An outline of Trotskyism's
anti-Marxist theories

A four-part critique of
the basic ideas of Trotskyism

.

Links to Part 1, 2, 3, & 4.

Part one:

Overview; the Trotskyist version of "permanent revolution"; the nature of the Trotskyist "transitional program"; his incomprehension of the nature of the colonial and semi-colonial world; the hypocrisy of "military but not political support" (backing reactionary regimes at war); his betrayal of the right to self-determination; his equivocation on democratic struggles and the fight against fascism.

(from Communist Voice, vol. 8, #3, issue #30, December 15, 2002)

Part Two:

The issue of "socialism in one country"; Trotskyists as apologists of state-capitalism; Trotsky's denial of the possibility of a new bourgeoisie in the Stalinist Soviet Union; Trotsky's "political but not social" revolution; his denial of the possibility of revisionist state-capitalism; Trotskyist incapacity to analyze the transitional economy; Trotsky's blindness towards the class nature of NEP; Preobrazhensky's "commodity-socialist economy"; doubts of other Trotskyists about the transitional economy.

(from Communist Voice, vol. 10, #1, Issue #33, March 25, 2004)

Part three:

On Trotsky's fantasy assessments: the search for an anti-imperialist dictator; the French revolution that wasn't; WW II would bring either world revolution or world totalitarianism; the supposed capitulation of the Chinese communists to Chiang Kai-shek; the denial of the existence of intermediate trends.

On Trotsky's non-partyism: substitutionalism; denigration of committee-members; Trotsky as disciplinarian; the history of the proletarian party; about the International Left Opposition and the Fourth International; the theory of regroupment; the defense of factionalism.

Trotsky's bureaucratic and dogmatic version of partyism: the cult of pure administration: about the preconditions of centralism; Trotsky and the statization of the trade unions.

(from Communist Voice, vol. 10, #2, #34, August 25, 2004)

Part four:

On Trotsky's history of replacing a Leninist struggle against opporutnism with entryism, factionalism, and sectarianism: his period of open opposition to the struggle against opportunism; spontaneism; reversion to factionalism; the "French turn" and entryism; the united front vs. the popular front.

About working class trends in literature: Trotsky's exaggeration of the struggle against Proletcult; his theory that there supposedly can't be working class art; working class art and literature exists!; Trotsky's fawning on the bourgeois intelligentsia.

Trotsky vs. dialectics: he recognizes materialism in theory, but overlooks it in practice; Trotskyist difficulty in recognizing internal contradictions; their failure to appreciate the importance of intermediate forces and situations; Trotsky vs. "algebraic" formulas.

(from Communist Voice, vol. 11, #1, March 15, 2005)

List of subheads:

PART ONE
Overview
Permanent revolution
--Denigration of the democratic revolution
--Trotsky versus "the revolutionary democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry"
--Overlooking the non-socialist revolutionary trends
--The issue of the provisional revolutionary government
--"Left" rhetoric leading to subordination to the bourgeoisie
The transitional program
--Trotskyist repudiation of the minimum program
--Claiming reforms go beyond the bounds of capitalism
--An inconsistent and muddled stand towards various demands and struggles
--A strong element of manipulation
--The problem isn't the term "transitional demand"
The colonial and semi-colonial world
--Nothing to say about class relation in undeveloped countries
--Ludicrous suggestions about China
--In judging wars, a mechanical rule rather than class and political criteria
The hypocrisy of "military but not political support": backing reactionary regimes at war
Betraying the right to self-determination
--Implying the right to self-determination is outdated
--Holding that independence would lead directly to socialism
--Ignoring the national oppression of a number of fnationalities, including the Moroccan people during the Spanish Civil War
--Seeing nothing but the struggle for independence
--Trotskyist justifications for oppressing certain nationalities
Democratic struggles and the fight against fascism
--Worried about taking anti-fascist struggle too seriously
--Unable to fight fascism except with immediate socialist revolution
--Embracing social-democracy in the name of opposing fascism
--The "French turn": embracing social-democracy

PART TWO

The issue of "socialism in one country"
-- The timing of the revolution
-- The social character of the revolution
-- The material basis for socialism
-- The internal basis for socialism
-- The relationship between a revolutionary regime and the world movement
"Non-capitalism" in one country
-- Only full socialism
-- What's the difference?
On the nature of socialism
Apologists of Stalinist state-capitalism
-- Trotsky denied the possibility of a new bourgeoisie
-- Trotsky denied the possibility of state-capitalism
-- Trotsky's "political, but not social" revolution
-- About those Trotskyists who recognize the existence of state-capitalism
From capitalism to socialism: the transitional economy
-- Trotsky's blindness towards the class nature of NEP
-- The "commodity-socialist society"
-- Trotskyist doubts about the transitional economy

PART THREE

Trotsky's fantasy assessments
--The search for an anti-imperialist dictator
-- The French revolution that wasn't
-- World War II would bring either world revolution or world totalitarianism
-- The supposed capitulation of the Chinese communists to Chiang Kai-shek
-- No intermediate trends
-- The abstract hypothetical

Disregard for party-building
-- Substitutionalism
-- Denigration of committee-members
-- Trotsky as disciplinarian
-- The history of the proletarian party
-- The International Left Opposition and the Fourth International
-- Regroupment
-- Factionalism

The cult of pure administration
-- The preconditions of centralism
-- The statization of the trade unions

PART FOUR

Entryism, factionalism and sectarianism rather than a Leninist struggle against opportunism
-- Sectarianism
-- The period of open opposition to the struggle against opportunism
-- Spontaneism
-- The reversion to factionalism
-- The "French turn" and entryism
-- The united front vs. the popular front
About working class trends in literature
-- The errors of the Proletcult
-- Trotsky on why there supposedly can't be working class art
-- Working class literature exists!
-- Fawning on the bourgeois intelligentsia
Dialectics
-- Overlooking materialism
-- The role of the internal contradictions
-- The importance of intermediate forces and situations
-- About "algebraic formulas"
Anti-Leninism in the name of Leninism
Assessment of the revolutionary experience of the 20th century

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