"Dewey is very vague here, except for a gratuitous slur of Trotsky whom he otherwise admired and defended. I think the issue turns on the question which has always divided revolutionary Marxists like Trotsky from social democrats and left liberals like Dewey: Can a successful class struggle for power be conducted peacefully or must it necessarily resolve itself through violence?"
This last sentence cannot be answered theoretically. I mean, looking at the Russian revolution specifically, the revolution itself was relatively peaceful and quick. What was bloody was the civil war, which is likely to have not happened or have been much shorter if external powers had not supported it.
So if we pose the question in terms of the specific historical context of the Russian revolution, we'd have to ask "can a successful class struggle in one country be conducted peacefully even if external violence and support is provided to the ruling class?"
Well, remember Chile? Allende refused to arm the workers. We know what happened.
Joanna