Stalin’s Thoughts on the Enrichment and Development of Marxism by Leninism

In response to the revisionism the Second International and Trotsky’s denial of Lenin’s theoretical contribution to Marxism, Stalin discussed the enrichment and development of Marxism by Leninism in many ways.

In philosophy, Lenin’s outstanding contribution was the development of the Marxist theory of materialist dialectics. He summarized the most important scientific achievements since Engels and criticized the anti-materialist faction in the ranks of Marxists in all its aspects. Materialism and Empirio-Criticism and “On the Significance of Militant Materialism” are Lenin’s masterpieces in the development of Marxist theory in philosophy.

In economics, following Marx’s Capital, Lenin wrote important works such as Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, which profoundly analyzes the development of capitalism from the stage of free competition to the stage of monopoly and reveals the basic features and fundamental laws of monopoly capitalism.

In socialist theory, Lenin revealed the law of unequal development of imperialism, made the scientific assertion that socialism can be victorious first in one country, and brought it into reality through revolutionary practice. Moreover, Lenin made great contributions to a series of major theoretical issues of Marxism, such as the proletarian revolution, the dictatorship of the proletariat, the peasant question, the national question, strategy and tactics, and the proletarian party, according to the new historical conditions and the practical experience of revolution. In particular, Lenin’s theories on the transition from capitalism to socialism after the victory of the proletarian revolution and the construction of socialism, including the cooperative system and the new economic policy, are outstanding contributions to the theoretical treasury of Marxism.

In short, Stalin, as Lenin’s student and comrade and the core of the leadership of the Russian Communist Party (B), contributed to the study, elaboration, propagation, and defense of Leninism in the period after Lenin’s death. Although Stalin’s exposition had shortcomings and defects, such as emphasizing the international significance of Leninism but ignoring the Russian character of Leninism on the issue of the definition of Leninism, failing to generalize Lenin’s ideas on socialist construction into the definition of Leninism, failing to clarify the inner connection between the two major parts of Leninist theory and method, and not understanding and generalizing Leninist theory and method comprehensively, etc., his role and contribution to establishing the Leninist stage in the history of Marxist development should not be dismissed. Although Zinoviev, Bukharin and others also made certain contributions, they were not as prominent as Stalin. Stalin’s definition of Leninism, his elucidation of the basic problems, sources of thought, methodological principles, and new contributions to Leninism at an important moment of historical transformation and intense ideological and theoretical encounter played an irreplaceable role in the Party and the people’s correct grasp of this great ideological system of Leninism, and had an important influence on the correct choice of the path of socialist construction in the Soviet Union.