What Is To Be Done about “What Is To Be Done?”

Why Lenin’s book is as relevant as ever, and how it can help us make sense of the problems facing the left today.

Vladimir Lenin wrote a short book published in 1902 called What Is To Be Done? The title is a reference to the influential 1863 novel of the same name by the Russian philosopher and journalist Nikolai Chernyshevsky, which was a deep dive into the heart and soul of a committed revolutionary. Chernyshevsky’s book is an exploration of revolutionary conscio…