I think if it stopped at just the reforms, then it wouldn't be revolutionary struggle. It's like the trade union movement--it is necessary for workers under capitalism to have organized struggle against the bosses. But trade unionism only goes so far--we have to find ways to struggle harder against capitalism.
The thing I like about Lenin is that he identifies the way we can zero in on tasks that need to be accomplished--by finding what is missing in the present society that would bring greater unity to the working class and bring us closer to socialism.
I think history does bear this out to some extent. In the 19th century there was DeLeon, who was a really well-versed Marxist in the US, and for awhile was the premier anti-capitalist thinker here. (His writings are rather salty and interesting, marxists.org has some of them). However, he felt that political struggle for anti-racism, feminist issues, etc. were useless distractions to class struggle. But he also taught that the class struggle should isolate itself from the electoral arena. The IWW did lots of organizing work, but they were limited in how far they could reach, since there were issues they wouldn't involve themselves in. Eventually DeLeon and his movement started losing steam. So what was missing?
At that point we either throw up our hands and say, well the workers aren't ready, are sheep, too dumb, embedded in the system, etc. and wait for the Marxist rapture. Or we try to identify the area where there is division in the working class, what is making it weak, both in strength and ideology.
100 years ago, it was Jim Crow, Jim Crow unions--the vulnerability of all the workers for the ruling class to prey on Black workers, force them into scabbing because they weren't part of the unions. It was awful for them, and bad for class struggle as a whole since it gave capitalism a handy wedge to break strikes and foster racism. This made Civil Rights struggles an immediate need for the working class. DeLeon would say--well, under socialism we won't have racism or these divisions. But Lenin says, without this struggle for reform, you are stuck with capitalism because revolution isn't going to happen where capitalism has this upper hand. This doesn't bring immediate revolution, but the stages are necessary until the ruling class demonstrates completely that it has lost any way to control society. Obviously in the US, we're in for a long haul.
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