Paul Lafargue

French socialist. Born in Santiago de Cuba. At the age of nine, he went to France and studied medicine in Paris. Influenced by Proudhonism, he was expelled from university for his involvement in the anti-imperialist (anti-Napoleonic) movement and went into exile in London. There he met Marx and married Marx's second daughter, Laura (1868). In 1866 he became a member of the First International Council and participated in the Paris Commune. After the Commune's defeat, he went into exile in Spain and engaged in anti-Bakuninist struggles. In 1880 he was granted an amnesty and returned to France, after which he was imprisoned twice (1883, 1891), and in 1891 he was elected to the National Assembly. Together with Guesde, he devoted himself to the formation of the French Workers' Party, and led it until 1905. His conflict with Guesde deepened after the Dreyfus Affair (1894), and he broke off relations with him. He overcame his limited German language skills to translate many of the works of Marx and Engels into French, and introduced and popularized Marxism in France. In his later years, he became pessimistic and, rebelling against the idea of ​​living longer in old age, committed suicide with his wife at their home in De Labeille on the night of November 25, 1911, after a theater performance.

[Kiyoshi Sato]

"The Right to Be Lazy" by P. Lafargue, translated by Shinya Tabuchi (Heibonsha Library)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの社会主義者。サンティアゴ・デ・キューバに生まれる。9歳でフランスに渡り、パリで医学を修めた。プルードン主義の影響を受け、反帝（反ナポレオン）運動にかかわって大学を追われ、ロンドンに亡命。そこでマルクスと知り合い、彼の次女ラウラLauraと結婚（1868）。1866年に第一インターナショナル評議会メンバーとなり、パリ・コミューンに参加。敗北後スペインに亡命し、反バクーニン主義の闘争を展開した。1880年に大赦で帰国、その後二度投獄され（1883、1891）、1891年には下院議員に当選。ゲードとともにフランス労働党の結成に力を注ぎ、1905年までその指導にあたった。ドレフュス事件（1894）を契機にゲードとの対立が深まり、彼と決別した。不十分なドイツ語の能力を克服してマルクス、エンゲルスの著作の多くをフランス語に翻訳し、マルクス主義をフランスに導入、普及させた。晩年厭世(えんせい)観に陥り、年老いて生き長らえることに抗し、1911年11月25日の夜、観劇を終えてドラベーユの自宅で妻とともに自殺した。

［佐藤　清］

『P・ラファルグ著、田淵晉也訳『怠ける権利』（平凡社ライブラリー）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例