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Trotsky’s error: multiplicity and the secret origins of revolutionary Marxism
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 18:58 authored by Justin RosenbergUneven and Combined Development uniquely incorporated societal multiplicity into Marxist theory. So why did its ?rst application end in Stalinist dictatorship? This paper seeks an answer by turning the idea back on itself, applying it ?rst to Trotsky’s doctrine of ‘permanent revolution’ and then to Marx’s original idea of revolution. Trotsky hoped that Russia’s ‘revolution of backwardness’ would be rescued by ‘advanced’ revolutions in the West, modelled on the French revolution. But what if – as this paper argues – that event too was ultimately a ‘revolution of backwardness’? Two implications follow. First, Trotsky’s ‘permanentist’ strategy was logically ?awed: if all modern revolutions have been internationally-generated catch-up revolutions, then the idea of Bolshevism being rescued by ‘advanced revolutions’ elsewhere fails. But second, the consequences of multiplicity reach even deeper than Trotsky realized: they underlie and explain the original political formation, and troubled history, of revolutionary Marxism itself.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
GlobalizationsISSN
1474-7731Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Issue
3Volume
17Page range
477-497Department affiliated with
- International Relations Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2019-09-11First Open Access (FOA) Date
2021-04-01First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2019-09-09Usage metrics
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