"Fascism is capitalism in decay"

“Fascism is capitalism in decay” is a quotation that is usually credited to Russian politician Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870-1924), but there’s no evidence that he ever said it. It’s also unlikely that he said it—the word “fascism” was new and was only infrequently cited in print before Lenin’s death in January 1924.

Rajani Palme Dutt (1896-1974), a leader of the Communist Party in Great Britain, wrote the book Fascism and Social Revolution: A Study of the Economics and Politics of the Last Stages of Capitalism in Decay (1935). The quotation likely belongs to Dutt. “Fascism is Capitalism in decay. — V. I. Lenin” was cited in print in 1968. “According to Dutt fascism is capitalism in decay” was cited in a 1992 book.

A similar quotation is “Fascism is capitalism plus murder.”

Wikipedia: Rajani Palme Dutt
Rajani Palme Dutt (19 June 1896 – 1974), best known as R. Palme Dutt, was a leading journalist and theoretician in the Communist Party of Great Britain.

OCLC WorldCat record
Fascism and social revolution : a study of the economics and politics of the last stages of capitalism in decay
Author: Rajani Palme Dutt
Publisher: Lawrence, 1935.
Edition/Format: Book : English : 2 ed

Google Books
Labour World (New Delhi)
1968
Pg. 24:
Fascism is Capitalism in decay. — V. I. Lenin

Google Books
Sociology Responds to Fascism
Edited by Dirk Kasler and Stephen Turner
New York, NY: Routledge
1992
Pg. ?:
The main example of the orthodox Marxist account of fascism was that offered by R. Palme Dutt. Dutt (1896-1974), originally a Classics scholar, was expelled from Oxford for “Bolshevik propaganda” and subsequently became a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist Party from 1922 until 1965. He waa editor of the Daily Worker from 1936 to 1938. According to Dutt fascism is capitalism in decay. It is the culmination of the ‘most typical tendencies and policies of modern capitalism’ (Dutt 1934: 72).

Google Books
The Book of Poisonous Quotes
By Colin Jarman
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
1993
Pg. 245:
Fascism is Capitalism in decay.
Nikolai Lenin

Twitter
aaron wall‏
@aaronwall
Fascism is capitalism in decay. - Vladimir Lenin ... related bit from @dannysullivan http://bit.ly/FDEyQ
4:25 PM - 13 May 09

Google Books
The Definitive Guide to Political Ideologies
By Kevin Bloor
Central Milton Keynes: AuthorHouse UK Ltd
2010
Pg. 212:
“Fascism is capitalism in decay.” Lenin

Twitter
Joey Russo‏
@_TheJoeRusso
”@QuoteRevolution: Fascism is capitalism in decay. ~Vladimir Lenin” That’s what we have here today
7:03 PM - 28 Aug 13