The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte

Summary

"The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte" is a book written by Karl Marx, a German philosopher and economist, in 1852. The book analyzes the political situation in France during the mid-19th century and provides a critique of the bourgeois republicanism that had taken hold there.

The title of the book refers to the date of the coup d'état in which Louis Bonaparte, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, seized power in France. Marx used this event as a lens through which to examine the larger historical forces that had led to the rise of Louis Bonaparte and the decline of the bourgeois republic.

In the book, Marx argues that the bourgeois republic had failed to address the fundamental economic and social problems facing France, and that this failure had paved the way for the rise of a new form of authoritarian rule. He believed that the only way to truly address these problems was through a proletarian revolution that would overthrow the capitalist system.

"The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte" is considered to be one of Marx's most important works, and it has had a significant impact on the field of political theory. The book's analysis of the relationship between economic and political power has influenced generations of scholars and activists, and it continues to be studied and debated to this day.