Tom Gustaffson: 1947-1987 A revolutionist who will be sorely missed
1987 1987-03Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 14 →
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SOCIALIST ACTION MARCH 1987 13 These big events were to shape his thinking and lead him to Trotskyism and to the Fourth International.
For 22 years, Tom was an active builder of the Swedish section-mainly as a politi -cal fulltimer, but also as a metal worker and trade unionist.
As a central leader of the Fourth Interna -tional, Tom was an active participant in the big political debates inside the world movement. Tom rejected the abandonment by the leadership of the U.S. Socialist Workers Party (SWP) of Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution, the programmatic bedrock of the Fourth International.
Those of us in Socialist Action who knew him over the years recall with special pride the political fight Tom waged in 1983 and 1984 against the mass expulsions of oppositionists from the SWP. Tom played an important role in ensuring the continu -ity of Trotskyism in the United States.
A disease was finally able to conquer Tom's strong physique. But the example of his life, his determination to push forward against all odds, will remain an inspiration for us in the years to come.-The Editors