Michel Varga (born Balázs Nagy; June 23, 1927 – August 23, 2015) was a Hungarian and French
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
activist.
Varga was active in the
Union of Working Youth
Union of Working Youth ( hu, Dolgozó Ifjúság Szövetsége, DISZ) was a mass youth organization in Hungary. All Hungarian youth between 14 and 26 years were allowed to become members. As of 1956, DISZ had 14 000 local organizations and a total me ...
, student organisation of the
Hungarian Working People's Party
The Hungarian Working People's Party (, abbr. MDP) was the ruling communist party of Hungary from 1948 to 1956.
It was formed by a merger of the Hungarian Communist Party (MKP) and the Social Democratic Party of Hungary (MSZDP).Neubauer, John, a ...
, within which he was regarded as an intellectual. He was part of a group which in 1954 founded the Petofi discussion group, in opposition to
Mátyás Rákosi
Mátyás Rákosi (; born Mátyás Rosenfeld; 9 March 1892 – 5 February 1971) was a Hungarian . When it was revived in 1956, he became Deputy Secretary of its Provisional Bureau. The group, while influential, attempted to quell the Hungarian Revolution, fearing a violent backlash.The Hungarian Revolution 1956 - Part 1 ", ''
Permanent Revolution
Permanent revolution is the strategy of a revolutionary class pursuing its own interests independently and without compromise or alliance with opposing sections of society. As a term within Marxist theory, it was first coined by Karl Marx and ...
'', October 2006
Following the defeat of the revolution, Varga escaped to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, then settled in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, where, following discussions with
Pierre Broué
Pierre Broué (8 May 1926 – 27 July 2005) was a French historian and Trotskyist revolutionary militant whose work covers the history of the Bolshevik Party, the Spanish Revolution and biographies of Leon Trotsky.
Background
Broué was born in ...
Revolutionary History
''Revolutionary History'' was a British journal covering the history of the far left. It was established in 1988 by Sam Bornstein and Al Richardson and maintained an editorial board representing many strands of British Trotskyism.
'' Vol.3 No.1Robert Jackson Alexander, ''International Trotskyism, 1929-1985'' He joined the
Internationalist Communist Organisation The Internationalist Communist Organisation (french: Organisation Communiste Internationaliste, OCI) was a Trotskyist political party in France. Its successor was the Internationalist Communist Current of the Workers Party.
History Origins
The gr ...
(OCI) in 1962, and in 1963 his league affiliated to the
International Committee of the Fourth International
The International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) is the name of two Trotskyist internationals; one with sections named Socialist Equality Party which publishes the World Socialist Web Site, and another linked to the Workers Revo ...
(ICFI).
In 1972, the OCI decided to leave the ICFI and instead set up the
Organising Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International
Organizing or organized may refer to:
* Organizing (management), a process of coordinating task goals and activities to resources
* Community organizing, in which communities come together to act in their shared self-interest
* Professional organi ...
. Varga initially sided with the OCI, but soon after came into conflict with them and was expelled. The following year, he founded the
International League for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International The International League for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International, usually known as the Fourth International, was a Trotskyist political international led by Michel Varga.
The group's origins lay in the International Committee of the Fou ...
. The OCI claimed that he had been both a CIA and a KGB agent, but an international committee consisting of representatives from
Lutte Ouvrière
The French Trotskyist political party Union Communiste (Communist Union) is usually known as Lutte Ouvrière (Workers' Struggle, ), after the name of its weekly paper. Arlette Laguiller has been the party's spokeswoman since 1973 and ran in each ...
, the
Ligue Communiste Revolutionnaire
The Revolutionary Communist League (french: Ligue communiste révolutionnaire, ''LCR'') was a Trotskyist political party in France. It was the French section of the Fourth International (Post-Reunification). It published the weekly newspaper ''R ...
, the
Socialist Workers Party (US)
The Socialist Workers Party (SWP) is a communist party in the United States. Originally a group in the Communist Party USA that supported Leon Trotsky against Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, it places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strik ...
and the
International Spartacist Tendency
The International Communist League (Fourth Internationalist), earlier known as the International Spartacist tendency is a Trotskyist international. Its largest constituent party is the Spartacist League (US). There are smaller sections of the ICL ...
Workers International to Rebuild the Fourth International The Workers International to Rebuild the Fourth International (WIRFI) is a Trotskyist international organisation. It was formed and based in the United Kingdom and originally consisted of a remnant of the Workers Revolutionary Party.
The organisat ...
marxists.org
Marxists Internet Archive (also known as MIA or Marxists.org) is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Enge ...