Rosa Luxemburg

An advocate of radical democracy and individual responsibility, Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) remains the most eminent representative of the libertarian socialist tradition. A reevaluation and renewal within the Left has allowed the ideas of Luxemburg to assume greater vitality and relevance today than ever before. This volume provides an essential representative sampling of Luxemburg's luminous and often exciting writings that have generally not been among those commonly anthologized. That she had a powerful impact on every generation of the 20th century is documented in the accompanying essays, which include scholarly reflections, comradely arguments, and even a loving reminiscence.Active in labor and social movements for many years, Paul Le Blanc explains here that the socialism that animated Luxemburg as a thinker and revolutionary activist involved a vision of a society in which our economic resources would be socially owned, democratically controlled, and utilized for the benefit of all people. Luxemburg was convinced this goal could be realized only through the struggles of the working class majority. The truth Luxemburg sought -- popular sovereignty, rule by the people, democracy -- was lost in the decades following her 1919 martyrdom.Among the selections from Luxemburg are "Martinique, " "The Problem of the Nationality Question and Autonomy" (excerpts), "Rebuilding the International, " "The Accumulation of Capital, " "Letters from Prison, " and "What are the Leaders Doing?" Included are essa by Lelio Basso, Claire Cohen, Raya Dunayevskaya, Andrea Nye, and Luise Kautsky.