of Major Communist “Classics”
The theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism have been developed by communist writers over a period of more than a century. The works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin, in the Party’s eyes, are regarded as communist “classics.” “These books are Communist classics. They contain the fundamental principles and program of Communism. These are universal in their scope and they are accepted by all Communist Parties, including our own.” (William Z. Foster)
These writings, it must be remembered, are propaganda for the communist movement. Written by highly partisan and prejudiced minds, they are not based on scientific truth and accurate historical research; nor are they attempts to determine truth as we in a free society understand truth. These writers are trying to hammer out the principles of violent revolution and, in the later writings of Lenin and those of Stalin, to justify communism in state power and to teach communists in other countries how to follow the Bolshevik example. These listed works, although not intended to be all-inclusive, are prime examples of how prejudice, thrown into the stream of world opinion, has warped the minds and personalities of so many millions of human beings.
KARL MARX:
Das Kapital (Capital) is undoubtedly Marx’s best-known and most important writing. It forms, in a literal sense, the cornerstone of modern-day communism. The work is in three volumes: Capitalist Production (1867), Capitalist Circulation (1885), Capitalist Production as a Whole (1894). The final two volumes were completed by Engels after Marx’s death. In this massive work Marx attempted, using many statistics compiled from nineteenth-century England, to prove that capitalism was doomed. To communists, Das Kapital is “scientific” proof of the inevitability of communist revolution. Time after time history has proved the errors, fallacious logic, and unscientific premises of the major thoughts contained in Das Kapital; yet to communists the book is an infallible guide to Party thought and action.
Another important work of Marx is The Civil War in France. This work (which actually consists of three statements drafted by Marx for the First International) was written in connection with the Paris Commune, a revolutionary government set up in Paris after the defeat of France by Prussia in 1870-71. Although lasting only a few weeks, the Commune is regarded by communists as the first working-class government in history. This “classic” sets forth Marx’s view toward the existing state apparatus of a “bourgeois” state: that is, the working class cannot confine itself merely to taking over the state machinery; but the “bourgeois” state must be utterly destroyed and replaced by the dictatorship of the proletariat.
The Poverty of Philosophy (1847) represents one of Marx’s earliest works on economics, while The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (1852) discusses, among other things, the character of the “bourgeois” revolution. The latter work was written concerning the activities of Louis Bonaparte, President of the Second French Republic, who was later to become Emperor of France. It must be noted that Marx (and also Engels and Lenin) were acute observers of contemporary political, social, and economic affairs; and their writings abound with references to current events and personalities. Other works of Marx include: Critique of Political Economy (1859), Value, Price and Profit (1865), and Critique of the Gotha Programme (1875). In the latter, Marx develops his idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the “withering away” of the state.
Marx was a prolific letter-writer, corresponding with many revolutionaries in England and abroad. The Selected Correspondence of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (1846-1895) shows how the intimate collaboration of these two perverted minds gave birth to the communist conspiracy.
FRIEDRICH ENGELS:
Engels, like Marx, was a voluminous writer. Some of his better-known works are The Peasant War in Germany (1850), Germany: Revolution and Counter-Revolution (1851-52), The Housing Question (1872), and Anti-Dühring (1877-78). The latter work was written in reply to Eugen Dühring, a German professor who had published what, in Engel’s opinion, were erroneous ideas concerning materialism and socialism. Engels not only attacks Dühring’s views but goes on to sketch the communist world outlook, discussing dialectical and historical materialism, philosophy, and political economy.
In The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State (1884), Engels endeavors to show the relationship of the family, modes of production, and society. One of Engels’ latest writings on materialism is Ludwig Feuerbach and the Outcome of Classical German Philosophy (1886). His Dialectics of Nature, published posthumously in 1927, is an attempt to discuss science from a Marxist viewpoint.
JOINT AUTHORSHIP OF MARX AND ENGELS:
As is well known, Marx and Engels often cooperated in writing, and sometimes it is difficult to determine exactly who wrote what. The best-known product of their collaboration, of course, is the Communist Manifesto. Engels, for example, wrote articles under Marx’s name for the latter to send to the New York Tribune. On the other hand, Engels, speaking of Anti-Dühring, said he read the whole manuscript to Marx and that Marx himself contributed a chapter.
VLADIMIR I. LENIN:
From roughly 1900 to his death, Lenin poured on! pamphlet after pamphlet justifying violent revolution and giving instructions to his followers.
In What Is To Be Done? (1902), Lenin outlines the principles which should determine the formation of a Leninist-type Party. This was during the period of debate among Russian communists on the type of Party organization, with Lenin favoring a restricted, disciplined membership. In 1904, in One Step Forward, Two Steps back, Lenin continues his demand for a disciplined Party. In this pamphlet he attacks his opponents, the Mensheviks. This attack was continued in Two Tactics of Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution (1905). Materialism and Empirio-Criticism (1909), a philosophical treatise, represents one of Lenin’s major works.
In the years that followed, Lenin continued studying and writing. In 1917 Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism appeared, in which Lenin develops the thesis that imperialism is the final state of monopoly capitalism. He characterized World War I as imperialistic on both sides. This work was destined to leave a lasting imprint on communist thinking. The term “imperialistic” is today one of the communists’ favorite terms of attack against the free world.
State and Revolution (1918), in which Lenin studies the relationship of revolutionary theory to the state, is probably his clearest blueprint for violent revolution. It has been extensively used by communists in the United States.
Another major work of Lenin, published in 1920 after the Bolshevik revolution, is “Left-Wing” Communism, an Infantile Disorder. Lenin here is writing from the viewpoint of communism in state power and giving advice to revolutionary movements outside Russia. He is telling other communists how “he did it in Russia,” especially warning them to be careful about ineffective left-wing tendencies. This work did much to consolidate the world communist movement and the Third International.
Of special interest to the United States is Lenin’s A Letter to American Workers (1918). In this letter Lenin reports to “the American worker” about the Russian revolution. Communists in this country have always considered this communication a symbol of the Russian dictator’s interest in the American proletariat. In truth, the letter reveals how, in communist hands, America’s history and struggle for freedom would be distorted by Marxist manipulation.
JOSEPH V. STALIN:
Stalin was not as prodigious a writer as Marx, Engels, and Lenin. Included in his outstanding works are Foundations of Leninism (1924) and Marxism and the National Question (1913), a study of communism in relation to nationality groups. In the former, Stalin attempted to show that Lenin did not merely rediscover and reapply Marxism to his day but also developed it further. Given as a series of lectures at Sverdlov University, Moscow, this work discusses basic communist concepts, such as the dictatorship of the proletariat, the peasant problem, strategy and tactics, and the Party.
In addition, Stalin has claimed to be the genius behind the History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks) (1938). In Joseph Stalin, A Political Biography (issued by the Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute), it is stated that the History was written by Stalin and approved by a commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This book was a “short-course” history of the Bolshevik movement in which the various phases of Party development were stressed. It was widely distributed in Russia and also used by the Communist Party, USA.
Very interestingly, Nikita Khrushchev made mention of this work in his famous denunciation of Stalin at the Twentieth Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Khrushchev told how originally the book was described as written by a commission of the Party’s Central Committee “under the direction of Comrade Stalin and with his most active personal participation . . .” This, however, according to Khrushchev, did not satisfy Stalin, so the wording was changed to read “written by Comrade Stalin and approved by a commission of the Central Committee . . .” “As you see,” Khrushchev said, “a surprising metamorphosis changed the work created by a group into a book written by Stalin. It is not necessary to state how and why this metamorphosis took place.”