Max Shachtman’s Under the Banner of Marxism, the bulk of this book, should be considered one of the classic Marxist polemics. It defends the Bolsheviks, their revolution, their work to build a revolutionary socialist movement, and the continued relevance of their approach.
Max Shachtman's Under the Banner of Marxism, which forms the bulk of this book, deserves to be considered one of the classic polemics of the Marxist movement, alongside The Poverty of Philosophy, Anti-Dühring, and others. It defends the Bolsheviks, their revolution, their work to build a revolutionary socialist movement, and the continued relevance of their approach.
The British political labour movement is trying to recreate itself. During Corbyn's leadership — when this book was published — something like half a million people joined the Labour Party, and mostly because they wanted be politically active as left-wingers. Around 40,000 joined Momentum for the same reason.
Yet the legacy of previous defeats for socialism still weighed and weighs heavy. There was and remains a strong current of opinion within the broad left which suggests that re-winning a broadly left-wing Labour Party will suffice. However, the defeat Corbyn and the left-wing Labour leadership has left the British left and labour movement are even more disorientated. What has the experience of the Bolsheviks and the Bolshevik tradition have to say to them?
As the British labour movement struggles for its identity once again, what can the experiences of the Bolsheviks and their movement teach us?
The book contains also other relevant documents on the Bolshevik Revolution and texts by Leon Trotsky, Rosa Luxemburg, and Hal Draper.
This, the main text in this book, Under the Banner of Marxism, was a reply by Max Shachtman in 1949 to a document by a hitherto prominent comrade, Ernest Erber, announcing his withdrawal from organised revolutionary Marxist politics. Erber's document, and a letter of his from the same time, are available online. Erber had joined the Trotskyist movement in the mid-30s and was a leading figure in the Workers Party between 1940 and 1948. After resigning Erber made a career as a town planner and was only marginally active in politics, considering himself a sort of social democrat.
[Where not otherwise indicated, the texts in parts 2, 3, and 4 are by Max Shachtman]
Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg
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