Books › State and Revolution
State and Revolution
First published 2004 · 275 pages
A fiercely urgent, unapologetic blueprint for dismantling the machinery of the state.
What it feels like
Reading this text feels like sitting in a smoke-filled room on the eve of a historical rupture. It is fiercely combative and intellectually relentless, driven by an urgent need to clarify theory for immediate, practical action. The prose is sharp, blunt, and unapologetically polemical, stripping away rhetorical flourish in favor of hammering home its central arguments about power and oppression. You can feel the author’s frustration with reformist compromises bleeding through the pages, building toward a militant optimism about the possibility of a new world. It is a brisk, demanding read that delights students of radical history and political theory, offering a visceral glimpse into the mindset of a revolutionary standing at the precipice of world-altering change.
- Mood
- revolutionary
- tense
- intellectually charged
- uncompromising
- Tone
- combative
- urgent
- analytical
- authoritative
- polemical
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- class struggle · dismantling oppressive systems · revolutionary inevitability · the mechanics of power · ideological purity
- The writing
- Sharp, blunt, and unapologetically argumentative, relying on heavy citation and repetitive emphasis to hammer home its points.
- The arc
- Moves from a rigorous, frustrated critique of the status quo to a fiercely optimistic vision of a liberated future.
- Who it's for
- Readers fascinated by radical political theory, Marxist history, and the uncompromising mechanics of systemic overthrow.
Content notes
- discussions of state violence
- class oppression
- revolutionary warfare
About the book
Lenin wrote ‘State and Revolution’ in 1917, while he was hiding from the Russian secret police. The book describes the inherent nature of the State as a tool for class oppression, a creation born of one social class’s desire to control all other social classes. Drawing on detailed quotes from Karl Marx and Friedrick Engels, Lenin lays down a Marxist view of the state, describes how a working-class revolution will overthrow it, and goes further in showing how social democracy is not enough—even in democratic republics such as those enjoyed by many western countries today, the ruling class is still in control of society, and will never relinquish power. According to Lenin, a Communist revolution is the only remedy for class struggle. This work by Lenin is important to communist thinking and the Marxist concept of the state which is clearly and concisely expressed in this book. Without doubt this is a classic work and will give the reader important concepts in the theory of Marxist-Leninism.
Description from Open Library.
Books like State and Revolution
See why they match
Blackshirts and RedsMichael ParentiA fiery, unapologetic dismantling of mainstream historical narratives that arms the reader with a sharp, clarifying lens on global power.
Chto delatʹ?Lenin, Vladimir IlyichA fiery, uncompromising blueprint for revolution that demands absolute ideological clarity and strategic discipline.
Manifest der Kommunistischen ParteiKarl Marx and Friedrich EngelsA fiery, rhetorically charged pamphlet that diagnoses the engine of history and demands a radical reimagining of society.
The Marx-Engels readerRobert C. TuckerA dense, fiery plunge into the foundational texts of systemic critique and revolutionary thought.
On AnarchismNoam ChomskyA sharp, accessible, and surprisingly optimistic exploration of anti-authoritarian thought that challenges readers to rethink the structures of power.
Der 18. Brumaire des Louis BonaparteKarl MarxA profound and analytical exploration of how history repeats itself through the lens of 19th-century French political upheaval.