V. I. Lenin

Three Outlines for a Report on the Paris Commune {4}

1

In Memory of the Paris Commune

[SQUIGGLY]

Celebrationof the greatest working-class uprising of the 19th century.

Historical outline.

1. France under Napoleon III .

| Imperialism. (S. 45) | —retribution for June 1848. Napoleon III. —Expropriation of France by a gang of brigands. |
| --- | --- |
| Bonapartism | {
the workers not yet capable the bourgeoisie no longer {5} } |
| β. Rapid industrial development. Plutocratic orgies. Flourishing of
speculation. Corruption. |
| γ. — Workers’ movement — |
| I.A.A. {6} 1862 London
exposition {7} —1864 foundation |
| |

Proudhonism {8} Blanquism {9} | | S.10 |

2. Dynastic war . Rescue of a band of adventurers— chauvinism .

| | Left bank of the Rhine. On to Berlin (especially after
1866) {10} |
| --- | --- |
| { | July 19, 1870 war declared. |
| German pronouncements (Wilhelm I): Verteidigungskrieg. {1} (S. 20 in a speech from
the throne: war against Napoleon III, not against the French people;
idem Aug. 11, 1870 in a manifesto to the French on crossing the border.) |

3. Workers’ protest .

| First Address of the General Council of the International | { | —French manifesto of July 12, 1870 (S. 16)
(and provincial resolutions on July 22, 1870)
(S. 16-17) Manifesto of Paris members of the international of July 12. |
| --- | --- | --- |
| — German protest (meeting at Chemnitz )
(S. 18) (meeting at Brunswick on July 16, 1870)
(S. 18)—Berlin section of the International. |
| —Address of the General

Council of the International 1) July 2 3, 1 8 7 0 against the war. |

4. Outcome of war .

| Sedan Sept. 2, 1870. | Napoleon III prisoner of war.
Débâcle. {11} |
| --- | --- |
| | Collapse of corrupt regime. |
| Proclamation of the republic Sept. 4, 1870 by workers
in Paris. |
| Power in the hands of rascals ,
Louis Philippe’s Minister of Police Thiers , General Trochu . Jules
Favre , Jules Ferry , Ernest Picard . | ( power—to the delegates of Paris in the legislative corps

) |
| . . . “ Government of national defence ” . . . . |
| [

National defence = arming of the workers = revolution. Government of
popular betrayal. Defence . . . against the Paris workers .

] |

5. Advice of the International .

| Second
Address of the
General
Council (Sept. 9, 1870) (S. 25). | Transformation of the defensive war into an offensive one. |
| --- | --- |
| Central Committee of the German Social-Democratic Workers’ Party protested
against annexation of
Alsace-Lorraine. {12} (Arrest of Bracke and others.) |
| Not to allow oneself to be provoked to “desperate folly”. |
| Not to be deluded by national memories of 1792. |
| “ Organise your own class calmly and resolutely”, use p.
liberty. {13} |

6. Siege of Paris .

| Comedy of Trochu (never!) and Jules
Favre (not an inch of soil!). {14} | Comedy of defence: Guiod
writing to Susane about one of the latter’s protégés:
let him go to Mont
Valérien, he said, where the guns are being allegedly fired off. {15} |
| --- | --- |
| Surrender of Paris. Jan.
28, 1871. |

7. National Assembly at Bordeaux .

| | Under the terms of the surrender (Jan. 28, 1871) |
| --- | --- |
| — Chamber of Junkers. Reactionaries . — Comedy of peace with Paris. Urgetodisarm Paris (“disarmament of the revolution” Sept. 4, 1870).
Alliance with the German army against Paris. | (S. 34), the National Assembly must be convened within 8 days (!). Thiers’ agitation for areactionary assembly , Legitimists, etc. (450
monarchists out of 750 members). Conspiracy against Paris: Thiers’ measures (S. 35). |
| [BOX:] [ The pretence that the guns of the National Guard belong to the
state! A lie!
S. 36–37. ] | 1) anti-republican demonstration by the National Assembly 2) ambiguity of Thiers’ expressions 3) threat to Paris (déca-piter déapitaliser {2} ) 4) ban on republican newspapers 5) death sentence for Blanqui 6) appointment of Vinoy governor of Paris, Valentin , Police
Prefect, D’Aurelle de Paladines , commander of the National Guard. |

8.

Attempttotakeawaytheguns. March 1 8 , 1871 .

| (from the Na-
tional Guard). {
Vinoy. Failure
} | Manifesto of March 18 : S.43. March 18, 1871. Central Committee of the National Guard. March 26, 1871. Commune. |
| --- | --- |
| Commune. March 18. Government’s flight to Versailles. | (( clericals, Bonapartists, gendarmes. )) |
| [BOX:]
[[
It was not the Commune but the indignant soldiers who shot Lecomte and
Clément Thomas, the Bonapartist officers. ]] | Paris waging war against Versailles from early April. Begging Bismarck for troops (prisoners of war) (S. 57–58). |

9. The Commune’s deeds .

| Its minuses : | — lack of class consciousness (Proudhonists, Blanquists) |
| --- | --- |
| — lack of organisation | (( failure to take the bank and attack Versailles )) |
| — infatuation with nationalistic and revolutionary talk . |

10. Its pluses :

| A) | Political reforms α. separation of church from state (Apr. 2, 1871).
Expropriation of church properties. Abolition of all state payments to the
church. Free public education (S. 46) |
| --- | --- |
| β. abolition of standing army (March 30, 1871) (S. 46) |
| Workingclass
government | γ. abolition of bureaucracy. Governmentoftheworkers (S. 49). Regierungsf\"ahig. {3} (1) All officials elective and removable (S. 46). Apr. 1, 1871 (2) Small salary, to be not over 6,000 francs (S. 46) [BOX:]
managed to do with a quarter of the officials: Lissagaray, S. |
| Equal rights for aliens (March 30, 1871), a German — minister of
the
Commune {16} (S. 53). Participation of Poles (Dabrowski,
Wróblewski). [BOX:]
The banner of the Commune is the banner of a world republic |
| ε. Self-government of communes. |

11. B) Economic reforms .

| Transformation of the Paris of idlers and pleasure-seekers into a
working-class Paris (S. 55–56). | { | —Bakers’ night work banned (Apr. 20) (S. 53). |
| --- | --- | --- |
| —Fines banned (S. 53). |
| — The Commune won over a mass of Paris petty bourgeois ruined (elaborate) by Napoleon III (debts deferred) (S. 51). The Communeaddresses the peasants (S. 51). |
| — Transfer of abandoned factories to workers’ associations Apr. 16 (S. 54):
statistical census of factories. |

12. Last fight .

| — Heroism of the Federals | (Election of mayors on Apr. 30 against the National Assembly. Thiers gives in to
Bismarck:
peace treaty signed at Frankfort on May 10. Approved by the National
Assembly on May 21.) |
| --- | --- |
| — Week of bloodshed May 21–28, 1871 (S. 62). | Rifles not enough machine-guns. |
| — Balance 35,000 — — | 20,000 killed 15,000 transported, etc. |
| (( Courts busy
for several years. )) |
| Chorus of slander (S. 64–66). |

13. Results and lessons .

| | Revenge by the bourgeoisie. Even the “national war” turned out
to be a political fraud (S. 67). Country betrayed (alliance with the
Germans: S. 66). Instability of bourgeois democracy. Dictatorship of the
proletariat . Bismarck 1871. Confer 1904 . |

| Written before March 9 (22), 1904 | |
| --- | --- |
| First published in 1934 in Lenin Miscellany XXVI | |
| Printed from the original | |

2

| 1. | France under Napoleon III. | Government of Bonapartists. Industrial development. Workingclass
movement — {{
Proudhonism and
Blanquism
}} I. A. A. |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2. | Dynastic war. (July 19, 1870) | Chauvinism On to Berlin. Left bank of the Rhine. — NB (German statements: Verteidigungskrieg .) |
| 3. | Workers’ protest (work- ing-class attitude) | —French manifesto (Resolutions) —German protest — Address of the General
Council of the Internation- al— warningto workers :

organise, NB watchoutforprovocations . |
| 4. | Course and outcome of war. | —Collapse of corrupt regime. —Siege of Paris. — Proclamation of the republic on Sept. 4, 1870 .
French workers—their cause—utilised by the bourgeoisie. Government of “national defence” . (Rascals in its midst.) |
| 5. | Defence of Paris. Comedy of Jules Favre (Trochu). —its surrender. |
| 6. | Attempt to disarm the proletariat. March 18, 1871. The Commune . |
| 7. | 7. Versailles government . Chamber of Junkers, landowners (Ruraux,
Krautjunker). |
| | —comedy of “peace” with Paris |
| | —bargaining with Bismarck |
| | —alliance with the German army against the proletariat. |
| 8. | The Commune ... | Its minuses —lack of class con- sciousness (Proudhon- ism and Blanquism)

—lack of organisa- tion

{{
failure to take the bank and to attack
Versailles

}} —interlacing of nationalistic elements. |
| 9. | +A) Politicalfreedom {{ | — separation of church from state —abolition of standing army —abolition of bureaucracy —equal rights for aliens. Participation of Poles —self-government of communes ( the Commune ). |
| 10. | B) Economicr ef orms | —bakers’ night work banned —fines banned —debts deferred —idle factories handed over to workers —binding character (maintenance, etc.) of any cohabitation
with a woman —payment (pensions?) to all widows. |
| 11. | Last fight : | Heroism of the Federals. Week of bloodshed. Balance: 35,000 . Terrorism. |
| 12. | Results and lessons : | Revenge by the bourgeoisie. Challenge to battle. Bismarck 1871 and 1904. |

| Written before March 9 (22), 1904 | |
| --- | --- |
| First published in 1934 in Lenin Miscellany XXVI | |
| Printed from the original | |

3

I.

1. Napoleon III and his band.

2. Shame of France.

3. Bourgeoisie’s guilt in Napoleon III.

II.

1. Dynastic war against Germany.

2. French workers’ protest (Paris, July 12, and Manifesto of the
International, July 23).

3. Wilhelm I’s solemn promise (Aug. 11). His deception.

4. German workers’ protest (Sept. 5, 1870) and their arrest.

III.

1. Republic Sept. 4, 1870. Won by Paris workers.

2. Seizure of power by swindlers (Favre, Trochu,
Thiers—ticket-of-leave men {17} ).

3. “Government of popular defence”==government of popular betrayal.
Fight against French workers

IV.

Marx’s warning (Manifesto of the International
Sept. 9, 1870).

Dupont’s letters. {18}

V.

1. Slave-owners’ and monarchists’ plot to disarm Paris.

2. Bordeaux and the transfer of the National Assembly to
Versailles .

3. Dispatch of Vinoy, Valentin and de Paladines to Paris.

4. Monarchist speeches in the Assembly of “Rurals”.

VI.
Start of civil war by Thiers: guns taken away March 18, 1871 (Lecomte and
Clément Thomas killed).

VII.
March 18, 1871. The Commune .

1. Republic + self-government.

2. The Commune’ smeasures .

3.

{{ Its two mistakes }} ((
Failure to attack Versailles

” to take the bank

VIII.
War against the Commune: begging Bismarck for soldiers, ignominious peace.
Week of bloodshed May 21–28, 1871.

35,000 killed

20,000 according to

{{
bourgeois newspaper }} estimates .

13,450 (including 157 women) {19} sentenced by the courts (! after March 18 the courts were
busy for another 5 1/2 years !).

| Written before March 9 (22), 1904 | Printed from the original |
| --- | --- |
| First published on March 18, 1926 in Pravda No. 63 | |

---
Notes:
{1}
Defensive war—Ed .

{2}
Decapitate and decapitalise.— Ed .

{3}
Capable of governing.— Ed .

{4}
These outlines were the basis of a report on the Paris Commune given by
Lenin at Geneva on March 9 (22), 1904. They were written after a thorough
study of Karl Marx’s The Civil War in France (see Marx and Engels,
Selected Works , Vol. I, Moscow, 1962, pp. 473–545). All of
Lenin’s references are to the Berlin edition of 1891. He also makes use of
Lissagaray’s History of the Commune of 1871 and Weill’s
History of the Social Movement in France ( 1852–1902 ).

Onthe basis of these outlines Lenin wrote a “Plan of a Lecture on the
Commune” in 1905 (see p resent edition, Vol. 5, pp. 206–08). He returned
again and again to the Paris Commune (see, for instance, the articles
“Lessons of the Commune” and “In Memory of the Commune”, and
Chapter III of the book The State and Revolution—present
edition, Vol. 13, pp. 475–78, Vol. 17, pp. 139–43, Vol. 25, pp. 413–32).

p. 113

{5}
Engels’s “Introduction to Marx’s The Civil War in France ”
(see Marx and Engels, Selected Works , Vol. I, Moscow, 1962,
p. 475).

p. 114

{6}
I.A.A. ( Internationale Arbeiter Association )—the
International Working Men’s Association (First International)—the first
inter national mass organisation of the proletariat set up at an
international workers’ meeting in London called by British and French
workers in 1864. Karl Marx was the organiser and leader of the First
International, and wrote its Inaugural Address, Rules and other programme
and tactical documents. The establishment of the First International was
the result of long and persistent efforts by Marx and Engels to organise a working-class revolutionary party. Lenin
said that the First International “laid the foundation of an international
organisation of the workers for the preparation of their revolutionary
attack on capital” and “laid the foundation of the proletarian
international struggle for socialism” (see present edition, Vol. 29,
pp. 306, 307).

Thecentral governing body of the First International was its General
Council, of which Karl Marx was a member throughout. He did a great deal to
overcome the petty-bourgeois influences and sectarian tendencies which then
prevailed in the labour movement (trade unionism in Britain, Proudhonism
and anarchism in Romance countries and Lassalleanism in Germany) and
rallied the advanced workers in Europe and America round the principles of
scientific socialism. The First International directed the economic and
political struggle of workers in various countries and strengthened their
international solidarity. It also played a great part in spreading Marxism
and introducing socialism into the working-class movement.

Afterthe defeat of the Paris Commune, the working class was faced with
the task of setting up mass national parties on the basis of the principles
put forward by the First International. In 1873 Marx wrote: “As I view
European conditions it is quite useful to let the formal organisation of
the International recede into the background for the time being” (see
Marx’s letter to F. A. Sorge, September 27, 1873) (Marx and Engels,
Selected Correspondence , Moscow, 1965, p. 286). The First
International was officially dissolved at the Philadelphia Conference in
1876.

p. 114

{7}
The world industrial exposition where a delegation of French workers
met British workers.

p. 114

{8}
Proudhonism —an unscientific, anti-Marxist trend of petty-bourgeois socialism named after the French anarchist Proudhon. Marx
and Engels waged a consistent struggle against Proudhon’s attempts to
impose his views on the First International. Proudhonism was subjected to
withering criticism by Marx in The Poverty of Philosophy . The
resolute struggle conducted by Marx, Engels and their supporters against
Proudhonism within the First International ended in the full triumph of
Marxism over Proudhonism.

Leninsaid Proudhonism was the “stupidity of the petty bourgeois and
the philistine”, incapable of accepting the working-class
standpoint. Proudhonist ideas have been widely used by bourgeois
“theorists” to advocate class collaboration.

p. 114

{9}
Blanquism —a trend in the French socialist movement led by
the outstanding revolutionary and prominent French utopian Communist, Louis
Auguste Blanqui (1805–1881).

Leninwrote that the Blanquists hoped “that mankind will be
emancipated from wage slavery, not by the proletarian class struggle, but
through a conspiracy hatched by a small minority of intellectuals” (see
present edition, Vol. 10, p. 392). They substituted action by a secret
group of plotters for the activity of a revolutionary party, failed to take
account of the concrete situation in which an uprising could be victorious, and neglected to maintain ties
with the masses.

p. 114

{10}
Engels’s “Introduction to Marx’s Civil War In France ” (see
Marx and Engels, Selected Works , Vol. I, Moscow, 1962,
pp. 475–76).

p. 114

{11}
La débcle (1892)—Émile Zola’s novel describing the Franco Prussian War.

p. 115

{12}
A reference to the manifesto issued by the Central Committee of the
Social-Democratic Workers’ Party of Germany on September 5, 1870.

p. 115

{13}
Marx, “Second Address of the General Council of the International
Working Men’s Association on the Franco-Prussian War” (see Marx and
Engels, Selected Works , Vol. I, Moscow, 1962, pp. 491–98).

p. 115

{14}
Marx, The Civil War in France (see Marx and Engels, Selected Works , Vol. I, Moscow, 1962, pp. 473–545).

p. 115

{15}
Alphonse-Simon Guiod, commander of the Paris army artillery, wrote to
artillery division General Susane that he could take his
protégé on his staff where he would be bored by the inaction,
or he could send him to Mont Valérien where only a pretence was made
of firing off the guns. This letter, published by the Commune in No. 115 of
Journal Officiel de la République Française (Official
Journal of the French Republic) on April 25, 1871, showed that the
“government of national defence” merely pretended that it was defending
Paris. Also see Marx, The Civil War In France (Marx and Engels,
Selected Works , Vol. 1, Moscow, 1962, pp. 500–01).

p. 115

{16}
A reference to Leo Frankel, a jeweller, who was one of the leaders of
the German workers’ alliance in France, a prominent leader of the Hungarian
and international working-class movement and the founder of the first
Hungarian Socialist Labour Party.

p. 117

{17}
The expression “ticket-of-leave men” was used by Marx in The Civil War in France where he says the following about Thiers’
ministers: “These men, then, could find, in the ruins of Paris only, their
tickets-of-leave: they were the very men Bismarck wanted.... In England
common criminals are often discharged on parole after serving the greater
part of their term, and are placed under police surveillance. On such
discharge they receive a certificate called ticket-of-leave, their
possessors being referred to as ticket-of-leave men” (see Marx and Engels,
Selected Works , Vol. I, Moscow, 1962, p. 502).

p. 121

{18}
The letters of Dupont , corresponding secretary of the General
Council of the First International, are given in Weill’s History of the Social Movement In France ( 1852–1902 ). In his “Plan of a
Lecture on the Commune” Lenin mentions Dupont’s letter of September 7, 1870 (see present edition, Vol. 8, p. 207)

p. 121

{19}
The figures on the number of Communards convicted by courts are taken
from Lissagaray’s History of the Commune of 1871 .

p. 122