The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte

Methodology and Conclusions

In «The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte», Karl Marx employs a historical-materialist approach to analyze the events leading to Louis Bonaparte's coup d'état in France in 1851. Marx examines the socio-economic conditions, class interests, and political forces that contributed to Bonaparte's consolidation of power. He analyzes the role of various classes, such as the bourgeoisie, proletariat, and peasantry, in the political processes of the time. Marx concludes that the coup was the result of class struggle and contradictions within bourgeois society, as well as the proletariat's inability to organize and seize power. He also emphasizes that history repeats itself, but each time as farce, illustrating the cyclical and repetitive nature of historical events.