Italy Lenin lives The IMTs Year of Lenin successfully launched in Naples

Marxist Theory · 2026-05-13

Core Argument¶

The article reports on a successful public launch event for the IMT's "Year of Lenin" campaign in Naples, but its central thesis extends beyond mere reportage. It argues that Lenin's theoretical and political legacy — systematically distorted by both bourgeois academia and Stalinist falsification — is experiencing a genuine resurgence among a new generation, particularly young people and high school students. The claim is that this renewed interest is not academic nostalgia but a practical necessity: Lenin's methods, from his theory of the state to his writings on the national question, provide the analytical tools required to understand the current conjuncture, including the war in Ukraine, the US-China rivalry, and the situation in Palestine. The article asserts that the IMT's task is to reclaim Lenin from the distortions of history and demonstrate that his revolutionary conclusions remain a living weapon for changing society today.

Theoretical Grounding¶

The analysis draws on several core Marxist concepts, deployed not as abstractions but as concrete tools for orientation:

The revolutionary party: Lenin's conception of the party as a disciplined, theoretically informed vanguard, forged through political struggle rather than coercion, is presented as the organisational precondition for successful revolutionary work.
The theory of the state: Lenin's State and Revolution is invoked as the key text for understanding the nature of bourgeois state power and the necessity of its destruction, not its reform.
Imperialism: Lenin's theory of imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism is used as the framework for analysing interimperialist rivalries, specifically the war in Ukraine and the US-China confrontation.
The national question: Lenin's writings on national self-determination are presented as essential for grasping the dynamics of the Palestine question.
The struggle against bureaucratic degeneration: The article references Lenin's final struggle against the rise of Stalinism, situating the IMT's political lineage in opposition to the Stalinist tradition that illegitimately claimed Lenin's mantle.

The article sits firmly within the Trotskyist tradition — specifically the political lineage that understands Stalinism as a counter-revolutionary bureaucratic degeneration of the first workers' state, not as a continuation of Leninism. It rejects both reformist and Stalinist interpretations of Lenin, insisting on the revolutionary core of his thought.

Conjunctural Relevance¶

The article connects Lenin's ideas to the current moment through several concrete references:

The war in Ukraine: Framed as an expression of interimperialist rivalry, requiring Lenin's theory of imperialism to understand its dynamics.
The US-China clash: Similarly situated within Lenin's analysis of competing imperialist blocs.
Palestine: The national question is invoked as the theoretical lens through which to understand the ongoing conflict, with Lenin's writings providing the necessary framework.
Generational shift: The article notes that the audience was predominantly young, including high school students, and that this reflects a broader turn toward revolutionary ideas among a generation facing systemic crisis, war, and ecological breakdown.
Organisational growth: The article reports that the IMT's "Are you a Communist?" campaign has led to significant growth in Italy, with new members bringing enthusiasm and talent. The Naples event raised €90 from book sales and €360 in donations, indicating modest but real material support.

The conjuncture is thus presented as one of deepening capitalist crisis, intensifying interimperialist conflict, and a consequent opening for revolutionary ideas among youth — a classic Leninist assessment of a revolutionary situation in embryo.

Where the Argument Continues¶

This article is a launch report, so the argument it introduces is developed across several other IMT materials:

The broader "Year of Lenin" campaign: The article explicitly states that this is only the beginning, with further university assemblies planned for spring 2024. The campaign's trajectory can be tracked through subsequent IMT articles and events.
Against the Stream episodes: The IMT's regular podcast series has likely produced episodes on Lenin's theory of imperialism, State and Revolution, and the national question, which would expand on the theoretical points introduced here.
IMT theoretical publications: The article mentions books and pamphlets on and by Lenin published by the IMT, which constitute the deeper theoretical elaboration of the arguments sketched in the report.
The "Are you a Communist?" campaign: This earlier initiative, which the article says laid the groundwork for organisational growth, is the immediate predecessor to the Lenin campaign and should be read alongside it.

The article leaves underdeveloped the specific content of the theoretical debates that took place at the event — the quality of the interventions, the questions raised by newcomers, and the political challenges encountered. These would likely be addressed in subsequent internal bulletins or more detailed theoretical articles.

Connections¶

This article should be read alongside:

Lenin's State and Revolution and Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism — the foundational texts invoked in the article.
Trotsky's The Revolution Betrayed — the classic Trotskyist analysis of Stalinist degeneration, which provides the theoretical framework for the article's distinction between Lenin and Stalin.
IMT articles on the war in Ukraine and Palestine — these would apply Lenin's theoretical framework to the specific conflicts mentioned.
Alan Woods' Bolshevism: The Road to Revolution — a key IMT text that provides the historical and theoretical elaboration of Lenin's method.
Against the Stream episodes on Lenin's centenary — likely produced in conjunction with the campaign.

Key Quotes¶

"Lenin occupies very little space in the official history books of high schools and universities, and where he does figure, he is often subject to distortions by both his critics in bourgeois academia, and by Stalinist falsifiers that illegitimately claim his legacy."
"Lenin put into practice the revolutionary conclusions formulated by Karl Marx, correctly orienting the party from its early years until shortly before his death, not through coercion but through a crystal-clear political struggle, sometimes even directed against his own party comrades."
"The purpose of our meetings is not to discuss the past in a dry, academic manner, but to use the enormous wealth of ideas and experience crystalised in Marxist theory as a weapon to change society."
"The assembly was attended by around a hundred people, mostly young people including very young high school students, confirming the growing interest in Lenin and Bolshevism among a new generation."
"From these successes, the conclusion naturally flows that through collective work and political clarity, we can go from strength to strength, building to further heights in order to become a point of reference for all those who want to fight against this system."