I should probably establish up front that I don’t personally assign Lenin much importance as the final authority on what does or doesn’t count as imperialism. His most regular role in my life is that I occasionally call one of my dogs “little Lenin” because of his bulbous forehead. This is the proper scale of Lenin’s authority in my home: historically relevant to a degree, politically unavoidable, and also useful for insulting a beloved pet with a dramatic skull

But if the authoritarian left wants to point at Lenin like he is the one true authority on the definition of anti-imperialism, then fine. We can do that, even though I find it incredibly silly. If Lenin’s framework is going to be invoked every time someone wants to argue that Russia somehow doesn’t qualify as imperialist, then it’s worth asking what Lenin actually meant, instead of treating his name like a little red rubber stamp that says “America bad, everyone else innocent.

Found this while reading some things online, thought it would be great.