The theory of Permanent Revolution is a key aspect of Marxist thought that was developed by Leon Trotsky. It challenges the traditional Marxist belief that socialist revolution could only occur in advanced capitalist countries, such as England, France, or Germany. Instead, Trotsky argued that socialist revolution could also occur in underdeveloped countries, such as Russia, where the capitalist class was weak and the working class was large.
First developed during the Russian Revolution of 1905. Trotsky, who played a leading role in the revolution, began to question the traditional Marxist view that socialist revolution could only occur in advanced capitalist countries. He believed that the weakness of the capitalist class in Russia meant that the working class would have to carry out a socialist revolution, rather than a bourgeois revolution, which was necessary to create the conditions for socialism in advanced capitalist countries.
In his 1906 pamphlet "Results and Prospects," Trotsky argued that the working class in underdeveloped countries could not rely on the bourgeoisie to carry out a bourgeois revolution. Instead, the working class would have to carry out a socialist revolution, which would involve the expropriation of the capitalist class and the establishment of a workers' state.
The theory of Permanent Revolution challenged the view of Vladimir Lenin, who believed that socialist revolution could only occur after a bourgeois revolution had taken place in underdeveloped countries. Lenin argued that the working class in underdeveloped countries had to first carry out a bourgeois revolution, which would create the conditions for socialism. Only after the bourgeois revolution was completed could the working class carry out a socialist revolution.
Despite his disagreements with Trotsky, Lenin recognized the significance of the theory of Permanent Revolution. He wrote that "the idea of permanent revolution… contains a great deal of indisputable truth" and that "it is in essence an anticipation of the further development of the revolution."
Trotsky continued to develop the theory of Permanent Revolution over time. In 1915, he argued that the First World War had created the conditions for socialist revolution. He claimed that the war had exposed the contradictions of capitalism and had created a revolutionary situation in which the working class could carry out a socialist revolution.
In 1920, Trotsky published "Terrorism and Communism," in which he laid out his ideas on the stages theory of Permanent Revolution. According to the stages theory, the working class would first carry out a bourgeois revolution, which would expropriate the feudal and capitalist classes and establish a democratic republic. The working class would then use this democratic republic to carry out socialist measures, such as the nationalization of the means of production and the establishment of workers' control over the economy.
The theory of Permanent Revolution had a significant impact on the history of socialist thought. It challenged the traditional Marxist view that socialist revolution could only occur in advanced capitalist countries. It argued that the working class in underdeveloped countries could play a leading role in the struggle for socialism. The theory of Permanent Revolution remains an important aspect of Marxist theory and continues to be debated and developed by Marxist thinkers today.
Importance of Theory of Permanent Revolution
The theory of Permanent Revolution is a significant aspect of Marxist thought that has had a lasting impact on socialist theory and practice. It challenged the traditional Marxist view that socialist revolution could only occur in advanced capitalist countries, and instead argued that the working class in underdeveloped countries could play a leading role in the struggle for socialism.
One of the key contributions of the theory of Permanent Revolution was its recognition that the working class in underdeveloped countries could not rely on the bourgeoisie to carry out a bourgeois revolution. Instead, the working class would have to carry out a socialist revolution, which would involve the expropriation of the capitalist class and the establishment of a workers' state. This was a significant departure from the traditional Marxist view, which saw the bourgeois revolution as a necessary precondition for socialist revolution.
The theory of Permanent Revolution also challenged the idea that socialist revolution could only occur after a period of capitalist development had taken place. Trotsky argued that the contradictions of capitalism were present in all societies, regardless of their level of development. He believed that the working class could use these contradictions to create a revolutionary situation, regardless of the level of capitalist development in their society.
The theory of Permanent Revolution had a significant impact on the history of socialist thought and practice. It played a key role in the Russian Revolution of 1917, which saw the working class take power and establish a socialist state. Trotsky's ideas also influenced the development of socialist movements in other parts of the world, such as China, Cuba, and Vietnam.
The theory of Permanent Revolution also had implications for the way that socialist revolution was understood. It challenged the traditional view that socialist revolution was a one-time event that occurred after a period of capitalist development. Instead, it argued that socialist revolution was a process that involved the transformation of social relations and the establishment of a new mode of production.
Finally, the theory of Permanent Revolution remains an important aspect of Marxist theory and continues to be debated and developed by Marxist thinkers today. It offers a powerful critique of traditional Marxist thought and provides an alternative vision of socialist revolution that emphasizes the importance of the working class and the struggle for socialism in underdeveloped countries.
