The Rise of Communism: From Marx to Lenin

By: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius

Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

How did communism become such a pervasive economic and political philosophy? Why did it first take root in early 20th-century Russia? These and other questions are part of a fascinating story whose drama has few equals in terms of sheer scale, scope, or human suffering and belief.

These 12 lectures invite you to go inside communism’s journey from a collection of political and economic theories to a revolutionary movement that rocked the world. Rich with historical insights, they zero in on the “how” and “why” of the Bolsheviks' rise to power and how communist ideas worked in theory and practice - and how they didn’t.

First, you’ll examine the utopian movements that influenced Marx and Engels, and how these leaders came to develop their revolutionary philosophies. From there, you’ll discover how Lenin became the first person to put Marxist ideas into action by violently seizing power in Russia during the chaos of the First World War. Throughout, you’ll meet thinkers and revolutionaries like Rosa Luxemburg and Leon Trotsky, unpack the meaning of texts like Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto, and experience the shock and awe of events including the Paris Commune and the October Revolution.

An uncompromising look at one of the dominant political ideologies of the 20th century, this is a fascinating, and sobering, study of how theories rise to power in a bid to create a new civilization - whatever the human cost.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 The Great Courses (P)2019 The Teaching Company, LLC

An Objective History from Marx to Lenin

Disregard the bad review from 11/09/19.

I liked this overview of the roots and growth of Communism from Marx to Lenin. I read the review of another Audible listener (below) which gave a critical review of the lecture and called it "bad scholarship." It's clear the review author sees anything less than gushing praise for communism as right wing propaganda. As a historian, I found the scholarship to be on Paar with academic practices today. I found the lecture informative and objective and followed a logical course through the end of the 19th century and into the 20th. I would purchase another lecture from this professor.

Fantastic performance and great overview

I absolutely love the effort put into the great courses and how enthusiastic their speakers tend to be. It goes from Marx and Engels' ideas and the world around them, and it finishes with Lenin's rule and his death, leaving a cliffhanger for their next upcoming audiobook which will cover Stalin. It's short and very knowledgeable. I absolutely recommend for anyone with even a slight interest in socialism, Germany and Russia

The Birth of an Ideology that Won’t Go Away

The more I understand Communism, the more I realize that, even though “History” (for all its ballyhooed inevitability) failed to fulfil the revolutionary’s prognostications, we’re stuck with the mindset bequeathed to us by Marx, Engels and Lenin.

I refer to the quasi-religious faith in science and political action. The destructive notion that we can re-engineer human nature. The rejection of individual moral culpability (and therefore human freedom and dignity) in favor of collective, class-based political guilt. And the plague of experts – call them the nomenklatura or the elites – who think they are fully competent to do our thinking for us. That last assumption is predicated, of course, on the idea that, given enough computer models and granular data, we can predict the future – that History is, after all, inevitable. You might even suggest that, ironies of ironies, Marx’s reduction of the human person to an economic functionary is precisely what corporations have achieved.

Professor Liulevicius doesn’t make these connections, but listening to his cogent, lucid account of the roots of Socialist and Communist thought and the establishment of the Soviet state, it’s really not that hard to make them for yourself.

another Favorite

I've been turned into a big fan of this guy. I enjoy the subjects he covers, the level of detail, quotes, jokes, and etymology of his subjects.

Fantastic

I exactly needed that. A short and concise
overall understanding of this era. Looking forward to start the next lecture series

Lots of information...

Great start to the deep and historical roots of communism. Definitely a lot of character information I did not know and events that hold sway to this very day.

Good work. Worth the time.

Interesting and informative. The jumps in time line might necessitate re-listening and/or lecture reading, but overall organized and engaging.

this was awesome

i love this instructor. he is very insightful. speaks several languages and has eastern European ancestry. i look forward to viewing all of Mr. Liulevicius presentations.

Excellent

good account of the years from Marx up Lenin.
I can not say if the author is a sympathiser or an antagonist of their ideas and that is a prise to his balance.
for my part I can only say this: Marx, Lenin, Luxembourg, were just some nutcases.
they were very clever in a way, able to understand complex theoretical ideas but very stupid with regaard to simple practical facts. they understood nothing of human nature. they thought they knew society well enough to re-build it from scratch. they thought that when reality does not follow theory, reality is wrong. they were arrogant. to the point that thay thought they could take someone's life because they dared to oppose their ideas.
and yes, as suggested at various points in the audiobook, communism is just another religion. there is no science, no theoretical truth. just irrationality and emotiviity.

Loved it

fascinating, I ended up wanting more! I will check out other similar courses and books.