Re: [Marxism] Permanent Revolution

[Brian Shannon <brian_shannon@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On May 30, 2006, at 9:22 AM, Mark Lause wrote:

> For all these reasons, I find it best to think of "permanent
> revolution" not as a theory in which we are to believe or
> disbelieve, but, in its original sense, as a political goal, in the
> pursuit of which certain approaches have historically worked better
> than others.

Along with Lenin's "Imperialism" and similar works of his period and
since, permanent revolution (as developed most fully by Leon Trotsky)
is a description of, and program of action for, the modern world
where the strength of capitalism in the advanced countries
(imperialism) combined with the political and moral weakness of the
bourgeoisie in the underdeveloped countries results in a situation
where in a revolutionary period the workers and peasants in colonial
and underdeveloped countries have the possibility of taking power and
dismantling the bourgeois state.

Even where in some instances, such as Turkey under Ataturk, Brazil,
Argentina, Chile, etc., and perhaps today Venezuela and other
countries, a radical and sometimes pro-socialist government comes to
power, its ability to institute reforms is limited by its overall
economic weakness relative to imperialism and by its very position as
manager of what remains a bourgeois state.

Thus, in the situation of Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, et al, the
capitalist goals of economic and political independence are limited,
even if for a period of years due to conjunctural economic and
political events, it may not appear so. They will not achieve true
economic and social parity with the earlier capitalist states.

This means that on the other side, socialists have the task of
politically and socially preparing for the replacement of the present
state apparatus by a workers and farms government. Only if that
government moves steadily toward a workers state will it be able to
maintain itself in power and bring genuine economic democracy to the
working masses.

Brian Shannon

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