Violence in the Leninist Revolution

Violence in the Leninist Revolution The general representation of Lenin's theory as the "science of terror" has relied to a great extent on quoting his statements out of their context This paper seeks to reconstruct Lenin's views on the status of violence in the socialist revolution and compart them with those of Marx and Engels. Contexting his statements in their proper historical background the paper challenges the validity of the Jacobinist-Blanquist image of Lenin that has traditionally been projected. It is argued here that Lenin was strictly opposed to a minority revolution based on conspiracy and advocated as broad-based a movement as possible.