S LIBERAL HELPERS

60the infantile emotions with bestiality. Trotsky, who is terms of strictest legality of trade-union and other inawareof loftier emotions, the emotion of creativity and stitutions managed by my bitter opponents. When Ipotent human loving, views "everyday" self-conscious- become the majority, I shall change the rules. Meannessalso as a superego, but for him this is nothing but a while, happily lacking such rights to act, I can safely dopathetic weakling next to the "instinctual" force of will nothing more significant than duly publish my 'position'of unconscious creative emotion. For the actually self- on passing events. Therefore, one Great Day, When The.conscious mind, that quality of creative emotion is the Roll Is Finally Called Up Yonder, The Great Historianopposite of anything instinctual, bestial or unconscious, In The Sky will review my life-long list of 'positions' andbut is the most human, most conscious, most willful, He will shake His Head with wonder that my exmosteveryday quality of self-conscious life. That quality traordinary wisdom was not heeded by my fellow man."is the passionate source of Spinoza's "calm," of Marx's This was the rule of internal factional life within therelentless hubris. SWP, for example. The leadership, in. day-to-dayWhile Trotsky was capable of brilliant insignts and practice, might show its real political tendency anddiscoveries of historic significance and brilliance that outlook. It was deemed outrageous, even among theprocess of discovery was not itself, completely, the self- minorities victimized by the leaders, to attribute theconscious subject of mentation. His mental processes quality of a political tendency to a pattern of day-to-daywere not consistently those of a "transfinite" self- frauds and swindles. Such issues were entitled conconsciousness,ventionally "organizational beefs," "apolitical," etc.In later years especially, as in The Revolution The rules stipulated that the political tendency of aBetrayed and his biography of Stalin, the image of the leading faction was essentially only that view which coulddejected Trotsky prevails as he strives desperately to be attributed to textual criticism of its literary conmusterhis elusive creative powers, which remain tributions. The molecular process of daily practice, byessentially uncontrollable. The struggle of the dejected which the actual political outlook of an organization isTrotsky, the Christ-Trotsky, is best portrayed by Shelley, efficiently shaped and expressed, was not an admissiblewho had similar limitations, who prays to the uncon- topic of analysis.trollable West Wind, his all too changeable creative Real revolutionary practice begins with a strategicpowers: overview of an entire ensuing period of world history, !"Oh lift me, as a wave, a leaf, a cloud, with emphasis on predicting as accurately as possible II fall upon the thorns of life, I bleed." both the form and term of the processes leadingtowarda Inew conjunctural crisis. Within this framework, one !determines the quality of the forces which must bemobilized to act in a certain way at each decisive"The Imitation of Christ-Trotsky" progress-interval of the process. Such forces must bebrought into being and it must be pre-determined thatThe "Old Trotskyist" movement adopted from the they will act appropriately at each future point. Withinwhole reality of the actual Trotsky the false, one-sided this overview, the individual and group must deter:mineimage of the heroic, tragic self-righteous failure. Im- the program; the specific tasks of self-development bywhich to achieve the necessary qualifications and meansmediately, this fallacy of composition had the effect ofdenying the requirement of eradication of crippling to force the accomplishment of each step.neurotic flaws, degrading everything to the realm of The imPotent socialist, by contrast, waits for ascholasticism: objective literary postures, "position"- "new Trotsky" to magically appear and deliver ataking. The same fallacy reduced Trotsky to the form of strategic outlook in the fashion of the mythical Mosesthe desired Christ figure, descending Mount Sinai. He situates "necessary ac-The disgusting impotence-poliCy was the essence of the tions" in limited terms of the short-term tactical reflex-"Old Trotskyist" movement, action of a given organization to a given situation, andThe "Trotskyist" profession became, for both political defines this always in teL,us of the crudest features ofand "independent" academic posturers, a cult of self- both. He considers the "act of mission" as either arighteous impotence: "I represent a noble, correct remarkable high-flown or ineffably speculative conminorityview in" every walk of life. However, I am a sideration. The issues of self-development of necessaryprudent and scrupulous person, never unduly rude to future qualities for competent decisive action do notprevailing opinion, circumspect in my observance of the much concern him. Whether he actually shifts the courserules of conduct imposed by duly-constituted enemy of history at critical times is of entirely secondary conopinion.I always defend my righ t to be a minority in tern to him as lone as he adopts the "correct