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2. Imperialism

During World War I, Lenin may have hated no revisionist and chauvinist more than Kautsky. Kautsky Lenin said was a renegade from his own earlier correct positions. Kautsky was most dangerous because of his Marxist credentials and willingness to use Marxist rhetoric to the maximum extent only to yank the movement along with him into the bourgeois camp at the last possible moment. To counter Kautsky, Lenin published this concise definition of imperialism: "I gave my own definition of imperialism: 'Imperialism is capitalism in that stage of development in which the dominance of monopolies and finance capital has established itself; in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun; in which the division of all territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers has been completed."(3 )

Contrary to modern-day Mensheviks and social-chauvinists seeking to carry on Kautsky's legacy of 1) muddying the distinction between oppressor and oppressed nations 2) jumbling the definition of imperialism and turning it into a peaceful entity 3) gutting the dictatorship of the proletariat, Lenin started his attack on Kautsky with two lengthy quotes from works in which G. Zinoviev was the lead author. Today's revisionists are busy at work trying to corner the market Kautsky sought in his day by straddling internationalism and national chauvinism. To do this, some spokespeople for the bourgeoisie in the communist movement have pinpointed the place of attack-Lenin's idea of "superprofits" and anything Zinoviev did that Lenin sanctioned or signed on to. In this way, these revisionists attack Lenin from page one of his preface to "The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky."(4 )

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