Left-Wing Communism: an Infantile Disorder

Left-Wing Communism: an Infantile Disorder

By Vladimir Lenin
Michael Caine
Listen with Sir Michael Caine™ and 1,000+ voices
Length4h 18m

About this audiobook

Written in 1920, at a critical juncture for the world revolutionary movement, Lenin’s "Left-Wing" Communism: an Infantile Disorder is a brilliant polemic and a masterclass in revolutionary strategy. With the Bolshevik Revolution’s hard-won victory still fragile, Lenin turns his attention to the rising communist parties of Western Europe. He identifies a dangerous trend: a "Left-wing" doctrinairism that, in its zeal for purity, rejects all compromise, refuses to work within reactionary trade unions and parliaments, and risks isolating the vanguard from the working class masses. With fierce wit and unwavering focus on the ultimate goal—the seizure of political power—Lenin argues that such inflexibility is not a sign of revolutionary strength, but a political malady, an "infantile disorder." Drawing crucial lessons from the successful, and often tactically flexible, experience of Russian Bolshevism, he insists that communists must be prepared to make necessary compromises, to "go where the people are," and to navigate the complex realities of the class struggle. More than a historical document, this work remains a foundational text on political tactics, party organization, and the relationship between revolutionary theory and practical action. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of revolutionary politics and the challenges of building an effective movement for radical change.

Audiobook details

GenrePolitics and Government, History
Length4 hrs 18 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
LanguageEnglish

Table of contents

1By Lenin in Cactus Catalogue:
13CHAPTER V. "LEFT" COMMUNISM IN GERMANY: LEADERS-PARTY-CLASSES THE MASSES.
2INTRODUCTION
14CHAPTER VII. SHOULD WE PARTICIPATE IN BOURGEOIS PARLIAMENTS?
3CHAPTER I. IN WHAT SENSE CAN WE SPEAK OF THE INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION?
15CHAPTER VIII. NO COMPROMISE WHATEVER?
4CHAPTER II. ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL CONDITIONS OF THE SUCCESS OF THE BOLSHEVIKS.
16CHAPTER IX. "LEFT" COMMUNISM IN GREAT BRITAIN.
5CHAPTER III. THE CHIEF STAGES IN THE HISTORY OF BOLSHEVISM.
17CHAPTER X. SOME CONCLUSIONS
Show all chapters
6The Years of Preparation for the Revolution (1902–1905).
18APPENDIX
7The Years of Revolution (1905–1907).
19APPENDIX I. THE SPLIT OF THE GERMAN COMMUNIST PARTY.
8The Years of Reaction (1907–1910).
20APPENDIX II. COMMUNISTS AND INDEPENDENTS IN GERMANY.
9The Years of Revival (1910–1914).
21APPENDIX III. TURATI & CO. IN ITALY.
10The First Imperialist World-War (1914–1917).
22APPENDIX IV. INCORRECT CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM CORRECT PREMISES.
11The Second Revolution in Russia (from February to October, 1917).
23APPENDIX V.
12CHAPTER IV. WHO WERE THE ENEMIES IN THE WORKING-CLASS MOVEMENT IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST WHOM BOLSHEVISM GREW, GAINED STRENGTH AND BECAME HARDENED?

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