Trotsky -leader of Russian Revolution

the advanced capitalist states? The history of the twentieth century has given us the answer. Capitalism was overthrown first in Russia. Even more dramatic proof was given after the second World War by the revolutions in China, Cuba and Vietnam.

One of the few people to foresee this exciting possibility was Leon Trotsky. We became known after the 1905 Russian Revolution as the advocate of the theory of Permanent Revolution, This became the corner stone of his fight to help end capitalism In Russia.

INTERNATIONALIST Trotsky was, with Lenin, the main leader of the Russian Revolution, Later he played a central role in defeating the White, counter-revolution. Finally he was the principal defender of workers! democracy and the main opponent of Stalinism. This record alone would command our respect and admiration, But there Is an aspect of Trotsky's role which is of even more interest to us, While his historic achievements are forever linked to the fate of the Russian Revolution, he never acted simply as a Russian revolutionist, His crucial motivation was inspired by a concern for the workers and oppressed of every country. Trotsky was above all an internationalist.

The Marxist internationalism of Trotsky never descended to the bland cosmopolitanism of those who ignore national peculiarities and dismiss the struggles of the nationally oppressed. In criticism of Stalin he wrote, "It is false that the specific features are 'merely supplementary to general! features! like warts on a face. Inreality, the national peculiarities represent an original combination of the basic features of the world process. This originality can be of decisive significance for revolutionary strategy over a span of many years." Real internationalism is impossible without a thorough appreciation of unique national features. Trotsky was nowhere more sensitive to this requirement than in relation to the oppressed nations, He fully endorsed Marx's statement that "a nation which oppresses another nation can never itself be free'!. The elementary duty of a consistent internatats HE Trotsky's views were summed up in the theory of Permanent Revolution, the cornerstone of which was a characterisation of the working class as an active and creative force in history. Such a characterisation may not seem particularly novel coming from a Marxist. But ‘at a time when the leading theoreticians of the socialist movement believed the working class would achieve political power as aresult of the evolution of capitalism rather than through its own independent efforts, Trotsky's position represented a profound rediscovery of Marxist principles, Connolly too had a similarly fresh insight. Im tabour in Irish History he formulated his thesis that the workers were the prime agents of historical change and not just the passive raw material of historical evolution. He set out to prove that all social classes in Ireland, especially the capitalists, had subordinated their interests to Britain's needs and consequently had no real desire for national self-determination. The workers remained as the sole repository of Ireland's aspiration for freedom, Nationhood could only be achieved through the struggles of the workers, Just as Trotsky spoke of ''the working class reconstructing the nation under its own leader ship", Connolly asserted that ' "only the working class remains as the incorruptible inheritors of the fight for freedom in Ireland. "' WORKERS! DEMOCRACY Despite the weight of conservative orthodoxy within the socialist movement Connolly and Trotsky had the courage to proclaim the full revolutionary implications of their views, To the bewilderment of his comrades Trotsky asserted that national revolution could only succeed jn the form of workers! democracy. Connolly formulated the same conclusion in his slogan, the Workers Republic, ences. Connolly believed that real democracy could be achieved only through councils elected in the factories and workshops and directly under the control of the workers. Trotsky also adhered to a counci! (Soviet) form of democracy but much more broadly based.

This concept of alternative democratic institutions is one of the most important lessons to be learned from Trotsky. The new forms of democracy wil! not be built after the revolution. They must be created in the first instance to carry out the revolution. The Soviets in Russia arose in the course of the struggle against Czarism as united-front organisations of the workers, soldiers and small land users. Their democratic nature was a practical necessity for the workers, Strong links were built uniting the entire population, by ensuring that the Soviets were easily accessible to all. It was only through this process that they eventually became alternative organs of state power.

For Trotsky the combining of the National and Socialist revolutions was not simply a matter of linking national and socio-economic demands together. This of course is part of the Permanent Revolution. But by itself it is not inherently revolutionary. The cutting edge of Trotsky's approach was the idea of fighting for national demands by working class methods of struggle.

CONCLUSION The significance of Trotsky!'s idea will not be lost to socialists and republicans in Ireland today. At the moment we are endeavouring to build a democratic united front in defence of the political prisoners, At first sight it may have seemed a pedestrian and unrewarding |abour. But as we have really committed our selves to building a united front which reaches out to all sectors of the community and places a premium on democratic procedures we are not simply fighting a rear—guard action against British imperialism; we will be taking the first step on the road to Permanent Revolution.

ing John Carroll, vice-president of