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  Organisation and Structure of the Communist Party

Guidelines on the Organizational Structure of Communist Parties, on the Methods and Content of their Work Adopted at the 24th Session of the Third Congress of the Communist International, 12 July 1921
 

 

VI. THE NEW LEADERSHIP 

 

The new leadership consolidated under Communist influence in this manner, gains new power by means of such concentration of the active groups of the organised workers, and this power must be utilised to give an impetus to the leadership of the socialist parties and trade unions or else to fully unmask it. 
 

In those industrial regions where our Party possesses its best organisations and has obtained the greatest support for its demands, they must succeed by means of organised pressure on the local trade unions and industrial councils, in uniting all the evident economic isolated struggles in these regions as well as the developing movement of other groups, into one co-ordinated struggle. 

 

This movement must then draw up elementary demands entirely apart from the particular craft interests, and then attempt to obtain the fulfilment of these demands by utilizing the united forces of all organisations in the district. 
 

In such movement the Communist Party will then prove to be the leader of the proletarians prepared for struggle, whereas the trade union bureaucracy and the socialist party who would oppose such a united, organised struggle, would then be exposed in their true colours, not only politically, but also from a practical organisational point of view. 
 

34. During acute political and economic crisis causing, as they do, new movements, the Communist Party should attempt to gain control of the masses. 
 

It may be better to forego any specific demands and rather appeal directly to the members of the socialist parties and the trade unions pointing out how distress and oppression have driven them into the unavoidable fights with their employers in spite of the attempts of their bureaucratic leaders to avoid a decisive struggle. The organs of the Party particularly the daily newspapers, must emphasize day by day, that the Communists are ready to take the lead in the impending and actual struggle of the distressed workers, that their fighting organisation is ready to lend a helping hand, wherever possible, to all the oppressed in the given acute situation. It must be pointed out daily that without these struggles there is no possibility of increasing tolerable living conditions for the workers in spite of the efforts of the old organisations to avoid and to obstruct these struggles. The Communist fractions, within the trade unions and industrial organisations, must lay stress continually upon the self-sacrificing readiness of the Communist and make it clear to their fellow workers that the fight is not to be avoided. The main task, however, is to unify and consolidate all the struggles and movements arising out of the situation. The various nuclei and fractions of the industries and crafts which have been drawn into the struggles must not only maintain the closest ties among themselves, but also assume the leadership of all the movements that may break out, through the district committees as well as through the central committees, furnishing promptly such officials and responsible workers as will be able to lead a movement, hand in hand, with those engaged in the struggle, to broaden and deepen that struggle and make it widespread. It is the main duty of the organisation, everywhere, to point out and emphasize the common character of all the various struggles, in order to foster the idea of the general solution of the question by political means, if necessary. As the struggles become more intensified and general in character, it becomes necessary to create uniform organs for the leadership of the struggles. 
 

Wherever the bureaucratic strike leaders have failed, the Communists must come in at once and ensure a determined organisation of action —the common preliminary organisation— which can be achieved under capable militant leadership, by persistent advocacy at the meeting of the fractions and industrial councils as well as mass meetings of the industries concerned. 
 

When the movement becomes widespread, and owing to the onslaughts of the employers' organisations and government interference, it assumes a political character, preliminary propaganda and organisation work must be started for the elections of workers' councils which may become possible and even necessary. 
 

It is here that all Party organs should emphasize the idea that only by forging their own weapons of the struggle can the working class achieve its own emancipation. In this propaganda not the slightest consideration should be shown to the trade union bureaucracy or to the old socialist parties. 
 

35. The Communist Parties which have already grown strong and particularly the big mass parties, must be equipped for mass action. All political demonstrations and economic mass movements, as well as local actions must always tend to organise the experiences of those movements in order to bring about a close union with the wide masses. The experience gained by all great movements must be discussed at broad conferences of the leading officials and responsible Party workers, with the trusted (trade union) representatives of large and middle industries and in this manner the network of communication will be constantly increased and strengthened and the trusted representatives of industries will become increasingly permeated with the fighting spirit. The ties of mutual confidence between the leading officials and responsible Party workers, with the shop delegates, are the best guarantee that there will be no premature political mass action, in keeping with the circumstances and the actual strength of the Party. 
 

Without building closest ties between the Party organisations and the proletarian masses employed in the big mass actions, a really revolutionary movement cannot be developed. The untimely collapse of the undoubtedly revolutionary upheaval in Italy last year, which found its strong expression in the seizing of factories, was certainly due, to a great extent, to the treachery of the trade unionist bureaucracy, unreliability of the political party leaders, but partly also to the total lack of intimacies of organisation between the Party and the industries through politically informed shop delegates interested in the welfare of the Party. Also the English coal-miners' strike of the present year (1921) has undoubtedly suffered through this lack to an extraordinary degree.