Leon Trotsky and the Organizational Principles of the Revolutionary Party (International Socialism)

This is a compilation, produced more than a quarter of a century ago, from the writings of Leon Trotsky. It is a survey of ways that Trotsky understood the organizational perspectives associated with a distinctively revolutionary current that arose in the Russian socialist movement, the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. It also gives a sense of how Trotsky sought to apply those perspectives to complex and shifting realities, from the Russian Revolution of 1917 down to the year of his death in 1940. "This is the first comprehensive examination of Leon Trotsky's view on revolutionary organizational principles and the dynamic interplay of democratic initiative and principled centralism. Mostly in his own words, these writings are grounded in Trotsky's experience in Russia's revolutionary movement, as a leader of the International Left Opposition and the Fourth International."--Page 4 of cover

This is the first comprehensive examination of Leon Trotsky's view on revolutionary organizational principles, and the dynamic interplay of democratic initiative and principled centralism. Mostly in his own words, these writings are grounded in Trotsky's experience in Russia's revolutionary movement, as a leader of the International Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky's own words on revolutionary organization, from 1917 to 1940, highlight the dynamics of democratic initiative and principled centralism.