this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2026
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Anarchists are idealists who believe that you can willpower communism into existence. Marxists understand that the transition to communism is a material process. Anarchists are ideologically opposed to the state. Marxists understand that the state is a tool.
Anarchists can be called ultras in a broader sense because all ultra-leftists share an ideological belief in the power of mind over matter. In Marxist terms, they are idealists. They do not engage in material analysis and believe that dogmatic purity is more important than a scientific outlook on reality.
Trotskyism is an ultra-left deviation of Marxism. Trotskyists call themselves Marxists and Leninists, and they claim to agree with Marx and Lenin in theory, but they reject the application of Marxism-Leninism as it has been practiced so far in every socialist state.
Maoism (which is distinct from and not the same thing as Mao Zendong Thought, which is what the Communist Party of China adheres to) and Hoxhaism are also ultra-leftist deviations. Both are opposed to what they see as revisionism, but which MLs see as practical and pragmatic reforms or tactical maneuvers.
Trotskyists, Maoists and Hoxhaists can be comrades in certain circumstances, as can anarchists, while not being comrades in other circumstances. It depends on the specific cause or activity that you are engaged in. For example, a United Front can sometimes be formed with them for anti-fascist protests.
Marxist-Leninists should work together, even temporarily, with any leftist group in cases where our goals align. Unfortunately, many ultras do not share this same viewpoint, are much more dogmatic and will go to great lengths to sabotage Marxist-Leninists, even if it means sabotaging themselves.
Speaking of trots, since trot orgs are very common in Brazil, I think their stance on things is very different. There are some trots that command certain unions and are in touch with actual working class people, so I wouldn't say it's focused only in academics. I think this approach of Marxist academics thing is more of a Western thing than a ML x Trot thing. And not all trots delve too much on Trotsky, many are good readers of Marx and Lenin as well.
The thing which actually pisses me off on Trots is that they regard every existing socialist experience a failure and a degeneration. For me this is about throwing reality in the garbage while claiming some sort of ideal Marxism (or Leninism) that only exist in their heads. This kind of thinking just makes a socialism revolution impossible and when you propagandize other working people who aren't Marxists with this rhetoric, the logical conclusion that many people take is "Hey, if revolution never worked before, why the hell will it work in the future?". So, basically this ends up being a defeatist discourse that even makes Trots themselves fight a lot and abandon their previous parties to now create a new party with the right line because every other line is Stalinist/degeneration.
Now regarding dogmatism, I think this is a disease that is spread out in the whole Marxist field, and it's hard to fight. People like to cite Marx as if it is some kind of sacred text, that needs to be interpreted literally and everyone that makes a deviation of the perceived "main" interpretation is a revisionist degeneration. It's kinda like every author following Marx, Engels and Lenin never said any contradictory stuff and even if reality does not match theory then it's revisionism. It's not as if Marx himself changed his mind of the revolution starting in Europe vs the rest of the world, given that he had much more experience and actual praxis when he was older, when he could do a better analysis with more data and experience. So this leaves many Marxist orgs with the habit of splitting and denouncing each other over very minor differences in tactics.
I completely agree.
I've also seen: Trotskyism is a right deviation that disguises itself as a left deviation.
I would like an explanation of this.