To be sure, these early writings refer to the party in a broad sense – as an organized embodiment of ideas – rather than an instrument for securing state power. Nevertheless, they serve as the basis of the concept of organization that he developed for the rest of his life. Political parties for Marx were about much more than the exercise of power or domination. They are forms for intervening in reality on the basis of ideas that have proven their historical objectivity. For this reason, he often referred to ‘the party’ even when it consisted of no more than he and Friedrich Engels.

ROSA LUXEMBURG PENNED these words while imprisoned in the notorious Wronke Fortress during the First World War, as part of an effort to come to terms with one of the darkest moments of modern history. At the time all hope for radical social transformation seemed to have evaporated in the face of statist militarism and the capitulation of most of the socialist movement to it. We do not face the same conditions today, but in many respects her words reach out beyond the break between the generations. The crisis facing us may even be more serious, since it has become hard to pin hopes for human emancipation on the forward progress of history when existing society seems to be marching headlong toward global planetary destruction—while descending into a depth of racism, misogyny, and political degeneracy not seen in decades. Nevertheless, Luxemburg's comment speaks to us in important ways, since it is hard to envision any alternative to our present predicament that does not acknowledge the capacity of masses of people to awaken, change, and ultimately fulfill the historical mission to realize their human potential.

Luxemburg was no accidental bystander to the traumas of her time, and it is to be expected that her life and work would tell us much about female leadership.