Pandeeria wrote:Sanctissima wrote:
Fair point. I hadn't considered those since they do stretch the bounds of what's typically considered collectivism. Particularly collectivism of the Left-wing variety.
Well, more like a newly formed and fledgling French Republic. The French Empire was pretty much dead after Sedan. You have to keep in mind that at this time, the Prussians were just miles away, sitting back and waiting in Versailles while the French got their shit together and retook Paris.
Admittedly, the defeat of the Commune was inevitable, but it was hardly a big sprawling empire that was knocking on its door to take Paris. The Republicans forces were weakened, and very vulnerable. It's not overly surprising that the Commune managed to last as long as it did.
In terms of the Free Territory, sure, it's interesting, but it was an Anarchist experiment. I suppose the differences with Communism would be negligible, but Makhno was kind of doing his own thing. And either way, he's pretty much the one and only primary source we have for what was going on in the territory at the time. Not saying it's a bad example, but it does tend to be romanticized, which skews the facts somewhat.
Paris vs. the French Empire and the Prussians.
The fact they lasted as long as they did is really damn impressive. To deny that is just silliness. And what they did manage to achieve during that time is incredibly promising.
Like I said, a very fledgling newly founded French Republic.
The Empire was dead in the fields of Sedan at this point. What was left military-wise was the remnants of the French army at Sedan (POW's released by the Prussians) and new conscripts who barely knew how to fight. They outnumbered the Communards, so victory was almost inevitable, but given the situation it's not all that surprising that the Commune held out for as long as it did. Not to detract from the fierce fighting the Communards put up, but really, their enemy was not nearly as strong as it was just a few months prior.
