Shows
Spartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 14. Reform or Revolution - Part 4The final part of this series on Rosa Luxemburg's seminal work. To me personally, what makes me think reform might be a waste of time, or, rather, a plaster on a seriously infected wound. 2022-03-2513 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 13. Reform or Revolution – Part 3Penultimate episode on Reform or Revolution. Here we see Rosa arguing that the reforms advocated by the likes of Bernstein and Konrad Schmidt will only go so far because ot the capitalist nature of the State itself. 2022-01-2314 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 12. Reform or Revolution - Part 2Rosa continues to refute Bernstein's theory, this time from an economic point of view. The element she was missing in her analysis was that of time, and we know now that capitalism, like Covid-19, always finds a way to mutate and reinfect society. And maybe that, in itself, is justification enough to support revolution rather than reform.2021-12-0414 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 11. Reform or Revolution - Part 1"Reform or Revolution” is one of Rosa Luxemburg's major works. It was written in 1898-1899 and is the ‘orthodox’ Marxist response to Eduard Bernstein’s “Problems of Socialism”. Here we start exploring what Bernstein's ideas were in terms of the evolution of Capitalism and how to effectively respond to this evolution. Ideas that Rosa and the Marxists refuted. History proved that both Bernstein and Rosa were right, and that the solution likely lies somewhere in the middle of their respective assessments.2021-11-1014 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 10. Rosa and the Unions - The Labour of SisyphusRosa Luxemburg had a complicated relationship with unions. From their role as organised defence of the working class, she wanted them to move on to become weapons of attack against capitalist exploitation . Union leaders misunderstood her and she became their nemesis. If there is a true role for unions in this day and age, though, isn't that Rosa Luxemburg wished they would take on?2021-10-0309 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 9 - Berlin: First ImpressionsIn 1897, Rosa has just completed her PhD and is coming to Berlin, a centre of Socialist activities. The legalised Social Democratic Party, or SPD, has more than 100,000 members, and 90 different socialist daily newspapers. This is the perfect place for Rosa's next move.2021-09-0327 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 8. Rosa and the French SocialistsThe late 19th century was an active time for French Socialism. Rosa Luxemburg would debate with Guesde and Jaures, the main leaders of the French left, the former a revolutionary closer to her ideas and the latter a formidable character with whom she didn't always agree. 2021-07-2215 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 6. Life and the CauseRosa is finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile her responsibilities with her private life.2021-06-2713 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 7. More Letters to LeoRosa works tirelessly for the Cause, but she also expresses her feelings towards Leo Jogiches in her letters.2021-06-2720 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 5: La Révolution FrançaiseOn the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of 1793, Rosa Luxemburg wrote an article for Sprawa Robotnicza, hers and Leo Jogiches's newspaper. The full text, as published by Pluto Press in "Socialism or Barbarism" is presented here, with my commentary on the French Revolution. 2021-05-0329 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 4: Letters from ParisRosa is in Paris to supervise the printing of issues of Sprawa Robotnicza, the newspaper she and Leo have founded. Leo is in Zurich, telling her what to do, what's wrong with her work, and she's rebelling against his attitude. 2021-04-1618 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 3: Shared PassionsA look into Rosa's life with fellow revolutionary socialist Leo Jogiches, opening up a series on the letters she wrote to him from Lake Geneva and Paris, where she was overseeing the printing of their newspaper, The Worker's Cause. 2021-03-1916 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 2: BeginningsA brief background on Rosa's early years in Poland, and her first struggles. 2021-03-0514 minSpartacus's Daughter - The Life and Struggles of Rosa LuxemburgEpisode 1: Why a podcast on Rosa Luxemburg?An introduction to the podcast, highlighting my reasons for talking about Rosa Luxemburg in my own personal, non-academic way.2021-02-2609 min