Phrase - the contradictory demands of his situation...

Marx dictates the story of Napoleon Bonaparte and the challenges he faced. Perhaps the phrase I have chosen is not so much a representation of the entire work, but what resonated with me. "The Contradictory Demands" represent situations that we all seem to be faced with at some point or another. One need conflicts with an other, and therefore, one has to make a choice. Marx speaks of contradictory tasks as well as choices, which seem one in the same, to me, though could be differentiated between in that a task is a choice that has already been made. To make more than one choice, if conflicting, presents more than one task which also conflicts. His example of Napoleon brings a concreteness to the obscurities of this concept. As in the cases of rising of the proletariat, there are many choices that have to be made, often ones that conflict between self interest and the benefits of the people. These choices are what Marx highlights as the responsibilities of a governing body.