Trotsky's Theory of Permanent Revolution

A Leninist Critique

After Lenin the foremost leader of the Russian Revolution, Leon Trotsky was one of the outstanding figures in the revolutionary movement of the 20th century. To many of his adherents, his most brilliant and distinctive contribution to Marxism was his theory of permanent revolution, which deals with the development of revolutions in Third World countries.

In this pioneering essay, Doug Lorimer takes issue with such assessments and subjects Trotsky’s writings on permanent revolution to a sustained critique. He shows how Trotsky’s theory is wrong on the fundamental questions and contrasts it to the ideas of Lenin, which have been powerfully confirmed by the Russian Revolution and all subsequent revolutions.