Lenin’s Thoughts on Science and Technology

Lenin inherited the scientific and technological thought of Marx and Engels, combined with the reality of proletarian socialist revolution and construction, and innovated and developed scientific and technological thought. The main contents are as follows: (1) Criticizing the idealism essence of the newest philosophy of natural science and using the new scientific discoveries to attack materialism in a new form, systematically expounding the inseparable relationship between Marxist philosophy and natural science. Natural science advocates materialism spontaneously, and its new achievements confirm dialectical materialism. Dialectical materialism provides theoretical guidance for natural science research; philosophy workers should form an alliance with modern natural scientists. Firstly, they should absorb natural scientists to participate in the propaganda of combat materialism and atheism, because modern natural science is undergoing rapid changes, and some reactionary philosophical schools, large and small, are often produced. Secondly, to help natural scientists use materialist dialectics to study and answer new problems, guide natural scientists to accept the world outlook of dialectical materialism and consciously support dialectical materialism. Lenin defended and developed Marxist dialectical materialism and laid a solid philosophical foundation for his scientific and technological thought. (2) The development and application of science and technology is an important material basis for the transition from laissez-faire capitalism to monopoly capitalism, that is, imperialism stage, and also an important material condition for promoting the transition from capitalism to socialism. Lenin argued that new science and technology promoted the rapid development of capitalist productive forces and accelerated the concentration and monopoly of means of production. Imperialism was the monopoly stage of capitalism. In the process of monopoly formation, science and technology have promoted the great development of socialization of production, even the process of technological invention and technological improvement has also been socialized, but the private ownership of means of production has not changed. At the same time, the development and application of science and technology continue to squeeze the living space of small producers, which makes them bankrupt and become proletarians, and more and more working people go into poverty, which makes the class contradictions and social basic contradictions of capitalist society increasingly acute. Therefore, monopoly is the transition from capitalism to a higher system, and imperialism is the eve of proletarian social revolution. Lenin also argued that the struggle between countries for monopoly capital to compete for the world market and to divide their sphere of influence is becoming more and more fierce, which naturally leads to the conclusion of a worldwide agreement between them, the formation of an international cartel, the division of colonies by monopolistic land, and the cruel exploitation of the masses of the colonized people by using the most advanced scientific and technological achievements. The oppressed nations should gradually learn, master and use the scientific and technological achievements imported by monopoly organizations, so as to turn them into powerful weapons for national revolution and liberation. (3) Science and technology are important conditions for consolidating and developing socialism. Lenin attached great importance to the great role of science and technology in promoting social change and development. He believes that in Russia, where small farmers are dominant and dominant, there is only one way to dig out the roots of capitalism and finally defeat capitalism, that is, to transfer the national economy, including agriculture, to the technological basis of modern mass production, develop large machinery industry and create higher labor productivity than capitalism. He pointed out that the only material basis for the transition to socialism is the material base, it is required to realize electrification, the latest scientific technological achievement at that time, and reconstruct and restore industry and agriculture based on modern technology of electric power. Only when the industry, agriculture and transportation industry are built on the basis of the latest technological invention of modern science, can the victory of socialism over capitalism and the consolidation of socialism be guaranteed, and then creatively put forward the famous formula that “communism is equal to Soviet power plus electrification of the whole country”. Under his own initiative, the Soviet Union established the State Electrification Commission of Russia. Lenin highly praised the “All Russia Electrification Plan” formulated by hundreds of outstanding experts as the only serious, rich and excellent scientific work, and called it as “the second party platform”.

(4) Give full play to the role of “science and technology experts”. Lenin argued that in the specific circumstances of Soviet Russia, without the guidance of experts with various knowledge, technology and experience, it would be impossible to transition to socialism. Scientists and experts are the most precious wealth of Soviet countries. The Communist Party should take good care of all scientists and experts who are sincere and love their own business, just as they love their eyes. In order to develop the productive forces, the power of the proletariat should not only reuse the experts in the party, but also make full use of the “scientific and technical experts” left over from capitalism to participate in the work; we should treat “science and technology experts” correctly, and take an extremely cautious and flexible attitude towards bourgeois experts and scholars in particular, we should learn to be modest and respect the practical work of those “science and technology experts” and be good at cooperating with them, if we unify the work of the experts and give them modest guidance, those “science and technology experts” born in the bourgeoisie are ten times more valuable than the arrogant Communist Party members.

(5) Scientific and technological education should be carried out among the whole people to train scientific and technological talents. Lenin’s educational thought is to combine learning, training, practicing and education with the labor of workers and peasants. He stressed that illiterate people cannot be electrified, and literacy alone is not enough. It is not enough to know what electricity is. We should also know how to apply electricity to industry and agriculture and to all sectors of industry and agriculture. Therefore, he called for free universal and compulsory comprehensive technical education for boys and girls under the age of 16, and called on the Youth League to study and master modern science and technology knowledge and become knowledgeable people. He also asked all schools to study electrification as a compulsory subject. Even every time a power station is built, it must become the center of teaching, lectures and demonstrations.

All engineers, electric power technicians and graduates of mathematics and physics departments should be mobilized to give scientific and technological lectures regularly, teach people how to understand electricity, and compile relevant popular pamphlets and essays for school teaching and farmers’ reading, so as to cultivate the scientific and technological literacy of the whole people.

(6) Opening to the outside world and introducing advanced science and technology from capitalist countries. According to the social and economic structure of Russia and the development level of productive forces, Lenin proposed to use capitalism, especially state capitalism, as a means and way to improve productive forces and for realizing transition to socialism in the process of formulating new economic policies.

The first form of the proposed state capitalism was the concession system, which Lenin explained: We have, say, a hundred oilfields, mines and forest tracts. We cannot develop all of them because we lack the machines, the food and the transport. The concession system involves a formal written agreement with the most civilised, advanced, West European capitalism. We know exactly what our gains and our losses, our rights and obligations are. We know exactly the term for which the concession is granted. We know the terms of redemption before the expiry of the agreement if it provides for such redemption. Lenin also argued that the best way to learn was to lease a factory. In this regard, any school or lecture is not as effective as carrying out practical work in a factory.

The moderate and cautious application of the concessions policy will undoubtedly help us quickly to improve (to a modest extent) the state of industry and the condition of the workers and peasants, as well as the Soviet regime will be consolidated. We shall, of course, have all this at the price of certain sacrifices and the surrender to the capitalist of many millions of poods of very valuable products. By such concessions, the Soviet government strengthens large-scale production as against petty production, advanced production as against backward production, and machine production as against hand production. It also obtains a larger quantity of the products of large-scale industry (its share of the output), and strengthens state regulated economic relations as against the anarchy of petty-bourgeois relations.

In Lenin’s opinion, the realization of socialism depends on the combination of the Soviet regime and administrative institutions with the latest scientific achievements of capitalism, Soviet regime + Prussian railway management system + American technology and trust organization + American national education, etc. = sum = socialism.