{"id":28761,"date":"2021-04-12T23:26:23","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T15:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/?page_id=28761"},"modified":"2021-04-12T23:26:27","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T15:26:27","slug":"two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Letters to Albert Goldman (February 10 &#038; 19, 1940)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"tdi_1\" class=\"tdc-zone\"><div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_2  wpb_row td-pb-row\"  >\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_2{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }\n<\/style><div id=\"tdi_3\" class=\"tdc-row\"><div class=\"vc_row tdi_4  wpb_row td-pb-row\" >\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_4,\r\n                .tdi_4 .tdc-columns{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }.tdi_4,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_4 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4:before,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_4:after{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: table;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n\/* inline tdc_css att - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n.tdi_4{\nmargin-top:50px !important;\n}\n\n.tdi_4 .td_block_wrap{ text-align:left }\n\n<\/style><div class=\"vc_column tdi_6  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span8\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_6{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_6 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_6 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_6 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_6 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_6 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" ><div class=\"wpb_wrapper wpb_text_column td_block_wrap td_block_wrap vc_column_text tdi_7  tagdiv-type td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\"  data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_7\" >\n<style>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.vc_column_text > .td-element-style{\r\n\t\t\t\t\tz-index: -1;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"td-fix-index\"><h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Two Letters<br \/>\nto Albert Goldman <span class=\"note\"><a id=\"f1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marxists.org\/archive\/trotsky\/idom\/dm\/24-goldman1.htm#n1\" name=\"f1\">[1]<\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"information\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"info\">First Published:<\/span> Leon Trotsky, <strong>In Defense of Marxism<\/strong>, New York 1942.<br \/>\n<span class=\"info\">Checked against:<\/span> Leon Trotsky, <strong>In Defence of Marxism<\/strong>, London 1966, pp.190-191.<br \/>\nAll footnotes stem from the latter edition.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"title1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a id=\"l1\" name=\"l1\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"date\" style=\"text-align: right;\">February 10, 1940<\/p>\n<p class=\"fst\">Dear Comrade Goldman,<\/p>\n<p class=\"fst\">I agree completely with your letter of February 5th. If I published Abern\u2019s remark about the split, it was with the purpose of provoking a clear and unambiguous statement from Comrade Abern and other leaders of the opposition \u2013 not about the alleged hidden intentions of the majority leaders in this respect but about their own.<\/p>\n<p>I have already heard the aphorism about the \u201csecond-class citizens.\u201d I would ask the leaders of the opposition: when they call the opposing group, \u201cCannon\u2019s clique\u201d or \u201cconservative bureaucrats\u201d and so you, do they wish to make second class citizens of them? I can only add that extreme sensitiveness is one of the most salient features of every petty bourgeois faction. I don\u2019t know if Shachtman, for example, wishes by his <em>Open Letter<\/em> to make me a second-class citizen. I am interested only in his ideas, not in his psychoanalytical guessing.<\/p>\n<p>I am a bit under the impression that, unnerved by a series of mistakes, the leaders of the opposition push each other into a hysterical mood and then in order to justify their factional hysteria in their own eyes, they attribute to their adversaries the darkest and most incredible designs. When they say my exchange of letters with Cannon was a camouflage, I can only shrug my shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>The best treatment for petty bourgeois hysteria is Marxist objectivism. We will continue to discuss dialectics, Marxian sociology, the class nature of the Soviet State, the character of the war, not with the absurd and criminal purpose of provoking a split, but with the more reasonable purpose of convincing an important part of the party and of helping it pass over from a petty bourgeois position to a proletarian one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">With warmest comradely greetings,<br \/>\nL. TROTSKY<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"title1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a id=\"l2\" name=\"l2\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<hr class=\"section\" \/>\n<p class=\"date\" style=\"text-align: right;\">February 19, 1940<\/p>\n<p class=\"fst\">Dear Comrade Goldman,<\/p>\n<p class=\"fst\">A convention of the minority is only a caucus on a national scale. <span class=\"note\"><a id=\"f2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marxists.org\/archive\/trotsky\/idom\/dm\/24-goldman1.htm#n2\" name=\"f2\">[2]<\/a><\/span> This is why it does not signify, in itself, a principled change of the situation. It is only a new step on the same road, a bad step on the road of split, but not necessarily the split itself. Possibly, even surely, there are two or three tendencies inside the opposition in respect to the split question and the aim of the convention is to unify them. On what basis? Probably some leaders don\u2019t see in their desperation any other way than a split.<\/p>\n<p>Under these conditions a vigorous intervention in favor of unity by the majority could possibly make more difficult the task of the conscious splitters. Could not your caucus or possibly even better, the official majority of the NC or the PC address the Cleveland convention with a message concerning one question only, namely the unity of the party. In such a letter I wouldn\u2019t introduce the question of the character of the Soviet Union or of the mixed war, otherwise it could be understood that their position on these questions must be abandoned as a precondition for remaining in the party. Not at all. You accept them as they are, if they have a real devotion to the party and the 4th International and are ready to accept discipline in action.<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">With best greetings,<br \/>\nLEON TROTSKY<\/p>\n<hr class=\"section\" \/>\n<h3>Notes<\/h3>\n<p class=\"endnote\"><a id=\"n1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marxists.org\/archive\/trotsky\/idom\/dm\/24-goldman1.htm#f1\" name=\"n1\">1.<\/a> These letters were written by Trotsky in English.<\/p>\n<p class=\"endnote\"><a id=\"n2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marxists.org\/archive\/trotsky\/idom\/dm\/24-goldman1.htm#f2\" name=\"n2\">2.<\/a> The minority convoked a conference of their group in cleveland on February 24-25, 1940. This conference resolved that there existed two politically irreconcilable tendencies in the party and that \u201c<em>the party must extend to whichever group is the minority<\/em> at the convention <em>the right to publish a public political journal of its own<\/em> defending the general programme of the Fourth International [and which] would at the same time present in an objective manner the special position of its tendency on the disputed Russian question.\u201d The majority rejected the demands of the minority. \u2013 <em>Ed.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vc_column tdi_9  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span4 td-is-sticky\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_9{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_9 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_9 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_9 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_9 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_9 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" data-sticky-enabled-on=\"W3RydWUsdHJ1ZSx0cnVlLHRydWVd\" data-sticky-offset=\"20\" data-sticky-is-width-auto=\"W2ZhbHNlLGZhbHNlLGZhbHNlLGZhbHNlXQ==\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_widget_sidebar tdi_11 \" ><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":23,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-28761","page","type-page","status-publish"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Two Letters to Albert Goldman (February 10 &amp; 19, 1940) - China Worker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two Letters to Albert Goldman (February 10 &amp; 19, 1940) - China Worker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"China Worker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SocialistAction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-12T15:26:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\\\/\",\"name\":\"Two Letters to Albert Goldman (February 10 & 19, 1940) - China Worker\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-12T15:26:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-12T15:26:27+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9801\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Two Letters to Albert Goldman (February 10 &#038; 19, 1940)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u793e\u6703\u4e3b\u7fa9\u884c\u52d5\",\"description\":\"Solidarity, Struggle, Socialism\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Chinaworker.info\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/logo-sa.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/logo-sa.png\",\"width\":120,\"height\":126,\"caption\":\"Chinaworker.info\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/SocialistAction\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/socialistactionhk\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Two Letters to Albert Goldman (February 10 & 19, 1940) - China Worker","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Two Letters to Albert Goldman (February 10 & 19, 1940) - China Worker","og_url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\/","og_site_name":"China Worker","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SocialistAction","article_modified_time":"2021-04-12T15:26:27+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\/","url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\/","name":"Two Letters to Albert Goldman (February 10 & 19, 1940) - China Worker","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-04-12T15:26:23+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-12T15:26:27+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/two-letters-to-albert-goldman-february-10-19-1940\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9801","item":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Two Letters to Albert Goldman (February 10 &#038; 19, 1940)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/","name":"\u793e\u6703\u4e3b\u7fa9\u884c\u52d5","description":"Solidarity, Struggle, Socialism","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#organization","name":"Chinaworker.info","url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2021\/04\/logo-sa.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2021\/04\/logo-sa.png","width":120,"height":126,"caption":"Chinaworker.info"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SocialistAction","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/socialistactionhk\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28761"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28762,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28761\/revisions\/28762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}