Review for Communist Insurgent: Blanqui’s Politics of Revolution

The Review of Politics, 1983

History and Theory, 1991

... political expression of the shift which the growth of movable or "personal" wealth introduced into the bal-ance of ... have uncritically accepted the self-impressions of the revolutionists, thereby embracing the contemporary "ideological" representations that Marxism itself would ...

"Beyond Modernity and Postmodernity ch 6 Associational Socialism by Dr Peter Critchley Daniel Guerin's argument that at the heart of the French Revolution there were two kinds of revolutions offers a way of interpreting the politics of marxism in the twnetieth century. Marx himself defined his position in relation to the contradictory aspects of the French Revolution. The basic contradiction, that between universalist ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity and the particularism of social reality he dealt with in terms of a contradiction between political liberalism and bourgeois society, heaven and earth. Marx was quite aware of the popular, artisanal dimension of the French Revolution. He nevertheless identifies the Revolution as bourgeois and as ushering in modern bourgeois politics and society. For Marx, then, it is not a case of backing the popular against the bourgeois revolution but to grasp the historical and material processes involved so as to be able to locate revolutionary politics in the historical process. The two French Revolution's imply two opposed conceptions of power, the one formed by the left wing of the bourgeoisie, the other by a core proletariat of small artisans and wage workers. The former group was the force behind the development of the Revolution in an authoritarian, dictatorial direction. The latter group formed the popular, democratic, federalist aspect of the Revolution. This second group, it is shown, constituted itself through what would now be called workers councils, that is, the forty eight districts of Paris within the framework of the Paris Commune and the peoples societies in the provincial cities. This second conception of power is libertarian and, therefore, connects the French Revolution in its popular aspect with the Commune of 1871 and the soviet revolution of 1917."

Histoire Sociale-social History, 1988

Dialogue, 1984

Maurice Lagueux's new book, winner of the Governor General's Award, is a collection of essays on different topics in Marxist philosophy and social thought. Often very critical of the ideas and theses he examines, the unifying theme of the collection is indicated by the subtitle, “une saison dans l'histoire de la pensée critique”. Lagueux's efforts are largely devoted to evaluating the ideas that captured the imagination of much of the left, especially in Quebec, during the sixties, “une saison où la gauche avait le vent dans les voiles”.

Recently, some French historians have called for an end to the discussion of the causes and meaning of the French Revolution, declaring it to be 'terminated'. But an occurrence that raises such fundamental philosophical and moral questions can never end. For the dispute is not only over what has happened in the past but also over what may happen in the future. 1

2019

What inspires revolutionaries? By now it should be amply evident that there is no simple answer to this question. Revolutionaries may be inspired by the promises and charisma of their comrades or by their own self-generated belief that a better political future, one free of injustice, is both possible and worth striving for. Unlike spontaneous revolutions, in which largely unwitting participants steadily find themselves in revolutionary circumstances, in planned revolutions willful revolutionaries set out to create conditions in which a revolution is made possible. In doing so, they need certain tools, templates and blueprints, and tactics and strategies. These tools and ingredients are examined in the present chapter. If spontaneous revolutions grow out of haphazard, largely unorganized eruptions of mass anger and frustration, planned revolutions emerge from deliberately organized and orchestrated rebellions. This particular category of revolutions, the chapter argues, contains several key, interrelated elements. First, regardless of their declared ideological beliefs, all self-declared revolutionaries are essentially nationalist. They are invariably motivated by a deep desire to better the conditions of their country and its citizens. Even when revolutionaries adhere to ideologies that are inherently antinationalist, as in communism, their underlying motivation for launching a revolution is to capture power not necessarily for the sake of power itself but in order to improve conditions around them, at the level of the neighborhood, the city, and the country. Two other, related elements characteristic of planned revolutions are those of leadership and the party. Planned revolutions will not of use, available at .