Letter to Albert Glotzer, April 10, 1934

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Continuing the Struggle Through Unifications

Dear Comrade Glotzer:

I read your letter of March 26 to Shachtman with great interest. What you communicate about our experience with the centrists in Europe is completely correct and the American comrades must carefully follow and consider this experience. I would, however, like to call attention to the following point: regarding the SAP. We (and I personally) insisted on immediate unification. But the SAP, after a short period of vacillation, opposed this. In the case of the OSP, the course of development proceeded in the opposite direction: the OSP insisted on immediate unification and the RSP opposed this. These two examples show that while completely maintaining our principled relationship to centrism, the practical road toward approaching (and at the same time combating) centrist tendencies can turn out to be very different. If we feel that we are theoretically and practically (also numerically) strong enough, we can accept a centrist organization and then continue the education of its best elements within a unified organization. There is no general formula for these things.

There must be revolutionary elements in the AWP that are pushing toward us; otherwise it would be incomprehensible that the leadership has gone so far. This situation must be exploited. If we declare that we are ready for unification and the right wing then balks, or completely blocks it, we will have a very favorable point of departure vis-à-vis the left wing.

This is not to suggest a “recipe” for America: I am too far away and too little informed for this. I only wish to draw your attention to the fact that principled intransigence must be supplemented with organizational flexibility. We must not merely understand centrism theoretically and criticize it, not just put it to the test politically, we must also maneuver with it organizationally. Under certain conditions, unification is the best maneuver. We should not superstitiously regard unification as the end of the process (the fight against centrism). Unification can, at times, only create better conditions for continuing the struggle against centrism. Of course, the methods of struggle must be adapted to the framework of the unified party. Please share the contents of this letter with Shachtman and other comrades when you have the opportunity.

And now on the youth conference. There you were not nearly critical and exacting enough. I have already written a good deal about this to the IS and Comrade Held. I am enclosing copies.

How do things stand with the antiwar theses? As far as I know they have been translated into English by Sara. They should be reproduced and sent to all sections for discussion. First of all, the National Committee should take a position on them. The question is highly important. The theses are now being discussed in the European sections. We need to hear from you on this in the near future, before the theses are passed in final form by the IS.

Yours,

L. Trotsky