Mikhail Bakunin
The Russian revolutionary anarchist who argued for the violent overthrow of the state and capitalism, opposing Marx's proposal for a transitional workers' state as a recipe for new tyranny.
Real World
Bakunin's split with Marx in the First International (1872) led directly to the organisation's collapse — a real historical example of how disagreements over revolutionary strategy divided the left.
Exam Focus
For 'analyse' questions, always link Bakunin's rejection of the transitional state to his core belief that power inevitably corrupts those who hold it.
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