My Life

Trotsky's autobiography is a fascinating account of his life from his childhood up to 1930, when he wrote the book, ten years before he was murdered by an agent of Stalin in 1940.

Trotsky made contributions to Marxist thought, for example in his theory of permanent revolution and the theory of combined and uneven development. But he is best known for his political activities: firstly as a key leader, alongside Lenin, of the 1917 Russian Revolution, and then later as the leading opponent of the bureaucratic tyranny of Stalin's regime, which destroyed the fledgling workers' democracy in the 1920s and forced Trotsky into exile.

Trotsky clung to the view that Russia under Stalin was a "degenerated workers' state". I think he was mistaken on show more this: much more convincing is Tony Cliff's theory that Russia (and, later, the other so-called "communist" regimes) was a state capitalist society. But despite this weakness, Trotsky did keep alive the fundamental Marxist idea that socialism must be based on internationalism and democracy. (The "dictatorship of the proletariat" was meant to mean the DEMOCRATIC control of society by the working class.)

One early episode gives a flavour of the book. At school Trotsky took part in a minor bit of rebellious behaviour in class against an unpleasant teacher. When the school cracked down, Trotsky learned his first political lesson. Some boys bravely stayed loyal to each other, some became tell-tales, and the majority wavered in the middle.

Trotsky writes: "These three groups never quite disappeared even during the years that followed. I met them again and again in my life in the most varied circumstances."

We can obviously see this in 1917. The revolution happened when the "middle" one of these groups (the mass of workers and peasants) was won over to the side of those who had for years been consistently opposing the injustices of capitalism: the Bolsheviks.

I'll end with two more quotations which give an indication of Trotsky's personality and politics. Both are from the Foreword to the book.

"A well-written book in which one can find new ideas, and a good pen with which to communicate one's own ideas to others, for me have always been and are today the most valuable and intimate products of culture."

"To understand the causal sequence of events and to find somewhere in the sequence one's own place - that is the first duty of a revolutionary."

As this book shows, Trotsky certainly found his place in a historic sequence of events. show less

Trotsky is so smart and such a good writer. His autobio. is a great read even if you're a crusty reactionary.

If you only read one book by LDT then read this one, the ultimate answer to those who portray lenin and trostsky as inhumane this is the most humane and inspiring autobiograpy you will ever read.

Read the first paragraph on marxists.org and tell me if any other autobiography or biography starts off so penetratingly.

Reviewed in the August 1930 issue of the Socialist Standard:

http://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2017/10/lessons-from-trotskys-life-...

L'essai autobiographique qui porte le titre "MA VIE" fut le premier livre que Trotsky écrivit pendant son exil. L'autobiographie lui apparaissait comme un moyen de poursuivre la bataille qu'il n'avait jamais cessé de livrer pendant les trente années de sa vie politique. K Si la rédaction des premiers chapitres consacrés à l'enfance, au milieu familial, lui donna du souci, écrit Alfred Rosmer, à qui l'on doit la présente édition de cet ouvrage, il se sentit parfaitement à l'aise dès qu'il eut à décrire sa rencontre avec les cercles socialistes et ouvriers de Nikolaiev - il avait alors dix-huit ans - et la longue suite d'événements décisifs, personnels et historiques qui la suivirent. L'autobiographie devenait sous sa show more plume une esquisse du mouvement ouvrier et de la révolution russe durant le "demi-siècle". Moutons que ce livre est un monument précieux à divers titres : c'est le témoignage et l'histoire d'un homme qui a puissamment contribué à façonner le monde moderne; c'est un étonnant roman politique; c'est enfin la vie exemplaire d'un révolutionnaire dont on peut ne pas partager les idées mais dont on ne peut nier l'envergure. show less

Autobiografía de uno de los campeones del humanismo de todos los tiempos. Imprescindible como introducción para todos aquellos que se interesen por la historia real del movimiento obrero. No es solo una brillante exposición de la vida del más importante revolucionario, junto a Lenin, de la historia, sino que literariamente es una delicia. Si vas a leer a Trotsky, es la mejor manera de comenzar.