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brnineworms's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
It’s hard not to view this book primarily as an insight into Lenin’s psyche and temperament. I don’t want to delve too deeply into psychoanalysis but each page is so laden with hunger, antagonism, and mistrust, it’s difficult to set that aside for the sake of the theoretical content. Lenin has a black-and-white worldview with a pessimistic bias; Marx and Engels are saints while everyone else, it seems, is some kind of “opportunist” or “philistine.” It sometimes comes across like he’s using Marx and Engels as a shield, in that he goes on and on about what they believed and never plainly states his own beliefs without invoking at least one of them for justification (/deflection?) It’s an interesting move considering his ego – he very much strikes me as an “if you want something done right, do it yourself” kind of guy.
The State and Revolution, as the title suggests, concerns the role of the state in the development of a communist society. I’d come across the concept of the state “withering away” but had never really grasped it until now. From what I understand, the idea is that the proletariat will seize power and use the state apparatus to nationalise every industry, thereby eliminating the capitalist class by replacing private ownership with public ownership. Since the state no longer serves its intended purpose of protecting property and generally serving the interests of the bourgeoisie, it is functionally something entirely new, to the extent that it doesn’t really make sense to call it a state any more. What’s left of the state gradually becomes redundant and obsolete and thus ceases to be maintained. (MLs, how did I do? Not too bad for an anarkiddy, eh?) I don’t entirely agree with this strategy but I can at least appreciate the rationale behind it.
Lenin is deliberately noncommittal regarding how long it will take for the state to wither away. On one hand he’s adamant that it’s inevitable, but on the other he does seem quite attached to this idea of a “temporary” transitional state, arguing that it’s vital for administrative purposes and for the “suppression” of both potential bourgeois rebellions and workers who refuse to pull their weight. I’m sceptical about his advocacy for an “armed proletariat” in that I’m not sure how a state-approved paramilitary differs from a conventional military or police force – what Lenin is advocating sounds like a police state to me. In general he seems a bit too keen to enact violence, whereas I see violence as an unfortunate necessity (if, indeed, it is a necessity in a given situation). If all you have is a hammer...
The State and Revolution is, in a word, authoritative. Lenin clearly knew what he was talking about when it comes to Marxism, and I can’t deny he’s got some charisma. I feel I gained a more robust understanding of Marxism, though the writing was quite repetitive and filled with petty aspersions. It’s not something I’d go out of my way to recommend but if you’re already planning on reading some of Lenin’s works, this is a good place to start.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Sexism, Sexual assault, War, Death, Blood, Drug use, Police brutality, and Pregnancy
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