Abstract
This chapter claims that an understanding of council communism requires analysis of the experiences of workers and soldiers in the councils of the German Revolution. It investigates the relation between the ideas of professional theorists like Johann Knief, Karl Radek and Anton Pannekoek, and the revolutionary working class in Bremen. A careful analysis of the minutes of the meeting of the councils, eyewitness accounts and newspaper coverage, reveals the potential and limitations of the emerging political ideology of the council delegates. The chapter traces the origins of council communism back to three central questions faced by revolutionaries in Bremen. Firstly, how should the council function, particularly in relation to other political institutions? Secondly, how should the demos be constituted? Thirdly, what should a post-revolutionary society look like? The analysis shows that answers were often provided by the workers and soldiers themselves, with only limited influence from professional theorists and ideologues.
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