Three Manifestoes of the International

What it is

This is a published collection of three texts written by Karl Marx in 1870-71: two manifestoes on the Franco-Prussian War and the text known as 'The Civil War in France', about the Paris Commune. The edition shown here was printed in 1902 and includes an introduction written twenty years later by Marx's friend and collaborator Friedrich Engels.

Why it matters

These writings show Marx responding directly to major events of his own time as a political organiser for the International Workingmen's Association. They reveal how he analysed war and revolution as they happened, and how his ideas were preserved and promoted by later socialist publishers.

Look closer

• Why might a publisher reissue these texts decades after they were written?
• What does the quotation on the cover suggest about Marx's attitude toward his opponents?
• How might writing about events as they happen differ from writing about them later?