  Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919), described by one of her colleagues as the “most brilliant intellect of all the scientific heirs of Marx and Engels” (Fröhlich 1940/2010: 153 citing Franz Mehring in Neue Zeit) is one of the most original and influential thinkers in the history of Marxism. Her life and works stand out for the unique combination of intellectual rigour and political integrity, a rare ability to merge deep theoretical insight with sharp political vision, the development of knowledge which is at the same time militant activism.