counterrevolution

The chapter critically examines the Spanish Civil War's social revolution and subsequent counterrevolution, emphasizing the tension between spontaneous mass movements led by anarchists and socialists and the elitist, bureaucratic control imposed by Bolshevik-style Communists. It highlights Rosa Luxemburg's warnings against Leninist elitism and critiques liberal intellectual biases that obscure the significance of grassroots revolutionary efforts. The text further analyzes the Soviet Union's pragmatic foreign policy, which prioritized antifascist alliances over genuine revolutionary support, leading to the suppression of workers' collectives and the reassertion of centralized Republican authority.

The chapter critically examines liberal historian Jackson's biased and unsupported interpretation of the Spanish revolution, particularly his portrayal of key events and figures such as Juan Comorera and the anarchist movement. It contrasts Jackson's narrative with firsthand accounts from observers like Orwell and Borkenau, highlighting the rollback of revolutionary gains, the restoration of bourgeois social order, and the political repression by the Republican government, especially during the May Days of 1937. The analysis underscores the elitist bias and historical omissions in liberal scholarship that minimize the complexities of popular movement politics, the significance of the May Days, and the prioritization of suppressing revolution over fighting fascism.