IN THE 1960s, Tribune used to specialise in gossip snide quips about through its columnist Flavius'. Today this newspaper of the Labour left is attempt a more serious analysis of Trotskyism, entrusting this task to Walter Kendall, a well-known Labour historian and supporter of the Institute for Control.
Kendall argues that Trotskyists are quasi-religious groups which have a vacuous theory and no political influence. Strange, then, that Tribune devoted NUEl Trotskyism in preparation "Debate of the Decade', at which the irrelevant, vacuous, Trotskyists.
Duralice. too. that Kendall and Labour left should initiating critique when the Trotskyist organisations are occomme stronger.
"the Trotskyists Kendall "believe Revolution' in much the same way as th early Christians belleved in tne imminen e*phe Second Coming of Christ "The Apocalypse"
"The expectation is as fulfilled in the one case as it is in the other. •We are dealing here Witnesses of the Revolution.' Kendall's opposition to arguments for revolution is two-iod. He belleves thal Russia, undesirable. What does this amount to? stories and Trotskyism 'Francis forced to Workers the page debate the know-nothing the • varietes.' "The and akev to be with the Jehovah's Socialist Is capitansm a economic crisis?
the in the hardened apologist inel capitalism is not a system of crisis 'the material impoveristed re atons relations all viously depends their spontaneous the working -class fantastically construction oi a and direction.
But what has •asca on a Twentieth century, develoßed capitalist account of rocular occurrence . The question to be pre-revolutionary crises but totally, inexplicable. and "utopia"
system of periodic And do revolutionary and pre-revolutionary situations regularly develop out or tne penoaic interrupnons of 'normal' capitalist development?
In 1980, with the West entering an even deeper economic recession anewmon advanced capitalist countries, it is difficult for even the most that On a global scale, for the millions of June obviously fails to deliver the goods.
Does revolution automatically develop CUISIS : U0- SUCCES. successful revoluon the of number of factors, not least whether the mass struggles interact the revulutional. Darly which can give their struggle leadership happened in the even the most countries, • of revolutionary and - mass upsurges semi-insurrectionary Portugal in 1974-5 was the last example enese developments are 'myth' of revolution. hẹ counterposes an even bigger reformed and gradually transformed into its opposite.
Russia Kendall regards the Trotskyist analysis o kissa as •anne evidence bankruptcy of revolution. He ridicules the idea that the •...Trotskyists regard the Russian revolution as a great success. God save us from their version of failure!' He vigorously defends his own view Inal Kussia became a new torm or class oppression; bureaucratic collectivism Through the creation of a nationalised economy, Trotskyists regard the Russian revolution as having achieved the basis for and social advance colonic irrespective of the subsequent social and political regression bourgeois revolutions political reaction the Restoration Britain and the Bonaparte dictatorship in France. Yet historical they renresenter an immense advance in setting the seal on decisive economic progress. and more Even if, as Kendall would have it, the Russian revolution was totally lost world-historic impact was no 'failure'.
inspiring them to struggle for a future fre from tyranny, has reverberated down the century.
Trotsky, Was more followers', but there markedly original' in his ideas.
Apparently, the theory of struggle world, was laken over wolesale irom Parvus, and Trotsky's, Thus he contributed nothing amounts to no more than philistine abusi For Kendall, Trotsky as the theorist o1 History the Trotsky the power and the theorist of the united front;
rotsky the analyst of the degeneration c ssian Revolution, the startine point the Stalinists, perspective *religious have for dreamland, FOr US, •easey mon continued marginal thinker, collectivism that Kendall adheres to; Trotsky who. against all the calumnies o almost alone defended the of socialist revolution and socialist democracy - none of this gets a mention from Kendall.
And it's here we come to the alleged veneration' that Trotskyists Trotsky. In the real world, as to Kendall's social democratic virtually Trotskyists that Trotsky's work from many errors and limitations; that his thought was underdeveloped or wrong on Marxism is a science to be developea and appuca, witn new Inaings new experiences constantly up-dating ou theories. But Trotsky's unique role derive:
the fact that at the time when the old leadership of the Communist was being ucany nowdalca, trolsky working alont develop the theories of revolutionary Marxism If Trotsky was such an irrelevant and , it is difficult to explain the continued role of this thought as a key makes no attempt to do so.