O Trotskyism it is a left-wing ideology based on the ideas of Leon Trotski (1879-1940).
Features
Trotskyism emerged from Leon Trotsky's reflections on Marxism and the Russian Revolution.
These ideas are expressed in several of Trotsky's books, but mostly "The theory of permanent revolution" (1929).
For him, the communist revolution could not be restricted to the Soviet Union. It should spread to other countries, especially those that were dependent on foreign capital.
For this reason, the working class should take the vanguard of changes, forming political parties and unions where they could organize and demand more rights.
If necessary, violence should be used to seize power. It would be up to the USSR to support the new revolutionaries with money and logistics.
Leon Trotsky he stated that it was necessary to expand internationalist ideas against nationalism that the world was experiencing in the 1930s. This thought is summed up in his famous phrase “socialism will be global or it won't be”.
Trotsky's ideas were contrary to the ideas of Stalin that he wanted to make the revolution only in the vast Soviet territory.
Therefore, after the death of Lenin, Stalin quickly distanced himself from Trotsky and his collaborators by sending them into exile or physically eliminating them. Stalin feared Trotsky's popularity as the commander of the Red Army.
Even so, Trotsky continues to write and becomes a critic of the Soviet state built by Stalin.
In the book "revolution betrayed” (1937) he denounces that the bureaucratization of the Soviet state would stifle the revolution and the construction of the socialism.
As Trotsky was not well regarded in capitalist countries, the only one who agreed to shelter him was Mexico, where he would be assassinated on Stalin's orders.
Leninism vs Trotskyism
The two leaders of the Russian Revolution had different views on a range of issues. Below we highlight three of them:
Political Alliances
Trotsky did not accept the alliance with the peasant movement as he considered it reactionary in nature.
Lenin, in turn, maintained that this alliance was important, because if the peasant was not an enemy of the proletariat, he was its main ally and this union would help the revolution to triumph.
Party Structure
Trotsky did not agree with the monolithic structure of the Party. For him, anyone who wanted to could take part in this structure, without needing to delve into the ideas of the left.
Revolutionary Steps
Trotsky also disagreed with the theory of stages within a revolution. Lenin stated that it was necessary to go through a bourgeois-democratic phase and then move to socialism. Trotsky dispensed with this phase in order to take power.
parties in Brazil
In Brazil, several leftist parties were inspired by Trotsky's ideas to elaborate their electoral program. Some examples:
- Unified Socialist Workers Party (PSTU)
- Workers' Cause Party (PCO)
- Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL)
Trotskyism today
Trotskyism is often seen as a divergent interpretation of Leninism.
This interpretation is due to the fact that Trotskyism divided and sought to weaken the monolithic strength of the revolutionary bloc by creating the Socialist Workers' Party. This would be an alternative to Comintern.
This thesis is supported, above all, by the more orthodox left.
On the other hand, certain scholars think of Trotskyism as a step forward in Leninist theories. Thus Trotsky's ideas were aimed more at criticizing Stalin than at Lenin himself.
The fact is that, with the centenary of the Russian Revolution, the figure of Trotsky himself is undergoing rehabilitation. Several books were released about his life as "the man who loved dogs", by Leonardo Padura Fuentes or "the young Lyova", by Marcos Aguinis.
Even today, various leftist parties around the world continue to draw inspiration from Leon Trotski's ideas.
read more:
- Soviet Union
- Russian Revolution (1917)
