Luxemburg's first major public critique of Bernstein occurred on December 12, 1898.
On December 12, 1898, Rosa Luxemburg delivered a significant speech in Berlin against Eduard Bernstein's revisionist approach to socialism. This event marked her emergence as a formidable Marxist theorist and a critic of trends that sought to dilute revolutionary socialism. Her critique emphasized the necessity of maintaining the revolutionary aspects of Marxism against reformist tendencies, solidifying her standing within the German Social Democratic Party.