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Read the Introduction 5. Was the “Democratic Dictatorship” Realized in Our Country? If So, When? 253 Introduction 6. On the Skipping of Historical Stages 269 by Luma Nichol 7. What Does the Slogan of the Democratic Permanent revolution today takes aim at the capitalist Dictatorship Mean Today for the East? 275 state, its institutions, and the vast interlocking system of hu- 8. From Marxism to Pacifism 294 man and social relations that form the matrix of world bour- 9. Epilogue 305 geois oppression. It recognizes the proletariat as the motor 10. What is the Permanent Revolution? force of world economy and the strategic spearhead of inter- Basic Postulates 310 national revolution. And it bases itself on the mutual interde- pendence of the proletarian struggle and all other liberation GLOSSARY 316 movements. INDEX 332 —Murry Weiss* Anyone reaching the conclusion that the future of Mother Earth and her inhabitants depends on a total overhaul of the current system will ask: “How do we change the world? And what’s a better way to operate?” Permanent revolution, both the book and the theory, answers these questions with a thor- ough historical analysis of the dynamics of revolution, an anal- ysis that has stood the test of time. The concept of permanent revolution was developed by Leon Trotsky, who used it to foresee key elements of the world’s first successful overturn of capitalism, the Russian Revolution of 1917, in which he was a central leader. Today the axioms of his theory still hold true: Every fight to end poverty, increase human rights or achieve national liberation requires the lead- ership of the working class and socialism in order to have last- ing success. Permanent revolution is the expression of humanity’s un- ceasing quest for justice, which simmers and erupts on every * Murry Weiss on Women’s Emancipation and the Future of the Fourth Interna- tional (Seattle: Red Letter Press, 2006), 33. 7 Introduction Introduction continent. Poor and working people are in revolt whether it’s ments all over the world, leaving aspiring revolutionaries to women in Iceland banging pans to demand economic aid for relive the fatal approach of seeking a kinder, gentler capital- people, not banks; or indigenous Bolivians erecting roadblocks ism—a motif in the anti-globalism struggle, in Venezuela’s Bo- to prevent the privatization of water; or immigrants in the U.S. livarian revolution, and elsewhere. marching en mass on May Day; or a general strike paralyzing The current worldwide economic system, where wealth the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. and power are in the hands of the few who own finance capital At the core of many of these struggles are women, prov- and big business, is inherently unfair. Every aspect of life, from ing Trotsky’s maxim that the most oppressed will rise to be- personal relations to the ecosystem, suffers from capitalism’s come the backbone of resistance. Women, indigenous people, competitive drive to increase profits. Clearly, a new economy queers, immigrants, oppressed races and nationalities—these is needed where productive forces are owned socially by the are the sparkplugs of workingclass revolt in the 21st century. mass of society, where the workingclass majority controls in- This edition of The Permanent Revolution is published dustry and makes goods and services available to all. That sys- by Red Letter Press on behalf of the Freedom Socialist Party tem is socialism. (FSP), a Trotskyist feminist party that upholds the principle of Permanent revolution is the key to unlock that future. Its permanent revolution—and has expanded the theory’s scope scientific, Marxist analysis of societal tectonics examines the with the recognition that the leadership of women, who occupy clash of classes, and recognizes that their seismic shifts are con- the lowest rung of every segment of society, is critical to revo- nected across continents. Trotsky’s theory is a study of those lution in this era. hot spots from which new societies emerge. As such, it is an FSP believes The Permanent Revolution is an essential indispensable guide to modern revolutionaries. theoretical handbook for 21st century revolutionaries. Un- Key elements of the theory fortunately, however, many activists today are unaware of this work. It was deliberately buried and distorted by Joseph Sta- The stellar political organizer and Marxist analyst Murry lin, whose police state regime terrorized the USSR for much Weiss provided a concise summary of Trotsky’s concept: of the last century, and by his disciples in the worldwide Com- Permanent revolution is the process of worldwide, unin- munist movement. Further, the concept has been abandoned terrupted and uninterruptible struggle of all oppressed peo- by some groups with Trotskyist roots who have elevated popu- ple, led by the proletariat, for economic, social and political larity over revolutionary principle. Most notably, the Socialist liberation.* Workers Party, once the U.S. standard-bearer for Trotskyism, has discarded permanent revolution and ceased publication of Weiss identified three interrelated laws of social develop- the book. In addition, the International Socialist Organization ment that comprise Trotsky’s theory. carried a debate in their magazine in 2006 that questioned the First is the premise that the basic needs of workers (the relevance of the notion—without ever drawing a conclusion on proletariat) and the poor can only be met by overthrowing this keynote political principle of Trotskyism. * Murry Weiss on Women’s Emancipation and the Future of the Fourth Interna- Sadly, ignorance of Trotsky’s theory is holding back move- tional (Seattle: Red Letter Press, 2006), 32. 8 9 Introduction Introduction capitalism. Movements that spring up to fight for demands America, India, Asia, the Caribbean and elsewhere. The strug- such as liberty, equality, land reform, voting rights, full em- gles for land and indigenous rights in underdeveloped nations ployment, childcare, and healthcare must become trans- became linked with Left-led worker resistance to “free trade” formed into movements for socialism when the bourgeois policies of privatization and austerity, as requests for local con- (capitalist) governments refuse to concede. As a result, the trol of resources and rights of poor nations were forcibly denied effort to gain increased rights under capitalism (“bourgeois by the world’s richest corporations. Societal conflicts generated democratic rights,” in Trotsky’s words) has to grow over into by sexism and racism were central issues for the movement. a struggle to overthrow capitalism and achieve socialism. The And effigies of Uncle Sam were prominent targets, reflecting proletariat, mobilized in a revolutionary party, must lead the recognition of the primary U.S. role in imperialist domination assault on capital because it is the only class with the unmiti- and abuse. But the movement, though critical of capitalism, gated need to overthrow the private property system and the did not as a whole go beyond demands for “fair trade” under only class with the power to stop production by withdrawing the profit system, a weakness that relegated it to limited success its labor. at best. The conscious embrace of permanent revolution would The second element of permanent revolution is that so- have given this international rebellion a goal and strategy that cialism must be international in character and scope in order could have truly stopped imperialist depredation. to defeat world capitalism. Battles for national liberation and Marx: “Make the revolution permanent” democratic rights in economically disadvantaged countries can only be won through a global sharing of the wealth and are Trotsky’s concept of permanent revolution is firmly dependent upon successful revolution in advanced nations. grounded in the Marxist fundamental that human society ad- The third aspect of the theory recognizes that the defeat of vances through conflicts of classes. the profit system and the establishment of a workers’ state with Karl Marx and his collaborator and co-thinker Frederick a planned economy do not end the revolutionary process, but Engels first raised the cry of “permanent revolution” after a open it. Transformation proceeds through political clashes in series of anti-monarchical revolts swept Europe in 1848. All the cultural, social and economic spheres until first socialism classes were in turmoil as capitalism struggled for ascendan- and then the classless society of communism are achieved. cy over the old feudal agrarian economy. In order to oust the As a member of the FSP at the close of his life in 1981, royal dynasties and gain state power, the owners of new manu- Murry Weiss drew on this latter aspect of the theory to explain facturing enterprises (the bourgeoisie) needed the assistance how that period’s booming movements of women, people of of small tradesmen, workers, and peasants. But once the new color, and queers were signs of permanent revolution irrepress- capitalist rulers gained dominance, they were threatened by, ibly unfolding even under the thumb of capitalist rule. and put a stop to, revolts for broader rights by their former al- The three principles of permanent revolution underlay the lies. The rapidly developing urban petty bourgeoisie (a middle uprisings against capitalist globalization that exploded with layer of “small bourgeois” traders and master craftsmen) had the protests of the World Trade Organization in Seattle (1999) opposed feudal absolutism, and soon learned it had to defend and Cancun
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