Marx's theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat has for too long been unrecognized as the core of Marxist political theory. In this provocative book, John Ehrenberg offers a persuasive analysis of this controversial theory and argues that it can no longer be displaced or ignored as the viable democratic center of Marxist political thought.

Marx, Engels and Lenin considered the dictatorship of the proletariat to be the revolutionary transition to a classless and democratic society. This book traces the development of the theory from Marxism's origin in the 1840s to Lenin's death in 1924, and establishes the connections between the work of Marx, Engels, and Lenin. Ehrenberg also offers insightful observations about contemporary socialism's theoretical and political crises.

The Dictatorship of the Proletariat challenges the current fad of relegating Marxism to the dust-bin of history and illuminates important theoretical issues in liberal political theory, Marxism, and the recent state of Communism.