between democratic and socialist revolutions.
THE of the relation democratic revolution and socialism was posed right from the beginning of Marxism. The first revolution which Marx participated - the German revolution of 1848 — saw a comprele of revolution and the socialist movement of the working class. The development which arose from ir was termed by Marx permanent revolution.
The core of the process Marx analysed simple. The demands of the 1848 revolution in Germany were bourgeois democratic. Above all they were for the unification of the German nation into a single democratic state — thereby overcoming the fragmentation of Germany into a series of reactionary monarchic statelets dominated by the remnants of feudalism.
with these democratic of the revolution Marx, in March 1848, fundamental document the Demands crucial declaration was that:
Germany shall be declared a single indivisible republic! gramme then went on to outline the demands for a universal right to vote, the arming of the people, the complete destruction of feudal relations in land. and a series oi other revolu tronary bourgeois measures.
But while the immediate tasks of the 1848 revolution were bourgeois democratic it rapidly became evident that the bourgeosie itself had no intention whatever of seriously fighting for them. By July 1848, in his The Bill Proposing the Abolition of Feudal Obligations, Marx Germany to the great bourgeois revolnon or lue eighteentn century and write that: 'the German revolution of 1848 is merely a parody of the French revolution of 1789' The German revolution was a 'parody, in particular, Jerman bourgeoisie, unlike French, refused to ally peasantry to smash its decisive enemy - the feudal landowners and monarchy. As Marx wrote: bourgeoisie of 1848 unhesitatingly betrays the peasants, natural allies. .. and without whom it cannot stand up to the aristocracy.
By refusing mobilise peasantry, who provided the potential mass base of the revolution, and the direct enemy the feudal downers, the capitalist class aborted the bourgeois revolution itself.
The reason for the refusal of the bourgeoisie Lany decisive struggle against the monarchy was clear to Marx. By 1848, the capitalist class in Germany was more scared of the working class than reason it refused to unleash thorough going revolutionary struggle at all.
Marx summarised the situation in December 1848 in his The Bourgeoisie and the Counter-Revolution: German bourgeoisie developed sluggishly, timidly and slowly that at the moment when it menacingly confronted teudalism and absolutism. saw menacingly pitted against itself the proletariat From the first it (the bourgeoisle, was betray the people and to compromise wilt une crowned rebresent ves the old society.
The conclusion of this situation was simple. Marx had already outlined it in November 1848 in his Victory of the Counter-Revolution in Vienna: *The bourgeoisie in Germany meekly Jols le monarchy and of feudalism before securing even the first conditions of 'The whole of This profreedom and its rule carry LEHOUST bourgeois democratic revolution.
democratic bourgeois however had verv sions, Engels French February. becausede the ble.
with the bourgeoisie "The German rendering its the lantion meant bourgeois through any feudal corned any 'While "The positions, Power inclined Germany. But Tried though.
absolute Bismarck. existence necessary for its own civic In short the bourgeoisie refused and was unable to tasks the LITt intact.
such a rerusat or lne bourgeolsie No 10 carry through the tasks of the democratic revolution definite concluwhich formed the core of Was a Marx's theory of permanent revolution. These conclusions were spelt out by Engels in his Campaign for the had 'Ever since the Nor tions. itself HOIC the The refusal, which of the revolution biwality petty from their ruling proletariat has In the event the revolutions of Walil 1848 did not transfer political power mo une nands or tne workig class in precisely for that reasons the tasks of the bourgeois democratic revolution were not carNaturally history could not be halted entirely. Twenty years later, in the January 1871, Germany was united by But far from being bourgeois democratic unification of the state it was an extreme reactionary The large landed estates, above all those of Prussian Junkers, were left The monarchy was retained. democratic constitution established. Germany was united by the most reactionary state within it — Prussia. What was produced by 1871 grotesque caricature goals of 1848.
It was an understanding of what occurred In Germany became a basis of Lenin's analysis of development of the Russian twentieth century. at the beginning of the • Lenin understood .... perfectly well that by the beginning of this century it was impossible to maintain the semi-feudal relations in land which continued to dominate Kussia the Tsarist autocracy, which rested on these landed relasurvive. The establishment of capitalist relations in land in Russia had to be achieved. But this could be done in one of two ways.
The first was the type agriculture seen in the United States, and aimed for in 1848 in Germany:
establishment of a free holding peasantry and the abolition of the large landed estates. The second possibility • was the reactionary "Prussian' path which had occurred in Germany that is a development maintained the large downers and everything tied to them.
Lenin spelt out these alternatives The Agrarian gramme of Social Democracy in the First Russian Revolution: ' 'Capitalist development in Russia has made such strides during the last half-century that the preservation of serfdom in agriculture has become absolutely impossible, and its abolition has assumnation wide revolution. But the abolition of serfdom in a bourgeois country is possible in two ways *Serfdom may be abolished by the feudal-landiord evolving into Junker-bourgeois economies the other path development have called the American path of development, in contrast to the former, the Prussian too, involves the forcible break-up of the old system of landownership ... But this essential and inevitable break up may be carried out in the interests of the peasant masses and not of the landlord gang!
The task of the working class in Russia, in Lenin's view, was to propell agrarian revolution in 'American' direction — that is to the revolutionary division of the great landed estates which had been aimed at in 1848.
struggle outlined an algebraic formula - that the degree to wels revolution would grow over into a Dro letarian revolution would be determined by the degree of preparedness of the working class. This perspective of the was outlined by Lenin in his Two Tacof Social Democratic Revolution in June 1905 for example What Lenin left open by this formula was the relation between the democratic revolution socialist revolution. In some of his writings they are seen as close in time and part of an interconnected process. In others, the majority, they are clearly seen as significantly separated in time and in their political mechanics. Trotsky up Marx and Engels' formula of 1848 of — that of the permanent revolution.
Irotsky but torward the ana vsis tha the tasks of the bourgeois democratic land- revolution in Russia would be carried out not prior to but following and via the establishment of the DOWCI of the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. lan- More precisely in democratic tasks would be solved, in Trotsky's Pro- Revolution, through:
ship of the proletariat which has risen to powel as the democratic revolution?
democratic revolution is conceivable only through the dictatorship of the proletariat which bases itself on the alliance with the peasantry and solves first of all the tasks of the democratic revolution!
significance of democratic tasks, the slowly social content of the intitial period of the dictatorship of could be one that was as yet bourgeois democratic. Trotsky wrote, replying to his critic Preobrazhensky, that history had shown through revolution that: "the only road for solving the peasant letarial he result has that proletariat! The result "socia: content under the dictator ship of the proletariat (based on an alliance with the peasantry can remain during a certain period of time an not socialist as yet.
Trotsky noted for China, for example, in his article Summary and Perspectives of the Chinese Revolutatorship revolution fulfilled working class.
As only As regards the political outcome Lenin which the bourgeois working in ended the proletariat, It was Trotsky who explicitly took place, analysis lildl working the Russia the in "The dictator violent leader of the More generally: the victory of the The Precisely because of the decisive Not the proletariat proletariat? democratic the Russian question lies sky was that power passed into the hands of the working class in July 1979, the dic proicialla established, but as yet the 'social con tent' of that dictatorship remains on: of a bourgeois democratic revolution Naturally the theory of permanen did not mean that bourgeois democratic tasks can_be anywhere firsi establishing the state power of the with Germany after 1843 history will not stand still. If certain tasks cannot be fulfilled by revolttionary democratic means then the: will be fulfilled by other bourgeois -one might say Prussian - means.
But an alternative other than the political power of the working class means that these democratic tasks wil be carried out in a partial, and not a thorough going, way - a process seer from Ireland at the end of World Wa I, through the independence of India. up to the liberation of Zimbabwe Ir all of these cases, precisely because the state power of the working class was not established, the tasks of th bourgeois democratic revolution we::
carried out in a partial, 1. complete, and aborted way.
The same applies to South Africa It is extremely unlikely, and excludei in today's conditions, that aparthei could be smashed in South Africa without revolution and the establish ment of the political power of the Nevertheless purel! theoretically — in a different interna tional context for example - it can not be entirely exluded that at leas: major aspects of apartheid could be without the overthrow of capitalist rule. That depends on the development of the situation, the degree of preparedness of the black South African workers, the in ternational situation and so on Bur if the political power of th working class, the dictatorship of th is not established, ther even the democratic tasks of the th: revolution will not be carried throug: in a thorough-going way. A thorough: going agararian reform transferin, land to the black farmers will not taki single South African tionality will not be welded together every vestige of racism will not be ex tirpated from the state. Without th political power of the working class the dictatorship of the proletariat, be ing established not only will socialism not be achieved but even thoroughgoing democracy will not be created The black working class of Sourt Africa must throw itself complete!! into the democratic revolution agains apartheid. It must carry it througt completely to its conclusion - to thi overthrow ot the aparther It must seek through thes means to establish the political powe of the working class in South Africa working must clearly understand that to the degree that th political power of working class is no established in South Africa so also th democratic revolution will be aborted Will the South African working class, through the struggle to overapartheid, succeed establishing the dictatorship of the Or will even revolution be largely aborted? It is impossible to decide it advance. Only struggle, not specula tion, decides these issues But in his formula for Russia Trotthe march of the black South Africar working class: "The dictatorship o: the proletariat which has risen 1o power as the leader of the democrati:
The establishment of the political state, power of the working class a the leader of the democratic resolu That is the axis of the Soutt African revolution.
Socialist Action 13 September 1985