Few historical events or great defeats have inspired as much hope and inspiration, against all odds, as the Paris Commune of 1871. Voltairine de Cleyre’s “The Commune is Risen” (1912) and Plotino Rhodakanaty’s “The American Commune” (1877) are two brilliant illustrations of the lasting spirit of the Commune in the Americas. Marx’s address “The Civil War in France” is of course another standard-bearer. With Bruno Bosteels, we will be exploring these texts and their interrelations. [Continue reading here…]
Civil War in France
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We’re living in a period that is both pre-revolutionary and counter-revolutionary at the same time. Instead of leading to a radical questioning of the political and economic foundations of our social order, social unrest is leading to a conservative revolution in which the people give new credence to a leader. How can this be explained? In a way, this was already Marx’s question: why did the people support Louis-Bonaparte? [Continue reading here….]