In Defence of Marxism Nr. 47

Alan Wood’s editorial, entitled ‘The struggle for proletarian internationalism’, explains the inherent link between Marxism and internationalism, and traces the struggle to defend internationalist principles throughout the history of our movement. In particular, it takes up the importance of proletarian internationalism in times of war, and the disastrous role played by reformists on this question.

Fred Weston has written the lead article for this issue: ‘How the Communist International was built’. In it, he sets out the revolutionary context in which the International and its national parties were formed, and explains how Lenin and Trotsky sought to educate the leaderships of these new parties, offering a number of very important lessons, which are especially relevant to our work in building the RCI.

‘War and Revolution: The case of Austria 1914-1918’ has been written by Konstantin Korn and Emanuel Tomaselli. In the article, they explain the impact of the First World War, the October Revolution, and the Bolsheviks’ foreign policy on the revolutionary movement in Austria, as well as the treacherous role played by the reformist leadership of the Austrian working class.

John Peterson has written the next article, ‘When US imperialism invaded Soviet Russia’, covering the involvement of the United States in the Russian Civil War and how the Bolsheviks responded politically. Lenin’s appeal to American workers is highlighted in particular as an example of his steadfast proletarian internationalism.

Following on the theme of the Russian Civil War, Nelson Wan and James Kilby have written an article on El Lissitzy’s famous poster, ‘Beat the Whites With the Red Wedge’. In the article, the authors explore the context in which the poster was designed, and take up its enduring influence, explaining how it captures the essence of the revolutionary process.

Niklas Albin Svensson’s article, ‘Socialism in one country: How Stalin abandoned Marxism’ ends this issue IDOM. In it, Niklas explains the fundamental principles of Marxist internationalism, and then demonstrates how Stalin abandoned those principles with his theory of socialism in one country, which would have terrible consequences for the world communist movement.