Lenin's Revolutionary Strategy

Question

I know enough about Lenin's philosophy to know I don't like it, and it's fair to say his ideas failed spectacularly in providing freedom to the masses.

Is it also fair to say that Lenin's tactics rely on centralized leaders and bourgeoisie ideologues organizing and bankrolling a revolution, rather than a ground up revolution? And are there any quotes to that effect?

Comments

a relevant thread:

http://anarchy101.org/3745/dont-anarchists-like-lenin-why-dont-anarchists-like-leninism?show=3745#q3745

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Please don't use "the masses"; anarchists (in general) recognize the value and sovereignty of the individual, so the term is not descriptive. Let Lenin drone on about "the masses." Thanks

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I think it's fair to use Lenin's own vocabulary to criticize Lenin?

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If you're quoting Lenin, then you should use quotation marks and cite him. Otherwise it looks like your vocabulary. Thanks

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come on lawrence. you don't come on for months and then you just do to police someone's language and/or punctuation? you have more important things to say than that. jeez.

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It's not a direct quote, but if I was talking to someone about why their beliefs violate even their own free market, I would speak within that context, even though I don't believe a free market exists. At any rate, unless you're the Anarchist Pope, I'm going to communicate however I please.

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hey denver332, it's not about anyone being a pope. the issue is that there are plenty of anarchists who do use that language uncritically. in the bay area, there are many anarchists or anarchist-friendly folks who use language and ideas that are explicitly maoist and/or leninist. after a while it's easy to have a knee jerk reaction to the terminology...

actually - there's a question.
http://anarchy101.org/14950/what-words-are-indicators-that-you-disagree-with-the-speaker

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Sure, that's fair. I suppose I have a knee jerk reaction to pedantry, but I do get it.

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I dunno if any of these will contain exactly the type of quote you arelooking for D332, and it is quite possible you are already familiar with these texts, but here are some links:

• The Bolshevik Myth by Alexander Berkman
• My Disillusionment in Russia by Emma Goldman
• The Unknown Revolution by Voline
  • Part One
  • Part Two
  • Part Three
• The Struggle Against the State & Other Essays by Nestor Makhno
   

I haven't read any of these but Makhno in their entirety, and that was years and years ago, so I make no promises. If you haven't, I would also encourage you to read Letters of Insurgents by Fredy Perlman. It is fictional, so Lenin is never mentioned per se, but their are some quotable and prescient sentiments from the characters about people who act as Leninists act.