Re: [Marxism] Lenin, Trotsky and Permanent Revolution (was Bolivia Discussion)

["Lüko Willms" <lueko.willms@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 13:07:36 +1000, Michael Karadjis wrote:

>  I think Luko Williams [see PS below] puts it perfectly - Lenin
> claimed the "revolutionary democratic dictatorship of the proletariat
> and peasantry" had already come into being in the form of workers,
> soldiers and peasants Soviets, but were ceding power to a bourgeois
> provisional government. The task was for this revolutionary
> dictatorship to seize power for itself. That does not break one
> iota from his general strategy of 1905-6. On the contrary,
> he calls for its implementation.

   I should add that Lenin, in his talk to the Petrograd City convention
in April 1917, said that the analysis of the forces made in the past had
been corroborated, but that the actual course of events was different
from what everybody expected.

   I think one can say in hindsight, that both Lenin and Trotsky were
well prepared for this unexpected course of events and came to the same
conclusions for what to do in that situation, and this formed the basis
for the merger of Trotsky's Meshrayonka with the Bolshevik party, or
Trotsky and his followers joining the Bolshevik party, however one may
want to look at it.

   I also think that the different way to look at the prospects for the
Russian revolution of Trotsky and Lenin was not the reason for the
separation of Trotsky and Lenin, but mainly organizational questions.
Although Trotsky did have some ultraleft leanings in the national
question as was e.g. shown in regard to the Irish uprising of 1916.

   I also think that it is futile to discuss who was right and who was
wrong, since we can't change history, but only write it and learn from
it. As part of writing history, this discussion can contribute to
clarify what the actors in that revolutionary drama actually did say and
do instead of ascribing them words we think they should have said based
on our current political thinking.


Yours,
Lüko Willms
Frankfurt, Germany
--------------------------------
visit http://www.mlwerke.de Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotzki in
German


PS: actually there is only one "i" and no "a" in my last name.





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