52621. LENIN AS A PRACTITIONER OF MARXISM. A thorough examination of Lenin's role in the development of Marxist theory and practice. The application of Marx and Engels' ideas on the transition from a class society to a revolutionary one are seen in terms of Lenin's use of theory to implement the new order through a revolutionary party. The questions of violence and force are examined in actual struggle of the Russian Revolution between the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, and the rightist parties. Luxembourg's critique, Lenin's State and Revolution and the Russian situation are contrasted with Marx's reaction to the Paris Commune of 1875 and the laissez-faire economy of his day. The perspective on Lenin sees him as conditioned by the historical circumstances of the times, and the distortion of Marxist theory as an inevitable adjunct of his practical goals. 30p., 23f., 5b.