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Is there any reason this shouldn't be redirected to Leninism?

Nope. Tannin

Yup, there is a reason. Marxism-Leninism is Stalins name of his policies, and hence Marxism-Leninism and Stalinism is the same thing. This in turn may or may not be distinct from Leninism, the opinions vary on that, but still, it SHOULD be redirected to Stalinism to allow for that distinction. So I'll do that. See also Stalinism :) Regebro 08:48, 11 Sep 2004 (UTC)

What? Yes...that is what he called them...but that doesn't make Marxism-Leninism Stalinism...it makes Stalinism a form of Marxism-Leninism. Marxism-Leninism is synonymous with the term Leninism, not Stalinism.

Yossarian 03:42, Sep 15, 2004 (UTC)

Well, still all sources I have fund claim that "Marxist-Leninism" is what Stalin called his theories, and that the correct term for Leninism is Leninism, and nothing else. The term arose with Stalin, and Stalin is seen as the creator of the ideology. From Marxists.org: "The creation and development of Marxism-Leninism can be divided into two general categories: the creation and development by Stalin (1924-1953), and the revision by Khrushchev and continual revisions by the Soviet government to follow (1956-1991)." Maybe we should not redirect at all, but instead have a text about the history of the term and explain that it can be used to denote both Leninism and Stalinism, and that really, the differece aint that big anyway. ;) Regebro 21:36, 15 Sep 2004 (UTC)

That whole argument is merely an appeal to authority. Politicians may be able to call one thing another, but it wont fly in terms of fact. Dan Quayle once said the United States was a part of Europe -- I should hope that a link to Europe dont redirect me accordingly. -- Oceanhahn 08:14, 15 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Even Gorbachev regarded himself as a Marxist-Leninist, but certainly not a Stalinist. If the term "Marxism-Leninism" did originate with Stalin, which it would practically have to as it is hard to imagine Lenin using the term, it has a meaning distinct from the particular practices of Stalin, which is what Stalinism generally refers to (especially when used negatively). Stalin's expressed theories offer little deviation from Lenin's and are notable for their mild and reasonable character which contrasts sharply with his practices. I think we might add to the article the usage of contemporary activists and individuals who harken back to Stalin, rejecting what they view as revisionism, and call themselves "Marxist-Leninist" to emphasize their adherance to Communist fundamentals. That would make it a disambiguation page, not a redirect. I guess I would like the redirect removed completely and Leninism renamed Marxism-Leninism. That, I think, is the term in general use. Actually if you google the terms both seem to be used. But titling the article Marxism-Leninism offers the advantage that a least a note can be added regarding contemporary use of the term by Communist fundamentalists. Fred Bauder 11:21, Sep 16, 2004 (UTC)

Marxism-Leninism was the official ideology of the Soviet Union since Stalin's rule, it just underwent a massive overhaul in the post-Stalin era. J. Parker Stone 9 July 2005 08:41 (UTC)

Before discussing Marx-Leninism perhaps it would be a good idea to ask a Marxist before going into completely inaccurate rubbish. Marx-Leninism is the name given to the philosophy of revolutionary socialists who supported the Russian revolution lead by Lenin and Trotsky as an attempt to change WORLD capitalism to WORLD socialism. Marx-Leninists do NOT and did NOT support the Stalinist bureaucracy that gained power in the Soviet Union by the physical elimination of the Bolshevik revolutionaries. At no point did Lenin or Trotsky believe in anything other that a true democratic world revolution, unlike Stalinism, that in order to cover its counter-revolution privilege espoused 'Socialism in one country'

READ Marx and Lenin and Trotsky to understand these questions. Do not swallow the rubbish put out by the bourgeoisie and in particular American 'pundits' David Nissen UK

Or you could read Stalin himself. Or read [1]. Marxism-Leninism was a term, which on one hand is differnet from Leninism and on the other hand was never used during Lenin's life-time. The by the time M-L was launched the Trotsky-Stalin split had already emerged. Notably Trotskyists preferred not to use the term M-L, instead using the description Bolshevik-Leninist. See [2]. --Soman 10:20, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

Marxism-Leninism refers to the interpretation of Lenin by Stalinists, and later by Maoists and Reform Communists, where as Leninism refers to the interpretation of Lenin by Trotskyists and neoBolsheviks. There are exceptions to this rule, such as the Marxist-Leninist Party of the Second Spanish Republic, which was a small party founded as a true Trotskyist alternative to POUM. However, both historicly and in modern uses by Stalinists, Trotskyists, etc. this deffinition is upheld.

[edit] Useful material from 'Leninism'-- better here!

Near the end of the 1920s in the Soviet Union, Marxism-Leninism was proclaimed the official ideology of the Communist Party. The concept of Marxism-Leninism is somewhat different to, although by no means contrary to, the concept of Leninism. Both terms have since been used by communist parties, although with different functions. Marxism-Leninism is used to describe the basic ideology of the Communist Party, whereas Leninism is often used when discussing the organizational model of the party. Dissident groups within the communist tradition, such as Trotskyists and Luxembourgists, often consider the term Marxism-Leninism to be a euphemism for "Stalinism".

Marxism-Leninism taught in Soviet academic institution was the discipline that consisted of four parts:

1. History of the Communist Party
2. Marxist-Leninist Philosophy (dialectical materialism)
3. Marxist-Leninism polytical economy
4. Scientific communism (discussion of how communism can be built)

[edit] "As carried forward by Joseph Stalin. "

There's a contradiction in this entry. Either ML is Marxism as carried forward by Joseph Stalin. and thence by others in differing ways, or both Stalinists or Trotskyists both claim to be Marxist Leninists, in which case Stalin's amplifications are in one branch but not all. The former makes sence to me: I do not think that Trotskyist claim to be ML: they see that ML is Stalinism's own word for itself, surely?--Duncan 12:22, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

Yes that's correct. Scholars and partisans are in unity that Marxism-Leninism was the name given to the ideology of the Soviet Union (based on the writings of Marx, Engels, and Lenin) by Stalin. It includes also Stalin's own contributions and is the term used in all three major histories of the CPSU published in the Soviet Union (corresponding to the governments of Stalin, Khrushchev, and Breshznev). It is also the term used by Mao Zedong and anti-revisionist Marxists. I've never heard a member of a Trotskyist organization (either in person or in a text) self-describe as "Marxist-Leninist". The article should certainly identify Stalin's role in developing Marxism-Leninism. Comzero 20:21, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

In fact, I think this sentence, '"Stalinists" and "Trotskyists" also claim to be the rightful heirs of Marxism-Leninism' in the first paragraph needs to be cut. Now, it could be argued that both claim to be the rightful heirs of Leninism, but not ML. Comzero 20:25, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

Excellent idea! I think this would be an excellent clarification. --Duncan 08:17, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A contribution from a foreigner

Hi, I'm Italian. (My native language is Italian,) and my English is mediocre. I apologize for any mistakes I might make. It is for this reason that I won't contribute directly to this article. I agree with the opininion that Marxism-Leninism is Stalinist in nature. Also Leninism was first regarded as a theory, rather than an attitude, by Stalin. Marxism-Leninism is considered to be nearly synonymous with Stalinism (from a philosopical and theoretical point of view) by many communists. Two examples being Aldo Natoli and Pietro Ingrao (two Italian communists who played an international role at the beginning of WW2). I believe that this article should mention the work by Stalin that is generally considered to be the key essay in which Marxism-Leninism is defined. It is "THE FOUNDATIONS OF LENINISM", that can be found here [3]. It is part of a larger work, "Problems of Leninism". One of the key questions here is whether or not revolution must necessarily be a violent, military business, or can revolution be acheived through non-violent means? Marx and Engels considered a violent struggle not as necessary, but as an unfortunate - though probable - outcome in continental Europe. Stalin states that one of the main contributions to Marxism is the idea that that revolution must necessarily be a violent uprising worldwide, due to the changes in Capitalist structure. Another important question is about whether or not the proletariat should take the power in countries with a backward level of productive forces (i.e., backward bourgeois society). There was on this subject an endless and notorius dispute between Lenin and the 2nd Socialist International, and also with mensheviks and revolutionary socialists. The prevaling opinion in the worldwide labour movement was that proletariat revolution would need a preceding bourgeois stage, a developed society with bourgeois institutions, which was not the case in 1917 Russia. Here Stalin shows one of his typical attitudes in legitimizing past events with questionable theoretical (or pseudo-theoretical) argumentations.

BTW I prefer the English edition of wikipedia to the Italian one because Italian entries (at least on similar subjects, but this can be said in general) are not so good, sometime agiographic and POV, and with lack of narration and references. I'm considering the idea of simply translating some English entries in Italian to overcome this problem. I will be glad to hear opinions on doing so. I was communist and marxist years ago, and I knew a lot of (Italian) communists - some of them with a long-lasting personal history - which were clever and open-minded, and capable of quietly an reasonably debating with people of opposite opinions. Now I'm anti-communist (in the sense that I consider communism nonsense, rather than a bad thing). My knowledge of real-world communists leads me to believe that a communist could be able to write an encyclopedia article that can be considered interesting and useful by non-communist or anti-communist people. It seems to me that the new-generation of (the very few) communists lost this attitude. At least in Italy.

Bye.

PS. Please correct my english!

I tried to correct it a bit, if I didn't stick to your original meaning I am sorry, but I made every effort. -- Humbabba 01:32, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Thank you Humbabba, you made a great job. The meaning of my considerations was both respected and claryfied. --85.20.0.137 15:54, 27 July 2006 (UTC)