Evening star., 1937-03-13
By Mary.Carfer Roberts.

THE REVOLUTION BETRAYED. BY
Leon Trotzky. Translated from
the Russian by Max Eastman. Gar
den City: Doubleday Doran G Co.
" HIS Is Trotzky's own story of the
failure OF the Russian October
revolution. 1t is the story OF
L that revolution's original aims
and the course which the Russian
government has subsequently followed
TO arrive At \ position Numerically
opposed to them. It is a fascinating
work. not because OF the history that
1t tells-for that is pretty we'll known
now, anyway-but because it shows,
with An awe-inspiring clarity, the di-
Vergence between human performance
and desire.
In no other single work has there
been set forth with comparable vivid
ness the consistent contrast between
the ideal and the actuality OF the
Soviet state. To form any idea OF
this contrast until now, indeed, the
reader has had to go through works
written from opposing viewpoints,
those that favored and those that de-
plored communism as 4 political doc
trine, and In works so written there
4 always the writer's personal pas
sion to be reckoned with. Trotzky,
however, writes as one committed ut
eerly to communism, as a patriot in
love with his country to the exclu-
sion OF all other emotions, and the
ho hA L. Il
solely from his conviction that the
land Of his affections has been de-
prived Of = glorious political heritage
through maladministration. With
him, 1t Is not question OF the pros
and cons OF doctrine but a grim eval-
uation Of what has taken place
This, indeed. Is one Of the family
speaking. 1t is in fact the head OF
the family-disowned and dishonored,
Il = true, but the head still. Once
The reader Is assured that Trotzky
writes in the interest OF Russia's
ruth and not to explain his personal
grievance against its present rulers,
there can be no question as to his
wight to be read with respect.
Al . matter OF fact, he gives no
direct exposition OF that grievance
whatsoever. Yet his book Is as per-
aonal document as the reviewer
has read. 1t IS the document OF q
nan with . dream, a dream desired
% single-mindedly that it became the
man, his entire thought and being.
When, therefore. Trotzky tells you how
Socialist practices have been sub
yerted in Russia, he seems to be cut
ting on his flesh and laying 1t on
she page before you. And when he
Delh you that the young generation
of Russians has been taught in q
doctrine wholly false to socialism he
3 like . man plunging the knife
into his heart. But all this is i'm
plicit in his work and not, as has
been said, directly written down. He
purports to write facts, and he does.
But they are facts written by . man
4 with An oboession, and q true OBJ
session cannot be concealed.
1T Is to be expected that 4 work 30
written should be both saddening
and funny. and THE Revolution Be-
6ayed" fulnlls the expectation. Its
sadness Is that which invests any
dream destroyed. It's humor is in the
brave young innocence OF the dream
etSelf-and, one must confess, to 4
hesser degree In Trotzky's own incre-
Aulity that anything 80 perfect could |
have come to naught. His mind shows
itself to b that Of the complete theo- |
yist, brilliant in imagination but dis
Aearteningly pure Of any cynicism
- to human perfectibility. One Is
AWARE OF the artist in him, but 1t is
The artist who can make An exquisite
mathematical design and cannot
paint . portrait. He had = magnifl-
sent scheme, complete to the last de-
bail-on paper. All that was needed
Nas for the millions OF Russians to
shAnge their lives to suit It,, Why
ahould they not have done 50? How
eould they have failed to see the splen-
Aor? Thh, in sum, is his present
book.
He answers the questions, OF course.
6e gives the reAsons for the failure
et his perfect state. He displays q
comprehensive grasp Of the factors
involved IN the failure, but again 1t
. theoretical understanding. HUI
manly, he remains amazed and in
redulous. He can explain what hap
pened. but he does not see why It
Dhould have happened His ohstinacy
m this point has something absolutely
splendid about it.
But the reader whose information
about Russia has been derived from
che works Of interpreting" foreigners
will probably be surprised at revela-
dons in this book, both ~ to the
original aims Of the Bolshevists and
ehe present condition OF the soviets.
According to Trotzky, who speaks on
the former point with the authority
of Lenin, the Bolshevists had no less
Impressive Q dream than that OF in
stituting = statelesS state-or, in other
words, An anarchy.
1t was their dream that IL material
want were removed there would be
no incentive to wrongdoing in human
hearts, and without wrongdoers there
would be no need for a state In any
function except that Of distributor
Of goods. Once the distribution OF
goods in unexceptional equality WAS
established, then the state would "die
away" The people would live in
plenty and virtue, pursuing only the
higher dictates OF their natures. The
state dn 80 far as 1t existed at alb
would not even force them to work,
since only a negligible portion would
regard work as anything but Joy
under these conditions. There would
be plenty for every one; of "auto-
mobiles, radios, moving pictures, aero
planes" Trotzky says, "a socialist
society is unthinkable without
the free enjoyment Of these goods"
1ndividualism would flower without
repression from superstitions or eco
nomic fears. Women would be liber-
ated from family cares, and, As adults,
lAaH the ma 1}yse WAN