The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-02-06

could be compared with Trotskyism in
its discrediting of the leaders of Len
inism or of the central institutions of
the party. What for instance is Com
rade Trotsky's "amiable" remark
about Lenin worth, when he describes
! him as professional exploiter of ev-
cry backwardness in the Russian
workers movement" (See tn
already quoted letter to Tscheid-
se.) This is however by no means
the most "amiable" remark of all the
'amiable" remarks of Comrade Trot-
sky.
How was it possible that Comrade
Frotsky who bore such an unpleasant
burden on his back, yet found him
| self during the October movement in
| the ranks of the Bolsheviki? This
happened because Comrade Trotsky
at that time relieved himself (literally
relieved) of his burden and hid it in
cupboard. Without this operation"
serious cooperation with Comrade
Trotsky would have been impossible.
The theory of the August block" i.
e., the theory of unity with the men,
sheviki had been destroyed and cast
away by the revolution, for how could
there be any question of unity when
there was an armed fight between the
Bolsheviki and the mensheviki? Com
rade Trotsky had no alternative than
to recognize the fact of the usefulness
of this theory.
The same unpleasant affair HAP
pened' with the permanent revolu-
ton, for none of the Bolsheviki
thought of seizing power Immediately
on the day after the February revo-
luton; Comrade Trotsky should have
known that the Bolsheviki, to quote
Lenin's words, would not allow him
ito play with the seizure Of power"
Trotsky had no alternative but to ac-
knowledge the policy of the Bolshe-
Wiki in the question of the struggle
for influence in the SovieJs, the strug
gle for the conquest of the peasantry.
AS for the third characteristic of Trot-
! skyism (the mistrust of the Bolshevik
/ leaders, it of course had to retire in
| to the background in view OF the OBJ
vious breakdown of the first two char
acteristics.
Could Comrade Trotsky in such
situation do anything but hide his
| burden in a cupboard and go to the
Bolsheviki, he who, withou; even the
pretence of a serious group behind
! him, came to the Bolsheviki as a poll
teal bankrupt, robbed of his army?
OF course, he could do nothing else!
What lesson is to be learned from
this? There is only one lesson: The
long cooperation of the Leninists with
Comrade Trotsky was only possible
thru his completely renouncing his
old burden, thru his completely iden-
tifying himself with Leninism. Com
rade Trotsky writes on the lessons of
October but he forgets that in addi-
ton to all the other lessons there is
one more lesson of October which /
have just told you, and that this is of
primary Importance for Trotskyism. 1t
would do Trotskyism no harm to pay
attention to this lesson Of October.
But this lesson, as we have seen,
has not agreed well with Trotskyism.
The point of the matter is that the
old burden Of Trotskyism, which was
hidden away in a cupboard IN the
days of the October movement, has
now been dragged to light in hope of
disposing of it, all the more so as the
market here has widened. Undoubt-
eddy, we have in the recent literary
attacks of Comrade Trotsky an at
tempt to return to Trotskyism, 70
overcome" "Leninism" and to drag
forward and apply all the special pc
culiarities of Trotskyism.
The new Trotskyism is not simple
continuation of the old Trotskyism, il
has become somewhat ragged and
threadbare, it is in it's spirit incom-
parably milder and in its form more
moderate than the old Trotskyism, but
without doubt, 1t retains fundamental
| " all the peculiarities of the old Trot-
skyism. The new Trotskyism does
| not make up its mind to fight openly
against Leninism, it prefers to work
under the general flag Of Leninism
and protects itself under the slogan or
the Interpretation, the improvement
OF Leninism. This for the reason that
1t is weak. We cannot regard 1t as
an accident that the rise Of the new
Trotskyism conceded with the mo-
ment of Lenin's death. Under Len
in he would not have dared TO take
this step.
What Are the Characteristic Features
OF the New Trotskylsm?
! /. The question Of the permanent
revolution. The new Trotskyism does
not consider 1t necessary openly to
defend the permanent revolution. II
simply" afiirms that the October re-
volution has fully confirmed the idea
of the permanent revolution. From
this II draws the following conciu-
sion: The correct and acceptable
features OF Leninism are those which
existed since the war, in the period
OF the october revolution, and on
the other hand the incorrect and UNI
acceptable features are those which
existed before the war, before the Oc-
tober revolution. Hence the theory OF
the Trotskians as TO the division Of
Leninism into two parts: The pre-
war Leninism, the odd" worthless"
Leninism with it's idea Of dictator
ship OF the proletariat and the pea