A List of Famous Leon Trotsky Quotes By Reference

A list of quotes from Leon Trotsky. Here are the best Leon Trotsky quotes on various subjects. The Leon Trotsky quotations list is alphabetical but can be sorted by any column. Enjoy these sayings coined by Leon Trotsky. Use this list to build one just like it, then re-rank it to fit your opinion.

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Order Name Author Subjects

1

Fascism is nothing but capitalist reaction.

Leon Trotsky

Fascism
2

Ideas that enter the mind under fire remain there securely and for ever.

Leon Trotsky

Ideas
3

If the Revolution has the right to destroy bridges and art monuments whenever necessary, it will stop still less from laying its hand on any tendency in art which, no matter how great its achievement in form, threatens to disintegrate the revolutionary environment or to arouse the internal forces of the Revolution, that is, the proletariat, the peasantry and the intelligentsia, to a hostile opposition to one another. Our standard is, clearly, political, imperative and intolerant.

Leon Trotsky

Arts and Artists
4

If we had more time for discussion we should probably have made a great many more mistakes.

Leon Trotsky

Planning
5

In a serious struggle there is no worse cruelty than to be magnanimous at an inopportune time.

Leon Trotsky

Struggle
6

In inner-party politics, these methods lead, as we shall yet see, to this: the party organization substitutes itself for the party, the central committee substitutes itself for the organization, and, finally, a dictator substitutes himself for the central committee.

Leon Trotsky

Dictators and Dictatorship
7

Insurrection is an art, and like all arts has its own laws.

Leon Trotsky

Rebellion
8

Learning carries within itself certain dangers because out of necessity one has to learn from one's enemies.

Leon Trotsky

Learning
9

Let a man find himself, in distinction from others, on top of two wheels with a chain -- at least in a poor country like Russia -- and his vanity begins to swell out like his tires. In America it takes an automobile to produce this effect.

Leon Trotsky

Bicycle
10

Life is not an easy matter. You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism unless you have before you a great idea which raises you above personal misery, above weakness, above all kinds of perfidy and baseness.

Leon Trotsky

Causes
11

Man will become immeasurably stronger, wiser, and subtler; his body will become more harmonious, his movements more rhythmic, his voice more musical. The forms of life will become dynamically dramatic. The average human type will rise to the heights of an Aristotle, a Goethe, or a Marx. And above these heights, new peaks will rise.

Leon Trotsky

Communism and Socialism
12

Not believing in force is the same as not believing in gravitation.

Leon Trotsky

Force
13

Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to a man.

Leon Trotsky

Age and Aging
14

Revolutions are always verbose.

Leon Trotsky

Revolutions and Revolutionaries
15

Technique is noticed most markedly in the case of those who have not mastered it.

Leon Trotsky

Techniques
16

The depth and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves. People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life, for only then do they have to fall back on their reserves.

Leon Trotsky

Character
17

The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.

Leon Trotsky

Ends and Means
18

The historic ascent of humanity, taken as a whole, may be summarized as a succession of victories of consciousness over blind forces -- in nature, in society, in man himself.

Leon Trotsky

Evolution
19

The slanders poured down like Niagara. If you take into consideration the setting -- the war and the revolution -- and the character of the accused -- revolutionary leaders of millions who were conducting their party to the sovereign power -- you can say without exaggeration that July 1917 was the month of the most gigantic slander in world history.

Leon Trotsky

Slander
20

There is a limit to the application of democratic methods. You can inquire of all the passengers as to what type of car they like to ride in, but it is impossible to question them as to whether to apply the brakes when the train is at full speed and accident threatens.

Leon Trotsky

Democracy
21

Under all conditions well-organized violence seems to him the shortest distance between two points.

Leon Trotsky

Violence
22

Where force is necessary, there it must be applied boldly, decisively and completely. But one must know the limitations of force; one must know when to blend force with a maneuver, a blow with an agreement.

Leon Trotsky

Force
23

You are pitiful isolated individuals; you are bankrupts; your role is played out. Go where you belong from now on -- into the dustbin of history!

Leon Trotsky

Politicians and Politics

A List of Famous Leon Trotsky Quotes you can use this list to help make your own ranked list about this topic

Fascism is nothing but capitalist reaction.

Ideas that enter the mind under fire remain there securely and for ever.

If we had more time for discussion we should probably have made a great many more mistakes.

In a serious struggle there is no worse cruelty than to be magnanimous at an inopportune time.

In inner-party politics, these methods lead, as we shall yet see, to this: the party organization substitutes itself for the party, the central committee substitutes itself for the organization, and, finally, a dictator substitutes himself for the central committee.

Insurrection is an art, and like all arts has its own laws.

Learning carries within itself certain dangers because out of necessity one has to learn from one's enemies.

Let a man find himself, in distinction from others, on top of two wheels with a chain -- at least in a poor country like Russia -- and his vanity begins to swell out like his tires. In America it takes an automobile to produce this effect.

Life is not an easy matter. You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism unless you have before you a great idea which raises you above personal misery, above weakness, above all kinds of perfidy and baseness.

Not believing in force is the same as not believing in gravitation.

Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to a man.

Revolutions are always verbose.

Technique is noticed most markedly in the case of those who have not mastered it.

The depth and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves. People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life, for only then do they have to fall back on their reserves.

The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.

The historic ascent of humanity, taken as a whole, may be summarized as a succession of victories of consciousness over blind forces -- in nature, in society, in man himself.

There is a limit to the application of democratic methods. You can inquire of all the passengers as to what type of car they like to ride in, but it is impossible to question them as to whether to apply the brakes when the train is at full speed and accident threatens.

Under all conditions well-organized violence seems to him the shortest distance between two points.

Where force is necessary, there it must be applied boldly, decisively and completely. But one must know the limitations of force; one must know when to blend force with a maneuver, a blow with an agreement.

You are pitiful isolated individuals; you are bankrupts; your role is played out. Go where you belong from now on -- into the dustbin of history!