Trotskyism: Conveniently Left-Washing Imperialism

By Gillian Schutte

Trotskyism, named for one of the Russian Revolution’s famous (or infamous) figures, markets itself as the heroic upholder of ”Leninist ideology.” In theory, this means ceaseless “permanent revolution,” a world seamlessly toppling capitalism in one fell swoop. In practice, it often entails turning up one’s nose at the actual, grittier struggles that most humans must endure in order to cast off colonial shackles or resist NATO’s drone-filled benevolence.

If you watch the recent Proletarian TV book launch: Trotsky(ism): Tool of Imperialism, you will find, courtesy of Joti Brar and Alexander McKay, a thorough exposé of how Trotskyites make a virtue out of hounding any movement that dares to partner with “the wrong” allies—i.e. the only allies who might actually have provided arms, training, or funds to resist the well-oiled imperial machinery of Britain, the US, France, and their cronies.

Observe how, for decades, these self-styled bearers of revolutionary purity have waged their fiercest polemical battles not against actual colonial powers, but rather against the USSR and its successors. The Soviet Union’s decisive backing of anti-colonial forces across Africa, Asia, and Latin America—be that in Angola, Vietnam, Mozambique, or Cuba—has been consistently dismissed or denounced by Trotskyite sects as “Stalinist illusions” or “bureaucratic distortions.” If one points out that, in the absence of Soviet support, South African nationalists might never have stood a chance against apartheid’s war machine, Trotskyites usually respond with lectures on how Joseph Stalin (and by extension, every Soviet-aligned movement) somehow “betrayed” Trotsky’s dream in 1924, 1934, or 1938. Meanwhile, the CIA is left free to orchestrate colour revolutions and devastating coups with scarcely a peep from these supposed “vanguards of revolution.” Indeed, by parroting anti-Soviet lines that originated in Trotsky’s own propagandist exaggerations, many of them merrily joined the misinformation campaigns that demonised Stalin—who, for all his human imperfections, headed the state that did more to push back the tide of fascism and colonial oppression than any Trotskyite outfit in existence.

But it hardly stops there. In the modern epoch, Trotskyism’s greatest hits include praising certain struggles abroad as “valid”—Palestine, for instance, conveniently becomes a cause célèbre—while dismissing others, like those of Syria or Donbass, as “not really revolutionary.” If a movement (say, in Syria) finds itself supported by Russia, the Trotskyite reflex is to scream “Assad dictatorship” yet fall silent about the West’s open arming of extremist militias in the recent takeover of Syria. You have to appreciate the neatness: they posture as the most radical left, all while adopting the exact same line as the liberal media, which is quick to sabotage or demonise any anti-imperialist current that doesn’t fit the White House script.

In South Africa, this pattern has unfolded with a macabrely comic twist. Local Trotskyites historically embedded themselves in certain trade unions—some suspiciously nurtured by covert CIA-linked funds—as well as in anti-apartheid structures such as the UDF, but usually from safe vantage points where they were unlikely to be threatened by the apartheid security apparatus. When the dust settled in 1994, they re-emerged to claim lavish “struggle credentials,” without ever having risked the daily horrors faced by Black militants on the ground. Since then, they have comported themselves as top-down intellectuals, embedded journalists and NGO gatekeepers, cappuccinos in hand, explaining to African nationalists why their alliances with the USSR were misguided, or how their nationalism equates “irrational chauvinism” and fails to live up to the lofty Trotskyite standard. Meanwhile, they resolutely ignore the fact that, without Soviet and Cuban support, apartheid might still be raging.

This posture is, frankly, ideal for institutions like the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) otherwise known as the CIA, always on the lookout for condescending faux left-wing dabblers to “left-wash” their regime-change agendas. After all, who better to peddle liberal narratives about “democracy promotion” than Trotskyites who already detest any actually-existing socialist experiment that has the temerity to defend itself from Western aggression? As Joti Brar and Alexander McKay emphasise, these groups excel at dressing up imperial propaganda in Leninist phrases, sowing confusion amongst honest workers and youth hungry for meaning, who might otherwise see through the illusions. Naturally, capitalist media outlets are thrilled to give them airtime, since they can always be relied upon to oppose socialism wherever it appears in concrete form, from the Soviet Union to Venezuela—to the modern-day mixed-economies of Russia and China, and to sneer at liberation movements that rely on “unorthodox” alliances.

It is hard not to spot the symmetry: Trotskyites proclaim, “revolution now!” while never managing to deliver it—yet ironically manage to hamper or discredit every movement that might have come closer to success. They are especially good at scolding those who do get their hands dirty on the actual front lines, the better to curry favour with liberal platforms. And in South Africa, that dynamic reached fever pitch when, in post-apartheid society, they garnered plush positions—writing columns in mainstream white liberal papers or serving in well-funded NGOs—thus “laundering” imperialism by reframing neo-colonial meddling as “democracy-building” and painting any alliances with Russia (past or present) as retrograde or “Stalinist.” They even captured the once robust Leftist Africanist Media and brought it all in line with liberal propaganda— the pompous Daily ‘Maverick’ and News24 leading the way.

So, in a Bolshevik nutshell, for anyone still inclined to equate Trotskyism with genuine anti-imperialist struggle, the facts speak otherwise. Whether it is their wanton distaste for Stalin—or indeed for any figure who declined to defer to Leon Trotsky’s every theoretical pronouncement—or their consistent alignment with liberal propaganda whenever a socialist or nationalist movement begins to make headway, Trotskyites can claim plenty of stands, but no actual victories. They continue to heap disdain on Pan-African or socialist forces seeking practical support from Russia or China, all while treating the US/UK war machine as little more than a minor afterthought. Palestine’s struggle—which rightly deserves our solidarity—may stand as their lone exception, yet they conveniently ignore the fact that Syria and Libya endure/d the same imperialist aggression, thereby exposing their dilettante double standards. If, in the final analysis, imperial overlords prefer these privileged “top-down intellectuals” and fake social justice activists to any robust, boots-on-the-ground liberation effort, it should surprise no one.

Trotskyism’s grand narratives might sound like a rebellious fanfare, but the actual outcome remains perfectly in line with Western hegemony.

* Gillian Schutte is a film-maker, and a well-known social justice and race-justice activist and public intellectual. Follow Gillian on X - @GillianSchutte1 and on Facebook - Gillian Schutte.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.