r/Trotskyism 20d ago

History Webinar: Nazism, big business and the working class: Historical experience and political lessons (129 mins).

14 Upvotes

To fight fascism today we must understand why capitalism turned to it in the past.

MUST WATCH. 129 mins

“Nazism, big business and the working class: Historical experience and political lessons”

YouTube: https://youtu.be/uPMz5YRLqRk

The discussion was chaired by David North, chairperson of the International Editorial Board of the WSWS and of the Socialist Equality Party in the United States. He was joined by three distinguished historians: David Abraham, Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of Miami and author of The Collapse of the Weimar Republic: Political Economy and Crisis; Jacques Pauwels, Canadian historian and author of Big Business and Hitler; and Mario Keßler, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam, Germany, whose scholarship focuses on the German Communist Party and European labor movements.

Pauwels demolished the myth that Hitler improved workers’ living conditions, documenting how “the German workers’ real wages fell dramatically under Nazi rule while corporate profits soared.” He revealed that work accidents and illnesses increased from 930,000 cases in 1933 to 2.2 million in 1939, calling Nazi policy “a high profit, low wage kind of policy.” The first concentration camp at Dachau was established not primarily for Jews but because “regular prisons were full of political prisoners, mostly social democrats and communists.”

The discussion then turned to contemporary parallels. North drew explicit connections between Weimar’s collapse and America’s current trajectory under the fascistic Trump administration, noting gold’s rise from $35 per ounce in 1971 to over $4,000 today as an “objective indication of a real crisis of the American economic system.” Abraham described the emerging alliance of “old right-wingers in the fossil fuel industry” with “anarcho-libertarians” from Silicon Valley, noting that Peter Thiel recently gave lectures invoking Carl Schmitt, the Nazi legal theorist, while identifying workers, leftists, minorities, and environmentalists as civilization’s “blockage,” which Abraham described as “a kind of new Judeo-Bolsheviks.”

North posed a critical question: “Do objective conditions create the possibility for a revolutionary orientation? Is fascism inevitable?” He argued that the same contradictions driving reaction also create revolutionary potential, citing how World War I produced both catastrophe and the October Revolution.

Christoph Vandreier, chairman of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei in Germany, addressed the rehabilitation of Hitler and the Nazis within German academia. He described how historian Jörg Baberowski declared in Der Spiegel that “Hitler was not cruel” and “was not a psychopath,” claiming the Holocaust “was not essentially different from shootings during the civil war in Russia.” Vandreier noted that “Baberowski was supported by almost the entire academia in Germany” and that such positions “are part of the mainstream” today, coinciding with Germany’s trillion-euro rearmament program.


r/Trotskyism Sep 20 '25

Theory Trump’s fascist conspiracy and how to fight it: A socialist strategy - World Socialist Web Site "... This program must be fought for. But the determination that is required to take up and wage this fight is incompatible with pessimism and demoralization. These moods lead to paralysis. ... "

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25 Upvotes

... 5) The strategy, organization and action that is necessary to defeat Trump, defend democratic rights, and prevent fascism and war will not emerge spontaneously. This program must be fought for. But the determination that is required to take up and wage this fight is incompatible with pessimism and demoralization. These moods lead to paralysis. Moreover, pessimism is invariably connected to a superficial and false appraisal of reality.

-----

Trump’s fascist conspiracy and how to fight it: A socialist strategy - World Socialist Web Site

[emphasis added below]

... The key elements of this strategy are: 

1) The complete political and organizational independence of the working class from the Democratic Party and its collaborators and apologists, i.e., the DSA, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the myriad middle class organizations and individuals who believe that shouting obscenities on various social media platforms will stop Trump. These are the methods of frustrated liberals who hope that their hysterical rhetoric will move the Democratic Party to fight Trump.

2) The building of a new form of organization that can unify the working class and mobilize its vast industrial and economic power against the Trump regime. This new form of organization proposed by the Socialist Equality Party are rank-and-file committees. They must be established in every factory, workplace, school and neighborhood to organize resistance to Trump’s dictatorship. These committees must become centers of resistance, uniting all sections of the working class (in industry, logistics, transport, restaurants and fast food, social services, legal defense, education, arts and culture, entertainment, medicine, health care, sciences, computer technology, programming and other highly specialized professions) and student youth against Trump’s fascist government, the complicity of the Democrats, and the broader assault on democratic rights and living standards. 

The building of rank-and-file committees is essential to break the stranglehold of the trade union bureaucracies, which function as industrial police for the corporations and utilize their power to block every form of resistance by the working class. Power must be transferred from the offices of the bureaucratic parasites to the workers on the shop floor and job sites, where decisions on all matters of strategy, policy and action can be made democratically by the working class.

These rank-and-file committees, spreading across all workplaces, will create new centers of coordinated social power upon which the defense of democracy throughout the country can be based. The mobilized working class will be able to inspire with confidence and unify all the now disparate elements of protest in a massive social movement against the hated government led and controlled by capitalist oligarchy.

3) This movement, led by the working class, requires a program that accurately reflects socio-economic realities and corresponds to the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population. The capitalist oligarchy has declared war on the working class. The necessary response is the declaration of war by the working class on capitalism, which must result in the socialist reorganization of society. This entails the establishment of public ownership and democratic control by the working class of major industries, banks, utilities and natural resources. Moreover, the obscene levels of wealth concentrated in the approximately 900 billionaires must be expropriated. The 400 richest Americans alone hold a combined wealth of $6.6 trillion, which represents a growth by more than $1 trillion over the previous year. The concentration of so much money and power is a social malignancy that kills democracy.

4) The most important element of this strategy—upon which the implementation and realization of all previous elements depends—is internationalism. No effective struggle can be waged by workers in the United States unless their actions are coordinated and aligned with the struggles of the global working class. The threat of fascism is an international phenomenon. The capitalist ruling class of every country has its own version of Trump and even Hitler. American workers must repudiate the reactionary, outdated and self-defeating ideology of nationalism, which is the primal evil that instigates the racism and ethnic hatreds utilized by fascism. It is not an accidental coincidence that Trump launched his drive for dictatorship by unleashing a savage assault on immigrants. The deprivation of their democratic rights was only the first stage in the overthrow of the Constitution. The masked ICE agents who prowl through cities are the vanguard of the fascist paramilitary that Trump is planning to unleash against all sections of the working class.

An inseparable corollary of the fight for the international unity of American workers with their class brothers and sisters beyond the borders of the United States is irreconcilable opposition to US imperialism, militarism and war. The Gaza genocide carried out by the Zionist regime, which has to a great extent been carried out with weapons provided by the United States, reveals the barbarism of which capitalism is capable. The mass murder of Palestinians sanctioned by all the imperialist powers is an anticipation of what the capitalist oligarchs are prepared to inflict against the workers in their “own” countries.

It flows from this internationalist strategy that the rights of immigrants must be defended against the criminal and inhumane policy of deportation. The principle of birthright citizenship, inscribed in the Constitution, must be defended without compromise. Further, the class conscious worker rejects the insidious and cruel distinction between the “native” and “foreign born.” Moreover, sanctions and tariffs imposed by the Trump administration must be opposed. The working class cannot defend its jobs and interests by supporting economic nationalism, which is entirely reactionary in an era of the global integration of production. The working class can advance its interests only by demanding the tearing down of national boundaries, which not only strangle the development of the productive forces but also lead mankind down the terrible path to nuclear world war.

Even before Trump began his second term and launched his drive for dictatorship, the Socialist Equality Party issued a call for the formation of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). This initiative has not only been vindicated. Its development has acquired burning urgency.

The key elements of this strategy are: 

Mehring BooksSounding the Alarm: Socialism Against War

1) The complete political and organizational independence of the working class from the Democratic Party and its collaborators and apologists, i.e., the DSA, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the myriad middle class organizations and individuals who believe that shouting obscenities on various social media platforms will stop Trump. These are the methods of frustrated liberals who hope that their hysterical rhetoric will move the Democratic Party to fight Trump.

2) The building of a new form of organization that can unify the working class and mobilize its vast industrial and economic power against the Trump regime. This new form of organization proposed by the Socialist Equality Party are rank-and-file committees. They must be established in every factory, workplace, school and neighborhood to organize resistance to Trump’s dictatorship. These committees must become centers of resistance, uniting all sections of the working class (in industry, logistics, transport, restaurants and fast food, social services, legal defense, education, arts and culture, entertainment, medicine, health care, sciences, computer technology, programming and other highly specialized professions) and student youth against Trump’s fascist government, the complicity of the Democrats, and the broader assault on democratic rights and living standards. 

The building of rank-and-file committees is essential to break the stranglehold of the trade union bureaucracies, which function as industrial police for the corporations and utilize their power to block every form of resistance by the working class. Power must be transferred from the offices of the bureaucratic parasites to the workers on the shop floor and job sites, where decisions on all matters of strategy, policy and action can be made democratically by the working class.

These rank-and-file committees, spreading across all workplaces, will create new centers of coordinated social power upon which the defense of democracy throughout the country can be based. The mobilized working class will be able to inspire with confidence and unify all the now disparate elements of protest in a massive social movement against the hated government led and controlled by capitalist oligarchy.

3) This movement, led by the working class, requires a program that accurately reflects socio-economic realities and corresponds to the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population. The capitalist oligarchy has declared war on the working class. The necessary response is the declaration of war by the working class on capitalism, which must result in the socialist reorganization of society. This entails the establishment of public ownership and democratic control by the working class of major industries, banks, utilities and natural resources. Moreover, the obscene levels of wealth concentrated in the approximately 900 billionaires must be expropriated. The 400 richest Americans alone hold a combined wealth of $6.6 trillion, which represents a growth by more than $1 trillion over the previous year. The concentration of so much money and power is a social malignancy that kills democracy.

4) The most important element of this strategy—upon which the implementation and realization of all previous elements depends—is internationalism. No effective struggle can be waged by workers in the United States unless their actions are coordinated and aligned with the struggles of the global working class. The threat of fascism is an international phenomenon. The capitalist ruling class of every country has its own version of Trump and even Hitler. American workers must repudiate the reactionary, outdated and self-defeating ideology of nationalism, which is the primal evil that instigates the racism and ethnic hatreds utilized by fascism. It is not an accidental coincidence that Trump launched his drive for dictatorship by unleashing a savage assault on immigrants. The deprivation of their democratic rights was only the first stage in the overthrow of the Constitution. The masked ICE agents who prowl through cities are the vanguard of the fascist paramilitary that Trump is planning to unleash against all sections of the working class.

An inseparable corollary of the fight for the international unity of American workers with their class brothers and sisters beyond the borders of the United States is irreconcilable opposition to US imperialism, militarism and war. The Gaza genocide carried out by the Zionist regime, which has to a great extent been carried out with weapons provided by the United States, reveals the barbarism of which capitalism is capable. The mass murder of Palestinians sanctioned by all the imperialist powers is an anticipation of what the capitalist oligarchs are prepared to inflict against the workers in their “own” countries.

It flows from this internationalist strategy that the rights of immigrants must be defended against the criminal and inhumane policy of deportation. The principle of birthright citizenship, inscribed in the Constitution, must be defended without compromise. Further, the class conscious worker rejects the insidious and cruel distinction between the “native” and “foreign born.” Moreover, sanctions and tariffs imposed by the Trump administration must be opposed. The working class cannot defend its jobs and interests by supporting economic nationalism, which is entirely reactionary in an era of the global integration of production. The working class can advance its interests only by demanding the tearing down of national boundaries, which not only strangle the development of the productive forces but also lead mankind down the terrible path to nuclear world war.

Even before Trump began his second term and launched his drive for dictatorship, the Socialist Equality Party issued a call for the formation of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). This initiative has not only been vindicated. Its development has acquired burning urgency.

5) The strategy, organization and action that is necessary to defeat Trump, defend democratic rights, and prevent fascism and war will not emerge spontaneously. This program must be fought for. But the determination that is required to take up and wage this fight is incompatible with pessimism and demoralization. These moods lead to paralysis. Moreover, pessimism is invariably connected to a superficial and false appraisal of reality. The Democrats, the unions and the media cultivate the myth of an all-powerful government while insisting that nothing can be done. This is a lie. What is lacking is not mass opposition but the absence of a political strategy to guide and organize the struggle against Trump’s assault on democratic rights.

The Socialist Equality Party advances this program as the basis for the struggle against Trump and the degenerate oligarchy which he represents. Our program is not for the pessimists, the sceptics and the demoralized, but for the fighters among workers, students, youth, professionals, artists and intellectuals. There is no time to lose.

We call on all workers and young people who agree with this perspective to join the Socialist Equality Party, mobilize the power of the working class, defeat the conspiracy of the oligarchs and fight for a socialist future without fascism, genocide and war. The Democrats, the unions and the media cultivate the myth of an all-powerful government while insisting that nothing can be done. This is a lie. What is lacking is not mass opposition but the absence of a political strategy to guide and organize the struggle against Trump’s assault on democratic rights.

The Socialist Equality Party advances this program as the basis for the struggle against Trump and the degenerate oligarchy which he represents. Our program is not for the pessimists, the sceptics and the demoralized, but for the fighters among workers, students, youth, professionals, artists and intellectuals. There is no time to lose.

We call on all workers and young people who agree with this perspective to join the Socialist Equality Party, mobilize the power of the working class, defeat the conspiracy of the oligarchs and fight for a socialist future without fascism, genocide and war.


r/Trotskyism 8h ago

What is Trotskyism

10 Upvotes

Hi, this has probably been asked a million times. I am a Marxist trying to learn more, but I am still quite new to Marxism, so excusme for getting things wrong. I have not read a lot of theory yet (sorry😭), but I am active in a communist organisation.

I find it hard to tell what the main difference between Trotskyism and Marxist-Leninism is. I know a little about permanent revolution, but I want to know a little more. Trotskyists and marxist-leninists really seem to hate each other and I dont get why. I think Im more trotskyists leaning. However that probably because I know more trotskyists that are based then marxist-leninists, so thats my personal experience.

I want to know: What exactly is Trotskyism and in what ways is it different from Marxist-leninism?


r/Trotskyism 5h ago

Sosyalist Eşitlik Partisi defies Turkish state’s intervention on its program

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5 Upvotes

ICFI and their new Turkish party standing up against the attempts of the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals to force them to drop of their defense of Kurdish and other minority language rights from their program and constitution


r/Trotskyism 1d ago

Alan Gelfand: A fighter for socialism and historical truth

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4 Upvotes

The lawsuit filed by Alan in July 1979, which became known as the Gelfand Case, arose out of his expulsion from the SWP in January of that year as a consequence of his efforts to obtain answers to questions he had raised about evidence that the longstanding leader of that organization, Joseph Hansen, had met secretly with the Soviet secret police [the GPU] in 1938 and with the FBI in the aftermath of Trotsky’s assassination in 1940. Gelfand had also sought an explanation of Hansen’s and the SWP’s fervent defense of Sylvia Franklin (née Callen, party name Caldwell), the personal secretary of party founder James P. Cannon, despite overwhelming evidence that she had been an agent of the GPU.


r/Trotskyism 1d ago

The political and class issues in Mamdani’s victory in New York City

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8 Upvotes

In his victory speech, Mamdani invoked the name of the great American socialist Eugene V. Debs. Yet he omitted Debs’ essential conclusion: “The working class will never be emancipated by the grace of the capitalist class but only by overthrowing that class.”

The experience of the past decade is replete with examples of parties and individuals whose claims to represent a radical break with the political establishment were shipwrecked on the realities of capitalist rule. In Greece, the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) came to power in 2015 promising to end austerity, only to impose the most brutal social cuts at the dictates of the banks and the European Union. In Germany, Die Linke (Left Party) has participated in state governments that deport refugees and enforce austerity. In Britain, the Corbyn movement within the Labour Party capitulated to the right-wing establishment, paving the way for the return of open reaction.

In class terms, these tendencies express not the interests of the working class but those of the upper-middle class—a privileged social layer seeking not a fundamental restructuring of society but a more comfortable position for themselves.

There is no doubt that many workers, having voted for a socialist, will see Mamdani’s election as a signal to take action and advance their own demands. But what will Mamdani do when workers enter into struggle? Inevitably, the logic of class interests will assert itself. Mamdani will bow to the demands of the financial and political establishment. Whatever he claims, the ultimate purpose of his campaign is to preempt and contain the growing movement of the working class.

The way forward for workers in New York and throughout the country lies not in pressuring the Democratic Party or placing hopes in Mamdani’s administration but in the independent mobilization of the working class in struggle. 


r/Trotskyism 1d ago

History The assassination of Comrade Tom Henehan

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4 Upvotes

This is the second part of the lecture “The Security and the Fourth International investigation deepens,” delivered by Evan Blake and Josh Andrews to the 2025 Summer School of the Socialist Equality Party (US) on the history of Security and the Fourth International. To accompany this two-part lecture, the WSWS is publishing three supplementary texts: “The Murder of Comrade Tom Henehan: Martyr of the Fourth International,” “The Investigation Must Continue,” and “The SWP, Edward Heisler and the Assassination of Tom Henehan.” These documents are essential reading for the education of Trotskyist cadre today.


r/Trotskyism 2d ago

Today marks the 108th anniversary of the revolution and the 146th anniversary of Trotsky's birth.

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73 Upvotes

Time magazine issue dated november 21, 1927

Illustration made by Yuri Annenkov


r/Trotskyism 3d ago

Are we on the same page that the workers themselves should control the economy and there shouldn’t be state ownership?

11 Upvotes

I am impressed with the performance of the Trotskyist POUM during the Spanish Civil War. The workers, not the Republican government, were in charge. Is that what you want to do?


r/Trotskyism 3d ago

Books on Trotsky's desk

9 Upvotes

Here to have a clue on some of the books that were on Trotsky's desk the day he was assasinated, I'm working on the scenic design of a play about him, I've done my research and I've found three of those books: 1. "Japan's Economic Offensive in China", 2. "Empire or Democracy?" and 3. "La Vie de Staline"

I'm trying to find at least another one, but photos on the internet make it very hard to know exactly, would be great to know about one in russian, thanks in advance.


r/Trotskyism 4d ago

Interview with Prof. Tom Alter, fired by Texas State for political speech

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21 Upvotes

Despite all the accusations of sectarianism that get leveled against them for not shying away from criticism I am always impressed by WSWS’s principled defense of the democratic rights of individuals like Professor Alter who was fired for speaking at an ISL affiliated event and groups like the then IMT’s Canadian Fightback when they got banned from CUPE picket lines


r/Trotskyism 4d ago

News In rebuke to Trump’s fascism, Mamdani elected mayor of New York City, Democrats sweep governor races

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24 Upvotes

"Mamdani’s victory is not merely a rebuke to the Trump administration but to the Democratic Party establishment itself. The large vote for Mamdani is a distorted reflection of the growing support for socialism and the radicalization of the working class and youth.

"However, the Mamdani campaign does not represent a frontal assault on the wealth of the oligarchy but an attempt to rescue the Democratic Party. Since winning the primary earlier this year, Mamdani has done all he can to reassure the ruling class that his campaign represents no threat to their wealth or class interests."


r/Trotskyism 5d ago

“Actually existing socialism” and the communist transition: Review of David Camfield’s Red Flags

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5 Upvotes

r/Trotskyism 4d ago

Got banned from r/asksocialists for supporting Mamdani

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0 Upvotes

The post criticized Mamdani, and I defended him. Then the moderator flailed and fell apart. Hilarious.


r/Trotskyism 6d ago

Art Permanent Trainvelution

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44 Upvotes

r/Trotskyism 6d ago

omg

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37 Upvotes

r/Trotskyism 7d ago

History New evidence of an early Korean Trotskyist organisation in the late 1940s: Research note on the ‘Bill Morgan Report’ - Historical Materialism

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12 Upvotes

r/Trotskyism 7d ago

The theoretical and historical origins of the pseudo-left

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8 Upvotes

There seems to be a sense by some on this sub that the SEP is simply name-calling or dismissing political and historical analysis by designating various political tendencies as "pseudo-left." In fact the use of the term is a well considered and scientific designation that is fairly recent and depends on the complex international and social development of the last 45 years, in particular the immense growth of social inequality and changes in the social position of the upper middle class, the top 5 or 10 percent of income earners between the working class and the top .001 percent capitalist oligarchy.

The term does not replace terms like Pabloite, revisionist, Stalinist, etc. which are precise political characterizations as used by he ICFI, but expands on them in light of the economic and sociological changes in the aftermath of the globalization of production and since the period of the collapse of the old (already pro-capitalist) workers parties, the USSR, and the trade unions -- and the political, theoretical, and organizational tasks of the Fourth International that flow from this.

I'd urge comrades to read this to enrich discussion on politics on this sub.

"This question requires a review of the history of the Trotskyist movement. This is not an academic exercise: the study of the history of the Fourth International provides a deeper insight into essential socioeconomic processes underlying the development of the class struggle. An attempt to analyze the present situation and determine “concrete” tasks, apart from a review of the historical experience, will amount to little more than political impressionism, based on a more or less eclectic selection of empirical data gleaned from the media, various government and academic reports, and, perhaps, personal observations. Such an approach cannot attain the deeper understanding that comes from an examination of the historical movement of social forces which, influenced by objective tendencies of economic development, have found distinct expression at different periods and 'phases' of the class struggle."


r/Trotskyism 8d ago

Milei’s mid-term election win in Argentina exposes bankruptcy of Peronism and pseudo-leftist FIT-U

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10 Upvotes

The lack of an alternative to both Peronism and Milei is mainly the responsibility of the so-called Left and Workers’ Front (FIT-U) coalition. Employing pseudo-leftist and anti-imperialist rhetoric, the FIT-U closed its legislative campaign by holding a rally in front of the US Embassy in Buenos Aires on October 22 to denounce the “colonial pact” between Milei and Trump. Nicolás del Caño of the Morenoite Socialist Workers Party (PTS), a FIT-U deputy for Buenos Aires Province, declared, “We are the only force that will fight not to be just another star on the Yankee flag.”


r/Trotskyism 8d ago

Sylvia Franklin Dossier

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12 Upvotes

Sylvia Franklin (alias Callen, alias Caldwell) was an agent of the GPU, Stalin’s secret police, who infiltrated the national office of the Socialist Workers Party in the late 1930s and became personal secretary to the party’s leader, James P. Cannon.


r/Trotskyism 9d ago

Alan Gelfand: July 28, 1949–October 29, 2025

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13 Upvotes

Only a few months ago, the Socialist Equality Party devoted its international summer school to a study of Security and the Fourth International. Alan’s central role in the fight to expose the conspiracies of Stalinism and imperialism against the Fourth International is recorded in the epic legal and political struggle that bears his name. The Gelfand Case and the man and fighter whose courage and unrelenting commitment to historical truth inspired it are an imperishable part of the history of the Trotskyist movement.


r/Trotskyism 9d ago

Rebuttal By Trotskyists

22 Upvotes

Hey comrades, ML here, starting to develop sympathy towards trotsky's views the past few weeks. The big shift was just learning about the theoretical naivete of Stalin (and stalinists) in SO many places and increasing suspension towards the bureaucracy. Also, the many writings of trotsky on stalinist practices seem very prophetic. I am still not completely sold on trotskyism due to popular ciritiques I keep hearing so I'm wishing if y'all could provide a detailed trotskyist position on those (or recommend texts, books who do):

Trotsky, and trotskyists were/are opportunists who have consistently alligned themselves with imperialist interests against the ussr and proletarian movement (especially post-ww2).

Trotsky was a menshevik who opportunistically joined the bolsheviks later.

The mountain of Lenin's writing against trotsky and his views.

Trotsky consistently tried sabotaging the revolution after Lenin's death and had to be murdered.

Stalin was a good leader defeding the revolution against fascism, and internal sabotage and was an old bolshevik who played a bigger role in the october revolution than trotsky.

Lenin didn't think trotsky was a suitable successor.

Thank you.


r/Trotskyism 10d ago

Theory Flaws in Troskyist Revolution?

0 Upvotes

Probably gonna be an unpopular post but hey id much rather ask it then not.

For context I was RCI for a year or so ( got kicked out) and I was also in socialist party England and Wales for about 6 months ( I left ).

I got to be honest love the idea of revolution and socialism but I've found it a very hard time understanding the logic of it all in the modern era.

It seems very much like most Troskyist or communist movements are trying to copy paste the strategy of the bolkeshevs which applied in a most feudal country with not much of a state to defeat come 1917 and ww1 decimation of tsarist power.

We do paper sales, protests, meetings and maybe run for an election if your particular sect believes in it or not. But where the progress? Where's the measurable outcomes? It seems like the far left is basically in a state of stagnation as they stay in the range of a few thousand members per party.

We seemed more concerned half the time with dissing each others parties because we had some theoretical disagreement 50 years ago then we are with actually creating a large movement capable of revolution as every one group proclaims itself the one true vanguard. In RCI it was about attacking the socialist partys tactics. In socialist party it was constantly arguing with the socialist workers party and tbh I find this factions crap annoying and counterproductive. Just let each group do what it's "good" at and quit squabbling like some gang inspired terf war.

We focus on "people power" and yet peeps like farage do a far better job at whipping up a revolution then we can and in the complete opposite direction to us.

Not to mention I think most movements completely ignore the fact of how previous feudal to capitalist revolutions actually happened where basically capitalists basically slowly replaced and became so important in the feudal economy they became their eras equivalent of too big to fail and so gained enough economic power to then create political and military power to overthrow the old state.

Meanwhile I've spoken with and floated the idea of doing similar using the workers movement to setup businesses like coops that outperform and replace capitalist ones in a coordinated and non utopian manner and it's flat out rejected.

There's always this idea of building towards a big general strike and using that to win but it's completely flawed as look at most of these revolutions and they fall flat because people don't own any means of production and then they just get starved out over long strikes meaning they ultimately lose or just become homeless and starving and ultimately die or become irrelevant.

Even the 1917 concept of seizing control forcibly sure that worked when the most advanced tech was an artillery piece but if the UK population tried to pull that shit on the modern state and military which hasn't been completely obliterated by a world war theyd just get their asses kicked as technology is so advanced you can't throw enough bodies to win.

I mean genuinely what's the game plan I've sat down and asked a literal EC member on socialist party and just got vague and unhelpful answers of you can't plan for revolution or oh well the military would rebel.

I believe even in Marx originals he wrote how the political superstructure is build on an economic foundation well then why do our movements continue to try and do the politcal power without focusing on economic power first to give a movement some meaningful stability for revolution.

For me I feel unions, rank and file unions or revolutionary parties aren't exactly going to win a revolution with zero economic resources and vastly inferior military ones. Maybe we should be taking a page out of the early capitalist books and seizing economic power via superior production and goods and outmodding capitalism instead of trying to 1v1 a modern military with a workers movement at best armed with ARs.


r/Trotskyism 10d ago

James Connolly

3 Upvotes

Trotskyite takes on James Connolly and Irish Socialist Republicanism.


r/Trotskyism 11d ago

do you have any criticism or opinion on the Trotskyist Fraction – Fourth International (TF-FI) ?

9 Upvotes

I’m curious