Editing Trotskyism (section)

=== Scientific socialism ===
{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|bgcolor=|quote=We must give a scientific explanation of society, and clearly explain it to the masses.That is the difference between Marxism and reformism.|source=—Trotsky on the transitional program of the [[Fourth International]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Trotsky |first1=Leon |title=The Transitional Program for Socialist Revolution: Including The Death Agony of Capitalism and the Tasks of the Fourth International |date=1977 |publisher=Pathfinder Press |isbn=978-0-87348-524-1 |page=180 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rL8gAQAAIAAJ&q=the+transition+program+for+socialist+revolution |language=en}}</ref>}}
In his collection of texts, ''[[In Defence of Marxism (book)|In Defence of Marxism]]'', [[Leon Trotsky]] defended the [[dialectical materialism|dialectical method]] of scientific socialism during the factional schisms within the American Trotskyist movement during 1939–40. Trotsky viewed dialectics as an essential method of analysis to discern the class nature of the Soviet Union. Specifically, he described scientific socialism as the "conscious expression of the unconscious historical process".{{sfn|Trotsky|2019|pp=31, 68–70, 138}} According to Daniels, Trotsky conceived historical revolutions as a long, interrelated process of political and social struggle which undergo various stages with national and international dimensions.{{sfn|Daniels|2008|pp=83–92}}

Prior to his expulsion from the Soviet Union, Trotsky had encouraged [[empirical]] studies with the use of Marxist methods for social and historical development. He also insisted on the need for a [[intellectual freedom|freedom of science]], including theoretical research, in 1925 for socially useful purposes.{{sfn|Knei-Paz|1978|pp=476–495}} Trotsky defended [[Einstein]]’s [[theory of relativity]] in Soviet intellectual circles but this became an anathema during the Stalin era and was only rehabilitated following the latter's death.{{sfn|Deutscher|2015|p=30}}

In line with the scientific outlook of Marxist philosophy, Trotsky placed a heavy emphasis on science to alleviate the level of backwardness among the Soviet masses. Concurrently, he viewed socialism as a progressive struggle for [[science]], culture and morality in which science should be given the maximum scope for development.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sheehan |first1=Helena |title=Marxism and the Philosophy of Science: A Critical History |date=23 January 2018 |publisher=[[Verso Books]] |isbn=978-1-78663-426-9 |page=172 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-udOEAAAQBAJ&dq=trotskyists+science+and+technology+emphasis&pg=PA172 |language=en}}</ref> In 1918, he had supported [[Taylorism]] along with Lenin as a means of scientifically managing industries with the support of foreign engineers.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hughes |first1=Thomas P. |title=American Genesis: A Century of Invention and Technological Enthusiasm, 1870-1970 |date=21 May 2020 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-77290-5 |pages=255–256 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZjfnDwAAQBAJ&dq=trotsky+scientific+experts&pg=PA257 |language=en}}</ref> Multiple historians have stressed the [[technocratic]] nature of his governance proposals compared to Stalin and Bukharin with a higher reliance on "bourgeois" experts and specialists.{{sfn|Swain|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_a3pAgAAQBAJ&dq=trotsky%27s+soviet+union+would+have+been+far+more+technocratic&pg=PA118 118]|ref=Swain2014a}}{{sfn|Daniels|2008|p=189}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sandle |first1=Mark |title=A Short History Of Soviet Socialism |date=16 September 2003 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-135-36639-1 |pages=151–171 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UO2OAgAAQBAJ&dq=trotsky+modernist+industrialist+technocratic&pg=PT253 |language=en}}</ref>

Trotskyists have emphasised the dialectical relationship between [[objectivity (science)|objective]], [[material conditions]] and [[subjectivity and objectivity|subjective factors]] such as party, leadership in understanding the nature of change in historical events.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Ted |author1-link=Ted Grant |title=History of British Trotskyism |publisher=Wellred Books |pages=1–282 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LAPaDwAAQBAJ&dq=trotsky+objective+subjective+factors&pg=PT227 |language=en}}</ref>