Socialisme et rev exam 2

Who was Auguste Blanqui?

Revolutionary socialist; advocate of armed insurrection and class struggle; heir of Babouvist thought.

What did Blanqui argue in the Procès des Quinze (1832)?

Republic = socialism. Supported taxing the idle rich, national banks, ending public credit; justified force for revolution.

What secret societies did Blanqui lead in the 1830s?

Société des Familles, Société des Saisons — conspiratorial, hierarchical, aimed at armed revolution.

What happened in the May 1839 uprising?

Failed revolt led by Blanqui and Barbès; crushed, leaders imprisoned; led to their split.

Who was Albert Laponneraye?

Popular Robespierrist historian and orator; defended terror as tool of republican strength; anti-monarchy.

What were Laponneraye's key ideas?

All strong govts use terror; republics can be just. Christ = revolutionary. People = united against tyrants.

How did Laponneraye view the 1830 revolution vs. 1793?

Saw 1830 as orderly and justified; denied comparison with 1793 excesses; blamed monarchist propaganda.

What did Blanqui say in 1848 about the revolution?

Called it a "surprise." Wanted to organize clubs before seizing power. Warned against premature action.

Why did Blanqui defend the red flag in 1848?

It symbolized workers and martyrs (1832-48). Tricolor = monarchist repression.

What was the Société républicaine centrale?

Blanqui's club in 1848. Demanded liberties, armed workers, and judicial reform.

What was the April 16 rally about?

Blanqui + allies tried to unite; divided by Barbès. Reactionaries mobilized Guard; moderates won April elections.

What happened on March 17, 1848?

Mass socialist demonstration (150k); gov't feared Blanqui; socialist unity remained fragile.

What happened on May 15, 1848?

Assembly invaded for Poland; Blanqui opposed it. Event backfired; Blanqui arrested; clubs dissolved.

What caused the June Days repression?

National workshops closed; Paris workers isolated. Blanqui noted poor leadership, few weapons, no unity.

How did Blanqui later view Robespierre?

Criticized him for killing the Revolution; favored Hébertists like Proudhon and Raspail.

Who was Édouard Vaillant?

Blanquist, Commune leader, Marx ally. Fought for worker control of industry, joined SFIO, supported 1914 war effort.

What caused the 1848 Revolution in France?

Social crisis (inflation, poverty), political repression (Guizot), and scandal; sparked by the banquets campaign.

What was Tocqueville's warning in 1847?

He said the elite was too selfish to govern, like the monarchy before 1789 — collapse was inevitable.

What happened in France in 1848?

Monarchy fell (Feb 24), slavery abolished (Apr), workers' revolt crushed (June), Bonaparte elected (Dec).

What is Marx's idea of 'permanent revolution'?

Revolution must continue until full emancipation; not just political change but end of property and class.

What was Marx's critique of 1793 (Robespierre)?

1793 was too focused on political will (virtue/terror), blind to social roots of inequality.

What did Marx think of religion and property?

Both must be abolished for real human emancipation. State can't free people unless it ends private ownership.

How did Marx and Proudhon initially connect?

Marx praised What is Property? in 1840s; later broke with Proudhon over economics and political theory.

Why did Marx critique Proudhon's economics?

Saw Proudhon's labor theory as reinforcing wage slavery; accused him of misunderstanding Hegel.

What was the Communist League's goal (1847)?

Overthrow the bourgeoisie, install proletarian power, and create a classless, propertyless society.

What was Proudhon's view in 1848?

Wanted to end property via peaceful means (credit reform); saw property as incompatible with a republic.

What's the difference between Marx and Proudhon on the state?

Marx: use state power to end capitalism.Proudhon: dissolve the state through decentralization and mutualist structures.

What did Marx learn from June 1848?

Class struggle became violent: "fraternity" ended. Only terror or dictatorship would follow.

What was Marx's stance on dictatorship?

Proletarian dictatorship = necessary to end bourgeois rule. Different from terror; about class power.

What is meant by "revolution in permanence"?

Revolution continues until capitalism and class society are abolished worldwide.

What role did small property-owners play in Marx's theory?

Petite bourgeoisie could support revolution temporarily but must be pushed to radical action.

What did Engels say about the international revolution?

Revolutions are linked; 1848 proved that class war must become global war for success.

What events shaped Marx and Engels' thinking in 1848-49?

Revolutions across Europe, rise of Bonaparte, class betrayal (June Days), and failure of democratic alliances.

What does "permanent revolution" mean for Marx?

Continuous revolution until capitalism and class society are fully abolished.

Why did Marx break with Proudhon?

Criticized Proudhon's economics as conservative and his dialectic as superficial.

What did the Communist League demand in 1847?

Overthrow of bourgeoisie, power to proletariat, abolition of classes and property.

How did June 1848 shape Marx's strategy?

Showed bourgeoisie would use force; proved peaceful co-existence was impossible.

How did Marx distinguish dictatorship from terror?

Dictatorship = class power. Terror = tool (e.g., 1793) often serving bourgeois ends.

What role did international war play in Marx's vision?

Revolution must go global; class struggle links all national revolts.

What was Marx's critique of 1793 Jacobinism?

Too focused on political virtue/terror, not economic roots of inequality.

How did Marx see petite-bourgeois democrats?

Unreliable allies; must be pushed to expose contradictions and radicalize.

What shift happens in the 18 Brumaire?

Marx critiques failed revolutions and shows how past symbols mask bourgeois rule.

What does Marx say about the bourgeoisie post-1848?

They dismantled democracy to save private power—exchanged liberty for order.

What is the "dictatorship of the proletariat"?

A temporary state of class rule needed to abolish capitalism and class divisions.

Why did Marx argue against anarchism and apolitical socialism?

Because the state must be transformed or smashed through organized class power.

What strategic lessons come from exile (post-1850)?

No more coups; mass consciousness is key. Long-term work replaces spontaneity.

What did Engels say in 1895 about revolution?

Old street revolts are outdated; now it takes mass awareness and organization.

What’s Gramsci’s reading of the 18 Brumaire?

It shows how hegemony = a balance between force and consent, not just coercion.

Who was Jean Jaurès?

French socialist leader (1859–1914); moved from republicanism to socialism; founder of L'Humanité.

What triggered Jaurès's turn to socialism?

Grève des mineurs de Carmaux (1892), support for workers' rights, influence of Lucien Herr.

What was Jaurès's core belief about socialism and the Republic?

Socialism is the natural child of the Republic; the Revolution of 1789 was already socialist in spirit.

What did Jaurès say about the French Revolution?

It revealed class conflict; he saw fraternity and popular sovereignty as socialist foundations.

How did Jaurès view the Declaration of the Rights of Man?

A tool both for bourgeois rule and proletarian emancipation; double meaning.

What was Jaurès's take on patriotism?

A socialist nation belongs to all; true patriotism deepens with justice and equality.

What was the "Discours des deux méthodes" (1900)?

Jaurès affirms class struggle but rejects fatalism; sees democracy as a tool for proletarian liberation.

How did Jaurès differ from Marx and Blanqui?

Supported revolutionary evolution, not permanent revolution; skeptical of prolonged dictatorship.

What was Jaurès's position in the Dreyfus Affair?

Initially hesitant, later strongly supportive; defense of justice and republican legality.

What was Jaurès's view on insurrection?

Studied the Revolution: saw moments of both integration (popular legitimacy) and substitution (Commune as parallel power).

What did Jaurès say about the rural masses in 1789?

Noted early signs of class division between peasants and urban bourgeoisie.

What role did Jaurès assign to the proletariat in democracy?

Essential to preserve democracy; democracy enables class struggle and eventual socialism.

How did Jaurès interpret Robespierre?

Saw him as balancing law and revolution, democracy as both means and end.

What was Jaurès's stance on Babeuf?

Admired his strategy of entering democracy to push for communism while avoiding premature revolution.

What was Jaurès's view on war and imperialism (1905-14)?

Anti-imperialist, anti-war; supported general strike against war and criticized bourgeois hypocrisy.

What legacy did Jaurès leave?

Seen as a symbol of republican socialism; praised by Gramsci and Trotsky as a realist and moral leader.

Who was Kropotkine?

Russian anarchist (1842-1921), geographer, former aristocrat, key theorist of mutual aid and anarchist communism.

What are Kropotkine's major works?

La Conquête du pain (1892) – right to well-being;L’Entraide (1902) – counters social Darwinism.

What did Kropotkine say about the French Revolution's purpose?

It was driven by a vision of communist future, not just anti-feudal goals.

What role did the masses play in Kropotkine's history?

They were the real motor of revolution; historians ignored them in favor of elites.

How does Kropotkine reinterpret 1789-93?

People thought they were nationalizing land, asserting communal rights — an early socialist vision.

What did Kropotkine borrow from Augustin Thierry?

Focus on class struggle and communal movements, not monarchs or elites.

What was Kropotkine's critique of bourgeois revolutionaries?

They pushed for liberty only to secure private wealth and exploitation.

What was his view of the sans-culottes?

They forced radical laws (land redistribution, anti-feudalism), executed them locally via popular societies.

What was the role of the Communes in 1789-93?

Decentralized centers of power — the true soul of the Revolution.

How did Kropotkine view the Jacobin state?

As a capture of revolutionary force; centralized control destroyed grassroots power.

What's the link between revolution and progress in his view?

History moves in waves of uprising and repression, but each high point is higher than the last.

How does Kropotkine reconcile science and ideology?

He blends positivist science with idealistic belief in justice, mutual aid, and mass emancipation.

What was Kropotkine's stance on the state?

The state is inherently oppressive; revolutions must avoid reproducing its structure.

How does Kropotkine’s 1909 Grande Révolution differ from Jaurès?

Centers mass initiative, not leaders; sees bourgeois aims as a betrayal of the revolutionary drive.

Who were the early Russian revolutionaries?

Tchernychevski (radical fiction), Herzen (journalist), and populist groups like Terre et liberté.

What marked the rise of Russian Marxism?

1883: Plekhanov founds Libération du travail.1895–1903: Lenin, Iskra, POSDR split (Bolsheviks vs Mensheviks).

What happened in the 1905 Revolution?

"Bloody Sunday," creation of Soviets, failed armed uprisings.Debate: bourgeois revolution vs. workers'/peasants' dictatorship.

How did Marx and Engels view Jacobinism?

Criticized "explosive-only" action (Marx);Engels: terror leads to reaction, mocked radical performativity.

What was Trotsky's 1904 critique of Lenin?

Compared Lenin's centralism to Robespierre's dictatorship.Warned of "robespierriade caricaturale."

What was the Plekhanov vs Lenin split?

Plekhanov: likened social democracy to Gironde vs Montagne.Lenin: revolution must break with bourgeois moderates.

How did Lenin interpret 1789 vs. 1848?

1789 = true revolution (led by masses).1848 = failed bourgeois compromise.

Why did Lenin defend centralism?

Called it necessary for worker-peasant victory.Rejected elite conspiracy claims as Menshevik propaganda.

What was Luxemburg's critique of Lenin?

Warned of substitutionism: party replacing class.Called for broad democratic participation.

What did Lenin mean by "dictatorship of the proletariat"?

Mass power over exploiters, not elite rule.Extended democracy for workers, not for capitalists.

How did 1917 change Lenin's view?

April Theses: shift to full soviet power.Critique of Kerensky = proto-Bonapartism.

What's the link between Lenin and the Jacobins?

Lenin used Jacobin tactics but warned against copying.Praised their plébéienne break with elites.

What was the Bolshevik vision of hegemony?

Mass-led revolution with peasants/workers at the center, not bourgeois liberals.

How did Lenin propose to suppress counter-revolution?

Expose capitalist profiteers, arrest a few, place banks under worker control.

What's the paradox in Lenin's thought?

Wants mass democracy but demands strong discipline.Relies on control while seeking universal participation.

What's Luxemburg's final argument?

Proletarian dictatorship must be mass-based, public, democratic, not run by a small elite.

What was Gramsci's critique of Jacobinism?

Too outdated for modern revolutions; emphasized outdated "war of movement" over "war of position."

What was Trotsky's view of Jacobinism?

Praised Jacobins' mass link; saw parallels with worker hegemony and need for class dictatorship.

What does Gramsci mean by "hegemony"?

Leadership through culture, consent, and class alliance — not just force.

How did Gramsci view the Jacobins historically?

As Machiavellian "modern Prince" figures; decisive, fanatical, and mass-oriented.

What was Trotsky's model of revolution?

"Permanent revolution" — proletariat leads, allies with peasants, expands revolution beyond national borders.

How did Gramsci and Trotsky differ on timing?

Gramsci: focus on long-term strategy (war of position).Trotsky: emphasized decisive leadership in moments of rupture.