Strategies of Resistance & 'Who Are the Trotskyists?'

by Daniel Bensaïd, Paul le Blanc (Introduction)

Daniel Bensaïd's challenging survey comes at an appropriate moment. It is a gift to activists reaching for some historical perspective that may provide hints as to where we might go from here. Embracing and sharing the revolutionary socialist political tradition associated with Leon Trotsky, Bensaïd is not simply a thoughtful radical academic or perceptive left-wing intellectual - though he is certainly both - but also one of the foremost leaders of an impressive network of activists, many of them seasoned by innumerable struggles. Daniel Bensaïd emerged decades ago as a leader of the French section of the Fourth International, the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire (LCR). Coming from the 'generation of '68' - the layer of young revolutionary activists of the 1960s - he blends an impressive intellectual sophistication with a refreshing inclination for revolutionary audacity, and with activist commitments which have not faded over the decades. In the tradition of Ernest Mandel, Bensaïd has reached for the continuing relevance of revolutionary Marxism not only in the battlegrounds of academe (as a professor of philosophy and author of such works as Marx for Our Times), but even more in the battlegrounds of social and political struggles against the oppressive and lethal realities of capitalist 'globalization.' In this particular work - succinct, crackling with insights and fruitful provocations - Bensaïd surveys the history of his own political tradition. We are not presented with a catechism, but with a set of informative and critical-minded reflections and notes. We don't have to agree with all he says. I certainly question his taking issue with Trotsky over whether or not Lenin was essential for the triumph of the Russian Revolution (Trotsky says definitely yes, Bensaïd suggests maybe not). Nor am I satisfied when he gives more serious consideration to the dissident current in US Trotskyism of Max Shachtman and James Burnham (both of whom ended up supporting US imperialism in Vietnam) than to the tradition connected with James P. Cannon (which played a role in building a powerful movement that helped end the Vietnam war). On the other hand, Bensaïd makes no pretension of providing a rounded historical account of world Trotskyism, or even a scholarly account of the more limited issues that he does take up. He emphasizes that 'this essay is based on personal experience' and is focused on what he views as 'the major debates' within the movement. And one is especially struck by the excellent point he makes in his Introduction (page 14) regarding the necessity of understanding the varieties of Trotskyism around the world in their distinctive cultural and national specificities. Little sense can be made of Trotskyism if it is not related to the actual social movements and class struggles of various parts of the world, and to the left-wing labour sub-cultures, in which it has meaning. The fact remains that Bensaïd offers us a thoughtful, stimulating, valuable political intervention which leaves the reader with a sense of Trotskyism's history and ideas and diverse manifestations - and also a sense of their relevance for the struggles of today and tomorrow. For younger activists beginning to get their bearings, and for veterans of the struggle who are thinking through the questions of where we have been and where to go from here, this is an important contribution.

184 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2009

About the author

Daniel Bensaïd was a philosopher and a leader of the Trotskyist movement in France. He became a leading figure in the student revolt of 1968, while studying at the University of Paris X: Nanterre.

Reviews

[Kenneth Goodall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant little book highlighting both the impressive dynamism of the Trotskyist movement but also showing how historically out of place Trotskyism was in trying to carry on the legacy of the 3rd international and radical emancipatory politics more broadly while being wedged between the twin pillars of social democracy and Stalinism.

[sofia ✴︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Strategies of Resistance' contains six essays by philosopher and French Trotskyist Daniel Bensaïd. The titular essay, "Who are the Trotskyists," is the longest, making the case for the continued relevance of Trotskyism after the "short 20th Century," tracing (and defining) Trotskyism from the death of Lenin, to the bureaucratization of the USSR and the murder of Trotsky, through the Red Scare, revolutionary current of the 70s, and collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It is, expectedly, a lot of history packed very densely.

The other essays touched on various topics from hegemony—its evolved meaning, furthered by Gramsci's usage—to Stalinism, to a criticism of Ernest Mandel's perspectives bracketing the FI's 11th World Congress. I found the essay "Theses of Resistance," in particular, very difficult to wade through and would have loved to talk it through with a comrade. In general, I'm sure many of Bensaïd's ideas went over my head, but I do feel like I gleaned the core nuggets of his arguments!! :D I ultimately feel better oriented within the ongoing history of Trotskyism (and Communism, more broadly).

My favorite essay was "The Mole and the Locomotive," which advocated for the slower, more persistent, and deeply reflective processes of the digging mole over the frenzied rush of a train. Bensaïd writes: "To ward off disaster, it’s not enough to resist for the sake of resistance, it’s not enough to wager on the possibility of a redemptive event. We must seek both to understand the logic of history and to be ready for the surprise of the event. We must remain open to the contingency of the latter without losing the thread of the former. Such is precisely the challenge of political action. For history doesn’t proceed in a vacuum, and when things take a turn for the better this never happens in an empty stretch of time, but always ‘in time that is infinitely full, filled with struggles.’ And with events.” (143, he's quoting Hegel). <3 LOVE! This essay provided fuel for my revolutionary optimism and some grounding in this immediate moment as the crisis of capitalism crystallizes ever more clearly into the choice between socialism & barbarism.

Overall, a moving and illuminating collection of political analyses that provides a condensed overview of leftist legacies that ought not to be lost, and makes me proud to have found the living legacy of Marxism and Trotskyism.