Can we still rely on Lenin?
A few words in commemoration of the October Revolution

88 years ago, the working class in Russia, in a victorious revolution, managed to capture the political power and embark on a revolution to put an end to capitalism. Although their mission was not accomplished nevertheless their revolution touched the lives of hundreds of millions of people world wide and shaped their lives.

The October revolution was the product of the conscious will, efforts and the leadership of the communists who were committed to bringing about revolutionary changes in people’s lives and putting an end to misery, war and hunger and strive to create a better world. The underlining factor in the victory of the October revolution was the belief and determination that people can restore their on conscious will and bring about changes and improvement.

 88 years ago, in a backward part of the world, the communists embarked on an historic task that expropriated political power from the oppressors and brought capitalism to the brink of collapse. The underlining aim of the October revolution was to abolish private ownership, capitalism and exploitation, and to establish freedom and equality for all individuals. On the anniversary of the October revolution, there is nothing more fitting than to pledge to redouble our efforts to organise another October revolution.

Lenin as the architect of the October revolution occupies an especial place amongst the revolutionaries. His method, his teachings and his ceaseless struggle to build a better world, a socialist world, is an aspiration for the communists of today.

 On this occasion we find it appropriate to reproduce a brief comment made by Mansoor Hekmat, the founder of the Worker-communism, in response to a question on the relevance of Leninism today, during a question and answer session over the internet on December 12, 2001. 

Can we still rely on Lenin? Is Leninism still relevant?

 Mansoor Hekmat: Lenin, so far as he deals with a specific country in the context of a specific historic condition and puts forward certain premises, can not necessarily be generalised. However, Lenin, as someone who developed the idea of the communist revolution and the attainability of socialism, linking it to the seizure of political power by a communist party, in this regard he is a guiding figure for our party and has always been relevant to us. Lenin is the one who rescued Marxism from the evolutionist outlooks, and the idea that the world would wait until socialism sprung up, and linked socialism to the human practice and the political efforts of living people. Lenin’s contribution was to realise this fact and make an attempt  at the political power. If you base your judgment of Lenin, on the approval or disapproval of certain people of WPI’s performance, you would empty Lenin of his real content. We have long departed from the notion that refers socialism to a distant future. We have stated that this party, during our time, will try to play such a role, and thus we are obliged to do so. Communism must move towards the seizure of political power in order to offer, a choice to the  society and the working class, to emerge with socialism from a revolutionary development. Lenin’s method is more than ever indispensable. 

[Translated from “Mansoor Hekmat, Selected Works, Farsi edition,   page 1708, published by WPI-Hekmatist, 2005]