It is impossible to predict the time and progress of revolution. It is governed by its own more or less mysterious laws.
Our aim is to achieve a socialist system of society, which, by eliminating the division of mankind into classes, by eliminating all exploitation of man by man and nation by nation, will inevitably eliminate the very possibility of war.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote advocates for a socialist society where class divisions and exploitation are removed to prevent war.
In this quote, Vladimir Lenin expresses the belief that a socialist system can eliminate the root causes of conflict by addressing inequality and exploitation. By promoting equality among people and nations, he argues that the potential for war would dissipate, leading to a more harmonious existence. Lenin envisions a societal transformation that would not only uplift the oppressed but also foster global peace through mutual respect and understanding.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for social reforms, this quote can be used to emphasize the need for unity and equality.
More from Vladimir Lenin
All quotes →For the complete extinction of the state, complete Communism is necessary.
Medicine is the keystone of the arch of socialism.
A democracy is a state which recognizes the subjection of the minority to the majority, that is, an organization for the systematic use of violence by one class against the other, by one part of the population against another.
We are not utopians, we do not “dream” of dispensing at once with all administration, with all subordination. These anarchist dreams, based upon incomprehension of the tasks of the proletarian dictatorship, are totally alien to Marxism, and, as a matter of fact, serve only to postpone the socialist revolution until people are different. No, we want the socialist revolution with people as they are now, with people who cannot dispense with subordination, control, and "foremen and accountants".
The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
Similar quotes
Arguments are extremely vulgar, for everyone in good society holds exactly the same opinion.
A man's excellence is like that of water; It benefits all things without striving; It takes to the low places shunned by men. Water is akin to Tao. . . . In all the earth nothing weaker than water, Yet in attacking the hard, nothing superior, Nothing so certain in wearing down strength: There is no way to resist it. Note then: The weak conquer the strong, The yielding outlast the aggressors.
All the arguments to prove man's superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering, the animals are our equals.
From inaccessible mountain range by way of desert untrod by human foot to the ends of the unknown seas, the breath of the everlasting creative spirit is felt, rejoicing over every speck of dust that hearkens to it and lives.
People think of animals as if they were vegetables, and that is not right. We have to change the way people think about animals. I encourage the Tibetan people and all people to move toward a vegetarian diet that doesn’t cause suffering.
All governments are in equal measure good and evil. The best ideal is anarchy.