In 1871, the Franco-Prussian War was raging. The workers of Paris, fed up with a government that had begun the hated war, and the exploitation, repression, and abuse of "their" government, took matters into their own hands. They instituted the Paris Commune - of, by, and for the workers.

Observing these events through news reports of the time, one of the foremost thinkers of the 19th century, Karl Marx, made three speeches to the International Workmen's Association. He reported and analyzed this workers' revolt against their masters, with thoughts that are still fresh and sadly relevant today.

The 1891 introduction by Fredrick Engels has some very spooky passages about the inequality of the classes not only in monarchical Europe, but also in the "democracy" of the US. In light of 21st-century American events, this material shows that the more things change, the more they don't. Vive la revolution!