French Revolution, Marxism, and Anarchism: Key Concepts

The French Revolution

Causes of the French Revolution

Economic Reasons:

• Financial crisis caused by the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) and aid to English settlers in the U.S. independence.
• Bad harvests (1788 and 1789) raised the price of bread, leading to riots among less advantaged groups.
• Great State expenditures (luxury of the Court, army officials...) as were forced to pay tribute the privileged (nobility and clergy).

Social Causes:

• The nobility opposed economic reforms that required them to pay taxes, causing their failure.
• The bourgeoisie wanted to seize political power from the nobility and used the popular classes to do so.

Political and Ideological Causes:

• The ideas of the Enlightenment provided the ideological basis (national sovereignty, separation of powers...) to remove the old regime.
• The American independence showed that these ideas were possible to implement.

Consequences of the French Revolution

• It ended the Ancien Régime, abolished absolute monarchy, the feudal economic system, and stratified society.
• The principles of the Enlightenment were established.
• Sovereignty no longer resided in the king but in all citizens, who were governed by a constitution.
• It began a new historical era: the Modern Age.
• It created a new economic system that would lead to modern capitalism.
• This process of change extended its influence throughout Europe and the world.

Marxism

Marxism takes its name from Karl Marx, who developed scientific socialism. His body of doctrine had an initial reference point in the Communist Manifesto, published in London in 1848. Marxist theory was developed by him to criticize capitalism.

Main Axes of Marxism:

• Analysis of the past: Through the class struggle, i.e., the antagonism between oppressors and oppressed, considered the engine of historical development. This originated in each historical period: slavery, feudalism, and capitalism.
• Criticism of capitalism: Marx explained that the condition is bourgeois exploitation inherent in capitalism. That is, the worker's labor generates a higher profit (capital gains) that remains in the hands of the capitalist, who reinvests a part in improving the means of production and appropriates the rest. Moreover, the desire to increase the benefit involves constant technological innovation to increase production.
• The need to overcome capitalism: Associated with a project of a future communist society, which would lead to the seizure of political power by the workers. It will open a temporary situation and the dictatorship of the proletariat to achieve an egalitarian society.

Anarchism

Anarchism also criticizes capitalist society. The first reference was Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who believed property was stolen and advocated a social system based on self-employment and expansion of mutuality and cooperation. Russian Mikhail Bakunin played a decisive role.

He claimed that the revolution would be starring all oppressed sectors of society resulting from the spontaneous struggle of the masses against exploitation. Their goal was the destruction of the state and the creation of an egalitarian society based on free association. His influence spread to Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, and Spain.