The New York Intellectuals were a group of American writers and literary critics based in New York City in the mid-20th century. They advocated left-wing politics but were also firmly anti-Stalinist . The group is known for having sought to integrate literary theory with Marxism and socialism while rejecting Soviet socialism as a workable or acceptable political model.
105-597: Trotskyism emerged as the most common standpoint among these anti-Stalinist Marxists. Irving Kristol , Irving Howe , Seymour Martin Lipset , Leslie Fiedler , and Nathan Glazer were members of the Trotskyist Young People's Socialist League . Many of these intellectuals were educated at City College of New York (" Harvard of the Proletariat"), New York University , and Columbia University in
210-419: A decentralized form of economic planning , worker's control of production , elected representation of Soviet socialist parties , mass soviet democratization , the tactic of a united front against far-right parties, cultural autonomy for artistic movements, voluntary collectivisation , a transitional program and socialist internationalism . He supported founding a vanguard party of
315-458: A "signal contribution" to the discipline of international relations . They argued his theory presented "a specific understanding of capitalist development as "uneven", insofar as it systematically featured geographically divergent "advanced" and "backward" regions" across the world economy . Faith merely promises to move mountains; but technology , which takes nothing ‘on faith’, is actually able to cut down mountains and move them. Up to now this
420-564: A "temporary" ban on factions in the Russian Communist Party . This ban remained until the revolutions of 1989 and, according to some critics, made the democratic procedures within the party an empty formality, and helped Stalin to consolidate much more authority under the party. Soviets were transformed into the bureaucratic structure that existed for the rest of the history of the Soviet Union and were completely under
525-630: A Leninist party model. Trotsky would also assume a central role in the 1905 revolution and serve as the Chairman of the Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Delegates in which he wrote several proclamations urging for improved economic conditions , political rights and the use of strike action against the Tsarist regime on behalf of workers. In 1917, he had proposed the election of a new Soviet presidium with other socialist parties on
630-406: A Soviet election, he wrote: I have, while working in the Soviet Union, participated in an election. I, too, had a right to vote, as I was a working member of the community, and nationality and citizenship are no bar to electoral rights. The procedure was extremely simple. A general meeting of all the workers in our organisation was called. by the trade union committee, candidates were discussed, and
735-672: A differing view and attributed the establishment of the one-party system in the Soviet Union to the wartime conditions imposed on the Bolshevik government and others have highlighted the initial attempts to form a coalition government with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries . Specifically, Russian historian Vadim Rogovin wrote that the Bolsheviks made strenuous efforts to preserve the Soviet parties such as
840-404: A district, or the soldiers of a barracks. They directly elect delegates as public functionaries, which act as legislators, government, and courts in one. Soviets are elected on several levels; at the residential and business level, delegates are sent through plenary assemblies to a local council which, in turn, delegates members to the next level. This system of delegation continues to a body such as
945-483: A hostile capitalist world and the internal pressures of its backward economy. Trotsky argued that the revolution must quickly spread to capitalist countries, bringing about a socialist revolution that must spread worldwide. In this way, the revolution is "permanent", moving out of necessity first, from the bourgeois revolution to the workers' revolution and from there uninterruptedly to European and worldwide revolutions. An internationalist outlook of permanent revolution
1050-638: A key development in the course of soviet democracy in Russia occurred in March, 1921, with the Kronstadt rebellion . The outset of the year was marked by strikes and demonstrations - in both Moscow and Petrograd, as well as the countryside - due to discontent with the results of policies that made up war communism . The Bolsheviks, in response to the protests, enacted martial law and sent the Red Army to disperse
1155-518: A newly established body and called for the strengthening of its formal responsibilities to support a balanced level of economic reconstruction after the Civil War. Lenin and Politburo members had also proposed he served as deputy chairman with a focus on economic matters related to the either STO , Gosplan or the Council of National Economy. Trotsky had urged economic decentralisation between
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#17327720436421260-465: A number of Old Bolsheviks who signed The Declaration of 46 raised concerns to the Poliburo concerning intra-party democracy which shared similarities with Lenin's proposed party reforms before his death. The signatories of the 46 letter expressed grievances related to the provincial conferences, party congresses and the election of committees. Separately, Trotsky would develop his views further with
1365-458: A reduction in Bolshevik privileges, newly elected soviet councils to include socialist and anarchist groups , economic freedom for peasants and workers, dissolution of the bureaucratic governmental organs created during the civil war, and the restoration of workers' rights for the working class. The workers and sailors of the Kronstadt rebellion were promptly crushed by Red Army forces, with
1470-467: A result, the global working class would come to Russia's aid, and socialism could develop worldwide. According to political scientist Baruch Knei-Paz, Trotsky’s theory of “permanent revolution” was grossly misrepresented by Stalin as defeatist and adventurist during the succession struggle when in fact Trotsky encouraged revolutions in Europe but was not at any time proposing “reckless confrontations” with
1575-444: A result, they are linked to and rely on the feudal landowners in many ways. Thus, Trotsky argues that because a majority of the branches of industry in Russia originated under the direct influence of government measures—sometimes with the help of government subsidies—the capitalist class was again tied to the ruling elite. The capitalist class was subservient to European capital. The theory of permanent revolution further considers that
1680-555: A revival of freedom of Soviet parties, beginning with the party of Bolsheviks, and a resurrection of the trade unions. The bringing of democracy into industry means a radical revision of plans in the interests of toilers. Trotsky, The Revolution Betrayed , 1936 In 1931, Trotsky wrote a pamphlet on the Spanish Revolution and called for the creation of worker’s juntas in emulation of elected soviets as an expression of working class organisation. Trotsky stipulated
1785-414: A revolution in peasant-based countries such as Russia ultimately prepares the ground for capitalism's development since the liberated peasants become small owners, producers, and traders. This leads to the growth of commodity markets, from which a new capitalist class emerges. Trotsky agreed that a new socialist state and economy in a country like Russia would not be able to hold out against the pressures of
1890-478: A socialist one. According to this position, a socialist revolution could not occur in a backward, feudal country such as early 20th-century Russia when it had such a small and almost powerless capitalist class. In 1905, Trotsky formulated his theory of permanent revolution , which later became a defining characteristic of Trotskyism. The theory of permanent revolution addressed how such feudal regimes were to be overthrown and how socialism could establish itself, given
1995-657: A solid 80% of the vote. During the debates in Weimar, fighting continued. The Bavarian Soviet Republic was declared in Munich , but was quickly put down by Freikorps and remnants of the regular army. The fall of the Munich Soviet Republic to these units, many of which were situated on the extreme right, resulted in the growth of far-right movements and organisations in Bavaria , including Organisation Consul ,
2100-482: A source of intense historical debate. However, on balance, scholarly opinion among a range of prominent historians and political scientists such as E.H. Carr , Isaac Deutscher , Moshe Lewin , Ronald Suny , Richard B. Day and W. Bruce Lincoln was that Lenin’s desired “heir” would have been a collective responsibility in which Trotsky was placed in "an important role and within which Stalin would be dramatically demoted (if not removed)". Trotsky advocated for
2205-453: A thousand rebels killed in battle and another thousand executed the following weeks, with many more fleeing abroad and to the countryside. These events coincided with the 10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) . There, Lenin argued that the soviets and the principle of democratic centralism within the Bolshevik party still assured democracy. However, faced with support for Kronstadt within Bolshevik ranks, Lenin also issued
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#17327720436422310-479: A vote was taken by show of hands. Anybody present had the right to propose a candidate, and the one who was elected was not personally a member of the Party. In considering the claims of the candidates their past activities were discussed, they themselves had to answer questions as to their qualifications, anybody could express an opinion, for or against them, and the basis of all the discussion was: What justification had
2415-453: Is found in the works of Karl Marx . The term "permanent revolution" is taken from a remark of Marx in his March 1850 Address: "it is our task", Marx said: [...] 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
2520-408: Is in contrast to a trustee model , in which elected delegates are exclusively responsible to their conscience. Delegates may accordingly be dismissed from their post at any time through recall elections . Soviet democracy forms the basis for the soviet republic system of government. In a soviet democracy, people are organized in basic units; for example, the workers of a company, the inhabitants of
2625-405: Is lacking, yet the economy is largely in the hands of the state, are termed by orthodox Trotskyist theories as degenerated or deformed workers' states and not socialist states. Bureaucratic autocracy must give place to Soviet democracy. A restoration of the right of criticism, and a genuine freedom of elections, are necessary conditions for the further development of the country. This assumes
2730-490: Is often labelled rightist within the communist spectrum and left communism leftist, anti-revisionists' idea of the left is very different from that of left communism. Despite being Bolshevik-Leninist comrades during the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War , Trotsky and Stalin became enemies in the 1920s and, after that, opposed the legitimacy of each other's forms of Leninism. Trotsky was highly critical of
2835-602: Is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International . Trotsky described himself as an orthodox Marxist , a revolutionary Marxist , and a Bolshevik – Leninist as well as a follower of Karl Marx , Frederick Engels , Vladimir Lenin , Karl Liebknecht , and Rosa Luxemburg . His relations with Lenin have been
2940-534: The 1905 Russian Revolution . Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks saw the soviet as the basic organizing unit of society in a socialist system and at first supported this form of democracy. The soviets also played a considerable role in the February and October Revolutions . At that time, they represented a variety of socialist parties in addition to Bolsheviks. According to the official Soviet historiography ,
3045-526: The Congress of Soviets or the Supreme Soviet at the state level. The electoral processes thus take place from the bottom upward. The levels are usually tied to administrative levels. In contrast to earlier democratic models à la John Locke and Montesquieu , no separation of powers exists in soviet democracy. Kazuko Kawamoto writes that soviet democracy "may sound odd to many, especially in
3150-629: The Great Purges of 1937–1938, effectively removing all of Trotsky's internal influence in the USSR. Nikita Khrushchev had come to power as head of the Communist Party in Ukraine, signing lists of other Trotskyists to be executed. Trotsky and the party of Trotskyists were still recognized as enemies of the USSR during Khrushchev's rule of the USSR after 1956. Trotsky's Fourth International
3255-768: The Nazi Party , and societies of exiled Russian Monarchists. Sporadic fighting continued to flare up around the country. In eastern provinces, forces loyal to Germany's fallen monarchy fought the Republic, while militias of Polish nationalists fought for independence: the Greater Poland uprising in the Prussian Province of Posen and three Silesian Uprisings in Upper Silesia . [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from this source, which
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3360-539: The New York Intellectuals . Trotsky presented a critique of contemporary literary movements such as Futurism and emphasised a need of cultural autonomy for the development of a socialist culture. According to literary critic Terry Eagleton , Trotsky recognised "like Lenin on the need for a socialist culture to absorb the finest products of bourgeois art". Trotsky himself viewed the proletarian culture as "temporary and transitional" which would provide
3465-519: The Russian Revolution . Lenin argued for the destruction of the foundations of the bourgeois state and its replacement with what David Priestland described as an "ultra-democratic" dictatorship of the proletariat based on the Paris Commune 's system. In post-revolutionary Russia local workers' soviets would elect representatives that go on to form regional soviets, which in turn elect representatives that form higher soviets, and so on up to
3570-596: The Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) increased the strain on Russian industrial production, the workers began to strike and rebel. The soviets represented an autonomous workers' movement, one that broke free from the government's oversight of workers' unions. Soviets sprang up throughout the industrial centers of Russia , usually organized at the factory level. The soviets disappeared after the Revolution of 1905, but re-emerged under socialist leadership during
3675-558: The Socialist-Revolutionaries , Mensheviks , and other left parties within the bounds of Soviet legality and their participation in the soviets on the condition of abandoning armed struggle against the Bolsheviks. Kazuko writes that "the Soviet government did encourage the working people to speak out. As numerous studies have shown, Soviet citizens responded by writing letters and visiting government offices to address
3780-640: The USSR in February 1929. As the head of the Fourth International , Trotsky continued in exile to oppose what he termed the degenerated workers' state in the USSR. On 20 August 1940, Trotsky was attacked in Mexico City by Ramón Mercader , a Spanish-born NKVD agent, and died the next day in a hospital. His murder is considered a political assassination. Almost all Trotskyists within the VKP(b) were executed in
3885-624: The bureaucracy and anti-democratic current developed in the Soviet Union under Stalin . Despite their ideological disputes, Trotsky and Lenin were close personally prior to the London Congress of Social Democrats in 1903 and during the First World War . Lenin and Trotsky were close ideologically and personally during the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. Trotskyists and some others call Trotsky its "co-leader". This
3990-494: The peasantry as a whole cannot take on the task of carrying through the revolution because it is dispersed in small holdings throughout the country and forms a heterogeneous grouping, including the rich peasants who employ rural workers and aspire to landlordism as well as the poor peasants who aspire to own more land. Trotsky argues: "All historical experience [...] shows that the peasantry are absolutely incapable of taking up an independent political role". Trotskyists differ on
4095-545: The proletariat , and a dictatorship of the proletariat (as opposed to the " dictatorship of the bourgeoisie ", which Marxists argue is a major component of capitalism ) based on working-class self-emancipation and council democracy . Trotsky also adhered to scientific socialism and viewed this as a conscious expression of historical processes. Trotskyists are critical of Stalinism as they oppose Joseph Stalin 's theory of socialism in one country in favour of Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution . Trotskyists criticize
4200-605: The war with Poland in 1920, proposed armistice with the Entente and temperance with staging anti-British revolts in the Middle East. Historian Robert Vincent Daniels believed that the practical differences, in the domain of international policy , between the Left Opposition and other factions had been exaggerated and he contended that Trotsky was no more prepared than other Bolshevik figures to risk war or for
4305-667: The 1930s, and associated in the next two decades with the left-wing political journals Partisan Review , Dissent , and the then-left-wing but later neoconservative -leaning journal Commentary . Writer Nicholas Lemann has described these intellectuals as "the American Bloomsbury ". Some, including Kristol, Sidney Hook , and Norman Podhoretz , later became key figures in the development of neoconservatism. Writers often identified as members of this group include: Trotskyism Historical Historical Trotskyism ( Russian : Троцкизм , Trotskizm )
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4410-544: The Bolshevik Party who had peacefully stood down from the Soviet when they failed to win the elections. As a result, the Bolsheviks banned each opposition party when it turned against the Soviet government. In some cases, bans were lifted. This banning of parties did not have the same repressive character as later bans enforced under the Stalinist regime. Trotsky also argued that he and Lenin had intended to lift
4515-630: The Bolsheviks. Trotsky played a leading role with Lenin in the October Revolution . Lenin and Trotsky were also both honorary presidents of the Third International . Trotskyists have traditionally drawn upon Lenin's testament and his alliance with Trotsky in 1922–23 against the Soviet bureaucracy as primary evidence that Lenin sought to remove Stalin from the position of General Secretary . Various historians have also cited Lenin's proposal to appoint Trotsky Vice-Chairman of
4620-625: The Congress of Soviets. Later the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union would become the highest legislative body of the entire country. After Lenin's party, the Bolsheviks, only got a minority of the votes in the election to the Russian Constituent Assembly , he disbanded it by force after its first meeting, citing the refusal of the Right Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) and Mensheviks to honor
4725-597: The KAPD formed the General Workers' Union of Germany (AAUD), who sought to form factory organizations as the basis of region wide workers' councils. In view of the mass support for more radical reforms among the workers' councils, a coalition government called " Council of the People's Deputies " ( Rat der Volksbeauftragten ) was established, consisting of three MSPD and three USPD members. Led by Friedrich Ebert for
4830-626: The MSPD and Hugo Haase for the USPD it sought to act as a provisional cabinet of ministers. But the power question was unanswered. Although the new government was confirmed by the Berlin worker and soldier council, it was opposed by the Spartacus League. Ebert called for a "National Congress of Councils" ( Reichsrätekongress ), which took place from 16 to 20 December 1918, and in which the MSPD had
4935-701: The Russian Revolution with the Great French Revolution, the former can never be transformed into a repetition of the latter." In the French Revolution of 1789 , France experienced what Marxists called a " bourgeois-democratic revolution "—a regime was established wherein the bourgeoisie overthrew the existing French feudalistic system. The bourgeoisie then moved towards establishing a regime of democratic parliamentary institutions. However, while democratic rights were extended to
5040-467: The Russian revolution. Soviet scholar Robert Bird considered his work as the "first systematic treatment of art by a Communist leader" and a catalyst for later, Marxist cultural and critical theories. He had also defended intellectual autonomy in relation to the Russian literary movements and scientific theories such as Freudian psychoanalytic theory along with Einstein ’s theory of relativity during
5145-613: The Soviet Union as further evidence that he intended Trotsky to be his successor as head of government . In 1927, Trotsky was purged from the Communist Party and Soviet politics. In October, by order of Stalin, Trotsky was removed from power and, in November, expelled from the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) (aka: VKP(b)). He was exiled to Alma-Ata (now Almaty) in January 1928 and then expelled from
5250-573: The Stalinist USSR for suppressing democracy and the lack of adequate economic planning. Overall, Trotsky and the Left-United Opposition factions advocated for rapid industrialization , voluntary collectivisation of agriculture, and the expansion of a worker's democracy . Until 1905, some revolutionaries claimed that Marx's theory of history posited that only a revolution in a European capitalist society would lead to
5355-575: The USPD and KPD, were barely able to get themselves organised, leading to a solid majority of seats for the MSPD moderate forces. To avoid the ongoing fights in Berlin, the National Assembly convened in the city of Weimar , giving the future Republic its unofficial name. The Weimar Constitution created a republic under a semi-presidential system with the Reichstag elected by proportional representation . The parliamentary parties obtained
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#17327720436425460-549: The West and controversies around party schisms. In the Transitional Program , which was drafted in 1938 during the founding congress of the Fourth International , Trotsky reiterated the need for the legalization of the Soviet parties and worker's control of production . The concept of uneven and combined development derived from the political theories of Trotsky. This concept was developed in combination with
5565-508: The authorities, even if there were limits to the realization of their demands and the effectiveness of their entreaties." According to Kazuko, these studies showed that "people demanded to be heard and the authorities responded, however insufficiently, because the ideas of democracy obligated them to do so." The reason why the process leading to the Soviet Constitution of 1936 took so long, about twenty years according to Kazuko,
5670-527: The autocracy there stood a capitalist bourgeoisie, very small in numbers, isolated from the "people", half-foreign, without historical traditions, and inspired only by the greed for gain. For instance, the Putilov Factory numbered 12,000 workers in 1900 and, according to Trotsky, 36,000 in July 1917. Although only a tiny minority in Russian society, the proletariat would lead a revolution to emancipate
5775-557: The ban on the opposition parties such as the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries as soon as the economic and social conditions of Soviet Russia had improved. In exile, Trotsky condemned the Stalinist bureaucracy and called for a revival of Soviet democracy: "Bureaucratic autocracy must give place to Soviet democracy. A restoration of the right of criticism, and a genuine freedom of elections, are necessary conditions for
5880-681: The basis of proportional representation . On the other hand, he had accepted the ban on rival parties in Moscow during the Russian Civil War due to their opposition to the October Revolution . Yet, he also opposed the extension of the ban to the Mensheviks in Soviet Georgia . In 1922, Lenin allied with Leon Trotsky against the party's growing bureaucratisation and the influence of Joseph Stalin . In 1923, Trotsky and
5985-400: The beating and shooting deaths of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht after their arrests on 15 January. With the affirmation of Ebert, those responsible were not tried before a court-martial , leading to lenient sentences, which made Ebert unpopular among radical leftists. The National Assembly elections took place on 19 January 1919. In this time, the radical left-wing parties, including
6090-460: The bounds of Soviet legality and their participation in the Soviets on the condition of abandoning armed struggle against the Bolsheviks. According to historian Marcel Liebman , Lenin's wartime measures such as banning opposition parties was prompted by the fact that several political parties either took up arms against the new Soviet government , or participated in sabotage, collaboration with
6195-485: The bourgeoisie, they were not generally extended to a universal franchise. The freedom for workers to organize unions or to strike was not achieved without considerable struggle. Trotsky argues that countries like Russia had no "enlightened, active" revolutionary bourgeoisie which could play the same role, and the working class constituted a tiny minority. By the time of the European revolutions of 1848, "the bourgeoisie
6300-648: The candidates to represent their comrades on the local Soviet? In October 1918, the constitution of the German Empire was reformed to give more powers to the elected parliament. On 29 October, rebellion broke out in Kiel among sailors. There, sailors, soldiers, and workers began electing workers' and soldiers' councils ( Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte ) modeled after the soviets of the Russian Revolution . The revolution spread throughout Germany, and participants seized military and civil powers in individual cities. At
6405-413: The capitalist world. Revolutions in Britain in the 17th century and in France in 1789 abolished feudalism and established the essential requisites for the development of capitalism. Trotsky argued that these revolutions would not be repeated in Russia. In Results and Prospects , written in 1906, Trotsky outlines his theory in detail, arguing: "History does not repeat itself. However much one may compare
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#17327720436426510-409: The control of party officials and the politburo . Russian historian Vadim Rogovin attributed the establishment of the one-party system to the conditions which were “imposed on Bolshevism by hostile political forces”. Rogovin highlighted the fact that the Bolsheviks made strenuous efforts to preserve the Soviet parties such as the Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, and other left parties within
6615-532: The decline of soviet democracy in Russia (due to the authority the state took on in war time) and to the emergence of the bureaucratic structure that maintained much control throughout the history of the Soviet Union . Some believe that one key blow against soviet democracy occurred as early as March 1918, when all nineteen city soviets that were elected during the spring were disbanded in a series of Bolshevik coups d'état because workers returned Menshevik-SR majorities, or non-Bolshevik socialist majorities. However,
6720-435: The deposed Tsarists , or made assassination attempts against Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders. Liebman noted that opposition parties such as the Cadets and Mensheviks who were democratically elected to the Soviets in some areas, then proceeded to use their mandate to welcome in Tsarist and foreign capitalist military forces . In one incident in Baku , the British military, once invited in, proceeded to execute members of
6825-447: The elections to the soviets between the time of the elections to the Assembly and the first meeting of the Assembly. He also explicitly stated that democracy did not include those considered bourgeois. After the revolution, the Bolsheviks had to defend the newly formed government in World War I and the Russian Civil War . According to some critics, many of the effects of the wars on the new Soviet government may be part of what led to
6930-412: The essentially feudal landlords and, ultimately, the existing Czarist Russian state forces. This was to protect their ownership of their property—factories, banks, etc.—from expropriation by the revolutionary working class. Therefore, according to the theory of permanent revolution, the capitalist classes of economically backward countries are weak and incapable of carrying through revolutionary change. As
7035-416: The extent to which this is true today. However, even the most orthodox tend to recognise in the late twentieth century a new development in the revolts of the rural poor: the self-organising struggles of the landless, along with many other struggles that in some ways reflect the militant united, organised struggles of the working class, which to various degrees do not bear the marks of class divisions typical of
7140-435: The factories and workplaces; and that the collective consciousness it achieves as a result is an essential ingredient of the socialist reconstruction of society. Trotsky himself argued that only the proletariat or working class were capable of achieving the tasks of that bourgeois revolution. In 1905, the working class in Russia, a generation brought together in vast factories from the relative isolation of peasant life, saw
7245-407: The failed Spartacist Uprising , the Spartacist League became the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). The Communist Workers' Party of Germany (KAPD) split from the KPD as a distinct council communist tendency. Their main goal was an immediate abolition of bourgeois democracy and the constitution of a dictatorship of the proletariat through the seizure of power by the workers' councils. Communists in
7350-418: The first soviet was formed in May 1905 in Ivanovo (north-east of Moscow) during the 1905 Russian Revolution ( Ivanovsky Soviet ). In his memoirs, the Russian anarchist Volin claims that he witnessed the beginnings of the Saint Petersburg Soviet in January 1905. The Russian workers were largely organized at the turn of the 20th century, leading to a government-sponsored trade union leadership. In 1905, as
7455-400: The foundations for a culture above classes. He also argued that the pre-conditions for artistic creativity were economic well-being and emancipation from material constraints. Political scientist, Baruch Knei-Paz, characterised his view on the role of the party as transmitters of culture to the masses and raising the standards of education, as well as entry into the cultural sphere, but that
7560-542: The further development of the country. This assumes a revival of freedom of Soviet parties, beginning with the party of Bolsheviks, and a resurrection of the trade unions. The bringing of democracy into industry means a radical revision of plans in the interests of toilers." Other historians like Robert W. Thurston argue, while the top of the soviet system became largely bureaucratic, the local levels of society remained largely participatory. He writes "while sane, calm, and sober, no worker would have dared to say that socialism
7665-415: The heroic peasant struggles of previous epochs. However, orthodox Trotskyists today still argue that the town- and city-based working-class struggle is central to the task of a successful socialist revolution linked to these struggles of the rural poor. They argue that the working class learns of the necessity to conduct a collective struggle, for instance, in trade unions, arising from its social conditions in
7770-463: The implementation of the First five-year plan . He noted that several engineers and economists who had created the plan were themselves later put on trial as " conscious wreckers who had acted on the instructions of a foreign power". Polish historian and biographer, Isaac Deutscher , viewed his inner-party reforms in 1923–24 as arguably the first act in the restoration of free Soviet institutions which
7875-412: The lack of economic prerequisites. Trotsky argued that only the working class could overthrow feudalism and win the peasantry 's support in Russia. Furthermore, he argued that the Russian working class would not stop there. They would win their revolution against the weak capitalist class, establish a workers' state in Russia and appeal to the working class in the advanced capitalist countries worldwide. As
7980-404: The leading countries of the world—that competition between the proletarians of these countries ceases and at least the decisive forces of production are concentrated in the hands of the workers. His biographer, Isaac Deutscher, has explicitly contrasted his support for proletarian internationalism against his opposition to revolution by military conquest as seen with his documented opposition to
8085-439: The left. In the 1920s, they called themselves the Left Opposition , although today's left communism is distinct and usually non-Bolshevik. The terminological disagreement can be confusing because different versions of a left-right political spectrum are used. Anti-revisionists consider themselves the ultimate leftists on a spectrum from communism on the left to imperialist capitalism on the right. However, given that Stalinism
8190-484: The loss of trade opportunities despite his support for world revolution . Prior to the October Revolution, Trotsky had been part of an old radical democracy which included both Left Mensheviks and Left Bolsheviks . His work, Our Political Tasks , published in 1904 reviewed issues related to party organisation, mass participation and the potential dangers of substitutionism which he foresaw in
8295-604: The majority. Thus, Ebert was able to institute elections for a provisional National Assembly that would be given the task of writing a democratic constitution for parliamentary government, marginalizing the movement that called for a socialist republic. In January, the Spartacus League and others in the streets of Berlin made more armed attempts to establish communism, known as the Spartacist uprising . Those attempts were put down by paramilitary Freikorps units consisting of volunteer soldiers. Bloody street fights culminated in
8400-423: The need for shared participation of the communist factions, anarcho-syndicalists and socialists . In 1936, Trotsky argued in his work, The Revolution Betrayed , for the restoration of the right of criticism in areas such as economic matters , the revitalization of trade unions and free elections of the Soviet parties . Trotsky also argued that the excessive authoritarianism under Stalin had undermined
8505-423: The part of the population and for suppressing workers' self-management and democratic participation in the management of the economy. Because these authoritarian political measures were inconsistent with the organizational precepts of socialism, Trotsky characterized the Soviet Union as a deformed workers' state that would not be able to effectively transition to socialism. Ostensibly socialist states where democracy
8610-401: The party had sought to establish in 1917 and the return of worker's democracy which would correspond with a gradual dismantlement of the single-party system . At the same time, Deutscher noted that Trotsky's attitude towards democracy could be characterised as inconsistent and hesitant by opponents but this stemmed from a range of reasons such as the ill timing after the failed revolutions in
8715-408: The peasantry and thus "secure the support of the peasantry" as part of that revolution, on whose support it will rely. However, to improve their conditions, the working class must create a revolution of their own, which would accomplish the bourgeois revolution and establish a workers' state. Only fully developed capitalist conditions prepare the basis for socialism. According to classical Marxism ,
8820-417: The process of artistic creation in terms of language and presentation should be the domain of the practitioner. Knei-Paz also noted key distinctions between Trotsky's approach on cultural matters and Stalin's policy in the 1930s . Trotsky was an early proponent of economic planning since 1923 and favored an accelerated pace of industrialization. In 1921, he had also been a prominent supporter of Gosplan as
8925-649: The publication of the New Course in 1924. In 1927, Trotsky and the United Opposition had argued for the expansion of industrial democracy with their joint platform which demanded majority representation of workers in trade union congresses including the All-Union Congress and an increase of non-party workers to one-third of representation in these elected organs. They also supported legal protection for worker's right to criticise such as
9030-445: The related theory of permanent revolution to explain the historical context of Russia. He would later elaborate on this theory to explain the specific laws of uneven development in 1930 and the conditions for a possible revolutionary scenario. According to biographer Ian Thatcher, this theory would be later generalised to "the entire history of mankind". Political scientists Emanuele Saccarelli and Latha Varadarajan valued his theory as
9135-409: The relatively autonomous institutions which might influence policy at the higher level, representing those who "insisted that the old image of the Soviet Union as a totalitarian state bent on world domination was oversimplified or just plain wrong. They tended to be interested in social history and to argue that the Communist Party leadership had had to adjust to social forces." Some scholars have had
9240-434: The result of its labour as a vast collective effort, also seeing the only means of struggling against its oppression in terms of a collective effort, forming workers councils ( soviets ) in the course of the revolution of that year. In 1906, Trotsky argued: The factory system brings the proletariat to the foreground [...] The proletariat immediately found itself concentrated in tremendous masses, while between these masses and
9345-452: The right to make independent proposals. According to historian Vadim Rogovin , these proposals would have developed democracy in the sphere of production and facilitated the establishment of worker's control over economic management. Following Stalin's consolidation of power in the Soviet Union and static centralization of political power, Trotsky condemned the Soviet government's policies for lacking widespread democratic participation on
9450-479: The sovereignty of soviet democracy, arguing that a system in which parliamentary democracy was sovereign could not fairly represent the workers since it was in practice dominated by the bourgeoisie , that the proportional representation did not take into account the SR split , and that the soviets (where the Bolsheviks did get a majority) more accurately represented the opinion of the people, which had changed as shown in
9555-480: The state, oblast regions and factories to counter structural inefficiency and the problem of bureaucracy. He had proposed the principles underlying the N.E.P. in 1920 to the Politburo to mitigate urgent economic matters arising from war communism. He would later reproach Lenin privately about the delayed government response in 1921-1922. However, his position also differed from the majority of Soviet leaders at
9660-483: The succession period. However, these theories were increasingly marginalised during the Stalin era. Trotsky would later co-author the 1938 Manifesto for an Independent Revolutionary Art with the endorsement of prominent artists Andre Breton and Diego Rivera . Trotsky's writings on literature such as his 1923 survey which advocated tolerance, limited censorship and respect for literary tradition had strong appeal to
9765-550: The time who fully supported the New Economic policy . Council democracy Soviet democracy , also called council democracy , is a type of democracy in Marxism , in which the rule of a population is exercised by directly elected soviets ( workers' councils ). Soviets are directly responsible to their electors and bound by their instructions using a delegate model of representation . Such an imperative mandate
9870-624: The time, the Socialist movement which represented mostly laborers was split among two major left-wing parties: the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD), which called for immediate peace negotiations and favored a soviet-style planned economy, and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) also known as "Majority" Social Democratic Party of Germany (MSPD), which supported
9975-453: The war effort and favoured a parliamentary system . The rebellion caused great fear in the establishment and in the middle classes because of the revolutionary aspirations of the councils. It terrified the well-off classes as the country was on the brink of a working class revolution. The Spartacus League , originally part of the USPD, split as a more radical group which advocated for violent proletarian revolution to establish communism. After
10080-466: The workers. This was followed up by mass arrests executed by the Cheka . Repression and minor concessions only temporarily quelled the discontent as Petrograd protests continued that year in March. This time the factory workers were joined by sailors stationed on the nearby island-fort of Kronstadt. Disappointed in the direction of the Bolshevik government, the rebels demanded a series of reforms including
10185-428: The working class into fighting for its revolutionary aspirations against their exploitation by capitalism. In Russia, the working class, although a small minority in a predominantly peasant-based society, was organised in vast factories owned by the capitalist class and into large working-class districts. During the Russian Revolution of 1905, the capitalist class found it necessary to ally with reactionary elements such as
10290-509: The younger generation, while to others in the older generation they may bring back memories of the 'good old' Cold War years, when they supported liberal democracy against Soviet socialist democracy, or vice versa. Many Cold War contemporaries thought that there was such a thing as soviet democratic theory, despite not believing the Soviet government's claim of the superiority of soviet democracy over liberal democracy." The "totalitarian model" of Soviet and communist studies historiography, which
10395-440: Was "deeply rooted in the ideas of Soviet democracy. The Soviet regime was democratic in its own sense of the word and this article gives it a more democratic face than what is usually imagined, especially among Western people. However, the regime's unique democratic character seemed to make it rather difficult to function adequately." Historical Historical The first soviets, also called workers' councils , were formed after
10500-469: Was a poor system or that Stalin was an idiot" but then goes on to argue that these bounds still allowed for citizens to have meaningful participation on their immediate situation and this local participation meant "ultimately relatively little was controlled by the government or party decree". This is supported by some historical accounts. For example, in Pat Sloan's historical account of participating in
10605-434: Was already unable to play a comparable role. It did not want and was not able to undertake the revolutionary liquidation of the social system that stood in its path to power." The theory of permanent revolution considers that in many countries that are thought under Trotskyism to have not yet completed a bourgeois-democratic revolution, the capitalist class opposes the creation of any revolutionary situation. They fear stirring
10710-521: Was also alluded to by Rosa Luxemburg. Lenin himself never mentioned the concept of "Trotskyism" after Trotsky became a member of the Bolshevik party. Trotsky was the Red Army 's paramount leader in the Revolutionary period's direct aftermath. Trotsky initially opposed some aspects of Leninism but eventually concluded that unity between the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks was impossible and joined
10815-479: Was dominant during the Cold War , follows the view that soviet democracy was a farce and that "the Soviet regime was simply oppressive and totalitarian , and not democratic at all." Critics such as Zbigniew Brzezinski and Carl Joachim Friedrich often blamed the Soviet regime for "lacking liberty, which undermined the meaning of political participation ." Nonetheless, "revisionist school" historians focused on
10920-464: Was done for industrial purposes (mines) or for railways (tunnels); in the future this will be done on an immeasurably larger scale, according to a general industrial and artistic plan. Man will occupy himself with re-registering mountains and rivers, and will earnestly and repeatedly make improvements in nature . —Trotsky, Literature and Revolution , 1924 In Literature and Revolution , Trotsky examined aesthetic issues in relation to class and
11025-577: Was established in the French Third Republic in 1938 when Trotskyists argued that the Comintern or Third International had become irretrievably "lost to Stalinism" and thus incapable of leading the international working class to political power. According to Trotsky, his programme could be distinguished from other Marxist theories by five key elements: On the political spectrum of Marxism , Trotskyists are usually considered to be on
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