This is the text of a speech Trotsky delivered in 1932, defending the October 1917 Russian Revolution.

This is the fourth of five texts included in the Commie Classics, vol II.  

Copenhagen, Denmark, Nov 1932
Trotsky says he intends to explain the Revolution.

The materialist conception of history
Human society is a collaboration in the struggle for existence and the assurance of the maintenance of generations. The character of a society is determined by the character of its economy, and the character of its economy is determined by its means of productive labor.

Every epoch in the development of product forces has a corresponding regime. Every regime until now has secured enormous advantages to the ruling class. But social regimes are not eternal. They rise, and then become fetters on progress. No ruling class ever abdicates. Reason will not persuade a class, force must be used.

The meaning of revolution
Revolution is a change of social order. It transfers power from one class to another. It is not a process of nature, but of humans. But while humans act under social conditions, these are not chosen freely by them either. For this reason alone, revolutions follow certain laws.

Humans don’t just react passively to objective conditions, they react actively. Barriers are overthrown and this active intervention is the most indispensable element of revolution.

The progressive class must recognize that its hour has come and set itself to conquer power.

The coup d’état
Revolution needs a Party able to orient itself to its environment, appreciate its paradigm, and win the confidence of the masses. These are reciprocal relations between the objective and subjective factors of insurrection and revolution.

Opponents of scientific truth will try to discredit it by driving it to an absurdity- the reductio ad absurdum. One Italian Fascist, Malaparte, has written a supposed dialog wherein I (Trotsky) say “the insurrection needs nothing, it is self-sufficing.” This is the absurdity that must help us reach the truth.  

Why are there so few successful revolutions if only a few technical recipes suffice for their success?

The causes of October
Questions about the October Revolution:
Why and how did it take place?
What has been the results?
Has it stood the test?

The law of uneven development
That the proletariat reached power in backwards Russia seems mysterious at first. Russia was backward and only a small part of the capitalist world system. But Lenin solved the enigma: the chain broke at the weakest link.  

WWI drew in nations of different developmental stages, but all of them suffered. Russia was the first to be compelled to leave, but it could only do so by overthrowing the ruling class. In this way, the weakest link broke.

Some might respond that this adequately explains Russia’s shipwreck, but not how a socialist revolution occurred there. Trotsky uses the example of child development. A child of 5 has the physical immaturity of a five-year old, but the mental capacity is at a stage of enormous capacity for absorption.

The law of combined development
Backwardness is a relative concept. Given that there are both developed and backward countries, there is also a reciprocal influencing of one another. The backwards countries need to catch up, and features of progress grow alongside backwardness. Backwards countries are often compelled to run ahead of others.  

Part of this is due to a psychological need to overcome inferiority. The October Revolution was an attempt perhaps to overcome their own economic and cultural inferiority.

Russia’s backwardness expressed itself most clearly at the beginning of the 20th century through its low industrial production. But at the same time, while Russia hadn’t built up much in the way of roads, the industrial necessities caused them to build a huge network of rails. Jumping stages is a hallmark of backwards countries.  

The finance capital of Europe industrialized Russia at an accelerated rate. So the industrial bourgeoisie assumed a large-scale and unpopular character. The foreign stockholders lived outside, the workers were all Russian.

The peasantry
The old feudal system in Russia was perhaps what pushed the revolution over the edge. It was intolerable under the new capitalist system. But when the peasants revolted, the bourgeois class retreated further into their ideal and the peasants were left with no option but to join the industrial proletariat. Once the peasant bear had stood up, it was terrible in its wrath, but it needed direction and a leader.

The national question
Trotsky mentions that the revolution has spread outward and encompassed more nationalities than just Russians. This is very important to commies since the revolution was supposed to be an international movement of workers everywhere. But there would always be a question of whether workers in Russia could truly identify with workers in other countries, or whether they would consider themselves Russian first.

The permanent revolution
Trotsky expects that Socialism will be the permanent condition of humankind, not that there will be the condition of revolution will be a permanent condition of society.

Prerequisites for October
Trotsky gives several prerequisites for why the revolution occurred: rotting aristocracy, political weakness of bourgeoisie, revolutionary character of agrarian question, revolutionary character of oppressed nationalities, and significant burdens on the proletariat.  

Finally, the earlier revolution of 1905 brought in soviets and this organizational form brought together a more united proletarian front.

And then WWI sharpened all the contradictions of the system and opened the eyes of the proletariat to how bad things were.  

The  Bolshevik party
The Party was necessary to galvanize the revolutionary message and keep everyone on point.

Can October be justified?
Trotsky addresses the problems of the Soviet Union and says he recognizes them but it is a pointless question to ask if it was justified. He uses the American civil war and the loss of 50k lives and asks the same question. His answer is that to some people, no, that war would not have been justified, but to the slaves, yes, it was.

But clearly this revolution was directed by the Bolsheviks in response to their ideology, and their own belief that capitalism had to get worse, and therefore, in order to save the workers, it was necessary. His defense includes this belief that the revolution would continue to bring benefits for the proletariat. As we know now, the revolution killed millions, and subjugated the entire population to the whims of a dictatorship that ruled them with an iron fist, while never really promising that the goals of socialism would ever truly be realized.  

The balance sheet of October
Trotsky claims that productive growth had outpaced even the capitalists. He says he doesn’t downplay the seamy side of the Soviet economy, but argues that capitalism had centuries to grow into its form, while socialism in Russia has had only 15 years. He claims that they have laid the groundwork for a new type of society, and is tempering the character of the people. That last bit can of course be understood as hardening the people through poverty, not materially advancing them.  

The Revolution and its place in history
Trotsky is certain the revolution will be the greatest moment in the history of civilization. Capitalism had broken at its weakest link, as Lenin said, and socialism was on the ascendency. This is what Trotsky was convincing himself of in 1932. It didn’t turn out that way.

The future of man
Trotsky believes the new man socialism is creating will go on to ever greater heights.