The Legacy of Rosa Luxemburg

By Norman Geras

An indispensable and original study of Luxemburg’s thinking, available in a new edition

No great socialist thinker has been so often misrepresented as the Polish revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg. In this scrupulous study, tightly argued, Geras systematically considers and refutes the major myths which have developed about her work. He shows how her views on socialist strategy in Russia were closer to those of Lenin than any other leader, and clarifies her famous theory of the mass strike. Her critique of the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution is distinguished from social-democratic or anarchist attacks, to which it has often been assimilated.

Widely praised on its first publication, The Legacy of Rosa Luxemburg is an important contribution to our understanding of an earlier generation of Marxism in Poland and Russia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Verso
• Release date: Jun 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781781688724

Norman Geras

Norman Geras (1943-2013) was a political theorist and Professor Emeritus of Government at the University of Manchester. His books include The Legacy of Rosa Luxemburg; Marx and Human Nature: Refutation of a Legend; The Contract of Mutual Indifference: Political Philosophy After the Holocaust; and Crimes Against Humanity: Birth of a Concept. From 2003 onwards he also wrote at normblog.typepad.com.