Picture Created by Me.
Anarchists present a curious anomaly for the Left. There are many Trotskyists, I daresay, who are much closer to Marxist-Leninists ('Stalinists') than to the other tendencies of the Left. So why does it seem that anarchists and MLs in real life seem to be able to conjoin in bi-partisan activities more often than the latter two tendencies, ostensibly both adherents to Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Bolshevism?
I think that this problem, rooten in historical events, is prolonged and proliferated by some intentional, some 'ironical' (memical) misunderstandings. Take my position for a moment, one could truthfully say that whilst I support Comrade Stalin more, I still hold a favourable view of Comrade Trotsky. Is this a contradiction? Historically speaking, I would say that it was, but in the modern context I believe that the two tendencies can be reconciled or at the very least allied in permanent coalition. This is all I need tell for this post, but I do intend to give due discourse on this topic in a future, singular post.
Bolshevik-Leninists and Marxist-Leninists, if they are truly worthy of those descriptors, wholly praise Comrade Trotsky for his daring defence of the Revolution from the SR rabble and the anarchist uncontents (that is, implacable), likely supplied by the fourteen-army Western invasion force. I have naught but admiration for Comrade Trotsky in the settling of this affair, even though I think Comrade Stalin judged correctly that Trotsky should have been transferred from the Southern front during the Civil War. We should not to-day disdain all in gone, for we are Communists; Scientists of the socialist way, not the cancel culture soldaten of rainbow capitalism as the liberals are. We must, comrades, examine the facts bearing in mind that the bourgeoisie lies about Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, Mao, Che, Bakunin, and every sort of Leftist. They foolishly attempt to cancel Engels as 'anti-Marx' when it could not be farther from the truth! They even see useful to slander such forgotten comrades as, François-Noël Babeuf, John Brown, and Louis Blanqui. No comrade is safe from this propaganda war, so we shall either defend everyone on the Left, or there may be no one left!
If we take a closer look at the Kronstadtian ideology, it is not Left. What the sailorswanted, as did the sailors of the SPD, was a comfortable, imperialist exploitation republic, with plenty of ministerial seats in a larger Reichstag filled with more such seats. The Kronstadt counter-revolution was led by labour-aristocrats. Had they managed to take over any significant amount of territory, it is nigh certain that the small peasantry would have been inthralled by these new labourgeois (and, lacking any of the high culture, manners, or noble-obligations of the Junkers/Youngirs would drive them twice as hard). By smashing these social fascists, Comrade Trotsky preserved the independence of the peasantry and the proletariat.
The Makhnovists are a more complicated matter. Although Nestor Makhno may not have been the best anarchist, he did still establish an anarchist territory, which is more progreß than most Western 'anarchists' can boast of. We cannot say firmly that the Ukraine was not practising some form of communism, they may well have been practising their own version of it. That, however, is also not really the problem. The reason why Makhno, and even the Spanish anarchists to an extent, had to be rough-handled was due to their absolute inability to protect their own territories. Anarchism and martial excellence are practically opposites, it is impoßible to rely on the anarchists putting up a fight. Comrade Stalin does not give Comrade Trotsky enough credit here: Comrade Trotsky (unlike Crds Lenin and Stalin) saw the oncoming danger posed by the anarchists martial failures, and instead of waiting for a serious crisis to be created from this dangerous situation, he sprang into action to save the Soviet Republic. It is thanks to the brave and risky efforts of Comrade Trotsky that Denikin and Kolchak could not capitalise on the inefficiencies of anarchism, saving not only socialism, but also anarchism. Anarchists really should be more grateful.
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