In this essential pamphlet, Rosa Luxemburg explains the centrality of mass strike action as a step in the transformation of working class consciousness and the overthrow of capitalism itself. She brilliantly explores the connections between economics and politics, local and national action, and makes the case for militant class struggle.
The pamphlet is also a savage critique of the miserable and conservative mentality of trade union bureaucrats who blame the passivity of members for their own failures. In opposition to this view, she argues, drawing on the Russian Revolution of 1905, that strong leadership and radical struggle can inspire new layers of workers to join the socialist movement and take part in the construction of a new world.