The Civil War in France

The Civil War in France is Karl Marx’s analysis of the world-historic Paris Commune, the first attempt of the proletariat to seize State power, which succeeded for over two months. Marx in his Addresses to the International Workingmen's Association evaluated the Commune critically, praising the initial seizure of power in the face of invasion by German militarists and many of the measures passed by its working, not parliamentary, body, which consisted of workers paid workers’ wages. At the same time, Marx criticized its shortcomings, particularly not continuing the revolution, attempting to seize power countrywide. The Civil War in France developed the Marxist theory of the State, laying much of the groundwork for the Great V. I. Lenin’s The State and Revolution. In his 1891 Introduction to Marx's book, included here, Friedrich Engels wrote, “gentlemen, do you want to know what this dictatorship looks like? Look at the Paris Commune. That was the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.”

ISBN: 978-0-557-70294-7

334 Pages