The Politics of Social Classes
The Class Struggles in France was Marx’s first attempt to explain a piece of contemporary history -- the 1848 French Revolution -- by means of his materialist conception, on the basis of the prevailing economic situation. He continues to analyze France in The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, a pamphlet looking at historical events leading up to Louis Bonaparte's coup d'état of December 2, 1851—from the viewpoint of his materialist conception of history. Together with Marx's contemporary writings on English politics, the Eighteenth Brumaire is the principal source for our understanding of Marx's theory of the capitalist state.
Recommended prerequisites:
- We recommend that for folks to follow the historical allusions, to use wikidedia as a reference for this period http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution_of_1848
- Trotsky on 1848 (From Results and Prospects):
http://www.marxistsfr.org/archive/trotsky/1931/tpr/rp03.htm
Main Reading:
- Engel’s introduction to The Class Struggles in France
Introduction (18 pages): http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1895/03/06.htm - Marx’s The Class Struggles in France: 1848 to 1850
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1850/class-struggles-france/index.htm
We'll continue the politics of social classes in 2 weeks with a discussion on The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte,
