The 1930s was a period characterised by
revolution and counterrevolution. Throughout Europe, under the impact of the
world slump and political crisis, events unfolded in rapid succession. In
Germany, Hitler rose to power over the spines of the working class. In Spain,
the fall of the monarchy ushered in an unfolding revolution, which culminated in
a popular insurrection against Franco. In France, the popular front government
faced a wave of factory occupations, which it was eventually able to undermine
with the aid of the leaders of the Communist Party. Again in Spain, the failure
to carry through the revolution to a conclusion, due to the misleadership of the
workers’ parties, resulted in the defeat of the Republic and the victory of
fascism. These tragic defeats eventually prepared the ground for a new world
conflagration in which seventy million perished.
Throughout the 1930s, almost single-handedly,
Trotsky waged a battle against the erroneous policies of the reformist and
Stalinist leaders that served to shipwreck the revolution. From 1928 to 1934, he
sharply criticised the lunacy of "third period" Stalinism, where the
Communist Parties denounced the social democrats as "fascists", and
split the workers’ movement in the face of Hitler fascism. Trotsky predicted,
"that if the most important organisations of the German working class
continue their present policy, the victory of fascism will be assured almost
automatically…" Unfortunately, his warnings went unheard. The insane
policy of ‘social fascism’ was to lead to the splitting of the German working
class – the strongest in the world – and the handing over of power to Hitler
without a fight.
This ultra-left policy lasted up until 1934-35,
when the Communist International under Stalin suddenly turned in an opportunist
direction and adopted, not a Leninist policy, but the policy of Popular
Frontism. This policy advocated an alliance, in reality the subordination, of
workers’ parties with those of the "progressive" liberal capitalist
parties, to form a progressive bloc against fascism. This meant the abandonment
of the principle of class independence that underpinned Leninism. Trotsky
correctly described Popular Frontism as a "malicious caricature of
Menshevism", and "a strike-breaking conspiracy".
France
In France in June 1936, the revolutionary crisis
resulted in a strike wave and factory occupations involving two million workers.
"We were faced with an explosion of discontent by masses who, humiliated
and repressed for years, had been chewing on their discontent…" stated
Jouhaux, the leader of the CGT (Trade Union Confederation). But in order to
placate the Popular Front Government that had come to power in May, the French
Communist Party deliberately derailed the movement. "While it is important
to lead well a movement for economic demands", stated the CP leader Thorez,
"it is also necessary to know how to end it."
In Spain, the uprising of the proletariat of
Catalonia in July 1936 could have been the starting-point for the overthrow of
capitalism throughout Spain. "Having confidence henceforth only in their
own strength", stated the Soviet historian Maidanik, "they took
control of the streets and, without waiting for the government’s decisions,
began to implement the People’s Front programme from below, using revolutionary
methods…" Unfortunately, Stalin did not want revolution in Spain, or
elsewhere for that matter, and, using the policies of class collaboration,
deliberately sabotaged the revolutionary struggle in the cause of ‘unity’ to
save the Republic. This was part of Stalin’s strategy to win support amongst the
western bourgeois democracies, and reaffirm his "moderate"
credentials. The last ditch attempt to halt the back-sliding of the revolution
in Barcelona in May 1937 was defeated with the full support of Stalinism, which
demoralised the workers and prepared the ground for the victory of Franco.
Within the Soviet Union, fearful that the
revolutionary events in Europe would rekindle the aspirations of the Russian
workers, Stalin launched a series of bloody purge trials aimed at exterminating
all those associated with the October Revolution. The old Bolshevik leaders were
subjected to the greatest frame-up in history, accused of being agents of Hitler
and then shot. Trotsky and his son, the main defendants, were sentenced in their
absence and targeted for assassination. In 1937, in a further twist to the
purges, the leadership of the Red Army was decapitated. In the end, millions
perished in the Stalinist gulags and labour camps to prop up the Stalin regime.
These actions and defeats strengthened Hitler’s
hand and prepared the way for the blood bath of the second world war. The
Stalin-Hitler Pact (August 1939), which carried through the partition of Poland,
was a cynical attempt by Stalin to avoid war. "Our relations with Germany
have radically improved", stated Molotov, "We have always held that a
strong Germany is an indispensable condition for a durable peace in
Europe." Within a year Molotov was describing Hitler’s occupation of
Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and France as "great
successes", and blaming Britain for continuing the war! All that was to
change in June 1941 when Hitler attacked the Soviet Union, and the Communist
Parties were forced to execute an abrupt U-turn.
Leon Trotsky, who understood clearly what was
coming, attempted to gather together new revolutionary forces. The original Left
Opposition that had been expelled from the Communist Party in 1927 had become
the International Left Opposition, with groups in a series of countries. After
the German debacle, Trotsky turned his back on the CP and looked towards the
radical forces within the orbit of the social democratic organisations.
Ferment
With the world slump, the victory of fascism in
Germany and the rise of mass unemployment, the traditional mass organisations of
the working class were in ferment. In Britain, Trotsky attempted to collaborate
with the leaders of the ILP, which had recently split from the Labour Party,
hoping to win them to the idea of building a new International. While this
approach bore few concrete results, the approaching world war instilled greater
urgency into Trotsky’s work of launching a new revolutionary International as
the internationalists had done after the collapse of the Second International in
August 1914.
In September 1938, the Fourth International was
formed. "The Fourth International has already arisen out of great events:
the greatest defeats of the proletariat in history", stated Trotsky.
Although comprising small forces, it looked to the future with confidence and
determination. Above all, it was strong in doctrine, programme, tradition, and
in the tempering of its cadres. It adopted a Transitional Programme on which it
aimed to develop a mass revolutionary current internationally.
"In the last twenty years, it is true, the
proletariat has suffered one defeat after another, each graver than the
preceding one, became disillusioned with its old parties and met the war
undoubtedly in depressed spirits. One should not, however, overestimate the
stability or durability of such moods. Events created them, events will dispel
them", stated Trotsky in the Manifesto on the Imperialist War and the
Proletarian Revolution.
"War, as well as revolution, is made first
and foremost by the younger generation. Millions of the youth unable to find
access to industry began their lives as unemployed and therefore remain outside
of political life. Today they are finding their place or they will find it on
the morrow: the state organises them into regiments and for this very reason
opens the possibility for their revolutionary unification. Without a doubt the
war will also shake off the apathy of the older generations.
"There remains the question of leadership.
Will not the revolution be betrayed this time too, inasmuch as there are two
Internationals in the service of imperialism while the genuine revolutionary
elements constitute a tiny minority? In other words, shall we succeed in
preparing in time a party capable of leading the proletarian revolution? In
order to answer this question correctly it is necessary to pose it correctly.
Naturally, this or that uprising may end and surely will end in defeat, owing to
the immaturity of the revolutionary leadership. But it is not a question of a
single uprising. It is a question of an entire revolutionary epoch.
The capitalist world has no way out, unless a
prolonged death agony is so considered. It is necessary to prepare for long
years, if not decades, of wars, uprisings, brief interludes of true, new wars,
and new uprisings. A young revolutionary party must base itself on this
perspective. History will provide it with enough opportunities and possibilities
to test itself, to accumulate experience, and to mature. The swifter the ranks
of the vanguard are fused, the more the epoch of bloody convulsions will be
shortened, the less destruction will our planet suffer. But the great historical
problem will not be solved in any case until a revolutionary party stands at the
head of the proletariat. The question of tempos and time intervals is of
enormous importance; but it alters neither the general historical perspective
nor the direction of our policy. The conclusion is a simple one: it is necessary
to carry on the work of educating and organising the proletarian vanguard with
tenfold energy. Precisely in this lies the task of the Fourth International…"
This revolutionary perspective, imbued with a
burning confidence in the future, was based upon the experience of the First
World War. At that time, the horrific bloodshed of the war shook the
consciousness of millions and provoked a revolutionary wave throughout Europe.
Trotsky understood that this new imperialist war would also provoke a
revolutionary crisis that would serve to transform the fledgling International
into a mass force. Within ten years, Trotsky predicted, not one stone upon
another would be left of the old organisations and the Fourth International
would dominate the planet. In the process, the Stalinist regime within the
Soviet Union would fall, either by capitalist counterrevolution or through a
political revolution that would restore genuine workers’ democracy.
The first part of Trotsky’s prognosis was
confirmed by events. The war produced a revolutionary wave in a whole series of
countries. Unfortunately, the forces of Trotskyism – of revolutionary Marxism –
were too small and isolated to take advantage of the situation. Given the way in
which the war unfolded, the Soviet Union, rather than being overthrown defeated
Hitler and emerged, colossally strengthened, which add to the prestige of the
Communist Parties internationally. In turn, the Communist Parties, which had
been transformed into mere mouthpieces for Russian foreign policy, played a
counterrevolutionary role. They used their influence to sidetrack the
revolutionary situations and helped to consolidate capitalism, which was in
danger of being overthrown.
For example, in Italy in the spring of 1943, the
workers of Turin led a massive strike movement that culminated in the overthrow
of Mussolini. The Italian bourgeoisie in the guise of the Badoglio government,
frightened by the mass movement, sought refuge in the south, while the German
army occupied the north. The working class took the initiative to drive out the
fascists, launching a general strike in March 1944, where over a million took
part. Eventually the fascists were defeated and the revolutionary partisans,
under the leadership of the CP and SP, took control. Power was in the hands of
30,000 armed partisans, and through them the popular committees. However, this
developing revolution went against the secret agreements made between Stalin and
the imperialists to carve up Europe into spheres of influence. As a consequence,
the exiled CP leader Togliatti was flown in from Moscow to impose the Stalin
line.
Prestige
Using the prestige of the Soviet Union he used
the Italian CP, now a mass party of the working class, to undermine the
revolutionary movement. As opposed to socialist revolution, he put forward a
government of national unity under Marshal Badoglio, later to be replaced by
Bonomi. The Allied armies, together with the CP led the way in disarming the
partisans. To facilitate this counterrevolution in a democratic form, Togliatti
and other CP leaders were forced to enter the government as Minister of Justice,
Finance, Treasury and Agriculture. By May 1947, after saving Italian capitalism,
the CP Ministers were sacked from the government.
Again, in Greece, the Communist Party controlled
the resistance. At the end of 1944 the resistance movement was practically in
control of the whole country. However, Stalin had made a deal with Churchill to
hand over Greece to the British sphere of influence. On 7th November 1944,
Churchill wrote to Eden: "In my opinion, having paid the price we have to
Russia for freedom of action in Greece, we should not hesitate to use British
troops to support the Royal Hellenic Government under M. Papandreou… I fully
expect a clash with EAM [the CP-led National Liberation Front], and we must not
shrink from it, provided the ground is well chosen."
The battle between British forces and those of
the resistance lasted from December 1944 to February 1945, when an armistice was
signed leading to the Varkiza agreement. This deal was used to re-establish
royal power and begin the repression of working class organisations. Stalin
declared, "I have confidence in the British government’s policy in
Greece." It was this treachery that prevented the triumph of the Greek
revolution.
In France, the pro-fascist Vichy regime was
discredited. The French resistance movement was under the control of the
Communist Party. Prior to the liberation of Paris by the Allies, the resistance
movement liberated the greater part of France, including Paris. The liberation
committees almost everywhere became organs of power. The CP was the main force
behind this rising, and once Vichy had collapsed France was convulsed in a
revolutionary wave. The Anglo-American armies were faced with a fait accompli.
However, as soon as De Gaulle established a
government he began to undermine the committees. Two representatives of the CP
were rapidly drawn into the government, and despite their protests, De Gaulle
signed a decree dissolving the militias. The General saw his task as to
"trim the Communists’ claws", with the eager cooperation of Thorez,
the General Secretary of the CP. Thorez came out for law and order and the
disbanding of the militias and all ‘irregular’ groups. Given the leading role of
the Stalinists, the militias liquidated themselves into the French ‘grand army’.
Thorez then came out as the champion of
restoring French capitalism. A campaign was now launched to increase production,
in which the workers should not make excessive demands or strike. The people
must, said Thorez, "steel themselves for the battle for production as they
steeled themselves for the battle of liberation. The task is to rebuild the
greatness of France, to secure in more than words the material conditions of
French independence."
In doing so, the CP propped up a government that
was actively engaged in acts of colonial repression. They savagely repressed the
Constantin district of Algeria in which thousands of Algerians were killed.
Repression was also used against the peoples of Syria and Lebanon, who were
demanding independence. The same was true of Vietnam. In fact the colonial war
against the Vietnamese people continued for six months under ‘Communist’
leadership. From January 1947, the Minister of Defence in this government was a
‘Communist’. When the National Assembly in March voted military credits for the
colonial war, the Communist group abstained, but the five CP ministers voted in
favour, in order to maintain ‘government solidarity’.
The Communist Parties of Austria, Finland,
Belgium, Denmark and Norway under Stalin’s orders also joined the governments in
the immediate post-war period. In 1944-5 only the Communist parties could halt
the revolutionary movement, and in practice this is what they did. They saved
capitalism. They acted in the same fashion as the social democrats following the
first world war.
This betrayal provided the political
prerequisite for the recovery of capitalism, and the upswing that was to develop
over the following twenty-five years. Stalinism managed to survive another 45
years, but collapsed ignominiously with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The
Stalinist bureaucrats discarded their ‘Communist’ Party cards and joined the
bandwagon of capitalist restoration, as Trotsky had predicted.
After the war, with Trotsky dead, the Fourth
International was not able to adjust to the new world situation and degenerated.
Despite this, the ideas of Trotsky are a treasure-trove. They represent the
defence of revolutionary Marxism after Lenin’s death. The collapse of Stalinism
has served to eliminate a massive barrier to revolutionary change. Today, the
developing world crisis of capitalism is producing the most turbulent and
crisis-ridden period since the second world war. This will intensify in the
coming period. With general strikes in Europe, and revolutionary crisis in Latin
America and South East Asia, the working class has again ventured to make its
mark on history. With correct ideas and strategy, learning the lessons of the
past, this colossus can ensure the end of capitalism and open, in the words of
Engels, "a new epoch of history, in which mankind itself, and with mankind
all branches of its activity, especially the natural sciences, too, will
experience an advance that will put everything preceding it into
insignificance."
