By ANDI BELISARIO, PRISM Contributor

The 1871 Paris Commune encouraged, officially and in practice, the participation of non-French nationalities in its many concerns, both in decision-making and in actual ground-level actions. Thus it was not only following the internationalist tradition of the 1848 Revolution, but strengthened it further. Increasingly, its internationalism advanced along proletarian-socialist lines, especially thanks to the direct role of many members of the International in the Commune’s leadership.

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Vive La Commune women on the frontlines

The editors of PRISM has prepared this “Primer on the 1871 Paris Commune on its 150th Anniversary” as one of our contributions in commemorating the historic and world-shaking event.

This three-part primer starts in Part I with major events that shook Europe in the 19th century and set the stage for the war that broke out between France and Germany in 1870—the Franco-Prussian War. This war directly resulted in the fall of the Second French Empire and the rise of the Third Republic—which in turn triggered a rapid chain of events leading to the Paris Commune of 1871.

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Red flag of the Paris Commune

On the occasion of the 1871 Paris Commune, Jose Maria Sison, chairman emeritus of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, delivered this address to an ILPS-hosted webinar on 20 March 2021. The reactors to the seminar are Azra Sayeed of the International Women’s Alliance and the Roots of Equity organization (Pakistan), and Frank Chapman of the National Alliance against Racist and Political Repression (USA).

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Vive la Commune

This is Part 3 of the PRISM primer on the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune. Here we restate the most important analyses, insights and lessons about the Paris Commune, as they were derived by proletarian-revolutionary thinkers and leaders closest to the actual events, namely, Marx and Engels. We also include the additional analyses and application of these lessons to the changing circumstances of the revolutionary workers’ movement as viewed by one who was in the midst of another mass proletarian upheaval, namely, Lenin. We end with a glimpse of the prospects for new mass upsurges in the workers’ movement in the near future.

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Vive La Commune women on the frontlines

This is Part 2 of the PRISM primer on the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune. This part narrates the events surrounding the Commune proper, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. It starts with the Versailles regime’s attempt to seize the National Guard cannon, and the uprising of 18 March as the Paris people’s response. It ends with the Bloody Week of 21-28 May and the intense repression against the Communards in the immediate aftermath.

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Paris Commune 150

The PRISM editors are posting this primer on the Paris Commune (18 March – 28 May 1871), on the occasion of its 150th anniversary. We are posting it in three installments, and will soon also make it available in PDF format. We welcome comments from the widest possible range of people who align themselves with the Commune’s spirit and continuing legacy.

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