Week 1: The Merger Formula

Welcome to week one. Skim the glossary section for this unit before reading — the entries on the SPD, Kautsky, and the Erfurt milieu give useful context.

Readings

Lenin Rediscovered, Chapter 1: The Merger of Socialism and the Worker Movement

Lars T. Lih

Discussion questions (3)

1. What does the 'merger formula' condense, and why does Lih treat it as the unifying theme of the 1840s–1890s?
2. Why were the Communist Manifesto and the Erfurt Programme foundational texts for the young Lenin?
3. What is the 'mission' at the heart of the merger narrative, and who carries it out?