Communism vs Leninism: Difference and Comparison

Different countries follow distinct political ideologies to maintain and control the functionality of the nation in terms of economy, military, peace, harmony, and international relations.

Communism and Leninism are different political beliefs followed in different countries. Communism has been adopted by Asian countries such as China, Cuba, Laos. On the other hand, Leninism has been adopted by Russia.

Key Takeaways

1. Communism promotes a classless society, whereas Leninism focuses on a centralized vanguard party to lead the working class.
2. Leninism allows for a temporary transitional stage of socialism, while communism aims for a stateless, classless society.
3. Leninism is a specific branch of communism developed by Vladimir Lenin, with distinct political strategies and tactics.

Communism vs Leninism

Communism is a political and economic system in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the community. Leninism is a political ideology developed by Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik Party in Russia. Leninism places more emphasis on the importance of a vanguard party.

Communism is a political system having a motto to create a discrimination-free society to deliver the message that everybody is equal irrespective of color, caste, and status.

It means to form a super community in which all can gain the same. Various countries have adopted this political system for the welfare of their people.

Leninism is also a political system designed by the former revolutionary and lawyer of Russia named Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. It got popular in 1922.

It is a type of socialism that takes the place of capitalism (economic matters are handled by the citizens rather than the government). It is also known as marxism-Leninism.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Communism	Leninism
Brought by	Communism is an idea of Karl Max.	Leninism is an idea of Vladimir Lenin.
Came in	The idea of Communism came in 1848.	The idea of Leninism came in 1917.
Belief	Communism has a belief that in an equal society, capitalism will be eliminated without any force.	Leninism arose from the conviction that capitalism must be eliminated via real action.
Motto	Communism has a motto for economic development for its citizens.	Leninism focuses more on the political development of the country.
Advantage	The advantage of communism is equality among the people.	The advantage of Leninism is the formation of a strong government.

What is Communism?

Communism has its roots in the Latin word, which means common for all. Therefore, communism means every aspect (political, social, and economic) is equal for everybody living in the same country.

By collaborating with the well-known writer Friedrich Engels, German philosopher Karl Max they introduced the concept of an equal society. Both famous people spread the idea of communism through their writings. This idea came into action in the 1840s.

After the Russian Revolution, communism started in Russia in 1992.

Under communism, most companies (production, services, and businesses) are owned by the government, and only a few persons have the right to hold a maximum stake in the companies.

This idea is somewhat similar to socialism, but under communism, freedom of religion is there. The idea behind communism is to develop the country in monetary terms to make the country classless.

So, all the citizens can access fundamental (food, education, medical facility) and luxurious amenities to lead a better life. All the economic affairs are under the central government.

The government in the countries which work on communism is elected on a hierarchy system inside a single political party. China is the largest communist country. Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam are other countries that practice communism.

What is Leninism?

Since Russian Revolutionary, Vladimir Lenin made the policies under Leninism, the political system Leninism is named after him. According to Leninism, countries must be dictated by the proletarian society (a higher class of profit-makers).

So that political and economic matters are managed well. The reasoning behind this political system is to educate the working class about politics to strengthen the country’s political system.

Moreover, this approach brought revolutionary feelings among the people.

This system was first-time followed in Russia after the October Revolution led by Vladimir Lenin in 1917 with the slogan (Peace, Land, and Bread).

At that time, the head of the country was Lenin himself. The policies are built on orthodox-marxism (a simplified version of the Marx policies).

By 1922, additional countries had adopted Leninism’s political framework. Earlier, the executive government under Leninism was elected by the council of ministers.

Another belief was that capitalism needed to be eliminated by formulating strong policies by the government against the private ownership of the citizen.

The concept of Leninism is that there will only be one political party in the country, like communism. Many countries do not adhere to this political stance. In Russia, it is practised in its most basic form.

Main Differences Between Communism and Leninism

1. Communism is a political system advocated by the German philosopher Max Karl. Conversely, a Russian revolutionary, Vladamir Lenin, proposed the Leninism political system.
2. Communism is an old concept that came in 1848. However, Leninism has been around since 1917.
3. Communism ideology is somewhat similar to socialism. On the other hand, Leninism ideology is based on orthodox Marxism.
4. The motto of communism is to develop the country economically. On the contrary, the Leninism form of government aims to formulate powerful political policies.
5. The slogan of communism is Workers of all countries, unite. However, the slogan of Leninism is peace, land, and bread.
6. The word communism originated from the English word common. However, Leninism is based on the name Vladimir Lenin.

References

1. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.4159/harvard.9780674186637/html
2. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.97.4.1507

Last Updated : 13 July, 2023