Otto Rühle
Encyclopedia
Otto Rühle was a German
Marxist active in opposition to both the First and Second World Wars, and a founder with along with Karl Liebknecht
, Rosa Luxemburg
, Franz Mehring
and others of the group and magazine Internationale, which posed a revolutionary internationalism against a world of warring states, and also the Spartacist League
(Spartakusbund in German
) in 1916.
The Spartacist League
took an oppositional stance to Leninism
, and was attacked by the Bolsheviks for inconsistency. Though Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were murdered in 1919 for their involvement in the German Revolution
, Rühle lived on to participate in the left opposition of the German labour movement
, developing both an early communist critique of Bolshevism, and an early opposition to Fascism
. Rühle saw the Soviet Union as a form of state capitalism
with much in common with the state-centred capitalism
of the West, as well as Fascism:
He also saw the Leninist Party as an appropriate form for the overthrow of Tsarism, but ultimately an inappropriate form for a proletarian revolution. As such, no matter what the actual intentions of the Bolsheviks, what they actually succeeded in bringing about was much more like the bourgeois
revolution
s of Europe than a proletarian revolution:
Rühle was also critical of the party as a revolutionary organisational form, stating that "the revolution is not a party affair", and supported a more Council Communist
approach which emphasised the importance of factory councils run by workers.
In Anti-Bolshevik Communism, Paul Mattick
describes Rühle as an exemplary radical figure within a German labour movement
that had become ossified into various "official" structures; a perpetual outsider defined by his antagonistic relation to the labour movement, to Leninist party communism, as well as to capitalist democracy and Fascism.
Rühle was a member of the Dewey Commission
which cleared Trotsky
of all charges made during the Moscow Trials
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Marxist active in opposition to both the First and Second World Wars, and a founder with along with Karl Liebknecht
Karl Liebknecht
was a German socialist and a co-founder with Rosa Luxemburg of the Spartacist League and the Communist Party of Germany. He is best known for his opposition to World War I in the Reichstag and his role in the Spartacist uprising of 1919...
, Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg was a Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist and activist of Polish Jewish descent who became a naturalized German citizen...
, Franz Mehring
Franz Mehring
Franz Erdmann Mehring , was a German publicist, politician and historian.-Early years:Franz Mehring was born 27 February 1846 in Schlawe, Pomerania, the son of a bourgeois family.-Political career:...
and others of the group and magazine Internationale, which posed a revolutionary internationalism against a world of warring states, and also the Spartacist League
Spartacist League
The Spartacus League was a left-wing Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. The League was named after Spartacus, leader of the largest slave rebellion of the Roman Republic...
(Spartakusbund in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) in 1916.
The Spartacist League
Spartacist League
The Spartacus League was a left-wing Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. The League was named after Spartacus, leader of the largest slave rebellion of the Roman Republic...
took an oppositional stance to Leninism
Leninism
In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism...
, and was attacked by the Bolsheviks for inconsistency. Though Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were murdered in 1919 for their involvement in the German Revolution
German Revolution
The German Revolution was the politically-driven civil conflict in Germany at the end of World War I, which resulted in the replacement of Germany's imperial government with a republic...
, Rühle lived on to participate in the left opposition of the German labour movement
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
, developing both an early communist critique of Bolshevism, and an early opposition to Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. Rühle saw the Soviet Union as a form of state capitalism
State capitalism
The term State capitalism has various meanings, but is usually described as commercial economic activity undertaken by the state with management of the productive forces in a capitalist manner, even if the state is nominally socialist. State capitalism is usually characterized by the dominance or...
with much in common with the state-centred capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
of the West, as well as Fascism:
- "It has served as the model for other capitalistic dictatorships. Ideological divergences do not really differentiate socioeconomic systems."
He also saw the Leninist Party as an appropriate form for the overthrow of Tsarism, but ultimately an inappropriate form for a proletarian revolution. As such, no matter what the actual intentions of the Bolsheviks, what they actually succeeded in bringing about was much more like the bourgeois
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
s of Europe than a proletarian revolution:
- "This distinction between head and body, between intellectuals and workers, officers and privates, corresponds to the duality of class society. One class is educated to rule; the other to be ruled. Lenin’s organisation is only a replica of bourgeois society. His revolution is objectively determined by the forces that create a social order incorporating these class relations, regardless of the subjective goals accompanying this process."
Rühle was also critical of the party as a revolutionary organisational form, stating that "the revolution is not a party affair", and supported a more Council Communist
Council communism
Council communism is a current of libertarian Marxism that emerged out of the November Revolution in the 1920s, characterized by its opposition to state capitalism/state socialism as well as its advocacy of workers' councils as the basis for workers' democracy.Originally affiliated with the...
approach which emphasised the importance of factory councils run by workers.
In Anti-Bolshevik Communism, Paul Mattick
Paul Mattick
Paul Mattick Sr. was a Marxist political writer and social revolutionary, whose thought can be placed within the council communist and left communist traditions...
describes Rühle as an exemplary radical figure within a German labour movement
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
that had become ossified into various "official" structures; a perpetual outsider defined by his antagonistic relation to the labour movement, to Leninist party communism, as well as to capitalist democracy and Fascism.
Rühle was a member of the Dewey Commission
Dewey Commission
The Dewey Commission was initiated in March 1937 by the "American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky." It was named after its Chairman, John Dewey...
which cleared Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
of all charges made during the Moscow Trials
Moscow Trials
The Moscow Trials were a series of show trials conducted in the Soviet Union and orchestrated by Joseph Stalin during the Great Purge of the 1930s. The victims included most of the surviving Old Bolsheviks, as well as the leadership of the Soviet secret police...
.
Sources
- MIA Otto Rühle archive
- Kurasje.org Otto Rühle archive
- "Non-Leninist Marxism: Writings on the Workers Councils" (includes Ruhle's "The Revolution is Not a Party Affair" and "Report From Moscow"), Red and Black Publishers, St Petersburg, Florida, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9791813-6-8
- The Struggle Against Fascism Begins with the Struggle Against Bolshevism (1939)
See also
- ExilliteraturExilliteraturGerman Exilliteratur is the name for a category of books in the German language written by writers of anti-nazi attitude who fled from Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945...