The Fifth Anniversary of the October Revolution and the Fourth World Congress of the Communist International¶
Core Argument¶
Chapter Digest: The Fifth Anniversary of the October Revolution and the Fourth World Congress of the Communist International
The Fourth World Congress of the Communist International convened against the backdrop of the fifth anniversary of Soviet power, a moment demanding a sober reckoning with revolutionary strategy. Trotsky opens by insisting that history unravelled the skein of capitalist contradictions from its weakest link, Russia, rather than from the most advantageous terrain, the United States. The fundamental lesson of the Russian Revolution is the example it set of how to fight for and defend power through resolute dictatorship. The retreat to the New Economic Policy disrupted earlier perspectives, yet the balance sheet of five years demonstrates that the most important means of production now reside in the hands of the workers’ state. War Communism was never a programme but an imposition of civil war, which forced premature nationalisation and destroyed the bourgeois economic apparatus before a socialist one could be constructed. Both the offensive of War Communism and the retreat of the NEP were historically unavoidable. The revolution’s overhead expenditures have lowered Russia’s economic level, but five years is too short a scale to judge the historic results of socialism, especially when built in the most backward country.
The Third Congress of the Comintern in 1921 inaugurated a new stage, beginning with a retreat. War Communism could have unfolded into full socialism only if the European proletariat had seized power in 1920-21, providing external relief. When the Western revolution was retarded, the Comintern reassessed its methods. The March 1921 events in Germany were a mistake: the German Communist Party acted as if it faced the task of conquering power, when it actually faced the task of conquering the working class. In 1919-20, the objective premises for revolution were mature, but the subjective premise—a party capable of utilising the situation—was lacking. This became tragically clear in September 1920 in Italy, where the working class had effectively gained control but lacked a party to consolidate victory, leading to a devastating retreat under fascism. The Third Congress therefore proclaimed that Communists must now win the confidence of the working class through day-to-day struggle, agitation, and organisation.
In the epoch of capitalism’s decline, crises surpass booms, though periodic oscillations continue. The 1920 crisis was not capitalism’s final one; a revival would follow. Without working-class intervention, capitalism will restore a new equilibrium, such as Anglo-American domination, before it is disrupted again. A feeble economic revival will not end the revolutionary epoch but propel it forward, as it reduces unemployment and strengthens workers’ confidence. The tactic of the united front arose from the need to win the majority of the working class before attempting to seize power. In France, the party suffers from the heritage of the old Socialist Party; the task is internal, organisational, preparatory, and educational. In England, the Communist Party remains a propaganda society. Europe remains in a period of preparation; the Soviet republic must allow European communist parties another year or two or three for preparatory work toward power. Fascism, an unofficial government of gangs, is spreading across all European countries. A transition is needed from nomadic, hit-and-miss work to systematic, specialised construction. The party must renew its cadres and create a youth reserve, holding the soviet fortress until world revolution conquers.