one language and one nation - Marx and Lenin

 "one language and one nation" - Marx and Lenin

Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin did not explicitly advocate for a "one language and one nation" theory in the same way that some nationalist movements or ideologies might promote linguistic and ethnic homogeneity. However, both Marx and Lenin addressed the question of language in the context of their theories on class struggle, imperialism, and the state.

Karl Marx did not extensively discuss the language question, but he did touch upon it in some of his writings. In "The German Ideology," Marx and Friedrich Engels argued that the division of labor within a society led to the emergence of distinct languages. Marx suggested that as society progressed toward communism and the abolition of class distinctions, these linguistic differences would diminish. He did not explicitly call for a single language or nation but rather anticipated a convergence as class distinctions disappeared.

Vladimir Lenin, in his work on nationalism and imperialism, addressed the issue of language in the context of oppressed nations under imperialist rule. Lenin was concerned with the national question and argued that oppressed nations had the right to self-determination, including the right to use their own language. He believed that socialism and the working-class struggle should support the rights of oppressed nations to determine their own destinies, including linguistic rights.

Here are a couple of relevant quotes:

Karl Marx:

"The existence of language is itself already an aspect of the 'bodily existence of the community.' Language is as old as consciousness; language is practical consciousness that exists also for other men, and for that reason alone it really exists for me personally as well; language, like consciousness, only arises from the need, the necessity, of intercourse with other men."

Vladimir Lenin:

"Language is the most important means of human intercourse. Unity in language is one of the most important signs and conditions of a nation’s cohesion. To the profound reasons which have made it necessary for the proletariat of all nations to unite in its class struggle against the bourgeoisie, there is thus added, on the part of oppressed nations and races, a striving for national culture, national individuality, which in every nation, no matter how small it may be, will always be an essential component of freedom and a most important condition thereof." - from "Critical Remarks on the National Question" (1913)

While both Marx and Lenin recognized the significance of language, they approached the issue more from the perspective of historical materialism and the class struggle rather than advocating for a specific language or nation-state.