Is the Slogan “The United States of Europe” a Timely One?¶
Core Argument¶
In this 1923 article, written during the Ruhr crisis, Trotsky advances the slogan “The United States of Europe” as a necessary complement to the existing slogan of “a workers’ and peasants’ government.” His core argument is that Europe’s productive forces have outgrown the framework of national states, and that the continent faces economic decay unless its internal frontiers are removed. The last imperialist war was, at bottom, a European war; America and Japan were episodic participants. Germany sought to organise Europe under its own control to challenge Britain for world power; France, too weak economically to undertake such a project, instead pursues the Balkanisation of the continent, with Britain’s hypocritical backing. The result is a Europe cut up, exhausted, and transformed into a madhouse. The occupation of the Ruhr expresses, in distorted form, the real economic need to unite the coal of the Ruhr with the iron of Lorraine.
Trotsky insists that Europe is not a geographical term but an economic one, a unit with profound internal ties. Just as federation was long recognised as necessary for the Balkans, so it is now necessary for Balkanised Europe. The Soviet Union will not oppose such a federation, and its adhesion would secure a bridge between Europe and Asia. Britain’s position is conditional: if a workers’ and peasants’ government triumphs on the mainland before British imperialism falls, the European Federation will be directed against British capitalism; once British capitalism is overthrown, the British Isles will enter as a welcome member.
The article contains a notable polemic against abstract internationalism. Trotsky rejects the objection that the slogan should be “World Federation” rather than European, arguing that this is too abstract. America emerged from the war strengthened, and the revolution there may be a matter of decades. Europe cannot wait for America. A Workers’ and Peasants’ Europe, even blockaded by capitalist America, can maintain itself as a consolidated military and economic union. The opposition between Europe and America is organic, not directed against international proletarian solidarity; indeed, the triumph of revolution in Europe will shatter the power of the American bourgeoisie within a few years.
Trotsky also defends the slogan against the charge of pacifism. He distinguishes his method from Kautsky’s: pacifism is an academic programme to avoid revolutionary action, whereas this formulation is an incentive to struggle. The slogan is a transitional one, on the same historical plane as “a workers’ and peasants’ government,” and is directed at Social-Democratic workers who fear the economic consequences of a workers’ regime. To them, Trotsky argues that a united Europe, with access to Russia’s natural riches, can not only maintain itself but consolidate and build. The article concludes by noting that the slogan was adopted by the Comintern Executive shortly after publication, against considerable opposition.