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Primary sourceBook1919

Revolutionary Essays

Béla Kun · 1919

A 1919 pamphlet of essays written by Béla Kun on socialism in Austria and Hungary, published by the British Socialist Party.

This pamphlet contains Kun's own essays on socialism, written in his role as a revolutionary leader and writer.

Revolutionary Essays
Béla Kun, Revolutionary Essays, International Socialist Library No. 15, 1919.

About this source

What it is

A short, 46-page pamphlet titled Revolutionary Essays, written by Béla Kun and published in 1919 as part of the International Socialist Library series by the British Socialist Party in London.

Why it matters

Written during or just after the time Kun led the Hungarian Soviet Republic, these essays present his own views on socialism in Austria and Hungary. As a primary source written directly by Kun, the pamphlet offers insight into how he explained and justified revolutionary politics to an international socialist audience.

Look closer

  • Who was the intended audience for this pamphlet, and how might that have shaped its tone?
  • What does Kun choose to emphasise about socialism in these essays?
  • How might a reader in Britain in 1919 have reacted differently to these ideas than a reader in Hungary?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Béla Kun on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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