Christopher Hitchens on Trotsky (part 2 of 3)

The great Christopher Hitchens discussing the equally great Leon Trotsky on the BBC Radio 4 show "Great Lives", hosted by Matthew Parris. Historian Robert Service is also present to add to the discussion.
First broadcast 8 August 2006, no violation of copyright intended.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• christopher
• hitchens
• robert
• service
• matthew
• parris
• great
• lives
• trotsky
• trotskyism
• communism
• socialism

[TheScrubDown]

Thanks for uploading this dude. 

[ickythumpy]

@TheScrubDown my pleasure. A gem like this had to be shared with the world.

[rictorn]

wow the bbc is good, a tory (paris worked with the lunatic thatcher) and 2 trotskites/former trots having an amiable chat about the failings of revolutionary communism wonderful !

[TerrySleeper]

@eggory - no, it is just a very poorly researched and written book.

[eggory]

@TerrySleeper I hear an injured tone. Sounds like it was written by Trotskiests.

[ChollieD]

Yeah, ditto, thanks for the post.

This is incredibly interesting, somewhat more meat on the bone (although proportionally more demanding) than Hitchens's attacks on religion.

[mzambo666]

Thank you so much for the post!

[TerrySleeper]

Robert Service's book on LT is crap.

The American Historical Review's verdict of the book was damning:

"A book that fails to meet the basic standards of historical scholarship."

"Service fails to examine in a serious way Trotsky's political ideas in his writings and speeches - nor does it appear that he has always bothered to familiarize himself with them."

"Service relies on cheap shots and slanderous asides to keep his readers convinced that Trotsky is a despicable man."

'Nuff said?

[bfoaliali]

@jessemaurais The one on lenin is good. A heavy read, but quite good. On Stalin, I reccomend you read Robert Tucker. On Trotsky for some reason, he flips, and does a terrible job. Many responses exist, and point out many of the problems.

[AThoughtMatters]

@jessemaurais. The mixed reviews are because Service, when writing about Soviet Russia and its' leaders, has an obvious bias in his writing. He is a conservative and has spent his life researching and teaching about the "communist" soviet state. His work is very thorough and detailed but not objective by historian standards. You will find instances when he takes cheap shots at the individuals and uses the opportunity to dismiss Marxist theories.