COMBAT TROTSKYISM

Dear Nicholas Semionovich,

First of all, let me express my gratitude for the pleasure, both political and aesthetic, that your speeches, particularly your last one on robbery, give me. Yes, one feels joy when reading our representatives’ speeches and the workers’ letters to the “Luch” editorial board, or when learning about the symptomatic facts concerning the labour movement. After that, the despicable division, consistently fostered by Lenin, who is a master in this art, a professional exploiter of Russian labour movement routine, seem like an absurd nightmare. No sensible European socialist could possibly believe that the differences of opinion created by Lenin in Cracow are likely to cause a split.

Lenin’s “successes”, although they are an obstacle for us, do not inspire me any concern. At this stage, we are no longer in 1903 or in 1908. With “money of suspicious origin”, intercepted at Kautsky’s and Zetkin’s place, Lenin set up an organ, took the logo of a popular newspaper, wrote the word “unity” on its banner and thus attracted worker readers, who, of course, considered the publication of a workers’ daily to be a great victory. Then, when the newspaper had gained influence, Lenin used it as an instrument for his circle intrigues and for his splittist trends. But the aspirations of the workers for unity are so strong that Lenin was forced to play hide and seek with his readers, to talk about unity from below while organising the split at the top, to equate class struggle to the bickering of groups and fractions. In a word, at this moment, all that Leninism consists of is based on lies and falsifications, and bears in itself the seeds of its own decay. There is no doubt that, if the opposing party knows how to manage, gangrene will soon develop among Leninists, precisely because of the question of unity or division.

But I repeat: if the opposing party knows how to manage. And if Leninism, by itself, does not inspire me any fear, I must admit that I am not sure that our friends, the liquidators, will not help Lenin to get back on saddle.

Two policies may now be applied: to destroy ideologically and organically the fractional walls which still exist, and thus destroy the very foundations of Leninism, which is incompatible with the organisation of workers into a political party, but which can perfectly grow on the manure of splits; or, on the contrary, to conduct a fractional selection of anti- Leninists (Mensheviks or liquidators) by a complete liquidation of the divergences on tactics.

• Trotsky, Letter to Chkeidze, Vienna, April 1st, 1913

Lenin - Against Trotskyism ( a series of writings collected by Lenin directed against Trotskyism)

https://revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/AgainstTrotskyism.pdf

Carl Davison, Left In Form - Right In Essence

https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/critiques/guardian/index.htm

M.J. Olgin, 1935, Trotskyism: Counter-Revolution in Disguise

https://revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/olgin0.htm**___**