IV324 - October 2000

This dossier, appearing shortly after the 60th anniversary of Trotsky’s assassination - a crime denied by its authors and their successors for more than 50 years - deals with some aspects of Trotsky’s theoretical legacy. More than a homage - which would certainly be merited - we have attempted to respond to the question of in what respect, sixty years after his death, the theoretical contribution of Trotsky retains relevance.

The theory of permanent revolution is not a metaphysical speculation but an attempt to respond to one of the most dramatic questions of our epoch: how to resolve the appalling social problems suffered by the dependent capitalist countries - colonial and semi-colonial in the language of the time - how can they escape pauperisation, dictatorship, oligarchical regimes, foreign domination?

Since the incorporation of the GDR in 1990, there has been in Germany a debate in the scattered ranks of the left intelligentsia on the specificity of the Nazi regime and the singularity of its crimes. A number of authors stress above all the consciously organised genocide of the Jewish population in Europe.

Trotsky made an inestimable contribution to the preservation and development of revolutionary Marxism in the first half of the 20th century, both by his militant activity and by his analyses. In this vast ensemble, his weak point is the problem of the party.

More than 60 years after it was founded, the Fourth International remains very weak numerically. At a time of triumphant "globalisation", however, it remains the only existing International.

It amounts to much more than a confrontation between "two political-military states" (the one governed by president Andrés Pastrana, and the other being built by the FARC. It is a warlike escalation, supported by the United States.

The historic contribution of Trotsky - and those who fought alongside him in the Left Opposition - is to have presented an overall analysis of the degeneration of the Russian revolution, to have deciphered "the disconcerting lie", preserving thus the possibility of a historic understanding of the struggle for emancipation.

“Plan Colombia is a plan for war. It is a plan that opens the doors wide to the hawks in the United States so that they can have a greater intervention in the Colombia’s internal affairs.”

The three-day blockade of the Asia-Pacific wing of the World Economic Forum (WEF) here on September 11, 12 and 13 has been a stunning success. The blockade was organised under the general slogans of "From Seattle to Melbourne, fight corporate greed!" and "Stand up for global justice and the environment!"