THE first reason every socialist should demand the rehabilitation of Trotsky and Bukharin is elementary truth. The idea leaders of the Russian revolution, who spent years in prison and exile in the fight against Tsarism, lead the overthrow of capitalism on one sixth of the earth's surface, German spies, agents of the Japanese and guilty of sabotage and attempts to assassinate Soviet leaders. by Stalin - is one of the absurdities of history. Nobody believes it. To defend it distorts. the intellect and coherent thought impossible. declare brought against Trotsky, Bukharin and the others at the purge trials of the 1930s, are without foundation, elementary duty to the truth.
Such an action would clear the air of poison that has clouded it for fifty. years. It will help restore the conditions lalullai socialists. It should be demanded every socialist.
But the Issues associated Bukharin and Trotsky are not simply historical. instead their rehabilitation will open the way for a serious discusLICH politics.
Bukharin and Stalin together symbolise ine most important issues i sociais strategy since Marx, Engels and Lenin.
Even the most important figures of Western Marxism. such as Gramsci, are essentially tributaries of one of these thinkers. Other socialists ple, Guevara, Castro or Mao-tse Tung cannot remotely compare in scope with the political issues raised by Trotsky, Stalin and Bukharin.
Modern writers who claim to be embarking on 'new roads' in socialism are generally simpiy rencarsing In a less Ill telligent and coherent form, the ideas developed by one of Stalin, and Bukharin them did most of his "thinking' with the Debates The great debates of Russian communism in the 1920s are still the seed bed of all serious discussion of socialist strategy today — and those who do not study them merely reveal their own ignorance. SOMET has produced nothing of the remotest theoretical or political interest in the intervening fifty years.
The reason Bukharin and Trotsky still command the stage of debate, and why their rehabilitation, or disgrace, is a directly political act, is that the issues they raised are not of simply historical interest. Marxist laeas ana categories reflect social realities:
modern world who helped WOLC had Icaucis Lenin, Bukharin, - as charged Bolsheviks Western renders underestimated To charges Stale strong sustaili bureaucracies is an capitalism.
amongst by perialist states with Lenin Troisky, developed and peasantry for exam.
Distance in Russia, the vital issue tionaries in Three basic Trotsky even if the first of tially adopted pian society could be secondarily parties.
This policy pressures into the The ideas of Trotsky, Bukharin and Stalin remain relevant because the forces they dealt with are still the dominant forces of the - the world as it has ex- of the isted since the Russian revolution.
The reason the great debates of the 1920s took place was because the Rusway sian revolution did not develop as its anticipated. Trotsky, Stalin and all leaders had anticipated revolution wouid spread rapidly into Europe. her had the capacity for resistance of the advanced imperialist in particular their ability to social democratic USSR, successfully defending The fact that nowhere in closer Western Europe was a party capable of created although such parties were to emerge later in the semi-coionial countries itself reflected the strength of the imtraders had despite procome into exRussia, but held should proceed. developed - each concessions tions - ine uto single country of Russia. It advocated concessions to capital within Russia before most importantly concessions to individual peasants and small traders but, with the West. Internationally Bukharın was a pioneer of the Popular Front - the alliance of Communist and capitalist introduced capitalist USSR itself. As Le is poredom the cassist marne second - the: international market to which we are subordinated, with which we are connected, and from which we cannot is considering murdered by show trial in 1938, rehabilitation isolate ourselves.' Either, progressively, socialist revolution would be spread through the international class struggle working class, or capitalism would finally break up the economic structure of the USSR preparing the for capitalist Bukharin's policies strengthened capitalist forces and in the USSR. In 1927-28 they pro an acute crisis in the concentrated in relations between the peasantry and the working The essential policies adopted by Deng in China, and Gorbachev in the in the last decaae — ine in troduction of mechanisms, colaborator with the concessions to private farming among the peasants, acceptance of deepening sociai diffèrentiations - were pioneered by Bukharin. Bukharin's classic slogan or une lyzus enmen ourselves addressed to the peasants and privaie was literaily raised in China at the height of the Deng period. It led to an acute crisis in China last year and this approach will inevitably do so in the USSR. In Soviet foreign policy it means closer reiations with capitalism the welcome relaxation repression in the USSR itself. Gorbachev signifies not just the agreement on nuclear missiles but shifts rightward in the policy pursued by the USSR in Central America, towards Cuba, in the Middle East and in southern Africa.
Trotsky The second line in the USSR in the 1920s was Trotsky's. Trotsky pointed out that the internal problems of the Soviet economy could only find a solu tion on the arena of world politics and economy - a foundation of the theory revolution: He wrote "There are two fundamental propositheory revolution. First, that despite historical backwardness of Russia, the revolution can transfer the power into the hands of the Russian proletariat the proletariat countries is able to attain it. Secondly. that the way out of these contraditions which will befall the proletarian dictatorship in a backward country, rounded by of enemies, will be found on the arena of world revolution. The first proposition is based upon a correct understanding of the law of uneven development. The •depends understanding of the indissolubility of the economic and political ties between capitalist countres.
"The colossal importance of the ALL REPORTS from the USSR indicate that the Soviet government rehabilitating the leaders of the Russian revolution Stalin. The most politically important of these are Bukharin — executed following a and whose appears probable and Trotsky - murdered in exile Soviet Union lies in that it is the disputed base of the world revolution and not at all in the presumption that it is able to build socialism independently of the world revolution.' Issue In this framework the vital issue in Soviet the USSR was coherence and morale of the Soviet proletariat as a key link in the international class struggle. As the Platform of the Left Opposition put it in 1927: 'The decisive factor in appraising the movement of our country forward along the road of socialist construction, must be West, the growth elements over the capitalist - together with an improvement of all the conditions of existence of the working class. This improvement ought to be evident the materal workers employed level of real workers budget, medical aid, etc), in the political sphere trade unions, munist youth organisations), and finally cultural books, newspapers, theatres).
Trotsky advocated as urgent task improving the material conditions of the Soviet striving to push the vital interests of the worker into the background, under the contemptuous epithet of "workshop narrowness" general historical interests of the work. ing class, is theoretically wrong anc politically • dangerous,' sidered the most decisive task was to improve the condition of the Soviet worker fidence and class consciousness as a decisive lever in the international class struggle. Stalin the The third position Stalin. Stalin, advanced the theory of socialism in one country.
Internationally Stalin sought alliances with Cabilalist Soviet foreign sur- became a series of alliances with foreign capitalist imperialisms, and forces within them — in practice making social democracy not Hitler during power Ill Germany France from 1934-38, with Hitler from correct 1939-41, with Britain United States from 1941-45.
Internally, Bukharin, come the capitalist pressures on the by an agent of Stalin in 1940 and whose rehabilitation appears less certain. JAMES WHITE looks at the pressure to Bukharin, why the rehabilitation 0f Trotsky causes much problems for the Soviet leadership, through Perceived Led.
maintain the backwardness nationally.
the Nazi of our productive forces of the socialist the expense iroducing sonere number in each industry, • wages, character housing. conditions, soviets, comsphere (schools, the most workers: The Trotsky , to contrast them with the regime ministrative Trotsky conbecause he saw their conhas disappeared.
Stalin's was that of for longer ticipated.
and forces The policy, 1923, Socialism Nazism's rise to in 1929-33, with France and the however, unlike Stalin attempted to. overfar rehabilitate greater USSR, and industrialise the country, violent repressive means proto-capitalist forces Russia, above all the peasantry, were smashed through forcible collectivisation of agriculture. At the same time the working class was savagely repressThe beneficiary of this process was the Soviet bureaucracy. In the extreme poverty of post-revolutionary Russia the bureaucracy became the route to material privelege.
Stalin's policy was disastrous inter In Germany it helped lead to the victory of fascism and thereby assault on the USSR. In France and Spain it led to tremendous defeats under the Popular Fronts.
Inside the USSR itself Stalin pur sued economic adventurism. He crushed any restorationist trends — but at OI setting back Soviet agriculture by half a century and inal inflexible 'command The Soviet economy has still not recovered from the calamity suffered by Soviet agriculture in 1928-32. When Hitler invaded in 1941 sections of the Soviet peasantry initially welcomed the Nazi invaders as liberators. Vast sec tions of the inflexible Soviet economy were characterised by waste.
characterised Stalin's "bonapartism' an aaapparatus attempting stand 'above' the policy of concessions to capitalism proposed by • Bukharin and the pro-working class line of Trotsky. It is because they represented the • two most important Stalin's attempt to eliminate Bukharin and Trotsky's influence from history simply failed. Their political lines will be the basic choice long after Stalin's industrialisation of the Soviet Union undoubtedly succeeded had But it could not avoid the basic problems. It was and is impossible to build socialism in a single country.
reason for this simple. Capitalism itself has outgrown produc tion on the basis of a single state La cale development of the productive forces, and therefore their internationalisa tion, even than capitalism. As Trotsky wrote: "To aim at building a nationally isolated socialist society means, in spite of all passing successes, to pull the productive forces backward even as compared to capitalism.' But from the fact that 'the produc
Socialist Action 230ct 1987
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and at the contemporary political relevance of the figures involved.