In Marxist theory, a transitional demand either is a partial realisation of a maximum demand after revolution or an agitational demand made by a socialist organisation with the aim of linking the current situation to progress towards their goal of a socialist society.

Development of transitional approach

Historically the parties adhering to the Second or Socialist International had adopted programmes that included both minimal demands, which it was believed could be satisfied by reform of the bourgeois state, and maximum demands which it was argued would see the end of capitalism and the beginning of a transition to communism. The left of the Socialist International came more and more to reject this separation of minimal and maximal demands and argued that socialism was imminent and that therefore the pursuit of minimal demands, reforms, was closing.

The use of transitional demands as part of a transitional programme was developed by the early Communist International and to some considerable degree was codified by the Second, Third and Fourth Congresses of the Comintern as "transitional slogans." However the Fifth and Sixth Congresses saw the Comintern returning to the division of its political demands between reformist, or minimal, and revolutionary, or maximum, demands. The key difference being that at the Fifth Congress both were seen as important but at the Sixth there was a marked tendency to reject any minimal demands as bring operative in the short term.

Crucially, the Sixth Congress also saw the adoption of a programme by the Comintern which was more in line with maximum demands than with transitional slogans. A major debate took place at the Congress with regard to this with major contributions from Bukharin and Thalheimer the dissident German Communist who championed the concept.

Perhaps the most famous example of a transitional programme is The Death Agony of Capitalism and the Tasks of the Fourth International, adopted by the 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...

 and written by 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....

. Earlier examples include Lenin's The Impending Catastrophe and How to Avoid It.

Comparison with other demands

Transitional demands differ from calls for reform (a minimum programme

Minimum programme

In Marxist theory, a minimum programme consists of a series of demands for immediate reforms and, in far fewer and less orthodox cases, also consists of a series of political demands which, taken as a whole, realise key democratic-republican measures enacted by the Paris Commune and thus culminate...

) in that they call for things that government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

s and corporation

Corporation

A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...

s are unwilling or unable to offer, and therefore, any progress towards obtaining a transitional demand is likely to weaken capitalism

Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...

 and strengthen the hand of the working class

Working class

Working 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...

.

Transitional demands differ from calls for revolution (a maximum programme

Maximum programme

In Marxist theory, a maximum programme consists of a series of demands which will achieve socialism.The concept of a maximum programme comes from the Erfurt Programme of the SPD, later mirrored by much of the Socialist International. The maximum is contrasted with a minimum programme of immediate...

) in that they call for primarily economic demands that could be achieved under capitalism. So "Rule by workers' council

Workers' council

A workers' council, or revolutionary councils, is the phenomenon where a single place of work or enterprise, such as a factory, school, or farm, is controlled collectively by the workers of that workplace, through the core principle of temporary and instantly revocable delegates.In a system with...

s" would not be a transitional demand, as it would imply the overthrow of capitalism. Examples of transitional demands would be "Employment for all

Full employment

In macroeconomics, full employment is a condition of the national economy, where all or nearly all persons willing and able to work at the prevailing wages and working conditions are able to do so....

" or "Housing

Home

A home is a place of residence or refuge. When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either...

for all," demands that sound reasonable to the average citizen, but are practically impossible for capitalism to deliver on. Trotsky held that, while socialists should not hide their programme, it was essential to plan a possible route to it.

The BBC Documentary "Lefties", which aired in several parts in April 2006 featured interviews with people who were radicals in the 1960s, in which the concept of transitional demands is described clearly.