Leon Trotsky: Letter to the Leadership of the Communist League of America

November 13, 1932

[Writing of Leon Trotsky, Vol. 4, 1932, New York 1973, p. 301, title: “Field's Future Role”]

To the Leadership of the Communist League of America

Dear Comrades:

I wrote you that we had in mind "legalizing" Comrade Field in one of the European sections for the duration of his work here. It was with the understanding that he would remain for a considerable period of time. But it now appears that this is impossible for him because of financial reasons and that he will soon have to return to America. With this is eliminated the above-mentioned plan, which we of course intended to carry out only in collaboration with you.

In regard to the future in America, the plans of Field are, as it appears to me from conversations with him, the following: he returns fully determined to work for the Left Opposition and to find his way back to the League. But in no case by the methods attempted by Weisbord. He will offer his services to the League without simultaneously raising the question of his reinstatement. I believe he can be of good service in the field of winning the intellectual Marxists (an activity for example in the sense of my letter to Calverton). Through our theoretical political superiority as against the party we will be able to count on certain sympathies from the "academicians," and we can utilize these sympathies materially and intellectually, without, of course, delivering the organization to these elements. During the course of this work it will perhaps be proven that Field himself belongs in the organization. But this you will be able to judge better than we can from this distance. What I want to insist upon is that the relationship with Field be as much as possible so arranged that he can in the future also be utilized for our international theoretical work.

Please let me once more assure the leadership of the New York organization that I was and still am very far from wanting to take its organizational decision lightly. My motive in this whole question was only the necessity of obtaining qualified forces for our international activities.

With best communist greetings,

L. Trotsky