How did Stalin adapt Marx's ideas to suit him?

Answer 1

Marx himself predicted that between the workers' revolution against the capitalist system and the total elimination of all vestiges of capitalism there would have to be a transition period. This transition period would have the difficult job of ensuring that persons still dedicated to capitalism did not force the country back to it. The workers would have to take charge of the government by way of a dictatorship of the proletariat.

According to Marx this would not be a dictatorship such as some "communist" countries turned into. It would be a government of democratically elected officials with the exception that the capitalists would not be permitted to participate in it.

The main adaptation to conditions in Russia was that Lenin did not wait until Russia became industrialized and its peasant farmers turned into exploited factory workers as in Germany. Russia was mainly peasant farmers with little industrialization. Thus it did not fit the model Marx first theorized was necessary for the overthrow of capitalism.

Lenin forced a political revolution first to take control of the government which would then end the capitalist economic system. Marx believed that the workers would seize the economic system and then end the capitalist political system.

Since Lenin's revolution was political rather than economic, his dictatorship excluded all non Communist Party members in favor of Party members (a political distinction). Marx would have excluded capitalists in favor of socialists (an economic or class distinction).

Answer 2

Stalin adapted Marx's ideas by emphasizing the need for a strong, centralized state to achieve communist goals, which he believed required a Dictatorship of the proletariat led by a vanguard party. He also implemented policies such as collectivization and industrialization to rapidly transform the Soviet Union into a powerful socialist state, focusing on building a strong military and promoting rapid industrial growth.

Answer 3

Karl Marx was a well respected philosopher, following him is like the presidents of today following the founding fathers, they had similar ideals (one of the key components of a communist society is Ideology after all). Stalin believed the teachings of Marx would inevitably lead to a society free of greed and selfishness.

Stalin did not follow the ideas of Karl Marx fully. Marx believed the economic system capitalism would evolve into socialism which would then evolve into communism, with the political systems following suit. At that point the state, i.e., government would wither away as unnecessary. Vladimir Lenin turned this around and felt the political system had to change first and once the political system changed the new one could impose the economic change. After Lenin, Stalin felt that the political system, basically, tyranny with him as the tyrant, had to be even stronger than Lenin thought in order to force individuals into becoming the communists that Marx had in mind. In truth, Stalin enjoyed being absolute ruler over the Soviet Union and any other countries he could grab and probably didn't care one whit about Marxian communism.

Answer 4

Stalin adapted Marx's idea that immediately after a revolution overthrowing the capitalist regime, there would be a period of socialism that would be governed by a "dictatorship of the proletariat." Stalin decided that the government run by the Communist Party would be that dictatorship. The difference is that Marx saw the dictatorship as a democratic one run by the proletariat to the exclusion of the bourgeoisie. Stalin saw it as a dictatorship run by himself.

Marx also said there would have to be a long period of socialism before communism. Marx's socialism meant the proletariat owned the means of production. Stalin's socialism meant that the government owned the means of production.

Marx believed that the first period of socialism had to be world wide to survive. Stalin forced the USSR to be socialist on its own.

There are more ways than can or should be treated here.

Answer 5

Stalin created an elite class of leaders.

Stalin created a command economy

Stalin told people what to make and what jobs to do.