Subject: Re: M-I: Lenin in Context, conclusion From: jschulman-AT-juno.com (Jason A Schulman) Date: Sat, 28 Dec 1996 11:37:48 EST On Sat, 28 Dec 1996 08:04:52 -0500 (EST) Louis N Proyect writes: >American Trotskyism advanced fitfully through the 1930's. Its >"entryist" tactic into the Socialist Party was a defining moment for >its sectarianism. Trotsky had noticed that the Socialist Parties worldwide >were once again becoming a pole of attraction for radicalizing workers >because many of these workers could not stomach the brutal, >totalitarian Stalin regime. He advised his followers to enter the SPs >as a bloc, capture the left-wing and then engineer a split in order to >build Trotskyism and smash Social Democracy. The American Trotskyists >were quite successful. They did wreck American Social Democracy >and did expand their sect. After the success of the "entryist" tactic, >American workers had 2 choices: 1) the CP 2)a Trotskyist party that >would feature articles in its newspaper advising working-people to >"vote Trotskyist." The loss of the SP as a left-wing alternative to >the CP partially explains the weakness of American socialism today. Trotsky can't be wholly blamed for this. The SP right-wing was just as anxious to expel the Trotskyists as Trotsky was to get out. Do you think it would have been a better idea for the Trotskyists to stay in the Second International parties and "revolutionize" them, Lou? [snip] >Soon after the split from the SP and the formation of the Socialist >Workers Party, a fight broke out in the party over the character of >the Soviet Union. Max Shachtman, Martin Abern and James Burnham led >one faction based primarily in New York. It stated that the Soviet >Union was no longer a worker's state and it saw the economic system >there as being in no way superior to capitalism. This opposition also >seemed to be less willing to oppose US entry into WWII than the >Cannon group, which stood on Zimmerwald "defeatist" orthodoxy. But the Workers Party ended up being more othodox than the SWP on this question, right? -- Jason ______ At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality. - Che Guevara --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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