The Theoretical Origin Of The Differences Between Plekhanov And Lenin

The many differences between G. V. Plekhanov and V. I. Lenin can be summarized as on three main problems:the working class’s ally, the essence of the Russian revolution and the dictatorship of proletariat. The progressive relationship in the three main problems reflects that G V. Plekhanov and V. I. Lenin are always on opposite positions and views and their rupture in the differences on the road of the Russian revolution is not an accident but a gradual historical process. It can be seen from the analysis of the theoretical origin of the differences on the three main problems, G.V.Plekhanov uses the development of the productive forces to explain the development of the Russian society, and V. I. Lenin refer to change the relations of production which comes from his analysis of the revolution movements and favors the proletariat interest. Their different logics are exactly their theoretical origin and it can be referred as the difference of the principle of productive forces and the principle of production relations. But G. V. Plekhanov’s productive forces principle is in essence a kind of economic determinism. Its theoretical basis is not from Marx’s theories but mainly borrowed from Hegel’s geographic environmental determinism. Affected by the geographic environmental determinism, G. V. Plekhanov misunderstands Marx’s theories on the proletariat revolution. The research on the theoretical differences between G. V. Plekhanov and V. I. Lenin and the revealing of the essence of G. V. Plekhanov’s materialist conception of history is good for clarifying the positive and negative effects of G. V. Plekhanov’s productive principle in nowadays and providing enlightenment for the further study of the materialist conception of history.