Hitchens accepts the label ‘ex-Trotskyite’ here, so it may not really matter.
Sorry, I can’t find a cite, but I recall him saying, in the context of being asked if he’s still a ‘Socialist’, something to the effect of “I no longer identify as a Socialist, not because my beliefs have changed, but simply because there’s no longer any functioning international socialist movement to be a part of. But I still think the marxist analysis of history is valid”
Right, but I think he only used the word ‘Socialist’ in that context because that’s how the question was phrased, not because he’s abandoned Trotskyism for a more general form of Socialism—if that were the case, the Hitchensphere would have heard about it. I’m pretty sure that if you asked him, he’d tell you he’s still a Trotskyist at heart.
I’m pretty sure that if you asked him, he’d tell you he’s still a Trotskyist at heart.
I’m not sure what this means.
He still has high regard for Trotsky and the historical movement of socialism. (Here is evidence, dated 2005, and more, dated 2004.) So you can certainly hold that against him if you are so inclined.
I interpret his statement in Reason to mean that socialism (and so presumably Trotskyism) has outlived its utility. And not because the movement has died out (as I read it) but because society has progressed beyond anything that the ideology of socialism can address.
Sorry, I can’t find a cite, but I recall him saying, in the context of being asked if he’s still a ‘Socialist’, something to the effect of “I no longer identify as a Socialist, not because my beliefs have changed, but simply because there’s no longer any functioning international socialist movement to be a part of. But I still think the marxist analysis of history is valid”
You may be thinking of this article in Reason. The relevant question is at the very bottom of page 1, with the answer on page 2.
But now we’ve switched from Trotskyism to socialism, which is a lot more general.
Right, but I think he only used the word ‘Socialist’ in that context because that’s how the question was phrased, not because he’s abandoned Trotskyism for a more general form of Socialism—if that were the case, the Hitchensphere would have heard about it. I’m pretty sure that if you asked him, he’d tell you he’s still a Trotskyist at heart.
I’m not sure what this means.
He still has high regard for Trotsky and the historical movement of socialism. (Here is evidence, dated 2005, and more, dated 2004.) So you can certainly hold that against him if you are so inclined.
I interpret his statement in Reason to mean that socialism (and so presumably Trotskyism) has outlived its utility. And not because the movement has died out (as I read it) but because society has progressed beyond anything that the ideology of socialism can address.
Edit: Added another reference.