Key concepts in Marxist-Leninist theory — search and study
The economic base (mode of production, relations of production) forms the foundation of society, upon which the superstructure (law, politics, ideology, culture, religion) arises. Changes in the base drive changes in the superstructure.
The capitalist class — those who own the means of production (factories, land, resources, capital). They accumulate wealth through the exploitation of wage labour. The ruling class under capitalism.
The fundamental conflict between exploiting and exploited classes that drives historical development. Under capitalism, the primary class struggle is between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. All political struggle is, in essence, class struggle.
A product of labour produced for exchange rather than for direct use. Under capitalism, labour-power itself becomes a commodity that the worker sells to the capitalist. The commodity is the elementary unit of capitalist wealth.
The final stage of social development: a classless, stateless society based on common ownership of the means of production. Under communism, exploitation is abolished, the state withers away, and the principle "from each according to ability, to each according to need" is realised.
The organisational principle of a Leninist party: free and open debate before a decision, but unity in action after a decision is made. Combines democratic input with centralised discipline, ensuring both participation and effectiveness.
The state form of the transitional period between capitalism and communism. The working class, having seized state power, uses the state to suppress the former exploiters, reorganise production, and build the material foundations of socialism. It is democratic for the working majority and dictatorial toward the former exploiting minority.
The appropriation of surplus value by the capitalist class. Workers produce more value than they receive in wages; the difference (surplus value) is taken by the capitalist as profit. This is the fundamental mechanism of capitalist exploitation.
The application of materialist philosophy to the study of society and history. It holds that the mode of production determines the character of social, political, and ideological life. History progresses through stages defined by the development of productive forces and the relations of production.
The highest stage of capitalism, characterised by monopoly, the dominance of finance capital, the export of capital, the division of the world among capitalist monopolies, and the territorial division of the world among the great powers. Imperialism is the source of modern wars and colonial oppression.
The theory that the value of a commodity is determined by the socially necessary labour time required to produce it. Developed by classical economists and refined by Marx, it is the foundation of the Marxist critique of capitalist exploitation.
The philosophical position that matter is primary and consciousness is secondary. The material world exists independently of perception. All phenomena — including thought, society, and history — are products of material processes. Opposed to idealism. The philosophical foundation of Marxism-Leninism.
The physical and material resources used in the production of goods: factories, machinery, land, raw materials, tools, infrastructure. Under capitalism, the means of production are privately owned by the bourgeoisie. Under socialism, they are collectively owned.
The combination of productive forces (tools, technology, labour) and relations of production (property relations, class relations) that defines the economic basis of a society. Historical modes include primitive communism, slavery, feudalism, capitalism, and socialism.
The working class — those who own no means of production and must sell their labour-power to survive. The proletariat is the revolutionary class under capitalism, destined by its position in production to overthrow the bourgeoisie and establish socialism.
The distortion or abandonment of fundamental Marxist-Leninist principles under the guise of "updating" or "developing" Marxism. Revisionism serves the bourgeoisie by disarming the working class theoretically and politically. Includes social democracy, Trotskyism, Dengism, and Eurocommunism.
The transitional stage between capitalism and communism. Under socialism, the means of production are collectively owned, exploitation is progressively abolished, and society is governed by the dictatorship of the proletariat. The principle "from each according to ability, to each according to work" applies.
The difference between the value produced by a worker and the value of their wages. Surplus value is the source of capitalist profit. It represents unpaid labour — the portion of the working day for which the worker receives no compensation. Marx's discovery of surplus value is central to the critique of capitalism.
A disciplined revolutionary party of the most class-conscious workers and intellectuals, organised on the basis of democratic centralism. The vanguard party brings revolutionary theory to the working class, provides strategic leadership, and guides the class struggle toward the seizure of state power.
As classes are abolished under socialism and the material basis for exploitation disappears, the state — which exists as an instrument of class rule — gradually loses its function and withers away. The result is the classless, stateless society of communism.
Under capitalism, the worker is alienated from the product of their labour (which belongs to the capitalist), from the process of production (which is controlled by the capitalist), from their fellow workers (who are competitors), and from their own human potential. Alienation is a material condition rooted in the relations of production, not a psychological state.
The communication of a single idea to a large number of people, typically focused on a concrete grievance or injustice. Distinguished from propaganda (many ideas to few people). Agitation connects immediate struggles to the broader class analysis and mobilises the masses for action.
A trained, disciplined member of a revolutionary party who possesses both theoretical understanding and practical organising ability. Cadres form the backbone of the party, providing leadership in workplaces, communities, and mass organisations.
The philosophical method of Marxism-Leninism, combining materialism (matter is primary) with the study of contradiction, change, and development. The MLPBF upholds strict materialism while rejecting the idealist elements of Hegelian dialectics — the world is physical, determined, and knowable through science.
The merger of industrial capital and bank capital under the dominance of the banks. Finance capital is the economic basis of imperialism. It concentrates enormous wealth in the hands of a financial oligarchy that controls the economy through credit, investment, and speculation rather than direct production.
The lowest stratum of the urban poor — those permanently expelled from the productive process: beggars, criminals, vagabonds. Marx and Engels warned that the lumpenproletariat, lacking class consciousness and stable employment, was susceptible to reactionary manipulation and could serve as a tool of the bourgeoisie against the organised working class.
The class of small property owners — shopkeepers, small farmers, self-employed professionals — who own some means of production but do not primarily exploit wage labour. The petty bourgeoisie occupies a contradictory position between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and its political vacillation reflects this instability.
The historical process by which the capitalist class accumulated the initial capital necessary to begin capitalist production — through the enclosure of common lands, colonial plunder, the slave trade, and the violent separation of producers from their means of subsistence. Capital came into the world, as Marx wrote, dripping blood from every pore.
The communication of many ideas to a small number of people, typically through theoretical education, study circles, and written materials. Propaganda aims to develop a thorough understanding of Marxism-Leninism among the most advanced workers and intellectuals who will become party cadres.
The social relationships that people enter into in the process of production — principally, the property relations that determine who owns the means of production and who must sell their labour. Under capitalism, the fundamental relation is between the bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (workers).
A political tendency that seeks to reform capitalism through parliamentary means rather than overthrow it through revolution. Social democrats serve as the left flank of the bourgeoisie, channelling working-class discontent into harmless electoral activity and preventing the development of revolutionary consciousness.
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