"Tops can not, the lower classes do not want to" - knownan expression belonging to Lenin, by which he designated a revolutionary situation in society, when, in his opinion, all the necessary prerequisites for a coup d'état and the overthrow of the dominant system had matured. This thesis was picked up by his followers, and in Soviet times entered all school manuals on historical and social disciplines. In our time, the expression has also been preserved, although it is already used in other contexts in relation to a particular socio-political situation.
Characteristics of the era
The phrase "the top can not, the lower classes do not want" for the first timesounded in the work of Lenin "May Day of the Revolutionary Proletariat" in 1913. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian Empire was in a rather difficult position. On the one hand, it was experiencing a period of economic, industrial growth, and by that year it was among the leading world powers in industrial production. However, its international position was extremely difficult because of the failure in the Russian-Japanese war, in which our country failed and lost part of Sakhalin Island, which caused discontent in society. Therefore, the phrase “the tops cannot, the lower classes do not want” Lenin probably wanted to show a tense situation both in society and in the upper circles of power.
Teachings
The above wording is closely related todeveloping a theory about a revolutionary situation. According to its provisions, a coup is possible only in the following three cases: when the authorities, the government is not able to govern under the old system, the society is depressed and no longer wants to put up with its position, and finally, when people are able to organize themselves against the existing system. The idea that “the tops cannot, the lower classes do not want,” was expressed by the author in the context of arguments about a revolutionary situation in his other work entitled “The Failure of the Second International” (1915). It was a difficult time in the history of our country, which participated in the First World War, which led to the exacerbation of the socio-political situation and the growth of opposition sentiments.
About the crisis
Ленин также сформулировал идею о том, что для implementation of the revolution requires a serious and deep government crisis. At this time, in his opinion, the masses should be organized by a revolutionary party that would take over the leadership of the movement. According to him, this is an important subjective prerequisite for a successful coup.
About economics
Lenin believed that the only way outcrisis was supposed to be a bourgeois-democratic revolution. “The tops ... do not want the lower classes” - a phrase that in a compressed form expressed the basic concept of his teaching. However, he believed that the reason for all this was deep socio-economic background, rooted in the basis of production. At the end of the 19th century, Lenin, in a number of his works, and first of all in the book Development of Capitalism in Russia, asserted that the capitalist mode of production had finally been formed in our country. In his opinion, the state entered the highest stage of capitalism — imperialism, as Lenin continued to say, about the need for a revolution. In this work, he analyzed in detail the domestic market, the division of labor and commodity production, which eventually led to capitalism. The current situation, namely the government crisis and the impoverishment of the people as a result of its exploitation, led to the fact that “the upper classes cannot, but the lower classes do not want” to put up with the existing situation. In the latter circumstance, the author saw the most important prerequisite for the possibility of a coup.
Comparison with other teachings
It should be noted that Lenin developed these hisideas at a time when there were other socio-political trends in Russia that otherwise explained the development of our country. For example, the Narodniks argued that capitalism is not mandatory for the economy of the empire, and talked about the advantages of small-scale production. Lenin, on the contrary, argued that capitalism was inevitable, that it naturally developed from commodity production, which, in turn, arose from the social division of labor. He also fully embraced the Marxist doctrine of socio-economic formations, which suggested that in case of contradictions between the productive forces and production relations, prerequisites for a revolutionary coup would occur. It is precisely this thought that conveyed in a succinct form the statement “the tops cannot, the lower classes do not want.”
Ленин стремился доказать, что в России уже a revolutionary situation has matured, and that a coup is possible under the leadership of the Bolshevik Party. The teaching was subsequently recognized as official and was considered in school and university courses.
