Karl Marx and Eugene Varlin
Karl
Marx
At
the time of the Commune, Karl Marx had taken a position of influence in modern
politics. A journalist by profession, MarxÕs time spent in France had given him
an inside look at French socialism. By the time the Paris Commune took power,
Marx had already published his Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, two of his most important works and was in power
as leader of the First International.
When
the Commune took power, Marx at first would have noting to do with it. Marx had
no appreciation for the French revolutionaries and the unprepared revolts that
would occur repeatedly in Paris. He was opposed to another uprising in Paris,
but once it had happened he decided to get involved. The Commune was an
opportunity to attempt socialism in reality for a short while and he decided
that he had to play some kind of role.
After the collapse of the Commune, he wrote a book titled The
Civil War in France. Marx recognized
the few errors that the Commune leaders made that caused the collapse of the
Commune, namely refusing to nationalize the French national bank in Paris and
not attacking Versailles when the balance of power was firmly in the grip of
the Communards. MarxÕs other works recognize the Commune as ÒThe direct
antithesis to empire.Ó[1]
As such, Marx points out that the existance of the Commune caused the other
Empires of Europe to Ò[writhe] in convulsion of rage at the sight of the Red
Flag, the symbol of the Republic of Labor, floating over the H™tel de Ville.Ó[2]
The Commune and what it stood did not dissapear after it fell, but lived on in
the people and would later come back to haunt the remaining aristocracies,
whether of noble birth of not, of Europe.
Eugene
Varlin
Eugene Varlin was a member of MarxÕs International in 1871 and was also a prominent member of the Central Committee of the National Guard. He was a militant leader and a good administrator under MarxÕs guidance, attempting to set up a Marxist government under the Commune. He was extremely knowledgeable about socialism and administration, so his actions were of great help to Marx in setting up the experimental Socialist regime. While socialism never did become the purpose of the Commune, it played a prominent role with the guidance of Marx and Varlin.