Introduction to the First Edition¶
Core Argument¶
The introduction to the first edition of this work establishes the German Revolution of November 1918 as a pivotal, world-historical event whose failure demands rigorous explanation. The chapter’s core argument is that this revolution, while possessing the objective power to overthrow capitalism and link up with the Russian Revolution, was betrayed by its own leadership, allowing the old order to reconstitute itself. The narrative thrust is therefore tragic: a moment of immense working-class power squandered.
The key claim is that the German Revolution had an “earth-shattering effect” on international events. It ended the First World War, gave “colossal impetus” to the revolutionary wave sweeping Europe, and, crucially, broke the isolation of the Russian working class. The evidence for this is drawn from contemporary testimony. Lenin’s immediate statement to Russian workers, relaying radio reports of councils seizing power in Kiel and Berlin, is quoted directly. Karl Radek’s recollection of Moscow workers spontaneously demonstrating, with the cry “Our isolation was over,” is used to convey the profound psychological and political impact. The chapter also notes the material collapse of the old order: the Hohenzollern dynasty fell, the Kaiser fled, and alongside a “feeble government,” workers’ and soldiers’ councils ruled all major cities.
The historical context is the immediate aftermath of the First World War, a period of revolutionary upheaval across Europe. The chapter draws a direct parallel between the German Revolution and the February Revolution in Russia, where the masses “poured onto the stage of history.” The theoretical context is Marxist, focused on the question of state power: the revolution placed power in the hands of the workers, soldiers, and sailors, but they “failed to seize this opportunity of consolidating power.”
A notable polemic is directed against the Social Democratic leaders, who are accused of rescuing German capitalism by accepting power from the workers’ councils. This betrayal is framed as the central reason for the revolution’s failure. A further, bitterly ironic polemic is aimed at the Allied imperial powers. The chapter recounts that the Allies demanded Germany surrender 30,000 machine guns as a condition of the armistice, but relented to allow 5,000 to be retained when the German delegation argued that otherwise “there would not be enough left to fire on the German people should this become necessary.” This anecdote serves to expose the shared counter-revolutionary priorities of the German bourgeoisie and the Allied imperialists, who were more concerned with suppressing revolution than with disarmament. The chapter thus sets up its central problematic: why was this historic opportunity missed?