Political institutions are a superstructure resting on an economic foundation. The Three Sources and Three Constituent Parts of Marxism (1913)
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Lenin states that political institutions are a superstructure built on an economic base, referencing Marxist theory.
- In plain terms
- Political structures rest on underlying economic conditions.
- What can you take from it?
- Understanding economics is key to grasping political institutions.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much do economic factors dictate politics?
- Can political change alter economic structures?
Another view
The view can be overly deterministic, ignoring agency.
More from Vladimir Lenin
There are at present 300,000 bourgeois in the Crimea. These are a source of future profiteering, espionage and every kind of aid to the capitalists. However, w…
Permalink to quote #57 We know that an unskilled labourer or a cook cannot immediately get on with the job of state administration. Will the Bolsheviks Retain Government Power? (1917…
Permalink to quote #59 Terrorists bow to the spontaneity of the passionate indignation of intellectuals, who lack the ability or opportunity to connect the revolutionary struggle and…
Permalink to quote #56
Related quotes
All my economic ideas as developed over twenty-five years can be summed up in the words: agricultural-industrial federation. All my political ideas boil down t…
P. J. ProudhonP. J. Proudhon quote #1 Economy and ideology. The claim (presented as an essential postulate of historical materialism) that every fluctuation of politics and ideology can be presente…
Antonio GramsciAntonio Gramsci quote #4 O esforco humano consegue, quando muito, converter um proletariado faminto numa burguesia farta; mas surge logo das entranhas da sociedade um proletariado pior…
Jose Maria Eca de QueirozJose Maria Eca de Queiroz quote #4