It is impossible to predict the time and progress of revolution. It is governed by its own more or less mysterious laws.
Vladimir LeninRead
The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them in parliament.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The oppressed are given the illusion of choice in a system that primarily serves their oppressors.
In this quote, Lenin critiques democratic systems where the oppressed have limited true power and are allowed to choose from a selection of representatives who ultimately serve the interests of the elite class. This highlights the cyclical nature of oppression, where the guise of political choice masks the underlying reality of exploitation and control by those in power.
Themes
OppressionPoliticsRepresentationPowerIllusion
In practice
Example use cases
Discussing the limitations of democracy in a political science class.
More from Vladimir Lenin
All quotes βFor the complete extinction of the state, complete Communism is necessary.
Vladimir LeninRead
Medicine is the keystone of the arch of socialism.
Vladimir LeninRead
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.
Vladimir LeninRead
We are not utopians, we do not βdreamβ 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
Similar quotes
Transparency concerning the Federal Reserve's conduct of monetary policy is desirable because better public understanding enhances the effectiveness of policy. More important, however, is that transparent communications reflect the Federal Reserve's commitment to accountability within our democratic system of government.
Janet YellenRead
I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by my friends to become a candidate for the Legislature. My politics are short and sweet, like the old woman's dance.
Abraham LincolnRead
They realize that in thirty-four months we have built up new instruments of public power. In the hands of a peoples Government this power is wholesome and proper. But in the hands of political puppets of an economic autocracy such power would provide shackles for the liberties of the people.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
Concentrated power can be always wielded in the interest of the few and at the expense of the many. Government in its last analysis is this power reduced to a science. Governments never lead; they follow progress. When the prison, stake or scaffold can no longer silence the voice of the protesting minority, progress moves on a step, but not until then.
Lucy ParsonsRead
The Sudanese government has been playing games with the world, with the Africa Union, in particular, have been playing for time in order to conclude its mission of ethnic cleansing in the Sudan.
Wole SoyinkaRead
The faces and the tactics of the leaders may change every four years, or two, or one, but the people go on forever.
Paul RobesonRead