Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Lenin describes the revolutionary vanguard as the capable of leading the masses.
In plain terms
The vanguard leads the masses.
What can you take from it?
A strong vanguard is essential for revolutionary leadership.

Where it applies

  • party building
  • revolutionary strategy

Putting it to work

  • train dedicated cadres
  • maintain close ties with workers

Questions to consider

  • How can a vanguard stay accountable to the masses?
  • What checks prevent vanguard elitism?

Another view

It assumes a single vanguard can represent diverse masses.

More from Vladimir Lenin

  1. The natural scientist must be a modern materialist, a conscious adherent of the materialism represented by Marx, i.e., he must be a dialectical materialist.

    Permalink to quote #24
  2. You can become a Communist only when you enrich your mind with a knowledge of all the treasures created by mankind.

    Permalink to quote #26
  3. The status of women up to now has been compared to that of a slave; women have been tied to the home, and only socialism can save them from this. They will onl…

    Permalink to quote #23

Related quotes

  1. By the Revolution the Germans have made themselves pariahs among the nations, incapable of winning allies, helots in the service of foreigners and foreign capi…

    Erich LudendorffErich Ludendorff quote #1
  2. The principle of collective leadership is elementary for a proletarian party and for a party of the Lenin type. Nevertheless, we must emphasize this old truth,…

    Anastas MikoyanAnastas Mikoyan quote #2
  3. The leadership has failed. Even so, the leadership can and must be recreated from the masses and out of the masses. The masses are the decisive element, they a…

    Rosa LuxemburgRosa Luxemburg quote #3