The Civil War in France: The Paris Commune

Marxism & Socialism

By Karl Marx and V. I. Lenin

Marx's addresses on the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and the importance of the Paris Commune. Lenin draws lessons for a workers' state from the Commune experience.

About the author

V.I. Lenin was a leading member of the Bolshevik party in Russia from 1912 until his death in 1924, and is widely considered to have founded a distinct tradition in the struggle for revolutionary socialism, built from below. He is the author of celebrated works of theory such as State and Revolution, as well as widely misunderstood polemics like What is to be Done?