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35-864: The International Socialist Network (ISN or IS Network for short) was a short-lived revolutionary socialist organisation in Britain. It was formed as a split from the Socialist Workers Party in 2013 following the alleged rape scandal concerning former National Secretary, Martin Smith . According to the group's Autumn 2014 Discussion Bulletin, it was "a tendency within Left Unity ". The ISN also participated in unity talks involving other organisations, some of which are involved in Left Unity , including Workers Power , Socialist Resistance , Anti-Capitalist Initiative and Revolutionary Socialism in

70-467: A coup d'état or putsch along the lines of Blanquism . Revolutionary socialists, particularly Trotskyists, argue that the Bolsheviks only seized power as the expression of the mass of workers and peasants, whose desires are brought into being by an organised force—the revolutionary party. Marxists such as Trotskyists argue that Lenin did not advocate seizing power until he felt that the majority of

105-455: A Workers International states, "[w]e campaign for new workers' parties and for them to adopt a socialist programme. At the same time, the CWI builds support for the ideas of revolutionary socialism". In "The Case for Revolutionary Socialism", Alex Callinicos from the Socialist Workers Party in Britain argues in favour of it. Revolutionary socialist discourse has long debated the question of how

140-415: A complete revision of our ideas on organization and, therefore, an entirely different conception of centralism and the relations existing between the party and the struggle itself. Blanquism did not count on the direct action of the working class. It, therefore, did not need to organize the people for the revolution. The people were expected to play their part only at the moment of revolution. Preparation for

175-423: A mass based organisation of working class struggle. However, Lenin dismissed as meaningless rhetoric the conflation of Blanquism with Bolshevism: The bourgeoisie wants, by using the bogy of “Blanquism”, to belittle, discredit and slander the people’s struggle for power. The bourgeoisie stands to gain if the proletarians and peasants fight only for concessions from the old regime. The Right Social-Democrats use

210-839: A possible way to socialism. Following the Boulangist dissidence, Vaillant adopted a strategy of syndicalism and strike action . The CRC was further re-enforced by the affiliation of the Revolutionary Communist Alliance (ACR), formed by dissidents of the Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party (POSR) in 1896. The CRC merged into the Socialist Revolutionary Party in 1898. The term "Blanquism" has often been used polemically to accuse some revolutionaries of failing to sufficiently meld their praxis with

245-722: A proposal by Trotsky to avoid an immediate split with the Second International. Though initially opposed to it, Lenin voted for Trotsky's resolution to avoid a split among anti-war socialists. In December 1915 and March 1916, eighteen Social Democratic representatives, the Haase - Ledebour Group, voted against war credits and were expelled from the Social Democratic Party. Liebknecht wrote Revolutionary Socialism in Germany in 1916, arguing that this group

280-415: A relatively small group of highly organised and secretive conspirators. Having seized power, the revolutionaries would then use the power of the state to introduce socialism . It is considered a particular sort of "putschism"—that is, the view that political revolution should take the form of a putsch or coup d'état . Blanquism is distinguished from other socialist currents in various ways: on

315-486: A socialist theory nor any definite practical suggestions for social remedies. In his political activity he was mainly a "man of action", believing that a small and well organized minority, who would attempt a political stroke of force at the opportune moment, could carry the mass of the people with them by a few successes at the start and thus make a victorious revolution. Rosa Luxemburg and Eduard Bernstein have criticised Vladimir Lenin that his conception of revolution

350-744: Is another revolutionary socialist tradition. Emerging from the Communist International but critical of the post-1924 Soviet Union , the Trotskyist tradition in Western Europe and elsewhere uses the term "revolutionary socialism". In 1932, the first issue of the first Canadian Trotskyist newspaper, The Vanguard , published an editorial entitled "Revolutionary Socialism vs Reformism". Today, many Trotskyist groups advocate revolutionary socialism instead of reformism and consider themselves revolutionary socialists. The Committee for

385-480: Is contrasted with reformist socialism , especially the reformist wing of social democracy and other evolutionary approaches to socialism. Revolutionary socialism is opposed to social movements that seek to gradually ameliorate capitalism's economic and social problems through political reform. In The Communist Manifesto , Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote: The proletariat, the lowest stratum of our present society, cannot stir, cannot raise itself up, without

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420-739: Is inevitable but not predetermined. Revolutionary socialism encompasses multiple political and social movements that may define "revolution" differently from one another. These include movements based on orthodox Marxist theory such as De Leonism , impossibilism and Luxemburgism , as well as movements based on Leninism and the theory of vanguardist -led revolution such as the Stalinism , Maoism , Marxism–Leninism and Trotskyism . Revolutionary socialism also includes other Marxist , Marxist-inspired and non-Marxist movements such as those found in democratic socialism , revolutionary syndicalism , anarchism and social democracy . Revolutionary socialism

455-638: The Blanquist view emphasised the overthrow by force of the ruling elite in government by an active minority of revolutionaries, who then proceeded to implement socialist change, disregarding the state of readiness of society as a whole and the mass of the population in particular for revolutionary change. In 1875, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) published a somewhat reformist Gotha Program , which Marx attacked in Critique of

490-493: The 21st Century (RS21). It published regular 'internal' bulletins that are also publicly available, and one issue of a proposed journal, 'Cactus'. The ISN voted to disband at a national meeting in May 2015 and encouraged members to join other socialist organisations. Revolutionary socialist Revolutionary socialists believe such a state of affairs is a precondition for establishing socialism and orthodox Marxists believe it

525-519: The Gotha Program , where he reiterated the need for the dictatorship of the proletariat . The reformist viewpoint was introduced into Marxist thought by Eduard Bernstein , one of the leaders of the SPD. From 1896 to 1898, Bernstein published a series of articles entitled "Probleme des Sozialismus" ("Problems of Socialism"). These articles led to a debate on revisionism in the SPD and can be seen as

560-641: The Reichstag voted for the government's war budget, while the French and Belgian socialists publicly supported and joined their governments. The Zimmerwald Conference in September 1915, attended by Lenin and Leon Trotsky , saw the beginning of the end of the uneasy coexistence of revolutionary socialists and reformist socialists in the parties of the Second International . The conference adopted

595-705: The Third International) was founded following the October Revolution . This International became widely identified with communism but also defined itself in terms of revolutionary socialism. However, in 1938 Trotskyists formed the Fourth International because they thought that the Third International turned to Marxism–Leninism —this latter International became identified with revolutionary socialism. Luxemburgism

630-474: The conquest of political power as a theory of Blanquist violence, has the misfortune of labeling as a Blanquist error that which has always been the pivot and the motive force of human history. From the first appearance of class societies, having class struggle as the essential content of their history, the conquest of political power has been the aim of all rising classes. Here is the starting point and end of every historic period. [...] In modern times, we see it in

665-425: The forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. Twenty-four years after The Communist Manifesto , first published in 1848, Marx and Engels admitted that in developed countries, "labour may attain its goal by peaceful means". Marxist scholar Adam Schaff argued that Marx, Engels, and Lenin had expressed such views "on many occasions". By contrast,

700-539: The mass working class . Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were keen to distinguish their conception of revolution from Blanquism. As Engels put it in a short fragment, The Program of the Blanquist Fugitives from the Paris Commune : Blanqui is essentially a political revolutionist. He is a socialist only through sentiment, through his sympathy with the sufferings of the people, but he has neither

735-418: The one hand, Blanqui did not believe in the predominant role of the proletariat , nor did he believe in popular movements—instead he believed that revolution should be carried out by a small group of professional, dedicated revolutionaries, who would establish a temporary dictatorship by force. This dictatorship would permit the implementation of the basis of a new order, after which power would then be handed to

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770-873: The orders of the Military Revolutionary Committee under the leadership of Trotsky in October, also termed the Revolutionary Military Committee in Lenin's collected works. Trotsky mobilized the Military Revolutionary Committee to seize power on the advent of the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies , which began on 25 October 1917. The Communist International (also known as

805-495: The origins of a reformist trend within Marxism. In 1900, Rosa Luxemburg wrote Social Reform or Revolution? , a polemic against Bernstein's position. The work of reforms, Luxemburg argued, could only be carried on "in the framework of the social form created by the last revolution". In order to advance society to socialism from the capitalist 'social form', a social revolution will be necessary: Bernstein, thundering against

840-483: The people. In another respect, Blanqui was more concerned with the revolution itself rather than the future society that would result from it—if his thought was based on precise socialist principles. Blanquist thought rarely goes so far as to imagine a purely socialist society. For Blanquists, the overturning of the bourgeois social order and the revolution are ends sufficient in themselves, at least for their immediate purposes. The Central Revolutionary Committee (CRC)

875-421: The point where that war breaks out into open revolution, and where the violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie lays the foundation for the sway of the proletariat. [...] The Communists fight for the attainment of the immediate aims, for the enforcement of the momentary interests of the working class; [...] The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by

910-641: The population, represented in the soviets , demanded revolutionary change and no longer supported the reformist government of Alexander Kerensky established in the earlier revolution of February 1917. In the Lessons of October , Leon Trotsky wrote: Lenin, after the experience of the reconnoiter, withdrew the slogan of the immediate overthrow of the Provisional Government. But he did not withdraw it for any set period of time, for so many weeks or months, but strictly in dependence upon how quickly

945-525: The preordained revolution moment would originate, i.e., the extent to which revolt needs to be concertedly organized and by whom. Rosa Luxemburg, in particular, was known for her theory of revolutionary spontaneity. Critics argued that Luxemburg overstated the role of spontaneity and neglected the role of party organization. Blanquism Blanquism refers to a conception of revolution generally attributed to Louis Auguste Blanqui (1805–1881) that holds that socialist revolution should be carried out by

980-550: The revolt of the masses against the conciliationists would grow. For these Marxists, the fact that the Bolsheviks won a majority (in alliance with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries ) in the second all-Russian congress of Soviets—democratically elected bodies—which convened at the time of the October revolution, shows that they had the popular support of the masses of workers, peasants and soldiers,

1015-406: The revolution concerned only the little group of revolutionists armed for the coup. Indeed, to assure the success of the revolutionary conspiracy, it was considered wiser to keep the mass at some distance from the conspirators. By " social democracy ", Luxemburg has in mind the original use of the term derived from Marx and synonymous with "socialism"; she conceived of the social democratic party as

1050-465: The struggle of the bourgeoisie against feudalism. In 1902, Vladimir Lenin attacked Bernstein's position in his What Is to Be Done? When Bernstein first put forward his ideas, the majority of the SPD rejected them. The 1899 congress of the SPD reaffirmed the Erfurt Program , as did the 1901 congress. The 1903 congress denounced "revisionist efforts". On 4 August 1914, the SPD members of

1085-538: The vast majority of Russian society. In his pamphlet Lessons of October , first published in 1924, Trotsky argued that military power lay in the hands of the Bolsheviks before the October Revolution was carried out, but this power was not used against the government until the Bolsheviks gained mass support. The mass of soldiers began to be led by the Bolshevik party after July 1917 and followed only

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1120-464: The whole superincumbent strata of official society being sprung into the air. Though not in substance, yet in form, the struggle of the proletariat with the bourgeoisie is at first a national struggle. The proletariat of each country must, of course, first of all settle matters with its own bourgeoisie. In depicting the most general phases of the development of the proletariat, we traced the more or less veiled civil war, raging within existing society, up to

1155-660: Was a French Blanquist political party founded in 1881 and dissolved in 1898. The CRC was founded by Édouard Vaillant to continue the political struggle of Auguste Blanqui (1805–1881). The CRC was a Blanquist party, supporting revolutionary activism, atheism , patriotism , and the Jacobinism of the French Revolution . The CRC was weakened by a split in 1888, when numerous members ( Henri Rochefort ) followed General Georges Boulanger who synthesized Jacobin nationalism with socialism . Many saw Boulangism as

1190-594: Was elitist and essentially Blanquist. For instance, as part of a longer section on Blanquism in her Organizational Questions of the Russian Social Democracy (later published as Leninism or Marxism? ), Luxemburg writes: For Lenin, the difference between the Social Democracy and Blanquism is reduced to the observation that in place of a handful of conspirators we have a class-conscious proletariat. He forgets that this difference implies

1225-475: Was not a revolutionary socialist group despite their refusal to vote for war credits, further defining in his view what was meant by a revolutionary socialist. Many revolutionary socialists argue that the Russian Revolution led by Vladimir Lenin follows the revolutionary socialist model of a revolutionary movement guided by a vanguard party . By contrast, the October Revolution is portrayed as

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