Editing Crisis of Marxism

The '''Crisis of Marxism''' was an internal crisis within the [[Marxism|Marxist]] movement that occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The crisis was the result of [[Karl Marx]]'s prediction that the [[standard of living]] for the [[proletariat]] would inevitably decrease and lead to a [[revolution]] had ultimately proven to be false. As a result, the Marxist movement split into [[Leninism]] (later became [[Marxism-Leninism]]), [[orthodox Marxism]] (a ''de facto'' successor of [[utopian socialism]]), and [[fascism]] (alternatively self-identified as [[Trotskyism]]).

== Origins ==
In the 19th century, [[Germany|German]] [[Philosophy|philosopher]] Karl Marx predicted that [[capitalism]] was doomed to fail. He believed that this was to come about due to the inevitability of the proletariat's standard of living gradually becoming worse as the capitalist system continued to develop, forcing the proletariat to rise up and overthrow the [[bourgeoisie]]. By the 20th century, however, the standard of living for the [[Europe|European]] proletariat had actually improved and many proletarians found themselves identifying more with their [[Nation|nations]] than their [[Socieconomic class|classes]]. As a result, Marx's prediction had ultimately been proven wrong.

== Factions ==
With time proving Marx's original predictions wrong, the Marxist movement split into three major faction in an attempt to explain what had happened and how [[Communism]] could still be achieved.

==== Leninism ====
''Main article: [[Leninism]], [[Bolshevism]], [[Marxism-Leninism]]''

In the [[Russian Empire]], [[Vladimir Lenin]] attempted to explain where Karl Marx's prediction had failed and how the Marxist movement could continue to exist. To do so, he wrote ''[[Library:Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism|Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism]]''. The book explained that Marx's work had failed to account for the rise of [[imperialism]] and the subsequent [[aristocracy of labor]] in the late 19th century. Due to imperialism, the capitalist countries had been able to increase the standard of living by exploiting and extracting the [[natural resources]] of [[Third World]] nations. As a result, the European proletariat was placed at the top of the aristocracy of labor and enjoyed a higher standard of living than the Third World [[peasantry]].<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/ Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism]</ref> The solution to this issue, outlined in ''[[Library:What Is To Be Done?|What Is To Be Done?]]'', was to create a [[Vanguardism|vanguard party]] that could educate the proletariat and direct them towards revolutionary action.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1901/witbd/ What Is To Be Done?]</ref>

Lenin, at the time, was a member of the [[Russian Social Democratic Labor Party]] (RSDLP). The party itself was controlled by orthodox Marxists, leading Lenin to form the [[Bolsheviks]] as a vanguardist faction within the RSDLP.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqbleas1mmo The Russian Revolution - OverSimplified (Part 1)]</ref> In 1914, the outbreak of the [[First World War]] sent the RSDLP sprawling into a crisis. The orthodox Marxist faction, known as the [[Mensheviks]], capitulated to [[Russian nationalism]] and attempted to justify supporting the war effort of the Russian Empire against the [[German Empire]]. Lenin, on the other hand, invoked the principle of [[revolutionary defeatism]] to justify supporting the [[Central Powers]] as a method to weaken the Russian [[feudal class]] and enable revolutionary conditions.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1915/jul/26.htm The Defeat of One’s Own Government in the Imperialist War]</ref>

==== Orthodox Marxism ====
''Main articles: [[Orthodox Marxism]], [[Utopian socialism]]''

==== Fascism ====
''Main articles: [[Fascism]], [[National Socialism]], [[Trotskyism]]''

== Notable individuals ==

=== Leninists ===

* [[Vladimir Lenin]]
* [[Joseph Stalin]]

=== Orthodox Marxists ===

* [[Eduard Bernstein]]
* [[Karl Kautsky]]
* [[Rosa Luxemburg]]

=== Fascists ===

* [[Nikolai Bukharin]]
* [[Giovanni Gentile]]
* [[Adolf Hitler]]
* [[Benito Mussolini]]
* [[Leon Trotsky]]

== References ==
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