Resumo

STRAEHLE, Edgar. Bakunin and the Revolutionary Memory. Historicizing the Past to Understand the Present and Transform the Future. Hist. graf [online]. 2022, n.59, pp.229-268.  Epub 27-Jul-2022. ISSN 1405-0927.  https://doi.org/10.48102/hyg.vi59.406.

This article aims at exploring and rethinking the political uses of history made by nineteenth-century revolutionary activists such as Bakunin. For this reason, I analyze Bakunin’s little known reflections on history and revolutionary tradition. First, I depict his reading of the 1848 revolution, which, as shown, was probably influenced by Marx’s. Thus, Bakunin partly understood this revolution as a farce which made him distrustful of the revolutionary tradition. Nevertheless, he considered that its study was fruitful in drawing important lessons from the past for the present and, in turn, for understanding the pending tasks to be carried out by revolutionary movements. For this reason, I will also tackle the link between Bakunin’s reading of recent history and his understanding and even preparation for revolutionary action. As it also happened with Marx, Bakunin’s position changed with the proclamation of the Paris Commune which, although imperfect, he considered as an authentic revolutionary reference to emulate.

Palavras-chave : Bakunin; Marx; Engels; Revolutionary Tradition; French Revolution; Paris Commune.