It is impossible to predict the time and progress of revolution. It is governed by its own more or less mysterious laws.
Our aim is to achieve a socialist system of society, which, by eliminating the division of mankind into classes, by eliminating all exploitation of man by man and nation by nation, will inevitably eliminate the very possibility of war.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote advocates for a socialist society where class divisions and exploitation are removed to prevent war.
In this quote, Vladimir Lenin expresses the belief that a socialist system can eliminate the root causes of conflict by addressing inequality and exploitation. By promoting equality among people and nations, he argues that the potential for war would dissipate, leading to a more harmonious existence. Lenin envisions a societal transformation that would not only uplift the oppressed but also foster global peace through mutual respect and understanding.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for social reforms, this quote can be used to emphasize the need for unity and equality.
More from Vladimir Lenin
All quotes βFor the complete extinction of the state, complete Communism is necessary.
Medicine is the keystone of the arch of socialism.
A democracy is a state which recognizes the subjection of the minority to the majority, that is, an organization for the systematic use of violence by one class against the other, by one part of the population against another.
We are not utopians, we do not βdreamβ of dispensing at once with all administration, with all subordination. These anarchist dreams, based upon incomprehension of the tasks of the proletarian dictatorship, are totally alien to Marxism, and, as a matter of fact, serve only to postpone the socialist revolution until people are different. No, we want the socialist revolution with people as they are now, with people who cannot dispense with subordination, control, and "foremen and accountants".
The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
Similar quotes
May we look upon our treasure, the furniture of our houses, and our garments, and try to discover whether the seeds of war have nourishment in these our possessions.
To me the Universe was all void of Life, of Purpose, of Volition, even of Hostility; it was one huge, dead, immeasurable Steam-engine, rolling on, in its dead indifference, to grind me limb from limb. Oh vast gloomy, solitary Golgotha, and Mill of Death! Why was the living banished thither companionless, conscious? Why, if there is no Devil; nay, unless the Devil is your God?
Nature is what we know. We do not know the gods of religions. And nature is not kind, or merciful, or loving. If God made me - the fabled God of the three qualities of which I spoke: mercy, kindness, love - He also made the fish I catch and eat. And where do His mercy, kindness, and love for that fish come in? No; nature made us - nature did it all - not the gods of the religions.
That's all an angel is....an idea of God.
We have tried to define precisely what it means to be a force for good - always do the right, ethical thing. Ultimately, 'Don't be evil' seems the easiest way to summarize it.
The arc of the moral universe may bend towards justice, but it doesn't bend on its own.