Transition program

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The transition program is a revolutionary political program that emerged from the Trotskyist environment and was first formulated by Leon Trotsky at the time of the founding of the Fourth International , with which the field for the struggle for a socialist society should be opened up by proposing revolutionary solutions for the current interests of the working class .

The transition program must present the working class with those ideas for resolving their struggles for current interests which give them an awareness of the necessity of a proletarian revolution and at the same time mobilize them in this regard. According to Trotsky, the transitional program differs from the unrelated social-democratic concepts of the minimum and maximum program, with the minimum program being limited to “reforms within the framework of bourgeois society”, while the maximum program promises “the replacement of capitalism by socialism for an indefinite future” . The transition program, however, is intended to "help the masses in the course of their daily struggle to find the bridge between their current demands and the program of the socialist revolution." It is intended to make the broad masses aware of the need for the "proletariat to seize power" to be more and more "open and determined against the very foundations of bourgeois rule".

Trotsky's specific demands of 1938 include, for example, an automatic adjustment of wages to inflation , the right to work and the fight against unemployment, hence the distribution of available work among all available workers - on the basis of which the length of the working week is determined - while the average weekly wage remains the same . Furthermore, he formulates theses on the role of the trade unions, he calls for the lifting of " trade secrets " and workers' control over industry. Furthermore, the expropriation without compensation of the largest feudal capitalists, the war industry, the railroad and the sources of raw materials is given as a slogan. Likewise, an expropriation of the private banks and a nationalization of the credit system are demanded, as well as the formation of pickets, defense squads, and the ultimate arming of the proletariat; an alliance between workers and peasants, the struggle against imperialism and war, etc.

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