Eighteenth Brumaire- Karl Marx According

Eighteenth Brumaire- Karl Marx

According to Karl Marx, the second phase of the 1848 French revolution could not function as anything else but a parliamentary republic. (Marx, 42) the most important fractions of the leading authority, the Party of Order were the Legitimists and the Orleanists. Since each of the fraction would have wanted the power for itself (but that was not possible), the only solution that the bourgeoisie could find in order to rule over the masses (and in their name) was the parliamentary republic, a form of government in which the executive and the legislative are united. The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the main three reasons for which Marx sustains that things could not have gone otherwise.

The first reason for which Marx claims that the second period of the 1848 revolution could not have been anything else but a parliamentary republic is the fact that this was the only political form under which the two great fractions of the French bourgeoisie could unite. Society had been divided between the proletariat and all the other classes. The latter ones had united in the so called Party of Order. naturally, the parties with most power within it were represented by those divisions of the bourgeoisie which used to control capital and property.

The representatives of the house of Orleans and the house of Bourbon would have wanted to rule the country on their own, maintaining exclusive power, but the social conditions and the mentality of the people no longer allowed for that. The masses wished for a government form in which the authorities would rule in their name and in their best interest. (Marx, 38)the republic was such a government form, and the parliamentary dimension allowed the French bourgeoisie to keep its money and power (although benefits had to be divided between the two fractions). It could be stated that the republic of the second period was a sort of masked dictatorship in which the bourgeois class ruled in the name of all the others.

The second reason for which the parliamentary republic continued o function was that both the legislative and the executive powers needed this political instrument in order to fulfil their personal interests. The republic was indeed the political for that the bourgeoisie needed, but they could not use it in their best interest exclusively, they had to consider the masses as well. This made them feel threatened and decided to eliminate the social democratic fraction- the Mountain. Through a strategic and cunning move Bonaparte succeeded to send its members to the streets, away from the official political scene of the National Assembly, knowing that in this way they would loose their power (the June events).

However, the social democrats got their revenge in march 10, 1850 when the majority of the Representatives which were elected were exactly that, social democrats. In addition, the army voted against one of Bonaparte's ministers, Lahitte. For Bonaparte it was very clear that he risked his position and that the country was once again threatened with a revolutionary act. The only thing that he could do in order to prevent that outcome was to turn to the Party of Order.(Marx, 43-50) Although there had always been conflicts between the two parties, executive and legislative, they depended on each other in order to maintain the power. This is why both parties were willing to compromise, scared of the possibility they would no longer be able to enjoy the benefits of the revolution.

If the second reason for which the parliamentary republic had to be maintained is connected with a temporary weakness in Bonaparte's status, the third one is connected with the fear of the bourgeoisie of losing its position. By the end of the second period of the French revolution, the universal suffrage was no longer available. In other words, it was very obvious for the masses now that the Party of Order had broken its promise and was functioning only as an instrument serving the best interest of a single class, that is the bourgeoisie. (Marx, 63)

In the meantime Bonaparte was continuing his own political plan and was black mailing the bourgeoisie in order to receive huge sums of money on a yearly basis. Although they were against him and did not fancy losing so much money from they own pockets, they could not declare an open conflict to the President because they needed him. All the small actions that they took against him created the feeling of unrest. The general atmosphere in the country was that people needed tranquillity. (Marx, 67) Under these circumstances the Party of Order understood that avoiding any decisive conflict with the executive was the only way to avoid revolutionary acts that would take away all of its power. Therefore the bourgeoisie allowed Bonaparte to have his way for two reasons. The first one was to avoid evoking revolutionary unrest. The second reason was to avoid appearing as an instigator of unrest in the eyes of their own social class.(Marx, 70) it is obvious to see that the only alternative they had was to maintain the parliamentary republic.