The Rise and Fall of the Paris Commune

Marx explores the historical significance of the Paris Commune by emphasizing the inability of the working class to use the existing state machinery for its own purposes. He traces the origins of the centralized state power to the days of absolute monarchy, highlighting its evolution under bourgeois dominance. As capitalism advanced, the state transformed into a tool of bourgeois class domination, leading to the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. The parliamentary republic under Louis Bonaparte further solidified this control, turning into a national war engine of capital against labor. Bonaparte's coup marked the transition to the Second Empire, which claimed unity among classes but perpetuated the economic supremacy of the bourgeoisie while oppressing the proletariat. Marx underscores the undemocratic nature of this regime and its adverse impact on the working class, culminating in the Franco-Prussian war that exposed the contradictions of the system.