I have read my Soviet history, I have read articles about it, I have watched YouTube videos, and I have even read Trotsky but I still have no idea what being a Trotskyist is supposed to mean. It seems to me like one of Trotsky's main ideas is Permanent Revolution but what the Fuck does that mean from a practical standpoint? Does that mean being a Trotskyist means you want to gain power so you can start a global war against the bourgeoisie? It seems like whenever someone calls themselves a Trotskyist what they are really saying is they are a Communist but Stalin is bad so we need a new name. :trot-shining:
At this point, Trotskyist is basically a term for Marxists who don't like the USSR and the other governments it inspired.
Trotskyism is often seen as a slippery slope to other, crazier ideas. Posadism is an offshoot of Trotskyism. Some Trotskyists believed revolution would be easier under Imperialism than Stalinism, and became neocons. However, these vary from one of Trotsky's greatest personal beliefs: that the deformed workers state is preferable to a bourgois state. Thus, most manifestations of Trotskyism no longer have any attachments to Trotsky as a theorist.
As a historical figure, he's become a rallying point for those who support socialism, but are not comfortable with what they've heard about Stalin and other Marxist regeimes. Supporters of those governments see Trotskyists as ideologically compromised by Imperialist propaganda and justify their extreme hatred of Trots with the historical examples of those who turned against socialism.
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I think Lenin's populatity is different. Stalinist and Trotskyists both look up to him, along with people who don't have a stance on the conflict. He's a unifying figure rather than an alternate.
if so, only very recently (and maybe only online?)