Quote#Politics & Power
The argument which is repeated again and again in criticisms of the…
Quote byLeon Trotsky · 1879–1940
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Terrorism and Communism (1920), Ch. 1, opening.
English (original)
The argument which is repeated again and again in criticisms of the Soviet system in Russia, and particularly in criticisms of revolutionary attempts to set up a similar structure in other countries, is the argument based on the balance of power.
— Leon Trotsky
More from Leon Trotsky
Learning carries within itself certain dangers because out of necessity one has to learn from one's enemies.
In our eyes, individual terror is inadmissible precisely because it belittles the role of the masses in their own consciousness, reconciles them to their own powerlessness, and turns their eyes and hopes toward a great avenger and …
Root out the counterrevolutionaries without mercy, lock up suspicious characters in concentration camps... Shirkers will be shot, regardless of past service.
Capital was really safer in Russia than anywhere else. ... No true Marxist would allow sentiment to interfere with business.
As long as I breathe I hope. As long as I breathe I shall fight for the future, that radiant future, in which man, strong and beautiful, will become master of the drifting stream of his history and will direct it towards the boundless …
Leninism is warlike from head to foot. War is impossible without cunning, without subterfuge. without deception of the enemy. Victorious war cunning is a constituent element of Leninist politics. But at the same time, Leninism is supreme …