Lenin’s Principles of Party Building

The basic principles in respect to the theory, program, strategy, and organizational structure of the revolutionary proletarian party as advocated by Lenin. According to the new situation of the proletarian revolution, Lenin put forward a series of new thoughts and propositions on the principles of party building for the revolutionary proletarian party. Main contents of which are as follows: (1) A party ideologically guided by Marxist theory. Lenin pointed out that the Party should entirely be based on Marxist theory. There can be no strong socialist party without a revolutionary theory. Those who scream about incompleteness and obsolescence, who want to revise this theory and rally around Bernstein, are only moving backward and propagating the theory of concessions. By adhering to the basic principles of Marxism, exploring them independently, and applying them concretely to the reality of the country, we can maintain the ideological advancement, independence and purity of the Party and build it into a new type of combatant and revolutionary proletarian party. (2) From the political aspect it should follow lofty cause and a party program and reflecting the characteristics of the times. The party program is the banner which defines the character of the party. The national parties of the Second International, which were obsessed with partial reforms and legal struggles, abandoned the proletarian revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat, have departed from the noble goal of the proletariat to liberate all mankind and finally liberate itself and achieve communism. Lenin insisted on the great historical mission of the proletariat and opposed the substitution of “the exploited working masses” or “the people” for “the proletariat”. He argued advocated that the program of the new type of proletarian party should not only clearly state that the ultimate goal of the party is the elimination of all classes and the establishment of a socialist (i.e., communist) society, but also clearly define the path and the immediate tasks to achieve this goal. The party program should consist of a maximum program and a minimum program, with the most important provision of the dictatorship of the proletariat written in this program, thus completely separating itself from Bernstein’s “The ultimate aim of socialism is nothing, but the movement is everything.” (3) Looking from the strategy aspect Strategically, the Party should insist on the mass revolution led by the proletariat. Lenin combined the strategic principle of Marx and Engels with the actual situation in Russia and concluded that the movement of the proletariat is an independent movement of the overwhelming majority of people and for the interest of the overwhelming majority of people, and that communists should everywhere support revolutionary movements against the existing social and political system. He proposed that the party must lead the democratic revolution, unite with the peasants, make use of various temporary and intermediary forces such as the Russian liberal bourgeoisie, and successfully combine various forms and methods of struggle; as well as combine revolutionary principledness and flexibility, form a mass revolutionary torrent, and at the appropriate time when conditions are ripe, forge the transition from democratic to socialist revolution, insist on continuous revolution and dare to win, in sharp contrast to the opportunists of the Second International who were scared of revolution and did not dare to win. (4) Organizationally the party should be “highest form of organization” when compared to all organizations of the proletariat. The loose organization, lack of unified and centralized leadership, and strict discipline, which were the common problems of the national parties of the Second International, which were only engaged in trade union and parliamentary activities, simply could not adapt to the requirements of the proletarian revolutionary struggle in the era of imperialism. Lenin said that the proletariat, in its struggle for power, had no other effective weapon than organization the proletarian party is an advanced, conscious, organized section of the working class, that should practice democratic centralism and iron discipline; its members must join and work in one of the party’s organizations. This party, which is based on advanced theory as the basis of its ideology, on the advanced class as its class base, composed of advanced elements of the class, and established according to the advanced system of democratic centralism, strives to become the vanguard troop of the proletariat, the commander-in-chief of both the various organizations and struggles of the proletariat and the masses. Upholding Marxism, proletarian revolution, the dictatorship of the proletariat, and democratic centralism are the main marks of the new type revolutionary proletarian party that distinguish it from the old party of the Second International.