National 'Peculiarities' and Internationals ONE OF THE MOST fundamental misconceptions contained in Roberts' article is the account if gives of Trotsky's conception of the nature of national conjunctures. According to Roberts:
In Trotsky's analysis the nation-state is seen purely as an epi phenomenon of the world economy. (P51)
But the quotations that Roberts produces to vubstantiate this represencation of Trotsky's position In fact refer not to "world economy', but to the world process" or "world development'. For Trotskyists the world process comprises polities as well as econontics. If all nation scates were the epi-phenomenon of capitalist world economy, which is undoubtedly the most powerful sector of world economy, then there could be no bureaucratised workers states.
Acarding to Trotsky the specific fearures of national economy, no matter how great, enter as component parts and in increasing measure into the higher reality which is called world econemy and on which alooe, in the last analysis, the internationalisen of the Communist parties rests. To the world economy corresponds the development of the proletariat as an international class. Bat this insistence on the subordinate relationship of cach national economy history or politics. (9)
Capitalis, world economy both dominates, and is dependent upon its chief supports- the various bourgeois nation states. It is because the bourgeois scate is an absolutely necessary, and relatively amenomous instrument of class power that it must be smashed if capitalist social relations are to be suppressed. If the cation stare was a mere 'epiphenomenon of world economy then it could be by passed altogetber.
Significantly enough it is Roberis who imagines that the bourgeois state can be somehow conjured out of precisely that which is most specific to the national level (the ideological/cultural framework) and from which Hows the relative agronomy of chat level and its primacy as an analytic poior of departure. (p54)
Thus what la "most specific' to the national level' is not ihe atate and its arendant institutions, the concentrated embodiment of society's uneven developent, bur solely the unanchared realin of sdeology and culture.
I is this perspective which leads Roberts to the bizarre conclusion that the overthrow of Allende demonsirales the danger of frontal attack in a period issue, the Chilean CP did not nogleos to atrempr to deal with the problem of the repressive state apparatus by ideological appeals tin this case to the professionalism and patriatism of the officers).
In Raberts view socialists should not be pre occupied with the pooblem of the scate or the political system. They should forget about the past and devale Themselves to the present momcor', and they should seck to shut out the international basis of national custence (9] The timeless task of socialists is to cultivate the ideological soil of their own nationa! garden. This is, no doubt, a welcome message to bring to a party many of whose problems derive from what happened in the past, in another country.
But the heavy heritage of Stalinism cannot be exorcised by reference to the supposedly absolute autonomy of national traditions, as the CP's parlia memary candidates must now be well aware. Until Communists openly settle accounts with the record of Stalinism in both the past and present, in the Sovier Union and in Western Europe, their policies will offer a distorted and crippled caricature of socialisns.
Such a serling of accounts would have to include a due acknowlodgement of the bistoric struggle of those who fought against Stalin in defence of proletarian imernationalism and proletarian democracy. We may be separated from the times in which Trotsky lived, bur bridging thar golf are the essential structures of the Scalinist regime analysed by the author of The As traditional Stalinist policies disintegrate, two tendencies struggle for dominance within it. in Western Europe the dorcibant tendency capitu ates to bourgeois democracy (naturally without calling it by its right name); as the same time the individual party member is penitied more freedom and certain repressive features of Sovier society are criticised. On the other hand there is a truculent current that remains loyal to the original Stalinist project and still dreams of a Czechoslovak" path to 'socialism'.
A crucial common denominator for these toro tendencies is a rejection of the need for sovies-type bodes and a denial of praletarian democracy in the party and in the wider workers movement. The burcaucratic party regime may allow individual expression of dissent; hut it rules out the organised expression of political differences withn the party the righr of tendency and Faction in the true Leninist sense. Because the party regime cannot tolerate such political differenpes an organisational split ensues (Greese, Spain, Finland). These dilferent sections are also united in rejecting a crucial source of strength for the international clast' (Gramsci): nainely the internationalist co-ordination of the strueals of the working class against captalism and imperialisor and against hureaucratic usurpation in the East.
The perspective offered by Gooff Roherts in his critique al the Fl and IMO shares the explicit reformism and avowedly national perspective of Euro-Communism bur seeks to make this stratees appear more profound by decking it out in pseudoIn this reply to Geoff Roberts we have argued that to award primacy io this domain necessarily means avoiding the task of developing the laceles and strategy that socialist revolution in the West will require. We do not think that merely supplementing this perspec tive by an insistence on smashing the state, Balibarreprestits a fundamenta correction. It the writings and activity of Trocky and the debates "La Pasionaria' - Still looking for the the progressive bourgeoisie.
Volume 3 Number 2.. 60p $1.50 4Co Denise Avenas Availabie from. A laster of slower development of the productive forces: the expanded or contrariwise, the contracted character of entire historical epochs - for example, the Middle Ages, the guild system, enlightened absolutism. parliamentarianism; the uneven devel opment of different branches of the dilferent classes, different social institutions, distor ant felds of cullure - all these lie at the base of these national pecullarities' The peculiarity of a national social type is a crystallisation of the uneven mess of ms sormation. [Permanent Revolution Introduction to the German Edition'. New York 1858. p24lTrolaky was at pains to point out the following hie question of the originality of national conjun tures: This originality can be of decisive significance strategy over a span of many years... it is absolutely wrong to base the activity of The Communist Parties on some "general tealuras" that is, on an abstract type of national capitalism. jop. cil. p23).
110) The original national combination represented by Brilish politics contains both a historic idantilica tion with Stalinism on the part of a nanow lager of militant clasa conscious workers and a deep reaction to it on the part of the mass of the working class. In both cases good to the world coonomy in no way cancels out 1 mixed.
111) The coercive apparatue of the state wil indeed have to be broken up, but this can only be done in advanced societies on the limm clasa basis provided by sevat-type bodies. The effective high command of the repressive apparalus of the bourge ois stale will tunction as the last, and formidable, "party' of the ruling class. Revolutionarles should demand trade union and democnatic rights for soldiers, and a Government based on workers parties apparatus In favour of workplace militias, ste. Bu should seek to dismantle the repressive only the victory of a new power can complete the die intagration of the old and the decisive test of strength should be well prepared for in advance. movament must never again be 'surprised" as it was on 11 September 1973 INTERNATIONAL .. Winter 1976 INTERNATIONAL 97, Caledonian Rd., LONDON NI.
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Trotsky's Marxism PART 1 NATIONAL QUESTION IN SPAIN
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