Position:Home>History> If Marxism supposedly does not work, then why did the Paris Commune exist?
Question: If Marxism supposedly does not work, then why did the Paris Commune exist!?
The Paris Commune came to power in 1871 by the will of the proletariat!. It was based on the power of the working class, not on emperors or the aristocracy!.
The Commune failed because the leaders were too democratic!. Instead of consolidating power and defeating the Versailles government, the leaders of the uprising which took place on March 18, 1871, rushed to surrender their power and submit to the will of the people!. This allowed the reactionary Versailles government to regroup and, with the help of the Germans, overwhelmed the Commune militarily!.
This was not a failure regarding economic policies, but military policies!. No single city could defend itself against the might of two nations!.
So if a democratic, Marxist body which was unable to naturally evolve could exist, how can anyone determine that Marxism is impossible!? especially when one considers the radically different natures of the Commune to say China!. Even Marx stated that a purely peasant revolution will fail!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Well, just look at the "Great Leap Forward"!. The basis for the argument against Marxism comes at it's most apparent contradiction!. Heavily regulated communes have been just as prone to failure as those like the Paris Commune!. I think one of the greatest success stories for Marx of all time is the story of Osho!. But even his communes in India are falling victim to their imbalance between centralization and stabilization!. Its just a tough nut to crack!.
I'm not totally against the theories of Marx I should say!. Actually I'm currently writing a large thesis on communes as a way of curbing America's financial woes and global climate change!.
I'm just saying that Marx's models don't work without some democratic/capitalistic assistance!. Much the same way American economics is lost when subject to the laissez faire system that Adam Smith proposed!.
Edit: NoEtix--Can you name a true Capitalist society!? Propaganda is so 70's!. The Cold War is over!. Marxism doesn't work because reliance on any single system of governance and administration is a fool's errand!. The statement is as true as saying that Capitalism doesn't work!. A blending of the two always seems to produce good results!.
Edit2: I agree with your above statements with the caveat that Marx and Lenin knew the benefits of capitalism only as way forward to communism!. My only point is that the statement "Marxism doesn't work" is true on the level that "isms" tend not to work as a rule!. In order for an economic philosophy to be called truly effective, it would have to be impervious to propaganda and corruption!. This is as true for Marxism as it is for Capitalism!. If anyone can show me a system that is perfect I will bow out of this debate forever!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
The Commune is a Marxist entity by posthumous award!. At the time, Marx was rather contemptuous of it, as several of its leaders were amongst his numerous enemies!. He changed his tune when it and they were out of the way, it is true!. That is when he wrote The Civil War in France!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
My take on the subject is
The Paris Commune doesn't still exist!.
end of statement!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I think the statement "marxism does not work" is really a propaganda tool by capitalist for obvious reasons!.
It is pure conjecture because never in the History of the world has there been a true Marxist government!. For example the Failed Soviet Union at best was a very perverse form of it!.
Dennis on the whole you are probably right, the extremes porbably won't work!. But it is certain that there has never been a pure or almost pure Marxist government to truely know if it would succeed or failure, but we have seen an almost pure capitalist "economy" in the history of the USA!. I contend that was one of the biggest factors of the great depression, that the USA was about as true as it could get!.
Matt,as you probably know, Marx did describe it as an evolutionary process ,although he advocate revolution, but as you look at the countries in europe they do tend to lean more in that direction!.Www@QuestionHome@Com