What is Trotskyism Issue 51 of In Defence of Marxism magazine out now

Marxist Theory · 2026-05-13

Core Argument

The central thesis of this editorial is that Trotskyism is not a separate doctrine or a personality cult, but the living continuation of Marxism itself — specifically, the defence of dialectical materialism against formalism, and the defence of Bolshevik revolutionary internationalism against bureaucratic adaptation. The article argues that the real content of Trotskyism lies not in what it opposes (anti-Stalinism) but in what it puts forward: a method of concrete, dialectical analysis applied to the class struggle, and a political programme of proletarian internationalism and permanent revolution.

The claim is that Trotsky's theoretical and political legacy has been systematically distorted, first by Stalinism and later by the sectarian degeneration of the organisations that claimed his name. The editorial insists that genuine Trotskyism is identical with the defence of Marxism as a living, flexible science — and that this legacy remains the essential weapon for building a revolutionary leadership in the present crisis.

Theoretical Grounding

The analysis is grounded in several interconnected Marxist concepts:

Dialectical method as the foundation of revolutionary politics. The article draws heavily on Trotsky's own writings on dialectics, particularly his distinction between "vulgar thinking" (the still photograph) and dialectical thinking (the motion picture). This is not a philosophical aside but the organising principle of the entire argument: formalism in theory leads to opportunism in practice.

The theory of permanent revolution. This is presented as the concrete application of dialectical method to the question of bourgeois revolution in backward countries. The article traces its lineage from Marx's 1850 usage through Trotsky's 1905 analysis to its confirmation in 1917 and its continued relevance in revolutions from Vietnam to Venezuela.

The critique of "socialism in one country." The editorial frames Stalin's theory not merely as a political error but as a methodological one — a formalistic inversion of Menshevik reasoning that substituted abstract categories for concrete class analysis.

The theory of the transitional programme. Trotsky's 1938 founding document of the Fourth International is invoked to distinguish genuine Marxism from sectarianism: the need for a "bridge" of transitional demands connecting the immediate struggles of the masses to the conquest of power.

The defence of the USSR as a degenerated workers' state. The article references Trotsky's struggle against those who, under pressure of bourgeois opinion, abandoned the materialist analysis of the Soviet Union's class character — a struggle that produced some of his richest dialectical writings.

The analysis sits firmly within the tradition of orthodox Trotskyism as developed by the Revolutionary Communist International: it rejects any separation between Trotsky's ideas and Lenin's, insists on the continuity of Bolshevik principles, and treats the defence of dialectical materialism as inseparable from revolutionary politics.

Conjunctural Relevance

The editorial connects its theoretical argument to the present moment in several specific ways:

The crisis of revolutionary leadership. The article quotes Trotsky's 1938 observation that "the historical crisis of mankind is reduced to the crisis of the revolutionary leadership" and asserts this is "as true today as when it was written." The contemporary international communist movement is described as being "in complete disarray," with Marxist parties degenerated into reformism, sectarianism, or irrelevance.

The search for a revolutionary alternative. The editorial notes that "millions of people around the world are looking for answers" and for "a movement, a banner to rally to." This implicitly references the global radicalisation visible in mass movements from Chile to France to Sudan, and the political vacuum created by the collapse of traditional reformist and Stalinist parties.

The continued relevance of permanent revolution. The article explicitly states that the logic of permanent revolution "can be seen in revolutions all over the world ever since: from Vietnam to Venezuela, from Syria to Sudan, and beyond." This situates the argument within ongoing revolutionary processes in the Global South, where the working class has repeatedly been forced to complete tasks that the national bourgeoisie could not or would not carry out.

The legacy of sectarianism. The editorial's sharp critique of organisations that "today claim the name of the Fourth International" as "a pernicious caricature" reflects the RCI's assessment of the contemporary Trotskyist milieu — fragmented, isolated from the masses, and incapable of providing revolutionary leadership.

Where the Argument Continues

This editorial functions as an introduction to a thematic issue of In Defence of Marxism magazine, and several lines of argument are developed further elsewhere:

The theory of permanent revolution is explored in depth through multiple articles in Issue 51 itself. Readers are directed to the full magazine for detailed treatments of this concept.

Trotsky's dialectical method is elaborated in the article's references to In Defence of Marxism (the book), which collects Trotsky's writings from the 1939-40 struggle against petty-bourgeois opposition in the American SWP. This text is available from Wellred Books.

The critique of sectarianism is grounded in Trotsky's "Transitional Programme" and his 1935-36 writings on centrism and sectarianism, both referenced in the footnotes.

The analysis of Stalinism's theoretical roots connects to broader RCI literature on the degeneration of the Soviet Union and the Communist International, including works on the theory of the degenerated workers' state and the political economy of the USSR.

The contemporary crisis of revolutionary leadership is a recurring theme in Against the Stream episodes and in RCI analyses of current struggles, particularly in Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe.

Connections

This article should be read alongside:

Trotsky's own works: In Defence of Marxism (the 1939-40 polemics), The Revolution Betrayed (1936), The Transitional Programme (1938), and The Stalin School of Falsification (1937) — all cited in the footnotes.

Lenin's theoretical legacy: Particularly The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism (cited directly) and The State and Revolution, which provides the theoretical basis for the Bolshevik conception of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

Marx's 1850 usage of "permanent revolution": In The Class Struggles in France and the Address of the Central Committee to the Communist League, where the term first appears.

RCI analyses of contemporary revolutions: The article's reference to "Vietnam to Venezuela, from Syria to Sudan" points to a body of RCI writing on permanent revolution in the 21st century, including analyses of the Syrian revolution, the Sudanese uprising, and the Bolivarian process.

The broader Marxist tradition on dialectics: Engels' Anti-Dühring and Dialectics of Nature, and Lenin's Philosophical Notebooks — the philosophical foundations that Trotsky defended.

Key Quotes

1. "Dialectical thinking is related to vulgar thinking in the same way that a motion picture is related to a still photograph. The motion picture does not outlaw the still photograph but combines a series of them according to the laws of motion."

2. "The real content of Trotskyism does not lie in what it opposes, but what it puts forward. Any consideration of Trotskyism must therefore proceed from the essential principles that defined Trotsky's life as a revolutionary."

3. "The scientific task, as well as the political, is not to give a finished definition to an unfinished process, but to follow all its stages, separate its progressive from its reactionary tendencies, expose their mutual relations, foresee possible variants of development, and find in this foresight a basis for action."

4. "Though he may swear by Marxism in every sentence, the sectarian is the direct negation of dialectical materialism, which takes experience as its point of departure and always returns to it."

5. "He who does not seek and does not find the road to the masses is not a fighter but a dead weight to the party. A programme is formulated not for the editorial board or for the leaders of discussion clubs, but for the revolutionary action of millions."

6. "Trotsky's greatest achievement is that he maintained the clean banner of Marxism, and held it aloft amidst all the horror and apostasy that confronted him. Let us take up that banner, and use it to build a worldwide party of social revolution, capable of leading the working class, at last, to victory."