Karl Marx - Historical Materialism in Practice

For this session, we'll be reading The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, focusing on the first and last sections, with the others being optional.

It is Marx’s concrete application of historical materialism to a specific political event: the 1851 coup d’état in France by Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte. Written in 1852, the text dissects how class struggle, state apparatuses, and historical contingency interact within a particular conjuncture. Marx analyzes how the French bourgeoisie, the petty bourgeoisie, the proletariat, and the lumpenproletariat each play distinct roles in the unfolding of reactionary politics.

This work deepens Marx’s earlier theoretical formulations by demonstrating how ideology, political representation, and class interest can produce outcomes that seem irrational or regressive when viewed abstractly. It introduces the idea that history repeats "first as tragedy, then as farce" and shows how past symbols and narratives are mobilized in service of new political realities. Marx exposes how a class incapable of ruling in its own interest may still dominate through the illusion of national unity and executive power. This text sharpens the theory of the state and anticipates later Marxist analyses of bonapartism, authoritarianism, and counterrevolution.

Check out the book here.

You can also find the texts for free on the Marxists Internet Archive: here

We also have a Discord where we discuss Marx and other philosophical topics—join us anytime!