[Marxism] Lenin, Trotsky and Permanent Revolution

["Charles Brown" <cbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As Lenin wrote in _What is to be done_, without a party of professional
revolutionaries injecting consciousness into them, the workers' councils
like soviets would not have the working class and socialist consciousnesses
necessary to take state power in a socialist manner. In 1905 no such party
had been built and done its work yet. By 1917, Lenin and the Bolsheviks (
sans Trotsky) had built such a necessary component, "motherboard of
revolutionary organization," and "buses" were running between it and the
proletarian masses, so "permanent revolution" was possible.

The idea that workers' organizations like soviets  should have political as
well as economic-shop floor functions is a main point of _What is to be
done_, which was published in 1902.

CB


In a message dated 11/01/2006 08:07:41 GMT Standard Time,
lueko.willms at t-online.de
<http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism>  writes:

That  does not break one
> iota from his general strategy of 1905-6. On the  contrary,
> he calls for its implementation.



Reply:

Have to disagree here. The Soviets organized themselves in 1905, Trotsky
and
Lenin saw the opportunity provided by their formation and thereafter sought

to exert influence over them. Too, in 1917 Lenin advocated the leadership of

the  Party as a counter to the Provisional Government, until Trotsky was
able
to  persuade him that the Soviets should take the lead.

JD



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