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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

 

V. THE ORGANISATION OF POLITICAL STRUGGLE 
 

31. For the Communist Party, there can be no period in which its Party organisation cannot exercise political activity. For the purpose of utilizing every political and economic situation, as well as the changes in these situations, organisational strategy and tactics must be developed. No matter how weak the Party may be, it can nevertheless take advantage of exciting political events or of extensive strikes affecting the entire economic system by radical propaganda systematically and efficiently organised. Once a Party has decided to thus make use of a particular situation, it must concentrate the energy of all its members and Party in this campaign. 

 

Furthermore, all the connections which the Party possesses through the work of its nuclei and its workers' groups, must be used for organizing mass meetings in the centres of political importance and following up a strike. The speakers for the Party must do their utmost to convince the audience that only Communism can bring the struggle to a successful conclusion. Special commissions must prepare these meetings very thoroughly. If the Party cannot, for some reasons, hold meetings of its own, suitable comrades should address the strikers at the general meetings organised by the strikers or any other sections of the struggling proletariat.
 

Wherever there is a possibility of inducing the majority, or a large part of any meeting, to support our demand, these must be well- formulated and properly argued in motions and resolutions being passed, attempts must be made to have similar resolution or motions adopted in ever-increasing numbers, at any rate supported by strong minorities at all the meetings held on the same question at the same place or in other localities. In this way we shall be able to consolidate the working masses in the movement, put them under our moral influence, and have them recognised our leadership. 
 

After all such meetings the committees, which participated in the organisational preparations and utilised its opportunities, must hold a conference to make a report to be submitted to the leading committees of the Party and draw the proper conclusion from the experience or possible mistakes, made for the future. In accordance with each particular situation, the practical demands of the workers involved, must be made public by means of posters and handbills or leaflets distributed among the workers proving to them by means of their own demands how the Communist policies are in agreement with and applicable to the situation. Specially organised groups are required for the proper distribution of posters, the choice of suitable spots, as well as the proper time for such pasting. The distributing of handbills should be carried out in and before the factories and in the halls where the workers concerned want to gather, also at important points in the town, employment offices and stations. Such distribution of leaflets should be accompanied by a attractive discussions and slogans, readily permeating all the ranks of the working masses. Detailed leaflets should, if possible, be distributed only in halls, factories, dwellings or other places where proper attention to the printed matter may be expected. 
 

Such propaganda must be supported by parallel activity at all the trade unions and factory meetings held during the conflict and at such meetings, whether organised by our comrades or only favoured by us, suitable speakers and debaters must seize the opportunity of convincing the masses of our point of view. Our Party newspapers must place, at the disposal of such a special movement, greater part of their space as well as their best arguments. In fact, the active Party organisations must, for the time being, be made to serve the general purpose of such a movement whereby our comrades may work with unabated energy. 
 

32. Demonstrations require very mobile and self-sacrificing leadership closely intent upon the aim of a particular action, and able to discern, at any given moment, whether a demonstration has reached its highest possible effectiveness, or whether during that particular situation, a further intensification is possible by inducing an extension of the movement into an action of the masses by means of demonstration, strikes and eventually general strikes. The demonstrations, in favour of peace during the war, have taught us that even after dispersal of such demonstrations, a really proletarian fighting Party must neither deviate, nor stand still, no matter how small or illegal it may be, if the question at issue is of real importance, and is bound to become of ever greater interest for the large masses. Street demonstrations attain greatest effectiveness when their organisation is based on the large factories. When efficient preparations by our nuclei and groups, by means of verbal and handbill propaganda, has succeeded in bringing about a certain unity of thought and action in a particular situation, the managing committee must call the confidential Party members in the factories and the leaders of the nuclei and groups to a conference, to discuss and fix the time and business of the meeting on the day planned, as well as the determination of slogans, the prospects of intensification and the moment of cessation and dispersal of the demonstration. The backbone of the demonstration must be formed by a well- instructed and experienced group of diligent officials, mingling among the masses from the moment of departure from the factories up to the time of the dispersal of demonstration. Responsible Party workers must be systematically distributed among the masses, for the purpose of enabling the officials to maintain active contact with each other and keeping them provided with the requisite political instructions. Such a mobile, politically organised leadership of a demonstration permits most effectively of constant renewal and eventual intensification into greater mass actions. 
 

33. Communist Parties already possessing internal firmness, a tried corps of officials and a considerable number of adherents among the masses, must exert every effort to completely overcome the influence of the treacherous socialist leaders of the working class by means of extensive campaign, and to rally the majority of the working masses to the Communist banner. Campaigns must be organised in various ways depending upon whether the situation favour actual fighting, in which case they become active and put themselves at the head of the proletarian movement, or whether it is a period of temporary stagnation. 
 

The make-up of the Party is also one of the determining factors for selection of the organisational methods for such actions. 
 

For example, the method of publishing a so-called “open letter” was used in order to win over the socially decisive sections of the proletariat in Germany to a greater extent than had been possible in other countries. In order to unmask the treacherous socialist leaders, the Communist Party of Germany addressed itself to the other mass organisations of the proletariat at a moment of increasing desolation and intensification of class conflicts, for the purpose of demanding from them, before the eyes of the proletariat, whether they, with their alleged powerful organisations, were prepared to take up the struggle in co-operation with the Communist Party, against the obvious destitution of the proletariat and for the slightest demands even for a pitiful-piece of bread. 
 

Wherever the Communist Party initiates a similar campaign, it must make complete organisational preparations for the purpose of making such an action reach among the broad masses of the working class. 

 

All the factory groups and trade union officials of the Party must bring the demand made by the Party, representing the embodiment of the most vital demands of the proletariat to a discussion at their next factory and trade union meetings, as well as at all public meetings, after having thoroughly prepared for such meetings. For the purpose of taking advantage of the temper of the masses, leaflets, handbills and posters must be distributed everywhere and effectively at all places where our nuclei or groups intend to make an attempt to influence the masses to support our demands. Our Party Press must engage in constant elucidation of the problems of the movement during the entire period of such a campaign, by means of short, or detailed daily articles, treating the various phases of the question from every possible point of view. The organisation must continually supply the Press with the material for such articles and pay close attention so that the editors do not let up in their exertions for the furtherance of the Party Campaign. The parliamentary groups and municipal representatives of the Party must also work systematically for the promotion of such struggles. They must bring the movement into discussion according to the direction of the Party leadership of the various parliamentary bodies by means of resolutions or motions. These representatives must consider themselves, as conscious members of the struggling masses, their exponents in the camp of the class enemy, and as the responsible officials and Party workers. 
 

In case the united, organisationally consolidated activities of all the forces of the Party succeed, within a few weeks, in including the adoption of large and ever increasing numbers of resolutions supporting our demands, it will be the serious organisational task of our Party to consolidate the masses thus shown to be in favour of our demands. In the event of the movement having assumed a particular trade union character, it must be attempted, above all, to increase our organisational influence in the trade unions. 
 

To this end, our groups in the trade unions must proceed to well- prepared direct action against the local trade union leaders in order either to overcome their influence, or else to compel them to wage an organised struggle on the basis of the demand of our Party. Wherever factory councils, industrial committees or similar institution exist, our groups must exert influence through plenary meetings of these industrial committees or factory councils also to decide in favour of supporting the struggle. If a number of local organisations have thus been influenced to support the movement for the bare living interests of the proletariat under Communist leadership, they must be called together to general conferences, which should also be attended by the special delegates of the factory meetings at which favourable resolutions were adopted.