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The struggle against reformism

Marxist Theory · 2026-05-13

Core Argument

The central thesis is that reformism — the belief that capitalism's horrors can be eliminated through gradual, piecemeal change without overthrowing the system — is not merely an inadequate strategy but an actively destructive one in the current period of capitalist decline. The article argues that reformism inevitably transforms into its opposite: when faced with serious ruling-class resistance, reformist leaders retreat, demoralise the working class, and open the door to right-wing populism. The task of genuine communists is not to oppose reforms as such, but to provide the bridge between the immediate struggles for reforms and the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism — a bridge that can only be built by fighting alongside workers on whatever ground they choose, while patiently explaining the limits of that ground.

Theoretical Grounding

The analysis draws on the classical Marxist tradition, particularly the revolutionary wing of the Second International and the early Communist International. It is explicitly grounded in:

  • Rosa Luxemburg's Reform or Revolution — the argument that between social reforms and revolution there exists "an indissoluble tie" for Marxists, not a binary opposition.
  • Trotsky's analysis of centrism and reformism — particularly his 1935 observation that reformism becomes anti-reformist when capitalism can no longer afford reforms, and his critique of empiricism in The Revolution Betrayed.
  • Lenin's tactical approach in 1917 — "patiently explain," take the consciousness of the masses as it is, and give transitional character to their immediate demands.
  • The Fourth Congress of the Communist International's Theses on the United Front — the insight that any serious mass action, even with partial slogans, will inevitably raise fundamental revolutionary questions.

The article sits firmly in the Trotskyist tradition, distinguishing itself from both social-democratic reformism and sectarian abstentionism. It rejects the notion that revolutionary consciousness can be implanted through abstract propaganda, insisting instead on a dialectical understanding of how consciousness develops through struggle.

Conjunctural Relevance

The article connects directly to the post-2008 political conjuncture, identifying a pattern across multiple countries:

  • Greece (Syriza, 2015) — won a historic mandate to oppose austerity, capitulated to international finance capital, with "horrifying consequences for the Greek masses."
  • Britain (Corbyn) — capitulated to right-wing pressure on antisemitism and Brexit, leading to the destruction of his movement.
  • US (Sanders) — endorsed every Democratic establishment candidate since 2016 in the name of "keeping out Trump."
  • France (Mélenchon) and Spain (Podemos) — similarly failed to deliver meaningful reforms.

The article identifies a crucial dynamic: the discrediting of left reformism has not eliminated working-class rage but redirected it toward right-wing populists — Trump, Reform UK, Alternative für Deutschland. This is presented as the direct political consequence of reformist betrayal.

The most conjuncturally specific analysis concerns Colombia under Gustavo Petro. Petro's election in 2022 on a reform programme, the ruling class's furious resistance in media, Congress and courts, the formation of popular assemblies (cabildos), and the temporary retreat allowing Petro's labour reform to pass in June 2025 — all are presented as a living laboratory of reformism's limits. The article identifies the potential for the Colombian masses to "set themselves on a collision course with the limits of Petro's reformism" as the crisis deepens.

Where the Argument Continues

The article is the editorial of issue 50 of In Defence of Marxism magazine, themed around the struggle between reformism and revolution. It explicitly points to:

  • "Lessons from Greece" — the lead article in the same issue, which presumably provides a more detailed case study of Syriza's rise, capitulation, and consequences.
  • Trotsky's The Transitional Programme — the foundational text for the approach advocated, which should be read alongside this article as the strategic manual for bridging reform and revolution.
  • Rosa Luxemburg's Reform or Revolution — the classic theoretical statement of the relationship between the two.

The article leaves underdeveloped the concrete organisational question: how do revolutionary communists, particularly in countries where they are "only just beginning to organise," actually win the confidence of the majority of the working class? It identifies this as "the struggle to overcome our own isolation" but does not elaborate on the specific tactical steps required in different national contexts. This is likely taken up in other IDOM articles and Against the Stream episodes examining particular struggles.

Connections

  • Lenin, The State and Revolution — for the theoretical grounding of why the bourgeois state cannot be reformed into a workers' state.
  • Trotsky, The Revolution Betrayed — for the analysis of how reformism in power (Stalinism) becomes counter-revolutionary.
  • Trotsky, "Once More on Centrism" (1934) — the source of the key quote about reformism becoming anti-reformist.
  • The Theses on the United Front (Fourth Congress, 1922) — for the strategic approach to fighting alongside workers while maintaining political independence.
  • Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto — for the original formulation of the relationship between the immediate aims of the workers' movement and its ultimate goal.
  • IDOM articles on Syriza, Corbyn, and Podemos — for the detailed case studies that this editorial summarises.

Key Quotes

  1. "Trotsky wrote in 1935: 'Without reforms there is no reformism, without prosperous capitalism, no reforms. The right-reformist wing becomes anti-reformist in the sense that it helps the bourgeoisie directly or indirectly to smash the old conquests of the working class.'"

  2. "The outlook of all reformists is characterised by the crudest form of empiricism. Indeed, the reformists themselves proudly boast of their 'pragmatism'. They take as their starting point the immediately available 'facts', and then base their entire strategy on this foundation."

  3. "To simply lecture the working class on the need to overthrow capitalism, without connecting this general truth to the concrete demands of the living movement, is the hallmark of sectarianism."

  4. "Given the general situation of the workers' movement today, any serious mass action, even if it starts with only partial slogans, will inevitably bring to the forefront the more general and fundamental questions of revolution." — Fourth Congress of the Communist International, 1922

  5. "The role of the revolutionary party is not to oppose revolution to reform; it is to provide the bridge between the two. As Rosa Luxemburg explained in her pamphlet, Reform or Revolution: 'Between social reforms and revolution there exists for [Marxists] an indissoluble tie.'"

  6. "To understand the relationship between the struggle for reforms, reformism, and revolution, is the touchstone of any revolutionary tendency. Any that fails to understand this can at best play the role of a communist propaganda society, but never that of a party of proletarian revolution."