German Revolution (1918-1919)

"The cessation of the class struggle was, therefore, a deplorably one-sided affair. While capitalist oppression and exploitation, the worst enemies of the working class, remain; socialist and labour union leaders have generously delivered the working class, without a struggle, into the hands of the enemy for the duration of the war. While the ruling classes are fully armed with the property and supremacy rights, the working class, at the advice of the social democracy, has laid down its arms."

This above excerpt taken from chapter (6) of Rosa Luxemburg’s Junuis Pamphlet seeks to expose how the members of the German working class were duped into giving up their struggle and losing in one fell swoop all that they had fought hard to achieve. The working class lead by their labor unions and socialist leaders, in the name of national unity and defense of the fatherland against the advancing enemy, voted in favor of the war credits necessary for the government to wage the war. The following quote  sealed the fate of the German people; “We are now facing the irrevocable fact of war. We are threatened by the horrors of invasion. The decision, today, is not for or against war; for us there can be but one question: by what means is this war to be conducted? Much, aye everything, is at stake for our people and its future, if Russian despotism, stained with the blood of its own people, should be the victor. This danger must be averted, the civilisation and the independence of our people must be safeguarded. Therefore we will carry out what we have always promised: in the hour of danger we will not desert our fatherland. In this we feel that we stand in harmony with the International, which has always recognised the right of every people to its national independence, as we stand in agreement with

the International in emphatically denouncing every war of conquest. Actuated by these motives, we vote in favour of the war credits demanded by the Government.”  
With the above words the people’s “leaders” gave away the people’s power, giving them up without further struggle into the hands of those controlling the system they had fought so long and hard against. The people were lead to believe that this war was a fight for their freedom and their existence as a nation.With this at stake, they were held captive in the clutches of the ruling classes who continued with their oppressive and exploitative ways,in reality sacrificing nothing compared to the what the people gave up. It was truly a one sided affair because the people gave up their struggle under the false pretext of defending their freedom and homeland and instead they were re-enslaved by their own ruling class.

I choose this passage because it really struck a chord with me and shows so much similarity with today’s world political systems. Today as back then the working class people are still the ones giving up the most and being betrayed by the people whom they choose as their leaders and representatives.