The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-06-06
MAX EASTMAN BLOWS UP s. R.s.. \


practically suppressed by the Polit-
buro. and even when l left MOSCOW
tho the crisis was past-it was still
difficult to get a bookseller to pro-
duce one" The responsibility of
this statement is indicated by the fact
that have three editions of Comrade
Trotsky's Lessons of October" In
three different languages, one pub
lished by the Russian government
print-shop and the others by the I'm
precor'' of the Communist 1nterna-
tional, the latest being dated Febru-
airy 26, 1925, and carrying in big type
the words please Reprint" Trot-
sky's "The New Course" have In
the German edition of Imprecor, No.
10, Jan. u.s. 1924, Trotsky's ION the
Peasant Question, English edition Of
Imprecor No. /, Jan. 4, 1924. And
Trotslxy's letter Of Dec. 8, 1928, to the
Enlarged Executive Of the Russian
Communist Party, have in the Ger
man edition Of the Imprecor No. 8,
dated Jan. 81, 1924, spread all over
the first page All Of these were
broadcasted by the world-publicity
machinery Of the Communist Interna-
tional-truly with the trust-methods
of the Gideons-while the discussion
was going on.
Will the God of the Gideons kindly
save Trotsky from Eastman?
Trotsky's Version of the Theory of
"The Permanent Revolution"
THERE is a mixture of unconscious
4 comedy in the spurious tragedy Of
this book, "Since Lenin Died." We
remember an old incident. About or
nearly two years ago Eastman sent
from Russia to The Liberator an ar
ticle entitled 1.-THE Permanent Revo-
luton" An assistant lost the manu-
script on a New York subway train
before the editor (myself) had read
it. / advertised for it's recovery, with
no further result than some gibes in
New York bourgeois newspaper to
the effect that 1.-THE Liberator has
lost the permanent revolution" From
Eastman's present book we may be
permitted to guess what the manu-
script must have been. Later it be-
came necessary for me, as bureau
cratic editor of The Liberator, to re-
fuse to print Eastman's articles as
received, and to turn them over to a
subcommittee for editing-to save
Eastman from his own folly. Now
we know that Eastman was only de-
veloping toward where he is now.
%TlROTSKY'S pride of opinion was
supported, moreover" writes
Eastman, "by a piece of political
thinking as farsighted as any of
those which foretold the events of
1917. Rejecting the theory of the
mensheviks that the Russian revolu-
ton would end in bourgeois repub-
lie, and also the slogan with which
Lenin opposed them, the democratic
dictatorship Of the workers and peas
ants he adopted from Marx the con-
cept of permanent revolution ;.
This realistic prediction, and the res
olute and yet flexible concept of per
manent revolution were peculiarly
akin to the intellectual method of
Lenin. Trotsky began to realize
that altho his political analysis of
the coming revolution had been the
more happy. :" etc.
So we see what Eastman is getting
at. The theory of the permanent
revolution" (expounded by Trotsky)
contains the germ of what Max wants
to displace the leadership of the Com
munist international to make room
for. II there was any one thing which
more than all others divided Trotsky
from Lenin, and Leninism from Trot-
skyism, not only in the beginning,
but up to the present moment-it is
Comrade Trotsky's theory of "The
Permanent Revolution" Trotsky's in
depreciation Of Marks words on this
subject was completely and thoroly
exploded by Lenin before tha ravo.