Rosa Luxemburg in Action: For Revolution and Democracy

182 Pages·2014·1.37 MB·English

by  Rosemary H. T. O’Kane

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Rosa Luxemburg in Action

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a Neither a work concerned only with her Marxist writings nor a per-
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sonal biography concerned with her private life, this book examines Rosa
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1 Luxemburg’s ideas on revolution and democracy and how the two are
0 bound together by her views on the importance of political action. Stretch-
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5: ing, historically, from 1863 to the present, this book covers in great detail
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t the history and developments within the German Social Democratic Party
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] during her time, the 1905 and 1917 Russian Revolutions, the German
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r Revolution, the outbreak of the First World War and the imperialism that
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br fuelled it. It then moves on to consider political and historical developments
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L after her death and examines her arguments on revolution and democracy
x in the light of the post-revolutionary government in Nicaragua: the one vio-
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ss lent revolution that sought to establish social democracy (but failed). Also
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S covered are aspects of Rosa Luxemburg’s life; her important writings

of and actions; and the relevant Marxist debates in which she was involved,
y including, for example, Eduard Bernstein’s arguments on social democracy
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si through reform and, with Lenin, on revolutionary organization.
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ve This welcome and timely collection presents an important examination
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n of the political and social context in which Luxemburg developed her activi-
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[ ties and views, as well as a complete understanding of the history of social
y democracy, the revolutionary times of a century ago and the relevance of
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d their events and ideas for more recent revolutions for democracy in the
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d twenty-fi rst century.
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w Rosemary H. T. O ’ Kane is Emeritus Professor of Comparative Political
o Theory at Keele University. Her book T he Revolutionary Reign of Ter-
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ror: The Role of Violence in Political Change ( 1991) won the CHOICE
Outstanding Academic Book for 1993.
Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought
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S Legacies of Dissent
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e 85 The Dialectics of Inquiry Across 94 The Metaphysics of
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d 86 How Groups Matter 95 The Political Thought of Hume
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d Challenges of Toleration in and His Contemporaries:
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n Edited by Gideon Calder, Magali Frederick G. Whelan
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96 The Political Thought of Hume
87 The Politics of Rationality and His Contemporaries:
Reason through Occidental Enlightenment Projects Vol 2
History Frederick G. Whelan
Charles P. Webel
97 Rosa Luxemburg in Action
88 Gramsci, Materialism, and For Revolution and
Philosophy Democracy
Esteve Morera Rosemary H. T. O’Kane
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Rosa Luxemburg in Action
For Revolution and Democracy
Rosemary H. T. O’Kane
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First published 2015
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
an informa business
© 2015 Taylor & Francis
The right of Rosemary H. T. O’Kane to be identifi ed as author of this
7 work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
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h All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
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1 registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation
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5 without intent to infringe.
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at Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
y] Kane, Rosemary H. T. O.
ar Rosa Luxemburg in action : for revolution and democracy /
br by Rosemary H. T. O. Kane.
Li pages cm. — (Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought ; 97)
x Includes bibliographical references and index.
e ISBN 978-1-315-77740-5 (alk. paper)
ss 1. Luxemburg, Rosa, 1871–1919. 2. Direct democracy—History. I. Title.
u HX274.7.L89K36 2015
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f 321.8—dc23
o 2014025274
y
t ISBN: 978-1-138-02195-2 (hbk)
i
rs ISBN: 978-1-315-77740-5 (ebk)
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v Typeset in Sabon
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n by Apex CoVantage, LLC
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Contents
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a Preface xi
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Acknowledgements xv
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1 1 Setting the Stage: Electoral Democracy,
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5 Imperial Germany and the SPD 1
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b 3 The Revolutionary Movement: Vote-Getting,
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Party Organization and the General Strike 37
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us 4 Revolution in Russia, 1905–6: The Living Political School 52
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o 5 Elections, Imperialism and War: Objective Investigation 67
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er 6 War, Revolutions and Freedom: From behind Prison Walls 85
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U 7 Into the German Revolution: On through the Weimar Republic 101
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d 8 After the Russian Revolution: Through Past 1945 116
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o 9 With the Eagles Flying Onward: To Socialist Democracy 134
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o Bibliography 151
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Index 157