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Trotsky and Trotskyism in perspective
Trotsky and Trotskyism in Perspective
A few years ago, in 1970, the entire Communist movement-Soviet, Chinese, West European, the lot-loudly and religiously celebrated the centennial of Lenin's birth. But one forgets that contemporary accounts and objective histories of the Russian Revolution almost invariably link the momentous events of the time to two menLenin and Trotsky. And one wonders how the coming centennial of the birth of the Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet, the People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs, and the founder of the Red Armyto mention just a few of Trotsky's positions-will be treated in 1979. It was, however, the continuous publication and republication of the writings of Trotsky and his disciples by the Pathfinder Press, and recent important bibliographical work on Trotsky, that prompted us to attempt a review of this output. Just as we were warming to the bibliographical review project, we received Professor Robert McNeal's manuscript on the revival of the Soviet anti-Trotskyist campaign, and it seemed natural to add other original research (especially by younger scholars whose dissertations dealt with Trotsky and Trotskyism), as well as new personal recollections of Trotsky and his followers. So the planned symposium of three to four reviews expanded into a special issue, which gradually grew over a threeyear period into the present volume. The issue opens with McNeal's above-mentioned study highlighting recent Soviet interest in (and perhaps concern about) Trotskyism. As the author writes, by labeling Trotskyism as "Marxism-Leninism's most sinister enemy," the Soviets are paying remarkable tribute to a man almost forty years after his assassination and almost fifty years after his expulsion from the Soviet Union, a man whose ideas still appeal to young intellectuals who live in countries where they are free to read his writings or join parties organized by his followers. Other articles deal with the ideas of the young Trotsky (Rowney), his writings during the Civil War (Heyman), his ideas about economics (Remington and Day), and
4
STUDIES IN COMPARATIVE COMMUNISM
the influence of Trotsky and his movement in such disparate areas as China in the late 1920s and early 1930s (Kagan), the successes and failures of his followers in Ceylon (Lerski), and the early years of the movement in the United States (Myers). The middle section on "Personal Views of Trotsky and His Followers " is full of contrasts. It contains a sympathetic view of Trotsky as a person and a critical view of him as a theoretician by his former secretary Raya Dunayevskaya (accompanied by a pungent critique by Ernest Mandel along with a spirited rebuttal), a record of conversations with Trotsky in exile in Turkey in the early 1930s by an admiring follower (Swabeck) who decades later was expelled from the Trotskyist movement for his sympathetic view of China and Mao Tse-tung during the Cultural Revolution, and recollections of prominent American Trotskyists by a Party colleague who renounced Communism nearly fifty years ago (Carlson) . The bibliographical review symposium, entitled" On Reading and Rereading Trotsky," constitutes the third section of this issue. It contains a review of Trotsky's works published in the 1920s in the Soviet Union, the Trotsky Papers covering the years 1917 to 1922 (both by Nation), the Bulletin of the Opposition from 1929 to 1941 (Kassow), books published by Trotsky in exile (including his diary), and his writings for the years 1930 to 1940 collected and edited by Pathfinder Press (Lerner). This section also contains a review of many writings by prominent exponents of Trotskyism, such as George Breitman, James Cannon, Ernest Mandel, and George Novack (Fenyo), as well as abstracts of relevant doctoral dissertations defended in the past dozen years at American universities. Several people ought to be mentioned in connection with the publication of this volume. Rudolf Tokes initiated the project by commissioning the original review articles during his tenure as Associate Editor. As the project grew in scope, Professors Warren Lerner, Robert McNeal, Constance Myers, and Neil Heyman offered much assistance in finding or helping evaluate further studies. The abstracts of dissertations were assembled under the direction of the present Associate Editor Richard Farkas. To all of these scholars, "Thanks." This volume is not intended, of course, to be a comprehensive survey of the current status of Trotskyist movements throughout the world, or a full assessment of the Trotskyist literature. We hope nevertheless that it will create new interest in the subject, and serve as a stimulus to a more comprehensive and ambitious undertaking in time for the Trotsky centennial. P. B.
A few years ago, in 1970, the entire Communist movement-Soviet, Chinese, West European, the lot-loudly and religiously celebrated the centennial of Lenin's birth. But one forgets that contemporary accounts and objective histories of the Russian Revolution almost invariably link the momentous events of the time to two menLenin and Trotsky. And one wonders how the coming centennial of the birth of the Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet, the People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs, and the founder of the Red Armyto mention just a few of Trotsky's positions-will be treated in 1979. It was, however, the continuous publication and republication of the writings of Trotsky and his disciples by the Pathfinder Press, and recent important bibliographical work on Trotsky, that prompted us to attempt a review of this output. Just as we were warming to the bibliographical review project, we received Professor Robert McNeal's manuscript on the revival of the Soviet anti-Trotskyist campaign, and it seemed natural to add other original research (especially by younger scholars whose dissertations dealt with Trotsky and Trotskyism), as well as new personal recollections of Trotsky and his followers. So the planned symposium of three to four reviews expanded into a special issue, which gradually grew over a threeyear period into the present volume. The issue opens with McNeal's above-mentioned study highlighting recent Soviet interest in (and perhaps concern about) Trotskyism. As the author writes, by labeling Trotskyism as "Marxism-Leninism's most sinister enemy," the Soviets are paying remarkable tribute to a man almost forty years after his assassination and almost fifty years after his expulsion from the Soviet Union, a man whose ideas still appeal to young intellectuals who live in countries where they are free to read his writings or join parties organized by his followers. Other articles deal with the ideas of the young Trotsky (Rowney), his writings during the Civil War (Heyman), his ideas about economics (Remington and Day), and
4
STUDIES IN COMPARATIVE COMMUNISM
the influence of Trotsky and his movement in such disparate areas as China in the late 1920s and early 1930s (Kagan), the successes and failures of his followers in Ceylon (Lerski), and the early years of the movement in the United States (Myers). The middle section on "Personal Views of Trotsky and His Followers " is full of contrasts. It contains a sympathetic view of Trotsky as a person and a critical view of him as a theoretician by his former secretary Raya Dunayevskaya (accompanied by a pungent critique by Ernest Mandel along with a spirited rebuttal), a record of conversations with Trotsky in exile in Turkey in the early 1930s by an admiring follower (Swabeck) who decades later was expelled from the Trotskyist movement for his sympathetic view of China and Mao Tse-tung during the Cultural Revolution, and recollections of prominent American Trotskyists by a Party colleague who renounced Communism nearly fifty years ago (Carlson) . The bibliographical review symposium, entitled" On Reading and Rereading Trotsky," constitutes the third section of this issue. It contains a review of Trotsky's works published in the 1920s in the Soviet Union, the Trotsky Papers covering the years 1917 to 1922 (both by Nation), the Bulletin of the Opposition from 1929 to 1941 (Kassow), books published by Trotsky in exile (including his diary), and his writings for the years 1930 to 1940 collected and edited by Pathfinder Press (Lerner). This section also contains a review of many writings by prominent exponents of Trotskyism, such as George Breitman, James Cannon, Ernest Mandel, and George Novack (Fenyo), as well as abstracts of relevant doctoral dissertations defended in the past dozen years at American universities. Several people ought to be mentioned in connection with the publication of this volume. Rudolf Tokes initiated the project by commissioning the original review articles during his tenure as Associate Editor. As the project grew in scope, Professors Warren Lerner, Robert McNeal, Constance Myers, and Neil Heyman offered much assistance in finding or helping evaluate further studies. The abstracts of dissertations were assembled under the direction of the present Associate Editor Richard Farkas. To all of these scholars, "Thanks." This volume is not intended, of course, to be a comprehensive survey of the current status of Trotskyist movements throughout the world, or a full assessment of the Trotskyist literature. We hope nevertheless that it will create new interest in the subject, and serve as a stimulus to a more comprehensive and ambitious undertaking in time for the Trotsky centennial. P. B.