Essay Example on Karl Marx's Class Struggles in France

Introduction

Karl Marx is the author of this article, whose title is 'The Class Struggles in France, 1848-1850'. In summary, this article follows through the events that occurred before, during and after the French class struggles. It is divided into four major segments, which are based on the occurrences as they took place across the two years of struggles (Marx, 1895). From the narration on the defeat of June 1848, the political arena witnessed the fall of the French bourgeoisie, who surrendered power, which got consecrated among the business class. This class is comprised of bankers, forest owners, stock exchange kings, and iron and coal mines owners, among others. The new mode of power and government was called the Financial Aristocracy. These leaders distributed public offices and also oversaw the formulation of laws and regulations (Marx, 1895).

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The period ranging between June 25 1848 and June 13 1849 saw an intense struggle between the business class and the bourgeoisie as strive for power intensified. The bourgeoisie, through the republican faction, overcame the Financial Aristocratic leadership and seized political power, an act that began with the gagging of France's capital, Paris (Marx, 1895). By weakening the power of the workers, the bourgeoisie managed to undermine the democratic republicans' influence. In their victory speech in June 1849, the bourgeoisie affirmed that the struggle was not between capital and wage labor. Instead, it was between an indecency between debtors and creditors. Furthermore, they averred that the struggle did not intimidate or vanquish the workers but the petty bourgeoisie who blocked the revolution from occurring (Marx, 1895).

The occurrences of June 13, 1849, came with consequences. For instance, the European crisis emerged as a result of the revolution whereby nations waged attacks against one another. Russia, for example, attacked Hungary; Oudinot invaded Rome; and Prussia chose to protect the Reich constitution (Marx, 1895). These occurrences took place due to divergent opinions and policies towards the French class struggles. Another effect of the incidents was the establishment of the full bourgeoisie government by forming the executive and the legislature in two faces. L. Bonaparte facilitated this process. As an effect, the bourgeoisie shifted from their powerful and strategic form of power in the constitutional republic to a weak and subordinate monarchical power (Marx, 1895).

The last part of the article focuses on the 1850 occurrence that entailed the abolition of the universal suffrage. Petty bourgeoisie alongside peasants ruined this victory that they had achieved on March 10 in the ballot by going back to vote in April 28 following the nullification of the first elections (Marx, 1895). The occurrences that led to the repeat of voting caused the executive and the assembly majority to come up with a bill to end universal suffrage. The chamber received the bill on May 8. Later, Montaigne put forward the question for debate on May 21. The chamber settled the issue on May 22 by garnering 462 supporting votes against 227 opposing ones. Ultimately, universal suffrage got abolished in 1850 (Marx, 1895).

Article Analysis

Written by Karl Marx and published in 1895, 'The Class Struggle in France, 1848-1850' article revolves around the power struggle between two classes, the bourgeoisie and the working class. Among the bourgeois, there are some who seem to side with the working class as they secretly fuel the revolution. The two groups exchange powers whereby the working class manages to secure power to form what is known as the financial aristocracy (Marx, 1895). The short-lived power does not benefit them as they could not manage to cement control or fuel a revolution. Ultimately, the bourgeoisie takes over power, and they establish stringent measures that put the members of the working class in a jeopardized situation. This situation prevents them from accessing both power and financial stability. The article also delves in the effects of the power struggle between the working class and the bourgeoisie class whereby there is some disloyalty as a section of the bourgeoisie executes infighting to secure power from the back door. The power struggle in France has a ripple effect across Europe as this revolution plunges entire Europe into conflicts and wars as countries invaded others due to discrepancies policy towards France class struggles (Marx, 1895). This article also focuses on the aspect of voting as it exhibits the oppression that those in power subject to the lower class members of the society.

Article Critical Review

The article focuses on the struggle of power between the working class and the bourgeoisie. The author executed a perfect work since he presented the occurrences in a chronological order, which gives a reader a seamless flow when reading and comprehending. The connection of events in the article offers a clear view of the struggle between these two groups. The author seems to side with the workers when narrating about their plights in the hands of the bourgeoisie. For instance, Marx uses pathos, which evokes empathy and sympathy to any reasonable reader of the article. Besides, when explaining about the victory that led to the formation of the financial aristocracy form of government, Max seems to overemphasize on the successes of the working class. The article's narrative is quite compelling and convincing. For instance, the author has placed the events in paragraphs, which address a particular issue without confusing. In the case of the abolition of suffrage, for example, the author explains the entire process where the bill was taken to the chamber before it was tabled for discussion, and finally the voting process (Marx, 1895). This writing attribute enhances an understanding of historical instances in such an article.

References

Marx, K. (1895). The Class Struggles in France, 1848 to 1850. Retrieved May 3, 2019, from www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1850/class-struggles-france/index.htm