The relatively unknown public response to Vladimir Lenin's famous pamphlet "Ultra Left Communism: An Infantile Disorder." Herman Gorter (1864 - 1927) was a Dutch poet and socialist. He was a leading member of the Tachtigers, a highly influential group of Dutch writers who worked together in Amsterdam in the 1880s, centered around De Nieuwe Gids (The New Guide). Gorter shared in common with the Tachtigers an interest in leftist politics, and became the most politically involved of the group, becoming an active writer on socialist theory. He joined the Social Democratic Labour Party (Sociaal-Democratische Arbeiderspartij or SDAP) in 1897. In 1909 he participated in a schism from the SDAP to form the Social-Democratic Party (Sociaal-Democratische Partij) of the Netherlands. He wrote a massive new epic poem called Pan in 1912, describing the First World War being followed by a global Socialist revolution. In 1917, he hailed the Russian revolution as the beginning of that global revolution, although he soon afterward came to oppose Lenin. In 1918 the Social-Democratic Party changed its name to the Communist Party of Holland (Communistische Partij Holland), and in 1919 Gorter left the party. In 1921 he was a founding member of the Communist Workers Party of Germany, joining its Essen Faction and becoming a leading supporter of the Communist Workers International. Gorter died in Brussels in 1927.

Left communism is the range of communist viewpoints held by the communist left, which criticizes the political ideas of the Bolsheviks at certain periods, from a position that is asserted to be more authentically Marxist and proletarian than the views of Leninism held by the Communist International after its first and during its second congress. Left Communists see themselves to the left of Leninists (whom they tend to see as 'left of capital', not socialists), anarchist communists (some of whom they consider internationalist socialists) as well as some other revolutionary socialist tendencies (for example De Leonists, who they tend to see as being internationalist socialists only in limited instances). Although she died before left communism became a distinct tendency, Rosa Luxemburg has heavily influenced most left communists, both politically and theoretically. Proponents of left communism have included Amadeo Bordiga, Otto Ruhle, Sylvia Pankhurst and Paul Mattick. Contained in this volume are substantial contributions from Sylvia Pankhurst, Herman Gorter, Anton Pannekoek and Jacques Camatte.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Verzen, Volume 1; Verzen; Herman Gorter Herman Gorter Versluys, 1903

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.