The Russian Revolution offered millions of workers, peasants and the poor around the world hope for a better future free of exploitation, oppression and war. Yet, after years of struggle, a counter-revolutionary clique around Stalin rose to power and abolished all semblance of workers' control over society and production. Leon Trotsky played a crucial role in resisting this process, and kept the flickering flame of genuine Marxism alive. This discussion will assess Trotsky’s battle with Stalin and the subsequent revisions to his theory that addressed some of its weaknesses and made it fit for the circumstances of the postwar world.

Some useful books:

• Trotsky volume 3, 1923-27: Fighting the rising Stalinist bureaucracy by Tony Cliff (esp preface and chapters 1-4, 6-7, 9-11)

• Trotsky volume 4, 1927-40: The darker the night, the brighter the star by Tony Cliff (esp chapters 1-4, 13-15)

• The New Course by Leon Trotsky (esp chapter 5)

• The Revolution Betrayed by Leon Trotsky (esp chapters 3, 5-6, 9, 11)