Lenin Followed the Marxist Ideology More Closely than Stalin

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels concocted the idea of Marxism, or Communism, in the mid-1800s, and this philosophy was one of the most influential ideologies of the time period, influencing many European political leaders such as Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov and Joseph Stalin. This brings up a question that historians have disputed for decades: who followed the Marxist policy more closely: Stalin or Lenin? Even though the rules of Stalin and Lenin were both based off of the concept of Communism, Lenin added on to it in the interest of the Russian people while Stalin modified parts of it to his personal benefit. Before it can be decided who was more Marxist, the doctrines of Marxism must be looked at. Marx and Engels collected their ideas in a book called The Communist Manifesto. This document outlines the principles of Marxism, which can be summed up in ten main points. First, private property and ownership of land by individuals shall become illegal. Second, income tax shall be adjusted according to the income of the individual; more income meant higher tax, and less income meant lower tax. Individual inheritance shall become nonexistent. Anyone who was not favorable to society would have their property taken away; this included foreign immigrants and rebels. The bank system shall be centralized into one national bank, and all individual money shall be placed in this bank. Transportation and communication shall be controlled by the government. The government shall gain increased holdings in the control of factories and other production facilities such as farms. All capable citizens shall be required to work and industrial and agricultural “armies” shall be created. Agricultural and industrial production shall be interconnected, and the...

... middle of paper ...

...od, the Commissar of the Perm Railway, and the Ekaterinburg Gubernia Commissar for Food." Lenin Collected Works.

Edwards, Judith. Lenin and the Russian Revolution in World History. Berkeley Heights: Enslow Publishers, Inc, 2001.

Montague, Richard. "Marx and Lenin's Views Contrasted." The Socialist Party of Great Britain. http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/2000s/2001/no-1169-december-2001/marx-and-lenins-views-contrasted.

Foster, William Z. Lenin and Stalin as Mass Leaders. New York: Workers Library Publishers, 1939.

Getty, J. Arch, and Oleg V. Naumov. The Road to Terror. London, England: Yale University Press, 1999.

Mcgill, David. Stalin: The Five-year Plans & Collectivisation. London, England: Philip Allan Updates, 2008.

Hughes, James. Stalin, Siberia and the Crisis of the New Economic Policy . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.