A critique of Marxism‐Leninism as theory and Praxis

Abstract

A systematic reconsideration of Marxism in theory and practice reveals the inadequacy, indeed the unacceptability, as far as democratic socialists are concerned of Marxism‐Leninism. This article is, in essence, a critique of Marxism‐Leninism and a plea for a less doctrinaire approach to both theory and practice. The point, is not simply that Leninism flies in the face of all that makes marxism desirable, nor simply that Leninism is immoral (as if this were not enough). It is that, although Leninism may be one of the logical consequences of Marxism, it contradicts the Marxist premise and the point of Marx's own work. This may lead us to ask whether Marx's texts display the required internal coherence for a scientific theory. It also considers the approaches within the Marxist‐Leninist traditions which can be identified as deterministic Marxism and voluntarist Marxism neither of which is theoretically or ethically satisfactory. The general argument is related to Marxism and Marxism‐Leninism in Africa.