Are there any good pieces of analysis by Left-Communists of Third-Periodism? It seems like a common stick used by Trotskyists that the Comintern became 'ultra-left' during that period and that it was 'ultra-leftism' that led to the rise of fascism etc.
By the 'third period' I take it you mean 1928-33? There are a few articles on the roots of fascism, but nothing on the third period specifically:
Bilan no. 16, March 1935: The crushing defeat of the German proletariat and the rise of fascism
The economic, political and social origins of fascism
1933 - Democracy opens the door to fascism
Hope that helps...
That's a good point. I don't think anything much has been written apart from an article in World Revolution no 2 back in 1974. It makes some valid points but suffers from the view that the Trotskyists were already a faction of capital in the 1920s. It's not online but we could send you a photocopy. In any case, a better researched history is certainly needed. For example the article asserts that the Third Period policy was linked to Russia's imperialist interests at the time - I think this is correct but it needs some argumentation regarding the diplomatic games Stalin and the USSR were playing during those years.
Have you thought of writing something yourself?
Yeah, tthe Trotskyist accounts also occasionally point that the Third-Period was influenced by the strategic interests of the USSR.
I haven't thought about writing anything on the Third Period, I would be interested, but I wouldn't really know where to begin.
Ruth Fischer's book Stalin and German Communism provides a lot of insights, as it is a first hand account of the period, although her relationship to the degeneration of the revolution makes her a very dubious figure
Actually translating a relevant analysis of the decists. They're a few considerations, mainly on this letter by Trotsky:
www.marxists.org/francais/trotsky/oeuvres/1928/10/281021a.htm
Does anyone know if there is also an English translation?
Here's the text with a little analysis on the left course, among other things (any first thoughts? - difficult ):
libcom.org/library/several-considerations-%E2%80%93-democratic-centralist