In October 1923, the German Communist Party prepared an insurrection and then cancelled it at the last minute, prompting Leon Trotsky to characterize it as “a classic demonstration of how it is possible to miss a perfectly exceptional revolutionary situation of world-historic importance.”
Any honest viewer is likely to extend the condemnation to the profit system as a whole, which is entirely willing to sacrifice untold numbers of lives in exchange for cash flow.
This is the second of two lectures delivered at an SEP summer school in August 2007 that deal with some of the crucial conflicts over economic policy in the Soviet Union during the 1920s.
This is the first of two lectures, delivered at an SEP summer school in August 2007, dealing with some of the crucial conflicts over economic policy in the Soviet Union during the 1920s
The five years between Trotsky’s call for the Fourth International in 1933 and the holding of a founding conference in 1938 were marked by a continuous struggle against a wide range of centrist political organizations active during this period, particularly in Europe , many of which professed sympathy with Trotsky’s perspective and some of which declared themselves for the Fourth International.
An understanding of the Russian Revolution and the Soviet state—their rise and subsequent degeneration—is critical in politically arming the working class by learning the lessons of the 20th century in order to prepare for the struggles of the 21st.
The Soviet intervention in Spain can best be understood as an attempt to strangle a developing revolution, to physically liquidate its leading representatives, terrorize wider layers of workers and peasants and prevent their spontaneous revolutionary strivings from acquiring a more politically conscious form.
The rise and fall of the 1925-1927 Second Chinese Revolution was one of the most significant political events of the twentieth century. One cannot understand modern Chinese history without examining its lessons.
More than 80 years on, the May 1926 British General Strike remains a defining moment in the history of the workers’ movement. Its lessons are essential for the development of a revolutionary strategy, not just in Britain but the world over.
In October 1923, the German Communist Party prepared an insurrection and then cancelled it at the last minute, prompting Leon Trotsky to characterize it as “a classic demonstration of how it is possible to miss a perfectly exceptional revolutionary situation of world-historic importance.”