It is impossible to predict the time and progress of revolution. It is governed by its own more or less mysterious laws.
Vladimir LeninRead
To decide once every few years which members of the ruling class is to repress and crush the people through parliament-this is the real essence of bourgeois parliamentarism, not only in parliamentary- constitutional monarchies, but also in the most democratic republics.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote criticizes the nature of bourgeois parliamentary systems and their role in maintaining oppression.
Vladimir Lenin highlights that the essence of bourgeois parliamentarism lies in its function as a mechanism for the ruling class to exert control over the populace, regardless of the system's democratic claims. By suggesting that even in the most democratic republics, the ruling class still decides how to oppress the citizens, Lenin reveals the inherent contradictions in political systems that purport to represent the people while serving elite interests.
Themes
BourgeoisParliamentarismOppressionDemocracyRuling Class
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate on political reform, one might quote Lenin to emphasize the need for genuine representation.
More from Vladimir Lenin
All quotes →For the complete extinction of the state, complete Communism is necessary.
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Medicine is the keystone of the arch of socialism.
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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.
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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".
Vladimir LeninRead
The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
Vladimir LeninRead
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