The fall of the present bureaucratic dictatorship [in the Soviet Union], if it were not replaced by a new socialist power, would thus mean a return to capitalist relations with a catastrophic decline of industry and culture. Leon Trotsky More Quotes by Leon Trotsky More Quotes From Leon Trotsky Root out the counterrevolutionaries without mercy, lock up suspicious characters in concentration camps... Shirkers will be shot, regardless of past service. Leon Trotsky roots character past In a serious struggle there is no worse cruelty than to be magnanimous at an inopportune time. Leon Trotsky cruelty serious struggle He who slanders the victim aids the executioner. Leon Trotsky executioners aids victim Fascism is nothing but capitalist reaction... Leon Trotsky capitalist reactions fascism Abusive language and swearing are a legacy of slavery, humiliation, and disrespect for human dignity, one’s own and that of other people. Leon Trotsky disrespect legacy people Learning carries within itself certain dangers because out of necessity one has to learn from one's enemies. Leon Trotsky revolutionary education enemy When one runs with the wolves, one must howl with the pack. Leon Trotsky packs howl running The United States is not only the strongest, but also the most terrified country. Leon Trotsky strongest united-states country The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end. Leon Trotsky freedom philosophy mean Bureaucracy and social harmony are inversely proportional to each other. Leon Trotsky social-harmony harmony social History has different yardsticks for the cruelty of the Northerners and the cruelty of the Southerners in the Civil War. A slave-owner who through cunning and violence shackles a slave in chains, and a slave who through cunning or violence breaks the chains – let not the contemptible eunuchs tell us that they are equals before a court of morality! Leon Trotsky slave-owners different war Workers – men and women – of all countries, place yourselves under the banner of the Fourth International. It is the banner of your approaching victory! Leon Trotsky victory men country The pillars of Hercules of the United States are vulgarity and stupidity. Leon Trotsky pillars united-states stupidity The bourgeoisie, which far surpasses the proletariat in the completeness and irreconcilibility of its class consciousness, is vitally interested in imposing its moral philosophy upon the exploited masses. It is exactly for this purpose that the concrete norms of the bourgeois catechism are concealed under moral abstractions...The appeal to abstract norms is not a disinterested philosophic mistake but a necessary element in the mechanics of class deception. Leon Trotsky mistake class philosophy Not believing in force is the same as not believing in gravity. Leon Trotsky gravity force believe Only when the kulak refused to deliver grain to the State did [Joseph] Stalin, under the pressure of the Left Opposition, accomplish a sharp turn. Being the empiricist that he is, he moved, to the opposite extreme, and set as a task for two or three years the collectivization of all the peasantry, the liquidation of the kulaks as a class, and the compression of the Five Year Plan into four years. Leon Trotsky opposites class years Where force is necessary, there it must be applied boldly, decisively and completely. Leon Trotsky force agreement Everything is relative in this world, where change alone endures. Everything is better than some things and worse than others. Which you choose to compare your experiences and situation with determines whether you will be happy and grateful or sad and jealous. Leon Trotsky gratitude jealous grateful Revolutions are always verbose. Leon Trotsky revolution politics inspirational Ideas that enter the mind under fire remain there securely and for ever. Leon Trotsky fire mind ideas
