Gramsci rejected predictions deferring revolution because they would force tactical retreats
Evidence
Bordiga had taken up some theses put forward by Trotsky in a speech on “Perspectives of World Development” the previous July, on the subject of the growing strength of American capitalism and its increasing hegemony over Europe. Gramsci attacked these in the following terms: “We reject these predictions which, by deferring the revolution indefinitely, would shift the entire tactics of the Communist International—which would have to go back to propagandistic and agitational activity among the masses. Moreover, they would shift the tactics of the Russian State since, if the European revolution is deferred for an entire historical period, if in other words the Russian working class for a long period of time is to be unable to count on the support of the proletariat of other countries, it is evident that the Russian revolution must be modified.” — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 196
Categorization
- XREF: Gramsci’s attack on deferring the European revolution connects to later notes on ‘Americanism and Fordism’, his analysis of American capitalist hegemony.