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Special pages :
Three Outlines for a Report on the Paris Commune
First published in 1934 in Lenin Miscellany XXVI. Printed from the original
Source: Lenin Collected Works, Progress Publishers, 1977, Moscow, Volume 41, pages 113.2-122.1.
These outlines were the basis of a report on the Paris Commune given by Lenin at Geneva on March 9 (22), 1904. They were written after a thorough study of Karl Marxâs The Civil War in France (see Marx and Engels, Selected Works, Vol. I, Moscow, 1962, pp. 473â545). All of Leninâs references are to the Berlin edition of 1891. He also makes use of Lissagarayâs History of the Commune of 1871 and Weillâs History of the Social Movement in France (1852â1902).
On the basis of these outlines Lenin wrote a âPlan of a Lecture on the Communeâ in 1905 (see p resent edition, Vol. 5, pp. 206â08). He returned again and again to the Paris Commune (see, for instance, the articles âLessons of the Communeâ and âIn Memory of the Communeâ, and Chapter III of the book The State and Revolutionâpresent edition, Vol. 13, pp. 475â78, Vol. 17, pp. 139â43, Vol. 25, pp. 413â32). p. 113
1. In Memory of the Paris Commune[edit source]
Written before March 9 (22), 1904
First published in 1934 in Lenin Miscellany XXVI
Celebration of the greatest working-class uprising of the 19th century.
Historical outline.
1.1. France under Napoleon III.
Imperialism. (S. 45) | âretribution for June 1848.
Napoleon III. |
&alpha. Bonapartism | âExpropriation of France by a gang of brigands. |
{ the workers not yet capable
the bourgeoisie no longer[1] } | |
ÎČ. Rapid industrial development. Plutocratic orgies. Flourishing of speculation. Corruption. | |
Îł. âWorkersâ movementâ | |
I.A.A.[2] 1862 London exposition[3]â1864 foundation | |
| Proudhonism[4] Blanquism[5] | | S.10 |
2. 2. Dynastic war. Rescue of a band of adventurersâc h a u v i n i s m.
{ | Left bank of the Rhine. On to Berlin (especially after 1866)[6]July 19, 1870 war declared. |
German pronouncements (Wilhelm I): Verteidigungskrieg[7] (S. 20 in a speech from the throne: war against Napoleon III, not against the French people; idem Aug. 11, 1870 in a manifesto to the French on crossing the border.) |
3. 3. Workersâ protest.
First Address of the General Council of the Internationa | { | âFrench manifesto of July 12, 1870 (S. 16) (and provincial resolutions on July 22, 1870) (S. 16-17) Manifesto of Paris members of the international of July 12. |
â German protest (meeting at Chemnitz) (S. 18)
(meeting at Brunswick on July 16, 1870) (S. 18)âBerlin section of the International. | ||
âAddress of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l of the International 1) J u l y 2 3, 1 8 7 0 against the war. |
4. 4. Outcome of war.
Sedan Sept. 2, 1870. | Napoleon III prisoner of war. DebĂącle.[8] Collapse of corrupt regime. |
Proclamation of the republic Sept. 4, 1870 by workers in Paris. | |
Power in the hands of rascals, Louis Philippeâs Minister of Police T h i e r s,
General T r o c h u. Jules Favre, Jules Ferry, Ernest Picard. |
powerâto the delegates of Paris in the legislative corps ) |
|
5. 5. Advice of the International.
Second Address of the General Council
(Sept. 9, 1870) (S. 25). |
Transformation of the defensive war into an offensive one. |
Central Committee of the German Social-Democratic Workersâ | |
Party protested against annexation of Alsace-Lorraine.[9](Arrest of Bracke and others.) | |
Not to allow oneself to be provoked to âdesperate follyâ.
Not to be deluded by national memories of 1792. âOrganise your own class calmly and resolutelyâ, use p. liberty.[10] |
6. 6. Siege of Paris.
Comedy of Trochu (never!) and Jules
Favre (not an inch of soil!).[11]
|
Comedy of defence: Guiod writing to
Susane about one of the latterâs protĂ©gĂ©s: let him go to Mont ValĂ©rien, he said, where the guns are being allegedly fired off.[12] |
7. 7. National Assembly at Bordeaux.
â Chamber of Junkers. Reactionaries.
â Comedy of peace with Paris. U r g e t o d i s a r m P a r i s (âdisarmament of the revolutionâ Sept. 4, 1870). Alliance with the German army against Paris. |
Under the terms of the surrender (Jan. 28, 1871) |
(S. 34), the National Assembly must be convened within 8 days (!). | |
Thiersâ agitation for a r e a c t i o n a r y assembly, Legitimists, etc. (450 monarchists out of 750 members).
Conspiracy against Paris: T h i e r sâ m e a s u r e s (S. 35). | |
[BOX:] [ The pretence that the guns of the National Guard belong to the state! A lie! S. 36â37. ] |
|
8. 8. A t t e m p t t o t a k e a w a y t h e g u n s. M a r c h 1 8, 1871.
(from the Na- tional Guard).
{ Vinoy. Failure } |
Manifesto of March 18: S.43. March 18, 1871. C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e of the National Guard.
March 26, 1871. Commune. |
Commune.
March 18. Governmentâs flight to Versailles. |
(( clericals, Bonapartists, gendarmes. )) |
[BOX:] [[ It was not the Commune but the indignant soldiers who shot Lecomte and Clément Thomas, the Bonapartist officers. ]] | Paris waging war against Versailles from early April.
|
9. 9. The Communeâs deeds.
Its m i n u s e s : | â lack of class consciousness | (Proudhonists, Blanquists) |
â lack of organisation | (( failure to take the bank
and attack Versailles )) | |
â infatuation with nationalistic and revolutionary talk. |
10. 10. Its pluses:
A) | Political reforms
α. separation of church from state (Apr. 2, 1871). Expropriation of church properties. Abolition of all state payments to the church. Free public education (S. 46) ÎČ. abolition of standing army (March 30, 1871) (S. 46) |
Working-
class govern- ment |
Îł. abolition of bureaucracy. G o v e r n m e n t of t h e w o r k e r s
(S. 49). RegierungsfĂ€hig.[13] (1) All officials elective and removable (S. 46). Apr. 1, 1871 (2) Small salary, to be not over 6,000 francs (S. 46) [BOX:] managed to do with a quarter of the officials: Lissagaray, S. &delta. Equal rights for aliens (March 30, 1871), a German â minister of the Commune[14] (S. 53). Participation of Poles (Dabrowski, WrĂłblewski). [BOX:] The banner of the Commune is the banner of a world republic Δ. Self-government of communes. |
11. 11. B) Economic reforms.
Transformation of the
Paris of idlers and pleasure-seekers into a working-class Paris (S. 55â56). |
âBakersâ night work banned (Apr. 20) (S. 53).
âFines banned (S. 53). â The Commune won over a mass of Paris petty bourgeois ruined (elaborate) by Napoleon III (debts deferred) (S. 51). T h e C o m m u n e a d d r e s s e s the peasants (S. 51). |
â Transfer of abandoned factories to workersâ associations Apr. 16 (S. 54): statistical c e n s u s of factories. |
12. 12. Last fight.
â Heroism of the Federals | (Election of mayors on Apr. 30 against the
National Assembly. Thiers gives in to Bismarck: peace treaty signed at Frankfort on May 10. Approved by the National Assembly on May 21.) |
â Week of bloodshed May 21â28, 1871 | Rifles not enough machine-guns. |
(S. 62) | |
â Balance 35,000 â â | 20,000 killed
15,000 transported, etc. (( Courts busy for several years. )) |
Chorus of slander (S. 64â66). |
13. 13. Results and lessons.
Revenge by the bourgeoisie. Even the ânational warâ turned out to be a political fraud (S. 67). | |
Country betrayed (alliance with the Germans:
S. 66). | |
Instability of bourgeois democracy. Dictatorship of
the proletariat. | |
Bismarck 1871. Confer 1904. |
2[edit source]
Written before March 9 (22), 1904
First published in 1934 in Lenin Miscellany XXVI
Printed from the original
1. | France under Napoleon III. | Government of Bonapartists.
Industrial development. Working- class movement â {{ Proudhonism and Blanquism }} I. A. A. |
2. | Dynastic war. (July 19, 1870) | Chauvinism
On to Berlin. Left bank of the Rhine. â NB (German statements: Verteidigungskrieg.) |
3. | Workersâ protest (work- ing-class attitude) | âFrench manifesto
(Resolutions) âGerman protest âAddress of the General Council of the Internation- alâw a r n i n g t o w o r k e r s: organise, NB w a t c h o u t f o r p r o v o c a t i o n s. |
4. | Course and outcome of war. | âCollapse of corrupt regime.
âSiege of Paris. âProclamation of the republic on Sept. 4, 1870. French workersâtheir causeâutilised by the bourgeoisie. Government of ânational defenceâ. (Rascals in its midst.) |
5. | Defence of Paris. Comedy of Jules Favre (Trochu).
âits surrender. | |
6. | Attempt to disarm the proletariat. March 18, 1871. T h e C o m m u n e. | |
7. | 7. Versailles government. Chamber of Junkers, landowners
(Ruraux, Krautjunker). | |
âcomedy of âpeaceâ with Paris | ||
âbargaining with Bismarck | ||
âalliance with the German army against the proletariat. | ||
8. | T h e C o m m u n e ... | Its minuses
âlack of class con- sciousness (Proudhon- ism and Blanquism) âlack of organ- isa- tion {{ failure to take the bank and to attack Versailles }} âinterlacing of nationalistic elements. |
9. | +A) P o l i t i c a l f r e e d o m {{ | âseparation of church from stateâabolition of standing army
âabolition of bureaucracy âequal rights for aliens. Participation of Poles âself-government of communes (the Commune). |
10. | B) E c o n o m i c r ef o r m s | âbakersâ night work banned
âfines banned âdebts deferred âidle factories handed over to workers âbinding character (mainten- ance, etc.) of any cohabitation with a woman âpayment (pensions?) to all widows. |
11. | Last fight: | Heroism of the Federals.
Week of bloodshed. Balance: 35,000. Terrorism. |
12. | Results and lessons: | Revenge by the bourgeoisie.
Challenge to battle. Bismarck 1871 and 1904. |
3[edit source]
Written before March 9 (22), 1904
First published on March 18, 1926 in Pravda No. 63
Printed from the original
- I.
- 1. Napoleon III and his band.
- 2. Shame of France.
- 3. Bourgeoisieâs guilt in Napoleon III.
- II.
- 1. Dynastic war against Germany.
- 2. French workersâ protest (Paris, July 12, and Manifesto of the International, July 23).
- 3. Wilhelm Iâs solemn promise (Aug. 11). His deception.
- 4. German workersâ protest (Sept. 5, 1870) and their arrest.
- III.
- 1. Republic Sept. 4, 1870. Won by Paris workers.
- 2. Seizure of power by swindlers (Favre, Trochu, Thiersâticket-of-leave men[15]).
- 3. âGovernment of popular defenceâ==government of popular betrayal. Fight against French w o r k e r s
- IV. Marxâs warning (Manifesto of the International Sept. 9, 1870). Dupontâs letters.[16]
- V.
- 1. Slave-ownersâ and monarchistsâ plot to disarm Paris.
- 2. Bordeaux and the transfer of the National Assembly to Versailles.
- 3. Dispatch of Vinoy, Valentin and de Paladines to Paris.
- 4. Monarchist speeches in the Assembly of âRuralsâ.
- VI. Start of civil war by Thiers: guns taken away March 18, 1871 (Lecomte and Clément Thomas killed).
- VII. March 18, 1871. The Commune.
- 1. Republic + self-government.
- 2. T h e C o m m u n eâ s m e a s u r e s.
- 3. {{ Its two mistakes }} (( Failure to attack Versailles â to take the bank
- VIII. War against the Commune: begging Bismarck for soldiers, ignominious peace. Week of bloodshed May 21â28, 1871. 35,000 killed 20,000 according to {{ bourgeois newspaper }} estimates. 13,450 (including 157 women)[17] sentenced by the courts (! after March 18 the courts were busy for another 5 1/2 years!).
- â Engelsâs âIntroduction to Marxâs The Civil War in Franceâ (see Marx and Engels, Selected Works, Vol. I, Moscow, 1962, p. 475). p. 114
- â I.A.A. (Internationale Arbeiter Association)âthe International Working Menâs Association (First International)âthe first inter national mass organisation of the proletariat set up at an international workersâ meeting in London called by British and French workers in 1864. Karl Marx was the organiser and leader of the First International, and wrote its Inaugural Address, Rules and other programme and tactical documents. The establishment of the First International was the result of long and persistent efforts by Marx and Engels to organise a working-class revolutionary party. Lenin said that the First International âlaid the foundation of an international organisation of the workers for the preparation of their revolutionary attack on capitalâ and âlaid the foundation of the proletarian international struggle for socialismâ (see present edition, Vol. 29, pp. 306, 307).
The central governing body of the First International was its General Council, of which Karl Marx was a member throughout. He did a great deal to overcome the petty-bourgeois influences and sectarian tendencies which then prevailed in the labour movement (trade unionism in Britain, Proudhonism and anarchism in Romance countries and Lassalleanism in Germany) and rallied the advanced workers in Europe and America round the principles of scientific socialism. The First International directed the economic and political struggle of workers in various countries and strengthened their international solidarity. It also played a great part in spreading Marxism and introducing socialism into the working-class movement.
After the defeat of the Paris Commune, the working class was faced with the task of setting up mass national parties on the basis of the principles put forward by the First International. In 1873 Marx wrote: âAs I view European conditions it is quite useful to let the formal organisation of the International recede into the background for the time beingâ (see Marxâs letter to F. A. Sorge, September 27, 1873) (Marx and Engels, Selected Correspondence, Moscow, 1965, p. 286). The First International was officially dissolved at the Philadelphia Conference in 1876. p. 114 - â The world industrial exposition where a delegation of French workers met British workers. p. 114
- â Proudhonismâan unscientific, anti-Marxist trend of petty-bourgeois socialism named after the French anarchist Proudhon. Marx and Engels waged a consistent struggle against Proudhonâs attempts to impose his views on the First International. Proudhonism was subjected to withering criticism by Marx in The Poverty of Philosophy. The resolute struggle conducted by Marx, Engels and their supporters against Proudhonism within the First International ended in the full triumph of Marxism over Proudhonism.
Lenin said Proudhonism was the âstupidity of the petty bourgeois and the philistineâ, incapable of accepting the working-class standpoint. Proudhonist ideas have been widely used by bourgeois âtheoristsâ to advocate class collaboration. p. 114 - â Blanquismâa trend in the French socialist movement led by the outstanding revolutionary and prominent French utopian Communist, Louis Auguste Blanqui (1805â1881).
Lenin wrote that the Blanquists hoped âthat mankind will be emancipated from wage slavery, not by the proletarian class struggle, but through a conspiracy hatched by a small minority of intellectualsâ (see present edition, Vol. 10, p. 392). They substituted action by a secret group of plotters for the activity of a revolutionary party, failed to take account of the concrete situation in which an uprising could be victorious, and neglected to maintain ties with the masses. p. 114 - â Engelsâs âIntroduction to Marxâs Civil War In Franceâ (see Marx and Engels, Selected Works, Vol. I, Moscow, 1962, pp. 475â76). p. 114
- â Defensive warâEd.
- â La dĂ©bĂącle (1892)âĂmile Zolaâs novel describing the Franco Prussian War. p. 115
- â A reference to the manifesto issued by the Central Committee of the Social-Democratic Workersâ Party of Germany on September 5, 1870. p. 115
- â Marx, âSecond Address of the General Council of the International Working Menâs Association on the Franco-Prussian Warâ (see Marx and Engels, Selected Works, Vol. I, Moscow, 1962, pp. 491â98). p. 115
- â Marx, The Civil War in France (see Marx and Engels, Selected Works, Vol. I, Moscow, 1962, pp. 473â545). p. 115
- â Alphonse-Simon Guiod, commander of the Paris army artillery, wrote to artillery division General Susane that he could take his protĂ©gĂ© on his staff where he would be bored by the inaction, or he could send him to Mont ValĂ©rien where only a pretence was made of firing off the guns. This letter, published by the Commune in No. 115 of Journal Officiel de la RĂ©publique Française (Official Journal of the French Republic) on April 25, 1871, showed that the âgovernment of national defenceâ merely pretended that it was defending Paris. Also see Marx, The Civil War In France (Marx and Engels, Selected Works, Vol. 1, Moscow, 1962, pp. 500â01). p. 115
- â Capable of governing.âEd.
- â A reference to Leo Frankel, a jeweller, who was one of the leaders of the German workersâ alliance in France, a prominent leader of the Hungarian and international working-class movement and the founder of the first Hungarian Socialist Labour Party. p. 117
- â The expression âticket-of-leave menâ was used by Marx in The Civil War in France where he says the following about Thiersâ ministers: âThese men, then, could find, in the ruins of Paris only, their tickets-of-leave: they were the very men Bismarck wanted.... In England common criminals are often discharged on parole after serving the greater part of their term, and are placed under police surveillance. On such discharge they receive a certificate called ticket-of-leave, their possessors being referred to as ticket-of-leave menâ (see Marx and Engels, Selected Works, Vol. I, Moscow, 1962, p. 502). p. 121
- â The letters of Dupont, corresponding secretary of the General Council of the First International, are given in Weillâs History of the Social Movement In France (1852â1902). In his âPlan of a Lecture on the Communeâ Lenin mentions Dupontâs letter of September 7, 1870 (see present edition, Vol. 8, p. 207) p. 121
- â The figures on the number of Communards convicted by courts are taken from Lissagarayâs History of the Commune of 1871. p. 122