The origins of the widely-used concept, “spirit of the age” go back to the German word “zeitgeist” which appeared in Hegel’s philosophical writings. The concept simply refers to a state of mind, feelings and mentality which characterize a particular period of time. Hegel took the period covering late 18th century and early 19th century as a new transition period and wrote that the distinctive characteristic of this era was essentially the “zeitgeist” initiated by the French Revolution of 1789. The Zeitgeist in those historical episodes pointed out by Hegel implies a transitional state of...

We are passing through an atmosphere in which the rage against the imperialist war is turning into a massive reaction throughout the world. Through pacifist actions, pacifists and reformists are trying to limit this reaction of the masses, which is gradually assuming an anti-capitalist content, to the confines of capitalist order. Yet the only force that can stop this war is the organised power of the world working class, which comes from production. All revolutionists, communists and conscious workers should mobilise all working class organisations, above all unions, to form factory...