The German Revolution of 1918 & Spartacus Uprising 1919

Quote: Chapter 8

But today matters are quite different in the belligerent states. Today war does not function as a dynamic method of procuring for rising young capitalism the preconditions of its “national” development. War has this character only in the isolated and fragmentary case of Serbia. Reduced to its historically objective essence, today’s world war is entirely a competitive struggle amongst fully mature capitalisms for world domination, for the exploitation of the remaining zones of the world not yet capitalistic. That is why this war is totally different in character and effects. The high degree of economic development in the capitalist world is expressed in the extraordinarily advanced technology, that is, in the destructive power of the weaponry which approaches the same level in all the warring nations. The international organization of the murder industry is reflected now in the military balance, the scales of which always right themselves after partial decisions and momentary changes; a general decision is always and again pushed into the future. The indecisiveness of military results leads to ever new reserves from the population masses of warring and hitherto neutral nations being sent into fire. The war finds abundant material to feed imperialist appetites and contradictions, creates its own supplies of these, and spreads like wildfire. But the mightier the masses and the more numerous the nations dragged into the war on all sides, the more drawn out its existence will be.



Meaning and Criticism and how it relates to Nihilism

This passage is explaining the changes that Rosa has seen in regards to the war. She reiterates several times that war now is not what war use to be. Instead she views war a  political fight for fame and acknowledgement. The basis and fundamental meaning of war have become a degree of economic turmoil in which nations or for better word the more advance technological countries or fighting to boost fame. There is no real meaning as to why they fight, there is no real purpose as to why they are at war. She argues that the military itself is indecisive, which therefore hint back to the leadership. It's not under the best circumstances that these wars has taken place but its more under the conditions in which they are taken place. She mentions in the essay that its also because of this appetite and contradictions that makes mayhem in these countries which ultimately leads to war. Her remarks relates to Nihilism because even though war is mostly considered to have a negative impact on an economy, Rosa prospective in regards to capitalism and World War I is more in tune with a dada approach. Even though her work is not in the visual artistic approach in regards to the war. She uses a literary approach and expresses her difference about the issue and what it has become in her eyes which is clearly a negative picture.