I have been challenged in my critical support of Russia for its invasion of Ukraine by Lenin who during the First World War said it was foolish to support Germany against Russia or vice versa, and that the people should seek revolution regardless.

This is written in The Defeat of One’s Own Government in the Imperialist War

The phrase-bandying Trotsky has completely lost his bearings on a simple issue. It seems to him that to desire Russia’s defeat means desiring the victory of Germany.

In all imperialist countries the proletariat must now desire the defeat of its own government. Bukvoyed and Trotsky preferred to avoid this truth

  • carpe_modo
    18·
    3 years ago

    This isn’t a contradiction with what Lenin said. Under US hegemony, most of the world is unwillingly governed by the US. So most of the world should be rooting for the defeat of the government ruling over them, the US.

    Anticommunist thought also hadn’t solidified into fascism yet, either, so Lenin couldn’t have taken Nazis into account.

    Remember that Marxist Leninist thought is a framework of thought through which to analyze the world. While both Marx and Lenin would argue that they were correct in what they wrote, they’d also argue that what they wrote was correct because it was a critical analysis of the things happening around them. They wouldn’t want us to be dogmatic in our approach. They’d want us to be just as critical in our analysis as they were.