Dictatorship of the proletariat: Difference between revisions
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Not to be confused with | {{Hatnote|Not to be confused with an [[autocracy]].}} | ||
[[File:Soviet propaganda poster, proletarian dictatorship 1918.jpg|thumb|Soviet poster celebrating the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat in 1918. ]] | |||
The '''dictatorship of the proletariat''' refers to a [[state]] in which the [[proletariat]] has a class monopoly over state power, which is always exercised [[Democracy|democratically]] by the workers. Because The term dictatorship of the proletariat can also be used interchangeably with the term "proletarian democracy".<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1918/prrk/democracy.htm Lenin, Democracy and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat]</ref> | |||
<blockquote>"The dictatorship of the proletariat is the continuation of the class struggle of the proletariat in new forms."<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1919/sep/x02.htm Lenin, The State and Revolution]</ref> The Dictatorship of the Proletariat is a Proletarian state, and as such exists to protect the interests of the working class and repress the bourgeoisie, to continue the class struggle, which does not end until communism. Marx articulated that, "Between capitalist and communist society there lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one into the other. Corresponding to this is also a political transition period in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat."<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/Marx_Critque_of_the_Gotha_Programme.pdf Marx, Critique of the Gotha]</ref> As all states represent a definite class of which holds the "monopoly on state power", political power under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat necessarily must be monopolized in the hands of the Proletariat. As Engels aptly expressed it, "In reality, however, the state is nothing but a machine for the oppression of one class by another, and indeed in the democratic republic no less than in the monarchy"<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1871/civil-war-france/postscript.htm Engels, The Civil War in France]</ref>, and the same can be said of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. — [[Vladimir Lenin]]</blockquote> | |||
== Forms == | |||
== | === Soviet democracy === | ||
The word soviet (Russian: 'совет', lit. "council") is used in English to refer to the elective councils of workers and soldiers which first arose in the Russian Empire during the events of 1905 and which later formed the backbone of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Lenin argued that these soviets could and should seize total power and form a radically democratic new form of government, known as '''soviet democracy''', which was carried out in the October Revolution. The word has since been extended to refer to workers' councils inspired by the Russian example, including the Irish soviets and the Bavarian Soviet Republic. | |||
The soviets would be able to elect delegates to represent them in the higher organs of the government. Furthermore, it was common for the communist party to seek consensus from soviets on the implementation of policies and actions. | |||
== | === People's democracy === | ||
People's democracy was the form of the proletarian dictatorship which was created in socialist countries in Eastern Europe. It is premised on an anti-fascist coalition of democratic and working class parties in the leading role in alliance with progressive sections of the peasantry, petite-bourgeoisie, and intelligentsia. The people's democratic revolution allows for the transition to more advanced forms of socialism.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190619150321/https://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/sobolev2.htm Peoples' Democracy as a Form of Political Organisation of Society]</ref> | |||
[ | == See also == | ||
* [[Socialism]] | |||
* [[Democracy]] | |||
==References== | |||
<references /> | |||
[[Category:Marxism]] | |||
[[Category:Socialism]] | |||
[[Category:Marxism]][[Category:Socialism]] | |||
Latest revision as of 03:57, 24 September 2024
The dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a state in which the proletariat has a class monopoly over state power, which is always exercised democratically by the workers. Because The term dictatorship of the proletariat can also be used interchangeably with the term "proletarian democracy".[1]
"The dictatorship of the proletariat is the continuation of the class struggle of the proletariat in new forms."[2] The Dictatorship of the Proletariat is a Proletarian state, and as such exists to protect the interests of the working class and repress the bourgeoisie, to continue the class struggle, which does not end until communism. Marx articulated that, "Between capitalist and communist society there lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one into the other. Corresponding to this is also a political transition period in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat."[3] As all states represent a definite class of which holds the "monopoly on state power", political power under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat necessarily must be monopolized in the hands of the Proletariat. As Engels aptly expressed it, "In reality, however, the state is nothing but a machine for the oppression of one class by another, and indeed in the democratic republic no less than in the monarchy"[4], and the same can be said of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. — Vladimir Lenin
Forms
Soviet democracy
The word soviet (Russian: 'совет', lit. "council") is used in English to refer to the elective councils of workers and soldiers which first arose in the Russian Empire during the events of 1905 and which later formed the backbone of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Lenin argued that these soviets could and should seize total power and form a radically democratic new form of government, known as soviet democracy, which was carried out in the October Revolution. The word has since been extended to refer to workers' councils inspired by the Russian example, including the Irish soviets and the Bavarian Soviet Republic.
The soviets would be able to elect delegates to represent them in the higher organs of the government. Furthermore, it was common for the communist party to seek consensus from soviets on the implementation of policies and actions.
People's democracy
People's democracy was the form of the proletarian dictatorship which was created in socialist countries in Eastern Europe. It is premised on an anti-fascist coalition of democratic and working class parties in the leading role in alliance with progressive sections of the peasantry, petite-bourgeoisie, and intelligentsia. The people's democratic revolution allows for the transition to more advanced forms of socialism.[5]