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The Politics of Combined and Uneven Development: The Theory of Permanent Revolution by Michael L?wy
Lwy's book is the first attempt to analyze, in a systematic way, how the theories of uneven and combined development, and of the permanent revolution &mdash inseparably linked &mdash emerged in the writings of thinkers such as Karl Marx and Leon Trotsky. Such radical reflections permit us to understand modern economic development across continents as a process of ferocious change, in which "advanced" and "backward" elements fuse, come into tension, and collide &mdash and how the resulting ruptures make it possible for the oppressed and exploited to change the world.
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First published December 3, 2010
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About the author
Michael Löwy
177 books115 followersFrench-Brazilian Marxist sociologist and philosopher. He is presently the emerited research director in social sciences at the CNRS (French National Center of Scientific Research) and lectures at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS; Paris, France). Author of books on Karl Marx, Che Guevara, Liberation Theology, György Lukács, Walter Benjamin and Franz Kafka, he received the Silver Medal of the CNRS in 1994.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 14, 2023
Explains Trotsky's theory of permenant revolution in very clear and easy to read language. Further demonstrates the application of the theory in contexts of 'successful' revolutions (such as yugoslavia, china, cuba, Vietnam) and unsuccessful revolutions (such as Mexico, India, Algeria and 60s/70s Venezuela).
I only really have two critiques the first is that I got the feeling Löwy was going a bit light on the on the bureaucracies of the respective Communist parties of 'successful' revolutions. He assigns them more credit than they deserve for the success of the revolution attributing the outcome to contentious strategy to abandon stalinist stagism, rather than recognizing that the respective Communist Parties only did so because they were forced to do so by the working and peasant classes in those countries - they had to take an approch of permanent revolution (sometimes, such as in the case of Vietnam and China literally calling their strategy such, whilst disallowing trotsky in the same breath) in order to put themselves at the head of masses.
My second critique was thd authors critique of Trotsky on the question of the peasentry's role as a revolutionary force. I found Löwys critique very contradictory. He claimed Trotsky underestimated the peasantry - having read Trotsky's writing on the topic fairly extensively I can say this is flat out untrue. Löwy himself then went on to on the one hand overestimate the peasentry, by claiming the fact they were dominant force in the revolutions such as in China, etc. On the other hand however, he contradicted his shortly after by one saying they were only successful because they followed a proletarian program, and two, that the revolutions that were unsuccessful, such as in Mexico, were so because without a working class leadership, the insurgent peasantry fell behind the leadership of the bourgoise (which even Lowy says, is exactly what Trotksky said would happen).
The critique that Löwy made of Trotsky tha I think was quite justified was Trotsky's own vacillating on the theory of Permenant Revolution during the mid 1920's when he was took the defensive against Stalin's efforts to discredit him - to the point that Trotsky at one point even stated his theory may have been relevant at the beginning of the Russian, but wasnt at the current point.
Whilst it doenst prove or disprove the theory of Permenant Revolution itself, it does indicate a mistake that Trotsky made, and that was that he tried appeasing the beaucracy by backing down on some of his ideas, rather than going hard against them right off the bat. The consequence of course, was that by the time he did come out against the beaucracy, many of his supporters had already been expelled from the party leaving him isolated and it basically being already to late when he did pick up the fight.
At any rate, a great book on the theory of permenant revolution, and one that all communists should read.
Trotsky's theory of Permenant Revolution is about as important for revolutionaries as Marx's theory of class struggle or Lenin's theory on the state. Basically if you are opposed to it, you arent a revolutionary at all, but a social Democrat.
Highly recommend
I only really have two critiques the first is that I got the feeling Löwy was going a bit light on the on the bureaucracies of the respective Communist parties of 'successful' revolutions. He assigns them more credit than they deserve for the success of the revolution attributing the outcome to contentious strategy to abandon stalinist stagism, rather than recognizing that the respective Communist Parties only did so because they were forced to do so by the working and peasant classes in those countries - they had to take an approch of permanent revolution (sometimes, such as in the case of Vietnam and China literally calling their strategy such, whilst disallowing trotsky in the same breath) in order to put themselves at the head of masses.
My second critique was thd authors critique of Trotsky on the question of the peasentry's role as a revolutionary force. I found Löwys critique very contradictory. He claimed Trotsky underestimated the peasantry - having read Trotsky's writing on the topic fairly extensively I can say this is flat out untrue. Löwy himself then went on to on the one hand overestimate the peasentry, by claiming the fact they were dominant force in the revolutions such as in China, etc. On the other hand however, he contradicted his shortly after by one saying they were only successful because they followed a proletarian program, and two, that the revolutions that were unsuccessful, such as in Mexico, were so because without a working class leadership, the insurgent peasantry fell behind the leadership of the bourgoise (which even Lowy says, is exactly what Trotksky said would happen).
The critique that Löwy made of Trotsky tha I think was quite justified was Trotsky's own vacillating on the theory of Permenant Revolution during the mid 1920's when he was took the defensive against Stalin's efforts to discredit him - to the point that Trotsky at one point even stated his theory may have been relevant at the beginning of the Russian, but wasnt at the current point.
Whilst it doenst prove or disprove the theory of Permenant Revolution itself, it does indicate a mistake that Trotsky made, and that was that he tried appeasing the beaucracy by backing down on some of his ideas, rather than going hard against them right off the bat. The consequence of course, was that by the time he did come out against the beaucracy, many of his supporters had already been expelled from the party leaving him isolated and it basically being already to late when he did pick up the fight.
At any rate, a great book on the theory of permenant revolution, and one that all communists should read.
Trotsky's theory of Permenant Revolution is about as important for revolutionaries as Marx's theory of class struggle or Lenin's theory on the state. Basically if you are opposed to it, you arent a revolutionary at all, but a social Democrat.
Highly recommend
January 12, 2022
A great summary of the history and development of PermRev, it is also makes a strong case that Trotsky's theory has been vindicated in practice by revolutions in Yugoslavia, China, Vietnam and Cuba.
It also develops an interesting account if the role of the peasantry and petit-bourgeois in revolution, and it has the best analysis of the intelligentsia and its social role I have seen from a Marxist.
It also develops an interesting account if the role of the peasantry and petit-bourgeois in revolution, and it has the best analysis of the intelligentsia and its social role I have seen from a Marxist.
February 22, 2021
An excellent exegesis of the idea of permanent revolution, from Marx himself through the debates in Russian Marxism, to twentieth century anticolonial Revolutions. The most original part of the book - the assessment of permanent revolution's post-1917 fate - is measured and convincing, refusing to make exaggerated claims about Trotksy either as flawless prophet or disgraced fool. He comes to a conception of anti-colonial revolutionary regimes that is basically identical to that of Ted Grant. All in all a very worthwhile read.
May 16, 2014
An indispensable historical analysis and exegesis of an indispensable theory--Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution--written by one of the best contemporary Marxist intellectuals around.
September 29, 2023
I was interested to read this for the first two chapters which deal with the permanent revolution of Marx and Engels, and of Lenin. The former is a useful and well written summary, which I have not encountered elsewhere. The material on Lenin is fine too, but covered better in Trotsky's own book on the subject and elsewhere.
The rest ranges from fine to questionable; particularly the last chapter which seems to stand on pretty shaky ground. I felt the whole thing was bogged down by its unbearably academic (wordy for the sake of it) language.
The rest ranges from fine to questionable; particularly the last chapter which seems to stand on pretty shaky ground. I felt the whole thing was bogged down by its unbearably academic (wordy for the sake of it) language.
July 4, 2017
The book is good in tying the economic progress of the United States to that of a Third World economy. But if you follow these issues at all or do research on them, a lot of the info is not new. This probably could have been a lengthy essay instead of a book.
Needless to say, his conception of racism and racial issues are very static and simplistic-- not aware of more subtle analysis that ties racism and class together. A typical liberal outlook.
Needless to say, his conception of racism and racial issues are very static and simplistic-- not aware of more subtle analysis that ties racism and class together. A typical liberal outlook.
February 7, 2022
A thoughtful and interesting study about the theory of Permanent Revolution and particularly Trotsky's development of it. He wrote the text over 40 years ago, and by and large it keeps its relevance. Overall I think Löwy has presented an excellent tool with which to analyze our current political problems.
March 7, 2022
El mejor libro sobre Trotsky que he leído. Michael Löwy emprende un análisis riguroso de la génesis de la teoría de la revolución permanente y sus implicaciones, orientado hacia el desarrollo desigual y combinado en los países atrasados, periféricos. Brillante.
October 15, 2016
Sosyalist teorisyenlerin ve uygulamaların açıklarını tartışan, çözüm için yöntemsel öneriler sunan kitabı, 1981 yılında yazılmış olması itibariyle, "yazarı acaba şimdi neler düşünüyor, öneriyor" sorusu aklımı kemirerek okudum. Voila! Kitabın sonunda kendisiyle 2010 yılında yapılmış bir ropörtaj var. :) Gerçi içinden geçtiği zamana dair pek bir yöntemsel öneri yapmamış, ama en azından kitabın kimi teorik kısımlarının yaşanan anda nasıl kullanılabileceğine dair birşeyler sezdirebilen bir söyleşi.
Kitap sağlam bir siyasi/ekonomik tartışma içeriyor. Çevremde mevcut zamandaki Türkiye, Orta Doğu ve Dünya ile ilgili ayakları yere basan siyasetçi veya entellektüel göremediğimden, şimdi de "acaba bu konularda ne düşünüyor" diye düşünmeye başladım! Pfff... Umutsuzluğun yerine uygulanabilir ve sürdürülebilir özgürlükçü bir siyasi anlayışı nasıl koyabileceğimi bilmiyorum :(
Kitap sağlam bir siyasi/ekonomik tartışma içeriyor. Çevremde mevcut zamandaki Türkiye, Orta Doğu ve Dünya ile ilgili ayakları yere basan siyasetçi veya entellektüel göremediğimden, şimdi de "acaba bu konularda ne düşünüyor" diye düşünmeye başladım! Pfff... Umutsuzluğun yerine uygulanabilir ve sürdürülebilir özgürlükçü bir siyasi anlayışı nasıl koyabileceğimi bilmiyorum :(
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews