Jörn Schütrumpf and Rosa Luxemburg: The Breakdown of Unity in the RSDLP

Jörn Schütrumpf discusses Rosa Luxemburg: The Breakdown of Unity in the RSDLP.

Lenin, by the way, was not innovative at all in this work. He merely repeated positions advocated by Marx and Engels 60 years earlier. By contrast, in 1922, three years after Rosa Luxemburg’s death, Lenin became quite enterprising and joined the list of male authors (other genders have probably signed up since) who hide behind Rosa Luxemburg quotes that they themselves made up: “‘German Social-Democracy has been a stinking corpse since 4 August 1914’ — this statement will make Rosa Luxemburg’s name go down in the history of the international working-class movement.’”

Although it is obvious that a Polish intellectual would never allow herself to come across in such a “Russian” way, unfortunately we must acknowledge that Lenin’s forgery was a successful one. Rosa Luxemburg has in fact gone down in history with this mindless nonsense, and on a global scale at that. Poor Rosa.

Emphasis Mine

Schütrumpf obviously sides with Luxemburg against Lenin. Schütrumpf and Luxemburg accuses Leninism of promoting fractionalism. Schütrumpf argues that Lenin has defamed Luxemburg in order to deflect Luxemburg's accusation.

Rosa Luxemburg writes:

Experience had convinced the overwhelming majority of Bolsheviks that the Leninist policy of organizational withdrawal into a narrow circle was extremely conducive to opportunism and detrimental to the revolutionary wing of Social Democracy: instead of attaining commanding influence over the whole party and rally it behind them, the Bolsheviks erect a factional wall that cuts them off from the party, thus condemning themselves to impotence.

Lenin’s organizational views, which had been swept from the face of Russian Social Democracy by the revolution and by the restoration of party unity, could only thrive again in an atmosphere of party disintegration, generated by the counterrevolution in general and by the liquidators in the ranks of the party in particular. Leninism, in its narrowness and with its sectarian organizational views, knows no other means of combating opportunism than to expel from the party anyone who disagrees. This is why Leninism is by its nature a policy of perpetual splits.

Emphasis Mine

When Luxemburg wrote this (1912), Lenin and the Bolsheviks were indeed swept from the vanguard of the revolutionary movement. It was only after the July days in 1917 that Lenin was able to lead the Bolsheviks to the forefront of the revolutionary movement. Between July and October 1917, the Bolsheviks emerged as the face of the revolution. The other revolutionary factions had faded or merged them selves into the Bolshevik faction of the RSDLP (especially Trotsky).

Luxemburg concludes (in July 1912):

The reunification of Social Democracy into one single party at the Stockholm Party Congress was the product and achievement of the 1905–6 revolution. Like many other accomplishments of the proletariat, this fruit of the revolution was wrested from us by the triumph of counterrevolution. The liquidationist tendency emerged and grew stronger under the impact of counterrevolution; mindless Leninism also thrived again, and the two tendencies have together brought about the collapse of party unity.

But now, a revolutionary movement has arisen among the working masses. And this movement is the surest guarantor of the imminent resurrection of the RSDLP under the banner of revolutionary Marxism.

Emphasis Mine

Luxemburg's hope were dashed by the events of 1917. Factions and persons that seemed revolutionary prior to 1917 faded or failed to maintain or adjust their revolutionary positions in reaction to the progress of the Russian Revolution.

Because of her murder during the German Revolution of 1918–1919, we don't know if Luxemburg would have reconsidered her position on Leninism in the aftermath of the October Revolution. If the German Revolution had succeeded, and a German Soviet Republic managed to survived, it is more likely the focus of the worldwide Communism would be in Berlin rather than in Moscow. Luxemburg's opinions would then have more weight than Lenin's.