Ideology
TrotskyismFar left
A revolutionary Marxist current arguing that socialism cannot survive in one country alone, and that workers must pursue continuous, international revolution while opposing a privileged bureaucratic layer.
Core ideas
- Permanent, international revolution rather than socialism in one country.
- Workers' control of production and soviet (council) democracy.
- A vanguard party and a dictatorship of the proletariat based on working-class self-emancipation.
- Opposition to the bureaucratic degeneration of workers' states.
Where it sits on the 12 axes
On the Economy axis it sits at the extreme Collectivize end (100) and on Diplomacy at the extreme Internationalism end (100), the highest value of any ideology on either. Government is at 40, slightly toward Freedom, and Society at the midpoint (50). In this test it is told apart from Marxism mainly by the internationalism score. You are matched here when your four scores are nearest to these values.
The bar shows the position on each of the four axes an ideology is matched on; the middle mark is the centre.
History
This current was developed by Leon Trotsky and other members of the Left Opposition, which formed inside the ruling communist party in the 1920s. Trotsky was expelled from the party in 1927 and sent into exile in 1929. His critique of the bureaucracy appeared in The Revolution Betrayed (1936). In 1938 his supporters founded the Fourth International to rival the Comintern, which the Bolsheviks had founded in 1919. Trotskyist groups have since split many times, and remain mostly small parties and networks.
Associated thinkers
- Leon Trotsky
- Ernest Mandel
Common misunderstandings
- It is not Stalinism under another name: the two currents were bitter political rivals, and Trotsky opposed Stalin's bureaucratic model.
- It is not a rejection of Marxism or Leninism: Trotsky described himself as a revolutionary Marxist and a Bolshevik–Leninist.
Related ideologies
Is Trotskyism your closest ideology?
Take the test and see which of the ideologies your answers sit closest to.
Questions
What is Trotskyism?
A branch of Marxism and Leninism developed by Leon Trotsky and the Left Opposition. It stands for international revolution, workers' control and council democracy, and criticizes the Soviet bureaucracy that grew under Stalin.
Is Trotskyism left or right?
Far left. It seeks to replace capitalism through revolution. Within the left it opposes Stalinist rule and the idea of socialism in one country.
Trotskyism vs Stalinism?
Trotskyism calls for permanent international revolution and workers' democracy, while Stalinism defended socialism in one country and a highly centralised party-state. The two currents disagreed over bureaucracy, strategy and internationalism.
How does the 12 Axes test decide I am a Trotskyist?
The test compares your Collectivize–Privatize, Security–Freedom, Internationalism–Nationalism and Progressive–Traditional scores with each ideology's four values. The ideology with the smallest total distance is your closest match. The other eight axes are not used.