Trotsky quotes an article by the Russian Menshevik, Dan, who praised the “Bolshevik” position of Stalin, in maintaining the bloc with the Chinese bourgeoisie, until the completion of the task of national liberation. The same arguments are used, today, by the social imperialists to refuse to adopt a position of revolutionary defeatism, in Ukraine.
“Everyone who knows the history of the struggle of Bolshevism against Menshevism, particularly in the question of relations to the liberal bourgeoisie, must acknowledge that Dan’s approval of the “rational principles” of the Martynov school is not accidental, but follows with perfect legitimacy. It is only unnatural that this school should raise its voice with impunity in the ranks of the Comintern.” (p 28)
And, today, we could say that anyone considering themselves a Marxist, and still more a Trotskyist, would find it unnatural that the same Menshevist position is being pursued in relation to Ukraine, by people who, themselves, claim to be Trotskyists!!!
“The merchandise has not even been renovated. The arguments are the same, letter for letter, as they were twenty years ago. Only, where formerly the word autocracy stood, the word imperialism has been substituted for it in the text. Naturally, British imperialism is different from autocracy. But the Menshevik reference to it does not differ in the slightest from its reference to autocracy. The struggle against foreign imperialism is as much a class struggle as the struggle against autocracy. That it cannot be exorcized by the idea of the national united front, is far too eloquently proved by the bloody April events, a direct consequence of the policy of the bloc of four classes.” (p 28-9)
Replace British imperialism with Russian imperialism, here, and the same holds for the arguments of the USC.
In April 1927, even as the KMT was still sitting in the Comintern, Chiang Kai Shek, organised a coup in Shanghai, that resulted in the slaughter of thousands of Chinese worker communists. Stalin should have been aware that it was coming, because Chiang Kai Shek had showed his hand the previous year, in organising a coup in Canton. In response to that, Stalin had, instead, appeased and compromised further with him. Even a week before the coup in Shanghai, Stalin and the Comintern were praising him, and the KMT, and attacking the Opposition, for issuing their warnings against him. Yet, even during this period, Stalin was being warned that the coup was in preparation.
The Communists and mostly “left” KMT members (supporters of Wang Chin Wei) had seized power in Shanghai, on March 22nd. 1927, defeating the forces of the warlord forces of the Zhili clique. In fact, as Trotsky relates later, Chiang Kai Shek kept his forces out of the fighting, so as to exhaust the communist forces in their fight against the Zhili clique. One of Chiang's officers Say-O, had even gone to the Chinese Stalinists, to warn them of what was happening.
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