Today (April 22) we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Lenin.

He led the Russian Revolution and developed national liberation and anti-imperialist theory.

He was admired by many Black leaders, including Marcus Garvey.

When you think of Communism...

If you think of the academic stuff that's just on paper, you may know of Marx and Marxism.

When you read about Communist movements that have led revolutions to liberate their people, you will come across the term "Marxism-Leninism" a lot.

Marx died in the 1880s, right before the Berlin Conference and the Scramble for Africa.

Europe had many self-identified Marxists, but many were Eurocentric and focused more on how they saw Marxist theory on paper rather than applying Marxist principles and methods of analysis.

As the Scramble for Africa took place, the Left was presented with something it had not engaged before: Capitalist expansionism.

Lenin identified imperialism as the highest stage of Capitalism.

In the Americas, colonialism and imperialism predated Capitalism. They had built Capitalism and this transformed the societies of Western Europe. This led to the decline of Feudalism.

As Capitalism itself developed from the ashes of feudal and slave society, its highest form resulted in a new kind of imperialism which was not linked to the traditional empires ruled by nobility, but rather one that was ruled by capital.

Europe was enrichened by this, and standards of living improved as a result. This disincentivised many Europeans, even working-class ones, from opposing colonial and imperialist policy.

Lenin fought against this selfish and chauvinist tendency.

Lenin argued strongly in favour of the right of nations to self-determination, to be free from European rule. He also argued against the chauvinist assumptions about European workers being white saviours.

You see, "the proletariat" was a class that developed in Europe when it was industrialised. In non-industrial countries in the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia, the proletariat was not necessarily a significant force.

Many white Marxists then argued that countries that don't have a proletariat can't have a proletarian revolution, and would therefore need to be liberated by the European proletariat.

They said that giving these nations independence would lead to them being Capitalist.

Lenin ridiculed this idea, as it ultimately favoured denying these nations independence and strengthening the bourgeoisie and Capitalists in Europe who colonised them, while the proletariat in Europe was failing to make advances.

Lenin added that the success of anti-colonial movements would weaken the Capitalists overall, and make it easier for the proletariat in Europe to fight the Capitalists at home.

Many movements all over the world identified with Leninism or were at least influenced by it. Unfortunately, many leaders of these movements were assassinated in covert operations supported by the US, UK, France, and Belgium.

There are still a handful of countries which officially identify themselves as Marxist-Leninist today, including Cuba and China.

There are also leaders of some countries that identify with Marxism-Leninism or cite Lenin's work.

Since Lenin, other leaders have developed anti-imperialist theory. The most notable, in my opinion, is Kwame Nkrumah who authored Neo-Colonialism: The Highest Stage of Imperialism.

Like Lenin, he posits that countries breaking free from exploitation by Europe and North America will weaken the ruling class of those countries and make it easier for the Left to develop in Europe and North America.

And as the ruling class in North America and Europe is weakened, it would be less able to prop up puppet governments in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The global cycle of their parasitism would end.