Trotsky's 'permanent revolution'

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Both Bolsheviks and Mensheviks had believed that the revolution possible in Russia was a bourgeois revolution like that of France in 1789. They differed in that the Mensheviks deduced mechanically that the revolution would be led by the big bourgeoisie.

Concrete as ever in analysis, Lenin insisted that the bourgeoisie would not, and did not wish to, carry out the bourgeois transformation of Russia in a revolutionary way opposed to the 'Prussian road' of a slow transformation from above in alliance with the landowners. One reason was their intense fear of the working class, especially after the experience of 1905. Therefore the bourgeois revolution would have to be made by the peasantry in alliance with the working class.

Trotsky agreed with the Bolsheviks, but argued that such a worker-peasant alliance, led by the working class, could not stop at completing the tasks of the bourgeois revolution, but would go on to carry through working class socialist measures. It was inconceivable that the working class could take power and yet not look to its own class interests and concerns.

I'o the argument that Russia was not ripe for socialism, was too backward, etc., Trotsky replied that the revolution would not finish even with workers' victory in Russia: that would be the starting point in a linked chain of proletarian revolution which would lead to 'the workers' conquest of power in the advanced capitalist countries. This was the theory of Permanent Revolution.

Slowly, step by step, Lenin had arrived at the same position as Trotsky. And he had done more than Trotsky. He had built a party that, once he had rearmed it to understand the new nossihilities. would be able to ensure that the perspective of workers' power in Russia was more than a mere possibility.

Uncrițical

The Bolshevik leaders who resisted Lenin were lapsing into a neo-Menshevism because of inertia and uncritical repetition of yesterday's formulae without reference to today's realities. "The truth is concrete' ', insisted Lenin. Marxism was a method for analysis of the world, not dogmas and sacred texts.

Once again the party had to be shaken up. In a short time Lenin shook it up, rallying the working class rank and file against the 'old Bolshevik' leaders.

In May, Leon Trotsky arrived in Russia, He had spent a brief exile in the USA and, attempting to return to Russia on the outbreak of revolution, had been arrested at sea by the British navy and interned for a number of months.

Trotsky had joined the Martov faction of the RSDLP in 1903. He had soon broken with the Mensheviks and stood alone between the factions for a number of years. In 1912 he had abortively attempted to resist the definitive rupture of relations within the RSDLP.

Fundamentally, he had failed to appreciate the tremendous constructive work that Lenin was accomplishing and had tended, from the vantage point of his theory of Permanent Revolution, to regard both Menshevism and Bolshevism as equally inadequate.

Almost immediately.on his return to Russia, Trotsky started to work with the Bolsheviks, understanding that without the leadership of the Bolshevik Party the theoretical proj-tions of Permanent Revolution could not be made reality. He recognised that without the revolutionary party constructed by Lenin over years of struggle, the perspective of socialist revolution could not have been made reality, and the working class would be defeated. He joined the Bolshevik party that July.

Soon Lenin and Trotsky naa inscued into te bolshevik Party an understanding of the real possibilities at hand. The Bolshevik party adopted the direct goal of the taking of power by the Russian working class at the head of the peasantry.

''We don't need a parliamentary republic, we don't need bourgeois democracy, we don't need any government except the Soviet of peasants deputies o workers' and These Soviets were higher form of democracy 'an organisation of workers (and) the embryo of workers' government" said Lenin. They raised the slogan of 'All Power to the Soviets' , although the Bolsheviks still lacked ity in the soviets.

The economic dislocation became worse; the Provi sional Government refuser to distribute the lands o the aristocracy; it refuser to discontinue the war deserters drifted back tr their homes in droves bringing to the country side the radicalism withir the army. Both the soil anc the seeds were being pre pared for the victory o Bolshevism.

But in July the Bolshe viks facedd repression fron the Provisional Govern ment. Lenin was ridicul ously smeared in the pres: as being a German agen and once again had to gr into hiding, while Trotsk: and the other Bolshevil leaders were arrested.

On their release in Sep tember, however, the Gov ernment's situation har deteriorated. That month i faced an attempted righ wing military coup by Gen eral Kornilov. The prestig: and membership of thr Bolsheviks also grew b: leaps and bounds. Trutsk! was elected chairman of the Petrograd Soviet in Sep tember.

In June Lenin had tol the first All-Russian Congress of Soviets that the Bolsheviks were prepared to take power. Now, in October, the Bolsheviks organised the working class in the taking of power from the Provisional ' Government on the first morning of the Second Congress. Rapid developments at the front and at home had turned June's 'ridiculous remark' into the blazing reality of October's victory.

The world's first workers' state had been established. Lenin, opening the October Congress of Soviets, said very simply: "Comrades we will now proceed to construct the socialist order"

THE October insurrection was in fact organised and led by Leon Trotsky. But Lenin was the recognised leader of the Revolution. He became the first Chairman of the Council of Soviets. Here again his actions exemplified what was a constant theme in his life, the dialectical combination of 'the strictest discipline, truly iron discipline in our party". and his confidence and reliance on the creativity of the masses. 'We must be guided by experience; we must allow complete freedom to the creative faculties of the masses ...

The Bolsheviks, who had a majority in the Soviets, became the builders of the new state and the foremost fighters for its defence. it was at first a truly democratic state, with democratic rule by the working class exercised through the network of soviets, at the apex of which was the Supreme Soviet.

Robbers'peace

In the struggle for powe the Bolshevik programme and the needs of thr masses had been summer up in the slogan 'Land Peace and Bread'. Now, it relation to the war thr Bolshevik slogan wa: 'Peace without annexa tions" • But revolutonar: Russia, bled white by wa and famine and with the remnants of the Tsaris Army simply useless, dir not have the strength tr impose this peace pro gramme. German imperial ism was able to impose : robbers' peace on the nev workers' state.

The Bolsheviks wer Bukharin advocated immediate revolutionary war, Lenin advocated immediate peace, making the necessary concessions to Germany.

Trotsky favoured an attempt to dramatise to the workers of Europe, and especially to those who had been told that the Bolsheviks | • were German agents, the forced character of the concessions the Bolsheviks were having to make to the Germans, but he recognised, with Lenin, that concessions were unavoidable.

Dragged out

Consequently, using the slogan "neither peace nor war" , he dragged out the negotiations at Brest Litovsk as long as possible until the Germans launched a new onslaught on the workers' state. Lenin, who had been in a small minority on the Central Committee, now gained the majority against the Bukharin faction for immediate peace, with the support of Trotsky and his allies.

Lenin had faced the situation with brutal realism. Most significant, however, is that in the heat of the argument he insisted on proclaiming his opinion that if necessary the Russian revolution should be willing to sacrifice itself and face defeat in order to hasten the German revolution.

All eyes were now on Germany. The revolution did break out in Eúrope beginning towards the end of 1918 a revolutionary wave swept Europe. brushing the monarchies from power in austria and Germany and putting the right wing Social Democracy in power.

Revolutionary workers' governments were established briefly in Hungary and Bavaria: In 1919 and 1920, the Italian state virtually collapsed, with the working class seizing the factories. But everywhere the revolution was defeated. Everywhere it was demonstrated negatively that the work Lenin had successfully accomplished, the building of a hard revolutionary party, was irreplaceable if the revolution of the proletariat was to be victorious.

The existence of the Bolshevik party had alone made the October revolution possible in Russia, a revolution made in the belief that Russia was the first link in a necessary chain of proletarian revolutions throughout Europe.

The lack of similar parties in Europe led to the defeat of the proletarian revolutions that erupted, as the Marxists had expected, in the wake of the First World War.

This in turn led to the isolation of the one successful revolution, embattled Russia. And from this isolation came, from the middle of 1918, tremendous difficulties for the olsheviks and ultimately the Stalinist counter-revolution.

Continued next week * There was a mistake in the last but one article in this series. Cracow before World War 1 was in Austrian-ruled Poland, not Russian ruled.

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111, December 2, 1982.

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Lenin's 'Ap 1917, when the Bolshe- viks' perspec. tive into one identical with