The Transitional Perspective of the Marxist Movement

The proletariat is part of the same capitalist economic structure, its independence as a class can consist only in its constitution. On this basis, and to guide the revolutionary struggle, the Marxist tradition distinguishes between a minimum program, demands that do not question private property in the state, and a maximum program, seizure of power. This classical perspective is very different from the transitional methodology that libertarian anti-party currents or Trotskyism have championed. Contrary to what is usually believed, the revolutionary perspectives of Marx, Engels, or London does not generally prescribe a concrete formula for the conquest of power. It is recognized that such action can follow varied and unforeseen paths.