Lenin and the Dialectical Unity in the Party and Revolution Theory

Abstract

The general objective of our article is to verify our preliminary hypothesis, based on the studies of Hector Benoit, that, far from a definitive and explicit rupture of a “pre-dialectical” first Leninism (before 1914) and of a second “dialectical” Leninism (after 1914), there is a permanent (logical-historical) unity in the party theory and the strategy of revolutionary program in Lenin, from the seemingly bureaucratic words of What is to be done? and One step forward, two steps back, to the libertarian words spoken on the eve of insurrection of 1917; from the democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and the peasantry (defended in Two Tactics of social-democracy in the democratic revolution) to power to the soviets (synthesized from their celebrated April Thesis, in turn, developed with the aid of their studies contained in the Philosophical Notebooks). Our methodological orientation does not consider only the philosophical content of some specific works, as well as of its historical-biographical circumstances and of its political consequences. Thus, we conclude that by not ignoring Marx’s Capital and advancing his understanding of Hegel (and dialectic) at a critical historical moment, Lenin strengthened his theory of party and revolution.