Phrase

"As soon as one of the social strata situated above it [the proletariat] gets into revolutionary ferment, it enters into an alliance with it and so shares all the defeats that the different parties suffer one after another. "

Marx points out the weakness of the proletariat's attempt at a new government after the February Revolution by explaining that its idealistic nature prevents it from maintaining dominion. After its mistakes in allowing itself to be only a 'provisional' government after it won power, it failed again in the June revolution to win back what it had lost in February. In fact, the June Revolution only strengthened the Bourgeoisie. This problem of entering into alliance with those "situated above it" only ever works to its detriment as it is then swept up into the conservative institutions which it is fighting, rather than being able to infiltrate and change them. "It seems to be unable either to rediscover revolutionary greatness in itself or to win new energy from the alliances newly entered into..." (p. 601) The earnestness with which the proletariat class proceeded contributed to its eventual downfall, and inability to ever successfully rise up and usurp authority once More.