The Paris Commune, March – May 1871

One thing I want to make clear is that the idea of bringing the goddess into the world is not some airy-fairy fantasy. There are very real and practical expressions of the goddess energy in the world. One historical example in politics is the Paris Commune.

I’m thinking of this in particular because of a play I recently saw at the Mercury Café. The title of the play was Marx in Soho. It was a one-man play written by Howard Zinn. One of the things that struck me most in the play was his description of the Paris Commune. Here is an example of some of the things accomplished by the Paris Commune:

Despite internal differences, the Council made a good start in maintaining the public services essential for a city of two million; it was also able to reach a consensus on certain policies whose content tended towards a progressive, secular and highly democratic social democracy rather than a social revolution. Lack of time (the Commune was able to meet on fewer than 60 days in all) meant that only a few decrees were actually implemented. These included:

the separation of church and state; the right to vote for women; the remission of rents owed for the entire period of the siege (during which payment had been suspended); the abolition of night work in the hundreds of Paris bakeries; the granting of pensions to the unmarried companions of National Guards killed on active service, as well as to the children if any; the free return, by the city pawnshops, of all workmen's tools and household items up to 20 francs in value, pledged during the siege as they were concerned that skilled workers had been forced to pawn their tools during the war; the postponement of commercial debt obligations, and abolition of interest on the debts; and, the right of employees to take over and run an enterprise if it were deserted by its owner, who was to receive compensation.

Often I wonder what is ahead for those of us in the industrialized world as we move closer to the energy crisis, resource depletion, and mounting debt. The U.S. economy is currently experiencing “stagflation” and the people at the top fear that it won’t end soon. See: Don't Count on a Normal Recession.

But what does that mean for us average working folks? I really haven’t a clue. In fact, over the past five years, I have often pondered this question and never came up with a pat answer. However, when I heard “Marx” describing the Paris Commune, I thought to myself, “That could be a solution.”

It’s not surprising that this solution would appeal to me as I have been a communist/social anarchist since 1989 when I first got radicalized.

So, what does this have to do with the goddess? Well, everything.

After all, isn’t the goddess a radical eco-feminist? And isn’t Liberty a woman?