Trotsky

Trotsky, Pannekoek, Appel: Loyal proletarian fighters

Submitted by World Revolution on

More than any other class in history, the proletariat is rich in great revolutionary figures, in devoted militants, tireless fighters, martyrs, thinkers and men of action. This is due to the fact that, unlike other revolutionary classes, which only fought against the reactionary classes in order to put in place their own system of domination, to defend their own egoistic interests as a privileged class, the proletariat has no privileges to win

What distinguishes revolutionaries from Trotskyism?

Submitted by International Review on

We are publishing two articles from Internationalisme, organ of the Gauche Communiste de France dedicated to the question of Trotskyism and written in 1947. At this time, Trotskyism had already abandoned proletarian internationalism by participating in the Second World War, unlike the groups of the communist left who, in the 1930s, had resisted the gathering wave of opportunism engendered by the defeat of the worldwide revolutionary upsurge of 1917-23...

Antisemitism, Islamophobia: products of a rotting society

Submitted by World Revolution on

The rise of Judaeophobia and Islamophobia are both expressions of the extreme putrefaction of capitalist society and its real ‘values'. But they cannot be opposed by the liberal wing of capitalism, which aligns itself with the democratic state and its cynical use of anti-Islamic prejudices, nor by the pseudo-revolutionary left which has chosen sides in the imperialist conflicts in the Middle East.

Decadence of capitalism (i): Revolution has been necessary and possible for a century

Submitted by International Review on

In 1915, as the hideous reality of the European war became ever more apparent, Rosa Luxemburg wrote "The crisis of social democracy", a text better known as the "Junius pamphlet" from the pseudonym under which Luxemburg published it. The pamphlet was written in prison and was distributed illegally by the Internationale group which had been formed immediately after the outbreak of the war...

Trotsky and the culture of communism

Submitted by International Review on

The following extracts, which are accompanied by our own comments, are taken from the final chapter of Literature and Revolution, where Trotsky outlines his vision of art and culture in the developed communist society of the future. Having rejected the notion of ‘proletarian culture’ in previous chapters, Trotsky permits himself a glimpse of the truly human culture of classless society; it is a glimpse which takes us far beyond the particular question of art to the prospect of a transfigured humanity.

Unravelling the Russian enigma: 1926-36

Submitted by International Review on

Understanding the nature of the Stalinist system is a key aspect of the communist programme: without such an understanding, it would be impossible for communists to outline clearly what kind of society they are fighting for, to describe what socialism is and what it is not. But the clarity that communists have today about the nature of the USSR was not easily attained...

1921: the proletariat and the transitional state

Submitted by International Review on

The seizure of power in Russia inevitably posed enormous new problems for the new proletarian power, and generated heated debates within the Bolshevik party on the transitional state. The tragedy of Russia's encirclement culminated in 1921 with the Kronstadt revolt, a veritable catastrophe which saw the revolutionary government gunning down those who had been its most stalwart supporters.

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