Luxemburg and Lenin

Peter Hudis

pp. 201-229

in: Tom Rockmore, Norman Levine (eds), The Palgrave handbook of Leninist political philosophy, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

Abstract

Rosa Luxemburg and Lenin represent distinct approaches to revolutionary transformation, and these differences have become of increasing importance in light of the failure of numerous revolutions since 1917 to avoid succumbing to bureaucratic and authoritarian dictatorships. Although many presume that the divide between the two centers on matters of organization, a careful study of their work shows that this was less decisive than is often claimed, since they also shared many common approaches to the issue. The question that truly demarcates Luxemburg's legacy from Lenin's concerns what happens after the revolutionary seizure of power. This is most powerfully seen in her writings on revolutionary democracy and the critique of Lenin in "The Russian Revolution."

Cited authors

Luxemburg Rosa

Lenin Vladimir Ilič