The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte

The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon was written by Karl Marx between December 1851 and March 1852, and originally published in 1852 in Die Revolution, a German-language monthly magazine published in New York and established by Joseph Weydemeyer. Later editions (such as an 1869 Hamburg edition) were entitled The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte.

Related Topics:
Karl Marx - 1851 - 1852 - New York - Joseph Weydemeyer - 1869 - Hamburg

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The pamphlet shows Marx in his form as a social and political historian, treating actual historical events?those leading up to Louis Bonaparte's December 2, 1851 coup d'etat?from the viewpoint of his materialist conception of history. The "Eighteenth Brumaire" refers to November 9, 1799 in the French Revolutionary Calendar?the day Louis Bonaparte's uncle Napoleon Bonaparte had made himself dictator by a coup d'etat.

Related Topics:
Louis Bonaparte - December 2 - Coup d'etat - Materialist conception of history - Eighteenth Brumaire - November 9 - 1799 - French Revolutionary Calendar - Napoleon Bonaparte

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In a preface to the second edition Marx said it was the intention of the work to "demonstrate how the class struggle in France created circumstances and relationships that made it possible for a grotesque mediocrity to play a hero's part."

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Marx's interpretation of Louis' Bonaparte's rise and rule is of interest to later scholars studying the nature and meaning of fascism. Many Marxian scholars regard the coup as a forerunner of the phenomenon of 20th century fascism.

Related Topics:
Fascism - 20th century

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