Gramsci and Trotsky in the Shadow of Stalinism: The ... - Indymedia

The Balance of Criticism 139sincerity, did not notice the bureaucratic danger they themselves represent.” 25As an active force endowed with a subjective will and its own peculiar interestsand power base, bureaucratism constantly threatened to entrench andmultiply the existing “objective” difficulties. It is at this point that bureaucratismintersected with the factional struggles at the top, and Trotsky, whilemaintaining party loyalty and discipline, was not shy about exposing andcombating the danger.An increasingly privileged bureaucracy was in the process of developinga definite political self-consciousness and unified outlook. Its watchwordswere stability, order, routine, and mistrust of adventures at home or abroad.Stalin was intimately connected to these layers in an institutional sense. Hefelt their mood and articulated their interests most keenly. But at this stageStalin was only one part of a broader leadership faction steering the countrytoward a dangerous course. There were others in the same leading politicalbloc whose institutional connections were not in the party apparatusbut at the juncture between the state apparatus and the economic sphere. 26Responding to a different sort of pressure flowing from the social situationcreated by the NEP, this layer began to interpret it as more than a mere necessarymaneuver, discouraged a serious and planned approach to industrialdevelopment, and even began to titillate the predictable instincts of the kulakand “nepman.” Bukharin, who was on his way to become the most importantfigure associated with this right-wing of the party, would soon openlyencourage the capitalistic byproduct of the NEP, blurting out his famousexhortation to “get rich!” 27 Although they arrived at these political conclusionsthrough a different path than Stalin, this other section of the leadershipalso stood for similar watchwords.Collectively, this group was well versed in Marxist theory, possesseda tremendous reservoir of practical experience, and, in spite of individualmistakes, had contributed powerfully to the making of the revolution.When Trotsky began to fight this active, human element of bureaucratism,he hoped to be able to correct the problem through the sort of loyal, honest,and fierce intraparty discussions that had worked remarkably well in thepast few years. He understood and boldly warned his comrades, however,that their qualities were far from an absolute guarantee against degeneration.Trotsky reminded them that the leaders of the Second Internationalonce also constituted a leadership with impressive credentials and genuinequalities forged by real class struggle and direct collaboration with Marxand Engels. 28 Unable to resist powerful political and social undercurrents,they had nevertheless degenerated, ultimately coming to the rescue of theirrespective national imperialisms.