Anton Pannekoek's Contributions to the Mass Strike Debate

From Sentiment into Clear Knowledge - Pannekoek

Anton Pannekoek's controversy with Karl Kautsky and his position on the Mass Strike Debate are both well known which even influenced Lenin's "State and Revolution". However to this day Pannekoek's contributions are only briefly summarized despite these works forming the basis for his Council Communism later and no real initiative has been made to make the actual texts available, a few exceptions exist however.

To solve this problem and make them more accessible, here I've translated [except one, Marxist Theory and Revolutionary Tactics, which was previously available] and compiled almost all of Pannekoek's contributions to the Mass Strike Debate. If I come across more texts from him on this topic then I'll update this list as per requirement.

Polemic with Karl Kautsky

Mass Action and Revolution - Pannekoek's first direct reply to Karl Kautsky which signalled both Pannekoek's break with Kautsky and his move away from Orthodox Marxism of the 2nd International. This was written in response to Kautsky's article "The Action of the Mass" where he had attacked the Left Radicals.

Kautsky on "The New Tactics" - Written in response to Kautsky's "The New Tactic" where he had attacked Pannekoek's previous article "Mass Action and Revolution".

Marxist Theory and Revolutionary Tactics - Continuation of Pannekoek's polemics with Kautsky after the former's article "Kautsky on The New Tactics".

In the End - Pannekoek's final text in his polemic with Karl Kautsky. This was written after Kautsky's text "The Latest Radicalism" where he had summarized the differences between his and Pannekoek's views while attacking the latter as a syndicalist.

Other Texts

The Mass Strike Debate - Pannekoek's First Contribution to the Mass Strike Debate. Here he talks about the spiritual transformation taking place in German Social Democracy with the Mass Strike Debate as its primary symptom.

The Aim of the Mass Strike - Pannekoek here talks about the significance and goal of the Mass Strike. This also partially replies to Karl Kautsky's article "A New Strategy".

The Baden Revolt - Pannekoek analyses the peculiar state of affair in Baden where 66 delegates led by the revisionist Wilhelm Kolb had declared that they were gonna go against the Party and vote for the state budget.

Two-way Tactical Battle - In this article, Pannekoek takes the side of Rosa Luxemburg who was under attack by the Centrists because Kurt Eisner had falsely evoked her criticisms of the leading party leadership on the question of Prussian voting rights to defend the behaviour of the Baden Parliamentary Group who had voted for a state budget in the Landtag.

The Enemy as Teacher - Written in aftermath of Moritz von Bissing's circular which had led to the collapse of the Trade Unionist view of the Mass Strike which would've been initiated through the instructions of the leaders.

Mass Actions - Written in response to an article by Kautsky and empasizes the difference between Mass Actions and earlier popular movements while also stating its role in overcoming the separation between organized and unorganized masses.

The Belgian Teachings - Here Pannekoek talks about and draws lessons from the Belgian Elections of 1912 where the Social Democrats aligned with the Liberals to defeat the Catholic Party but failed.

The Essence of our Present Demands - This was written in response to an article by Gustav Eckstein, an associate of Karl Kautsky, where he had attacked the demands of the Left Radicals.

Popular Interest and Mass Action - Here Pannekoek talks about the popular nature of Mass Action where not just a section the great mass of people participate vigorously.

Mass Strike Threat and Mass Strike Refusal - About the Mass Strikes in Belgium and Hungary.

The Result of the Belgian Mass Strikes - About the Belgian Mass Strike of 1913.

The Necessity of the Mass Strike - Here Pannekoek talks about the necessity of Mass Strike in the fight for Universal Suffrage in Prussia.

The Difficulties of the Mass Strike - Here Pannekoek talks about the so-called difficulties that the Mass Strike will encounter according to the other Social Democrats.

The Dangers of the Mass Strike - Here Pannekoek talks about the dangers that the state can pose for the workers, their organizations and the Mass Strike.

The Path of Struggle - Pannekoek argues against the "wait-and-see" policy of Social Democrats, at a time when reactionary agitation is strong, in favour of the Mass Strike.

Against the Mass Strike - Here Pannekoek talks about the growing fear among the German Bourgeois regarding the Mass Strike and hence its ever-growing relevance.

Comments

These translations took me a…

These translations took me a lot of time to work out. So it'll be nice if they are given a read!!