One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

"One Step Forward, Two Steps Back" is a work by Vladimir Lenin published in 1904. It analyzes the organizational principles of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party, comparing the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, with the Mensheviks.1

Lenin advocated for a highly disciplined, centralized party composed of professional revolutionaries who would act as the "vanguard of the proletariat". This party would guide the working class, infusing them with socialist consciousness, as Lenin believed workers would not spontaneously achieve this on their own.23

In contrast, the Mensheviks, led by L. Martov, favored a broader, more open party, similar to Western European social democratic parties. The title of Lenin's work reflects his view that the Bolsheviks' organizational principles represented progress (one step forward), while the Mensheviks' approach hindered the revolutionary cause (two steps back).41