AQA A Level Politics - Socialism - Rosa Luxemburg

Historical Context- Rosa Luxemburg

-Luxemburg was a member of the SPD in pre-WW1 Germany.

-Writing in the early 1900s, she disagreed with Lenin's view that a socialist revolution should be led by a group of professional revolutionaries.

-She wrote that it should be a mass uprising with widespread support among workers.

Human Nature- Rosa Luxemburg

-Humans are co-operative and fraternal. These qualities still exist in working class communities despite the capitalist system.

-Communists should aim to strengthen and highlight these qualities to build widespread support for a revolution.

Society- Rosa Luxemburg

-She ultimately envisaged a classless society, to be brought about through a mass uprising of the working classes to achieve the socialist revolution.

-Workers should be mobilised through trade unions, education and social movements.

The State- Rosa Luxemburg

-She disagreed with Marx and Lenin over the need for a 'dictatorship of the Proletariat' as part of the socialist phrase.

-She argued that a socialist state could have free elections in which a communist party would win greater support in advance of the eventual transition to communism.

The Economy- Rosa Luxemburg

-Capitalism is more resilient than Marx initially perceived.

-Following the revolution, it will take time for the capitalist system to be completely eradicated.

-The Proletariat must be organised and determined to overcome capitalist forces.