This intro below covers the necessary Introduction to this article -> http://mlrg.online/history/m-n-roy-and-the-colonial-question-part-two-republication-from-1977/
>From Introduction MLRG.online 2026 This article covers the career of M.N.Roy in his role for the Comintern in China. Written by Bland it was first published in 1977. It follows on from Part 1 (to be published in book form shortly by MLRG.online) – which explored the collaboration with Lenin on the Comintern Theses on revolution in the colonial and semi-colonial world. In this current article Part 2 – Bland laid down an unusual plank for those who consider themselves to be Marxist-Leninists. Namely that revisionists had taken over the Comintern after the death of Lenin. Bland traces this revisionist path as coming directly out of the 6th Comintern Congress in July 17 to September 1, 1928. The standard view amongst most historians and certainly those adhering to the view of Trotsky, is that this Congress marked the switch of the Comintern to an ultra-leftist line. This they allege was the work of Stalin. Bland argued that Stalin was excluded from Comintern direction. Since it was at this congress that the line of the so-called “Third Period” was articulated – and since this led to the “social-fascist” ultra-left line being promulgated, it is of considerable current interest. We are in the process of continuing this work. But in the meantime, it is relevant to note that in fact it was Grigory Zinoviev (1883-1936) who first used the term “social-fascist” and Nikolai Bukharin (1888-1938) who coined the term – “The Third Period”. As some non-Marxist-Leninist historians have put it: “… Many of the positions supposedly imposed by Stalin on the Comintern in 1928/29 were, in reality, defined in earlier years when the organization was headed by Zinoviev and then Bukharin…” Nicholas N. Kozlov and Eric D. Weitz; “Reflections on the Origins of the ’Third Period’: Bukharin, the Comintern, and the Political Economy of Weimar Germany”; in Journal of Contemporary History (London, New Delhi); 387; Vol. 24 (1989), 387-410. Several frankly anti-Stalin left historians also agree that it was Bukharin who pushed the ‘Third Period’: “The concept of a ’third period’ made its debut at the seventh ECCI plenum in November-December 1926. Significantly, it was Bukharin, the de facto head of the Comintern, and not Stalin, who first coined the term. He discerned three phases in postwar capitalist development. The initial stage was characterized by revolutionary ferment and bitter conflict between Communists and Social Democrats, the second was the era of ’relative capitalist stabilization’ and the united front tactics; and the third, only then opening up, revealed the ever sharper internal contradictions of this stabilization and a consequent shift to the left among the working masses. The new situation demanded a new line. By autumn 1927, the ’class against class’ tactic, which once again pitted the Communists against the Social Democrats, was the outcome.’” Kevin McDermott; “Stalin and the Comintern during the ’Third Period’, 1928-33”; European history quarterly, 1995-07, Vol.25 (3), p.409-429 We will continue this analysis in more detail shortly. In the meantime, we leave this with Bland’s consideration of M.N.Roy. Editors MLRG.online 22 SEPTEMBER, 2026 -> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#43486): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/43486 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/121384011/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
