By ROSA LUXEMBURG
24
Rosa Luxemburg, born in 1871, indisputably ranks among the dozen greatest revolutionary Marxist leaders of history. One of the founders in 1893 of the Polish Social-Democratic Party, redoubtable opponent of Bernsteinian revisionism, neroic anti-war prisoner, co-tounder of the German Spartakists, one of the founders of the German Communist Party and editor of its organ, the Rote Fahne, tragic martyr to Social-Democrat-inspired assassination in 919, and always a principled and original theoreticiar ria may be termed an independent ally of the Russian
She supported them against the Mensheviks
The fact that the Bolsheviks staked their whole policy on the world revolution of the proletariat is precisely he most striking testimony to the range of their farsightedness, to their fidelity to principles, and to the daring impetus of their policy. [...]
Whatever a party can, at a historic hour, provide in the way of courage, drive in action, revolutionary farsightedness, and logic, Lenin, Trotsky, and their comrades gave in full measure. All the revolutionary honor and the capacity for action that were lacking in the Social-Democracy in the West, were to be found among the Bolsheviks. Their October insurrection not only in fact saved the Russian Revolution, but also saved the honor of international socialism. [...]
In this last period, where we are on the eve of decisive battles in the entire world, the most important question for socialism has been and still is just the burning question of the day: not this or that detail of tac-
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL at the 1907 congress in London; and joined Lenin in introducing the anti-war resolution at the Stuttgart Congress. But she differed from them in her conception of the nature of the party and the importance of mass spontaneity. Her tribute quoted below is thus all the more impressive. It vill be noted that to her, as to practically all the genuine revolutionaries of that period, "Lenin and Trotsky" formed almost a hyphenated word, and, with the addition of "with their friends," summarized the Bolshevik Party and its but the proletariat's capacity for action, the masdrawing power, the will to take power in socialism generally. In this regard, Lenin and Trotsky, with their riends, were the first who went on ahead of the proletariat with their example, they are so far the only ones that!" " cry out, with Ulrich von Hutten: "I dared
It is that which is the essential thing and it is what remains of the policy of the Bolsheviks. In this sense they retain the imperishable merit in history of having taken the head of the international proletariat in winning political power and in raising in practice the problem of the attainment of socialism, as well as having mightily advanced the struggle between Capital and Labor in the world. In Russia the problem could only be raised; it could not be settled in Russia. And it is in that sense that the future belongs to "Bolshevism."
FROM "SVYAZHSK" By LARISSA REISSNER Of