Re-thinking Of The Struggle Between Lenin And Kautsky Over The Dictatorship Of The Proletariat

The turn of the 19 th and 20 th centuries was a critical period that economy,politics and culture have significant changes in Capitalism.At this stage,a variety of social thoughts that reflecting the theme of the times are emerging,and the development of Marxism ushered in an unprecedented opportunity.In the meanwhile,it was facing the greatest challenge since its birth.In response to the noise of The Times,such as "doom-saying" and "obsoletism",and to show that the Bolsheviks were firmly critical of the "Centrist" Party,led by Kautsky,Lenin raised the great banner of Marxism and declared war on the Second International Opportunism.They are not only interesting theoretical topics,but also practical topics that need to be explored,to card the profound discussion of Lenin and Kautsky about the struggle for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat,excavate the deep causes that Kautsky changed his political position,and seek the general ideas and logic of their controversy process.In view of this,this paper,from the perspective of the development history of Marxism,re-examines the struggle between Lenin and Kautsky on the Dictatorship of the Proletariat,by excavating the reasons and focal points of the dispute between the two theories,in order to objectively evaluate the significance of the dispute and profoundly grasp its historical impact and practical enlightenment.In order to deeply analyze this debate,we need to completely restore the historical background.In the last 30 years of the 19 th century,the major Capitalist countries in Europe rose rapidly to world power by virtue of the productivity advantages brought about by the Second Industrial Revolution.With the high concentration of production and capital,Capitalism has gradually transferred from the stage of free competition to the stage of monopoly,the development of Capitalist economy has taken on a new form,and the Capitalist system has been greatly consolidated and improved.At the same time,the successive wars and revolutions accelerated the fall of the tsarist empire,and the trumpet of the October Revolution suddenly sounded.The great bang of the cruiser avlal not only shattered the dream of hegemony of the Bourgeois provisional government,but also fired the first gun of the World Proletarian Revolution and the National Liberation Movement of the colonial and semi-colonial people.At this point,the flag of Socialism began to fly on the world stage.Secondly,the reason of the theoretical debate between Lenin and Kautsky should be deeply reflected.As an important epitome of the fierce debate between Revolutionary Socialism and Social Chauvinism in the later period of the Second International period,the struggle between Lenin and Kautsky against the Dictatorship of the Proletariat originated from the change of the revolutionary environment and conditions,and was the product of the objective historical conditions at that time.Kautsky’s understanding of the Marxist theory of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat was mostly confined to the interpretation of concepts and principles,and lacked the specific investigation of the revolutionary practice of the working class.Kautsky’s split attitude towards Marxism was an important cause of Lenin’s concern and controversy.To explore the dispute in depth,we need to dig into the essence and focus of their differences.This paper discusses the struggle between Lenin and Kautsky on the Dictatorship of the Proletariat from four aspects.That is,from the two people on whether democracy is class,whether the Dictatorship of the Proletariat has the attributes of the state,whether the Dictatorship of the Proletariat to eliminate democracy and whether Russia has the conditions for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.Specifically,while expounding the concept of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat,Marx also made a concrete design of the system form of Proletarian democracy.The scientific investigation of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat,the connotation and interrelation of democracy and the future of the October Revolution is the logical premise to restore the historical panorama of Lenin’s argument with Kautsky and to reveal the intrinsic essence of the argument.Since the attempt of the Paris Commune to establish the Dictatorship of the Proletariat,the main theorists of the Second International have argued about this theoretical proposition for many times,among which the century dispute between Lenin and Kautsky is the most typical.As an important milestone in the history of Marxist ideological debate,the struggle between Lenin and Kautsky over the Dictatorship of the Proletariat undoubtedly has special historical value and practical significance.Today,we need to focus on three aspects: evaluation method,historical influence and practical enlightenment to judge the dispute between Lenin and Kautsky.To judge Lenin and Kautsky’s struggle against the Dictatorship of the Proletariat,it is necessary to insist on and apply the methods of Historical Analysis,Class Analysis and Contradiction Analysis.The Historical Analysis,the Class Analysis and the Contradiction Analysis are not only the basic keys for us to judge this debate,but also the important scales for us to test whether Kautsky’s and Lenin’s theories meet the practical needs.The struggle between Lenin and Kautsky over the Dictatorship of the Proletariat is not only a major debate in the history of the Second International thought,but also clarifies the theoretical differences between Lenin and Kautsky in a certain sense.At present,the realistic significance and contemporary enlightenment of the struggle between Lenin and Kautsky on the Dictatorship of the Proletariat can be seen from the following two aspects.That is,the struggle between Lenin and Kautsky over the Dictatorship of the Proletariat is of great significance for the correct understanding and scientific treatment of Marxism,and for the correct understanding of Engels’ s new Proletarian revolutionary strategy in his later years.