The Paris Commune as a partial and potential dictatorship of the proletariat

Abstract

The objective of this work is to evaluate the degree to which the Paris Commune adjusted to the concept of “dictatorship of the proletariat” (state form) formulated by classical Marxism, taking into account the two criteria that characterize it: 1) Being the political expression of a movement aware of its class interests; 2) Maximum democracy for the revolutionary masses and repression against their enemies. After investigating the nature of the Paris Commune based on works written from different perspectives and disciplines and on some official documents, I come to the conclusion that the Paris Commune can be classified as a partial and potential dictatorship of the proletariat for the following reasons: 1) Regarding the first criterion, because its composition (predominantly working-class) and its democratic structuring would have contributed over time to facilitating the already existing socialist tendencies. However, given that during its 2 months of life the Commune did not have a conscious classist movement underlying it, with the republican identity being the dominant one in Paris, we must add the adjective “potential”; 2) Regarding the second criterion, because its political articulation and its measures aimed at a profound democratization of state structures. However, in addition to the current limitations, the decision not to be articulated on the basis of the National Guard limited the scope of mass democracy: hence the adjective “partial”, which would also be explained by the weakness of the repressive factor.