Introduction to The Class Struggles in France, 1848 to 1850 by Karl Marx

Introduction written by Engels to Marx’s The Class Struggles in France, 1848 to 1850. Written between February 14, 1895 to March 6, 1895, first appeared in Die Neue Zeit, Vol. 2, Nos. 27 and 28, 1894–1895.

On January 30, 1895, Richard Fischer, the editor of the Social Democratic Party of Germany’s central organ Vorwärts, wrote to Engels and proposed that he compile a set of articles (three in total) on the French Revolution of 1848 published by Marx in the Neue Rheinische Zeitung in 1850 into a single volume, and invited Engels to write an introduction. Engels agreed to this proposal, added a fourth chapter in the book, and drew up titles for each chapter, and issued the book in a single volume under the title The Class Struggles in France, 1848 to 1850. Introduction to The Class Struggles in France, 1848 to 1850 by Karl Marx is the introductory part of this single volume. Its main contents are as follows: First, Engels clarified the great theoretical value and practical significance of the book The Class Struggles in France, 1848 to 1850. This work was Marx’s first attempt to account for a period of modern history from a materialist point of view in terms of a certain economic situation. The special significance of this work was the fact that it was the first to express the formula in which, by common agreement, the workers’ parties of all countries in the world briefly summarize their demand for economic transformation: the appropriation of the means of production by society. Second, Engels concretely analyzed the intrinsic connection between the economic development of Europe and the proletarian revolution since 1848. He pointed out that at the time of the 1848 Revolutions in Europe, there was still much room for expansion of the productive forces of the capitalist societies of Europe, and that the state of economic development on the Continent as a whole was still in an upward spiral, and was not, by a long way, ripe for the elimination of capitalist production. Therefore, Engels held that his and Marx’s view that the great decisive battle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie had commenced with the 1848 Revolutions in Europe did not conform to reality, and that, in view of the reality of the economic and social development of Europe, it would be virtually impossible to accomplish a deep and radical social transformation by means of a single surprise attack led by the working class. According to this analysis, Engels clearly pointed out that the proletarian parties should formulate new struggle tactics that meet the requirements of the new situation according to the changed conditions. Third, on the question of the current revolutionary situation in Europe and what approach the working-class struggle should take, Engels fully affirmed the accomplishments of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in making use of universal suffrage. He believed that in the German workers, universal suffrage has been transformed from a historical means of deception into a means of emancipation, and it has become a brand-new form of struggle, which should be made use of as a legitimate form of struggle to build up and prepare forces for future struggles. While recognizing the legitimate struggle, he also cautioned that “the right to revolution is, after all, the only really ‘historical right’, the only right on which all modern states rest without exception.” Thus, once again, Engels emphasized the importance of upholding the proletarian revolution.

Introduction to The Class Struggles in France, 1848 to 1850 by Karl Marx is an important document in the history of development of Marxism. Engels summarized the tactics and experiences of the proletarian revolutionary struggle according to the latest changes in capitalism and the new situations and experiences of the workers’ movement at the late 19th century. He not only adhered to and defended the Marxist revolutionary theory, but also supplemented and developed the Marxist revolutionary theory, and played a historical role in connecting the past and the future in the history of the development of Marxism.