the defining characteristics¶

This is one of the defining characteristics of Trotskyism: the treatment of Marxism as divine revelation, with a line of transmission from elder prophets to latter saints. "Theoretical development" is about knowing which Great Men are canonical and faithfully reciting catechisms. https://t.co/136G9fzYmJ This is why, for example, they put such stock into the idea that, on his deathbed, Lenin bestowed his blessing unto Trotsky, and that Stalin was an unordained usurper who jealously defied the will of The Great Prophet. It's an important part of the Trotskyist Foundation Myth. To a scientist, it is literally irrelevant whether Lenin preferred Trotsky or Stalin. The Soviet Union was not his to bequeath, and neither was The Spark Of Marxism. If the party had elected some random peasants Lenin never met, they would've been equally deserving of leadership. We can also see this attitude in the treatment of anyone outside "the canon" as irrelevant, and assessing the strength of an argument on how directly it cites one of The Greats, including just quoting directly, as if "Lenin said this" demonstrates veracity (let alone relevance). This is also why Trotskyists remain stuck in a dogmatic workerist mindset, conceiving of class and political economy solely in terms of proletariat vs. bourgeoisie, deeming all other social relations to be "distractions" and "cultural issues," despite their material impact. For example, the dismissal of national liberation as "bourgeois ideology" and the idealistic belief that "the working classes of both nations (oppressor and oppressed alike) must simply unite to defeat capitalism!" without ever understanding why that keeps not happening. It manifests in their tactics as well -- that is, their tactic, singular. Like all subscribers to epistemologies of revelation, the strategy is to proselytize the Good Word, believing that if only you can put enough literature into people's hands, they will convert to the Faith. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't think of a single Trotskyist org that does anything other than write and distribute papers in hopes of recruiting new members... to then write and distribute more papers. Even the vague Leftists™️ do food distribution, prison support, etc. In the end, how else would you expect Trotskyists to react to a member having their own list of Great Men? The canonical list is the entirety of their "organizing." To RCI, something like this is like running a rival food distribution site or setting up a competing tenants union. "I actually kinda like Stalin and Mao" is the Trotskyist version of adventurism. The party decided on a course of "action" (scapegoating Stalin) and the individual is deciding to take a different "action" (posting otherwise on Twitter). It's a violation of democratic centralism.