Unfinished Leninism

Paul Le Blanc is a professor of History at La Roche College, has written on and participated in the U.S. labor, radical and civil rights movements, and is author of such books as Marx, Lenin and the Revolutionary Experience, and Lenin and the Revolutionary Party.

"For more than a century Lenin has been a constant source of inspiration for workers and revolutionaries striving to shape democratic and equitable societies throughout the world. Unfinished Leninism is a powerful and stimulating guide to Lenin’s political thought and abiding legacy that is essential reading for students and activists who are striving to realize an ethical and revolutionary democratic society today."—Immanuel Ness, Ours to Master and To Own and Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest.“Illuminating much misunderstood aspects of Lenin's legacy with flair and originality, Paul Le Blanc breathes new vigor into a century-old approach to social transformation. A major addition to our understanding of twenty-first century socialism.”—John Riddell, editor Toward the United Front"One doesn’t have to be a Leninist to read and appreciate Paul Le Blanc’s brilliant essays. This is indeed an outstanding study of Lenin’s ideas, his relation to Leon Trotsky and Rosa Luxemburg, as well as his unfinished democratic revolutionary legacy."—Michael Löwy Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris."Paul Le Blanc likes to "spin his remarks around quotations", and luckily he is a great quoter. He finds eloquent comments from a century's worth of activists and historians, and engages with them passionately. He lets us have our own voice (I say "us" because I am honored to be among those quoted) and yet weaves all the quotations into a searchingly individual view of what it means to be a leftist and a self-proclaimed Leninist in the twenty-first century. And indeed, his conception of the way forward for the left centers on listening, and then on presenting one's own view forthrightly -- on conducting an adult conversation about life-and-death issues. To read his book is to join in his questing interrogation of past, present, and future."—Lars Lih, author Lenin Rediscovered"Unfinished Leninism is a stimulating book on the life and ideas of Lenin but also on the history and future of the doctrine connected with his name."—Ron Blom, De SocialistPraise for Lenin and the Revolutionary Party:"A work of unusual strength and coherence, inspired not by academic neutrality but by the deep conviction that there is much to learn from the actual ideas and experiences of Lenin and the revolutionary party he led.” —Michael LöwyPraise for Revolution, Democracy, Socialism:“We desperately need the resurrection and revival of the kind of strategic thinking and principled commitment that Lenin epitomised in the era of 1917, and all that it promised. For those interested in this rebirth of the politics of alternative to capitalism, Paul Le Blanc's account of the democratic, socialist, and revolutionary Lenin will prove indispensable. Reading it is a reminder that what is, need not be, and that what has, seemingly, failed, can be reconstituted anew.” —Bryan PalmerPraise for Marx, Lenin and the Revolutionary Experience:“Looking back at the tumultuous events associated with revolutionary Marxism in the past century, Paul Le Blancoffers us an insightful, sympathetic, and even-handed assessment of the sources of its dynamism as well as the causes of its decline.” —Walden Bello

• Introduction 1. Lenin’s Return - introduces Lenin as someone whose relevance for our own time is becoming evident 2. One for the Encyclopedias - offers a succinct account of his life3. Travesties, Statues and Laughter - focuses more on his personality4. Still Kicking: Lenin and His Biographers - how biographers of our century have dealt with him5. Revolutionary Democracy - offers a sustained look at what I believe is the revolutionary-democratic thrust of his thinking and of what he attempted – contrasted to the horrific dictatorship that congealed after his death under Joseph Stalin6. The Great Lenin Debate of 2012 - focuses on recent controversies (in which I was a participant) about how Lenin did and did not go about trying to build a revolutionary party – and it also has something to say about the art and craft of writing history7. Enduring Legacy - takes up some differences with a prominent U.S. Marxist analyst, Charles Post, on how (and how not) to understand “Leninism” 8. Luxemburg and Lenin Through Each Other’s Eyes – explores relationship, common ground, and differences between Luxemburg and Lenin9. Caution: Activists Using Lenin - suggests how Lenin’s approach might be useful to activists in the United States in the early twenty-first century10. Leninism is Unfinished - discusses the open and necessarily unfinished nature of Leninism – reflecting the nature of social reality itself11. The History and Future of Leninism – distinguishes between accurate and inaccurate depictions of the theory and practice of Lenin and his comrades, indicating how this can be utilized and further developed in the twenty-first century.