p Revolution, to use a figure of speech of Marx’s, is the locomotive of history. For the bourgeoisie this historical locomotive was the Great French Revolution of the late eighteenth century. In its wake came bourgeois revolutions in many countries of Western Europe. The whole nineteenth century could be said to have brought great successes for capitalism. The bourgeois revolutions, which swept feudalism from their path, established the domination of capitalism and at the same time prepared its downfall.

p A feature of all bourgeois revolutions is that they were superstructural revolutions of a pronounced, political tendency. The fact of the matter is that capitalist relationships had come to full maturation within the womb of feudalism and the capitalist mode of production had taken shape. The only thing needed here was to bring the political superstructure into line with the economic basis. No wonder therefore that these revolutions were consummated by the seizure of political power by the bourgeoisie. This circumstance is the basic reason why these revolutions do not lead to drastic breakups, radical reforms. They terminated merely in the domination of one class being superseded by that of another class—the feudalists by the bourgeoisie, the substitution of one political superstructure for another. Together with this is revealed the secret of why the bourgeoisie after the seizure of power turns its back on the people, seeks contact with the old ruling classes—the princes, landowners and nobles—and forms with them a united bloc against the forces which were the real mainsprings of the revolution, namely, the popular masses.

p The key issue in bourgeois revolutions is to make good the private capitalist ownership of the instruments and means of production and bring into line with this all the 220 socio-political institutions of the bourgeois state. On this question the bourgeoisie makes no compromises or concessions. Here it is prepared to use fire and sword against those who attempt to encroach upon that holy of holies— private property. On coming to power the bourgeoisie immediately sets up an extensive state, military and police apparatus, raises an army and a whole system of political forces designed to safeguard its property. Its motto is "private property is sacred and inviolable". The bourgeoisie immediately introduces new levers to safeguard its rule, the essence of which is the dictatorship of a single class. It refuses to share power with anybody and turns the political superstructure against the people, i.e., against the forces that brought it to power.

p But in addition to the state and military-police apparatus the bourgeoisie evolves its class ideology—a spiritual instrument for enslaving and duping the working people. This ideology was first formulated in the Declaration of the Rights of Man proclaimed by the Great French Bourgeois Revolution of the late eighteenth century. The watchwords of this Declaration were Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. By using these noble watchwords for mercenary motives, bourgeois ideologues are to this day sowing grave and damaging dissension in the labour movement. The proletariat trod a long path of struggle before it got to the core of these mottoes and realised that in the context of bourgeois domination they were its shackles.

p The bourgeoisie cleverly veils its dictatorship, its rule of violence in a mist of words, such as democracy, popularism. It is not above playing at democracy, at parliament, where workers and peasants, as a rule, are not represented, but where honeyed speeches can be heard about liberty, equality and fraternity, etc. What is more, the bourgeoisie is nothing loth to proclaim such a motto as popular government, a popular set-up, etc. But all this is backed up by a powerful administrative and military machine for suppression of the slightest attempts at action on the part of the working people, first and foremost of the proletariat.

p The bourgeoisie does not content itself with domination only within the country where it had come to power. It immediately enters into contact with other states and together with the bourgeoisie of these countries forms a united bloc to recarve the world and establish its sway over 221 all continents, over all nations. In the words of Marx, the bourgeoisie everywhere is remaking the world in its own image. But in spite of itself the bourgeoisie in every country is preparing the beneficent soil for its own destruction. A new class is taking the political stage, a class to which the bourgeoisie itself gave birth—the proletariat. It is a class which, on the one hand, is being thoroughly schooled by the bourgeoisie itself in ways of dealing with its class enemy, and, on the other, is being trained by the new social conditions of its life, passing through a serious school of factory training and class struggle and is gradually becoming aware of its own gigantic political and social strength.

p At first this “infant” acts timidly, uncoordinatedly, unorganisedly, uncertainly. But in the course of social development it reaches manhood and finds its own feet. First of all it shapes itself as a class, forming its own organisations. At first the proletariat unites in trade unions, co-operatives, insurance societies and so on, and then acquires such a powerful force as a class revolutionary party. With the creation of its political party the proletariat completes its class formation. From being a class "in itself" it becomes a class for itself and takes the field as a formidable force, ready to challenge the bourgeoisie to single combat. The first serious blow at capitalism was struck by the heroic French working class when it set up the Paris Commune— the prototype of the future proletarian state.

p For the world proletariat and working classes the locomotive of history was the Great October Socialist Revolution, which started the real, truly universal history of the working classes and the oppressed peoples. A characteristic feature of the socialist revolution is that it is headed by the proletariat, with the peasantry and the broad mass of the working population acting as its allies. The key issue of that revolution, as of the bourgeois revolution, is the seizure of power. But these cannot be equated. The fundamental difference between them is that ’the proletarian revolution does not end with the seizure of power, but merely marks the beginning of its further development in breadth and depth.

p The proletarian revolution is a profound process calculated for a long period of time and designed to radically change the old world and carry out profound 222 socioeconomic reforms. The proletariat takes over power not in order to perpetuate its political rule, but in order to transform private ownership of the instruments and means of production into social, public ownership and inculcate its humane, truly humanistic ideology—the communist ideology—upon all sections of the population, to make it the dominant ideology, and the working people the masters of their destinies. Therefore there is a distinction not only in the character and tendency of the revolutions themselves, but an important distinction in the nature of the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie and the dictatorship of the proletariat.

p The main thing in the dictatorship of the proletariat is not violence, not suppression, the way the enemies of Marxism try to make out, but the establishment of genuine Democracy—government by the people—the. organisation of a political and social system in which the true message of the proletarian mottoes, formerly stolen by the bourgeoisie—Liberty, Equality and Fraternity—would be restored. These mottoes are the real expression of the ideology and hopes of the proletariat. But it does not give effect to these mottoes all at once. It is obliged first to deal with the counter-revolutionary forces of all stripes and to devise new forms of state, political, economic, ideological and other forms of administration. The dictatorship of the proletariat is faced with the task of securing, by means of profound economic reforms, the liquidation not only of the exploiter classes, but of the causes that give rise to these classes. Herein lies the essential difference between the bourgeois revolution and the socialist revolution, between the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie and the dictatorship of the proletariat.

In citing Marx about revolution being the locomotive of history Lenin applied this definition wholly to the socialist revolution. His call was brief: to accelerate the revolutionary locomotive and keep it on socialist rails. Naturally, every locomotive requires not only reliable rails but a good engine-driver. Such an engine-driver is to be found in the person of the Leninist Party. It had theoretically to chart the route and practically to lay the rails for the locomotive’s movement, since neither the route nor the rails had ever been laid before. Our Party not only speeded up the locomotive of history but kept it securely on its 223 socialist rails. It successfully steered the locomotive over steep and difficult gradients, through sharp bends, slopes and descents and has now placed it firmly upon the rails of communism.