Page "Leninism" Paragraph 29

In the course of instituting government policy, Stalin promoted the doctrine of Socialism in One Country ( adopted 1925 ), wherein the USSR would establish socialism upon Russia ’ s economic foundations ( and support socialist revolutions elsewhere ).

Conversely, Trotsky held that socialism in one country would economically constrain the industrial development of the USSR, and thus required assistance from the new socialist countries that had arisen in the developed world, which was essential for maintaining Soviet democracy, in 1924 much undermined by civil war and counter-revolution.

Furthermore, Trotsky ’ s theory of Permanent Revolution proposed that socialist revolutions in underdeveloped countries would go further towards dismantling feudal régimes, and establish socialist democracies that would not pass through a capitalist stage of development and government.

Hence, revolutionary workers should politically ally with peasant political organisations, but not with capitalist political parties.

In contrast, Stalin and allies proposed that alliances with capitalist political parties were essential to realising a revolution where Communists were too few ; said Stalinist practice failed, especially in the Northern Expedition portion of the Chinese Revolution ( 1925 – 1927 ), wherein it resulted in the right-wing Kuomintang ’ s massacre of the Chinese Communist Party ; nonetheless, despite the failure, Stalin ’ s policy of mixed-ideology political alliances, became Comintern policy.