Leon Trotsky: Intellectuals Regrouping

April 13, 1933

[Writing of Leon Trotsky, Vol. 13. Supplement (1929-1933), New York 1979, p. 231 f.]

I have received the $150 for the Russian prisoners and deportees. It is with the greatest interest that I learn that a regroupment in favor of the Left Opposition is taking place in the ranks of the Marxist intellectuals. This process is more or less inevitable. There will be differences and discussions (for example, with Comrade Sidney Hook, I imagine). But we must show that we can engage in serious discussion while studying these questions, amicably but without impairing the unity of our ranks in action…. At the present time a split [in the CLA] would mean an irreparable catastrophe. At the same time, even from this vantage point, one can see that by maintaining its unity in action the League can become a solid force in two or three years.