Permanent Revolution (UK)
Encyclopedia
Permanent Revolution is a Trotskyist group formed by people expelled from the League for the Fifth International
(L5I) in 2006. It takes its name from Leon Trotsky
's theory of permanent revolution
.
The split followed a discussion of how to assess the impact, on class politics in general and the level of class struggle, of two changes:
The group gathered together a minority which argued that, almost without exception, the international left had undertaken no serious rexamination of world perspectives and economy since a "stagnation phase" in the 1970s and 1980s. It felt that as a result, the international left had been unable to explain either the marginalisation of the left or the failure of important protest movements against capitalism (such as the anti-capitalist movement, anti-war movement and Social Forum
movements) to sink significant roots into the world working-class.
Permanent Revolution argued the L5I perspectives adopted at their Sixth Congress in 2003, that the engine of the world economy had “halted”, that world capitalism was in a “period of stagnation” and as a result the world faced a “pre-revolutionary period,” were fundamentally inaccurate and the refusal of the L5I to correct these perspectives in the light of experience proved they had decisively broken from the method of revolutionary Trotskyism. In contrast Permanent Revolution argued that the integration of the former workers states into world capitalism, when combined with the defeats of the working class in the 1970s/80s, had allowed capitalism to revive itself through globalisation.
Furthermore, it argued that while the working class movement was no longer in the counter revolutionary phase of the 1990s, the movement had still not fully recovered from those defeats and rather was in a transitional period, with uneven struggles, not yet usually generalised or sustained.
and the early Fourth International
. However, it differs from other Trotskyist organisations in three ways:
, Ireland
, Chile
, Czech Republic
, Sweden
, Australia
, Austria
and observers from Argentina
. A meeting in September 2006 agreed a Founding Statement which restates its intention to relaunch an international tendency committed to building a new Leninist Trotskyist International. Twenty four British Members were expelled from the League, as well as four Australian members, several Irish members and one member from Sweden.
For the alternative point of view including an edited selection of the L5I's account see below.
League for the Fifth International
The League for the Fifth International is an international grouping of revolutionary Trotskyist organisations around a common programme and perspectives. The group has sections in Europe, South Asia, and North America as well as supporters in the Middle East.-Early years:L5I was founded as the...
(L5I) in 2006. It takes its name from Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
's theory of permanent revolution
Permanent Revolution
Permanent revolution is a term within Marxist theory, established in usage by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels by at least 1850 but which has since become most closely associated with Leon Trotsky. The use of the term by different theorists is not identical...
.
History
The group was founded after a two year struggle against the perspectives adopted by the L5I at its 2003 Congress. It had first organised as a tendency then as a faction.The split followed a discussion of how to assess the impact, on class politics in general and the level of class struggle, of two changes:
- the effect of the restoration of capitalism in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1990
- and of the defeats of the working classWorking classWorking class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
movement in the 1970s/80s, particularly in the USA and United Kingdom.
The group gathered together a minority which argued that, almost without exception, the international left had undertaken no serious rexamination of world perspectives and economy since a "stagnation phase" in the 1970s and 1980s. It felt that as a result, the international left had been unable to explain either the marginalisation of the left or the failure of important protest movements against capitalism (such as the anti-capitalist movement, anti-war movement and Social Forum
World Social Forum
The World Social Forum is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, first held in Brazil, which offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemonic globalization...
movements) to sink significant roots into the world working-class.
Permanent Revolution argued the L5I perspectives adopted at their Sixth Congress in 2003, that the engine of the world economy had “halted”, that world capitalism was in a “period of stagnation” and as a result the world faced a “pre-revolutionary period,” were fundamentally inaccurate and the refusal of the L5I to correct these perspectives in the light of experience proved they had decisively broken from the method of revolutionary Trotskyism. In contrast Permanent Revolution argued that the integration of the former workers states into world capitalism, when combined with the defeats of the working class in the 1970s/80s, had allowed capitalism to revive itself through globalisation.
Furthermore, it argued that while the working class movement was no longer in the counter revolutionary phase of the 1990s, the movement had still not fully recovered from those defeats and rather was in a transitional period, with uneven struggles, not yet usually generalised or sustained.
Theory
Permanent Revolution claims to stand in the tradition of Lenin and Trotsky and for the revolutionary programme developed by the early CominternComintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
and the early Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
. However, it differs from other Trotskyist organisations in three ways:
- Permanent Revolution believes that Trotskyism requires a "perspective": the most concrete assessment of the situation must be made in order to enable the application of revolutionary Marxist ideas to the real situation of the class struggle at any given moment. It emphasises Marx's view that it is necessary to understand the world in order to change it.
- Permanent Revolution considers the LRCI to have been a healthy period within Trotskyism. It considers itself to be following on from the work of the LCRI, which argued that the Fourth International had degenerated after the Second World War because of a refusal to fundamentally reassess its perspectives. It feels that the L5I, through a similar refusal, suffered a similar process of disorientation and degeneration which culminated in the L5I abandoning the Trotskyist programme as a method of intervention into the actual class struggle.
- Permanent Revolution has paid special interest to an analysis of how it sees globalisation to have offset the tendency of the rate of profit to decline and enabled capitalism to escape the stagnationStagnationStagnation may refer to one of the following*Economic stagnation, slow or no economic growth*Era of Stagnation, a period of economic stagnation in Soviet Union*Stagnation in fluid dynamics, see "Stagnation point"*Water stagnation*Air stagnation...
period which it feels defined the world economy through the 1970s and 1980s.
Members
At its inauguration in London in July 2006, Permanent Revolution claimed to have had 33 members. Its founding meeting involved participants from BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and observers from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. A meeting in September 2006 agreed a Founding Statement which restates its intention to relaunch an international tendency committed to building a new Leninist Trotskyist International. Twenty four British Members were expelled from the League, as well as four Australian members, several Irish members and one member from Sweden.
External links
- Permanent Revolution Group website
- documents of Permanent Revolution written during the faction fight
For the alternative point of view including an edited selection of the L5I's account see below.