Date: Fri, 5 Apr 1996 16:40:10 -0500 (EST)
To: marxism2-AT-jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU
Cc: marxism2-AT-jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU
Subject: Re: The Old Man


Rahul Mahajan wrote:

> Trotsky was not a Stalin, but he was a dictator. To judge any of these
> people by their words when their deeds speak very differently is
> inadequate.

It is true that no person (especially a person of action, a revolutionary, 
like Trotsky) can be judged by his/her words alone. However, it is also 
necessary to judge a person's deeds in reference to the concrete 
historical circumstances that person lived in and under. 

Trotsky's decisions in "power", therefore, have to be gauged with 
reference to the conditions of civil war and invasion following the 
seizure of power in October, 1917. 

Similarly, the Bolshevik's statements concerning the NEP have to be 
viewed in relation to the problems of "War Communism" and placed in an 
international context (esp. the failure of revolutionary movements in 
Germany, Hungary, Italy, Austria, etc.).

This, of course, does not -- by itself -- justify all of Trotsky's 
(or Lenin's) decisions.  

It is interesting to note the report that Ernest Mandel, in the last year 
of his life with his health failing, questioned Trotsky's policy towards 
the "mutiny" of the sailors at the Kronstadt Naval Station. 

Trotsky himself never, it appears, second-guessed his decision-making on 
Kronstadt. Also, I don't think he ever really wrote a *critical* piece on 
his role in the NEP or the policy of the Bolsheviks towards the trade 
unions during that period. 

Was he a "dictator", though? I don't think so, although like Lenin, he 
seemed to pride himself on his ability to be ruthless (Lenin, in various 
places, suggested that was a positive character trait for 
worker-Bolsheviks). 

It should also be noted that when many others in the Bolshevik leadership 
chose to enrich themselves (relatively) and grant each other special 
privileges, Trotsky resisted. If Trotsky valued "power" above all else, 
his life would have been very different.

Jerry


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