[lbo-talk] Lenin: On the slogan of a United States of Europe

c b cb31450 at gmail.com
Wed Jul 27 14:41:43 PDT 2011


Eric Beck

Another Lenin misdiagnosis. Nothing about nationalism, which is the relevant category (if you mean to post this as a response to Oslo). But then Lenin saw nationalism as beneficial, which is why he encouraged the blooming of a thousand of them.

^^^^ CB: Lenin's position on nation blooming is in his essay on national liberation and rights of nations to self-determination. Self-determination means that a people with the characteristics of an independent nation have the right to secede from a colonialist great power, but not that Lenin encourages them to.  He had a specific difference with Luxembourg on this point with respect to Poland. Luxembourg was against secession for Poland I believe. Lenin didn't advocate secession ,but that the Poles had a right of self-determination.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/jan/x01.htm

V. I. Lenin The Socialist Revolution and the Right of Nations to Self-Determination THESES



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