Rosa Luxemburg’s Concept of Spontaneity and Creativity in Proletarian Mass Movements—Theory and Practice

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn her 1906 booklet, “The Mass Strike, the Political Party, and the Trade Unions,” Rosa Luxemburg described her basic concept of democracy and emphasized the importance of spontaneity in proletarian mass movements. According to Luxemburg, socialist party leaders should accept and support the spontaneity of the workers, as it would result in an increase in readiness for action and creativity on the part of the masses; it would also strengthen labor organizations. The strong connection between spontaneity and creativity in the proletarian mass movements is also found in other of Luxemburg’s works, such as “The Crisis of Social Democracy” (1915), her unfinished manuscript on “The Russian Revolution” (September/October 1918) and the “Spartacus Program” (December 1918). Analyzing the anti-war mass movements in Germany from 1916 until 1918, we can see that Luxemburg’s concept of the close connection between spontaneity and creativity became reality, especially during Germany’s successful November Revolution in 1918.