Once deemed “the pope of Marxism”, Karl Kautsky – a star pupil of Marx and Engels in his youth –... more Once deemed “the pope of Marxism”, Karl Kautsky – a star pupil of Marx and Engels in his youth – was the leading theoretician behind the German Social-Democratic Party’s original course of being decisively hostile and pursuing irreconcilable opposition to the German Empire (1871-1918) and the capitalist state in general. He was also one of the most prolific public intellectuals of his time. Following the death of Engels in 1895, Kautsky came to be viewed by friend and foe alike as the most important Marxist thinker of the age. He not only made significant contributions to the theoretical development of Marxism, but also popularised Marxist ideas, bringing them to a much wider international audience than Marx or Engels was ever in a position to reach. Kautsky was, moreover, a key actor when the question of state power was posed to the forces of German social democracy for the first time: during the dissolution of the war-weary Imperial state and the emergence of the Weimar Republic. His literary and political activity can accordingly be viewed as an important piece in the mosaic of social-democratic writing on the German Empire in particular and on the state and civil society in general. However, despite his once exalted status as a champion of Marxism in its golden age, there is little interest in Kautsky’s work today. In the past quarter of a century, only eight German- and English-language studies devoted to his ideas have appeared (and five of these focus less on the detail of his political philosophy than on his practical-political influence). In the recent past, more of his correspondence has been published (2003 and 2011), but the overwhelming majority of his letters, papers and drafts remains neglected in the Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis in Amsterdam. This thesis aims to rekindle interest in Kautsky’s ideas by exploring one central aspect of his thought – his democratic-republican understanding of state and society.
Clara Zetkin (1857-1933), who died over 80 years ago, was one of the most prominent figures in th... more Clara Zetkin (1857-1933), who died over 80 years ago, was one of the most prominent figures in the international socialist movement until its split over World War I and the Russian revolution. She was then a leading figure in the communist movement and in the corresponding women's movements, and she is acknowledged as one of the initiators of International Women's Day, yet today she is a largely forgotten figure. This is because since her death she has wrongly been seen as a loyal Stalinist, particularly in the post-Second World War German Democratic Republic, and also because of the hostility shown towards her by the ruling class of the Federal Republic of Germany and by social democracy, but equally by mainstream feminism, because of her insistence on seeing the oppression of women as rooted in capitalist society with its ruling class oppressing the subordinate classes, rather than as a result of the dominance of men in this society. In presenting this selection of articles, speeches and correspondence by Zetkin, and a range of scholarly essays about her, including the use of archive material only available to researchers since the demise of the USSR and the GDR, we want to reclaim Zetkin as one of the heroic figures of the revolutionary movement, and to emphasise her opposition to its degeneration into, firstly, reformism and then Stalinism, and at the same time to illustrate the issues she took up, despite the numerous ailments from which she suffered, as well as to inspire a renewed interest in this admirable figure and reinstate her reputation as one of the giants of the revolutionary socialist movement.
This article, which is based on a talk I gave to the Online Communist Forum in March, represents ... more This article, which is based on a talk I gave to the Online Communist Forum in March, represents a first attempt to revisit and reinterrogate the complex chain of events known as the ‘March Action’ or - more accurately - the ‘March struggles’ of 1921, which culminated in a failed attempt to bring about a general strike nationally and seize power by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). However, looking back a hundred years on, things appear more like a ‘Whodunnit’.
Ben Lewis shows how the German revolution of November 1918 was diverted and betrayed by the leade... more Ben Lewis shows how the German revolution of November 1918 was diverted and betrayed by the leaders of official social democracy
My translation of, and introduction to, Kautsky's article 'Prospects of the Russian Revolution' (... more My translation of, and introduction to, Kautsky's article 'Prospects of the Russian Revolution' (April 1917). The piece was first translated 7 years ago, but has now been reprinted, with a new introduction, as part of a series of articles in the 'Weekly Worker' to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution
Democratic centralism is perhaps one of the most maligned, misunderstood and controversial terms ... more Democratic centralism is perhaps one of the most maligned, misunderstood and controversial terms in the contemporary Marxist vernacular. More often than not, enemies of Marxism and self-proclaimed defenders alike have deployed the term in a fashion that is completely at odds with the way this guiding idea was applied historically as a common sense modus operandi within the healthiest trends of the revolutionary movement. As with many other ideas and practices that abound on today’s radical left, the experience of Stalinism still casts its long, dark shadow. Whether it is peddled by those on the left who place the interests of their particular bureaucratically-run sect above the interests of democracy, or those who make it their duty to distort and undermine socialist ideas, there is a lazy and ahistorical equation of democratic centralism with despotic, bureaucratic rule, of Lenin with Stalin, of workers’ democracy with its negation.
For this reason alone, it is necessary to proceed with extreme caution when discussing the term democratic centralism. But discuss it we must.
As a contribution to the debate regarding the tactics to adopt in relation to the European Union ... more As a contribution to the debate regarding the tactics to adopt in relation to the European Union referendum, I have translated this piece by Karl Kautsky on ‘direct legislation’. Kautsky (1854-1938), known as the “pope of Marxism”, was a thinker who, as recent scholarship has underlined, had a profound influence on the theory and practice of Lenin’s Bolsheviks
Today, Karl Kautsky (1854–1938) is mainly remembered for his polemics against the young Bolshevik... more Today, Karl Kautsky (1854–1938) is mainly remembered for his polemics against the young Bolshevik regime or as the ‘renegade’ in Lenin’s The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky (1918), which pillories him for his wavering stance in opposing World War I and his (later) outright hostility to the Russian Revolution of October 1917. Kautsky’s authority as a Marxist theoretician was seriously called into question ever since Lenin’s polemic. During the Cold War in particular, a consensus emerged which suggested that Kautsky’s views of democracy, organisation and revolutionary change had little or nothing to do with the political practice of Russian Bolshevism and the Russian Revolution of 1917. Recently, however, several studies have challenged this consensus. They highlight the profound impact which Kautsky had on the development of Russian Bolshevism and make the case that – prior to his renegacy in 1914 – thinkers such as Lenin and Trotsky viewed Kautsky as the legitimate intellectual heir of Marx and Engels. This article introduces an autobiographical essay written by Kautsky in 1924 and calls for closer engagement with his oeuvre as a whole.
Il s'agit ici d'analyser la vision de la démocratie de Rosa Luxemburg peu avant son assasinat, en... more Il s'agit ici d'analyser la vision de la démocratie de Rosa Luxemburg peu avant son assasinat, en examinant le programme du Parti communiste d'Allemagne, mais aussi le discours prononcè en décembre 1918 au congrès fondateur du KPD. Les vues stratégiques de Rosa Luxemburg s'inscrivaient alors dans une tradition démocratique, révolutionnaire-républicaine au sein du marxisme - qu'elle s'est acharnée à défendre contre les tendances putschistes et réformistes du mouvement des travailleurs de l'époque.
Oswald Spengler (1880–1936) was one of the most significant thinkers of the Weimar Republic, Germ... more Oswald Spengler (1880–1936) was one of the most significant thinkers of the Weimar Republic, Germany’s first democracy. His work, notably the two-volume, 1200-page 'Der Untergang des Abendlandes' ('Decline of the West', 1918/22), had a profound influence on the intellectual discourses of the time in Germany and beyond.1 Yet, despite the high esteem in which he was held by his contemporaries, his thought has been seriously under-researched. In English, only four major studies have appeared in the last 70 years.2 This is all the more surprising in that the historical period in which he wrote has been extensively covered by both English- and German-language scholars and that some of the thinkers who drew critically on his ideas, such as Heidegger and Adorno, have become household names in Germany intellectual history.
Lunapark. Zeitschrift zur Kritik der globalen Ökonomie, 2018
My translation of Anahita Hosseini's English-language article on the significance of the recent p... more My translation of Anahita Hosseini's English-language article on the significance of the recent protests in Iran
Once deemed “the pope of Marxism”, Karl Kautsky – a star pupil of Marx and Engels in his youth –... more Once deemed “the pope of Marxism”, Karl Kautsky – a star pupil of Marx and Engels in his youth – was the leading theoretician behind the German Social-Democratic Party’s original course of being decisively hostile and pursuing irreconcilable opposition to the German Empire (1871-1918) and the capitalist state in general. He was also one of the most prolific public intellectuals of his time. Following the death of Engels in 1895, Kautsky came to be viewed by friend and foe alike as the most important Marxist thinker of the age. He not only made significant contributions to the theoretical development of Marxism, but also popularised Marxist ideas, bringing them to a much wider international audience than Marx or Engels was ever in a position to reach. Kautsky was, moreover, a key actor when the question of state power was posed to the forces of German social democracy for the first time: during the dissolution of the war-weary Imperial state and the emergence of the Weimar Republic. His literary and political activity can accordingly be viewed as an important piece in the mosaic of social-democratic writing on the German Empire in particular and on the state and civil society in general. However, despite his once exalted status as a champion of Marxism in its golden age, there is little interest in Kautsky’s work today. In the past quarter of a century, only eight German- and English-language studies devoted to his ideas have appeared (and five of these focus less on the detail of his political philosophy than on his practical-political influence). In the recent past, more of his correspondence has been published (2003 and 2011), but the overwhelming majority of his letters, papers and drafts remains neglected in the Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis in Amsterdam. This thesis aims to rekindle interest in Kautsky’s ideas by exploring one central aspect of his thought – his democratic-republican understanding of state and society.
Clara Zetkin (1857-1933), who died over 80 years ago, was one of the most prominent figures in th... more Clara Zetkin (1857-1933), who died over 80 years ago, was one of the most prominent figures in the international socialist movement until its split over World War I and the Russian revolution. She was then a leading figure in the communist movement and in the corresponding women's movements, and she is acknowledged as one of the initiators of International Women's Day, yet today she is a largely forgotten figure. This is because since her death she has wrongly been seen as a loyal Stalinist, particularly in the post-Second World War German Democratic Republic, and also because of the hostility shown towards her by the ruling class of the Federal Republic of Germany and by social democracy, but equally by mainstream feminism, because of her insistence on seeing the oppression of women as rooted in capitalist society with its ruling class oppressing the subordinate classes, rather than as a result of the dominance of men in this society. In presenting this selection of articles, speeches and correspondence by Zetkin, and a range of scholarly essays about her, including the use of archive material only available to researchers since the demise of the USSR and the GDR, we want to reclaim Zetkin as one of the heroic figures of the revolutionary movement, and to emphasise her opposition to its degeneration into, firstly, reformism and then Stalinism, and at the same time to illustrate the issues she took up, despite the numerous ailments from which she suffered, as well as to inspire a renewed interest in this admirable figure and reinstate her reputation as one of the giants of the revolutionary socialist movement.
This article, which is based on a talk I gave to the Online Communist Forum in March, represents ... more This article, which is based on a talk I gave to the Online Communist Forum in March, represents a first attempt to revisit and reinterrogate the complex chain of events known as the ‘March Action’ or - more accurately - the ‘March struggles’ of 1921, which culminated in a failed attempt to bring about a general strike nationally and seize power by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). However, looking back a hundred years on, things appear more like a ‘Whodunnit’.
Ben Lewis shows how the German revolution of November 1918 was diverted and betrayed by the leade... more Ben Lewis shows how the German revolution of November 1918 was diverted and betrayed by the leaders of official social democracy
My translation of, and introduction to, Kautsky's article 'Prospects of the Russian Revolution' (... more My translation of, and introduction to, Kautsky's article 'Prospects of the Russian Revolution' (April 1917). The piece was first translated 7 years ago, but has now been reprinted, with a new introduction, as part of a series of articles in the 'Weekly Worker' to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution
Democratic centralism is perhaps one of the most maligned, misunderstood and controversial terms ... more Democratic centralism is perhaps one of the most maligned, misunderstood and controversial terms in the contemporary Marxist vernacular. More often than not, enemies of Marxism and self-proclaimed defenders alike have deployed the term in a fashion that is completely at odds with the way this guiding idea was applied historically as a common sense modus operandi within the healthiest trends of the revolutionary movement. As with many other ideas and practices that abound on today’s radical left, the experience of Stalinism still casts its long, dark shadow. Whether it is peddled by those on the left who place the interests of their particular bureaucratically-run sect above the interests of democracy, or those who make it their duty to distort and undermine socialist ideas, there is a lazy and ahistorical equation of democratic centralism with despotic, bureaucratic rule, of Lenin with Stalin, of workers’ democracy with its negation.
For this reason alone, it is necessary to proceed with extreme caution when discussing the term democratic centralism. But discuss it we must.
As a contribution to the debate regarding the tactics to adopt in relation to the European Union ... more As a contribution to the debate regarding the tactics to adopt in relation to the European Union referendum, I have translated this piece by Karl Kautsky on ‘direct legislation’. Kautsky (1854-1938), known as the “pope of Marxism”, was a thinker who, as recent scholarship has underlined, had a profound influence on the theory and practice of Lenin’s Bolsheviks
Today, Karl Kautsky (1854–1938) is mainly remembered for his polemics against the young Bolshevik... more Today, Karl Kautsky (1854–1938) is mainly remembered for his polemics against the young Bolshevik regime or as the ‘renegade’ in Lenin’s The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky (1918), which pillories him for his wavering stance in opposing World War I and his (later) outright hostility to the Russian Revolution of October 1917. Kautsky’s authority as a Marxist theoretician was seriously called into question ever since Lenin’s polemic. During the Cold War in particular, a consensus emerged which suggested that Kautsky’s views of democracy, organisation and revolutionary change had little or nothing to do with the political practice of Russian Bolshevism and the Russian Revolution of 1917. Recently, however, several studies have challenged this consensus. They highlight the profound impact which Kautsky had on the development of Russian Bolshevism and make the case that – prior to his renegacy in 1914 – thinkers such as Lenin and Trotsky viewed Kautsky as the legitimate intellectual heir of Marx and Engels. This article introduces an autobiographical essay written by Kautsky in 1924 and calls for closer engagement with his oeuvre as a whole.
Il s'agit ici d'analyser la vision de la démocratie de Rosa Luxemburg peu avant son assasinat, en... more Il s'agit ici d'analyser la vision de la démocratie de Rosa Luxemburg peu avant son assasinat, en examinant le programme du Parti communiste d'Allemagne, mais aussi le discours prononcè en décembre 1918 au congrès fondateur du KPD. Les vues stratégiques de Rosa Luxemburg s'inscrivaient alors dans une tradition démocratique, révolutionnaire-républicaine au sein du marxisme - qu'elle s'est acharnée à défendre contre les tendances putschistes et réformistes du mouvement des travailleurs de l'époque.
Oswald Spengler (1880–1936) was one of the most significant thinkers of the Weimar Republic, Germ... more Oswald Spengler (1880–1936) was one of the most significant thinkers of the Weimar Republic, Germany’s first democracy. His work, notably the two-volume, 1200-page 'Der Untergang des Abendlandes' ('Decline of the West', 1918/22), had a profound influence on the intellectual discourses of the time in Germany and beyond.1 Yet, despite the high esteem in which he was held by his contemporaries, his thought has been seriously under-researched. In English, only four major studies have appeared in the last 70 years.2 This is all the more surprising in that the historical period in which he wrote has been extensively covered by both English- and German-language scholars and that some of the thinkers who drew critically on his ideas, such as Heidegger and Adorno, have become household names in Germany intellectual history.
Lunapark. Zeitschrift zur Kritik der globalen Ökonomie, 2018
My translation of Anahita Hosseini's English-language article on the significance of the recent p... more My translation of Anahita Hosseini's English-language article on the significance of the recent protests in Iran
Karl Kautsky (1845–1938) was one of the most important Marxist thinkers of his age. In this life ... more Karl Kautsky (1845–1938) was one of the most important Marxist thinkers of his age. In this life sketch written in 1924, he outlines his intellectual development and how he came to be such an important Marxist theoretician.
On April 16 (April 3 according to the old Russian calendar), a group of exiled Russian revolution... more On April 16 (April 3 according to the old Russian calendar), a group of exiled Russian revolutionaries headed by VI Lenin returned to their homeland. The journey - which saw them travel in a ‘sealed train’ (ie, with something tantamount to diplomatic immunity) through war-weary Germany and then up through Scandinavia, finally arriving at the Finland station in St Petersburg - was not without its risks. Given that Europe remained a theatre of war, it necessitated a deal between Russian social democrats and the German high command, which agreed to guarantee the revolutionaries safe passage through Germany in the hope of further destabilising its enemy to the east.
One of the mediators between these two forces was the Swiss communist, Fritz Platten (1883-1942), who also made some of the journey with the exiles in order to ensure that the deal was upheld. Following Lenin’s death in 1924, ‘red Fritz’ edited a book of German-language essays and memoirs devoted to these events (Die Reise Lenins durch Deutschland im plombierten Wagen). It featured a number of leading communists, including Radek1 and Zinoviev, both of whom also made the journey with Lenin.
Mine is the first translation - as far as we know, - of Grigory Zinoviev’s contribution, ‘Lenin’s arrival in Russia’.2 Zinoviev was one of Lenin’s closest allies in exile and the two collaborated on a wide range of articles, pamphlets and theses, written, among other things, in response to the political collapse of the Second International at the outbreak of World War I. The rapturous reception of the returning exiles in St Petersburg testified to the revolution that had just recently happened and a portent of what was to come. Indeed, the crucial role played by Lenin after his return means that the train journey from Switzerland counts as one of those seminal moments in history.
Yet the journey became an instant cause of controversy. Various Mensheviks, such as Plekhanov, joined with the scandal mongering bourgeois press in branding Lenin and his comrades as ‘German spies’. There was also accusations of German gold. In fact, the Bolsheviks had gone to the greatest lengths to have as little do with the representatives of the German high command as possible. And, of course, it was not only Bolsheviks who were on the train.
The arrangement with Germany implied no political sacrifice or silence. The exiles were meant to agitate in Russia for the release of a corresponding number of Austro-German prisoners. Nothing more. If anything, Lenin and the Bolsheviks stepped up their criticisms of German imperialism. And, for its part, the German high command certainly had grave misgivings about its decision to allow safe passage for the Russian exiles. As for German gold the Bolsheviks took none. Nevertheless, sadly, there are still those hopeless ‘left’ outfits, and not only in the so-called ‘third world’, who abuse the ‘sealed train’ to justify taking money from all kinds of imperialist agencies and charitable fronts. This political prostitution has nothing to do with the history or spirit of Bolshevism.
To my knowledge, what follows is the first English-language translation of an anti-war manifesto ... more To my knowledge, what follows is the first English-language translation of an anti-war manifesto written by three leading members of the Labour and Socialist International (1923–1940). The translation should be of interest to a contemporary audience for three main reasons. First, it provides a glimpse of the political self-understanding of this significant trend within the workers’ movement, which sought to distance itself from the experience of Bolshevism and to win away workers to its banner. Second, the manifesto offers valuable insights into the geo-political dynamics of the tumultuous 1930s, with the threat of another generalised global conflict looming ever larger on the horizon. The manifesto’ s discussions of such varied phenomena as the history of the Second International, Stalinism, National Socialism and the League of Nations are extremely illuminative (and reveal some of the Socialist and Labour International’s illusions in the latter). Third, nonetheless, the manifesto contains potential insights for the contemporary left in its continued attempts to formulate an anti-war strategy that fights to ‘work most effectively for peace’ through the ‘overthrow’ of the capitalist mode of production and its inherent tendency towards war.
The September 18 referendum on Scottish independence has obviously sparked much controversy. Yet ... more The September 18 referendum on Scottish independence has obviously sparked much controversy. Yet what is often absent in such discussions is a consideration of the nature of referenda themselves and their role both historically and in contemporary society. This paper looks at Karl Kautsky's contribution to Marxist thinking on direct democracy
We print here Ben Lewis’s translation of Karl Kautsky’s 1904 article, ‘Wahlkreis und Partei’ - ‘C... more We print here Ben Lewis’s translation of Karl Kautsky’s 1904 article, ‘Wahlkreis und Partei’ - ‘Constituency and party’. As far as we know this is the first time it has appeared in English. And the subject is highly topical, since it is about the right wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany complaining about their supporters being hounded out of parliamentary constituencies, and arguing that this led to electoral defeat.
To add to the parallel with today’s Labour Party, the fundamental issues dividing right and left in the SDP at this time were that the right advocated support for the German naval budget and a ‘realistic’ policy in relation to the overseas operations of German imperialism (that is, a policy which did not oppose these operations outright, as the official policy of the SDP did up to its political collapse in 1914). Compare the hue and cry over Trident and whether Britain should bomb Syria ...
There is another side to the coin of the modern relevance of this article: the question of ‘democratic centralism’. The phrase appeared abruptly in Russia in a Menshevik conference resolution in November 1905. Lars T Lih suggests it does not have direct Russian antecedents.1 Paul Le Blanc in Lenin and the revolutionary party (1989) suggested, without referencing the point, that it might have originated in the usage of the German ‘Lassallean’ Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein (General German Workers’ Association, 1863-75).
It seems more likely that its immediate roots are in the debates in the SDP in 1904-05, of which ‘Constituency and party’ is part. Along with the case discussed here, Max Schippel was forced to resign his parliamentary seat on account of his voting with the government in support of the naval budget. The claim discussed in Kautsky’s article - that the MP’s mandate from the constituency’s electors should take priority over party discipline - figured again in the arguments round the Schippel case.2 The SDP leadership reorganised the editorial board of the party daily Vorwärts, published in Berlin, which had been supporting the right. This produced cries of outrage from the right at this ‘dictatorial’ behaviour and allegations that the Berlin local organisations should control the paper.3 Further, between 1890 and 1904, though the ‘anti-socialist laws’ banning the SDP at Reich (all-empire) level had been lifted, political organisation at a scale above the constituency had been prohibited by Land (provincial) law in Prussia, and this law was now repealed. Hence in both its 1904 and 1905 conferences the SDP discussed the general principles of party organisation with a view to reorganisation.
Another translation in a special series commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I by loo... more Another translation in a special series commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I by looking at the output of the German defencist/social chauvinist writers around 'Die Glocke' and Parvus. The text is briefly introduced by Mike Macnair.
Support for Germany’s 1914-18 war effort did not just come from the right. As shown by Konrad Hae... more Support for Germany’s 1914-18 war effort did not just come from the right. As shown by Konrad Haenisch’s letter to his erstwhile comrade, Karl Radek, there was a pro-war left that banked on a German victory in order to bring about socialist revolution
Full book info:
Ralf Hoffrogge, 'Working-Class Politics in the German Revolution' Richard Müller... more Full book info:
Ralf Hoffrogge, 'Working-Class Politics in the German Revolution' Richard Müller, the Revolutionary Shop Stewards and the Origins of the Council Movement', Transl. by Joseph B. Keady. Ed. by Radhika Desai. [Historical Materialism Book Series, Vol. 77.] Brill, Leiden [etc.] 2014. xiv, 253 pp. € 190.00; $141.00. doi: 10.1017/S0020859016000195
Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory, Apr 1, 2015
This article reviews a recent book on German labour history which usefully draws on several post-... more This article reviews a recent book on German labour history which usefully draws on several post-Cold War historiographical fields of enquiry in order to attempt to provide a more nuanced analysis of labour and social history. Nonetheless, this article suggests that its discourse on German Social Democracy between 1890 and 1914 in particular is still hampered by an over-reliance on Cold War historical output, which remains an epistemological barrier to a greater understanding of German Social Democracy’s transformation from a bulwark of socialist ideas and organisation to the Burgfrieden [‘fortress peace’] it concluded with the Kaiser state in 1914.
Key terms: German Social Democracy; Labour Historiography; Stalinism; Karl Kautsky
A brief interview which looks at my academic career, publications and research interests (Summer ... more A brief interview which looks at my academic career, publications and research interests (Summer 2016)
Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts entstand eine flüchtige doch einzigartige Beziehung zwischen der neuen ... more Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts entstand eine flüchtige doch einzigartige Beziehung zwischen der neuen europäischen kulturellen Bewegung des Naturalismus und der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung. Viele Dichter und Denker wollten eine neue Form der Kunst herbeibringen, die das Publikum und die Gesellschaft im Allgemeinen auf das alltägliche Elend des Kaiserreichs aufmerksam machen wollten. Dieses Aufwerfen der ‚sozialen Frage' brachte die Intellektuellen der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung immer näher, und obwohl einige der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands (SPD) fern blieben, wurden andere zu bekannten Figuren und Aktivisten der SPD. So galten, zumindest aus populärer Sicht, der Naturalismus und der Sozialismus als natürliche, sich beide ergänzende Verbündete. Innerhalb von beiden Bewegungen war dieses Verhältnis jedoch nicht so eindeutig, und eine gewisse Skepsis war auf beiden Seiten zu finden.
Der Zusammenbruch der Union der Sozialistischen Sowjetrepubliken (UdSSR) und der Deutschen Demokr... more Der Zusammenbruch der Union der Sozialistischen Sowjetrepubliken (UdSSR) und der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (DDR) brachte in der Politologie das offizielle Ende der marxistischen Weltauffassung mit sich. Marxistische Ideen mögen zwar befreiend geklungen haben, aber die Umsetzung dieser Ideen hat darauf hingewiesen, dass sie letztendlich zu diktatorischen politischen Maßnahmen führen, die die DDR und andere Staaten des Ostblocks auszeichneten. In der Tat beriefen sich sowohl viele SED-Mitglieder, als auch Geheimpolizisten und Stasi-Agenten auf die Ideen Marx', und wiesen sogar auf die ‚historische Notwendigkeit " ihre Aktionen hin, um die Diktatur, die Unfreiheit und die Unterdrückung jeder Opposition zu rechtfertigen. Für die heutige politische Theorie ist das schon Beweis genug, dass es eine unmittelbare Linie gibt zwischen den Ideen Marx " und der politischen Praxis Stalins oder Ulbrichts.
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Books by Ben Lewis
This thesis aims to rekindle interest in Kautsky’s ideas by exploring one central aspect of his thought – his democratic-republican understanding of state and society.
In presenting this selection of articles, speeches and correspondence by Zetkin, and a range of scholarly essays about her, including the use of archive material only available to researchers since the demise of the USSR and the GDR, we want to reclaim Zetkin as one of the heroic figures of the revolutionary movement, and to emphasise her opposition to its degeneration into, firstly, reformism and then Stalinism, and at the same time to illustrate the issues she took up, despite the numerous ailments from which she suffered, as well as to inspire a renewed interest in this admirable figure and reinstate her reputation as one of the giants of the revolutionary socialist movement.
Articles by Ben Lewis
For this reason alone, it is necessary to proceed with extreme caution when discussing the term democratic centralism. But discuss it we must.
Papers by Ben Lewis
been seriously under-researched. In English, only four major studies have appeared in the last 70 years.2 This is all the more surprising in that the historical period in which he wrote has been extensively covered by both English- and German-language scholars and that some of the thinkers who drew critically on his ideas, such as Heidegger and Adorno, have become household names in Germany intellectual history.
Translations by Ben Lewis
This thesis aims to rekindle interest in Kautsky’s ideas by exploring one central aspect of his thought – his democratic-republican understanding of state and society.
In presenting this selection of articles, speeches and correspondence by Zetkin, and a range of scholarly essays about her, including the use of archive material only available to researchers since the demise of the USSR and the GDR, we want to reclaim Zetkin as one of the heroic figures of the revolutionary movement, and to emphasise her opposition to its degeneration into, firstly, reformism and then Stalinism, and at the same time to illustrate the issues she took up, despite the numerous ailments from which she suffered, as well as to inspire a renewed interest in this admirable figure and reinstate her reputation as one of the giants of the revolutionary socialist movement.
For this reason alone, it is necessary to proceed with extreme caution when discussing the term democratic centralism. But discuss it we must.
been seriously under-researched. In English, only four major studies have appeared in the last 70 years.2 This is all the more surprising in that the historical period in which he wrote has been extensively covered by both English- and German-language scholars and that some of the thinkers who drew critically on his ideas, such as Heidegger and Adorno, have become household names in Germany intellectual history.
One of the mediators between these two forces was the Swiss communist, Fritz Platten (1883-1942), who also made some of the journey with the exiles in order to ensure that the deal was upheld. Following Lenin’s death in 1924, ‘red Fritz’ edited a book of German-language essays and memoirs devoted to these events (Die Reise Lenins durch Deutschland im plombierten Wagen). It featured a number of leading communists, including Radek1 and Zinoviev, both of whom also made the journey with Lenin.
Mine is the first translation - as far as we know, - of Grigory Zinoviev’s contribution, ‘Lenin’s arrival in Russia’.2 Zinoviev was one of Lenin’s closest allies in exile and the two collaborated on a wide range of articles, pamphlets and theses, written, among other things, in response to the political collapse of the Second International at the outbreak of World War I. The rapturous reception of the returning exiles in St Petersburg testified to the revolution that had just recently happened and a portent of what was to come. Indeed, the crucial role played by Lenin after his return means that the train journey from Switzerland counts as one of those seminal moments in history.
Yet the journey became an instant cause of controversy. Various Mensheviks, such as Plekhanov, joined with the scandal mongering bourgeois press in branding Lenin and his comrades as ‘German spies’. There was also accusations of German gold. In fact, the Bolsheviks had gone to the greatest lengths to have as little do with the representatives of the German high command as possible. And, of course, it was not only Bolsheviks who were on the train.
The arrangement with Germany implied no political sacrifice or silence. The exiles were meant to agitate in Russia for the release of a corresponding number of Austro-German prisoners. Nothing more. If anything, Lenin and the Bolsheviks stepped up their criticisms of German imperialism. And, for its part, the German high command certainly had grave misgivings about its decision to allow safe passage for the Russian exiles. As for German gold the Bolsheviks took none. Nevertheless, sadly, there are still those hopeless ‘left’ outfits, and not only in the so-called ‘third world’, who abuse the ‘sealed train’ to justify taking money from all kinds of imperialist agencies and charitable fronts. This political prostitution has nothing to do with the history or spirit of Bolshevism.
League of Nations are extremely illuminative (and reveal some of the Socialist and Labour International’s illusions in the latter). Third, nonetheless, the manifesto contains potential insights for the contemporary left in its continued attempts to formulate an anti-war strategy that fights to ‘work most effectively for peace’ through the ‘overthrow’ of the capitalist mode of production and its inherent
tendency towards war.
To add to the parallel with today’s Labour Party, the fundamental issues dividing right and left in the SDP at this time were that the right advocated support for the German naval budget and a ‘realistic’ policy in relation to the overseas operations of German imperialism (that is, a policy which did not oppose these operations outright, as the official policy of the SDP did up to its political collapse in 1914). Compare the hue and cry over Trident and whether Britain should bomb Syria ...
There is another side to the coin of the modern relevance of this article: the question of ‘democratic centralism’. The phrase appeared abruptly in Russia in a Menshevik conference resolution in November 1905. Lars T Lih suggests it does not have direct Russian antecedents.1 Paul Le Blanc in Lenin and the revolutionary party (1989) suggested, without referencing the point, that it might have originated in the usage of the German ‘Lassallean’ Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein (General German Workers’ Association, 1863-75).
It seems more likely that its immediate roots are in the debates in the SDP in 1904-05, of which ‘Constituency and party’ is part. Along with the case discussed here, Max Schippel was forced to resign his parliamentary seat on account of his voting with the government in support of the naval budget. The claim discussed in Kautsky’s article - that the MP’s mandate from the constituency’s electors should take priority over party discipline - figured again in the arguments round the Schippel case.2 The SDP leadership reorganised the editorial board of the party daily Vorwärts, published in Berlin, which had been supporting the right. This produced cries of outrage from the right at this ‘dictatorial’ behaviour and allegations that the Berlin local organisations should control the paper.3 Further, between 1890 and 1904, though the ‘anti-socialist laws’ banning the SDP at Reich (all-empire) level had been lifted, political organisation at a scale above the constituency had been prohibited by Land (provincial) law in Prussia, and this law was now repealed. Hence in both its 1904 and 1905 conferences the SDP discussed the general principles of party organisation with a view to reorganisation.
Ralf Hoffrogge, 'Working-Class Politics in the German Revolution' Richard Müller, the Revolutionary Shop Stewards and the Origins of the Council Movement', Transl. by Joseph B. Keady. Ed. by Radhika Desai. [Historical Materialism Book Series, Vol. 77.] Brill, Leiden [etc.] 2014. xiv, 253 pp. € 190.00; $141.00. doi: 10.1017/S0020859016000195
Key terms: German Social Democracy; Labour Historiography; Stalinism; Karl Kautsky