Historical
116-674: Historical Historical The Fourth International ( FI ) was a political international established in France in 1938 by Leon Trotsky and his supporters, having been expelled from the Soviet Union and the Communist International (also known as Comintern or the Third International). There is no longer a single, centralized cohesive Fourth International. Throughout most of its existence and history,
232-676: A popular front policy (aiming to unite all ostensibly anti-fascist forces) sowed illusions in reformism and pacifism and "clear[ed] the road for a fascist overturn". By 1935 he claimed that the Comintern had fallen irredeemably into the hands of the Stalinist bureaucracy. He and his supporters, expelled from the Third International, participated in a conference of the London Bureau of socialist parties outside both
348-588: A Greek resident in France also known as Michel Pablo, the organisational secretary of its European Bureau. Raptis and other bureau members re-established contact between the Trotskyist parties. The European conference extended the lessons of a revolution then unfolding in Italy, and concluded that a revolutionary wave would cross Europe as the war ended. The SWP had a similar perspective. The British Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) disagreed and held that capitalism
464-576: A defined goal (such as socialism or communism). This contrasts with the permanent (that is, ongoing forever ) activity envisaged in Maoist Continuous Revolution Theory or in Tom Moylan 's critical utopian discourse . Marx first used the term in the phrase "by substituting permanent war for permanent revolution" in the following passage from The Holy Family (1844) in which he wrote that " Napoleon represented
580-437: A major split in 1940 and an even more significant schism in 1953. A partial reunification of the schismatic factions occurred in 1963, but the organization never recovered sufficiently, and it failed to re-emerge as a single transnational grouping. The response of Trotskyists to such a situation has been in the form of forming multiple Internationals across the world, with some divided over which particular organization represents
696-787: A new International. In 1935, Trotsky wrote an Open Letter for the Fourth International , reaffirming the Declaration of Four , while documenting the recent course of the Comintern and the Socialist International. In the letter, he called for the urgent formation of a Fourth International. The "First International Conference for the Fourth International" was held in Paris in June 1936, reports giving its location as Geneva for security reasons. This meeting dissolved
812-457: A political programme which threatens the bourgeois status quo along the following lines: 1. They can force the democrats to make inroads into as many areas of the existing social order as possible, so as to disturb its regular functioning and so that the petty-bourgeois democrats compromise themselves; furthermore, the workers can force the concentration of as many productive forces as possible – means of transport, factories, railways, etc. – in
928-454: A prerequisite for subsequent proletarian rule holds on a world scale as The Communist Manifesto makes clear that despite : "Though not in substance, yet in form, the struggle of the proletariat with the bourgeoisie is at first a national struggle" (loc. cit.). Trotsky's theory took it for granted (as did Vladimir Lenin in The State and Revolution ) that the domination of the world by
1044-512: A result of the war which Trotsky had been predicting for some years. It is not, however, the definitive programme of the Fourth International ;– as is often suggested – but instead contains a summation of the conjunctural understanding of the movement at that date and a series of transitional policies designed to develop the struggle for workers' power. At the outbreak of World War II , in 1939,
1160-405: A revolution: "in all probability, the proletarian revolution will transform existing society gradually and will be able to abolish private property only when the means of production are available in sufficient quantity" (Engels' The Principles of Communism , Sections 17 and 19). The Communist Manifesto alludes to Marx's view that the dominance of the bourgeoisie is a necessary prelude to that of
1276-656: A revolutionary wave which would develop alongside and as a result of the coming World War. Thirty delegates attended a founding conference, held in September 1938, in the home of Alfred Rosmer just outside Paris. Present at the meeting were delegates from all the major countries of Europe, and from North America (including three from the United States), although for reasons of cost and distance, few delegates attended from Asia or Latin America. An International Secretariat
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#17327731211641392-452: A socialist revolution, leading to the revival of Stalinism and social democracy . In December 1943, they criticised the SWP's view as underestimating the rising prestige of Stalinism and the opportunities for the capitalists to use democratic concessions. The SWP's central committee argued that democratic capitalism could not revive, resulting in either military dictatorship by the capitalists or
1508-496: A term within Marxist theory , it was first coined by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels as early as 1850. Since then different theorists, most notably Leon Trotsky (1879–1940), have used the phrase to refer to different concepts. Trotsky's permanent revolution is an explanation of how socialist revolutions could occur in societies that have not achieved an advanced capitalist mode of production . Trotsky's theory also argues that
1624-458: A workers' revolution. It held that this would reinforce the need for building the Fourth International, and adhered rigidly to their interpretation of Trotsky's works. The wartime debate about post-war perspectives was accelerated by the resolution of the February 1944 European Conference of the Fourth International. The conference appointed a new European Secretariat and elected Michel Raptis ,
1740-588: Is an organisation of political parties or activists with the aim of co-ordinating their activity for a common purpose. There had been a long tradition of socialists organising on an international basis, and Karl Marx had led the International Workingmen's Association , which later became known as the "first international". After the International Workingmen's Association disbanded in 1876, several attempts were made to revive
1856-452: Is combined, and that each part of the world economy is increasingly bound together with all other parts. The conception of uneven and combined development also recognises that some areas may regress economically and socially as a result of their integration into a world economy. According to political scientist Baruch Knei-Paz, Trotsky's theory of "permanent revolution" was grossly misrepresented by Stalin as defeatist and adventurist during
1972-684: Is happening and raise objections. Over the following decade, the IC referred to the rest of the International as the "International Secretariat of the Fourth International", emphasising its view that the Secretariat did not speak for the International as a whole. The Secretariat continued to view itself as the leadership of the International. It held a Fourth World Congress in 1954 to regroup and to recognise reorganised sections in Britain, France and
2088-413: Is not genuine, but is the use of Marxism as an ideology of power. This reflects his view that these countries are state capitalist societies rather than deformed workers states . Cliff's views have been criticised by more orthodox Trotskyists as an abandonment of Trotsky's theory in all but name in favour of the stagist theory, countering that Cliff was more cautious than Trotsky about the potential of
2204-505: Is possible either politically or organizationally. The Pablo faction has demonstrated that it will not permit democratic decisions truly reflecting majority opinion to be reached. They demand complete submission to their criminal policy. They are determined to drive all orthodox Trotskyists out of the Fourth International or to muzzle and handcuff them. Their scheme has been to inject their Stalinist conciliationism piecemeal and likewise in piecemeal fashion, get rid of those who come to see what
2320-546: Is this: If the Russian Revolution becomes the signal for a proletarian revolution in the West, so that both complement each other, the present Russian common ownership of land may serve as the starting point for a communist development". Leon Trotsky 's conception of permanent revolution is based on his understanding—drawing on the work of fellow Russian Alexander Parvus —that a Marxist analysis of events begins with
2436-637: The Address ). Therefore, Marx clearly believes that Europe is entering a time and is at a level of development of the productive forces in which the proletariat have the social revolution within their reach. Although circumstances did not develop as anticipated, this observation proved accurate at the dawn of the 20th century leading into the First World War and the Russian Revolution . Marx and Engels advocated permanent revolution as
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#17327731211642552-597: The Partai Acoma , was affiliate to the FI from 1959 until the 1965 coup in that country. Political international A political international is a transnational organization of political parties having similar ideology or political orientation (e.g. communism , socialism , or Islamism ). The international works together on points of agreement to co-ordinate activity. Political internationals have increased in popularity and influence since their beginnings in
2668-576: The Shachtmanites ' disagreements with the SWP's internal policy, and over the FI's unconditional defence of the USSR. Trotsky opened a public debate with Shachtman and Burnham and developed his positions in a series of polemics written in 1939–1940 and later collected in In Defense of Marxism . Shachtman and Burnham's tendency resigned from the International in early 1940, alongside almost 40% of
2784-420: The Soviet Union . Trotsky's theory was developed in opposition to the social-democratic theory that undeveloped countries must pass through two distinct revolutions. First, the bourgeois-democratic revolution which socialists would assist and at a later stage the socialist revolution with an evolutionary period of capitalist development separating those stages. This is often referred to as the theory of stages,
2900-686: The United Nations and later the European Union . Internationals also form supranational and regional branches (e.g. a European branch or an African branch) and maintain fraternal or governing relationships with sector-specific wings (e.g. youth or women's wings). Internationals usually do not have a significant role. Internationals provide the parties an opportunity for sharing of experience. The parties belonging to internationals have various organizational obligations and can be expelled for not meeting those obligations. For example, during
3016-769: The Workers' International League into the International through a fusion with the Revolutionary Socialist League , a union that had been requested by the Emergency Conference. In 1942, a debate on the national question in Europe opened up between the majority of the SWP and a movement led by Van Heijenoort, Albert Goldman and Felix Morrow . This minority anticipated that the Nazi dictatorship would be replaced with capitalism rather than by
3132-503: The bourgeoisie in late-developing capitalist countries are incapable of developing the productive forces in such a manner as to achieve the sort of advanced capitalism which will fully develop an industrial proletariat ; and that the proletariat can and must therefore seize social, economic and political power, leading an alliance with the peasantry . Trotsky also opposed Joseph Stalin 's principle of socialism in one country and stated that socialist revolutions needed to happen across
3248-560: The two-stage theory or stagism. Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks initially held to an intermediate theory. Lenin's earlier theory shared Trotsky's premise that the bourgeoisie would not complete a bourgeois revolution. Lenin thought that a democratic dictatorship of the workers and peasants could complete the tasks of the bourgeoisie. By 1917, Lenin was arguing not only that the Russian bourgeoisie would not be able to carry through
3364-415: The "liberalism of bourgeois society" and did it because he saw "the state as an end in itself", a value which supported his "political aim of conquest". Thus, he substituted "permanent war for permanent revolution". However, the final two sentences show that the bourgeoisie did not give up hope, but continued to pursue their interests. For Marx, permanent revolution involves a revolutionary class (in this case,
3480-592: The 1930s; if copies exist in the Soviet archives, they have not been located since the dissolution of the Soviet Union .) By contrast, Trotsky generalised his theory of permanent revolution, which had only been previously applied to Russia. He argued that the proletariat needed to take power in a process of uninterrupted and permanent revolution in order to not only carry out the tasks of the bourgeois-democratic revolution, but also to implement socialism. His position
3596-490: The 2011 Arab Spring the Socialist International expelled the governing parties of Tunisia and Egypt for performing actions incompatible with the values of this international. Permanent revolution Historical Permanent revolution is the strategy of a revolutionary class pursuing its own interests independently and without compromise or alliance with opposing sections of society . As
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3712-617: The Bolshevik Party. After the October Revolution , the Bolsheviks, now including Trotsky, did not discuss the theory of permanent revolution as such. However, its basic theses can be found in such popular outlines of communist theory as The ABC of Communism which sought to explain the program of the Bolshevik Party by Yevgeni Preobrazhensky and Nikolai Bukharin . According to Russian historian, Vadim Rogovin ,
3828-518: The Communist League . According to Tagore, Lenin was just as much a champion of the permanent revolution as Trotsky was and with a "much more sure grasp of revolutionary reality". However, he argues that Trotsky "certainly had done a great service to revolutionary communism by drawing out attention over and over again to the theory of permanent revolution since Lenin died in 1924 and the sinister anti-revolutionary reign of Stalin started". In
3944-592: The Fourth International and the Trotskyists, who subsequently never managed to obtain meaningful influence. Despite this, many parts of the world, including Latin America, Europe and Asia, continue to have large Trotskyist groupings who are attracted to its anti-Stalinist positions and its defense of proletarian internationalism. Several of these groups carry the label "Fourth Internationalist" either in their organization's name, important political position documents, or both. In line with Trotskyist theory and thought,
4060-423: The Fourth International tended to view the Comintern as a degenerated workers' state . However, although it regarded its own ideas as more advanced and thus superior to those of the Third International, it did not actively push for the Comintern's destruction. The current incarnation of the Fourth International does not operate as a cohesive entity in the manner of its predecessors. The Fourth International suffered
4176-610: The Fourth International was hunted by agents of the NKVD , subjected to political repression by countries such as France and the United States, and by supporters of the Soviet Union. The Fourth International struggled to maintain contact under these conditions of crackdowns and repression during World War II due to the fact that subsequent proletarian uprisings were often under the influence of Soviet-aligned pro-Stalin parties and militant nationalist groups, leading to defeats for
4292-708: The French section), and Murray Dowson (a leader of the Canadian group). The Secretariat organised a Fifth World Congress in October 1957. Mandel and Pierre Frank appraised the Algerian revolution and surmised that it was essential to reorient in the colonial states and neocolonies towards the emerging guerrilla -led revolutions. According to Robert Alexander, Ernest Mandel has written that an organisation in Indonesia,
4408-634: The International Communist League, founding in its place the Movement for the Fourth International on Trotsky's perspectives. The foundation of the Fourth International was seen as more than just the simple renaming of an international tendency that was already in existence. It was argued that the Third International had now degenerated completely and was therefore to be seen as a counter-revolutionary organisation that would in time of crisis defend capitalism. Trotsky believed that
4524-605: The International Secretariat of the Fourth International with Michel Raptis appointed Secretary and Ernest Mandel , a Belgian, taking a leading role. Pablo and Mandel aimed to counter the opposition of the majorities inside the British Revolutionary Communist Party and French Internationalist Communist Party. Initially, they encouraged party members to vote out their leaderships. They supported Gerry Healy 's opposition in
4640-508: The International Secretariat was moved to New York City. The resident International Executive Committee failed to meet, largely because of a struggle in the U.S. Socialist Workers Party (SWP) between Trotsky's supporters and the tendency of Max Shachtman , Martin Abern and James Burnham . The secretariat was composed of those committee members who happened to be in the city, most of whom were co-thinkers of Shachtman. The disagreement centred on
4756-656: The RCP. In France, they backed elements, including Pierre Frank and Marcel Bleibtreu , opposed to the new leadership of the PCI ;– albeit for differing reasons. The Stalinist occupation of Eastern Europe was the issue of prime concern, and it raised many problems of interpretation. At first, the International held that, while the USSR was a degenerated workers' state , the post-World War II East European states were still bourgeois entities, because revolution from above
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4872-633: The SWP's members, many of whom became founder members of the Workers Party . In May 1940, an emergency conference of the International met at a secret location "somewhere in the Western Hemisphere". It adopted a manifesto drafted by Trotsky shortly before his murder and a range of policies on the work of the International, including one calling for the reunification of the then-divided Fourth Internationalist groups in Britain. Secretariat members who had supported Shachtman were expelled by
4988-557: The SWP's theoretical journal Fourth International . Despite this dislocation, the various groups sought to maintain links and some connections were kept up throughout the early part of the war by sailors enlisted in the U.S. Navy who had cause to visit Marseilles . Contact was steady, if irregular, between the SWP and the British Trotskyists, with the result that the Americans exerted what influence they had to encourage
5104-663: The SWP, Gerry Healy 's British section The Club , the Internationalist Communist Party in France (then led by Lambert who had expelled Bleibtreu and his grouping), Nahuel Moreno 's party in Argentina and the Austrian and Chinese sections of the FI. The sections of the ICFI withdrew from the International Secretariat, which suspended their voting rights. Both sides claimed they constituted a majority of
5220-678: The Socialist International and the Comintern. Three of those parties joined the Left Opposition in signing a document written by Trotsky calling for a Fourth International, which became known as the "Declaration of Four". Of those, two soon distanced themselves from the agreement, but the Dutch Revolutionary Socialist Party worked with the International Left Opposition to declare the International Communist League. This position
5336-554: The Soviet Union, which they analysed as being partly caused by the poverty and isolation of the Soviet economy . Stalin's theory of socialism in one country was developed in 1924 as an opposition to Trotsky's Theory of Permanent revolution , which argued that capitalism was a world system and required a world revolution to replace it with socialism. Prior to 1924, the Bolsheviks ' international perspective had been guided by Trotsky's position. Trotsky argued that Stalin's theory represented
5452-587: The Spanish section merged with the Spanish section of ICO, forming the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification ( POUM ). Trotsky claimed the merger was to be a capitulation to centrism. The Socialist Workers' Party of Germany , a left split from the Social Democratic Party of Germany founded in 1931, co-operated with the International Left Opposition briefly in 1933 but soon abandoned the call for
5568-432: The Third International. This was organised on a democratic centralist basis, with component parties required to fight for policies adopted by the body as a whole. By declaring themselves the Fourth International, the "World Party of Socialist Revolution", the Trotskyists were publicly asserting their continuity with the Comintern, and with its predecessors. Their recognition of the importance of these earlier Internationals
5684-555: The U.S. Parts of the International Committee were divided over whether the split with "Pabloism" was permanent or temporary, and it was perhaps as a result of this that it did not declare itself to be the Fourth International. Those sections that considered the split permanent embarked on a discussion about the history of the split and its meanings. The sections of the International that recognised
5800-582: The U.S. by Bert Cochran , to support entryism " sui generis " hinted that Pablo's support for their views indicated that the International might also demand Trotskyists in those countries adopt that tactic. In 1953, the SWP's national committee issued an Open Letter to Trotskyists Throughout the World and organised the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). This was a public faction which initially included, in addition to
5916-409: The aims already mentioned, it is our interest and our task to make the revolution permanent until all the more or less propertied classes have been driven from their ruling positions, until the proletariat has conquered state power and until the association of the proletarians has progressed sufficiently far – not only in one country but in all the leading countries of the world – that competition between
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#17327731211646032-510: The approaching revolutionary drama [in Germany] will coincide with the direct victory of their own class in France and will thereby be accelerated". That is, the petty-bourgeois are expected to come to power in Germany at the same time as the direct victory of the proletariat in France. Furthermore, Marx seems to believe that the former and hence of both is "imminent" (c.f. the third paragraph of
6148-458: The approaching revolutionary drama will coincide with the direct victory of their own class in France and will thereby be accelerated. But they themselves must contribute most to their final victory, by informing themselves of their own class interests, by taking up their independent political position as soon as possible, by not allowing themselves to be misled by the hypocritical phrases of the democratic petty bourgeoisie into doubting for one minute
6264-484: The attention of the communists throughout the world to the betrayal of world revolution (Permanent Revolution) by Stalin". Tagore also argued that the theory of permanent revolution has nothing to do with Trotskyism, but it is pure Marxism and Leninism . As an example, he points out that the term permanent revolution itself was coined by Marx and Engels back in 1850 in their Address of the Central Committee to
6380-457: The bourgeois further than they are prepared to go, without the revolution threatening them as well. Marx concludes his Address by summarising the themes elucidated above: Although the German workers cannot come to power and achieve the realization of their class interests without passing through a protracted revolutionary development, this time they can at least be certain that the first act of
6496-399: The bourgeoisie was complete and irreversible after the emergence of imperialism in the late 19th century. The uncertain relationship between international and national parameters in relation to class power underlies many of the disputes concerning the theory of the permanent revolution. In the preface to the 1882 Russian edition of The Communist Manifesto , Marx and Engels explicitly raised
6612-495: The bourgeoisie) continuing to push for and achieve its interests despite the political dominance of actors with opposing interests. By 1849, Marx and Engels were able to quote the use of the phrase by other writers (Eugen Alexis Schwanbeck, a journalist on the Kölnische Zeitung [Cologne Newspaper]; and Henri Druey ), suggesting that it had achieved some recognition in intellectual circles. Marx's most famous use of
6728-422: The coming World War would produce a revolutionary wave of class and national struggles, rather as World War I had done. Stalin reacted to the growing strength of Trotsky's supporters with a major political massacre of people within the Soviet Union, and the assassination of Trotsky's supporters and family abroad. He had agents go through historical documents and photos to attempt to erase Trotsky's memory from
6844-433: The communist opposition to the Comintern and the Soviet Union. Trotsky believed that its formation was all the more urgent for the role he saw it playing in the impending World War . In the early 1930s, Trotsky and his supporters believed that Stalin's influence over the Third International could still be fought from within and slowly rolled back. They organised themselves into the International Left Opposition in 1930, which
6960-429: The early part of the 19th century, to the dominance of the working class, without an interceding period of dominance by the bourgeoisie. On the contrary, Marx's statements in his March 1850 Address explicitly contradict such a view, assuming a "period of petty-bourgeois predominance over the classes which have been overthrown and over the proletariat". In his History of the Russian Revolution , Trotsky argues that this
7076-527: The economies of the East European states and their political regimes had come to resemble that of the USSR more and more. These states were then described as deformed workers states in an analogy with the degenerated workers state in Russia. The term deformed was used rather than degenerated , because no workers' revolution had led to the foundation of these states. The Third World Congress envisaged
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#17327731211647192-541: The emergency conference, with the support of Trotsky himself. While leader of the SWP James P. Cannon later said that he did not believe the split to be definitive and final, the two groups did not reunite. A new International Executive Committee was appointed, which came under the increasing influence of the Socialist Workers Party . The Fourth International was hit hard during World War II. Trotsky
7308-429: The essays later collected in his book 1905 and in his essay Results and Prospects and later developed in his 1929 book The Permanent Revolution . The basic idea of Trotsky's theory is that in Russia the bourgeoisie would not carry out a thorough revolution which would institute political democracy and solve the land question. These measures were assumed to be essential to develop Russia economically. Therefore, it
7424-442: The former International. Sri Lanka's Lanka Sama Samaja Party, then the country's leading workers' party, took a middle position during this dispute. It continued to participate in the ISFI but argued for a joint congress, for reunification with the ICFI. An excerpt from the Open Letter explains the split as follows: To sum up: The lines of cleavage between Pablo's revisionism and orthodox Trotskyism are so deep that no compromise
7540-525: The future viability and prospects of capitalism, not just among all Trotskyist groups, but also among leading economists. Paul Samuelson had envisaged in 1943 the probability of a "nightmarish combination of the worst features of inflation and deflation ", worrying that "there would be ushered in the greatest period of unemployment and industrial dislocation which any economy has ever faced". Joseph Schumpeter for his part claimed that "[t]he general opinion seems to be that capitalist methods will be unequal to
7656-431: The hands of the state. 2. They must drive the proposals of the democrats to their logical extreme (the democrats will in any case act in a reformist and not a revolutionary manner) and transform these proposals into direct attacks on private property. If, for instance, the petty bourgeoisie propose the purchase of the railways and factories, the workers must demand that these railways and factories simply be confiscated by
7772-437: The history books. According to the historian Mario Keßler , Stalin's supporters turned to antisemitism to whip up sentiment against Trotsky (as Trotsky was a Jew). Stalin's daughter later claimed that his fight with Trotsky laid the foundations for his later antisemitic campaigns. The International's rationale was to construct new mass revolutionary parties able to lead successful workers' revolutions. It saw these arising from
7888-439: The interests of bureaucratic elements in direct opposition to the working class. Eventually, Trotsky was sent into internal exile and his supporters were jailed. However, the Left Opposition continued to work in secret within the Soviet Union. Trotsky was exiled to Turkey in 1928. He moved from there to France, Norway and finally to Mexico. He was assassinated on Stalin's orders in Mexico in August 1940. A political international
8004-411: The internal debates within the Bolshevik Party and was a bone of contention within the opposition to Joseph Stalin . In essence, a section of the Bolshevik Party leadership, whose views were voiced at the theoretical level by Bukharin, argued that socialism could be built in a single country, even an underdeveloped one like Russia. Bukharin argued that Russia's pre-existing economic base was sufficient for
8120-411: The international level of development, both economic and social. National peculiarities are only an expression of the contradictions in the world system. According to this perspective, the tasks of the bourgeois-democratic revolution could not be achieved by the bourgeoisie itself in a reactionary period of world capitalism; Trotsky cites Russia as an example of this. This conception was first developed in
8236-409: The issues Trotsky would later develop: "Now the question is: can the Russian obshchina , though greatly undermined, yet a form of primeval common ownership of land, pass directly to the higher form of Communist common ownership? Or, on the contrary, must it first pass through the same process of dissolution such as constitutes the historical evolution of the West? The only answer to that possible today
8352-405: The last battle of revolutionary terror against the bourgeois society ... He perfected the terror by substituting permanent war for permanent revolution. " Marx said that Napoleon prevented the bourgeois revolution in France from becoming fulfilled; that is, he prevented bourgeois political forces from achieving a total expression of their interests. According to Marx, he did this by suppressing
8468-538: The leadership of the German Communist Party had requested that Moscow send Leon Trotsky to Germany to direct the 1923 insurrection . However, this proposal was rejected by the Politburo which was controlled by Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev who decided to send a commission of lower-ranking Russian Communist Party members. Later on after Lenin's death in the 1920s, the theory did assume importance in
8584-428: The leadership of the International Secretariat remained optimistic about the possibilities for increasing the International's political influence and extended the entryism into social democratic parties which was already underway in Britain, Austria and elsewhere. The 1954 congress emphasised entryism into communist parties and nationalist parties in the colonies, pressing for democratic reforms, ostensibly to encourage
8700-524: The left-wing they perceived to exist in the communist parties to join with them in a revolution. Tensions developed between those who subscribed to the mainstream views of Pablo and a minority that argued unsuccessfully against open work. A number of these delegates walked out of the World Congress, and would eventually leave the International, including the leader of the new British section, John Lawrence , George Clarke , Michele Mestre (a leader of
8816-496: The line of the International. The International leadership had them replaced by a minority, leading to a permanent split in the French section. In the wake of the World Congress, the line of the International Leadership was generally accepted by groups around the world, including the U.S. SWP whose leader, James P. Cannon, corresponded with the French majority to support the tactic of entryism sui generis . At
8932-410: The necessity of an independently organized party of the proletariat. Their battle-cry must be: The Permanent Revolution. Since Marxism emphasises the contingency of political developments on material historical circumstances (as against idealism ), it is worthwhile to have some idea of how Marx saw the context in which he advocated permanent revolution. It seems that he believed that "the first act of
9048-465: The organisation, culminating in the formation of the Socialist International ( Second International ) in 1889. This was disbanded in 1916 following disagreements over World War I . Although the organisation reformed in 1923 as the Labour and Socialist International , supporters of the October Revolution and the Bolsheviks had already set up the Communist International (Comintern), which they regarded as
9164-443: The petty-bourgeois democrats to power. In an article two years earlier, Marx had referred to "a programme of permanent revolution, of progressive taxes and death duties, and of organisation of labour". This confirms the impression that Marx's theory of permanent revolution is not about revolution per se , but rather more about the attitude that a revolutionary class should adopt in the period of their political subjection, including
9280-447: The phrase permanent revolution is his March 1850 Address of the Central Committee to the Communist League . His audience is the proletariat in Germany, faced with the prospect that "the petty-bourgeois democrats will for the moment acquire a predominant influence", i.e. temporary political power. He enjoins them as such: While the democratic petty bourgeois want to bring the revolution to an end as quickly as possible, achieving at most
9396-430: The political left of 19th-century Europe, as political activists have paid more attention to developments for or against their ideological favor in other countries and continents. After World War II , other ideological movements formed their political internationals to communicate among aligned parliamentarians and legislative candidates as well as to communicate with intergovernmental and supranational organizations such as
9512-445: The programme of political demands they should propose. This aspect is raised in the Address . As well as overtures for organisational alliance with the petty bourgeoisie , Marx is concerned about attempts to "bribe the workers with a more or less disguised form of alms and to break their revolutionary strength by temporarily rendering their situation tolerable". Therefore, the workers' party must use their autonomous organisation to push
9628-423: The proletarian strategy of maintaining organisational independence along class lines and a consistently militant series of political demands and tactics. However, at no stage does Marx make the central claim with which Trotsky's conception of permanent revolution is concerned, i.e. that it is possible for a country to pass directly from the dominance of the semi-feudal aristocrats, who held political power in Russia in
9744-413: The proletarians of these countries ceases and at least the decisive forces of production are concentrated in the hands of the workers. In the remainder of the text, Marx outlines his proposal that the proletariat "make the revolution permanent". In essence, it consists of the working class maintaining a militant and independent approach to politics both before, during and after the struggle which will bring
9860-402: The proletariat, arguing that "the bourgeoisie therefore produces [...] its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable". In this sense, Trotsky's version of the theory represents both a development and to some observers a contradiction of the expressed opinions of Marx and Engels. It must be borne in mind that for Marx the dominance of the bourgeoisie as
9976-488: The real possibility of an "international civil war" in the near future. It argued that the mass Communist parties "may, under certain favourable conditions, go beyond the aims set for them by the Soviet bureaucracy and project a revolutionary orientation". Given the supposed closeness of war, the FI thought that the Communist Parties and social democratic parties would be the only significant force that could defend
10092-432: The revolution of a particular country, the immediate passing over from the bourgeois democratic phase of the revolution to the socialist revolution. The second aspect [...] is related to the international tasks of the revolution [...] which makes it imperative for the first victorious revolution to operate as the yeast of revolution in the world arena. [...] Trotsky became the target of Stalin's vengeance only so far as he drew
10208-466: The revolution would be made permanent. Trotsky believed that a new workers' state would not be able to hold out against the pressures of a hostile capitalist world unless socialist revolutions quickly took hold in other countries as well. This notion later became a point of contention with Stalinist faction within the Bolshevik Party , which held that socialism in one country could be built in
10324-484: The same time, however, Cannon, Healy and Mandel were deeply concerned by Pablo's political evolution. Cannon and Healy were also alarmed by Pablo's intervention into the French section, and by suggestions that Pablo might use the International's authority in this way in other sections of the Fourth International that felt entryism " sui generis " was not a suitable tactic in their own countries. In particular, minority tendencies, exemplified in Britain by John Lawrence and in
10440-400: The sections agreed with the perspective of an international civil war. The French section disagreed with the associated tactic of entryism sui generis , and held that Pablo was underestimating the independent role of the working class parties in the Fourth International. The leaders of the majority of the Trotskyist organisation in France, Marcel Bleibtreu and Pierre Lambert , refused to follow
10556-557: The short-term entry tactic employed before World War II. For example, it meant that the project of building an open and independent Trotskyist party was shelved in France, because it was regarded as not politically feasible alongside entry into the French Communist Party. This perspective was accepted within the Fourth International, yet sowed the seeds for the split in 1953. At the Third World Congress,
10672-429: The state without compensation as the property of reactionaries. [...] The demands of the workers will thus have to be adjusted according to the measures and concessions of the democrats. In this passage, we can see that Marx believes the proletariat should refuse to moderate its demands to the petty-bourgeois consensus and advocate extensive nationalisation. Furthermore, the demand of the workers should always seek to push
10788-737: The succession struggle when in fact Trotsky encouraged revolutions in Europe but was not at any time proposing "reckless confrontations" with the capitalist world. Since the assassination of Leon Trotsky in 1940, the theory of permanent revolution has been maintained by the various Trotskyist groups which have developed since then. However, the theory has been extended only modestly, if at all. While their conclusions differ, works by mainstream Trotskyist theoreticians such as Robert Chester, Joseph Hansen , Michael Löwy , and Livio Maitan related it to post-war political developments in Algeria , Cuba , and elsewhere. An attempt to elaborate an exception to
10904-742: The supporters of Ho Chi Minh . After the Second World Congress in 1948, the International Secretariat attempted to open communications with Josip Broz Tito 's regime in Yugoslavia . In their analysis, it differed from the rest of the Eastern Bloc because it was established by the partisans of World War II who had fought against Nazi occupation, as opposed to by Stalin's invading armies. The British RCP, led by Jock Haston and supported by Ted Grant , were highly critical of this move. The Third World Congress in 1951 resolved that
11020-620: The task at hand, provided the Soviet Union could be militarily defended. The question of the Chinese Revolution and the subjection of the Chinese Communist Party to control by the Kuomintang at the behest of the Bolshevik Party was a topic of argument within the opposition to Stalin in the party. Figures such as Karl Radek argued that a stagist strategy was correct for China. (These writings were lost in
11136-526: The task of reconstruction". He regarded it as "not open to doubt that the decay of capitalist society is very far advanced". The Second World Congress in April 1948 was attended by delegates from 22 sections. It debated a range of resolutions on the Jewish Question , Stalinism, the colonial countries and the specific situations facing sections in certain countries. By this point the FI was united around
11252-423: The tasks of the bourgeois-democratic revolution and therefore the proletariat had to take state power, but also that it should take economic power via a soviet (workers' council). This position was put forward to the Bolsheviks on his return to Russia in his " April Theses ". The first reaction of the majority of Bolsheviks was one of rejection. Initially, only Alexandra Kollontai rallied to Lenin's position within
11368-484: The theory was made by Tony Cliff of the Socialist Workers Party . In a 1963 essay, Cliff develops the idea that where the proletariat is unable to take power, a section of the intelligentsia may be able to carry out a bourgeois revolution. He further argues that the use of Marxist concepts by such elements (most notably in Cuba and China , but also for example by regimes espousing Arab socialism or similar philosophies)
11484-476: The true legacy and political continuity of the historical Fourth International. Trotskyists regard themselves as working in opposition to both capitalism and Stalinism. Trotsky advocated proletarian revolution as set out in his theory of " permanent revolution ", and believed that a workers' state would not be able to hold out against the pressures of a hostile capitalist world unless socialist revolutions quickly took hold in other countries as well. This theory
11600-417: The various stages of development which the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie has to pass through, they always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole." and acknowledge that Communists are "the most resolute section of the working class parties... [and seek] conquest of political power by the proletariat." Despite this, communism will likely not exist immediately after
11716-686: The view that the Eastern European " buffer states " were still capitalist countries. The Congress was especially notable for bringing the International into much closer contact with Trotskyist groups from across the globe. These included such significant groups as the Revolutionary Workers' Party of Bolivia and the Lanka Sama Samaja Party in what was then Ceylon , but the previously large Vietnamese Trotskyist groups had mostly been eliminated or absorbed by
11832-434: The workers of the world against the imperialist camp in those countries where there were mass forces. In line with this geopolitical perspective, Pablo argued that the only way the Trotskyists could avoid isolation was for various sections of the Fourth International to undertake long-term entryism in the mass Communist or Social Democratic parties. This tactic was known as entryism sui generis , to distinguish it from
11948-483: The working class in underdeveloped countries to seize power. Cliff saw such revolutions as a detour or deflection on the road to socialist revolution rather than a necessary preliminary to it. Saumyendranath Tagore , the founder of the Revolutionary Communist Party of India and an international communist leader, argued that "the theory of Permanent Revolution has two aspects, one relating to
12064-404: The world in order to combat the global capitalist hegemony . According to Russian historian Vadim Rogovin (1937–1998), the success of Stalin's theoretical position had a significant and negative impact on the entire course of the international revolutionary process. Marx's view of "permanent" revolution sees revolutionary activity as continuously ongoing until the revolutionary forces achieve
12180-539: Was advanced in opposition to the view held by the Stalinists that " Socialism in One Country " could be built in the Soviet Union alone. Furthermore, Trotsky and his supporters harshly criticized the increasingly totalitarian nature of Joseph Stalin 's rule . They argued that socialism without democracy is impossible. Thus, faced with the increasing lack of democracy in the Soviet Union, they concluded that it
12296-423: Was argued the future revolution must be led by the proletariat, who would not only carry through the tasks of the bourgeois-democratic revolution, but would also commence a struggle to surpass the bourgeois-democratic revolution itself. How far the proletariat would be able to continue would depend upon the further course of events and not upon the designation of the revolution as bourgeois-democratic. In this sense,
12412-505: Was assassinated, many of the FI's European affiliates were destroyed by the Nazis and several of its Asian affiliates were destroyed by the Empire of Japan . The survivors, in Europe, Asia and elsewhere, were largely cut off from each other and from the International Secretariat. The new secretary, Jean Van Heijenoort (also known as Gerland), was able to do little more than publish articles in
12528-835: Was contested by Andrés Nin and some other members of the League who did not support the call for a new International. This group prioritised regroupment with other communist oppositions, principally the International Communist Opposition (ICO), linked to the Right Opposition in the Soviet Party, a regroupment which eventually led to the formation of the International Bureau for Revolutionary Socialist Unity . Trotsky considered those organisations to be centrist . Despite Trotsky,
12644-413: Was coupled with a belief that they eventually degenerated. Although the Socialist International and Comintern were still in existence, the Trotskyists did not believe those organisations were capable of supporting revolutionary socialism and internationalism . The foundation of the Fourth International was therefore spurred in part by a desire to form a stronger political current, rather than being seen as
12760-474: Was established, with many of the day's leading Trotskyists and most countries in which Trotskyists were active represented. Among the resolutions adopted by the conference was the Transitional Programme . The Transitional Programme was the central programmatic statement of the congress, summarising its strategic and tactical conceptions for the revolutionary period that it saw opening up as
12876-471: Was intended to be a group of anti-Stalinist dissenters within the Third International. Stalin's supporters, who dominated the International, would no longer tolerate dissent. All Trotskyists, and those suspected of being influenced by Trotskyism, were expelled. Trotsky claimed that the Third Period policies of the Comintern had contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany, and that its turn to
12992-545: Was no longer a socialist workers' state, but a degenerated workers' state . In the Transitional Program , which was drafted during the founding congress of the Fourth International, Trotsky called for the legalization of the Soviet parties and worker's control of production . Trotsky and his supporters had been organised since 1923 as the Left Opposition . They opposed the bureaucratization of
13108-578: Was not about to plunge into massive crisis but rather that an upturn in the economy was already underway. A group of leaders of the French Internationalist Communist Party (PCI) around Yvan Craipeau argued a similar position until they were expelled from the PCI in 1948. In April 1946 delegates from the principal European sections and a number of others attended a "Second International Congress". This set about rebuilding
13224-409: Was not possible, and capitalism persisted. Another issue that needed to be dealt with was the possibility that the economy would revive. This was initially denied by Mandel (who was quickly forced to revise his opinion, and later devoted his PhD dissertation to late capitalism , analysing the unexpected "third age" of capitalist development). Mandel's perspective mirrored uncertainty at that time about
13340-591: Was put forward in his essay entitled The Permanent Revolution which can be found today in a single book together with Results and Prospects . In this essay, Trotsky generalised his theory of permanent revolution and grounded it in the idea of uneven and combined development . In contrast to the conceptions inherent within stagist theory, the theory of uneven and combined development states that all class-based societies, including capitalist nations, develop unevenly and that some parts of these societies will develop more swiftly than others. Trotsky argued that this development
13456-438: Was shortened to the period between February and October 1917. Marx and Engels do not claim that socialism is impossible in one country, but they do say "Communists are distinguished from the other working-class parties by this only: 1. In the national struggles of the proletarians of the different countries, they point out and bring to the front the common interests of the entire proletariat, independently of all nationality. 2. In
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