Friday 26 August 2011
A few remarks about Argentinian PTS Morenoite group showing film of Trotsky based on a novel of Trotsky overthrowing Stalinism with Political Revolution!
This is a PTS video! (who are a Morenoite group) in Argentina). I have lost touch with the Morenotes and Lambertists. It seems an impressive film about how the Political Revolution could unfold in Russia. Even if it posed as a historic novel about Trotsky leading it and overthrowing Stalin. I do not know the PTS line on the workers' states. As the pre-Barnes American SWP leadership used to say if they promoting a process which they do not see applicable today it's their contradiction!
Last week there was an article within the Economist calling the Putin presidency as a neo-Soviet regime weakening the Capitalist elements promoted by Yeltsin. This could be a conscious move by Imperialist Bourgeoisies if Putin gets the Presidency back to launch a new Cold War. They can no longer pretend the left is historically finished which they tried to make out after 1989. Due to the upturn of the world revolution they cannot hide the rise of the left but if they concede the truth about Russia it will lead to a new balance of forces on the left of what its class character is.
I was re-reading Trotsky the other week on the rise of German Fascism and his tactic of a united front with Social Democracy to defeat Hitler. The key point I picked up glancing at those documents again was Trotsky utilized every contradiction and opportunity to show workers their power. Russia's working class will not put up with the extent of Bureaucratic pillage and major Capitalist inroads under Yeltsin. This could be seen by the mass workers protests against monetization of social benefits during 2004-05. This potential mobilization of the Russian working class moving in the direction of Political Revolution with social consequences is only possible due to the defeat of Yeltsin’s wing of the Bureaucracy between 1998 and 2000.
Last week there was an article within the Economist calling the Putin presidency as a neo-Soviet regime weakening the Capitalist elements promoted by Yeltsin. This could be a conscious move by Imperialist Bourgeoisies if Putin gets the Presidency back to launch a new Cold War. They can no longer pretend the left is historically finished which they tried to make out after 1989. Due to the upturn of the world revolution they cannot hide the rise of the left but if they concede the truth about Russia it will lead to a new balance of forces on the left of what its class character is.
I was re-reading Trotsky the other week on the rise of German Fascism and his tactic of a united front with Social Democracy to defeat Hitler. The key point I picked up glancing at those documents again was Trotsky utilized every contradiction and opportunity to show workers their power. Russia's working class will not put up with the extent of Bureaucratic pillage and major Capitalist inroads under Yeltsin. This could be seen by the mass workers protests against monetization of social benefits during 2004-05. This potential mobilization of the Russian working class moving in the direction of Political Revolution with social consequences is only possible due to the defeat of Yeltsin’s wing of the Bureaucracy between 1998 and 2000.
Sunday 21 August 2011
Left recomposition on Libya!
Gerry Downing is correct that the groups who supported the rebels or were openly pro-Imperialist military intervention such as AWL and SP minority will go through a massive crisis. They will go into crisis regardless of how the Libyan war goes with either pro-Imperialist rebel forces being driven out of Tripoli or Imperialism oust Gaddafi could embolden Imperialism to go further into other adventures. If Imperialism is defeated it will strengthen the radicalization within the Imperialist countries with those factions within the Centrist groups under Imperialist countries paying the price for supporting the wrong side. If dangers of a third world war become more obvious with dangers of nuclear suicide the workers and middle classes within the Imperialist countries will want it stopped. In that situation those who were openly pro-Imperialist or pro-Libyan rebels will be seen to assist that process of allowing Imperialism to go further down the road to a Third World War. The Libyan War has to be seen in an international context of Capitalist crisis which is forcing Imperialism to attempt re-Colonizing the semi-Colonies and overthrow the workers' states. If Imperialism is not stopped in its adventures a Third World War could break out.
Downing has spelled out correctly what will happen if Imperialism wins out in Libya in terms of massive privatization and women rights being dramatically worsened under Sharia law. Downing has kept the continuity of Trotskyism on most aspects of semi-Colonies. In 1994 he broke with Trotskyism by being opportunist when he supported calling for a vote to a Bourgeois party: - the ANC.
On the workers' states he has abandoned Trotskyism completely with him giving up battle within Russia before it is really beginning. Cannon said in "The struggle for a Proletarian Party" that it is the worse crime to give up defence of workers' states when the struggle against Capitalist restoration is in the balance. Downing argues Russia and China are "Imperialist powers". This is a break from Permanent Revolution which Trotskyists argue that if Capitalism is restored in either Russia or China would be dismembered as semi-Colonies.
I have just read Andy Pollack submission to Marxmail. He is completely wrong to say Imperialism played no role in Tripoli fighting. According to Russia Today NATO has not relented bombing Tripoli over the last 48 hours for even two seconds. Pollack does not see the pro-Imperialist character of rebels. This concillationist and capitulatioin to now pro-Imperialist forces by American Socialist Action leadership has its roots in them supporting the KLA in Kosovo when they were fighting with Imperialism to overthrow the workers’ states in what remained of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY – Serbia and Montenegro).and supporting pro-Imperialist Kurds when they fought with US/British Imperialism during the 2003 Iraq war.
Downing has spelled out correctly what will happen if Imperialism wins out in Libya in terms of massive privatization and women rights being dramatically worsened under Sharia law. Downing has kept the continuity of Trotskyism on most aspects of semi-Colonies. In 1994 he broke with Trotskyism by being opportunist when he supported calling for a vote to a Bourgeois party: - the ANC.
On the workers' states he has abandoned Trotskyism completely with him giving up battle within Russia before it is really beginning. Cannon said in "The struggle for a Proletarian Party" that it is the worse crime to give up defence of workers' states when the struggle against Capitalist restoration is in the balance. Downing argues Russia and China are "Imperialist powers". This is a break from Permanent Revolution which Trotskyists argue that if Capitalism is restored in either Russia or China would be dismembered as semi-Colonies.
I have just read Andy Pollack submission to Marxmail. He is completely wrong to say Imperialism played no role in Tripoli fighting. According to Russia Today NATO has not relented bombing Tripoli over the last 48 hours for even two seconds. Pollack does not see the pro-Imperialist character of rebels. This concillationist and capitulatioin to now pro-Imperialist forces by American Socialist Action leadership has its roots in them supporting the KLA in Kosovo when they were fighting with Imperialism to overthrow the workers’ states in what remained of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY – Serbia and Montenegro).and supporting pro-Imperialist Kurds when they fought with US/British Imperialism during the 2003 Iraq war.
Friday 5 August 2011
Letter to Rachel Horwitz on aspects of an article expressing skepcism towards working class radicaliztion!
(This letter deals with Hansen's theory of the long detour; how NATO overthrew workers' state in Kosovo; how the Serbian Bureaucracy are maintaining previous social gains of workers' state in Serb enclaves within Kosovo; and how end of long detour can lead to Trotskyisn play its historice role)!
Dear Rachel
There are certain problems with this article which echoes scepticism about how the working class will radicalize and how revolutionaries relate to them. This is expressed through jokes on what workers will be like when they radicalize! Rachel despite these weaknesses in how you approach politics you are looking to Trotskyism to fight the threat of Fascism. You should read Trotsky and the old American SWP pre-Barnes who argued to take politics seriously. At the same time they understood the objective laws of how different layers of workers; middle classes; and oppressed among those classes would radicalize; and how the revolutionary party would link them that up to speed these processes up towards Socialist revolutions.
Due to Barnes expelling the Trotskyists during the 1980s and degeneration of the 4th International after Mandel's death there is very little cadres and break down in continuity of Trotskyism. Another major error in this article Rachel is that it echoes that we what the FI majority argued before Mandel died that we are at year zero. What they meant by this is the workers' states; Social Democratic parties; and even unions had become Bourgeois. The CWI had a similar line except not agreeing to Ultra-Leftism on unions. Taffe has made a left turn on China in latest Socialism Today in seeing Capitalism has not been restored but fails to draw correct conclusion from this analysis by arguing that China is not a workers' state. As Trotsky said against Burnham in Defence of Marxism you cannot have a non-Workers' or non-Bourgeois state. Despite past setbacks and defeats a lot of gains still remain intact. This is why I disagreed with the return to Year Zero analysis.
The future of degenerated and degenerate workers’ states over whether inter-bureaucratic battles; Capitalists makes further inroads; and whether revolutionary upheavals will deepen struggles towards Political Revolution with social consequences is before us. Capitalism in my opinion has only been restored in ex-GDR through absorption through German re-unification with West Germany and Kosovo with the Serbian workers’ state being driven out by war and complete Imperialist occupation. In Eastern Europe the Bureaucratic castes rule through fragmented factions clashing. Similar conflicts are happening in Russia. There are major Capitalist inroads within Eastern Europe but they have not overthrown what remains of the Stalinist Bureaucrats who want the nationalized sectors/workplaces they control intact against Capitalist takeover. In Russia the Bureaucracy is stronger.
Due to the failure to make Political Revolution successfully the Eastern European workers’ states are in severe crisis. Even in Russia between 2000 and 2008 under Putin he prolonged the crisis of Bureaucratic rule to the medium-term. The conflict between the Medvedev and Putin wings of Stalinism could destabilize the Bureaucracy’s rule and let the working class to come through the middle independently moving in direction of Political Revolution due to workers’ having more confidence they can defeat any moves similar to Yeltsin. World Capitalism’s depression could strengthen the Putin wing by whole layers of the Russian Bureaucracy seeing their future tied up to maintaining nationalized industries. In those circumstances the dangers of Political Revolution lessen because Medvedev can be easily removed.
For the past four or five days I have been doing some preliminary background reading on Kosovo. This is part of a long series of documents to analyse why Kosovo is Capitalist; and analyse what the main contradictions within Serbian and Russian degenerate/degenerated workers’ states are today. I started by looking up at the BBC archive from February 2008 when independence was declared to the current day. The reason I started my search there was I found out that after independence Serbian troops were sent to Serb enclaves in Northern Kosovo. I am going to investigate whether Serbian troops have challenged the Capitalist property relations within those enclaves. Trotsky looked for similar tendencies when the Soviet Bureaucracy overthrew Capitalism in eastern Poland.
Serbian Stalinism carried out terrible crimes against the Kosovon Albanians in ethnic cleansing. The struggle against Stalinism became subordinate to stop Capitalist restoration through NATO’s 1999 war and internal Capitalist restorationist:-the KLA. Trotskyists would have a united front with Serb army against the KLA but refuse to ethnic cleanse due to its anti-working class policy of persecution. We had the same line on the Soviet Union when they fought German Imperialism during World War 2. Stalinism’s slogan “Great Patriotic War” Trotskyists opposed with calls for international working class solidarity with the Soviet Union. The crimes of Stalinism in Kosovo played into Imperialism’s hands of overthrowing that workers’ state.
There are still elements of gains for workers within the Serb enclaves such as Serb special needs teachers earning in 2008 had double their salaries in Kosovo than their Serbian counterpart. These salaries are there so the Serbian Bureaucracy has an independent base to bargain with Kosovon Capitalists and Imperialism. If Capitalism extends total control of the Serb enclaves they will have to destroy whatever remains of Serbia’s influence as workers’ states by reducing these salaries which are necessary to generate profits. Trotskyists would argue for the Serb workers to appeal to the Albanian workers to fight for similar conditions by overthrowing Kosovon Capitalism. There is hope that the combined struggle against Kosovon Capitalism and influence of Stalinism can lead to end of national oppressions and a healthy workers’ state as part of a voluntary Socialist confederation.
Capitalism is maintained in most of Kosovo by making deals with elements of the Serb and Russian Bureaucracy. This is why Imperialism restrains the Kosovo government being too provocative since 1999 because if the Serb Bureaucrats turned on them the Serb armed forces could re-invade Kosovo and destroy what remains of Kosovon Capitalism. The Russian Bureaucracy will only put up with Imperialist moves in Kosovo up to a point. Putin warned the Imperialists if they went too far Russia would military intervene within Kosovo. He made those threats during February/March 2008. Imperialism has gained ownership of very valuable natural resources within Kosovo which they do not want to lose by alienating the Serbian and Russian Bureaucracies!
Rachel have you heard or read anything by American Trotskyist Joseph Hansen. He developed a theory called the Long Detour which analyzed with the rise of Stalinism and the destruction of Bolshevik cadres within the USSR Trotskyism for a whole number of objective factors did not manage to build an alternative leadership to replace Stalinism. The victory of the Soviet workers' state had a dual character. It weakened Capitalism and destroyed Fascism in Europe; led to other workers' states in Eastern Europe; it contributed to the 1949-50 Chinese Socialist revolution and strengthened Colonial revolutions. At the same time Stalinism’s increased prestige led to the Italian; Greek; and French revolutions being betrayed. Hansen argued the Chinese revolution impact had a dual character. It further weakened Capitalism and laid foundations for it to be the second biggest industrial power in the world. Negatively Chinese Stalinism deepened the crisis of revolutionary leadership within the Imperialist countries with lots of middle class youth influenced by ultra-left Maoism.
Castroism Hansen argued correctly that the Cuban revolution was the first non-Stalinist led Socialist revolution since the Russian revolution. In their early years they adopted Permanent Revolution in the “Second declaration of Havana”. They also contributed to the global crisis of revolutionary leadership with ultra-left guerrilla warfare as a continental strategy within Latin America impacting again negatively on middle class youth within the Imperialist countries encouraging their Ultra-Leftism.
Hansen died in 1979. My analysis is that the crisis of Stalinism in 1989 within Eastern Europe and 1991 in Russia is the continuation of the long detour. Before the crisis of the workers’ states in 1989 the crisis hit the 3rd world. Central to Hansen’s theory of the long detour is that there are centrifugal forces carrying out struggles for their interests but are not conscious revolutionary leaderships. The masses challenging Bureaucratic rule within Eastern Europe during 1989 was the beginning of incipient Political Revolutions but when concillationist wings of these Bureaucracies started to allow Capitalist inroads strengthened reaction within some Western European countries. This was followed by the break-up of the Soviet Union during 1991. The centrifugal forces unleashed by this led to the rise of Fascism within Western Europe at the expense of declining Stalinist parties and led to Hindu Fundamentalist BJP party coming to power in India from 1998 to 2004. If the ex-Trotskyists had not collapsed Trotskyism could had a left shift within the ex-Soviet countries and Eastern Europe utilizing the anger against Capitalist inroads to begin a serious struggle for Political Revolution with social consequences. This is possible now due to the rise of world revolution. The long detour is finally coming to end with Trotskyism objectively having the possibility to complete world revolution.
One other thing I raise here with you Rachel is that I do not agree with the SP line that Social Democracy within Western Europe is Bourgeois. There has been some pulling back on this from the CWI when they say the Norway attacks were against the labour movement. In Holland and France millions of workers are looking to Social Democracy for solutions and represent a polarization against Fascism. There are no substitutes from the hard task of breaking millions of workers from Social Democracy.
Anthony Brain
Dear Rachel
There are certain problems with this article which echoes scepticism about how the working class will radicalize and how revolutionaries relate to them. This is expressed through jokes on what workers will be like when they radicalize! Rachel despite these weaknesses in how you approach politics you are looking to Trotskyism to fight the threat of Fascism. You should read Trotsky and the old American SWP pre-Barnes who argued to take politics seriously. At the same time they understood the objective laws of how different layers of workers; middle classes; and oppressed among those classes would radicalize; and how the revolutionary party would link them that up to speed these processes up towards Socialist revolutions.
Due to Barnes expelling the Trotskyists during the 1980s and degeneration of the 4th International after Mandel's death there is very little cadres and break down in continuity of Trotskyism. Another major error in this article Rachel is that it echoes that we what the FI majority argued before Mandel died that we are at year zero. What they meant by this is the workers' states; Social Democratic parties; and even unions had become Bourgeois. The CWI had a similar line except not agreeing to Ultra-Leftism on unions. Taffe has made a left turn on China in latest Socialism Today in seeing Capitalism has not been restored but fails to draw correct conclusion from this analysis by arguing that China is not a workers' state. As Trotsky said against Burnham in Defence of Marxism you cannot have a non-Workers' or non-Bourgeois state. Despite past setbacks and defeats a lot of gains still remain intact. This is why I disagreed with the return to Year Zero analysis.
The future of degenerated and degenerate workers’ states over whether inter-bureaucratic battles; Capitalists makes further inroads; and whether revolutionary upheavals will deepen struggles towards Political Revolution with social consequences is before us. Capitalism in my opinion has only been restored in ex-GDR through absorption through German re-unification with West Germany and Kosovo with the Serbian workers’ state being driven out by war and complete Imperialist occupation. In Eastern Europe the Bureaucratic castes rule through fragmented factions clashing. Similar conflicts are happening in Russia. There are major Capitalist inroads within Eastern Europe but they have not overthrown what remains of the Stalinist Bureaucrats who want the nationalized sectors/workplaces they control intact against Capitalist takeover. In Russia the Bureaucracy is stronger.
Due to the failure to make Political Revolution successfully the Eastern European workers’ states are in severe crisis. Even in Russia between 2000 and 2008 under Putin he prolonged the crisis of Bureaucratic rule to the medium-term. The conflict between the Medvedev and Putin wings of Stalinism could destabilize the Bureaucracy’s rule and let the working class to come through the middle independently moving in direction of Political Revolution due to workers’ having more confidence they can defeat any moves similar to Yeltsin. World Capitalism’s depression could strengthen the Putin wing by whole layers of the Russian Bureaucracy seeing their future tied up to maintaining nationalized industries. In those circumstances the dangers of Political Revolution lessen because Medvedev can be easily removed.
For the past four or five days I have been doing some preliminary background reading on Kosovo. This is part of a long series of documents to analyse why Kosovo is Capitalist; and analyse what the main contradictions within Serbian and Russian degenerate/degenerated workers’ states are today. I started by looking up at the BBC archive from February 2008 when independence was declared to the current day. The reason I started my search there was I found out that after independence Serbian troops were sent to Serb enclaves in Northern Kosovo. I am going to investigate whether Serbian troops have challenged the Capitalist property relations within those enclaves. Trotsky looked for similar tendencies when the Soviet Bureaucracy overthrew Capitalism in eastern Poland.
Serbian Stalinism carried out terrible crimes against the Kosovon Albanians in ethnic cleansing. The struggle against Stalinism became subordinate to stop Capitalist restoration through NATO’s 1999 war and internal Capitalist restorationist:-the KLA. Trotskyists would have a united front with Serb army against the KLA but refuse to ethnic cleanse due to its anti-working class policy of persecution. We had the same line on the Soviet Union when they fought German Imperialism during World War 2. Stalinism’s slogan “Great Patriotic War” Trotskyists opposed with calls for international working class solidarity with the Soviet Union. The crimes of Stalinism in Kosovo played into Imperialism’s hands of overthrowing that workers’ state.
There are still elements of gains for workers within the Serb enclaves such as Serb special needs teachers earning in 2008 had double their salaries in Kosovo than their Serbian counterpart. These salaries are there so the Serbian Bureaucracy has an independent base to bargain with Kosovon Capitalists and Imperialism. If Capitalism extends total control of the Serb enclaves they will have to destroy whatever remains of Serbia’s influence as workers’ states by reducing these salaries which are necessary to generate profits. Trotskyists would argue for the Serb workers to appeal to the Albanian workers to fight for similar conditions by overthrowing Kosovon Capitalism. There is hope that the combined struggle against Kosovon Capitalism and influence of Stalinism can lead to end of national oppressions and a healthy workers’ state as part of a voluntary Socialist confederation.
Capitalism is maintained in most of Kosovo by making deals with elements of the Serb and Russian Bureaucracy. This is why Imperialism restrains the Kosovo government being too provocative since 1999 because if the Serb Bureaucrats turned on them the Serb armed forces could re-invade Kosovo and destroy what remains of Kosovon Capitalism. The Russian Bureaucracy will only put up with Imperialist moves in Kosovo up to a point. Putin warned the Imperialists if they went too far Russia would military intervene within Kosovo. He made those threats during February/March 2008. Imperialism has gained ownership of very valuable natural resources within Kosovo which they do not want to lose by alienating the Serbian and Russian Bureaucracies!
Rachel have you heard or read anything by American Trotskyist Joseph Hansen. He developed a theory called the Long Detour which analyzed with the rise of Stalinism and the destruction of Bolshevik cadres within the USSR Trotskyism for a whole number of objective factors did not manage to build an alternative leadership to replace Stalinism. The victory of the Soviet workers' state had a dual character. It weakened Capitalism and destroyed Fascism in Europe; led to other workers' states in Eastern Europe; it contributed to the 1949-50 Chinese Socialist revolution and strengthened Colonial revolutions. At the same time Stalinism’s increased prestige led to the Italian; Greek; and French revolutions being betrayed. Hansen argued the Chinese revolution impact had a dual character. It further weakened Capitalism and laid foundations for it to be the second biggest industrial power in the world. Negatively Chinese Stalinism deepened the crisis of revolutionary leadership within the Imperialist countries with lots of middle class youth influenced by ultra-left Maoism.
Castroism Hansen argued correctly that the Cuban revolution was the first non-Stalinist led Socialist revolution since the Russian revolution. In their early years they adopted Permanent Revolution in the “Second declaration of Havana”. They also contributed to the global crisis of revolutionary leadership with ultra-left guerrilla warfare as a continental strategy within Latin America impacting again negatively on middle class youth within the Imperialist countries encouraging their Ultra-Leftism.
Hansen died in 1979. My analysis is that the crisis of Stalinism in 1989 within Eastern Europe and 1991 in Russia is the continuation of the long detour. Before the crisis of the workers’ states in 1989 the crisis hit the 3rd world. Central to Hansen’s theory of the long detour is that there are centrifugal forces carrying out struggles for their interests but are not conscious revolutionary leaderships. The masses challenging Bureaucratic rule within Eastern Europe during 1989 was the beginning of incipient Political Revolutions but when concillationist wings of these Bureaucracies started to allow Capitalist inroads strengthened reaction within some Western European countries. This was followed by the break-up of the Soviet Union during 1991. The centrifugal forces unleashed by this led to the rise of Fascism within Western Europe at the expense of declining Stalinist parties and led to Hindu Fundamentalist BJP party coming to power in India from 1998 to 2004. If the ex-Trotskyists had not collapsed Trotskyism could had a left shift within the ex-Soviet countries and Eastern Europe utilizing the anger against Capitalist inroads to begin a serious struggle for Political Revolution with social consequences. This is possible now due to the rise of world revolution. The long detour is finally coming to end with Trotskyism objectively having the possibility to complete world revolution.
One other thing I raise here with you Rachel is that I do not agree with the SP line that Social Democracy within Western Europe is Bourgeois. There has been some pulling back on this from the CWI when they say the Norway attacks were against the labour movement. In Holland and France millions of workers are looking to Social Democracy for solutions and represent a polarization against Fascism. There are no substitutes from the hard task of breaking millions of workers from Social Democracy.
Anthony Brain
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