Wrenching quotes from Trotsky

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IT seems to us that the taking this action (and the with the utopian demand of confused and varied nosi- motives of the Argentinian • Taia CERTAIN groups like the IWL and the IMG (SO83), Socialist Challenge No. 241) are wrenching quotations from Trotsky out of their specific context in a frantic attempt to justify siding with Galtieri against Thatcher.

The quotations are taken from Trotsky's Writings collections of shorter pieces, conversations, etc. without any of the finished polish Trotsky applied to weightier works.

Trotsky held a discussion with an Argentine militant about the impending war in Europe. He argued against the tendency to see the coming war as one between fascism and democracy and side with the latter.

He was particularly concerned • that in South America 'The agents of the US, England and France • try to substitute struggle against fascism for the struggle against imperialism"

To illustrate his point that revolutionary socialists should not critically support one nation against another in war simply on the grounds of the liberality or otherwise of the regime, Trotsky used a hypothetical example of a war between England and Brazil in which he said he would support Brazil despite its semi-fascist regime.

He gave no more detail, no explanation of the situation in which such a war would be fought, or the concrete issues involved. But clearly he was not intending • to lay down general laws for application 40-odd years later. He was referring to the concrete situation of the time, when the Vargas regime in Brazil was pursuing vigorous nationalist/populist policies and Britain was a flourishing imperialism, extremely powerful in Latin If we have to base or justify our analysis of a complex situation half a century later on such a relatively cursory and abstract aside, then we are very, very hard up indeed.

If we have to use such inadequate examples, then the more likely explanation of the context would be that Trotsky was envisaging a war of aggression by England against Brazil, and that his basic point was that socialists should not allow the horrors of fascism to avoid a more detailed analysis of real underlying issues of national rights versus imperialism.

Legitimise

This can be seen from another example from Trotsky's writings currently being used to legitimise the presence of Sergeant Moreno and Private Grogan in Galtieri's military camp.

This is Trotsky's argument that workers should support China against Japan in 1937. It is clear from this (which precedes and should inform the latter hypothetical example) that Trotsky was not basing himself simply on dependency, but on the fact that Japan was invading China and was intent on enslaving the Chinese nation.

Britain has not invaded Argentina. It is Argentina which is bent on oppressus that the varied nositins which SO has adopted in relation to the war are due to its failure to understand the most fundamental contradiction that is in operation here. That is to say, as a result of the intensification of the class struggle in Argentina the Argentinian ruling class has been forced, objectively, into taking an anti-imperialist position.

Our role as revolutionaries is not to discuss the cynical motives of the Argentinian ruline class in ing the Falklanders.

We should see clearly that ordinary gringos and greasers have no interest whatsoever in siding with either John Bull or Juan Gaucho in the quarrel between these two piratical gentlemen.

The main enemy for British workers is Mrs Thatcher! The main enemy for Argentinian workers is Galtieri! Turn the war into a civil war!

DONNIE BROOK Rochdale taking this action (and the motives of the Argentinian ruling class in taking this actin (and the motives, we agree, are cynical), but to develop and encourage this objectively anti-imperialist action of the Argentinian masses.

We do not believe that SO is doing this with its demands for the withdrawal of the Argentinian fleet and for the defence of colonial settlement (which is what, objectively, the Falklands Islanders are).

These demands" alnno

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Socialist Organiser, Thursday 27 May, 1982 Page 12