Rosa Luxemburg the national question.doc

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Rosa Luxemburg

The National Question

1. The Right of Nations

to Self-Determination

Among other problems, the 1905 Revolution in Russia has brought into focus the

nationality question. Until now, this problem has been urgent only in Austria

!ungary. At present, however, it has become crucial also in Russia, because the

revolutionary "evelopment ma"e all classes an" all political parties acutely aware of

the nee" to solve the nationality question as a matter of practical politics. All the

newly forme" or forming parties in Russia, be they ra"ical, liberal or reactionary, have

been force" to inclu"e in their programs some sort of a position on the nationality

question, which is closely connecte" with the entire comple# of the state$s internal

an" e#ternal policies. %or a wor&ers$ party, nationality is a question both of program

an" of class organi'ation. (he position a wor&ers$ party assumes on the nationality

question, as on every other question, must "iffer in metho" an" basic approach from

the positions of even the most ra"ical bourgeois parties, an" from the positions of the

)seu"osocialistic, petit bourgeois parties. *ocial +emocracy, whose political program

is base" on the scientific metho" of historical materialism an" the class struggle,

cannot ma&e an e#ception with respect to the nationality question. oreover, it is onlyby approaching the problem from the stan"point of scientific socialism that the

politics of *ocial +emocracy will offer a solution which is essentially uniform, even

though the program must ta&e into account the wi"e variety of forms of the nationality

question arising from the social, historical, an" ethnic "iversity of the Russian empire.

-n the program of the *ocial +emocratic abor )arty /R*+) of Russia, such a

formula, containing a general solution of the nationality question in all its particular

manifestations, is provi"e" by the ninth point this says that the party "eman"s a

"emocratic republic whose constitution woul" insure, among other things, 2that all

nationalities forming the state have the right to self-determination.3

(his program inclu"es two more e#tremely important propositions on the same

matter. (hese are the seventh point, which "eman"s the abolition of classes an" the

full legal equality of all citi'ens without "istinction of se#, religion, raceor

nationality, an" the eighth point, which says that the several ethnic groups of the state

shoul" have the right to schools con"ucte" in their respective national languages at

state e#pense, an" the right to use their languages at assemblies an" on an equal level

with the state language in all state an" public functions. 4losely connecte" to the

nationality question is the thir" point of the program, which formulates the "eman"

for wi"e selfgovernment on the local an" provincial level in areas which are

characteri'e" by special living con"itions an" by the special composition of their

populations. bviously, however, the authors of the program felt that the equality ofall citi'ens before the law, linguistic rights, an" local selfgovernment were not


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enough to solve the nationality problem, since they foun" it necessary to a"" a special

paragraph granting each nationality the 2right to self"etermination.3

6hat is especially stri&ing about this formula is the fact that it "oesn$t represent

anything specifically connecte" with socialism nor with the politics of the wor&ing

class. 2(he right of nations to self"etermination3 is at first glance a paraphrase of theol" slogan of bourgeois nationalism put forth in all countries at all times7 2the right of

nations to free"om an" in"epen"ence.3 -n )olan", the 2innate right of nations3 to

free"om has been the classic formula of nationalists from the +emocratic *ociety to

imanows&i$sPobudka, an" from the national socialistPobudkato the antisocialist

8ational eague3 before it renounce" its program of in"epen"ence.:;*imilarly, a

resolution on the 2equal rights of all nations3 to free"om was the only tangible result

of the famous pan*lav congress hel" in )rague, which was bro&en up in 1


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conflicts is one of the metho"s by which the ruling classes insure their "omination an"

prevent measures in the true interests of the people, the congress "eclares that7

(he final settlement of the nationality an" language question in Austria in the spirit of

equality an" reason is primarily a cultural "eman", an" therefore is one of the vital

interests of the proletariat.

(his is possible only un"er a truly "emocratic regime base" on universal, equal, an"

"irect elections, a regime in which all feu"al privileges in the state an" the

principalities will have been abrogate". nly un"er such a regime will the wor&ing

classes, the elements which really support the state an" society, be able to e#press

their "eman"s.

(he nurturing an" "evelopment of the national peculiarities of all peoples in Austria

are possible only on the basis of equal rights an" the removal of oppression.

(herefore, statebureaucratic centralism an" the feu"al privileges of the principalities

must be oppose".

nly un"er such con"itions will it be possible to create harmony among the

nationalities in Austria in place of the quarrelling that ta&es place now, namely,

through the recognition of the following gui"ing principles7

Austria is to be transforme" into a "emocratic fe"eration of nationalities

(Nationalittenbundesstaat).

(he historic 4rown lan"s are to be replace" by nationally homogeneous selfruling

bo"ies, whose legislation an" a"ministration shall be in the han"s of nationalchambers, electe" on the basis of universal, equal, an" "irect franchise.

All selfgoverning regions of one an" the same nation are to form together a

nationally "istinct union, which shall ta&e care of this union$s affairs autonomously.

(hat is, linguistic an" cultural, accor"ing to the e#planation given in the "raft by the

party$s lea"ership.;

A special law shoul" be a"opte" by the parliament to safeguar" the rights of national

minorities.

6e "o not recogni'e any national privilege therefore we re@ect the "eman" for a statelanguage. 6hether a common language is nee"e", a fe"eral parliament can "eci"e.

(he party congress, as the organ of international social "emocracy in Austria,

e#presses its conviction that on the basis of these gui"ing principles, un"erstan"ing

among peoples is possible.

-t solemnly "eclares that it recogni'es the right of each nationality to national

e#istence an" national "evelopment.

)eoples can a"vance their culture only in close soli"arity with one another, not in

petty quarrels particularly the wor&ing class of all nations must, in the interest of thein"ivi"ual nationalities an" in the general interest, maintain international cooperation


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an" fraternity in its struggle an" must con"uct its political an" economic struggle in

closely unite" ran&s.

-n the ran&s of international socialism, the Russian 6or&ers$ )arty is the only one

whose program inclu"es the "eman" that 2nationalities be grante" the right to self

"etermination.3

Apart from Russian *ocial +emocracy, we fin" this formula only in the program of

the Russian *ocial Revolutionaries, where it goes han" in han" with the principle of

state fe"eralism. (he relevant section of the political "eclaration of the *ocial

Revolutionary )arty states that 2the wi"e application of the principle of fe"eralism in

the relations between in"ivi"ual nationalities is possible,3 an" stresses the

2recognition of their unlimite" right to self"etermination.3

-t is true that the above formula e#ists in another connection with international

socialism7 namely, it is a paraphrase of one section of the resolution on the nationality

problem a"opte" in 1


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national one, an" instea" of a "efinite, completely concrete "eman" of practical

politics, which the motion of the ))* "eman"e" the reconstruction of in"epen"ent

)olan"the resolution e#presses a general socialist principle7 sympathy for the

proletariat of all suppresse" nationalities an" the recognition of their rightto self

"etermination. (here can be no "oubt that this principle was not formulate" by the

4ongress in or"er to give the international wor&ers$ movement a practical solution tothe nationality problem. n the contrary, a practical gui"eline for socialist politics is

containe" not in the first part of the on"on Resolution quote" above, but in the

secon" part, which 2calls upon the wor&ers of all countries suffering national

oppression to enter the ran&s of international *ocial +emocracy an" to wor& for the

reali'ation of its principles an" goals.3 -t is an unambiguous way of emphasi'ing that

the principle formulate" in the first part ? the right of nations to self"etermination

can be put into effect only in one way7 vi'., by first reali'ing the principles of

international socialism an" by attaining its ultimate goals.

-n"ee", none of the socialist parties too& the on"on Resolution to be a practical

solution of the nationality question, an" they "i" not inclu"e it in their programs. BvenAustrian *ocial +emocracy, for which the solution of the nationality problem was a

question involving its very e#istence, "i" not "o this instea", in 1


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@ust as, for e#ample, its striving for the social an" political equality of se#es "oes not

at all result from any special 2rights of women3 which the movement of bourgeois

emancipationists refers to. (his "uty arises solely from the general opposition to the

class regime an" to every form of social inequality an" social "omination, in a wor",

from the basic position of socialism. ut leaving this point asi"e, the only gui"eline

given for practical politics is of a purely negative character. (he "uty to resist allforms of national oppression "oes not inclu"e any e#planation of what con"itions an"

political forms the classconscious proletariat in Russia at the present time shoul"

recommen " as a solution for the nationality problems of )olan", atvia, the Gews,

etc., or what program it shoul" present to match the various programs of the

bourgeois, nationalist, an" pseu"osocialist parties in the present class struggle. -n a

wor", the formula, 2the right of nations to self"etermination,3 is essentially not a

political an" problematic gui"eline in the nationality question, but only a means of

avoiding that question.

II

(he general an" clichHli&e character of the ninth point in the program of the *ocial

+emocratic abor )arty of Russia shows that this way of solving the question is

foreign to the position of ar#ian socialism. A 2right of nations3 which is vali" for all

countries an" all times is nothing more than a metaphysical clichH of the type of

3rights of man3 an" 2rights of the citi'en.3 +ialectic materialism, which is the basis of

scientific socialism, has bro&en once an" for all with this type of 2eternal3 formula.

%or the historical "ialectic has shown that there are no 2eternal3 truths an" that there

are no 2rights.3 ... -n the wor"s of Bngels, 26hat is goo" in the here an" now, is an

evil somewhere else, an" vice versa3 ? or, what is right an" reasonable un"er somecircumstances becomes nonsense an" absur"ity un"er others. !istorical materialism

has taught us that the real content of these 2eternal3 truths, rights, an" formulae is

"etermine" only by the materialsocial con"itions of the environment in a given

historical epoch.

n this basis, scientific socialism has revise" the entire store of "emocratic clichHs

an" i"eological metaphysics inherite" from the bourgeoisie. )resent"ay *ocial

+emocracy long since stoppe" regar"ing such phrases as 2"emocracy,3 2national

free"om,3 2equality,3 an" other such beautiful things as eternal truths an" laws

transcen"ing particular nations an" times. n the contrary, ar#ism regar"s an" treats

them only as e#pressions of certain "efinite historical con"itions, as categories which,in terms of their material content an" therefore their political value, are sub@ect to

constant change, which is the only2eternal3 truth.

6hen 8apoleon or any other "espot of his il& uses a plebiscite, the e#treme form of

political "emocracy, for the goals of 4aesarism, ta&ing a"vantage of the political

ignorance an" economic sub@ection of the masses, we "o not hesitate for a moment to

come out wholehearte"ly against that 2"emocracy,3 an" are not put off for a moment

by the ma@esty or the omnipotence of the people, which, for the metaphysicians of

bourgeois "emocracy, is something li&e a sacrosanct i"ol.

6hen a >erman li&e (assen"orf or a tsarist gen"arme, or a 2truly )olish3 8ational+emocrat "efen"s the 2personal free"om3 of stri&ebrea&ers, protecting them against


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the moral an" material pressure of organi'e" labor, we "on$t hesitate a minute to

support the latter, granting them the fullest moral an" historical right to forcethe

unenlightene" rivals into soli"arity, although from the point of view of formal

liberalism, those 2willing to wor&3 have on their si"e the right of 2a free in"ivi"ual3

to "o what reason, or unreason, tells them.

6hen, finally, liberals of the anchester *chool "eman" that the wage wor&er be left

completely to his fate in the struggle with capital in the name of 2the equality of

citi'ens,3 we unmas& that metaphysical clichH which conceals the most glaring

economic inequality, an" we "eman", pointblan&, the legal protection of the class of

wage wor&ers, thereby clearly brea&ing with formal 2equality before the law.3

(he nationality question cannot be an e#ception among all the political, social, an"

moral questions e#amine" in this way by mo"ern socialism. -t cannot be settle" by the

use of some vague clichH, even such a finesoun"ing formula as 2the right of all

nations to self"etermination.3 %or such a formula e#presses either absolutely nothing,

so that it is an empty, noncommittal phrase, or else it e#presses the uncon"itional "utyof socialists to support all national aspirations, in which case it is simply false.

n the basis of the general assumptions of historical materialism, the position of

socialists with respect to nationality problems "epen"s primarily on the concrete

circumstances of each case, which "iffer significantly among countries, an" also

change in the course of time in each country. Bven a superficial &nowle"ge of the

facts enables one to see that the question of the nationality struggles un"er the

ttoman )orte in the al&ans has a completely "ifferent aspect, a "ifferent economic

an" historical basis, a "ifferent "egree of international importance, an" "ifferent

prospects for the future, from the question of the struggle of the -rish against the

"omination of Bnglan". *imilarly, the complications in the relations among the

nationalities which ma&e up Austria are completely "ifferent from the con"itions

which influence the )olish question. oreover, the nationality question in each

country changes its character with time, an" this means that new an" "ifferent

evaluations must be ma"e about it. Bven our three national movements beginning

from the time of the Coscius'&o -nsurrection coul" be seen as a triple, stereotype"

repetition of the same historical play /that is, 2the struggle of a sub@ugate" nationality

for in"epen"ence3 only in the eyes of either a metaphysician of the upperclass

4atholic i"eology such as *'u@s&i, who believe" that )olan" ha" historical mission to

be the 24hrist of nations,3 or in the eyes of an ignoramus of the present"ay social

patriotic 2school.3 6hoever cuts "eeper with the scalpel of the researcher moreprecisely, of the historicalmaterialist researcher ? will see beneath the surface of our

three national uprisings three completely "ifferent sociopolitical movements, which

too& on an i"entical form of struggle with the inva"er in each case only because of

e#ternal circumstances. (o measure the Coscius'&o -nsurrection an" the 8ovember

an" Ganuary insurrections by one an" the same yar"stic& ? by the sacre" laws of the

2sub@ugate" nation3 ? actually reveals a lac& of all @u"gment an" the complete

absence of any historical an" political "iscrimination.E;

A glaring e#ample of how the change of historical con"itions influences the

evaluation an" the position of socialists with respect to the nationality question is the

socalle" Bastern question. +uring the 4rimean war in 1


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*lavs who were see&ing their liberty. (he 2right3 of all nations to free"om "i" not

prevent ar#, Bngels, an" ieb&necht from spea&ing against the al&an *lavs an"

from resolutely supporting the integrity of the (ur&s. %or they @u"ge" the national

movements of the *lavic peoples in the (ur&ish empire not from the stan"point of the

2eternal3 sentimental formulae of liberalism, but from the stan"point of the material

con"itions which "etermine" the contentof these national movements, accor"ing totheir views of the time. ar# an" Bngels saw in the free"om movement of the socially

bac&war" *outh *lavs only the machinations of Russian tsar"om trying to irritate the

(ur&s, an" thus, without any secon" thoughts, they subor"inate" the question of the

national free"om of the *lavs to the interests of Buropean "emocracy, insisting on the

integrity of (ur&ey as a bulwar& of "efense against Russian reaction. (his political

position was maintaine" in >erman *ocial +emocracy as late as the secon" half of the

1


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calling forth at once the claim of all oppresse" nations to an in"epen"ent e#istence,

an" to the right to settle their own affairs for themselves, it was quite natural that the

)oles shoul" at once "eman" the restoration of their country within the frontiers of the

ol" )olish Republic before 1II:. -t is true, this frontier, even at that time, ha" become

obsolete, if ta&en as the "elimitation of >erman an" )olish nationality it ha" become

more so every year since by the progress of >ermani'ation but then, the >ermansha" proclaime" such an enthusiasm for the restoration of )olan", that they must

e#pect to be as&e", as a first proof of the reality of their sympathies, to give up their

share of the plun"er. n the other han", shoul" whole tracts of lan", inhabite" chiefly

by >ermans, shoul" large towns, entirely >erman, be given up to a people that as yet

ha" never given any proofs of its capability of progressing beyon" a state of feu"alism

base" upon agricultural serf"omJ (he question was intricate enough. (he only

possible solution was in a war with Russia. (he question of "elimitation between the

"ifferent revolutioni'e" nations woul" have been ma"e a secon"ary one to that of first

establishing a safe frontier against the common enemy. (he )oles, by receiving

e#ten"e" territories in the east, woul" have become more tractable an" reasonable in

the west an" Riga an" ilan woul" have been "eeme", after all, quite as important tothem as +an'ig an" Blbing. Thus the advanced party in ermany! deeming a "ar

"ith #ussia necessary to keep up the $ontinental movement! and considering that the

national reestablishment even of a part of Poland "ould inevitably lead to such a "ar!

supported the Poles%while the reigning, mi""leclass party clearly foresaw its

"ownfall from any national war against Russia, which woul" have calle" more active

an" energetic men to the helm, an", therefore, with a feigne" enthusiasm for the

e#tension of >erman nationality, they "eclare" )russian )olan", the chief seat of

)olish revolutionary agitation, to be part an" parcel of the >erman Bmpire that was to

be.I;

ar# treate" the 4'ech question with no less political realism7

(he question of nationality gave rise to another struggle in ohemia. (his country,

inhabite" by two millions of >ermans, an" three millions of *lavonians of the

4'echian tongue, ha" great historical recollections, almost all connecte" with the

former supremacy of the 4'echs. ut then the force of this branch of the *lavonic

family ha" been bro&en ever since the wars of the !ussites in the fifteenth century.

(he province spea&ing the 4'echian tongue was "ivi"e", one part forming the

&ing"om of ohemia, another the principality of oravia, a thir" the 4arpathian hill

country of the *lova&s, being part of !ungary. (he oravians an" *lova&s ha" long

since lost every vestige of national feeling, an" vitality, although mostly preservingtheir language. ohemia was surroun"e" by thoroughly >erman countries on three

si"es out of four. (he >erman element ha" ma"e great progress on her own territory

even in the capital, in )rague, the two nationalities were pretty equally matche" an"

everywhere capital, tra"e, in"ustry, an" mental culture were in the han"s of the

>ermans. (he chief champion of the 4'echian nationality, )rofessor )alac&y, is

himself nothing but a learne" >erman run ma", who even now cannot spea& the

4'echian language correctly an" without foreign accent. ut, as it often happens,

"ying 4'echian nationality, "ying accor"ing to every fact &nown in history for the last

four hun"re" years, ma"e in 1ermany, although part of her
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inhabitants might yet, for some centuries, continue to spea& a non>erman language.

Re!olution and "onterre!olution in Deuts#hland, pp.5IE:;

6e quote the above passages in or"er to stress the methodswhich ar# an" Bngels

use" with respect to the nationality question, metho"s not "ealing in abstract

formulae, but only in the real issues of each in"ivi"ual case. (hat metho" "i" not,though, &eep them from ma&ing a faulty evaluation of the situation, or from ta&ing a

wrong, position in certain cases. (he present state of affairs shows how "eeply ar#

was in error in pre"icting, si#ty years ago, the "isappearance of the 4'ech nationality,

whose vitality the Austrians to"ay fin" so troublesome. 4onversely, he overestimate"

the international importance of )olish nationalism7 this was "oome" to "ecay by the

internal "evelopment of )olan", a "ecay which ha" alrea"y set in at that time. ut

these historical errors "o not "etract an ounce from the value of ar#$s metho", for

there are in general no metho"s of research which are, a priori, protecte" against a

wrong application in in"ivi"ual cases. ar# never claime" to be infallible, an"

nothing, in the last resort, is so contrary to the spirit of his science as 2infallible3

historical @u"gments. -t was possible for ar# to be mista&en in his position withrespect to certain national movements, an" the author of the present wor& trie" to

show in 1


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thenceforth the free"om of those cantons serve" as a means of preserving an element

of blac&est reaction in the center of Burope. -t was those forest cantons which

"efeate" Kwingli an" his army in 15F1 at the battle of Cappel, an" thereby put a stop

to the sprea" of )rotestantism in *wit'erlan". (hey provi"e" armies to all the "espots

of Burope, an" it was the *wiss of the forest cantons who were the staunchest

supporters of ouis LMl against the revolution. %or this the republic raise" amagnificent monument to them in ucerne. Die Neue $eit, 190=1905, Mol.--,

p.1=E.;

%rom the point of view of the 3right of nations to self"etermination,3 the *wiss

uprising obviously "eserves the sympathy of socialists on all scores. (here is no "oubt

that the aspirations of the *wiss to free themselves from the !apsburg yo&e were an

essential e#pression of the will of the 2people3 or a huge ma@ority of them. (he

national movement of the *wiss ha" a purely "efensive character, an" was not

informe" by the "esire to oppress other nationalities. -t was inten"e" only to throw off

the oppression of a foreign an" purely "ynastic inva"er. %inally, this national

movement formally bore all the e#ternal characteristics of "emocratism, an" evenrevolutionism, since the people were rebelling against absolute rule un"er the slogan

of a popular republic.

-n complete contrast to this movement is the national uprising in !ungary in 1


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III

6hat is more, in ta&ing such a stan" ar# an" Bngels were not at all in"ulging in

party or class egoism, an" were not sacrificing entire nations to the nee"s an"

perspectives of 6estern Buropean "emocracy, as it might have appeare".

-t is true that it soun"s much more generous, an" is more flattering to the overactive

imagination of the young 2intellectual,3 when the socialists announce a general an"

universal intro"uction of free"om for all e#isting suppresse" nations. ut the ten"ency

to grant all peoples, countries, groups, an" all human creatures the right to free"om,

equality, an" other such @oys by one sweeping stro&e of the pen, is characteristic only

of the youthful perio" of the socialist movement, an" most of all of the phraseological

brava"o of anarchism.

(he socialism of the mo"ern wor&ing class, that is, scientific socialism, ta&es no

"elight in the ra"ical an" won"erfulsoun"ing solutions of social an" national

questions, but e#amines primarily the real issues involve" in these problems,

(he solutions of the problems of *ocial +emocracy are not in general characteri'e"

by 2magnanimity,3 an" in this respect they are always out"one by socialist parties

which are not hampere" by scientific 2"octrines,3 an" which therefore always have

their poc&ets full of the most beautiful gifts for everyone. (hus, for e#ample, in

Russia, the *ocial Revolutionary )arty leaves *ocial +emocracy far behin" in the

agricultural question it has for the peasants a recipe for the imme"iate partial

intro"uction of socialism in the village, without the nee" of a boring perio" of waiting

for the con"itions of such a transformation in the sphere of in"ustrial "evelopment. -n

comparison with such parties, *ocial +emocracy is an" always will be a poor party,@ust as ar# in his time was poor in comparison with the e#pansive an" magnanimous

a&unin, @ust as ar# an" Bngels were both poor in comparison with the

representatives of 2real3 or rather 2philosophical3 socialism. ut the secret of the

magnanimity of all socialists with an anarchist coloration an" of the poverty of *ocial

+emocracy, is that anarchistic revolutionism measures 2strength by intentions, not

intentions accor"ing to strength3 that is, it measures its aspirations only by what its

speculative reason, fumbling with an empty utopia, regar"s asgoo"3 an" 2necessary3

for the salvation of humanity. *ocial +emocracy, on the other han", stan"s firmly on

historical groun" in its aspirations, an" therefore rec&ons with historical possibilities.

ar#ian socialism "iffers from all the other bran"s of socialism because, among other

things, it has no pretensions to &eeping patches in its poc&et to men" all the holesma"e by historical "evelopment.

Actually, even if as socialists we recogni'e" the imme"iate right of all nations to

in"epen"ence, the fates of nations woul" not change an iota because of this. (he

2right3 of a nation to free"om as well as the 2right3 of the wor&er to economic

in"epen"ence are, un"er e#isting social con"itions, only worth as much as the 2right3

of each man to eat off gol" plates, which, as 8icolaus 4hernyshevs&i wrote, he woul"

be rea"y to sell at any moment for a ruble. -n the 1


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been organi'e" "ifferently. An analysis of the real con"itions of the contemporary

economy, as given by ar# in his Ca%ital, must lea" to the conviction that even if

present"ay governments were force" to "eclare a universal 2right to wor&,3 it woul"

remain only a finesoun"ing phrase, an" not one member of the ran& an" file of the

reserve army of labor waiting on the si"ewal& woul" be able to ma&e a bowl of soup

for his hungry chil"ren from that right.

(o"ay, *ocial +emocracy un"erstan"s that the 2right to wor&3 will stop being an

empty soun" only when the capitalist regime is abolishe", for in that regime the

chronic unemployment of a certain part of the in"ustrial proletariat is a necessary

con"ition of pro"uction. (hus, *ocial +emocracy "oes not "eman" a "eclaration of

that imaginary 2right3 on the basis of the e#isting system, but rather strives for the

abolition of the system itself by the class struggle, regar"ing labor organi'ations,

unemployment insurance, etc., only as temporary means of help.

-n the same way, hopes of solving all nationality questions within the capitalist

framewor& by insuring to all nations, races, an" ethnic groups the possibility of 2self"etermination3 is a complete utopia. An" it is a utopia from the point of view that the

ob@ective system of political an" class forces con"emns many a "eman" in the

political program of *ocial +emocracy to be unfeasible in practice. %or e#ample,

important voices in the ran&s of the international wor&ers$ movement have e#presse"

the conviction that a "eman" for the universal intro"uction of the eighthour "ay by

legal enactment has no chance of being reali'e" in bourgeois society because of the

growing social reaction of the ruling classes, the general stagnation of social reforms,

the rise of powerful organi'ations of businessmen, etc. 8onetheless, no one woul"

"are call the "eman" for the eighthour "ay a utopia, because it is in complete

accor"ance with the progressive "evelopment of bourgeois society.

!owever, to resume7 the actual possibility of 2self"etermination3 for all ethnic

groups or otherwise "efine" nationalities is a utopia precisely because of the tren" of

historical "evelopment of contemporary societies. 6ithout e#amining those "istant

times at the "awn of history when the nationalities of mo"ern states were constantly

moving about geographically, when they were @oining, merging, fragmenting, an"

trampling one another, the fact is that all the ancient states without e#ception are, as a

result of that long history of political an" ethnic upheavals, e#tremely mi#e" with

respect to nationalities. (o"ay, in each state, ethnic relics bear witness to the

upheavals an" intermi#tures which characteri'e" the march of historical "evelopment

in the past. Bven in his time, ar# maintaine" that these national survivals ha" noother function but to serve as bastions of the counterrevolution, until they shoul" be

completely swept from the face of the earth by the great hurricane of revolution or

worl" war. 2(here is no country in Burope,3 he wrote in the Neue Rheinis#he

$eitung7

which "oesn$t have in some corner one or more of these ruins of nations, the remains

of an ancient people "isplace" an" conquere" by a nation which later became a

stan"ar"bearer of historical "evelopment. (hese remains of nationalities, mercilessly

trample" on by history as !egel says ? these national leftovers will all become an"

will remain until their final e#termination or "enationali'ation fanatic partisans of the

counterrevolution, since their entire e#istence is in general a protest against the greathistorical revolution. %or e#ample, in *cotlan" the >aels were the mainstays of the


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*tuarts from 1E=0 to 1I=5 in %rance, it was the retons who were the mainstays of

the ourbons from 1I9: to 1ree& an" atin. -n the ohamme"an worl" it is playe" by Arabic

in the 4hristian, inclu"ing Gews an" atheists, >erman, Bnglish, an" %rench have

become universal languages ... )erhaps economic an" political "evelopment will a""Russian to these three languages. ut it is equally possible that one of them, Bnglish,


15/103

will become the only common language ... (he @oining of nations to the international

cultural community will be reflecte" in the growth of universal languages among

merchants an" e"ucate" people. An" this union was never as closely &nit as it is now

never was a purely national culture less possible. (herefore it stri&es us as very

strange when people tal& always of only a nationalculture an" when a goal of

socialism is consi"ere" to be the en"owing of the masses with a nationalculture ...6hen socialist society provi"es the masses with an e"ucation, it also gives them the

ability to spea& several languages, the universal languages, an" therefore to ta&e part

in the entire internationalcivili'ation an" not only in the separate culture of a certain

linguistic community. 6hen we have got to the point where the masses in our

civili'e" states can master one or more of the universal languages besi"es their native

language, this will be a basis for the gra"ual with"rawal an" ultimately the complete

"isappearance of the languages of the smaller nations, an" for the union of all

civili'e" humanity into one language an" one nationality, @ust as the peoples in the

eastern basin of the e"iterranean were unite" in !ellenism after Ale#an"er the

>reat, an" the peoples of the western area later merge" into the Roman nationality.

(he variety of languages within our circle of civili'ation ma&es un"erstan"ing among

members of the various nations "ifficult an" is an obstacle to their civili'e" progress.

Bmphasis in the following paragraph is R..s; ut only socialism will overcome that

obstacle, an" much wor& will be nee"e" before it can succee" in e"ucating entire

masses of people to obtain visible results. An" we must &eep in min" alrea"y to"ay

that our internationalism is not a special type of nationalism differs from bourgeois

nationalism only in that it does not behave aggressively & that it leaves to each nation

the same right "hich it demands for its o"n nation, an" thereby recogni'es the

complete sovereignty /'overnitt of each nation. 'uch a vie"! "hich transforms the

position of anarchism concerning individuals onto nations! does not correspond to the

close cultural community eisting bet"een nations of contemporary civilisation.

(hese last, in fact, in regar" to economy an" civili'ation, form one single social bo"y

whose welfare "epen"s on the harmony of the cooperation of the parts, possible only

by the subor"ination of all the parts to the whole. The 'ocialist nternational is not a

conglomerate of autocratic nations! each doing "hat it likes! as long as it does not

interfere "ith the equality of rights of the others% but rather an organism "herein the

better it "orks! the easier it is for its parts to come to agreement and the more they

"ork together according to a common plan.

*uch is the historical scheme as "escribe" by Cauts&y. (o be sure, he presents thematter from a "ifferent point of view than ar# "oes, emphasi'ing mainly the si"e of

cultural, peaceful "evelopment, whereas ar# accents its political si"e, an e#ternal

arme" conquest. oth, however, characteri'e the fate of nationalities in the course of

events, not as ten"ing to separate themselves an" become in"epen"ent, but completely

viceversa. Cauts&y formulates ? as far as we &now, for the first time in socialistic

literature of recent times ? the historical ten"ency to remove completely all national

"istinctions within the socialist system an" to fuse all of civili'e" humanity into one

nationality. C. Cauts&y, Nationalit*t und Internationali*t, pp.1:1I N p.:F.;

!owever ? that theoretician believes ? at the present time capitalist "evelopment

gives rise to phenomena which seem to wor& in the opposite "irection7 the awa&eningan" intensification of national consciousness as well as the nee" for a national state


16/103

which is the state form 2best correspon"ing to mo"ern con"itions, the form in which it

can most easily fulfil its tas&s.3 ibid.;

(he 2best national state is only an abstraction which can be easily "escribe" an"

"efine" theoretically, but which "oesn$t correspon" to reality. !istorical "evelopment

towar" a universal community of civili'ation will, li&e all social "evelopment, ta&eplace in the mi"st of a contra"iction, but this contra"iction, with respect to the

consoli"ating growth of international civili'ation, lies in another area than where

Cauts&y see&s it, not in the ten"ency towar" the i"ea of a 2national state,3 but rather

where ar# in"icates it to be, in the "ea"ly struggle among nations, in the ten"ency to

create ? alongsi"e the great areas of civili'ation an" "espite them ? great capitalist

states. (he "evelopment of "orld po"ers, a characteristic feature of our times

growing in importance along with the progress of capitalism, from the very outset

con"emns all small nations to political impotence. Apart from a few of the most

powerful nations, the lea"ers in capitalist "evelopment, which possess the spiritual

an" material resources necessary to maintain their political an" economic

in"epen"ence, 2self"etermination,3 the in"epen"ent e#istence of smaller an" pettynations, is an illusion, an" will become even more so. (he return of all, or even the

ma@ority of the nations which are to"ay oppresse", to in"epen"ence woul" only be

possible if the e#istence of small states in the era of capitalism ha" any chances or

hopes for the future. esi"es, the bigpower economy an" politics ? a con"ition of

survival for the capitalist states ? turn the politically in"epen"ent, formally equal,

small Buropean states into mutes on the Buropean stage an" more often into

scapegoats. 4an one spea& with any seriousness of the 2self"etermination3 of peoples

which are formally in"epen"ent, such as ontenegrins, ulgarians, Rumanians, the

*erbs, the >ree&s, an", as far as that goes, even the *wiss, whose very in"epen"ence

is the pro"uct of the political struggles an" "iplomatic game of the 24oncert of

Burope3J %rom this point of view, the i"ea of insuring all 2nations3 the possibility of

self"etermination is equivalent to reverting from >reat4apitalist "evelopment to the

small me"ieval states, far earlier than the fifteenth an" si#teenth centuries.

(he other principal feature of mo"ern "evelopment, which stamps such an i"ea as

utopian, is capitalist imperialism. (he e#ample of Bnglan" an" !ollan" in"icates that

un"er certain con"itions a capitalist country can even completely s&ip the transition

phase of 2national state3 an" create at once, in its manufacturing phase, a colony

hol"ing state. (he e#ample of Bnglan" an" !ollan", which, at the beginning of the

seventeenth century, ha" begun to acquire colonies, was followe" in the eighteenth

an" nineteenth centuries by all the great capitalist states. (he fruit of that tren" is thecontinuous "estruction of the in"epen"ence of more an" more new countries an"

peoples, of entire continents.

(he very "evelopment of international tra"e in the capitalist perio" brings with it the

inevitable, though at times slow ruin of all the more primitive societies, "estroys their

historically e#isting means of 2self"etermination,3 an" ma&es them "epen"ent on the

crushing wheel of capitalist "evelopment an" worl" politics. nly complete formalist

blin"ness coul" lea" one to maintain that, for e#ample, the 4hinese nation /whether

we regar" the people of that state as one or several nations is to"ay really

2"etermining itself.3 (he "estructive action of worl" tra"e is followe" by outright

partition or by the political "epen"ence of colonial countries in various "egrees an"forms. An" if *ocial +emocracy struggles with all its strength against colonial policy


17/103

in all its manifestations, trying to hin"er its progress, then it will at the same time

reali'e that this "evelopment, as well as the roots of colonial politics, lies at the very

foun"ations of capitalist pro"uction, that colonialism will inevitably accompany the

future progress of capitalism, an" that only the innocuous bourgeois apostles of

2peace3 can believe in the possibility of to"ay$s states avoi"ing that path. (he struggle

to stay in the worl" mar&et, to play international politics, an" to have overseasterritories is both a necessity an" a con"ition of "evelopment for capitalist worl"

powers. (he form that best serves the interests of e#ploitation in the contemporary

worl" is not the 2national3 state, as Cauts&y thin&s, but a state bent on conquest.

6hen we compare the "ifferent states from the point of view of the "egree to which

they approach this i"eal, we see that it is not the %rench state which best fits the

mo"el, at least not in its Buropean part which is homogeneous with respect to

nationality. *till less "oes the *panish state fit the mo"el since it lost its colonies, it

has she" its imperialist character an" is purely 2national3 in composition. Rather "o

we loo& to the ritish an" >erman states as mo"els, for they are base" on national

oppression in Burope an" the worl" at large ? an" to the Unite" *tates of America, a

state which &eeps in its bosom li&e a gaping woun" the oppression of the 8egropeople, an" see&s to conquer the Asiatic peoples.

(he following table illustrates the imperialist ten"ency of national conquest. (he

figures refer to the number of oppresse" people in colonies belonging to each country.

(he huge figures quote", which inclu"e aroun" five hun"re" million people, shoul"

be increase" by the colossal a""ition of the countries which "o not figure as colonies,

but are actually completely "epen"ent on Buropean states, an" then we shoul" brea&

these totals "own into countless nationalities an" ethnic groups to convey an i"ea of

the effects to "ate of capitalist imperialism on the fates of nations an" their ability to

2"etermine themselves.3

In &sia

In &fri#a

In &meri#a

In &ustralasia

>reat ritain FE1,==5,000 =0,0:


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will point at once to the special con"itions of their origins. oth *outh an" 8orth

America, until the nineteenth century, were the victims of a still primitive system of

colonial a"ministration, base" more on the plun"ering of the country an" its natural

resources for the benefit of the treasures of Buropean states than on a rational

e#ploitation for the benefit of capitalist pro"uction. -n these cases, it was a matter of

an entire country, which possesse" all the con"itions for the in"epen"ent "evelopmentof capitalism, ma&ing its own way by brea&ing the rotting fetters of political

"epen"ence. (he force of that capitalist thrust was stronger in 8orth America, which

was "epen"ent on Bnglan", while *outh America, until then pre"ominantly

agricultural, met a much wea&er resistance from *pain an" )ortugal, which were

economically bac&war". bviously, such an e#ceptional wealth of natural resources is

not the rule in all colonies. n the other han", the contemporary system of

coloni'ation has create" a "epen"ence which is much less superficial than the

previous one. ut the winning of in"epen"ence by the American colonies "i" not

remove national "epen"ence, it only transferre" it to another nationality ? only

change" its role. (a&e first the Unite" *tates7 the element freeing itself from the

scepter of Bnglan" was not a foreign nation but only the same Bnglish emigrants whoha" settle" in America on the ruins an" corpses of the re"s&in natives ? which is true

also of the Australian colonies of Bnglan", in which the Bnglish constitute 90 percent

of the population. (he Unite" *tates is to"ay in the vanguar" of those nations

practicing imperialist conquest. -n the same way, ra'il, Argentina, an" the other

former colonies whose lea"ing element is immigrants ? )ortuguese an" *panish won

in"epen"ence from the Buropean states primarily in or"er to e#ercise control over the

tra"e in 8egroes an" their use on the plantations, an" to anne# all the wea&er colonies

in the area. ost li&ely the same con"itions prevail in -n"ia, where lately there has

appeare" a rather serious 2national3 movement against Bnglan". (he very e#istence in

-n"ia of a huge number of nationalities at "ifferent "egrees of social an" civili'e"

"evelopment, as well as their mutual "epen"ence, shoul" warn against too hasty

evaluation of the -n"ian movement un"er the simple hea"ing of 2the rights of the

nation.3

Apparent e#ceptions only confirm on closer analysis the conclusion that the mo"ern

"evelopment of capitalism cannot reconcile" with the true in"epen"ence of all

nationalities.

-t is true the problem appears much simpler if, when "iscussing nationality, we

e#clu"e the question of colonial partitions. *uch a technique is often applie",

consciously or unconsciously, by the "efen"ers of the 2rights of nations3 it alsocorrespon"s to the position with respect to colonial politics ta&en, for e#ample, by

B"uar" +avi" in the >erman *ocial +emocracy or van Col in the +utch. (his point of

view consi"ers colonialism in general as the e#pression of the civili'ing mission of

Buropean peoples, inevitable even in a socialist regime. (his view can be briefly

"escribe" as the 2Buropean3 application of the philosophical principle of %ichte in the

well &nown paraphrase of u"wig rone7 2ch bin ich & "as ausser mir ist

*ebensmittel3 /3- am myself ? what is outsi"e of me is the means of life3. -f only the

Buropean peoples are regar"e" as nations proper, while colonial peoples are loo&e" on

as 2supply "epots,3 then we may use the term 2nationstate3 in Burope for countries

li&e %rance, +enmar&, or -taly, an" the problem of nationality can be limite" to intra

Buropean "imensions. ut in this case, 2the right of nations to self"etermination3becomes a theory of the ruling races an" betrays clearly its origin in the i"eologies of


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bourgeois liberalism together with its 2Buropean3 cretinism. -n the approach of

socialists, such a right must, by the nature of things, have a universal character. (he

awareness of this necessity is enough to in"icate that the hope of reali'ing this 2right3

on the basis of the e#isting setup is a utopia it is in "irect contra"iction to the

ten"ency of capitalist "evelopment on which *ocial +emocracy has base" its

e#istence. A general attempt to "ivi"e all e#isting states into national units an" to retailor them on the mo"el of national states an" statelets is a completely hopeless, an"

historically spea&ing, reactionary un"erta&ing.9;

I+

(he formula of the 2right of nations3 is ina"equate to @ustify the position of socialists

on the nationality question, not only because it fails to ta&e into account the wi"e

range of historical con"itions /place an" time e#isting in each given case an" "oes

not rec&on with the general current of the "evelopment of global con"itions, but also

because it ignores completely the fun"amental theory of mo"ern socialists the theory

of social classes.

6hen we spea& of the 2right of nations to self"etermination, 2 we are using the

concept of the 2nation3 as a homogeneous social an" political entity. ut actually,

such a concept of the 2nation3 is one of those categories of bourgeois i"eology which

ar#ist theory submitte" to a ra"ical revision, showing how that misty veil, li&e the

concepts of the 2free"om of citi'ens,3 2equality before the law,3 etc., conceals in

every case a "efinite historical content.

-n a class society, 2the nation3 as a homogeneous sociopolitical entity "oes not e#ist.Rather, there e#ist within each nation, classes with antagonistic interests an" 2rights.3

(here literally is not one social area, from the coarsest material relationships to the

most subtle moral ones, in which the possessing class an" the classconscious

proletariat hol" the same attitu"e, an" in which they appear as a consoli"ate"

2national3 entity. -n the sphere of economic relations, the bourgeois classes represent

the interests of e#ploitation ? the proletariat the interests of wor&. -n the sphere of

legal relations, the cornerstone of bourgeois society is private property the interest of

the proletariat "eman"s the emancipation of the propertyless man from the

"omination of property. -n the area of the @u"iciary, bourgeois society represents class

2@ustice,3 the @ustice of the wellfe" an" the rulers the proletariat "efen"s the

principle of ta&ing into account social influences on the in"ivi"ual, of humaneness. -ninternational relations, the bourgeoisie represent the politics of war an" partition, an"

at the present stage, a system of tra"e war the proletariat "eman"s a politics of

universal peace an" free tra"e. -n the sphere of the social sciences an" philosophy,

bourgeois schools of thought an" the school representing the proletariat stan" in

"iametric opposition to each other. (he possessing classes have their worl" view it is

represente" by i"ealism, metaphysics, mysticism, eclecticism the mo"ern proletariat

has its theory ? "ialectic materialism. Bven in the sphere of socalle" 2universal3

con"itions ? in ethics, views on art, on behavior ? the interests, worl" view, an" i"eals

of the bourgeoisie an" those of the enlightene" proletariat represent two camps,

separate" from each other by an abyss. An" whenever the formal strivings an" the

interests of the proletariat an" those of the bourgeoisie /as a whole or in its mostprogressive part seem i"entical ? for e#ample, in the fiel" of "emocratic aspirations
http://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1909/national-question/ch01.htm#foot-9http://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1909/national-question/ch01.htm#foot-9


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there, un"er the i"entity of forms an" slogans, is hi""en the most complete "ivergence

of contents an" essential politics.

(here can be no tal& of a collective an" uniform will, of the self"etermination of the

2nation3 in a society forme" in such a manner. -f we fin" in the history of mo"ern

societies 2national3 movements, an" struggles for 2national interests,3 these areusually class movements of the ruling strata of the bourgeoisie, which can in any

given case represent the interest of the other strata of the population only insofar as

un"er the form of 2national interests3 it "efen"s progressive forms of historical

"evelopment, an" insofar as the wor&ing class has not yet "istinguishe" itself from the

mass of the 2nation3 /le" by the bourgeoisie into an in"epen"ent, enlightene"

political class.

-n this sense, the %rench bourgeoisie ha" the right to come forth as the thir" estate in

the >reat Revolution in the name of the %rench people, an" even the >erman

bourgeoisie in 1ermany of the 1rDn an" oses !ess this &in" of socialism was

represente" later in )olan" by imanows&i. After the 1


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everything goo" an" beautiful. An" on that basis, imanows&i, later the lea"er of the

))*, trie" to wel" together )olish socialism an" the tas& of reconstructing )olan",

with the observation that socialism is an i"ea that is obviously beautiful, an"

patriotism is a no less beautiful i"ea, an" so 26hy shoul"n$t two such beautiful i"eas

be @oine" togetherJ3

(he only healthy thing in this sentimental socialism is that it is a utopian paro"y of the

correct i"ea that a socialist regime has, as the final goal of the proletariat$s aspirations,

ta&en the ple"ge that by abolishing the "omination of classes, for the first time in

history it will guarantee the reali'ation of the highest i"eals of humanity.

An" this is really the content an" the essential meaning of the principle presente" to

the -nternational 4ongress at on"on in 1


22/103

(his tas& is the main an" gui"ing one for the *ocialist )arty as the party of the

proletariat7 it "etermines the position of that party with respect to all the several

problems of social life.

*ocial +emocracy is the class party of the proletariat. -ts historical tas& is to e#press

the class interests of the proletariat an" also the revolutionary interests of the"evelopment of capitalist society towar" reali'ing socialism. (hus, *ocial +emocracy

is calle" upon to reali'e not the right of nations to self"etermination but only the

right of the wor&ing class, which is e#ploite" an" oppresse", of the proletariat, to self

"etermination. %rom that position *ocial +emocracy e#amines all social an" political

questions without e#ception, an" from that stan"point it formulates its programmatic

"eman"s. 8either in the question of the political forms which we "eman" in the state,

nor in the question of the state$s internal or e#ternal policies, nor in the questions of

law or e"ucation, of ta#es or the military, "oes *ocial +emocracy allow the 2nation3

to "eci"e its fate accor"ing to its own vision of self"etermination. All of these

questions affect the class interests of the proletariat in a way that questions of

nationalpolitical an" nationalcultural e#istence "o not. ut between those questionsan" the nationalpolitical an" nationalcultural questions, e#ist usually the closest ties

of mutual "epen"ence an" causality. As a result, *ocial +emocracy cannot here

escape the necessity of formulating these "eman"s in"ivi"ually, an" "eman"ing

actively the forms of nationalpolitical an" nationalcultural e#istence which best

correspon" to the interests of the proletariat an" its class struggle at a given time an"

place, as well as to the interests of the revolutionary "evelopment of society. *ocial

+emocracy cannot leave these questions to be solve" by 2nations.3

(his becomes perfectly obvious as soon as we bring the question "own from the

clou"s of abstraction to the firm groun" of concrete con"itions.

(he 2nation3 shoul" have the 2right3 to self"etermination. ut who is that 2nation3

an" who has the authority an" the 2right3 to spea& for the 2nation3 an" e#press its

willJ !ow can we fin" out what the 2nation3 actually wantsJ +oes there e#ist even

one political party which woul" not claim that it alone, among all others, truly

e#presses the will of the 2nation,3 whereas all other parties give only perverte" an"

false e#pressions of the national willJ All the bourgeois, liberal parties consi"er

themselves the incarnation of the will of the people an" claim the e#clusive monopoly

to represent the 2nation.3 ut conservative an" reactionary parties refer no less to the

will an" interests of the nation, an" within certain limits, have no less of a right to "o

so. (he >reat %rench Revolution was in"ubitably an e#pression of the will of the%rench nation, but 8apoleon, who @uggle" away the wor& of the Revolution in his

coupof the 1


23/103

self"etermination of the nation3 incite" 2national3 wor&ers to assassinate socialist

wor&ers.

(hus the same thing happens to the 2true3 will of the nation as to the true ring in

essing$s story of 8athan the 6ise7 it has been lost an" it seems almost impossible to

fin" it an" to tell it from the false an" counterfeit ones. n the surface, the principle of"emocracy provi"es a way of "istinguishing the true will of the people by "etermining

the opinion of the ma@ority.

(he nation wants what the ma@ority of the people want. ut woe to the *ocial

+emocratic )arty which woul" ever ta&e that principle as its own yar"stic&7 that

woul" con"emn to "eath *ocial +emocracy itself as the revolutionary party. *ocial

+emocracy by its very nature is a party representing the interestsof a huge ma@ority

of the nation. ut it is also for the time being in bourgeois society, insofar as it is a

matter of e#pressing the consciouswill of the nation, the party of a minority which

only see&s to become the ma@ority. -n its aspirations an" its political program it see&s

to reflect not the will of a ma@ority of the nation, but on the contrary, the embo"imentof the conscious will of the proletariat alone. An" even within that class, *ocial

+emocracy is not an" "oes not claim to be the embo"iment of the will of the ma@ority.

-t e#presses only the will an" the consciousness of the most a"vance" an" most

revolutionary section of the urbanin"ustrial proletariat. -t tries to e#pan" that will an"

to clear a way for a ma@ority of the wor&ers by ma&ing them conscious of their own

interests. 2(he will of the nation3 or its ma@ority is not therefore an i"ol for *ocial

+emocracy before which it humbly prostrates itself. n the contrary, the historical

mission of *ocial +emocracy is base" above all on revolutioni'ing an" forming the

will of the 2nation3 that is, its wor&ingclass ma@ority. %or the tra"itional forms of

consciousness which the ma@ority of the nation, an" therefore the wor&ing classes,

"isplay in bourgeois society are the usual forms of bourgeois consciousness, hostile to

the i"eals an" aspirations of socialism. Bven in >ermany, where *ocial +emocracy is

the most powerful political party, it is still to"ay, with its three an" a quarter million

voters, a minority compare" to the eight million voters for bourgeois parties an" the

thirty million who have the right to vote. (he statistics on parliamentary electors give,

a"mitte"ly, only a rough i"ea of the relation of forces in times of peace. (he >erman

nation then 2"etermines itself3 by electing a ma@ority of conservatives, clerics, an"

freethin&ers, an" puts its political fate in their han"s. An" the same thing is

happening, to an even greater "egree, in all other countries.

+

et us ta&e a concrete e#ample in an attempt to apply the principle that the 2nation3

shoul" 2"etermine itself.3

6ith respect to )olan" at the present stage of the revolution, one of the Russian *ocial

+emocrats belonging to the e"itorial committee of the now "efunct paper, Isra, in

190E e#plaine" the concept of the in"ispensable 6arsaw constituent assembly in the

following way7

if we start from the assumption that the political organi'ation of Russia is the "ecisivefactor "etermining the current oppression of the nationalities, then we must conclu"e


24/103

that the proletariat of the oppresse" nationalities an" the anne#e" countries shoul" be

e#tremely active in the organi'ation of an allRussian constituent assembly.

(his assembly coul", if it wishe", carry out its revolutionary mission, an" brea& the

fetters of force with which tsar"om bin"s to itself the oppresse" nationalities.

An" there is no other satisfactory, that is, revolutionary way of solving that question

than by implementing the rights of the nationalities to "etermine their own fate.

Bmphasis in the entire citation is Rs.; (he tas& of a unite" proletarian party of all

nationalities in the assembly will be to bring about such a solution of the nationality

question, an" this tas& can be reali'e" by the )arty only insofar as it is base" on the

movement of the masses, on the pressure they put on the constituent assembly.

ut in what concrete form shoul" the a"mitte" right to self"etermination be reali'e"J

6here the nationality question can be more or less i"entifie" with the e#istence of a

legal state ? as is the case in )olan" ? then the organ which can reali'e the nation$sright to self"etermination can an" shoul" be a national constituent assembly "hose

special task is to determine the relation of a given ,borderland country to the state

as a "hole! to decide "hether it should belong to the state or break a"ay from it! to

decide its internal set-up and its future connection "ith the state as a "hole.

An" therefore the constituent assembly of )olan" shoul" "eci"e whether )olan" will

become part of a new Russia an" what its constitution shoul" be.nd the Polish

proletariat should use all its strength to insure that its class makes its mark on the

decision of that organ of national self-government.

-f we shoul" as& the allRussian assembly to han" the solution of the )olish national

question over to the 6arsaw se@m, - "o not believe that there is any nee" to put off

calling that se@m until the )etersburg constituents shoul" ta&e up the nationality

question.

n the contrary, - thin& that the slogan of a constituent assembly in 6arsaw shoul" be

put forth now, at the same time as the slogan for an allRussian constituent assembly.

(he government which finally calls a constituent assembly for all Russia shoul" also

call /or sanction the calling of a special constituent se@m for )olan". The /ob of the

all-#ussian assembly "ill be to sanction the "ork of the 0arsa" se/m, an" in the light

of the "ifferent social forces involve" in the )etersburg constituent assembly, the morethis is given on the basis of the real principles of "emocracy the more "ecisively an"

clearly will the )olish nation e#press its national will. -t will "o this most clearly in

the elections to the se@m especially calle" to "eci"e the future fate of )olan". n the

basis of this se@m$s "ecisions, the representatives of the )olish an" Russian proletariat

in the allRussian assembly will be able to energetically "efen" the real recognition of

the right to self"etermination.

(hus, the simultaneous calling of allRussian an" all)olish constituent assemblies7

this shoul" be our slogan.


25/103

(he presentation by the proletariat of the "eman" for a constituent assembly for

)olan" shoul" not be ta&en to mean that the )olish nation woul" be represente" in the

allRussian assembly by any "elegation of the 6arsaw se@m.

- thin& that such representation in the allRussian assembly woul" not correspon" to

the interests of revolutionary "evelopment. -t woul" @oin the proletariat an" bourgeoiselements of the )olish se@m by bon"s of mutual soli"arity an" responsibility, in

contra"iction to the real mutual relations of their interests.

-n the allRussian assembly, the proletariat an" bourgeoisie of )olan" shoul" not be

represente" by one "elegation. ut this woul" occur even if a "elegation were sent

from the se@m to an assembly which inclu"e" representatives of all the parties of the

se@m proportionally to their numbers. -n this case, the "irect an" in"epen"ent

representation of the )olish proletariat in the assembly woul" "isappear, an" the very

creation of real political parties in )olan" woul" be ma"e "ifficult. (hen the elections

to the )olish se@m, whose main tas& is to "efine the political relations between )olan"

an" Russia, woul" not show the political an" social faces of the lea"ing parties, aselections to an allRussian assembly coul" "o for the latter type of elections woul"

a"vance, besi"es the local, partial, historically temporary an" specifically national

questions, the general questions of politics and socialism! "hich really divide

contemporary societies. /!ere as everywhere - spea& of a "efinite manner of solving

the nationality question for )olan", not touching those changes which may prove

themselves in"ispensable while resolving this question for other nations. ?Note of the

author of the cited article. (he above article appeare" in Robotni, the organ of the

))*, no.I5, %ebruary I, 190E.Note of the editorial board ofPrzeglad Sozial-

demokratyczny;

(his article gives a moral sanction on the part of the opportunist wing of Russian

*ocial +emocracy to the slogan put forth by the ))* in the first perio" of the

revolution7 that is, to the 6arsaw constituent assembly. !owever, it ha" no practical

result. After the "issolution of the ))*, the socalle" left wing of that party, having

publicly re@ecte" the program of rebuil"ing )olan", foun" itself force" to aban"on its

partial program of nationalism in the form of the slogan of a 6arsaw constituent

assembly. ut the article remains a characteristic attempt to give practical effect to the

principle of 2the right of nations to self"etermination.3

-n the above argument, which we quote" in full in or"er to be able to e#amine it from

all aspects, several points stri&e the rea"er. Above all, accor"ing to the author, on theone han" 2a constituent assembly of )olan" shoul" "eci"e whether )olan" shoul"

enter the formation of a new Russia an" what &in" of constitution it shoul" have.3 n

the other, 2the )olish proletariat shoul" use its strength to insure that its class will

ma&e the greatest mar& on the "ecisions of that organ of national selfgovernment. 2

!ere the class will of the )olish proletariat is e#pressly oppose" to the passive will of

the )olish 2nation.3 (he class will of the proletariat can obviously leave 2its mar&3 on

the "ecisions of the 6arsaw constituent assembly only if it is clearly an" e#pressly

formulate" in other wor"s, the class party of the )olish proletariat, the *ocialist )arty,

must have a well"efine" program with respect to the national question, which it can

intro"uce in the 6arsaw constituent assembly a program which correspon"s not to the

will of 2the nation3 but only to the will an" interests of the )olish proletariat. (hen, inthe constituent assembly, in the national question, one will, or 2the self"etermination


26/103

of the proletariat3 will come out against the will or 2the self"etermination of the

nation.3 %or )olish *ocialists, the 2nation$s right to self"etermination3 as an

obligatory principle in fact "isappears, an" is replace" by a clearly "efine" political

program on the national question.

(he result is rather strange. (he Russian *ocial +emocratic abor )arty leaves thesolution of the )olish question up to the )olish 2nation.3 (he )olish *ocialists shoul"

not pic& it up but try, as har" as they can, to solve this question accor"ing to the

interests an" will of the proletariat. !owever, the party of the )olish proletariat is

organi'ationally tie" to the allstate party, for instance, the *ocial +emocracy of the

Cing"om of )olan" an" ithuania is a part of the Russian *ocial +emocratic abor

)arty. (hus, *ocial +emocracy of all of Russia, unite" both in i"eas an" factually, has

two "ifferent positions. As a whole, it stan"s for the 2nations in its constituent parts, it

stan"s for the separate proletariat of each nation. ut these positions can be quite

"ifferent an" may even be completely oppose" to each other. (he sharpene" class

antagonism in all of Russia ma&es it a general rule that in the nationalpolitical

question, as in questions of internal politics, the proletarian parties ta&e completely"ifferent positions from the bourgeois an" petit bourgeois parties of the separate

nationalities. 6hat position shoul" the abor )arty of Russia then ta&e in the case of

such a collisionJ

et us suppose for the sa&e of argument, that in the fe"eral constituent assembly, two

contra"ictory programs are put forth from )olan"7 the autonomous program of

8ational +emocracy an" the autonomous program of )olish *ocial +emocracy, which

are quite at o""s with respect to internal ten"ency as well as to political formulation.

6hat will the position of Russian *ocial +emocracy be with regar" to themJ 6hich

of the programs will it recogni'e as an e#pression of the will an" 2self"etermination3

of the )olish 2nation3J )olish *ocial +emocracy never ha" any pretensions to be

spea&ing in the name of the 2nation.3 8ational +emocracy comes forth as the

e#presser of the 2national3 will. et us also assume for a moment that this party wins

a ma@ority at the elections to the constituent assembly by ta&ing a"vantage of the

ignorance of the petit bourgeois elements as well as certain sections of the proletariat.

-n this case, will the representatives of the allRussian proletariat, complying with the

requirements of the formula of their program, come out in favor of the proposals of

8ational +emocracy an" go against their own comra"es from )olan"J r will they

associate themselves with the program of the )olish proletariat, leaving the 2right of

nations3 to one si"e as a phrase which bin"s them to nothingJ r will the )olish

*ocial +emocrats be force", in or"er to reconcile these contra"ictions in theirprogram, to come out in the 6arsaw constituent assembly, as well as in their own

agitation in )olan", in favor of their own autonomous program, but to the fe"eral

constituent assembly, as members well aware of the "iscipline of the *ocial

+emocratic )arty of Russia, for the program of 8ational +emocracy, that is, against

their own programJ

et us ta&e yet another e#ample. B#amining the question in a purely abstract form,

since the author has put the problem on that basis, let us suppose, to illustrate the

principle, that in the national assembly of the Gewish population of Russia for why

shoul" the right to create separate constituent assemblies be limite" to )olan", as the

author wantsJ ? the Kionist )arty somehow wins a ma@ority an" "eman"s that the allRussian constituent assembly vote fun"s for the emigration of the entire Gewish


27/103

community. n the other han", the class representatives of the Gewish proletariat

firmly resist the position of the Kionists as a harmful an" reactionary utopia. 6hat

position will Russian *ocial +emocracy ta&e in this conflictJ

-t will have two choices. (he 2right of nations to self"etermination3 might be

essentially i"entical with the "etermination of the national question by the proletariatin question that is, with the nationality program of the concerne" *ocial +emocratic

parties. -n such a case, however, the formula of the 2right of nations3 in the program

of the Russian party is only a mystifying paraphrase of the class position. r,

alternatively, the Russian proletariat as such coul" recogni'e an" honor only the will

of the national ma/oritiesof the nationalities un"er Russian sub@ugation, even though

the proletariat of the respective 2nations3 shoul" come out against this ma@ority with

their own class program. An" in this case, it is a political "ualism of a special type it

gives "ramatic e#pression to the "iscor" between the 2national3 an" class positions7 it

points up the conflict between the position of the fe"eral wor&ers$ party an" that of the

parties of the particular nationalities which ma&e it up.

A special )olish constituent assembly is to be the organ of reali'ing the right of the

nation to self"etermination. ut that right is, in reality, severely limite" by the author,

an" in two "irections. %irst, the competence of the 6arsaw constituent assembly is

re"uce" to the special question of the relation of )olan" to Russia an" to the

constitution for )olan". (hen, even within this "omain, the "ecisions of the 2)olish

nation3 are subor"inate" to the sanction of an allRussian constituent assembly. (he

assembly, however ? if this reservation is to have any meaning at all ? can either grant

or "eny these sanctions. Un"er such con"itions the unlimite" 2right of the nation to

self"etermination3 becomes rather problematic. (he national partisans of the slogan

of a separate 6arsaw constituent assembly woul" not at all agree to the re"uction of

their competence to the narrow area of relations between )olan" an" Russia. (hey

wante" to give the assembly the power over all the internal an" e#ternal relations of

the social life of )olan". An" from the stan"point of the 2right of nations to self

"etermination,3 they woul" un"oubte"ly have right an" logic on their si"e. %or there

seems to be no reason why 2self"etermination3 shoul" mean only the solution of the

e#ternal fate of the nation an" of its constitution, an" not of all social an" political

matters. esi"es, the separation of the relation of )olan" to Russia an" the

constitution of )olan" from the 2general problems of politics an" socialism3 is a

construction which is artificial to the highest "egree. -f the 2constitution of )olan"3 is

to "etermine ? as it evi"ently must ? the electoral law, the law of unions an" meetings,

the law of the press, etc., etc., for )olan", then it is not clear what political questionsremain for the fe"eral constituent assembly to solve with respect to )olan". %rom this

point of view, only one of two points of view is possible7 either the 6arsaw

constituent assembly is to be the essential organ for the self"etermination of the

)olish nation, an" in this case it can be only an organ on the same level as the

)etersburg constituent assembly or, the constituent assembly of 6arsaw plays only

the role of a national se@m in a position of "epen"ence on an" subor"ination to the

fe"eral constituent assembly, an" in this case, 2the right of the nation to self

"etermination,3 "epen"ent on the sanction of the Russian 2nation,3 remin"s one of the

>erman concept7 21ie #epublik mit dem rossher2og an der 'pit2e3 2(he Republic

with the >ran" +u&e at the !ea"3; .


28/103

(he author himself helps us to guess how, in his un"erstan"ing, the 2right of the

nation,3 proclaime" in the intro"uction so charmingly in the form of a 6arsaw

constituent assembly, is finally cancele" out by the competence an" right of sanction

of the )etersburg constituent assembly.

-n this matter, the enshevi& @ournalist a"opts the view that the 6arsaw constituentassembly will be the organ of national interests, whereas the fe"eral assembly will be

the organ of the class an" general social interests, the terrain of the class struggle

between the proletariat an" the bourgeoisie. (hus, the author shows so much mistrust

of the 6arsaw organ of the 2national will3 that he opposes the representation of that

national se@m in the )etersburg constituent assembly, for which he "eman"s "irect

elections from )olan" to insure the best representation of the interests of the )olish

proletariat. (he "efen"er of two constituent assemblies feels instinctively that even

with universal an" equal elections to the 6arsaw assembly, its very in"ivi"ual nature

woul" wea&en the position of the )olish proletariat, while the combine" entry of the

)olish proletariat with the proletariat of the entire state in a general constituent

assembly woul" strengthen the class position an" its "efense. !ence arises hisvacillation between one an" the other position an" his "esire to subor"inate the organ

of the 2national3 will to the organ of the class struggle. (his is, then, again an

equivocal political position, in which the collision between the 2national3 point of

view an" the class point of view ta&es the form of the opposition between the 6arsaw

an" the )etersburg constituent assemblies. nly one question remains7 since the

representation in a fe"eral constituent assembly is more useful for the "efense of the

)olish proletariat, then why cannot that bo"y resolve the )olish national question, in

or"er to insure the prepon"erance of the will an" interests of the )olish proletariatJ *o

many hesitations an" contra"ictions show how "esirable it woul" be for the 2nation3

an" the wor&ing class to "evelop a common position.

Apart from this, we must a"" that the entire construction of the 6arsaw constituent

assembly as the organ of national 2self"etermination3 is only a house of car"s7 the

"epen"ence or in"epen"ence of nationstates is "etermine" not by the vote of

ma@orities in parliamentary representations, but only by socioeconomic "evelopment,

by material class interests, an" as regar"s the e#ternal political affairs, by arme"

struggle, war, or insurrection. (he 6arsaw assembly coul" only really "etermine the

fate of )olan" if )olan" ha" first, by means of a successful uprising, won factual

in"epen"ence from Russia. -n other wor"s, the )olish people can reali'e its 2right3 to

self"etermination only when it has the actual ability, the necessary force for this, an"

then it will reali'e it not on the basis of its 2rights3 but on the basis of its power. (hepresent revolution "i" not call forth an in"epen"ence movement in )olan" it "i" not

show the least ten"ency to separate )olan" from Russia. n the contrary, it burie" the

remains of these ten"encies by forcing the national party /8ational +emocracy to

renounce the program of the reconstruction of )olan", while the other party /the ))*

was smashe" to bits an" also, mi"way in the struggle, was force" to renounce this

program e#plicitly. (hus, the 2right3 of the )olish nation to self"etermination

remains ? the right to eat off gol" plates.

(he "eman" for a 6arsaw constituent assembly is therefore obviously "eprive" of all

political or theoretical importance an" represents only a momentary tentative

improvisation of "eteriorate" )olish nationalism, li&e a soap bubble which burstsimme"iately after appearing. (his "eman" is useful only as an illustration of the


29/103

application of 2the right of a nation to self"etermination3 in practice. (his illustration

is a new proof that by recogni'ing the 2right of nations to self"etermination3 in the

framewor& of the present regime, *ocial +emocracy is offering the 2nations3 either

the cheap blessing to "o what they /the 2nations3 are in a position to "o by virtue of

their strength, or else an empty phrase with no force at all. n the other han", this

position brings *ocial +emocracy into conflict with its true calling, the protection ofthe class interests of the proletariat an" the revolutionary "evelopment of society,

which the creators of scientific socialism use" as the basis of their view on the

nationality question.

(he preservation of that metaphysical phrase in the program of the *ocial +emocratic

)arty of Russia woul" be a betrayal of the strictly class position which the party has

trie" to observe in all points of its program. (he ninth paragraph shoul" be replace"

by a concrete formula, however general, which woul" provi"e a solution of the

nationality question in accor"ance with the interests of the proletariat of the particular

nationalities. (hat "oes not in the least mean that the program of the *ocial

+emocratic organi'ation of the respective nationalities shoul" become, eo ipso, theprogram of the allRussian party. A fun"amental critical appraisal of each of these

programs by the whole of the wor&ers$ party of the state is necessary, but this

appraisal shoul" be ma"e from the point of view of the actual social con"itions, from

the point of view of a scientific analysis of the general ten"encies of capitalist

"evelopment, as well as the interests of the class struggle of the proletariat. (his alone

can in"icate a uniform an" consistent position of the party as a whole an" in its

constituent parts.

:;To"ar2yst"o 1emokratyc2ne Polskie/+emocratic *ocietyP)olish, 1erman, an" Austrian )olan".

-t promote" class soli"arity an" nationalism it represente" the interests of thepropertie" classes. -n 1


30/103

=;nly the >erman branch of the )olish *ocialist )arty thought it relevant to inclu"e

the on"on Resolution in its program "uring its struggles with >erman *ocial

+emocracy. After it @oine" the >erman )arty again, the ))* a"opte" the Brfurt

program as its own without reservations.5;pparently note by #.*.;

4onfusingly the note below is note" in the note above. 8ote by transcriber;

5;(he three partitions /1II:, 1I9F, 1I95 ha" left )olan" "ivi"e" among Russia,

)russia, an" Austria /E: percent, :0 percent, an" 1< percent of )olish territory

respectively. (he )olish *ocialists in each of the occupie" areas cooperate" in one or

another fashion with the *ocialist parties of the partitioning powers, more closely

though with the >erman *ocial +emocratic )arty an" the Austrian *ocial +emocratic

)arty /until 1alicia an" >erman

*ilesia forme" "istinct an" separate )olish parties in their territories. -n 8ovember

1erman)olish *ocialist )arty an" to the )olish *ocial +emocratic )arty in

Austrian >alicia. Until the foun"ation of the *ocial +emocracy of the Cing"om of

)olan" /*+C) by Rosa u#emburg, Gulian archlews&i, A"olf 6ars'aws&i, an" eo

Gogiches in 1


31/103

E;Gosef *'u@s&i /1


32/103

Rosa u#emburg Archive

0. The Nation-State and the ,roletariat

(he question of nationality cannot be solve" merely by presuming that socialists must

approach it from the point of view of the class interests of the proletariat. (he

influence of theoretical socialism has been felt in"irectly by the wor&ers$ movement

as a whole, to such an e#tent that at present there is not a socialist or wor&ers$ party

which "oes not use at least the ar#ist terminology, if not the entire ar#ist way of

thin&ing. A famous e#ample of this is the present *ocial Revolutionary )arty of

Russia, in whose theory ? as far as one can spea& of such ? there are at least as many

elements borrowe" from the ar#ist *chool as there are elements inherite" from theNarodnikian" the )eople$s 6ill. -n li&e manner, all socialist groups of the petit

bourgeois an" nationalistic type in Russia have their own fancies which are solely 2in

the interest of the proletariat an" socialism.3 (he )olish *ocial +emocracy, now in

"ecline, ha" especially "istinguishe" itself in comparison with the naive, patriarchal ?

let us say ? national socialism of r. imanows&i, particularly in that the 3goo"

hearte"3 r. imanows&i never even use" the name of Carl ar#, while social

patriotism, from the beginning, sought to legitimi'e its program with ar#ist

terminology as a 2class interest of the proletariat.3

ut it is obvious that the class character of any particular "eman" is not establishe" by

merely incorporating it mechanically into the program of a socialist party. 6hat this

or any other party consi"ers a 3class interest3 of the proletariat can only be an

impute" interest, concocte" by sub@ective reasoning. -t is very easy, for instance, to

state that the wor&ers$ class interest "eman"s the establishment of a minimumwage

law. *uch a law woul" protect the wor&ers against the pressures of competition, which

might come from a less "evelope" locality. -t woul" assure them of a certain

minimum stan"ar" of living, etc. *uch "eman"s have been presente" repeate"ly by

socialist circles however, the principle has not yet been accepte" by the socialist

parties in general, for the vali" reason that the universal regulation of wages by means

of legislation is but a utopian "ream un"er to"ay$s anarchistic con"itions of private

economy. (his is because wor&ers$ wages, li&e the prices of any &in" of commo"ity,are set up in the capitalistic system un"er the operation of 2free competition3 an" the

spontaneous movement of capital. (herefore, the legal regulation of wages can be

achieve" only in e#cepti

Documents

Rosa Luxemburg the national question.doc