History of American Trotskyism 1945–1982: How Not to Build a Revolutionary Party

When Trotsky led the founding of the Fourth International in 1938, his close collaboration with the veteran American communists of the Socialist Workers Party was a key element. But, following Trotsky’s assassination in August 1940, the US SWP entered a long period of political disorientation, engendering a series of internal crises that led to its withering into an insignificant sect.

This session will survey the theoretical errors and practical missteps that doomed the original party of American Trotskyism to irrelevance.

This discussion will be introduced by Steve Iverson, a leading member of the RCA in Boston.

Reading list:

Books

• History of American Trotskyism – James P. Cannon
• In Defence of Marxism – Leon Trotsky
  

Articles

• The degeneration and collapse of the Fourth International: in defence of our heritage – RCI
• The collapse of the Fourth International – a reading guide – RCI
• Trotsky and the struggle for a Revolutionary International (1933-1946) – Patrick Larsen
• The Fourth International and the Soviet Union in 1946 – Ted Grant

Podcasts

• The Marxist who predicted the post-war order: Ted Grant’s legacy – Spectre of Communism