The Paradise of Association: Political Culture and Popular Organizations in the Paris Commune of 1871

331 Pages·1996·9.312 MB·English

by  Martin Phillip Johnson

The Paradise of Association

The Paradise of Association
Political Culture and Popular Organizations
in the Paris Commune of 1871
Martin Phillip Johnson
Ann Arbor
or
T he U n iv e rsity M ichigan P ress
Copyright © by the University of Michigan 1996
All rights reserved
Published in the United States of America by
The University of Michigan Press
Manufactured in the United States of America
@ Printed on acid-free paper
1999 1998 1997 1996 4 3 2 1
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise
without the written permission of the publisher.
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Johnson, Martin Phillip, 1959—
The paradise of association : political culture and popular
organizations in the Paris Commune of 1871 / Martin Phillip Johnson,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-472-10724-0 (cloth : acid-free paper)
1. Political culture—France—Paris—History—19th century.
2. Political clubs—France—Paris—History—19th century. 3. Paris
(France)—History—Commune, 1871. I. Title.
JS5170.J64 1996
306.2'0944—dc20 96-25345
CIP
Paris is a true paradise___all social groups have established themselves
federations and are masters of their own fate.
—Gustave Courbet, April 1871

Preface
Scholars often say they hope their work provides a foundation for future
studies, and that hope has been fulfilled in this study of popular organiza­
tions. Indeed, this book may be considered the third volume of a collective
trilogy on popular organizations from 1868 to 1871. The first volume is
Aux Originesde la Commune: Le Mouvement des reunionspubliques a Paris
1868-1870, by Alain Dalotel, Alain Faure, and Jean-Claude Freiermuth,
which analyzes public meetings from June 1868 until they were outlawed
in the spring of 1870. Although it ends a year before the insurrection of
March 18, it concludes that the Commune was the result of revolutionary
action. The second is R. D. Wolfe’s similarly titled 1965 dissertation, “The
Origins of the Commune: The Popular Organizations of 1868-71,” which
focuses on clubs and committees during the seige of Paris. The last pages
of Wolfe’s dissertation suggest that the Commune was bom from a revo­
lutionary socialist coalition, a supposition that has proven correct. These
well-crafted works were necessary prerequisites for this study, and my
readers and I owe their authors a debt of gratitude.
The aid and encouragement of many people and institutions made this
study possible. Irwin Wall and David Gordon first introduced me to
French history and the Commune; they and Kenneth Barkin at the Uni­
versity of California, Riverside, read some of the early papers and histori­
ographical reviews that became the foundation for this study. In Paris,
Andr6 Burgui&re and Pierre Nora provided assistance and orientation. At
Brown University, Philip Benedict and R. Burr Litchfield gave generously
of their time and expertise, and I am most grateful for the encouragement
and incisive criticisms of my dissertation director, Joan Wallach Scott.
Doug Cremer, Christopher Guthrie, Louise Tilly, and Irwin Wall read and
viii Preface
commented on parts of the manuscript at various moments. My thanks
and appreciation go especially to Nancy M. Wingfield, who gave the gift
of her intelligence and love. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the finan­
cial assistance of the University of California, the Fulbright program,
Brown University, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Contents
Introduction: Revolution and Political Culture 1
Part 1. The Origins of the Commune
Chapter 1. Club Politics during the Siege of Paris 17
Chapter 2. The Revolutionary Socialist Party 55
Chapter 3. Shaping the Revolution 89
Part 2. The New World
Chapter 4. Association and the New World 131
Chapter 5. The Structures of Club Society 165
Chapter 6. The Components of Club Culture 203
Chapter 7. Gender and Clubiste Political Culture 235
Conclusion: The Legacies of the Commune 275
Sources 289
Index 313