Book Review: The Prophet Armed, Trotsky: 1879–1921
| Published date | 01 June 1955 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070205501000214 |
| Author | Geo. W. Simpson |
| Date | 01 June 1955 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK
REVIEws
139
M.
Day
retraces
the
birth
and
evolution
of
that
rule
which was
enshrined
finally
in
the
Council
of
the
League
of
Nations.
The
Declaration
submitted
by
the
five
Great
Powers
on
June
7,
1945,
is
the
subject
of
very illuminating
comments concerning
the
vital
distinction
between
questions
of
procedure and questions
of
merit
or
substance.
Since
the
five
Great
Powers assumed
the
main
responsibility
for the
maintenance
of
peace,
M.
Day
is
of
the
opinion
that
such
a
distinctly
onerous
task
justifies
the
privilege
of
exercising
a
veto.
Of
special
interest
also
is
the
analysis
of
the
precedents
consecrated
by
the
practice
of
the
Security
Council
to
the
effect
that
the
abstention
of
one
of
the
five
permanent
members is
not
equivalent
to
the
exercise
of
the right
of
veto.
This
interpretation
amounts
really
to
an
amendment
to
article
27
of
the
Charter.
If
it
is
impossible
to
abolish
the
right
of
veto,
efforts
should
be
made
to
restrict
its
exercise,
to
prevent
the
abuses
which
have
paralyzed
the
normal
working
of
the
San
Francisco
Charter.
But,
to
sum
up,
this
remarkable
book
proves
very
clearly
that
the
Veto
is not
in
itself
the
cause
of
our
international
difficulties;
to
quote
M.
Parodi,
it
is
only
the
"legal
manifestation"
of
the
tragic
misunderstanding
which
now
splits
the
world
into
two
hostile
camps.
Universit6
de
Montreal
L.
M.
GoUIN,
Q.C.,
LL.D.
THE
PROPHET
ARMED,
TROTSKY:
1879-1921.
By
Isaac
Deut-
scher.
1954.
(London,
New
York
and
Toronto:
Oxford.
viii,
540pp.
$6.00)
Among
the
atrocities
of
the
communist regime
may
be
num-
bered
the
abomination heaped
upon
Clio.
The
case
of
Trotsky
is
a
good
example
where
the
muse
of
history
has
been
subjected
to
deliberate
torture.
Trotsky
contributed
more
than
any
individual,
with
the
ex-
ception
of
Lenin,
to
the
success
of
the
communist
cause
in
the
fateful
years
1918
to
1921.
The
Soviet Encyclopedia
published
in
1948
barely
mentions
him.
In
its
article
on
the history
of
the
Communist
party,
his
followers,
Trotskyites,
are
associated
with
Mensheviks,
counter-revolutionaries,
etc.,
at
a
time
when,
in
fact,
Trotsky
was
one
of
the
main
pillars
of
the
administration
(p.
1682).
In
the
section
on
general
history,
his
part
in
the
war,
1918-1921,
is
indicated
in
an adverse criticism
dealing
with
a
minor
incident
(p.
652).
The
unhappy
historians
in
the
Soviet
Union
must
under
necessity
follow
the current
party
line
in
their
interpretation
of
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