DWill wrote: That sounds as though the main impulse behind Marxism/Leninism is the destruction of Christianity, that its vision is that kind of negative one. But the vision is a positive one (not in the sense of "good"), entailing a particular dream of human purpose and destiny
Of course you are absolutely correct; however, in the future please make a point of separating whatever practical relationship you may believe there to be between Marxism and Leninism. Lenin adored the teaching of Marx, the methods he used to attempt achieving them give definition to his particular political philosophy. Terror.
V. Lenin wrote:"At this meeting, pass a secret resolution of the congress that the confiscation of valuables, in particular of the richest abbeys, monasteries, and churches, should be conducted with merciless determination, unconditionally stopping at nothing, and in the briefest possible time. The greater the number of representatives of the reactionary clergy and reactionary bourgeoisie we succeed in executing for this reason, the better. We must teach these people a lesson right now, so that they will not dare even to think of any resistance for several decades."
Stalin, who developed Stalinism directly from Leninism, essentially claimed legitimacy by how closely he followed Lenin's horrific ideas continued the terror.
V. Lenin wrote:"It is precisely now and only now, when in the starving areas people are eating human flesh, and hundreds, if not thousands of corpses are littering the roads, that we can (and therefore must) carry out the confiscation of the Church valuables with the most savage and merciless energy, not stopping [short of] crushing any resistance
It is this type of decree that defines Leninism. Yes it is true that Lenin always found a high degree personal legitimacy in Marxism and would undoubtedly claim a heightened understanding of Marx's works, but his horrific implementation of it had to be eviscerated into his own brand of political philosophy lest a confusion between the two be made.
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov wrote:"It is certainly sad and regrettable that so many innocent people died. But I believe the terror of the late 1930s was necessary. Of course, if we had used greater caution, there would have been fewer victims, but Stalin was adamant on making doubly sure; spare no one, but guarantee absolute stability in the country for a long time - through the war and postwar years, which was no doubt achieved. I don't deny that I supported that view. I was simply not able to study every individual case.... It was hard to draw a precise line where to stop,[and so no lines were drawn at all]....That policy of repression was the only hope for the people, for the Revolution. It was the only way we could remain true to Leninism and its basic principals. Today that policy would be out of the question, of course."
Reading these quotes as a historical subtext for the present it becomes ever clearer exactly what tactics and ideology must be avoided to our own great peril as free citizens.
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