Defending Revolutionary Perspectives by davesalner (07/06/2003)


I found this book valuable because it shows how Trotsky was able to defend the revolutionary perspectives of Lenin under the difficult conditions of isolation and exile. Stalin and the bureaucratic layer he represented were strangling the voices of authentic Marxism, advancing the narrow-minded idea of socialism in one country, and stifling all criticism. The bureaucratic gang was putting its needs ahead of the needs of workers around the world in the same way that, years later, the heirs of Stalin cut off all aid to Cuba (after doing nothing for Algeria and the Congo and almost nothing for Vietnam). But the continuity of Lenin was preserved. This is a good book to read as you follow the class struggle today, including the internationalist role of Cuba.

This book documents the last yearsstruggle Trotsky launched at Lenin's insistence to oppose Stalin, Bukharin and others who adapted to middle class bureaucratic layers in Russia and began to turn the young Soviet Union away from the revolutionary communist road Lenin had led it on, onto the bureaucratic degeneration that became known as Stalinism. Covered here are how to fight bureaucracy--is it an administrative or social economic problem--the real history of the Russian revolution, and so much more. This is required reading for fighters in the former USSR, in China, Vietnam and other countries trying to fight their way out of the debris of the Stalinist regimes. This is a great asset for Cuban fighters to understand that Fidel and Che's fight against bureaucratism was not the only one.

This volume gathers rich political writings by Leon Trotsky from the last two years before his expulsion from the Soviet Union by the reactionary bureaucracy headed by Joseph Stalin.

Trotsky takes up broad questions of interest to revolutionary movements everywhere: from the economic foundations of post-capitalist society, to the fight for effective participation by workers and farmers in political debate and decision-making, to big challenges of revolutionary internationalism. You see him grappling with the complex questions posed by the degeneration of the Russian Revolution and its leading party, and the tactical challenges posed in waging a political fight at a time when it was still possible to return the party to its original, revolutionary course. You can learn a lot from his writings on world developments and debates over what revolutionists should do: revolutionary and class struggles in China, Britain and Germany, shifting economic and political relations among the imperialist powers, and much more.

I'd suggest studying this book along with some of Trotsky's other major writings, including The Revolution Betrayed, Leon Trotsky on China, and The Stalin School of Falsification. And for bringing these issues up to today's world, Capitalism's World Disorder: working-class politics at the millennium, and Their Trotsky and Ours, both by Jack Barnes.

Working in the banking industry I was turned on to this book by a colleague and what a colossal waste of time reading this was. The vast majority of this book's models are outdated and if Mr. Saunders was trying to write a historical piece he has accomplished that in spades. Nothing in this book is relevant and it is obvious the esteemed Mr. Saunders lent his name to a very poor book that he probably should have glanced through if not read. Linda Allen should probably get some real world experience because she is wasting people's time with her research.

This book reviews concepts that have been around for more than 10 years and well published in articles. Perhaps it pulls it all together in book form, but even so, it is dated. It is light on credit derivatives and the exploding market in synthetic securitizations driven by credit derivatives. These products introduce structured credit risk (and hedges) to banks and investors.

The reader will need to buy "Credit Derivatives and Synthetic Structures" by Tavakoli to get insight into these products.

I have a copy of this book. It covers popular credit risk models and things like RAROC, etc. These concepts have been discussed extensively in the industry but I assume this is the first in the book form. The book does a good job in presenting basic ideas. However, if you are looking for technical details, you best bets are still the original technical documentations (CreditMetrics, CreditRisk+, KMV, etc). Nevertheless this book is a useful survey of the current stable of models. Besides, it is not very expensive.