Transitional versus minimum demands: NEED HELP

[Die Neue Zeit]

I don't want to be pointed to the Gotha, Erfurt, or CPGB Programmes (http://www.cpgb.org.uk/documents/cpgb/prog_demands.html), or to Trotsky's work on the transitional demands, and I need a reasonable compilation (list) of minimum and transitional demands made, as well as those demands that have been achieved (universal suffrage, prohibition of child labour, etc.). Thanks.

[gilhyle]

Not quite what you want but just note that universal suffrage has not been achieved and wont be until voting rights based on citizenship is replaced by voting rights based on residence. Nor has child labour been eliminated, its just been exported.

Personally, I think the key minimum demands for the current epoch are:

Universal Suffrage for all residents, and
Free International Movement of Labour, and
Re-forestation of Europe and North America

[Vanguard1917]

Re-forestation of Europe and North America


What would that involve exactly?

[Die Neue Zeit]

I'm not sure what to put into my Chapter 4 section "Program of a New Type: Minimum-Reformist-Revolutionary" beyond the material in these RevMarx threads:

Minimum and maximum demands: reductionist? (http://www.revleft.com/vb/minimum-and-maximum-t71845/index.html)
Revisionist Trotskyism or revolutionary Marxism? (http://www.revleft.com/vb/revisionist-trotskyism-revolutionary-t70170/index.html)

They attack Trotsky's and the Comintern's transitional approach but also recognize that the minimum-maximum approach is too binary. I don't know whether to include a COMPREHENSIVE set of "minimum" and "reformist" demands in my work, but you raised a few good examples.

Here's an interesting article, too:

http://www.whatnextjournal.co.uk/Pages/Newint/Tranprog.html


Taken togther these three points can add up to the following: Trotskyists habitually give a faulty diagnosis of the health of capitalism (as the title ‘Death Agony...’ illustrates) by extending over the whole historical period (or epoch) what is perhaps true of one particular period within it. They then exclude any consideration of workers’ consciousness from assessing the ‘objective situation’. As a result the situation is invariably considered more favourable than it really is for revolutionary activity. Whilst Trotskyists have in their programme a whole range of demands, their emphasis is on transitional ones. As these are designed not to be achievable under capitalism we see the following: Trotskyists trying to arouse the masses with demands that require a break with capitalism when the workers are either simply not interested, or do not feel confident to fight for the demands.

There is a place for transitional demands, and it is when a variety of economic and political factors are present INCLUDING THE NECESSARY LEVEL OF WORKERS’ CONSCIOUSNESS – i.e. their desire for the demands and their readiness to fight for them. When these factors are absent, transitional demands are doomed to failure, to be ignored, and to be left as just propaganda calls and sectarian schemas. In these situations instead of transitional demands others should be used such as reform, partial and democratic demands. However, central to the formulation of such demands should be three factors: (i) wherever possible, the taking up of whatever is progressive about the existing concerns and demands of the workers; (ii) the demands should seek to mobilise workers to fight for the demands themselves or organise to monitor/control any representatives committed to carrying them out, the demands should where possible avoid demobilising workers and handing over the initiative to politicians; (iii) the demands should be part of a perspective.

Such a perspective is necessary so that when a struggle is waging around initial demands and is finding the ear of wider layers of workers and building a fight, then other, more ambitious, demands can be raised. Then, when these are being fought for, other, still more ambitious, proposals can be put. Eventually such a ‘step-by-step’ approach might lead to the raising of transitional measures if the necessary pre-conditions are present. Trotskyists claim that transitional demands provide the bridge between immediate struggles and socialist revolution; in fact they will rarely provide any such connection. Instead we will usually need a bridge, or a series of bridges, to the bridge. Only then can we cross it.

[gilhyle]

What would that involve exactly?

It would involve nationalisation of the land of europe, (see Lenin on the fact that Nationalisation of land is a minimum demand), planting trees - preferably deciduous (how do you spell that?) :) - and free trade in agricultural goods to promote agricultural development in the imperialised world.

[Demogorgon]

Sorry, bt are you looking for links to sites or books describing minimum demands or transitional programmes, or just for us to list them for you?

[Die Neue Zeit]

^^^ "I need a reasonable compilation (list) of minimum and transitional demands made, as well as those demands that have been achieved (universal suffrage, prohibition of child labour, etc.). Thanks."

This is so I can decide whether to mention specific demands in Chapter 4.