I pretty much abandoned anarchism as unfeasible and from reading this board, I also lost my anti-Lenin attitude. But trotskyism is something I really have trouble getting straight answers out of (all I ever seem to hear from Trots is what is bad as opposed to what is good). Can someone give me clarification (with a bit of detail) on the differences between Trotskyism and Anti-Revisionism? And then also maybe some suggested writings? (though I do appreciate it very much when people explain themselves)
First off, one major difference between Trotskyism and Anti-Revisionism is our views on Stalin. AR's feel that Stalin continued down an authentic Socialist path after Lenin died. Trotskyists feel that this path would have been better continued under Trotsky's leadership. As you may have noticed, the two tendencies are also critical of one another. As explained in Trotsky's workThe Revolution Betrayed, Stalin made many mistakes in the USSR, eventually contributing to its downfall. I highly recommend you read this book for a better understanding of Trotskyist positions on the Soviet Union. AR's on the other hand feel that Trotsky's ideas are what they call "Revisionism", basically modifying Marx's ideas to better suit current conditions. As stated in their name, Anti-Revisionists are against this sort of modifying of ideas.
I could tell that much about disagreements on Stalin (though I'll read the Revolution Betrayed, thanks). More specifically though, what are the differences in the organizational structures of the state and tactics? (If that is also explained in the Revolution Betrayed, then my bad.)
Another major difference is on revolutionary theory. AR's feel that the best tactic is first building up Socialism in one country in contrast to us who feel the revolution needs to be global in order to survive anywhere. Part of the failure of the Soviet Union was due to Stalin isolating the revolution.
WTF, the best way into Trotskyism, in my view, is to read Hal Draper's 'Two Souls Of Socialism': http://www.marxists.org/archive/drap...ouls/index.htm
That article seems to just outline Democratic Socialism.
I think the main difference between Trotskyism and Anti-Revisionism begins with the theory of combined and uneven development, which applied Lenin's theory of imperialism to the prospects for revolution in the countries today known as the "third world". Trotsky pointed to the way to the bourgeoisie in underdeveloped countries being tied up with imperialism, which made them unwilling to accomplish the tasks of their own revolution, including the transition to democracy and land reform for the peasants. He said that the bourgeoisie in third world countries was incapable of completing its own tasks and would always seek collaboration with imperialism, for the fear of losing its power to the masses under it, the working class and the peasantry. Growing out of this is the theory of permanent revolution, which proposed that the working class of underdeveloped nations would have to make the revolution to accomplish those tasks that in Western countries were handled by the bourgeoisie. I think this is really the distinguishing thing of Trotskyism, which makes it today's revolutionary Marxism. In contrast, Stalinism regressed to the position of the Second International, which advocated working-class collaboration with the bourgeoisie: you have the Comintern calling Chiang Kai-shek a revolutionary and hastening his butchery of the Shanghai communists, the CP in India falling into lockstep behind Congress and abandoning revolutionary politics altogether during the struggle for independence. This is a sort of politics that requires the working class to give up its own independence and trap it within a national prison. Trotsky expresses this better than I could in these works: Results and Prospects, pamphlet where he first proposed the permanent revolution Problems of the Chinese Revolution, a critique of the Stalinist-engineered butchery of the Chinese Communists The Third International After Lenin, specifically Part III which draws lessons from the Chinese debacle
WTF: That article seems to just outline Democratic Socialism. I'm not sure what you mean by this, but Draper's article encapsulates socialism from below, which is what distinguishes Trotskyism from other forms of Marxism.
