Leninism: A Sociological Interpretation

It is now well over a hundred years since the birth of Lenin. If his writings are to have the relevance for contemporary political action, it is necessary that they be understood within the specific historical context in which they arose. It is such an understanding that David Lane provides in this book. Dr Lane addresses four distinct, though related, topics: Lenin's analysis of revolution; Leninism as an ideology legitimating the Russian Revolution; a detached analysis of the revolutionary process; and the relevance of Lenin and the Russian Revolution for social and political change. He begins by showing that, studied thematically, the various parts of Lenin's thinking are complementary in providing an analysis of capitalism and the justification for socialist revolution. The book is a short, concise, detached, yet sympathetic account of Lenin's thinking on revolution, its implications for the rise of Stalinism and its significance for the model of socialism as developed in the USSR. It will appeal to sociologists, political scientists and historians interested in Leninism, Stalinism and revolutionary theory, as well as to others concerned with the theories and processes of social change.