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In the revolutionary tradition, the name of Louis Blanqui is either remembered with derision or as a noble failure. Yet during his lifetime, Blanqui was a towering figure of revolutionary courage and commitment as he organized nearly a half-dozen failed revolutionary conspiracies and spent half of his life in jail. This is Blanqui's story.
"Those interested in the history of the socialist movement should welcome this new book by Doug Enaa Greene. Brief and accessibly written, it presents the main elements of Blanqui's life in a perspective which is sympathetic to his revolutionary goals while being rigorously critical in its approach." –Ian Birchall
Specters of Communism: Blanqui and Marxby Doug Enaa Greene
I. Family and Early Life 5
II. Restoration-Era France and the Carbonari 10
a. The Development of French Capitalism 10
b. The Restoration 13
c. The Carbonari 16
d. From Charles X to the July Monarchy 21
III. The Activist 25
a. Early Influences and Activism 25
b. Amelie-Suzanne 26
c. Towards July 27
d. Opposition 31
e. A Hundred Schools of Thought 33
f. Friends of the People 42
g. The Society of Families 51I
V. The French Proletariat 1830-1848 58
V. Aux Armes: The Society of Seasons and the Uprising of May 1839 67
a. Society of Seasons 68
b. The Uprising of May 12, 1839 71
c. The League of the Just 76
VI. Towards 1848 82
a. To Hell and Back 82
b. The 1848 Revolution 87
c. Blanqui in 1848 98
VII. Marx and Blanqui 110
a. Marx and the Proletariat 112
b. Marx's theory and practice from 1848-1850 121
c. Did Marx ally with the Blanquists in 1851 131
VIII. The Second French Empire 146
a. The Reign of Louis-Napoleon III 146
b. Blanqui 1849-1865 156
IX. Opposition 163
a. Cracks in the Regime 163
b. Blanqui and the Blanquist Party 166?
c. The First International 187
X. The Paris Commune 198
A. The Franco-Prussian War and Blanqui's Patriotism 199
a. Downfall 199
b. The International 200
c. Blanqui's Nationalism 203
d. The Government of National Defense and October 31 206
e. The Last Coup 210
B. The Road to Revolution 213
C. Storming Heaven: The Paris Commune 224
a. Overview 224
b. Blanquists in the Commune 226?
c. The International in the Commune 241?
D. Assessing the Commune254?
?XI. Realignment 267?
a. Eternity According to Stars 267?
b. Exiles 271?c. New Currents 278?
d. Liberation and death 289??
Conclusion: The Unconquerable Man 291??
Bibliography 292