Differences of Stalinism and Trotskyism

[ryacku]

When I look at the two, while trotsky condemns bureaucracy, I don't see any reason why his policies when implemented would be any different then Stalin's. The only difference to me is that Stalin was the better schemer, and was against internationalism.

[Hebrew Hammer]

When I look at the two, while trotsky condemns bureaucracy, I don't see any reason why his policies when implemented would be any different then Stalin's. The only difference to me is that Stalin was the better schemer, and was against internationalism.

Stalin's formalization of the Socialism in One Country theory seems to be different than Trotsky's Permanent Revolution theory.

[thesadmafioso]

One primary difference between the two is the degree to which a focus on internationalism is to hold. Trotsky was a more fervent supporter of socialist action on a global scale as a means of supporting the relatively weak workers state in Russia, whereas Stalin was more open to the concept of building 'Socialism in one country'. This difference can be clearly seen in Stalin's views towards the variety of popular fronts which emerged on behalf on socialist agitation in the 1930's, when Stalin advised them to take a moderate approach to revolutionary action so as to not damage Soviet relations with the west. It is likely that Trotsky would of taken a different path in this sort of situation.

There is also the matter of workers involvement in the state, where Trotsky advocated for a more prominent role for the worker as compared to Stalin's more structural based methods for the Soviet Union.

[OhYesIdid]

Stalin's formalization of the Socialism in One Country theory seems to be different than Trotsky's Permanent Revolution theory.

There's this: http://library.thinkquest.org/C01122...vstrotsky.html

(Quick, before Stalinists silence me)

According to the link:

Trotsky : It is impossible to build socialism in Russia. THe peasants do not want it as collective farming and such are detrimental to their pockets. It is only possible to do so if the workers of the West, in America, revolted, as they would stand to gain more. He was right in this aspect.


Stalin : It is impossible to wait for the workers of the West to revolt. They will never do so in the near future and their government has too strong a hold over them. Socialism must be built in Russia and only by using the peasantry can it be achieved. He was right too.

You'll notice Trotskyism here seems much more of a "true" marxist current, what with the urban disdain of the peasantry and the rampant internationalism. However, Stalin did keep the USSR alive while it lasted.
As I understand it, one thing that decided the outcome of the Cold War, among many, was the stalin-trotsky split. It was very damaging to the woldwide communist cause and it really, really needs to wither down and die: our age demands a united left, not champions of century-old political squabbles.

[Rooster]

One primary difference between the two is the degree to which a focus on internationalism is to hold. Trotsky was a more fervent supporter of socialist action on a global scale as a means of supporting the relatively weak workers state in Russia, whereas Stalin was more open to the concept of building 'Socialism in one country'.

This points to a differing of the basic conception of Marxism and what capitalism/socialism should be. How can you have socialism in one country when capital is an international phenomenon? How did capital propel and propagate itself? Did it do it through just hiding in France?