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santacrew wrote

Anarchists object to Marxist-Leninism for three main reasons: 1) the role of the State, 2) vanguardism and 3) democratic centralism.

  1. The role of the State. Marxists and Anarchists both seek to create a classless society free from inequality and exploitation. Marxists, however, believe that it is possible to do this by seizing control of the State and using its power to forcibly reshape society. Anarchists rightly understand that this will only substitute one set of rulers for another. All governments are interested in preserving and expanding their power. After all, a proletarian dictatorship is still a dictatorship.

  2. Vanguardism. Leninists believe that a special class of professional revolutionaries (the vanguard) will be able to move "the masses" toward revolution through a combination of agitation and propaganda. "The masses" cannot be trusted to work things out on their own and must be closely monitored and cynically manipulated by the vanguard for their own good. Anarchists have a natural distrust of all self-appointed experts. They understand that the vanguard method, even if successful, will not create a liberated society. A free person does not wait for instructions from party headquarters. Propaganda has its place, of course, but it should encourage others to feel empowered to make their own projects, not simply recruit followers to existing ones.

  3. Democratic Centralism. This goes along with the concept of vanguardism. Within the party elites (the vangaurd) decisions will be made democratically. However, once these decisions have been made, everyone else must abide by them unquestioningly. Because the vanguard knows best. Anarchists would call this "fascism by committee" if they weren't too busy working cooperatively with other autonomous individuals to create a society free from bureaucrats and petty tyrants, even ones who paint themselves red.

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