Communist Organization and Discipline

COMMUNIST ORGANIZATION AND DISCIPLINE From «Prometeo», n. 5–1924, translated by «The Internationalist Proletarian» PO Box 52076 - 28080 Madrid - Spain - [email protected] Premise to the question parliamentary bourgeois state but also for the functioning of the revolutionary state, and even The problems inherent to the relations of the inside the proletarian economical organisms and internal life of revolutionary parties are currently of our own party, granting the eventuality of having great importance due to the recent and important adopted it in practice given the lack of a better discussion maintained inside the Russian organizational convention. Nobody more than us, Communist Party, and because they are Marxists, recognizes the importance of the reproduced both in the polemic between function of the organized minorities and the Communists and other movements claiming to absolute need, in the phases of revolutionary defend the proletariat, as well as in the internal struggle, that the class and the party that conducts debates over the cases of disagreement and crises it work under the strict direction of the hierarchies particular of our international Communist of the organization itself and under the most solid organization. discipline. In any case, the question is posed in the wrong To have been liberated of any prejudice of equality way, counterposing both criteria of the or democratic nature does not have to lead mechanical centralist dependency and the though to put in the basis of our action a new majority democracy. The question is posed on the prejudice which is the formal and metaphysical contrary according to a dialectical and historical negation of the latter. We reclaim for that purpose method, and for us Marxists a “principle”, to what we have written in the first part of the whether centralist or democratic, that would be article about the national question (Prometeo #4) presented as a prejudicial rule whence to about the way to get a prospective of the big mandatorily depart in order to solve the problem, problems of communism. would have no sense. That in practice the organizational mechanism and In one of the issues of Rassegna Comunista an the rule of internal functioning of Communist article about the “democratic principle” was Parties might be an intermediate line, so to say, published, considering its application whether in between absolute centralism and absolute the State or in the union or political organizations, democracy, results from the expression of and developing the demonstration that for us this “democratic centralism” which is recurrent in the principle is not sustainable, whereas it can be texts of the International, and is conveniently debated whether the introduction or not of a recalled by the known letter of comrade Trotsky numerical and majority democracy mechanism can which has brought up big discussions among be convenient, for certain organisms, in certain Russian comrades. historical situations. We say right away that, since we do not believe it It is implicit in Marxist thought the critique of the is possible to ask for solutions of the revolutionary pompous majority illusion according to which, the problems to abstract and traditionalistic principles correct way is always indicated by the whether of freedom or authority, so little satisfies confrontation between the ciphers of a pole in us the expedient of finding our response through which every individual would have the same some kind of mix of the two mentioned terms weight and influence. And this critique of the almost considered as fundamental ingredients majority criterium can lead to refuse it as an that must be combined with each other. illusion not only in the huge lie of the The communist position in the problems of fight, not because immanent principles of internal organization and discipline must according to us democracy of the party were violated or to oppose be much more complete, satisfying and original. the centralizing criteria of the class Party, which precisely the Marxist left vindicated, but because In order to point it in a synthetic way (setting down in the concrete reality the matter was to oppose clear before that we are against all kind of effectively anti-proletarian and anti-revolutionary autonomous federalism criteria, and we accept the forces. term of centralism because it has the meaning of synthesis and unity as opposed to some kind of The method of building opposition fractions to the association by chance and “liberal” of forces leading groups was thus completely justified in aroused from the most various independent these parties, to conduct against them a merciless initiatives), we prefer ever since a lot of time the critique, in order to reach afterwards the expression “organic centralism”. Regarding a separation and split which allowed the foundation more complete development of the reached of the current Communist Parties. conclusion, we retain that it will exist, most likely th It is therefore clear that the criteria of the discipline in texts that will be able to be discussed in the 5 for the discipline is, in certain situations, used by World Communist Congress. The problem is also th the counterrevolutionaries and is used to obstruct partially considered in the tactic thesis for the 4 the development that leads to the formation of Congress which have recently been reproduced by the true class revolutionary Party. Stato Operaio. The most glorious example, of how the demagogic Let us go now to a simple historical claim that must influence of these sophisms must be disregarded, be borne in mind in order to avoid any simplistic is given by Lenin himself, who was hundred times solution of the problem, whether that one that at attacked as dissolver, segregator, violator of party any moment requires a vote to provide duties, but which continued undaunted though righteousness to the majority, whether that one his way, and became with perfect logic the that on the contrary in all cases considers the vindicator of the healthy Marxist principles of central and supreme hierarchies to be right. The organic centralization in the State and in the party problem is to show how to reach through a real of the revolution. and dialectical way the effective overcoming of the perhaps tormenting dilemma to which the On the contrary the most disgraceful example of problems of disciplinary nature in practice often the formal and bureaucratic application of the lead. discipline is given by the vote that Karl Liebknecht considered himself forced to make on August 4th Let us reclaim ourselves to the history of the 1914 in favor of the war credits. traditional socialist parties and the II International. These parties, in the opportunistic groups that had It is true therefore that in a certain moment and taken their direction, sheltered in the shadow of situation, whose possibility to take place and the bourgeois principles of democracy and maybe be reproduced we will have to better autonomy of the various organs. This however did consider at the right time, the revolutionary way is not impede that against the leftist elements that marked by breaking discipline and hierarchically reacted to the revisionist and opportunistic concentrate a persistent organization. tendencies the bugbear of the discipline of the majority and the discipline to the chiefs were It is not different inside the worker union largely used. This became in fact the main tool by organizations, a lot of which are currently directed which those parties could assume, especially when by counterrevolutionary groups. Here also the the first world war exploded, the function, into leading groups have tenderness for democracy which they degenerated, of instruments of and bourgeois freedom, and are ranged among ideological and political mobilization of the those who refuse with horror the communist working class by the bourgeoisie. A true thesis about the revolutionary force and dictatorship of the rightist elements was thus dictatorship. This does not take away though that imposed, against which the revolutionaries had to communists, fighting inside those organisms, must continuously denounce the dictatorial Unfortunately, the solution is not that easy. procedures of the leading mandarin bureaucracy; It needs to be considered that the International and the specific method to try to overthrow it is does not work as a single world communist party the vindication in assemblies and polls the yet. It is on its way to reach this result application of practical democracy. This does not undoubtedly, and it has made gigantic steps in mean that we have to shelter in the dogmatic relation to the old International. But in order to believe for statute democracy: not excluding in make sure that it proceeds effectively and in the fact that in certain situations it may be convenient best way in this desired path, and commit to this to take the lead of these organisms by means of a purpose our work as communists, we must coup. The guide that links us to our revolutionary associate our trust in the essence and purpose cannot therefore ever be provided by the revolutionary capacity of our glorious world formal and constant deference to the officially organism to a continuous work based upon the stated chiefs, and neither by the indispensable control and rational evaluation of whatever fulfillment of all the formalities of an elective happens in our ranks and of the formulation of its consultation. We repeat that our solution is built politics. in a completely

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