Modern Europe Essay

Modern Europe

Assignment 3 -- Luxemburg Essay

This third assignment will be changed to a take-home exam rather than the in-class exam originally scheduled for the class. To allow students to prepare it accordingly the due date will be Monday, 26 November. Please follow the instructions below carefully.

This question should be responded to as an essay, typed, double-spaced with one inch margins on all sides and approximately three pages in length. Please use a standard type-face with an 11 or 12 point font. Proof-read your essay carefully for grammar, punctuation, spelling and form.

Rosa Luxemburg, a Polish-German activist and Marxian socialist, gave a detailed explanation for her opposition to the First World War in “The Workers and the War” of 1916 when that war was at its height and its outcome unclear. What were her objections as outlined in that writing? Why did she see it as a defeat for working people in all countries? Why did she dispute the claims that a German victory even if it occurred would not make the sacrifices of the war worthwhile? What did she see as the war’s likely consequences for Europe and the world as a whole? Finally, to what degree did the war and its aftermath prove or disprove what Luxemburg said in 1916? Based on a detached analysis of what Luxemburg predicted and what actually happened during and after World War One, is she better seen as far-sighted and enlightened, as the dangerous and destructive person her enemies accused her of being, or as something else? Use examples from the assigned texts and be specified about the reasons for your conclusions.

Luxemburg’s article is available at this link:

https://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1915/junius/ch08.htm