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.
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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 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
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