John Ross continues his historical explanation of the emergence of the major forces in world politics, the essential background to the development of revolutionary marxism. This week he deals with the revolutions of 1848, the transition of the capitalist bourgeoisie from being a revolutionary class to being a reactionary class, meant by 'Permanent Revolution'.
FOR 300 YEARS the capitalist class led revolutionary struggles against feudalism in Europe. Each of these went far further in its methods and international impact than the one before.
first successful capitalist revolution was the eighty years struggle of Holland for independence Spain (1567-1648).
HONE This had a revolutionary on thinking thoughout But Holland was too small a country for its revolullul to shape the face of the continent.
The second capitalist revolution, the English Civil War of 1642-48. however created the state which was for two hundred years to be the most powerful in the world. It layed the basis for the industrial revolution and therefore for all modern society. revolution of 1789-99 Finally French was the greatest upheaval the So woria naa ever secu. great was its force that for more than 20 years France was able to fight the combined force of every other major state in Europe. The modern political system is largely a product the French revolution.' The scope of its struggles was to have no comparison until the Russian revolution of 1917.
As each capitalist revolution was far stronger and more powerful in its impact than its predecessor was more natural than to expect that the next one after and what Marx and Engels would be more powerful still? By the middle of the nineteenth century: when Marxism was coming into existence, understood in was widely Europe une bourgeois revolution would be. Germany Was becoming a great economic power. But politically it was hopelessly divided into a ser ies of small feudal kingdoms oi which the most important were Austria and Prussia. Strikes The result of this contradiction between economic and political was rising Germany which burst into political activity in 1817 and 1830.
By the 1840s a farming and trade depression was leading to rising This included casaco. 1844 a major revolt by the of Silesia of the first mass working struggles in Class This in turn led to working class strikes and in Berlin, demonstratorr Prague, Breslau and other cites Marx was therefore expressing. an opinion was not just his own when wrote Tne Manifesto Communists turn their attention Germany, because that counuy LICI eve oi bourgeois revolution that is bound to be carried out under more advanced conditions of European civilisation, and much more developed proletariat, that England was in the seventeenth, and of hrance ir the eighteenth century, and because the bourgeois revolution in Germany will be oul a preluae lo all Ill mediately following proetana evolul. Manifesto Marx's view German developing rapidly was confirmed. A month after of the Communist Manifesto the population of Paris rose in revolt against the monarsparking off a vast chy, revolutionary wave throughout Europe - and in particular in Germany.
and their possesHustlia sions.
In five days of street fighting Milan 18-22 March 1848 the were defeated by the population and driven out of the most important north Italian then rulpossessions thei ed. Rioting in Vienna les to the resignation of the Austrian chancellor Metternich on 13 March Austrian empire, parliament adopted laws self-government in March 1848 and war broke out Austria 15-21 sentender March mass rioting raged In short the revolutions of 1848 started on a vastly greater scale precisely because of their international scope, than any Barricades and debates in 1848 capitalist movement seen The revolution seemed to be moving towards logical culmination when on May 1848, the first all German capitalist parliament history met Frankfurt. adopted state in March 1849.
In these struggles of 1848 the capitalist class even the begining hesitated ana vacillated For example it did not proclaim a Republic but offered the crown of GerLIBERTE ECALITE many to king Frederick Prussia However this kind of hesitation had happened at the begining of other capilalist class nad produced cvolutolal such as Cromwel and Robespierre who had called massive revolutionary actions, and utterly destroyed the power of feudalism.
This pattern of revolution also developing in Germany when September 1848 armed insurrection broke out in Frankfurt. This was followed in October 1848 by a mass armed uprising in Vienna which drove out the army and liberated the But now at the decisive moment the capitalist class did absolutely the opposite to what it had done revolutions. Instead of leading revolutionary struggles the capitalist class sabotaged and crushed them.
In Hranku the capitalist parliament called in the feudal armies 0l anc Austria crush the insurrection.
the capitalists delivered themselves into the hands of the reactionary monarchies. After the crushing of the Vienna uprising the 'German Frankfurt absolutely refused to organise any senous resistance or any solidarity at all.
moment when the Prussian monarchy preparing its armed fortes physically smash revolution it only allowed passive resistance be usea.
Emboldened this capitulation the Prussian monarchy acted to crush resistance throughout its territory.
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In Hungary, then part of the