ABSTRACT
Imperialism is simultaneously a historical method of pro Ion ging the existence of capitalism and the most certain means of putting an end to its existence in the shortest possible time.
Luxemburg, Accumulation 0/ Capital In the first decade of the twentieth century, the Second International began to crumble. Simultaneously, the downside of the business cyc1e reappeared with the slump of 1905. In comparison to the long and deep depressions of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the brief and shallow recession of 1905 did not present achallenge to the static economic models that emerged in the debates of the Second International. Bernstein and Kautsky continued to draw on empirical data largelylimited to Britain and Germany; their parochial political interests restricted their theoretical pursuits.
