ploitationthat are the $itter dail realit for #illions. Should an of the# read iek and take hi# at his word 0

one shudders at the political conclusions that could $e drawn. orget a$out de#ocrac, forget

a$out the struggle for refor#s, understand our right to e"tre#e terror(, and look for the

revolutionar gesture of violence to confront The 3ther( 0 the onl wa to develop our

revolutionar su$jectivit. 8f these conclusions werent so potentiall dangerous, the would $e

laugha$le.

The bvious )rb)rism of St)linism

The ver thin laer of those who still think and feel and have not so far $een strangled, shot,

starved or fro7en, is depressed, oppressed, and 0 silent( *Hoffe 9:;G- +++/. These were the gri#

words of &ussian socialist !aria Hoffe, e#erging fro# al#ost ears in the gulag 0 Stalins

sste# of Si$erian concentration ca#ps 0 an e"perience she called 3ne Long )ight(. The anti%

Stalinist left can no longer $e silenced. But in $reaking the silence i#posed $ +thcentur

totalitarianis# 0 Stalins included 0 it does not help to, again, ro#antici7e one of histors saddest

chapters, the long night of Hoseph Stalin. Cnfortunatel, this is e"actl what iek does in what is

the #ost distur$ing section of his analsis of Lenin, so#ething he titles, The 8nner 6reatness of

Stalinis#.(

iek knows ver well the horrors of Stalinis#. &eall ?"isting Socialis# was$ar$aris#(

*iek ++$- 9:+/ he Fuite accuratel o$serves. 8 a# fro# the ?ast, 8 know what shit it was. 8

have no nostalgia for Stalinis#( *&as#ussen +=- unpaginated/. But this reads like an add%on( to

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his $asic orientation, si#ilar to his giving a nod to the fact that *ight +lub0 a fil# he idoli7es 0 does

have a few( fascist overtones. 5is $asic position in the Afterword to Revolution at the Gatesis ver

#uch pro%Stalin. 2e should( he argues stop the ridiculous ga#e of opposing the Stalinist terror to

the

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perspective cannot e"plain wh the leading figure of anti%Stalinis# $eca#e Leon Trotsk 0 along

with Lenin the pre%e#inent leader of the 3cto$er &evolution. 2ho e#$raced the revolutionar act

#ore full than Leon Trotsk 0 president of the Eetrograd Soviet in 9:> and again in 9:9;,

organi7er of the insurrection in 3cto$er 9:9;, organi7er of the &ed Ar# in the desperate

prosecution of the 1ivil 2ar' This e#$race of the revolutionar act did not reFuire a su$seFuent

e#$race of Stalinis#. 8n fact, to hold onto this revolutionar act, de#anded the e#$racing of

resistance to Stalinis#, what Antonov%3vseenko accuratel la$eled counter%revolution.(The British Trotksist Ale" 1allinicos also calls &ussian Stalinis# a counter%revolution, and

identifies four inter%related aspects. irst was the euphe#isticall na#ed forced collectivi7ation( of

agriculture, in realit the launching of a civil war against s#all peasant holdings $ the state

resulting in #illions of deaths, relocations and i#prison#ents. Driving the regi#e to this pri#itive

accu#ulation( was the second aspect of the counter%revolution, the need to su$ordinate all efforts

to industriali7ation, to allow the Soviet Cnion to catch up with the advanced west. And

collectivi7ation allowed the regi#e drasticall to increase grain e"ports and there$ to finance

i#ports of plant and eFuip#ent fro# the 2est.( 6rowing war fears with the west fuelled the drivefor rapid industrialisation. Lenin in 9:9: argued 2e are living not #erel in a state, $ut in a syste

of states, and it is inconceiva$le for the Soviet &epu$lic to live alongside of the i#perialist states for

an length of ti#e. 3ne or other #ust triu#ph in the end.( or Lenin and Trotsk, the conclusion

was to win the other states to workers revolution through the 1o##unist 8nternational, founded in

9:9:. or Stalin the conclusion was, industriali7e and $eco#e a 6reat Eower. But this reFuired the

third aspect of the counter%revolution 0 sste#atic coercion. To achieve industriali7ation, there was

feverish ur$ani7ation *driving peasants to the cities/ and a #assive increase in e"ploitation. &eal

wages in 9:+ were at #ost > per cent of their 9:+G level.( There was resistance to these attacks

$ workers in the cities, just as peasants in the countrside resisted the e"propriation of their land.

This capacit to resist had to $e crushed in order for the counter%revolution to succeed, and thus

an inside the cities with a #e#or of the politics of workers resistance had to $e repressed. The

coercion, then, was directed first and fore#ost at for#er and current activists in the Bolshevik

Eart, the part that, for #ore than a generation, had $een the leading e"ponent of workers

opposition to e"ploitation. This coercion cul#inated in the 6reat Terror of 9:I%G where several

hundred thousand people perished. 3n the $acks of these three aspects, then, the fourth ca#e into

pla, the upward #o$ilit of a new generation of non%3ld Bolshevik( rulers. The Terror wiped out

the generation of Bolsheviks who had $een shaped $ the underground struggle against Tsaris#

and led the 3cto$er &evolution itself.( Their shoes were filled $ a new generation organi7ed not

around world revolution, $ut around national industrial and #ilitar growth, a new $ureaucratic

ruling class *1allinicos 9::+- +:%>/. That is, in outline, an understanding of Stalinis# that has

stood the test of ti#e. 8t confronts head%on the o$vious $ar$aris# of Stalinis#, and insists that 0

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Stalins clai#s to the contrar 0 this $ar$aris# has nothing to do with an left project, it has nothing

to do with Lenin. That is wh Trotsk 0 Lenins closest colla$orator fro# 9:9; until Lenins death 0

said there was $etween Bolshevis# and Stalinis# not si#pl a $lood line $ut a whole river of

$lood.(

This kind of analsis 0 rooted in political econo# and concrete historical stud 0 does not

e"ist for iek. 5is analsis wanders in a garden of culture, $iograph and co##ent and is

freFuentl #ore favoura$le to Stalin than Lenin. At one level, he sas, Lenins atte#pt to lead arevolution in 9:9; was a utopia( a kind of #adness,( and if anthing, Stalinis# stands for a return

to the realistic /. Two pro#inent !ar"ist anti%Stalinist *and

Trotskist/ theorists identif 9:+G, the first five%ear plan and the $eginning of forced

industriali7ation as a watershed in the transition fro# a workers state to counter%revolution and

state capitalis# *1liff 9:;=, Dunaevskaa 9:=I=;/. iek Fuotes approvingl an analsis that

sees that sa#e ear and that sa#e event the ear as not a kind of

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welco#ed the anti%Stalinist uprisings of the 9:>s, supporting 8#re )ags dissident govern#ent in

9:>I. But so#ehow, for iek, this #ade Lukcs the ultiate Stalinist. 8n contrast to Lukcs,

Brecht was un$eara$le to the Stalinist cultural esta$lish#ent $ecause of his ver

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ieks confusing analsis #ight lead so#e to tr and rediscover Stalin. 8t is the responsi$ilit of the

older generation to confront head%on the pro$le#s of the past, and in part this #eans honestl

confronting the horror that was Stalinis# 0 a horror that sullied the na#e of the left for three

generations. Uet iek talks a$out Stalinis#s 8nner 6reatness.( The ver fact that iek can

without editorial co##ent pu$lish such a headline in a $ook pu$lished $ Qerso, one of the worlds

leading left%wing pu$lishers, is a sign of the fact that Stalinis# re#ains an unresolved issue for

todas left.

3onlusion" The other 'enin of 1917

3ne of the $est sste#atic analses of the political thought of Qladi#ir Lenin, is that written

$ !arcel Lie$#an #ore than ears ago. 8n 'eninis 4nder 'enin, Lie$#an insists that conte"t

is everthing. 8t is i#portant not to separate the doctrine fro# the historical setting in which it arose

and developed. An analsis of Leninis# #ust $e a historyof Leninis# in its living evolution, and no

histor of Leninis# can $e separated fro# the histor of the &ussian revolution( *Lie$#an, 9:;>-+9/.(B contrast, ieks treat#ent of Lenin is co#pletel deconte"tuali7ed, as if histor and

econo#ics did not #atter. And when he does $riefl provide a conte"t, he gets it co#pletel wrong.

The Lenin he is reviving is the Lenin that is least relevant to conte#porar conditions.

ieks Leninis#( e#erges $ wa of an 8ntroduction and long Afterword to a series of

articles written $ Lenin that are widel accessi$le on the internet. The point, then, is to highlight

thisLenin, and to e"plain wh thisLenin 0 the Lenin $etween the e$ruar &evolution of 9:9;, and

the second revolution in 3cto$er 0 is the #ost relevant to todas new left. This is the Lenin of the

decisive act, the Lenin who could see the possi$ilit of a socialist revolution when the rest of thepart leadership could not, the Lenin who $roke fro# his own theor of the $ourgeois character of

the revolution to insist on the possi$ilit of a workers revolution, the Lenin who stood alone,

struggling against the current in his own part( a Lenin who, against all his peers, said that the

#o#ent had arrived for the uniFue chance for a revolution( *iek ++$- >/.

This is the Lenin( sas iek, fro# who# we still have so#ething to learn. The greatness

of Lenin was that in this catastrophic situation, he wasn2t afraid to succeed... 8n 9:9;, instead of

waiting until the ti#e was ripe, Lenin organi7ed a pre%e#ptive strike( *iek ++$- I/. 2e have

so#ething to learn fro# this $ecause our conte"t is si#ilar. 5e sas todas Left is undergoing the

shattering e"perience of the end of an entire epoch ... an e"perience which co#pels it to reinvent

the ver $asic co%ordinates of its project.( 5e argues that it was an e"actl ho#ologous e"perience

that gave $irth to Leninis#,( the shock of $etraal when the #ajor socialist parties supported 2orld

2ar in August, 9:9= *iek ++$- /.

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Let us think this through. The conte"t of Lenin was, as iek argues, 2orld 2ar. But what

iek does not deal with is that the issue was not si#pl the ideological crisis of the socialist

project, as the socialist leaders lined up to support their ruling classes. The issue was the war itself

and what it did to ordinar peoples lives. The #ajor powers of ?urope sent their oung #en to the

trenches $ the #illions for four long ears. And for four long ears, the ca#e $ack $ the #illions

dead, $ the tens of #illions #angled and wounded, leading to the radicali7ation of hundreds of

#illions. B the end of the war, three old e#pires la in ruins 0 the 3tto#an, Austro%5ungarian and&ussian. The state sste# of ?urope was close to cru#$ling. The @aiser in 6er#an was chased

fro# his throne. The Tsar in &ussia was swept awa. And then, in a #agnificent awakening, #ass

de#ocrac e#erged fro# &ussia to 5ungar to 6er#an 0 #ass workers councils developing as

the oppressed #asses strained ever sinew to tr and recreate a new societ fro# the ashes of the

old. *6luckstein 9:G>/. That is the conte"t of the Lenin of 9:9; 0 an era that Lenin called one of

wars and revolutions.

)ow step $ack for a #o#ent. 2e are told that we are living through an e"actl

ho#ologous e"perience.( 5o#ologous is a ter# that co#es fro# science. 8t refers to- A pair ofchro#oso#es containing the sa#e linear gene seFuences( *)ational 8nstitute of Standards and

Technolog n.d./, so this is a ver strong co#parison, not a weak one. 2e are to $elieve that our

epoch is one eFuivalent to Lenins epoch of 9:9= 2orld 2ar and 9:9; #illions%strong workers

revolutions, the end of e#pires, the collapse of trants, the spreading of workers councils. 8n that

circu#stance, we need a Lenin, so#eone prepared to act, so#eone prepared to challenge old

orthodo"ies, who isnt afraid to succeed.( 8t is a wonderful fantas. That does not stop it $eing just

that 0 a fantas.

The ?uropean state sste# toda is not collapsing. That state sste# is defined $ the

?uropean Cnion, which adds new nations ever decade. The Cnited States e#pire #ight $e in

decline, $ut it is in no danger of the disintegration e"perienced $ the 3tto#an. There are wars 0

#an horri$le $ar$aric wars 0 $ut since 2orld 2ar 88, the have not $een wars $etween the #ajor

i#perialist powers, $ut predator wars of the 6lo$al )orth against the countries of the 6lo$al

South. And unfortunatel, we are not in an era of the #ass e"pansion of workers councils. 8n fact,

in #an countries of the 6lo$al )orth, unioni7ation levels are slowl declining and strike levels are

at historic lows.

There are e"ceptions to this picture. 3ne e#pire in recent #e#or has disappeared 0 the

&ussian e#pire. 8n the tur#oil around its collapse, there was perhaps, roo# for the kind of

catastrophis# i#plied $ iek. But that #o#ent has passed, and even the &ussian state has

reconsolidated. 2e do not have workers councils. There is an e#ergence of so#e e"citing for#s

of self%governance in Latin A#erica, particularl in Qene7uela, $ut these are e"ceptions to the

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general picture, not the nor#. 3ur world toda is not ho#ologous( to the &ussia of 9:9=, nor the

&ussia of 9:9;.

There is another Lenin fro# 9:9; 0 one that does not figure into Revolution At The Gates.

The tu#ultuous ear of 9:9; was not in its entiret, a ear where revolutionar $reakthrough

see#ed i##inent. B !a, the e$ruar wave was receding, the forces of reaction were gathering,

and the great radicali7ation that was to lead to the 3cto$er uprising was not et visi$le. 8n that

conte"t, Lenins perspectives were ver #odest.

O3Pur task is patientl to e"plain to the workers and peasants that everthing 0the end of the war, land for the peasants, and real struggle against thecapitalists, not in words, $ut in deeds 0 will $e secured onl when the wholepeople co#es to reali7e ... that onl full power for the workers and peasants,onl the power of the Soviets of 2orkers, Eeasants and Soldiers Deputiescan help to start a resolute struggle for peace, for land and for socialis#. Uoucannot disregard the people. 3nl drea#ers and plotters $elieved that a#inorit could i#pose their will on a #ajorit. That was what the renchrevolutionar BlanFui thought, and he was wrong. 2hen the #ajorit of the

people refuse, $ecause the do not et understand, to take power into theirown hands, the #inorit, however revolutionar and clever, cannot i#pose theirdesire on the #ajorit of the people. ro# this flow our actions. 2e Bolsheviks#ust patientl and perseveringl e"plain our views to the workers andpeasants. ?ach of us #ust forget our old view of our work, each, withoutwaiting for the arrival of an agitator, a propagandist, a #ore knowledgea$leco#rade who will e"plain everthing 0 each of us #ust $eco#e all in one-agitator, propagandist and Eart organi7er *Lenin 9:;;$- =9/.

This is not as e"citing as the Lenin of the decisive act, the Lenin who isnt afraid to succeed,( the

Lenin of the revolutionar gesture. But it #ight just $e a #ore useful Lenin for conte#porar

realities, than the Lenin offered us $ iek. The conte"t of an isolated left is ver different fro# a

left poised for a revolutionar $reakthrough. But iek is not looking for historical conte"t. 5e is

looking for the decisive act, the gesture against The 3ther,( the violent confrontation with

nor#alit. So he sei7es on an aspect of the Lenin of 9:9; to highlight the individual of the decisive

act, prepared to violentl confront a sste# rotten ripe for overthrow. But is it reall true that todas

lefts $ig weakness is the a$sence of an individual who isnt afraid to succeed,( who is willing to

#ake the decisive gesture'

Let us tr on so#ething #ore #odest. Let us tr on the idea of a left that roots itself in the

struggles that do e"ist for refor# 0 against war, for $etter housing, for Ealestinian rights, in defence

of the Qene7uelan &evolution, for wo#ens rights. Let us suggest that in that process we tr to $uild

organi7ations where there is considera$le roo# for de$ate, discussion, and e"peri#entation. Let us

suggest that we tr not to create a super#an capa$le of the decisive act, $ut rather #odest

organi7ations capa$le of de#ocratic decision%#aking and collective solidarit, ones that tr

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patientl to e"plain( the socialist project to the working people with who# the work in these

struggles. Uou wont find anthing of iek in such a project. But ou #ight just find a $it of Lenin.

That Lenin is a Lenin who, in the tradition of @arl !ar", saw his socialis# as $eing

i#possi$le without radical de#ocrac. This de#ocrac leads to two insepara$le political

conclusions- that socialis# itself #ust $e structured around the deep de#ocrac of the soviets

*workers councils/ and that this is i#possi$le without a politics rooted in the self%activit of the

working class( *Henkins, +I- I>/. or iek, the hope of revolution is to $e found in a gesture ofindividual violence directed at The 3ther(. Better we stick with Lenin, for who# the onl

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Antonov%3vseenko, A. *9:G9/ The Tie of Stalin, )ew Uork, 5arper V &ow.

1allinicos, A. *9::+/ Revenge of 3istory, Eennslvania- Eenn State Cniversit Eress.1liff, T. *9:;=/ State +apitalis in Russia, London- Eluto Eress. Availa$le athttp-www.#ar"ists.orgarchivecliffworks9:>>statecapinde".ht#. Accessed April +, +G.

Davis, 5.B. *9:;I/ The &ight of )ational Self%Deter#ination in !ar"ist Theor 0 Lu"e#$urg vs.Lenin,( in Davis, 5.B. ed., The &ational 5uestion6 Selected !ritings by Rosa 'u7eburg, )ewUork- !onthl &eview Eress- :%=G.

Diken D. and Laustsen, 1.B. *+9/ ?njo our fightM 0 ne 'ong &ight, London- )ew Eark Eu$lications.

Lewin, !. *9:;/ 'enin2s 'ast Struggle, London- Eluto Eress- =%I>.

Lenin, Q.8. *9:;;a/ 'eft-!ing0 +ounis ? An "nfantile $isorderin Lenin, +ollected !orksolue @8, !oscow- Erogress Eu$lishers- 9;%99;. Availa$le athttp-www.#ar"ists.orgarchiveleninworks9:+lwc. Accessed April +, +G.

Lenin, Q.8. *9:;;$/ &eport on the &esults of the Seventh *April/ All%&ussia 1onference of the&.S.D.L.E.*B./ At a !eeting of the Eetrograd 3rganisation,( in Lenin, +ollected !orks, olue 8,!oscow- Erogress Eu$lishers. Availa$le athttp-www.#ar"ists.orgarchiveleninworks9:9;#aG.ht#. Accessed April +, +G.

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Lenin, Q.8. *9:;;c/ &evolutionar Adventuris#,( in Lenin, +ollected !orks, olue B, !oscow-Erogress Eu$lishers. Availa$le at http-www.#ar"ists.orgarchiveleninworks9:+sep9.ht#.

Accessed April +, +G.

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http-www.#ar"ists.orgarchiveleninworks9:>jun9;$.ht#. Accessed April +, +G.

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Lenin, Q.8. *9:G;/ Theses and &eport on Bourgeois De#ocrac and the Dictatorship of theEroletariat,( in Hohn &iddell, ed., The +ounist "nternational in 'enin2s Tie6 *ounding the+ounist "nternational ? 1roceedings and $ocuents of the *irst +ongress6 March 8989, )ewUork- Eathfinder. Availa$le at http-www.#ar"ists.orgarchiveleninworks9:9:#arco#intern.ht#.

Accessed April +, +G.

Lenin, Q.8. and Trotsk, L. *9:;>/ 'enin2s *ight Against Stalinis, )ew Uork- Eathfinder Eress.Lih, L. T. *+I/ 'enin Rediscovered6 !hat "s to #e $one% in +onte7t, Boston, Brill.

!elancon, !. *9:GG/ 2ho 2rote 2hat and 2hen'- Erocla#ations of the e$ruar &evolution inEetrograd, + e$ruar 0 9 !arch 9:9;,( Soviet Studies, = - =;:%>

)ational 8nstitute of Standards and Technolog *n.d./ 6lossar of 1o##onl Csed Ter#s.(Availa$le at http-www.cstl.nist.gov$iotechstr$aseglossar.ht#. Accessed April +, +G.

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Availa$le at http-www.electronic$ookreview.co#threadendconstructiondesu$li#ation. AccessedApril +, +G.

&o$inson A. and Tor#e, S. *+/ 2hat is )ot to $e DoneM ?verthing ou wanted to know a$outLenin, and *sadl/ werent afraid to ask iek,( unpu$lished #anuscript. Availa$le athttp-ho#epage.ntlworld.co#si#on.tor#earticlesYi7eklenin.pdf. Accessed April +, +G.

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iek, S. *9:::/ The Ticklish Sub=ect, London, Qerso.

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4n!notes"

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1The stor of the !e7hraontsi!e7hraonka has et to $e written, lost in the enor#it of theevents that were to engulf the &ussian people after 9:9;. or a sense of their role in preparingthose events, see !elancon *9:GG/.2The #odern position on ultraleftis# was first developed $ Lenin in 'eft-!ing0 +ounis ?An "nfantile $isorder*Lenin 9:;;a/.3The ideas in this section are developed in considera$l #ore detail in Author, Leninis# 0 8ts )ot2hat Uou Think,( forthco#ing in ;8st+entury Anti-"perialis6 Mar7is B, ;