International Conference on Rosa Luxemburg ; Paris, Sorbonne, October 4 and 5, 2013

The conference languages will be French and English with simultaneous translation.

« Rosa Luxemburg's Concepts of Democracy and Revolution »

One of the most important contributions of Rosa Luxemburg to modern Marxist thought is her refusal to separate the concepts of "democracy" and "revolution". This approach is developed in a) her criticism of the limits of bourgeois democracy, b) her conception of the revolutionary struggle as democratic self-emancipation of the great masses, c) her vision of socialist democracy with the workers' councils' system as a possible form of "dictatorship of the proletariat", and d) her firm insistence – in discussion with Russian revolutionaries – on the importance of democratic freedoms in the transition towards socialism.

We will deal with the question of democracy in her writings on Marxism, on political economy and on the national question (self-administration and national autonomy as democratic solutions).

These are issues that remain relevant at the beginning of the 21 Century. The aim of the Conference will be not only to analyze the historical aspects and the texts themselves, but also the political significance of these issues, in an epoch that sees a crisis of democracy within the context of crisis in capitalist civilization.

PROGRAMME :

http://rosaluxemburgblog.wordpress.com

Rosa Luxemburg gained a lot more from her family than has previously
been understood by her biographers. Not only in terms of her education,fnancial support and assistance during her frequent incarcerations, butalso in terms of her identity and politics. Her family was a closely knit-
ted support network, even when its members were spread out across
Europe. Tis solid foundation, which supported and encouraged her atevery step, gave Luxemburg the intellectual and personal confidence togo out and attempt to change the world. Not only this, but her family
gave her the basis of her value system and political belies.
source:
http://www.academia.edu/2408756/You_alone_will_make_our_familys_name_famous_Rosa_Luxemburg_Her_Family_and_the_Origins_of_her_Polish-Jewish_Identity