Paris Commune
The world's first socialistic working class uprising which took place in Paris 1871. The mini-revolution was crushed as the exiled French government massacred 30,000 people.
Karl Marx and the Paris Commune - CLR James
From 18 March 1946 issue of Labor Action, newspaper of the Workers Party of the United States
C.L.R. James
They Showed the Way to Labor Emancipation:
On Karl Marx and the 75th Anniversary of the Paris Commune
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The American working class is not yet as familiar as the European working class with the history and traditions of the revolutionary socialist movement. March 14, anniversary of the death of Karl Marx, and March 18, anniversary of the Paris Commune will be celebrated by only a small minority.
The Commune: Paris 1871 - Solidarity
P. Guillaume and M. Grainger
Solidarity Pamphlet 35
I. THE COMMUNE... FROM MARX TO TROTSKY.
'Each time we study the history of the Commune we see something new in it, thanks to the experiences gained, in later revolutionary struggles...' Thus wrote Trotsky in 1921, in his preface to a book by Tales[1] which was to become basic reading for a whole generation of French revolutionaries.
Reclus, Jean Jacques Elisée, 1830-1905
A short biography of French anarchist geographer and writer, famous for his travels, Elisée Reclus.
Jean Jacques Elisée Reclus
Born 15 March 1830 - France , died 4 July 1905 - Belgium
French geographer, was born at Sainte-Foy la Grande (Gironde), on the 15th of March 1830. He was the second son of a Protestant pastor, who had a family of twelve children, several of whom acquired some celebrity either as men of letters, politicians or members of the learned professions.
The Commune, the Church and the State
From: Bakunin's Writings, Guy A. Aldred Modern Publishers, Indore Kraus Reprint co. New York 1947
THE COMMUNE, THE CHURCH & THE STATE.
I am a passionate seeker for truth and just as strong an opponent of the corrupting lies, through which the party of order -- this privileged, official, and interested representative of all religions, philosophical political, legal economical, and social outrage in the past and present -- has tried to keep the world in ignorance. I love freedom with all my heart. It is the only condition under which the intelligence, the manliness, and happiness of the people, can develop and expand. By freedom, however, I naturally understand not its mere form, forced down as from above, measured and controlled by the state, this eternal lie which in reality, is nothing but the privilege of the few founded upon the slavery of all.
The Civil War in France - Karl Marx
Karl Marx's contemporary account of the Paris Commune, placing it in context fo the wider events in France at the time. The Paris Commune significantly changed Marx's ideas about the "Dictatorship of the Proletariat", and his support for it's organisation structures suggests a different trajectory of revolutionary organisation to the "Marxist" revolutions in the 20th Century.
The Paris Commune and the Idea of the State - Mikhail Bakunin
The Paris Commune and the Idea of the State
by Mikhail Bakunin 1814-1876
First Published in 1871 Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY
The Commune of Paris - Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin's analysis of the Paris Commune, a defining moment in revolutionary history which inspired both Marxist and Anarchist revolutionaries for many years afterwards, and warrants continued attention today
