Скачать или смотреть What is Opportunism in the Marxism Leninist use of the word

Let’s talk a bit about Opportunism. What it means in the dictionary vs what it means in the Marxist sense.

Vocabulary.com defines Opportunism as; “taking advantage of situations and people in a self-centered way, without regard to the consequences.” end quote


This definition of opportunism defines it in a moral and ethical way, the marxists sense of opportunism howeverd is devoid of ethics or morality. It is ideologically wrong to stray from Marxism Leninism because of the material need, not because it is bad or good but because it is necessary. The dictatorship of the proletariat is necessary, class struggle is necessary and so on...

So let’s take a marxist leninist look at opportunism and quote Gus Hall’s book “Karl Marx Beacon for our time” in which he says;


“Opportunism is a negation of working-class partisanship by replacing it with concepts of class collaboration and class partnership. Opportunism is a negation of the objective laws that sustain the class struggle on center stage and the special advanced role assigned to the working class.

Marxism-Leninism is a growing, developing science. Objective truths are revealed by applying this science. These truths are reflections of the laws of motion of the real world. They are not negotiable. They cannot be changed or molded to fit anyone’s subjective concepts of reality. Attempting to bypass ignore or retreat from the objective truth that the class struggle is the very inner nature, the primary inner-essence of capitalism, its to take the path of opportunism. It is a no-win, dead-end road” End Quote

An example of opportunism given by Hall is ths quote by Earl Browder a former CP USA leader and general secretary in the 30’s and 40’s;

“”Here we are in the UNited States, we who are proud to consider ourselves disciples of Lenin, are in practice collaborating with capital and firmly denouncing those who advocate a class war against capital in the United States.” end quote, this was published in Political Affairs in 1945.

Quite clearly here Browder is denying the inner essence of capitalism, which is the class struggle and is in fact in favor of class partnership, this is the perfect example of opportunism.

As Marxist-Leninist we have to walk a line, on one side is the deviations of opportunism and revisionism, on the other ultra leftism and adventurism. We have to study these terms to understand them, but not only study we have to learn through struggle, through organizing, on how to identify opportunistic trends within Marxist movements and within our own political lines and thoughts to keep us following in a correct fashion on that line.