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Programa de Transição
Contains discussions between leaders of the U.S Socialist Workers Party and exiled revolutionary Leon Trotsky in 1938. The product of these discussions, a program of immediate, democratic and transitional demands, was adopted by the SWP later that year. This program for socialist revolution, remains an important tool for communist workers today.
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First published May 1, 1938
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About the author
Leon Trotsky
1,064 books801 followersSee also Лев Троцкий
Russian theoretician Leon Trotsky or Leon Trotski, originally Lev Davidovitch Bronstein, led the Bolshevik of 1917, wrote Literature and Revolution in 1924, opposed the authoritarianism of Joseph Stalin, and emphasized world; therefore later, the Communist party in 1927 expelled him and in 1929 banished him, but he included the autobiographical My Life in 1930, and the behest murdered him in exile in Mexico.
The exile of Leon Trotsky in 1929 marked rule of Joseph Stalin.
People better know this Marxist. In October 1917, he ranked second only to Vladimir Lenin. During the early days of the Soviet Union, he served first as commissar of people for foreign affairs and as the founder and commander of the Red Army and of war. He also ranked among the first members of the Politburo.
After a failed struggle of the left against the policies and rise in the 1920s, the increasing role of bureaucracy in the Soviet Union deported Trotsky. An early advocate of intervention of Army of Red against European fascism, Trotsky also agreed on peace with Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. As the head of the fourth International, Trotsky continued to the bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, and Ramón Mercader, a Soviet agent, eventually assassinated him. From Marxism, his separate ideas form the basis of Trotskyism, a term, coined as early as 1905. Ideas of Trotsky constitute a major school of Marxist. The Soviet administration never rehabilitated him and few other political figures.
Russian theoretician Leon Trotsky or Leon Trotski, originally Lev Davidovitch Bronstein, led the Bolshevik of 1917, wrote Literature and Revolution in 1924, opposed the authoritarianism of Joseph Stalin, and emphasized world; therefore later, the Communist party in 1927 expelled him and in 1929 banished him, but he included the autobiographical My Life in 1930, and the behest murdered him in exile in Mexico.
The exile of Leon Trotsky in 1929 marked rule of Joseph Stalin.
People better know this Marxist. In October 1917, he ranked second only to Vladimir Lenin. During the early days of the Soviet Union, he served first as commissar of people for foreign affairs and as the founder and commander of the Red Army and of war. He also ranked among the first members of the Politburo.
After a failed struggle of the left against the policies and rise in the 1920s, the increasing role of bureaucracy in the Soviet Union deported Trotsky. An early advocate of intervention of Army of Red against European fascism, Trotsky also agreed on peace with Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. As the head of the fourth International, Trotsky continued to the bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, and Ramón Mercader, a Soviet agent, eventually assassinated him. From Marxism, his separate ideas form the basis of Trotskyism, a term, coined as early as 1905. Ideas of Trotsky constitute a major school of Marxist. The Soviet administration never rehabilitated him and few other political figures.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
May 30, 2024
Subjetivista, Colaboracionista de clase, Exitista con sus fuerzas, Catastrofista con el MDP-Capitalista, Vanguardista (en mal sentido), Consignas lógicamente imposibles, etc, etc.
Su tesis sobre el "estancamiento" de las fuerzas productivas desde 1914 no se afirma en la realidad concreta. ¿Qué es la descampesinización de Latam, o la industrialización de Asia, sino desarrollo de las fuerzas productivas? Los trotskistas con quienes he tenido la oportunidad de debatir este supuesto de mierda, contraargumentan que "no es desarrollo de las FP" por estar anclado en la guerra, en el crédito (capital ficticio), y en la depredación de la naturaleza. Sin embargo el desarrollo de las FP es el desarrollo de las contradicciones insalvables del sistema capitalista, y eso no implica una "crisis terminal" o "permanente", sino la consecución de crisis ciclicas.
El planteamiento que deviene del supuesto anterior, el "capitalismo en descomposición" o en "putrefacción", es fundamentalmente falso. El capital no se descompone con las crisis, ha encontrado los medios para proteger su contenido mediante el cambio de formas (fascismo, proteccionismo, frentes populares, etc). y por otra parte, no existe descomposición de la clase obrera, desde 1914 a hoy la población obrera se ha multiplicado decenas de veces a nivel mundial, y el desarrollo de las FP sólo sienta condiciones cada más favorables para el socialismo (como la planificación computarizada de la economía).
La predicción trotskista que sobre el futuro del capitalismo es profundamente binarista e imprecisa, la supuesta "decadencia de las democracias"
"...la burguesía no tiene otra solución que el fascismo, y la profundización de la crisis va a forzar a la burguesía a abolir los remanentes de la democracia y a reemplazarlos por el fascismo"
no se vio manifestada en "fascismo total o revolución proletaria", si no que supo adaptarse de manera muy eficaz a las nuevas condiciones. Así sucede también con su visión sobre futuro de los "Estados Obreros burocratizados", que compartió la Cuarta Internacional, su caída no condujo a una nueva "revolución proletaria", sino a la profunda despolitización de las masas, e irónicamente, al escisionismo y desaparición paulatina del trotskismo en general.
La postura de Trotski sobre la consciencia de las masas y el papel de las consignas es ingenuo, cae en agitativismo y desprecia la importancia de la propaganda y la lucha ideológica. Hasta hace poco pensaba que las consignas callampa del PTR chileno eran "accidentales" o producto de ingenuidad política, pero al leer este texto me doy cuenta de que "pedirle peras al olmo" forma parte de su táctica fundamental como trotskistas. Bien señala Maximiliano Rodríguez que,
La primera consecuencia es que fija objetivos políticos evidentemente absurdos para la acción de las masas. En efecto, se le “exige” a gobiernos burgueses que apliquen medidas de transición al socialismo como formas “preparatorias del para el ejercicio del poder” por parte de los trabajadores, convocando además a estos a luchar por tal tipo de exigencias. Todo esto a manera de “superar” la contradicción entre la madurez de las condiciones objetivas de la revolución y la falta de madurez del proletariado y de su vanguardia. No es casual toda la impotencia política que exhibe la concepción transicional y su dificultad para lograr un verdadero arraigo de masas en la clase trabajadora.
Además de este problema, se postula a la consciencia de las masas en total estado de "tabula rasa", y en disposición de hacer total caso a una consigna lógicamente imposible, para luego ir "subiendo" la escalera transicional en consignas cada vez más radicales, como si la ideología oportunista o liberal no fuese a "mediar" o sobreponerse a sus consignas callamperas, y como si las masas fuesen a tragarse y actuar en función de medidas que no son claras ni convincentes, no me sorprende que mantengan un 1-2% siempre.
Su planteamiento de que "las dirigencias siempre traicionan" a las masas, es reduccionista y subjetivista. No es la voluntad de tal o cuál dirigencia la que induce al fracaso de las masas, si no su adhesión con las masas. Da la impresión de que Trotsky quería señalar "las dirigencias siempre traicionan, siempre y cuando no sea alguien de la Cuarta Internacional", que no dista mucho de las posturas del PTR Chileno o el PTS Argentino, "las dirigencias siempre son burocráticas o colaboracionistas, siempre y cuando no sea alguien de nosotros".
Al igual que estos supuestos errados, hay 10 o que son igual o más peligrosos para la acción política. No entiendo como el trotskismo argentino lleva 70 años usando esto como biblia, ni siquiera son capaces de argumentar su postura sobre el estancamiento y suelen abandonar esos debates.
Sólo rescato la caracterización de los Frentes Populares: "El “Frente Popular” en la emigración es una de las variedades más dañinas y traicioneras de todos los frentes populares posibles. Básicamente significa nostalgia indefensa por una coalición con una burguesía liberal inexistente. Si tuviera éxito, sólo prepararía una serie de nuevas bancarrotas del proletariado, a la manera española. Por eso la implacable denuncia de la teoría y la práctica del “Frente Popular” es la primera condición para una lucha revolucionaria contra el fascismo."
Recomiendo encarecidamente la lectura de "Crítica del Programa de Transición" de Rolando Astarita, y de "Marxismo y Política Transicional" de Maximiliano Rodríguez, en ellos se expone de manera más acabada todas las falencias de este libro y sus pésimas consecuencias políticas.
PD: Iba a ponerle más empeño a este escrito, pero recordé la inutilidad del mismo. Estos planteamientos llevan siendo criticados más de 70 años y los Cuartistas siguen sin salir del dogma, pienso que no vale la pena intentar hacerlos cambiar de opinión; es más factible señalar sus problemáticas a aquellos compañeros que se encuentran fuera de la política transicional, pero que se encuentran propensos a caer en ella.
Su tesis sobre el "estancamiento" de las fuerzas productivas desde 1914 no se afirma en la realidad concreta. ¿Qué es la descampesinización de Latam, o la industrialización de Asia, sino desarrollo de las fuerzas productivas? Los trotskistas con quienes he tenido la oportunidad de debatir este supuesto de mierda, contraargumentan que "no es desarrollo de las FP" por estar anclado en la guerra, en el crédito (capital ficticio), y en la depredación de la naturaleza. Sin embargo el desarrollo de las FP es el desarrollo de las contradicciones insalvables del sistema capitalista, y eso no implica una "crisis terminal" o "permanente", sino la consecución de crisis ciclicas.
El planteamiento que deviene del supuesto anterior, el "capitalismo en descomposición" o en "putrefacción", es fundamentalmente falso. El capital no se descompone con las crisis, ha encontrado los medios para proteger su contenido mediante el cambio de formas (fascismo, proteccionismo, frentes populares, etc). y por otra parte, no existe descomposición de la clase obrera, desde 1914 a hoy la población obrera se ha multiplicado decenas de veces a nivel mundial, y el desarrollo de las FP sólo sienta condiciones cada más favorables para el socialismo (como la planificación computarizada de la economía).
La predicción trotskista que sobre el futuro del capitalismo es profundamente binarista e imprecisa, la supuesta "decadencia de las democracias"
"...la burguesía no tiene otra solución que el fascismo, y la profundización de la crisis va a forzar a la burguesía a abolir los remanentes de la democracia y a reemplazarlos por el fascismo"
no se vio manifestada en "fascismo total o revolución proletaria", si no que supo adaptarse de manera muy eficaz a las nuevas condiciones. Así sucede también con su visión sobre futuro de los "Estados Obreros burocratizados", que compartió la Cuarta Internacional, su caída no condujo a una nueva "revolución proletaria", sino a la profunda despolitización de las masas, e irónicamente, al escisionismo y desaparición paulatina del trotskismo en general.
La postura de Trotski sobre la consciencia de las masas y el papel de las consignas es ingenuo, cae en agitativismo y desprecia la importancia de la propaganda y la lucha ideológica. Hasta hace poco pensaba que las consignas callampa del PTR chileno eran "accidentales" o producto de ingenuidad política, pero al leer este texto me doy cuenta de que "pedirle peras al olmo" forma parte de su táctica fundamental como trotskistas. Bien señala Maximiliano Rodríguez que,
La primera consecuencia es que fija objetivos políticos evidentemente absurdos para la acción de las masas. En efecto, se le “exige” a gobiernos burgueses que apliquen medidas de transición al socialismo como formas “preparatorias del para el ejercicio del poder” por parte de los trabajadores, convocando además a estos a luchar por tal tipo de exigencias. Todo esto a manera de “superar” la contradicción entre la madurez de las condiciones objetivas de la revolución y la falta de madurez del proletariado y de su vanguardia. No es casual toda la impotencia política que exhibe la concepción transicional y su dificultad para lograr un verdadero arraigo de masas en la clase trabajadora.
Además de este problema, se postula a la consciencia de las masas en total estado de "tabula rasa", y en disposición de hacer total caso a una consigna lógicamente imposible, para luego ir "subiendo" la escalera transicional en consignas cada vez más radicales, como si la ideología oportunista o liberal no fuese a "mediar" o sobreponerse a sus consignas callamperas, y como si las masas fuesen a tragarse y actuar en función de medidas que no son claras ni convincentes, no me sorprende que mantengan un 1-2% siempre.
Su planteamiento de que "las dirigencias siempre traicionan" a las masas, es reduccionista y subjetivista. No es la voluntad de tal o cuál dirigencia la que induce al fracaso de las masas, si no su adhesión con las masas. Da la impresión de que Trotsky quería señalar "las dirigencias siempre traicionan, siempre y cuando no sea alguien de la Cuarta Internacional", que no dista mucho de las posturas del PTR Chileno o el PTS Argentino, "las dirigencias siempre son burocráticas o colaboracionistas, siempre y cuando no sea alguien de nosotros".
Al igual que estos supuestos errados, hay 10 o que son igual o más peligrosos para la acción política. No entiendo como el trotskismo argentino lleva 70 años usando esto como biblia, ni siquiera son capaces de argumentar su postura sobre el estancamiento y suelen abandonar esos debates.
Sólo rescato la caracterización de los Frentes Populares: "El “Frente Popular” en la emigración es una de las variedades más dañinas y traicioneras de todos los frentes populares posibles. Básicamente significa nostalgia indefensa por una coalición con una burguesía liberal inexistente. Si tuviera éxito, sólo prepararía una serie de nuevas bancarrotas del proletariado, a la manera española. Por eso la implacable denuncia de la teoría y la práctica del “Frente Popular” es la primera condición para una lucha revolucionaria contra el fascismo."
Recomiendo encarecidamente la lectura de "Crítica del Programa de Transición" de Rolando Astarita, y de "Marxismo y Política Transicional" de Maximiliano Rodríguez, en ellos se expone de manera más acabada todas las falencias de este libro y sus pésimas consecuencias políticas.
PD: Iba a ponerle más empeño a este escrito, pero recordé la inutilidad del mismo. Estos planteamientos llevan siendo criticados más de 70 años y los Cuartistas siguen sin salir del dogma, pienso que no vale la pena intentar hacerlos cambiar de opinión; es más factible señalar sus problemáticas a aquellos compañeros que se encuentran fuera de la política transicional, pero que se encuentran propensos a caer en ella.
July 17, 2024
Still a banger. It's incredible how clearly he could see the various paths towards which the world situation could develop years in advance (for example regarding stalinisme after the 2nd world war), while "trotskyists" and "marxists" (except for those of the RCI, formerly the IMT) who actually lived through those later events were entirely blindsided. One of those texts to be read once a year.
April 10, 2009
One of the cornerstone pieces of Marxist writing, in league with the Communist Manifesto.
Written after the USSR betrayed the working class in the British General Strike (1926), Chinese Revolution (1927), and German Workers' Uprising against Nazism, Leon Trotsky -- the leader and historian of the Russian Revolution -- wrote the "Transitional Program" as the founding document for a new international revolutionary socialist movement -- the Fourth International -- for the overthrow of both capitalism and the Stalinist bureaucracy in the USSR.
Trotsky is the most gifted and inspiring writer I have ever read. His insights are razor sharp, his formulations concise and measured, and his brilliance of analysis so profound that it hasn't lost an ounce of relevance. I feel like he's writing in 1998, not 1938.
Treat yourself to this pamphlet; it cost me $1.50 new. It could change your life!
Written after the USSR betrayed the working class in the British General Strike (1926), Chinese Revolution (1927), and German Workers' Uprising against Nazism, Leon Trotsky -- the leader and historian of the Russian Revolution -- wrote the "Transitional Program" as the founding document for a new international revolutionary socialist movement -- the Fourth International -- for the overthrow of both capitalism and the Stalinist bureaucracy in the USSR.
Trotsky is the most gifted and inspiring writer I have ever read. His insights are razor sharp, his formulations concise and measured, and his brilliance of analysis so profound that it hasn't lost an ounce of relevance. I feel like he's writing in 1998, not 1938.
Treat yourself to this pamphlet; it cost me $1.50 new. It could change your life!
December 14, 2025
Lots of good stuff in here. Gives razor sharp explanations of many socialist demands that's quite easy to read, and clear denunciations of Stalinism and its dreadful impacts on the international socialist movement. Putting aside some of Trotsky's more erroneous predictions about the future, it's well worth a read.
December 6, 2024
A clanger from the GOAT
January 31, 2024
transitional program
- "The world political situation as a whole is chiefly characterized by a historical crisis of the leadership of the proletariat."
- "In all countries the proletariat is wracked by a deep disquiet. The multimillioned masses again and again enter the road of revolution. But each time they are blocked by their own conservative bureaucratic machines."
- "The leading political organizations do everything possible to keep in check and paralyze the revolutionary pressure of the masses."
- "The reformists systematically implant in the minds of the workers the notion that the sacredness of democracy is best guaranteed when the bourgeoisie is armed to the teeth and the workers are unarmed."
- "As in fascist countries, the chief strength of the bureaucracy lies not in itself but in the disillusionment of the masses, in their lack of a new perspective."
the transitional program, discussions with trotsky: the political backwardness of the american workers
- "Another question is how to present this program to the workers. It is more a pedagogical task and question of terminology in presenting the actual situation to the workers. Politics must be adapted to the productive forces, that is, the high development of the productive forces, the paralyzing of these productive forces by capitalist forms of property, the increasing unemployment which is becoming deeper and deeper —the greatest social plague. The productive forces cannot develop any longer. Scientific technology develops, but the material forces are declining. It signifies that society becomes poorer and poorer, the number of unemployed greater and greater. The misery of the masses deepens, the difficulties become greater and greater for the bourgeoisie and the workers; the bourgeoisie has no other solution except fascism, and the deepening of the crisis will force the bourgeoisie to abolish the remnants of democracy and replace them with fascism. The American proletariat will be punished for their lack of cohesion, willpower, courage, by a fascist school for twenty or thirty years. With an iron whip the bourgeoisie will teach the American workers their tasks. America is only a tremendous repetition of European experience. We must understand this."
the transitional program, discussions with trotsky: how economic shifts affect mass moods
- "There cannot be any reason to believe that American capitalism can of itself in the next period become a sound, healthy capitalism, that it can absorb the millions of unemployed."
- "We have a situation in a country—a very revolutionary situation in a very conservative country - with a subjective backwardness on the part of the mentality of the working class. In such a situation, economic pickups—sharp economic pickups, ups and downs —from a historical point of view have a secondary character but in the immediate sense have a profound effect on the lives of millions of workers. Today they have a very great importance. Such shake-ups are of a very great revolutionary importance. They shake off their conservativeness; they force them to seek an account of what is happening, what is the perspective. And every such shake-up pushes some stratum of the workers onto the revolutionary road."
the transitional approach today: a transitional program for black liberation
- "Meanwhile the chief political representatives of American capitalism are not silent or inactive. They have no intention of removing the causes of discrimination, poverty and misery. These are built into their system of racist oppression and economic exploitation. They have shown by the use of police, state and federal troops over the recent years that they are ready to resort to the most brutal and bloody repression to put down black protest."
- "Afro-Americans have been the principal victims of the profit system at all stages of its development in North America over the past 400 years. They were enslaved and shipped across the Atlantic to raise staple crops to enrich the planters. They are still laboring for the profits of others today, although in the cities rather than the coun tryside and for capitalists rather than slaveholders."
- "The world political situation as a whole is chiefly characterized by a historical crisis of the leadership of the proletariat."
- "In all countries the proletariat is wracked by a deep disquiet. The multimillioned masses again and again enter the road of revolution. But each time they are blocked by their own conservative bureaucratic machines."
- "The leading political organizations do everything possible to keep in check and paralyze the revolutionary pressure of the masses."
- "The reformists systematically implant in the minds of the workers the notion that the sacredness of democracy is best guaranteed when the bourgeoisie is armed to the teeth and the workers are unarmed."
- "As in fascist countries, the chief strength of the bureaucracy lies not in itself but in the disillusionment of the masses, in their lack of a new perspective."
the transitional program, discussions with trotsky: the political backwardness of the american workers
- "Another question is how to present this program to the workers. It is more a pedagogical task and question of terminology in presenting the actual situation to the workers. Politics must be adapted to the productive forces, that is, the high development of the productive forces, the paralyzing of these productive forces by capitalist forms of property, the increasing unemployment which is becoming deeper and deeper —the greatest social plague. The productive forces cannot develop any longer. Scientific technology develops, but the material forces are declining. It signifies that society becomes poorer and poorer, the number of unemployed greater and greater. The misery of the masses deepens, the difficulties become greater and greater for the bourgeoisie and the workers; the bourgeoisie has no other solution except fascism, and the deepening of the crisis will force the bourgeoisie to abolish the remnants of democracy and replace them with fascism. The American proletariat will be punished for their lack of cohesion, willpower, courage, by a fascist school for twenty or thirty years. With an iron whip the bourgeoisie will teach the American workers their tasks. America is only a tremendous repetition of European experience. We must understand this."
the transitional program, discussions with trotsky: how economic shifts affect mass moods
- "There cannot be any reason to believe that American capitalism can of itself in the next period become a sound, healthy capitalism, that it can absorb the millions of unemployed."
- "We have a situation in a country—a very revolutionary situation in a very conservative country - with a subjective backwardness on the part of the mentality of the working class. In such a situation, economic pickups—sharp economic pickups, ups and downs —from a historical point of view have a secondary character but in the immediate sense have a profound effect on the lives of millions of workers. Today they have a very great importance. Such shake-ups are of a very great revolutionary importance. They shake off their conservativeness; they force them to seek an account of what is happening, what is the perspective. And every such shake-up pushes some stratum of the workers onto the revolutionary road."
the transitional approach today: a transitional program for black liberation
- "Meanwhile the chief political representatives of American capitalism are not silent or inactive. They have no intention of removing the causes of discrimination, poverty and misery. These are built into their system of racist oppression and economic exploitation. They have shown by the use of police, state and federal troops over the recent years that they are ready to resort to the most brutal and bloody repression to put down black protest."
- "Afro-Americans have been the principal victims of the profit system at all stages of its development in North America over the past 400 years. They were enslaved and shipped across the Atlantic to raise staple crops to enrich the planters. They are still laboring for the profits of others today, although in the cities rather than the coun tryside and for capitalists rather than slaveholders."
August 21, 2017
In a society based upon exploitation, the highest moral is that of the social revolution. All methods are good which raise the class consciousness of the workers, their trust in their own forces, their readiness for self-sacrifice in the struggle. The impermissible methods are those which implant fear and submissiveness in the oppressed before their oppressors, which crush the spirit of protest and indignation or substitute for the will of the masses — the will of the leaders; for conviction — compulsion; for an analysis of reality — demagogy and frame-up. That is why Social Democracy, prostituting Marxism, and Stalinism — the antithesis of Bolshevism — are both mortal enemies of the proletarian revolution and its morals.
To face reality squarely; not to seek the line of least resistance; to call things by their right names; to speak the truth to the masses, no matter how bitter it may be; not to fear obstacles; to be true in little things as in big ones; to base one’s program on the logic of the class struggle; to be bold when the hour for action arrives these are the rules of the Fourth International. It has shown that it could swim against the stream. The approaching historical wave will raise it on its crest.
The writing's as stiff and boring as it gets, but the transitional program sounds okay. In particular:
- Form factory committees to create a dual power structure in the workplace.
- Form soviets to create dual power in the country. (Maybe don't call them Soviets. I'm picturing them as like the Venezuelan communes in the recent Ciccaiarello book?).
- Expropriation of the Private Banks and Nationalization of the Credit System.
- Sliding wage scales and sliding scale of hours.
- Build alliances between workers and farmers. Because farmers aren't traditional workers, sort of unique in their national circumstances.
- Arm the picket lines and arm the unions. So that capitalists will start to take workers seriously.
- Smash fascism.
- Fight against imperialism by demanding an end to secret treaties. "The complete diplomatic correspondence of the Kremlin to be published. Down with secret diplomacy!"
- Open the road to the woman worker! Open the road to youth!
To face reality squarely; not to seek the line of least resistance; to call things by their right names; to speak the truth to the masses, no matter how bitter it may be; not to fear obstacles; to be true in little things as in big ones; to base one’s program on the logic of the class struggle; to be bold when the hour for action arrives these are the rules of the Fourth International. It has shown that it could swim against the stream. The approaching historical wave will raise it on its crest.
The writing's as stiff and boring as it gets, but the transitional program sounds okay. In particular:
- Form factory committees to create a dual power structure in the workplace.
- Form soviets to create dual power in the country. (Maybe don't call them Soviets. I'm picturing them as like the Venezuelan communes in the recent Ciccaiarello book?).
- Expropriation of the Private Banks and Nationalization of the Credit System.
- Sliding wage scales and sliding scale of hours.
- Build alliances between workers and farmers. Because farmers aren't traditional workers, sort of unique in their national circumstances.
- Arm the picket lines and arm the unions. So that capitalists will start to take workers seriously.
- Smash fascism.
- Fight against imperialism by demanding an end to secret treaties. "The complete diplomatic correspondence of the Kremlin to be published. Down with secret diplomacy!"
- Open the road to the woman worker! Open the road to youth!
March 28, 2021
To face reality squarely; not to seek the line of least resistance; to call things by their right names; to speak the truth to the masses, no matter how bitter it may be; not to fear obstacles; to be true in little things as in big ones; to base one’s program on the logic of the class struggle; to be bold when the hour for action arrives – these are the rules of the Fourth International. It has shown that it could swim against the stream. The approaching historical wave will raise it on its crest.
One of the most important books I've read.
The Transitional Program puts forward a program of immediate, transitional demands as a bridge from capitalism to socialism. At the time this was written, this included both the overthrow of Western capitalism and the (not-actually-socialist) Stalinist bureaucracy of the USSR.
Another reviewer, Omri, expressed it perfectly: "Trotsky is the most gifted and inspiring writer I have ever read. His insights are razor sharp, his formulations concise and measured, and his brilliance of analysis so profound that it hasn't lost an ounce of relevance." Trotsky's genius really shows through in this short book - in his expression, his ideas, and his call to action.
That Trotsky could still have such faith in us, and hope for the future, after so many of his family and friends and comrades were murdered by the Stalinist bureaucracy... that is perhaps the most important, unspoken aspect I drew from this book. Despite all the tragedies and loss that he endured, he still fully believed in the potential of the working class to reform the world for the better. He knew that through the hardships and setbacks, workers would but take lessons and adapt them. He still believed in a socialist future.
If he could hold such optimism after everything that happened, there's no excuse for the rest of us. We must keep striving towards equality, democracy, and a more fulfilling life for all.
One of the most important books I've read.
The Transitional Program puts forward a program of immediate, transitional demands as a bridge from capitalism to socialism. At the time this was written, this included both the overthrow of Western capitalism and the (not-actually-socialist) Stalinist bureaucracy of the USSR.
Another reviewer, Omri, expressed it perfectly: "Trotsky is the most gifted and inspiring writer I have ever read. His insights are razor sharp, his formulations concise and measured, and his brilliance of analysis so profound that it hasn't lost an ounce of relevance." Trotsky's genius really shows through in this short book - in his expression, his ideas, and his call to action.
That Trotsky could still have such faith in us, and hope for the future, after so many of his family and friends and comrades were murdered by the Stalinist bureaucracy... that is perhaps the most important, unspoken aspect I drew from this book. Despite all the tragedies and loss that he endured, he still fully believed in the potential of the working class to reform the world for the better. He knew that through the hardships and setbacks, workers would but take lessons and adapt them. He still believed in a socialist future.
If he could hold such optimism after everything that happened, there's no excuse for the rest of us. We must keep striving towards equality, democracy, and a more fulfilling life for all.
June 29, 2020
This edition, from Pathfinder publishing, includes a couple of introductory essays from Joseph Hansen (Trotsky’s secretary) and George Novack on the significance and context of Trotsky’s Transitional Program, as well as a couple of essays on potential ways to put the program into action (for a youth program and as a program for black liberation), aaannnnddd some transcripts dubbed “discussions with Trotsky” that are just plain cool to have. Beefy edition! Yum.
The Transitional Program, which was unrefined and unedited as to Trotsky’s liking before his murder, attempts to answer the great question that plagues everything from the move towards a socialist revolution to what to do with a Sunday afternoon—“what is the plan?” From Marx and Engels to Trotsky, it was obvious that you couldn’t jump from a capitalist nation directly into a full communist operation, no matter how successful the revolution (see: Stalin and Mao). This program attempts to bridge the gap, to come up with a series of measures and movements to bring the working class together and up-to-speed on how to operate society to their benefit while in their control. The Transitional Program is a mass education that aims to prepare the worker for the monumental task of taking over society (i.e. the means of production) from the capitalist class and actually being able to run, nationally and internationally.
Trotsky puts forth many plans, from training workers to take up arms (being able and willing to use them), to the “state-ization” of the banks and finance, to factory committees that would give rise to a dual power of workers and capitalists running the show in opposition but equal in power. He envisioned uniting the farmers in the countryside through the efforts of the urban proletariat in order to spread the movement from city to rural populations. He suggests finer points like demanding sliding scale wages and total employment guaranteed for all, and committees to control pricing and fix prices to stabilize the lives of the proletariat as they continue the march towards socialism. The intro essays point out the need for, and effect of, slogans which are direct and to the point, bringing attention to the logistics of mobilizing workers without turning them off to the process. He implies that The State, in the hands of the capitalists, is an enemy to the people, but in the hands of the proletariat, can only be beneficial and made only to serve them. To get there, the proletariat must be mobilized in any way, shape and form it takes, wherever it can exert power and influence, in any sense that it can grab power and do so democratically, militantly, and with the intent of empowering the whole of the local and/or global workforce. This essential text maybe needs to be reassessed on a microlevel in view of monopoly capital and late-stage capitalism, but its significance in Marxist literature shouldn’t be underestimated. If anyone asks, “how?,” you can point them to the ideas present in this book. woooooooo doggy! I’m tired and need a revolutionary nap!
The Transitional Program, which was unrefined and unedited as to Trotsky’s liking before his murder, attempts to answer the great question that plagues everything from the move towards a socialist revolution to what to do with a Sunday afternoon—“what is the plan?” From Marx and Engels to Trotsky, it was obvious that you couldn’t jump from a capitalist nation directly into a full communist operation, no matter how successful the revolution (see: Stalin and Mao). This program attempts to bridge the gap, to come up with a series of measures and movements to bring the working class together and up-to-speed on how to operate society to their benefit while in their control. The Transitional Program is a mass education that aims to prepare the worker for the monumental task of taking over society (i.e. the means of production) from the capitalist class and actually being able to run, nationally and internationally.
Trotsky puts forth many plans, from training workers to take up arms (being able and willing to use them), to the “state-ization” of the banks and finance, to factory committees that would give rise to a dual power of workers and capitalists running the show in opposition but equal in power. He envisioned uniting the farmers in the countryside through the efforts of the urban proletariat in order to spread the movement from city to rural populations. He suggests finer points like demanding sliding scale wages and total employment guaranteed for all, and committees to control pricing and fix prices to stabilize the lives of the proletariat as they continue the march towards socialism. The intro essays point out the need for, and effect of, slogans which are direct and to the point, bringing attention to the logistics of mobilizing workers without turning them off to the process. He implies that The State, in the hands of the capitalists, is an enemy to the people, but in the hands of the proletariat, can only be beneficial and made only to serve them. To get there, the proletariat must be mobilized in any way, shape and form it takes, wherever it can exert power and influence, in any sense that it can grab power and do so democratically, militantly, and with the intent of empowering the whole of the local and/or global workforce. This essential text maybe needs to be reassessed on a microlevel in view of monopoly capital and late-stage capitalism, but its significance in Marxist literature shouldn’t be underestimated. If anyone asks, “how?,” you can point them to the ideas present in this book. woooooooo doggy! I’m tired and need a revolutionary nap!
January 1, 2026
Am citit traducerea în română, fără eseurile din volum. Mi-a plăcut textul programului overall, deși siguranța lui Trotsky e pe alocuri enervantă și simt că sunt părți unde se repetă/nu își explică suficient de bine motivațiile & utilitatea propunerilor tranziționale. Îmi place umorul său, cu precădere fragmentele unde descrie sectariștii. O să îi dau un second read aici când revin la ea pentru citirea integrală a eseelor.
Internaţionala a IV-a declară un neîndurător război birocraţiei Internaţionalelor a II-a şi a III-a, celei de la Amsterdam şi celei anarho-sindicaliste, ca şi sateliţilor lor centrişti, reformismului fără reforme, democratismului aliat al G.P.U.-ului, pacifismului fără pace, anarhismului pus în slujba burgheziei, “revoluţionarilor” care se tem de revoluţie ca de moarte.
Pentru sectari, a se pregăti pentru revoluţie înseamnă a se convinge ei înşişi de superioritatea socialismului. (...) Sectarii nu sînt în stare să distingă decît două culori: roşu şi alb. Pentru a nu se expune ispitei, ei simplifică realitatea. (...)Incapabili de a găsi calea către mase, ei le acuză bucuros ca sînt incapabile de a se ridica pînă la înălţimea ideilor revoluţionare. (...) În general, aceşti politicieni neputincioşi nu au nevoie de o punte de trecere sub forma revendicărilor tranzitorii, căci ei nu au deloc intenţia să treacă pe malul celălalt. Ei bat pur şi simplu pasul pe loc, mulţumindu-se să repete aceleaşi abstracţii golite de orice conţinut. Evenimentele politice reprezintă pentru ei un prilej de a face comentarii, nu de a acţiona. De vreme ce sectarii, ca şi confuzioniştii şi făcătorii de minuni de tot felul, primesc mereu bobîrnace din partea realităţii, ei trăiesc într-o stare de continuă iritare, plîngîndu-se neîncetat de “regim” şi de “metode” şi dedicîndu-se fără încetare intrigilor mărunte. În propriile lor medii, ei exercită de obicei un regim de despotism. Apatia politică a sectarismului nu face decît să completeze, ca o umbră, apatia oportunismului, fără a deschide nici un fel de perspective revoluţionare. În politica practică, sectarii se alătură la fiecare pas oportuniştilor, mai ales centriştilor, pentru a lupta împotriva marxismului. (...) Totuşi, tendinţe sectariste se întîlnesc şi în propriile noastre rînduri şi exercită o influenţă nefastă asupra activităţii anumitor secţiuni. Este o situaţie care nu mai trebuie tolerată nici o zi în plus. O politică justă în problema sindicatelor este o condiţie fundamentală pentru apartenenţa la Internaţionala a IV-a. Acela care nu caută şi nici nu găseşte drumul către mase nu este un luptător, ci o povară pentru partid. Un program nu este alcătuit pentru un comitet de redacţie sau pentru liderii unui club de discuţii, ci pentru acţiunea revoluţionară a milioane de oameni.
Internaţionala a IV-a declară un neîndurător război birocraţiei Internaţionalelor a II-a şi a III-a, celei de la Amsterdam şi celei anarho-sindicaliste, ca şi sateliţilor lor centrişti, reformismului fără reforme, democratismului aliat al G.P.U.-ului, pacifismului fără pace, anarhismului pus în slujba burgheziei, “revoluţionarilor” care se tem de revoluţie ca de moarte.
Pentru sectari, a se pregăti pentru revoluţie înseamnă a se convinge ei înşişi de superioritatea socialismului. (...) Sectarii nu sînt în stare să distingă decît două culori: roşu şi alb. Pentru a nu se expune ispitei, ei simplifică realitatea. (...)Incapabili de a găsi calea către mase, ei le acuză bucuros ca sînt incapabile de a se ridica pînă la înălţimea ideilor revoluţionare. (...) În general, aceşti politicieni neputincioşi nu au nevoie de o punte de trecere sub forma revendicărilor tranzitorii, căci ei nu au deloc intenţia să treacă pe malul celălalt. Ei bat pur şi simplu pasul pe loc, mulţumindu-se să repete aceleaşi abstracţii golite de orice conţinut. Evenimentele politice reprezintă pentru ei un prilej de a face comentarii, nu de a acţiona. De vreme ce sectarii, ca şi confuzioniştii şi făcătorii de minuni de tot felul, primesc mereu bobîrnace din partea realităţii, ei trăiesc într-o stare de continuă iritare, plîngîndu-se neîncetat de “regim” şi de “metode” şi dedicîndu-se fără încetare intrigilor mărunte. În propriile lor medii, ei exercită de obicei un regim de despotism. Apatia politică a sectarismului nu face decît să completeze, ca o umbră, apatia oportunismului, fără a deschide nici un fel de perspective revoluţionare. În politica practică, sectarii se alătură la fiecare pas oportuniştilor, mai ales centriştilor, pentru a lupta împotriva marxismului. (...) Totuşi, tendinţe sectariste se întîlnesc şi în propriile noastre rînduri şi exercită o influenţă nefastă asupra activităţii anumitor secţiuni. Este o situaţie care nu mai trebuie tolerată nici o zi în plus. O politică justă în problema sindicatelor este o condiţie fundamentală pentru apartenenţa la Internaţionala a IV-a. Acela care nu caută şi nici nu găseşte drumul către mase nu este un luptător, ci o povară pentru partid. Un program nu este alcătuit pentru un comitet de redacţie sau pentru liderii unui club de discuţii, ci pentru acţiunea revoluţionară a milioane de oameni.
January 22, 2025
The work by Leon Trotsky, The Death Agony of Capitalism and the Task of the Fourth International, is a very important work as a theoretically rich and condensed guide for revolutionary action based on the lessons learned by the working class in its struggle against capital in the first part of the 20th century. It explains the method for bridging the gap that exists between the subjective conditions of the working class and the objective conditions it has to overcome. That the demands outlined in the document have retained much of their relevancy is a testament to the method's ability to orient the working class towards greater revolutionary action even in the face of setbacks like those suffered since it was written.
The Transitional Program, which is what the document is popularly known by among students of revolutionary theory, is not intended to be a discrete set of unchangeable laws. As indicated in the introduction, Trotsky said that the work is incomplete and that it requires additions based on the experience of the working class as we carry on in struggle responding to the changing objective conditions. The introductory articles written by Joseph Hansen and George Novack, the discussions that preempted the writing of the Transitional Program, and the preconference discussions that followed, are all critically necessary for understanding the significance and intent behind this work by Trotsky.
I read a copy of the Transitional Program on the Marxist Internet Archive when I first became politically conscious. Although I got much out of that initial reading, I would have had a much better start to my studies as a Marxist had I read this printing by Pathfinder Press (an organ of the Socialist Workers Party in the U.S.). It is clear that Trotsky considered the SWP as the continuity of the Bolshevik-Leninist tradition in America. The SWP maintains the Transitional Program as its founding resolution and the party's newspaper, the Militant, is an excellent example of the program in action today.
The Transitional Program, which is what the document is popularly known by among students of revolutionary theory, is not intended to be a discrete set of unchangeable laws. As indicated in the introduction, Trotsky said that the work is incomplete and that it requires additions based on the experience of the working class as we carry on in struggle responding to the changing objective conditions. The introductory articles written by Joseph Hansen and George Novack, the discussions that preempted the writing of the Transitional Program, and the preconference discussions that followed, are all critically necessary for understanding the significance and intent behind this work by Trotsky.
I read a copy of the Transitional Program on the Marxist Internet Archive when I first became politically conscious. Although I got much out of that initial reading, I would have had a much better start to my studies as a Marxist had I read this printing by Pathfinder Press (an organ of the Socialist Workers Party in the U.S.). It is clear that Trotsky considered the SWP as the continuity of the Bolshevik-Leninist tradition in America. The SWP maintains the Transitional Program as its founding resolution and the party's newspaper, the Militant, is an excellent example of the program in action today.
April 6, 2021
The concrete transitional demands expressed in this founding document of the Fourth International are historically significant and can inspire contemporary struggles. In this review, I will focus primarily on Trotsky’s framing, suggesting that his opposition to sectarianism, while often brutally critical, offers a necessary corrective to the conflation of politics with “perpetual exasperation.” Sectarians live in a morally simplified world, where anyone participating in X is an Xist, disregarding differences. Rejecting the masses for their supposed inability to embrace revolutionary ideas, sectarians confuse political organizing with book clubs. Trotsky declares that “the Fourth International is certainly not striving to become an asylum for revolutionary invalids, disillusioned bureaucrats and careerists,” requiring a 3 year “probationary period for those candidates who are not workers, especially former party bureaucrats.” Trotsky’s severity is bracing, and cannot be dismissed as a rhetorical flourish. Against the tendency to take short cuts, Trotsky insists that revolutionaries must “call things by their right names” and “speak the truth to the masses, no matter how bitter it may be.” Trotsky’s policy of tough love is an important corrective to the contemporary politics of respectability, and his demand that revolutionaries “be true in little things as in big ones” differentiates him from the abandonment of truth as a category. Trotsky’s strategy is compelling, though I wonder if it is possible to be ruthlessly honest without indulging in retributive rhetoric, tempering Hegelian negativity with Spinozist beautitude.
September 14, 2025
It’s a short but powerful text. There are often questions about whet a communist society or a socialist society as a transitional state to communism will look like & how do we get there. This text in addition to Lenin’s “State & Revolution” provides concrete answers. This particular text is about the transition & demands to get there & proceed through it. The reason for this, is through an understanding of dialectical materialism, the Marxist philosophy, we understand that bourgeois society will not disappear overnight. You can abolish capitalism & that happens when workers take power but the workers also need a workers state to defend their gains until the way of life of providing for human need is so pervasive it is like breathing & a state is no longer necessary to defend against the bourgeoisie.
Transitional demands are a step towards this reality & begin in the course of revolutionary struggle & continue. A transitional program is a bridge between the minimum program (basic reforms) & the maximum program (social revolution). Workers learn through this process & through this development is what lays the basis for the withering away of the state. It will not happen on its own but is made possible through conscious, rational & democratic planning & control of production & society.
This is a classic test that is key to understanding the way forward.
Transitional demands are a step towards this reality & begin in the course of revolutionary struggle & continue. A transitional program is a bridge between the minimum program (basic reforms) & the maximum program (social revolution). Workers learn through this process & through this development is what lays the basis for the withering away of the state. It will not happen on its own but is made possible through conscious, rational & democratic planning & control of production & society.
This is a classic test that is key to understanding the way forward.
Read
September 4, 2023This text was built as a guide to bridge between basic reforms and social revolution. It was written in 1938. It is a foundational text for the 4th international. It was built for the specific problems of the time and you must not make the mistake of blindly applying it to problems of today. Still, much of it is relevant.
I personally found the first half super interesting and relevant. The second half is more historical and shit that is a bit out of my reach right now.
Guy says pre reqs for socialist revolution:
- Mankinds productive forces stagnate (agree with least)
- New inventions and improvements fail to raise the level of material wealth
- Conjunctural crises under the conditions of the social crisis of the capitalist system inflict heavier deprevatioms and suffering on the masses
- Growing unemployment deepens the financial crisis
- Regimes stagger from one bankcruptcy to another
With the right conditions, you introduce basic reforms. Today things like Cost of Living adjustments are almost unanimously popular amongst workers. Two things may happen: The basic reforms are made by the capitalist class, which improves the circumstances of the people OR, more likely - the capitalist class does not make these very basic reforms, which pisses the workers off, raises class conciousness and makes the demand for more revolutionary options more legitamate.
These are the order of sub headings from this text. It is not meant to be a definitive list for all situations, purely what the 4th estate was focusing on.
1. sliding scale of wages and hours (Wages auto increase with cola / “the right to employment is the only serious right left to the worker in a society based in exploitation”), If this suceeds (unlikey) then you save workers from worsening conditions, if it fails - class conciousness increases and creates more pressure for revolution
2. Trade Unions: incredibly important but not end all be all. It should not replace “the party”. It should routinely replace top ranking union officials, as bureaucrats at the top can easily become careerist and bourgeois
3. Factory: I did not understand this heading
4. Business secrets: abolish business secrets, they only serve capitalists and monopolies - they are not in the interest of society or the worker. Indact, secrets and “tricks of the trade” should be told to all. Banks, industry and what not should be put under a magnifying glass.
5. Expropriation of seperate groups of capitalists: In reference to the “60 families”, you essentially break up any monopoly or industry that has too much power - as it is a threat??? / This will be shit like war industries, railroads/ transport, important sources of raw materials (lumber, grain, oil, etc)
6. Expropriation of the private banks and state-ization of the credit system: Trotsky says merge all banks into a single national institution. “The expropriation of banks in no way implies the expropriation of deposits”
7. The picket lines, defense guards/ workers militia and arming the proletariat. “The bourgeouise is nowhere satisfied with the official policr and army. In the united states, even during peaceful times the bourgeoises maintains militerized battalions of scans and privately armed thugs in factories. To this must be now added the various groups of american nazis” - “In connection with every strike and street demonstration, it is imperative to propagate the necessity of creating “workers groups for self defense”” Re: The state monoply on violence
8. The alliance of workers and farmers
9. The struggle against imperialism and war. “It is imperative to help the masses discern, by means of verifying criteria, slogans and demands, the concrete essence of fraudulent abstractions. “Disarmament”? - But the entire question revolves around who will disarm whom. The only disarmament which can avert or end war is the disarmament of the bourgeoisie by the workers. But to disarm the bourgeoisie, the workers must arm themselves.” /// “We stand ready to defend the fatherland from foreign capitalists, if we first bind our own (capitlalist) hand and foot and hinder them from attacking foreign fatherlands” //// “In this struggle the basic principle is: “the chief enemy is in your own country” or “the defeat of your own (imperialist) government is the lesser evil”” //// “Anti Semitism today is one of the most malignant convulsions of capitalism’s death agony”
SECTION 2/ PART TWO
1. Workers and farmers alliance. “Each of the transitional demands should, therefore, lead to one and the same political conclusion: the workers need to break with all traditional parties of the bourgeoisie in order, jointly with the farmers, to establish their own power”
2. Soviets: interesting sub heading, but I dont think I know what a “soviet” is.
3. Backwards Countries. This isnt something that I will remember.
4. Transitional demands in facists countries
5. The ussr and problems of the transitional epoch // “The USSR thus embodies terrific contradictions. But it still remains a degenerated workers state”
6. Against opportunism and unprincipled revisionism. “It is necassary to drive the bureaucracy and the new aristocracy out of the soviets. In the new soviets there is room only for representatives of the workers, rank-and-file collectove farmers, peasants and Red Army men.”
7. Against Sectarianism. “He who does not seek and does not find the road to the masses is not a fighter but a dead weight to the party”
8. Women worker / youth
9. Under the banner of the fourth international:
Qs for group
- What is the Fourth International
- First international made by marxs, very small, second int was biggest (lenin n shit), third - all fell out, second in 1914. It is international group because you cant have socialism in just one countru
- What is a “soviet”
- Definition changed but its like a grouping people basically, workers, laborers etc
- What is “Sectanarianism”m
- Answer: putting cart before the horse, individualistic, people that believe on 90% the same thing and end up fighting eachother endlessly about the 10%, well intentioned but impatient and a threat to the wholeness of the group
I personally found the first half super interesting and relevant. The second half is more historical and shit that is a bit out of my reach right now.
Guy says pre reqs for socialist revolution:
- Mankinds productive forces stagnate (agree with least)
- New inventions and improvements fail to raise the level of material wealth
- Conjunctural crises under the conditions of the social crisis of the capitalist system inflict heavier deprevatioms and suffering on the masses
- Growing unemployment deepens the financial crisis
- Regimes stagger from one bankcruptcy to another
With the right conditions, you introduce basic reforms. Today things like Cost of Living adjustments are almost unanimously popular amongst workers. Two things may happen: The basic reforms are made by the capitalist class, which improves the circumstances of the people OR, more likely - the capitalist class does not make these very basic reforms, which pisses the workers off, raises class conciousness and makes the demand for more revolutionary options more legitamate.
These are the order of sub headings from this text. It is not meant to be a definitive list for all situations, purely what the 4th estate was focusing on.
1. sliding scale of wages and hours (Wages auto increase with cola / “the right to employment is the only serious right left to the worker in a society based in exploitation”), If this suceeds (unlikey) then you save workers from worsening conditions, if it fails - class conciousness increases and creates more pressure for revolution
2. Trade Unions: incredibly important but not end all be all. It should not replace “the party”. It should routinely replace top ranking union officials, as bureaucrats at the top can easily become careerist and bourgeois
3. Factory: I did not understand this heading
4. Business secrets: abolish business secrets, they only serve capitalists and monopolies - they are not in the interest of society or the worker. Indact, secrets and “tricks of the trade” should be told to all. Banks, industry and what not should be put under a magnifying glass.
5. Expropriation of seperate groups of capitalists: In reference to the “60 families”, you essentially break up any monopoly or industry that has too much power - as it is a threat??? / This will be shit like war industries, railroads/ transport, important sources of raw materials (lumber, grain, oil, etc)
6. Expropriation of the private banks and state-ization of the credit system: Trotsky says merge all banks into a single national institution. “The expropriation of banks in no way implies the expropriation of deposits”
7. The picket lines, defense guards/ workers militia and arming the proletariat. “The bourgeouise is nowhere satisfied with the official policr and army. In the united states, even during peaceful times the bourgeoises maintains militerized battalions of scans and privately armed thugs in factories. To this must be now added the various groups of american nazis” - “In connection with every strike and street demonstration, it is imperative to propagate the necessity of creating “workers groups for self defense”” Re: The state monoply on violence
8. The alliance of workers and farmers
9. The struggle against imperialism and war. “It is imperative to help the masses discern, by means of verifying criteria, slogans and demands, the concrete essence of fraudulent abstractions. “Disarmament”? - But the entire question revolves around who will disarm whom. The only disarmament which can avert or end war is the disarmament of the bourgeoisie by the workers. But to disarm the bourgeoisie, the workers must arm themselves.” /// “We stand ready to defend the fatherland from foreign capitalists, if we first bind our own (capitlalist) hand and foot and hinder them from attacking foreign fatherlands” //// “In this struggle the basic principle is: “the chief enemy is in your own country” or “the defeat of your own (imperialist) government is the lesser evil”” //// “Anti Semitism today is one of the most malignant convulsions of capitalism’s death agony”
SECTION 2/ PART TWO
1. Workers and farmers alliance. “Each of the transitional demands should, therefore, lead to one and the same political conclusion: the workers need to break with all traditional parties of the bourgeoisie in order, jointly with the farmers, to establish their own power”
2. Soviets: interesting sub heading, but I dont think I know what a “soviet” is.
3. Backwards Countries. This isnt something that I will remember.
4. Transitional demands in facists countries
5. The ussr and problems of the transitional epoch // “The USSR thus embodies terrific contradictions. But it still remains a degenerated workers state”
6. Against opportunism and unprincipled revisionism. “It is necassary to drive the bureaucracy and the new aristocracy out of the soviets. In the new soviets there is room only for representatives of the workers, rank-and-file collectove farmers, peasants and Red Army men.”
7. Against Sectarianism. “He who does not seek and does not find the road to the masses is not a fighter but a dead weight to the party”
8. Women worker / youth
9. Under the banner of the fourth international:
Qs for group
- What is the Fourth International
- First international made by marxs, very small, second int was biggest (lenin n shit), third - all fell out, second in 1914. It is international group because you cant have socialism in just one countru
- What is a “soviet”
- Definition changed but its like a grouping people basically, workers, laborers etc
- What is “Sectanarianism”m
- Answer: putting cart before the horse, individualistic, people that believe on 90% the same thing and end up fighting eachother endlessly about the 10%, well intentioned but impatient and a threat to the wholeness of the group
July 8, 2025
Damn I really expected I wouldn't agree with much of this book because I strongly disagree with some present-day Trotskyist groups, but this text actually slaps. It leaves a lot more room for appreciation of how instrumental wins can feed into the radical politicisation of people rather than insisting on a purist politics which risks alienating people, as many tankie circles do. Obviously, I'm still sceptical that a representative structure where those elected are subject to recall is sufficient to ensure that power differentials and hierarchies are not leveraged to the advantage of the most privileged against the masses. But otherwise it was genuinely a rather inspiring read.
November 6, 2023
I read a different version of the Transitional Program where the introduction was given by Doug Lorimer (long-time leader of the American DemSocs).
Introductions are very useful for beginners, although one may skip the introduction altogether since the correct political line is usually not upheld in these introductions.
Introductions are very useful for beginners, although one may skip the introduction altogether since the correct political line is usually not upheld in these introductions.
December 13, 2024
I found this book fascinating as well as easy to read. Reading the examples given by Trotsky you can see them so blatantly existing in our own times as well. This makes it all the more important. The analysis given by Trotsky is a great way of understanding how we need to organise as communist and how to communicate and engage in the class struggle as the most advanced layers in it.
February 29, 2020
The transitional method makes sense. It engages with the workers movement and works within existing consciousness while also pointing a way forwards towards the ultimate goal : a socialist world democratically owned and operated by the populace. A great guide for the work we do.
Read
February 11, 2021so theres a trot marxist society at my uni and theyre doing a reading group. think my guy leon has some good ideas, some ideas that dont align with what ive observed of trot behaviour n all. but it doesnt hit like marx, engels, or lenin.
February 17, 2022
skimmed over this for a reading group earlier this week. was still v good n nice. Trotsky v wise actually. was watching tall girl 2 while I was reading this n paying half attention to both which was an excellent way to not really understand or appreciate either of them fully lol
February 18, 2025
Un escrito muy interesante que nos deja materializar muchas preguntas que podemos tener sobre la praxis en la revolución. Es importante considerar la epoca en la que se escribió este texto y buscar una forma de remediar las diferencias con el presente.
March 9, 2019
Clarísimo manifiesto sobre el programa del trotskismo. Con algunas predicciones erróneas sobre el futuro del capitalismo, pero no deja de ser totalmente actual a la realidad del hoy día.
November 9, 2019
Well written, thought provoking, important
May 3, 2020
r e g r e s s i v e sorry trotsky
July 26, 2020
Tan de actualidad, como en su época.
June 14, 2021
A bit dated in it's actual demands, but still relevant today for formulating a fighting strategy to engage the working class
Read
January 18, 2022Intéressant & court. 1er programme de transition que je lis. Proposition sur les paysans et le rapport au fascisme et aux luttes transitoires intéressantes.
December 30, 2022
Viva a IV Internacional!
July 14, 2023
Trotsky is just so intelligent that it's almost infuriating
August 25, 2023
Sections on factory committees and “opening the road to women & youth workers” are pretty agreeable. Rest is fairly mixed.
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