Bolshevik Ideology in Oct '17
Internationalism
for Lenin and B, a core feature of the ideolgiy was htat R would lead Europe and the wide world toward revoltuion
seen as necessity for allowing socialism to suceed
core ideal of traditional Marxism
Rapid transition to socialism
Dictatorship of the Proletariat
Coup against PG could unleash great revolutionary energy in R which would help to bring about names transformation of economy and society
Unlike Marx, who believed that a revolution could only succeed once capitalism created material abundance in society, B thought they could leap over capitalist phases in Russia and turn straight to socialism
dangerous idea - many B were unsure whether it could succeed
set B apart from many Marxist in Russia at the time who believed a longer path to revolution was necessary
moderate Marxists believed that a successful revolution would involve supporting PG and allowing time for growth of capitalism and a larger working class
The worker's state:
end goal of Marxist revolution was not simply to seize power
power would provide means to create a new, more fair, equal and democratic society
wanted to give people greater rights and ensure that all people had meaningful employment and access to important services eg. health care
wanted to create a society in which workers were truly valued rather than exploited as they had been under tsars and under capitalism
many describe B ideology as utopian because they believed they could achieve a society like this
B believed that democracies in Europe were a 'dictatorship of bourgeoisie' (with only wealthy holding real influence) and were little better than monarchies at ensuring power was truly in hands of people
wanted to est dictatorship of the people that would rule in the name of the majority
B aware that they would need to defend their revolution against counter-revolutionaries who wanted to protect the old order and that violence would be necessary
expected that as revolution would begin to succeed, there would be a decreasing need for violence as socialism began to flourish