F THE theory of permanent revolution now demands the greatest attention every Marxist, course of the class and ideological struggle has fully and finally raised this • quesuon the reminiscences over old differences of opinion among Russian Marxists, and converted it into a question of the character, the inner connections and methods of the international revolution in general.
2. With regard to countries with a belated bourgeois especially the colonial. colonial countries, permanent revolution the complete and genuine solution of their tasks of achieving democracy and national emancipation is conceivable only through the dictatorship of the proletariat as the leader of the subjugated nation, above all of its peasant masses.
3. Not only the agrarian, but also the national question assigns to the peasantry - the overwhelming majority of the population in backward countries - an exceptional place in the democratic revolution. an alliance of the proletariat with the peasantry the tasks of the democratic revolution cannot be solved, nor even seriously posed. But the alliance of these two classes can be realised in no other way than through an irreconcilable struggle against the influence of the national-liberal bourgeoisie. episodic stages of the revolution may 4. No aratleı windl be in the individual countries, realisation of the alliance between the proletariat and the peasantry conceivable under the political leadership of the proletarian vanguard, the Communist Party.
This in turn means that the victory of the democratic revolution is conceivable only throught he dictatorship of the proletariat which bases itself upon the alliance with the peasantry and solves first of all the tasks of the democratic revolution.
5. Assessed historically, slogan of Bolshevism tauc uclalorsnio or tne proletariat and peasantry' - expressed precisely the above-characterised relationship of the proletariat, the peasantry and the liberal bourgeoisie. confirmed by experience But Lenin's old formula did not settle in advance the problem of what the reciprocal relations would be between the proletariat and the peasantry within the revolutionary bloc. In other words, the tormula deliberately tained Cer al algebraic willch naa lo make way for precise arithmetical quantities in the VIULED However, the MAiOnedl latter showed, under circumstances that exclude any misinterpretation, matter how great the revolutionary role of the peasantry may be, it nevertheless cannot be an independent rofe and even less a leading one.
The ocasalt IOHOWS either worker or the bourgeois. This means that the 'democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry is only conceivable as a dictatorship of the noiciuli that tenies the masses behind it.
6. A democratic dictatorship of for the realm of democratic question, the development, and semi- the the theory of the signitles that democratic revolution itself.
Without the first revolutionary only organised ir case where revolutionary party the old 'the democcabalils bourgeois This has been Lolaly oam e of the last twenty-five years petty-bourgeoisie's lack and political independence deep internal quality, more experience.
Li cuic BUics Between Bolshevik power, the no democratic workers and peasants. tusulis revolution is one of the most fundamental bases of Marxism in the twentieth century. Already in the 19th century Marx had noted that the capitalist class was no longer prepared to fight for the demands of the bourgeois democratic revolution - the thorough going elimination of medieval backwardness, the creation of a unified nation, the of the land establishment of political liberty. Lenin had drawn conciusion from this, at the beginning of the twentieth century, that the working class must lead the the proletariat and peasantry, as a regime that is distinguished from the dictatorship of the proletariat by its class content, might be realized only CHICCL an be CORstituted, expressing the interests of the general of pettyJalty capable of conquering power with this or inat degree ot ald from the pro letariat, and of determining its revoluAs all modern history attests -especially the Russian experience of all Hisulmountable obstacle on the road to the creation of a peasants' party is the of economic its differentiation. By reason of this the upper sections of the petty-bourgeoisie (of the peasantry) go along with the big bourgeoisie in all decisive cases, especially in war and in revolution; the lower. sections DlUUcily go along with the proletariat; the intermediate section being thus compelled to choose between the two exKereskyism and the between the Kuomintang and the dictatorship of the proletariat, there is not and cannot be any intermediate stage, that is, dictatorship of the 7. The Comintern's endeavour to foist upon the Eastern countries the slogan of the democratic dictatorship clusion further to point out that only the seizure of state power by the working class, the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, would enable the carrying through the completion of the tasks of the democratic revolution. Trotsky put this forward in the formula: "The dictatorship of the proletariat which has risen to power as the leader revolution? the democratic The events of the twentieth century have thoroughly confirmed Irotsky's The only countries in which the tasks of the democratic revolution -were carried through in a thorough gooi the proletariat peasantry, finally and long ago: exhausted by history, can have only a reactionary SuSOTar this slogan counterposed to the slogan of the dictatorship of the proletariat, it contributes politically to the dissolution proletariat In Ine bourgeois masses and thus creates the most favourable conditions IOT Ene hegemony of the national bourgeoisie and consequently for the collapse of the democratic revolution.
The introduction of this slogan into the programme of the Comintern is a direct betrayal of marxism and of the October tradition of Bolshevism.
8. The dictatorship of the proletariat which has risen to power as the leader of the democratic revolution is inevitably and very quickiy confronted with tasks, the fulfilment of which is bound up with deep inroads into the rights of bourgeois The democratic revolution grows over directly into the socialist revolution and thereby becomes a permanent revolution.
9. The conquest of power by the proletariat does not complete revolution, but only opens it. Socialist construction is conceivable only on the foundation of the class struggle, on a national and international scale.
struggle, under the conditions of an overwhelming predominance of capitalist relationships on the world arena, must inevitably lead to explosions, that is, internally Russia, which the working class came to power and established the dictatorship of the proletariat. Where, on the contrary, the working class failed to establish its dietatorship — as in India, Egypt, Algeria, Zimbabwe and many other countries -the tasks of the democratic revolution were not aborted. National unity was not achiered, remnants of tribalism continued, the land question was not resolved, political liberty was not neo-colonial relations perialist powers were maintained.
theory written by Trotsky himself in the book Permanent Revolution. civil wars and externally to revoluționary wars. Therein lies the permanent character of the socialist revolution as such, regardless of whether it is a backward country that is involved, which only yesterday accomplished its democratic revolution, capitalist country which already has behind it a long epoch of democracy and parliamentarism.
10. The completion of the socialist revolution within national limits is unthinkable. One of the basic reasons for the crisis in bourgeois The fact created by it can no longer be reconciled with the framework of the national slalc From this follow, hand, imperialist wars, on the other, the utopia of a bourgeois States of Europe.
The socialist revolution begins on the national arena, it unfolds on the international arena, and is completed on the world arena. Thus, the socialist revolution becomer revolution in a newer and broader sense of the word; it attains completion only in the final victory of the new society on our entire planet. the 11. The above-outlined sketch of the development of the world revolution eliminates the question of countries that are 'mature' or for socialistn in the pedantic, lifeless classification given by the present Comintern. Insofar as capitalism has created a world market, a world divito sion of labour and world productive China, Cuba, Vietnam -The carried through and were with the imThe break The following brief summary of the permanent revolution was Liballllg materials, society in any 13. The the revolution revolution.
pletion socialism 'neutralization bourgeoisie separable For fall together.
By old socialism sent policy socieLy 1s that the productive forces which dependent tasks. on the one United hopeless theorv Ilalicl revolution 'immature' spirit of that programme the forces, it has also prepared world La whole for socialist transformation.
Different countries will go through this process at different tempos. Backward countries may, under certain conditions, arrive at the dic• ot the procianal soone than advanced countries, but they will come later than the latter to socialism backward colonial colonial country, the proletariat of is insufficiently prepared to unite the peasantry and take power, is incapable of bringing l t fi its Contrariwise, in a country where the proletariat has power in its hands as the result of the democratic revolution, the subsequent fate of the dictatorship and socialism depends in the last analysis not only and not so much upon the national productive forces as upon the development of the international socialist revolution.
12. The theory of socialism in one country, which rose on the yeast of the reaction against October, is the only theory that consistently and to the very end opposes the theory of the aWalc Il IColull attempt of the epigones, under the lash of our criticism, to confine the application of the theory of socialism in one country exclusively to Russia, because of its specific characteristics (its vastness and its natural resources), does not improve matters but only makes them worse.
with the internationalist positions always and invariably leads to national messianism, that is, to atspecial superiorities qualities to one's own, country, which allegedly permit it to play a role to which other countries cannot attain The world division of labour, the dependence of Soviet industry upon foreign technology, the dependence of the productive forces of the advanced countries of Europe upon Asiatic raw etc etc., make the construction of an independent socialist single country in the world impossible theory of Stalin Bukharin, running counter to the entire experience of the Russian revolution, not only sets up the democratic revolution mechanically in contrast to socialist revoluiton, but makes a breach between the national The very seizure of power by the proletariat signifies, from the standpoint of the epigones theory, the comof the revolution ('to the extent of nine-tenths', according to Stalin's formula) and the opening the epoch of national reforms. The theory of the kulak growing into the theory of the consequently Inthe theory of socialism in one country. They stand the theory of national the Communist International is down-graded to an auxiliary weapon useful only for the struggle against military intervention. The preof the : Comintern, its regime and the selection of its leading personnel correspond entirely to ine demotion of the Communist International to the role of an auxiliary unit is not destined to solve in 14. The programme of the Comintern created by Bukharin is eclectic through and through. It makes the attempt to reconcile the _ot socialism in one country with Marxist internationalism, which is, however, inseparable from the percharacter of the The struggle of the Communist Left Opposition for a correct policy and a healthy régime in the Communist International is inseperably bound up with the struggle for the Marxist programme. The problem of the permanent revolution long ago outgrown the episodic difference ot opinion between Lenin and Troi sky, which were completely exhaustes by history. The struggle is between tha basic ideas of Marx and Lenin on the one side and the eclecticism of thi cenuss on tne otnel
•FOR The second annual 'Alliance for Socialism' weekend of debate, discussion, and agitation sponsored by Socialist Action. AN * Which way for the left? * Which way for women in the Labour Party? * Defending the black communities