{"id":28783,"date":"2021-04-13T00:33:36","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T16:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/?page_id=28783"},"modified":"2021-04-13T00:33:40","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T16:33:40","slug":"a-letter-to-albert-goldman-august-9-1940","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/a-letter-to-albert-goldman-august-9-1940\/","title":{"rendered":"A Letter to Albert Goldman (August 9, 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;\">On A Petty Bourgeois Philistine<\/h1>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">A Letter to Albert Goldman<\/h4>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">(August 1940)<\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"information\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"info\">Written:<\/span> 9 August 1940 in English.<br \/>\n<span class=\"info\">First Published:<\/span> <strong>Fourth International<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marxists.org\/history\/etol\/newspape\/fi\/index.htm#fi40_10\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">Vol.1 No.5<\/a>, October 1940, p.126.<br \/>\n<span class=\"info\">Reprinted:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marxists.org\/archive\/trotsky\/idom\/dm\/index.htm\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>In Defense of Marxism<\/strong><\/a>, New York 1942.<br \/>\n<span class=\"info\">Checked against:<\/span> <strong>In Defence of Marxism<\/strong>, London 1966, pp.229-230.<br \/>\n<span class=\"info\">Transcription\/HTML Markup:<\/span> David Walters.<br \/>\n<span class=\"info\">Copyleft:<\/span> Leon Trotsky Internet Archive (www.marxists.org) 2002. Permission is granted to copy and\/or distribute this document under the terms of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marxists.org\/admin\/legal\/fdl.htm\">GNU Free Documentation License<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Transcriber\u2019s comments:<\/strong><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">This letter is a part of a series of letters published in this issue of <strong>Fourth International<\/strong><br \/>\nunder the heading of <em>Trotsky\u2019s Last Letters<\/em>,<br \/>\n\u2013 <em>D.W., 2002.<\/em><\/h5>\n<hr class=\"section\" \/>\n<p class=\"fst\">August 9, 1940<br \/>\nAlbert Goldman<\/p>\n<p class=\"fst\">Dear Friend:<\/p>\n<p class=\"fst\">I don\u2019t know whether you have seen Dwight Macdonald\u2019s article in the August issue of his <strong>Partisan Review<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This man was a disciple of Burnham, the intellectual snob. After Burnham deserted, Dwight Macdonald was left in Shachtman\u2019s party as the lone representative of \u201cScience\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>On the question of fascism, Macdonald serves up a poor compilation of plagiarisms from our arsenal which he represents as his own discoveries and to which he opposes some banalities that he characterizes as our ideas. The whole-without perspective, without proportion and without elementary intellectual honesty.<\/p>\n<p>However, this is not the worst. Burnham\u2019s orphan proclaims: \u201cWe must examine again with a cold and skeptical eye, the most basic premises of Marxism.\u201d (Page 266) And what must the poor \u201cWorkers Party\u201d do during this period of examination? What must the proletariat do? They should wait of course, for the result of Dwight Macdonald\u2019s study. This result will probably be Macdonald\u2019s desertion himself into the camp of Burnham.<\/p>\n<p>The last four lines of the article can be nothing but preparation for personal desertion. \u201cOnly if we meet the stormy and terrible years ahead with both skepticism and devotion \u2013 skepticism towards all theories, governments and social systems; devotion to the revolutionary fight of the masses \u2013 only then can we justify ourselves as intellectuals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Revolutionary activity based upon theoretical skepticism is the most awkward of inner contradictions. \u201cDevotion to the revolutionary fight of the masses\u201d is impossible without theoretical understanding of the laws of this revolutionary fight. Revolutionary devotion is possible only if one gains the assurance that his devotion is reasonable, adequate; that it corresponds to its aim. Such assurance can be created only by theoretical insight into the class struggle. \u201c Skepticism towards all theories\u201d is nothing but preparation for personal desertion.<\/p>\n<p>Shachtman remains silent; as \u201cGeneral Secretary\u201d he is too busy to defend the \u201cmost basic premises of Marxism\u201d from petty bourgeois philistines and snobs &#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">Fraternally yours,<br \/>\nL. TROTSKY<\/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":34,"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-28783","page","type-page","status-publish"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - 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