Marxism–Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is the state ideology of the twentieth-century communist regimes. A vanguard party claims to govern on behalf of the working class, the state owns and plans the economy, and political competition is replaced by the leading role of the party.
- A disciplined vanguard party must lead the working class to take and keep power.
- The means of production should be owned by the state and coordinated by central planning.
- Organised opposition is not tolerated, under the principle of democratic centralism and the "dictatorship of the proletariat".
Lenin adapted Marx to Russian conditions in What Is to Be Done? (1902) and led the Bolsheviks to power in 1917. Under Stalin, "Marxism–Leninism" was codified as official doctrine in the late 1920s, along with five-year plans, collectivisation and socialism in one country. After 1945 it became the governing doctrine across Eastern Europe, China, Vietnam, North Korea and Cuba.
Critics point to political repression, famines and economic stagnation under the regimes that adopted it. Democratic socialists and anarchists argue that the vanguard party became a new ruling class.
Countries and historical regimes whose 12-axis profile is closer to Marxism–Leninism than to any other ideology in the test.
Historical regimes
Marxism–Leninism is also the second-closest ideology for: East Germany, Soviet Union, Maoist China, Cuba, Vietnam.
Method: each ideology is placed at a typical position on the 12 axes, scored from 0 to 100 toward the first pole. Ranks compare it with the other 45 ideologies; matches are 100 minus the average distance across all axes. The positions are our own calibration, not taken from any third-party source.