made between what the Party calls _bourgeois democracy_ and _proletarian
democracy_. The communists claim that “bourgeois” or “capitalist”
democracy (as in the United States) is limited, repressive, and favors
the minority; “... in capitalist society we have a democracy that is
curtailed, wretched, false; a democracy only for the rich, for the
minority.” (_Lenin_) After seizure of power the communists then will
inaugurate, they say, “proletarian” democracy (as in Hungary and Russia),
which will be “... a million times more democratic than any bourgeois
democracy.” Here the dictatorship of the proletariat will be in power,
utterly crushing any capitalist opposition. Eventually, however, this
“proletarian” democracy will be supplanted by full communism, which,
among other things, will be stateless. Basically the communists abhor
democracy as practiced in the United States, believing, as they do, in
dictatorship, force and violence, and the supreme authority of the Party.
However, the Party seeks to utilize “capitalist” democracy and its rights
(of which it falsely claims to be a protector) in order to promote its
own cause.
DEMOCRATIC CENTRALISM:
The rigid principle that the decisions of the highest body in the
Communist Party (even though it be dominated by one man) are binding upon
all lower bodies or organizational units in the Party.
DEVIATION:
The departure from the policy and line established by the Party. It may
either be to the left (known as left-wing sectarianism) or to the right
(right-wing opportunism). Regardless, any deviation from a 100 per cent
acceptance of the Party line is regarded as a serious situation and a
matter for disciplinary action. Obviously, any original thinking or
varied interpretations of Party policy are impossible.
DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM:
The philosophy and world outlook that undergirds communism. “Dialectical
materialism is the world outlook of the Marxist-Leninist party. It is
called dialectical materialism because its approach to the phenomena of
nature, its methods of studying and apprehending them, is _dialectical_,
while its interpretation of the phenomena of nature, its conception
of these phenomena, its theory, is _materialistic_.” (_Stalin_) See
=DIALECTICS= and =MATERIALISM=.
DIALECTICS (DIALECTICAL):
One of the most frequently used terms in communist literature. The word
is derived from the Greek, meaning the art of discourse, reasoning, and
debate. To communists the stress in dialectics (the process of argument
and counterargument to reach a higher meaning) is placed on change,
the ceaseless ebb and flow of material elements. To them the world is
constantly changing; nothing is eternal. All political and economic
systems have within themselves the seeds of their own destruction, and
as time passes they decay and give way to higher forms of existence in
man’s climb up the ladder of progress. This change, however, is not just
for the sake of change alone, but follows a specific direction (such a
type of change is called _revolutionary change_), from the lower to the
higher, meaning a change from the lower stages of man’s development,
slavery, feudalism, and capitalism, to his highest—that is, world-wide
communism. When this final stage is reached, say the communists, change
will stop, since “full” communism conforms perfectly to the revolutionary
nature of matter. Unlike other systems of life, communism claims not to
contain within itself the seeds of destruction. It should be emphasized
that even though noncommunist thinkers time after time have pointed out
the inconsistencies, fallacies, and errors of this concept, communists
cling to it with undying devotion.
DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT:
One of the most fundamental of communist concepts, meaning the forcible
dictatorship of the Communist Party (conceived as the vanguard of the
workers), whereby capitalist opposition is crushed after the seizure of
power. It is also viewed as a transitional period between the revolution
and the final goal—communism. The dictatorship of the proletariat is one
of the most brutal of communist concepts, being based on naked force and
violence, not law. “The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is
power won and maintained by the violence of the proletariat against the
bourgeoisie, power that is unrestricted by any laws.” (_Lenin_)
DISCIPLINE:
A cardinal feature in maintaining the monolithic unity of the Party.
Discipline becomes a whip binding the membership under the authority of
the Party, stifling free opinion and making for uniformity. A Communist
Party without a ruthless discipline would be unthinkable.
FACTION (FACTIONALISM):
A grouping of members of the Communist Party around one or more ideas
that are at variance with the Party line. Factionalism is the conflict
caused by the presence of such factions. The monolithic structure and
strong discipline of the Party usually result in the brutal crushing or
expulsion of factions. In communist theory and practice there can be no
freedom of dissent.
FORCE AND VIOLENCE:
The necessary means whereby, according to the communists, the existing or
old society will be finally overthrown and the new or communist society
established. “Force is the midwife of every old society pregnant with a
new one.” (_Marx_) “The replacement of the bourgeois by the proletarian
state is impossible without a violent revolution.” (_Lenin_)
HISTORIC MISSION:
To communists this means the seizure of power, the establishment of
the dictatorship of the proletariat, the abolition of capitalism, and
the formation of the new, communist, society. As the vanguard of the
proletariat the Communist Party has as its “historic mission” the
direction of the proletarian struggle toward a communist society.
IMPERIALISM:
The highest, the most developed, and last stage of a “moribund” and
“decaying” capitalism. As worked out by Lenin, imperialism develops when
capital and production (in a capitalist society) become concentrated in
the hands of a relatively few individuals on high economic levels. This
causes, according to Lenin, capitalist exploitation in colonial areas,
as capital seeks an outlet for greater markets. This monopoly stage
of capitalism “causes” imperialist wars, as rival capitalist systems
struggle with each other (this was Lenin’s diagnosis of World War I).
To modern-day communists, the United States is now in this stage of
imperialism.
INEVITABILITY:
To communists the final outcome of the struggle between communists and
noncommunists has already been decided in favor of the communists, due to
the very nature of the struggle. They consider the victory of communism
to be inevitable because it is a “necessary product of historical
development.” They view progress to be from slavery to feudalism, to
capitalism, to imperialism, to communism.
MARXISM-LENINISM:
See =COMMUNISM (MARXIST SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM)=.
MASSES:
The ordinary people of a society who are not “educated” in the science
of Marxism-Leninism and hence must be led by the proletariat and its
vanguard, the Communist Party, toward the goal of a communist society.
“Radicalizing the masses” signifies efforts by the Party, through
agitation, to make the masses more sympathetic to communist aims.
MATERIALISM:
A view of reality which asserts that (1) matter is the basic reality
and God does not exist; (2) the universe and all life on it can be
explained in terms of motion and matter; (3) human values should center
around material considerations, satisfactions and pleasures; and (4)
the interpretation of human history must rest on material elements.
Materialism is as old as man, but Marx claimed that his form of
materialism (linked with dialectics) was the only complete and true form.
The main premise of materialism is atheism, and hence the denial of God
and all values which stem from religion. This fight against religion has
been one of the Party’s most basic principles. Under communism, ethics
and morality become completely transformed, being based not on religion
but on Party expediency. The results have been devastating—that millions
of men and women have suffered and died in the name of a perverted
“justice” and “goodness.”
(Materialism as here defined should not be confused with the popular
conception of the term denoting inordinate desire for material goods,
thirst for power, undisciplined sensual appetites, or the hunger for the
passing fame and glory of the world.)
OPPORTUNISM (RIGHT-WING):
Represents one type of deviation from the Party line, to the right, hence
right-wing opportunism. This deviation is characterized as too much
cooperation with capitalism, causing the Party to lose its identity as
the “leader of the masses.” This was the error of Browder.
PARTY:
Organizational concept evolved by Lenin of those trained in
Marxism-Leninism who, regarding themselves as a “vanguard,” are to lead
the proletariat (and hence the masses) toward a communist world society.
Under communism the Party becomes all-powerful, directing all phases of
activity. Strict standards of membership are set, the most important
being that members must be completely obedient to Party wishes.
PARTY LINE:
The sum total of the Party’s decisions, aims, programs, and demands at
any given time. Distinction must always be made between the “deceptive”
Party line (that is, the programs designed for public consumption) and
the “real” Party line (the true Party purpose designed to advance the
interests of communism). The Party line often switches, sometimes very
violently in various areas.
PHILISTINE:
Any person who believes in communism but is timid and shrinks from class
struggle. He is a “fair-weather” soldier who supports communism when it
is easy to do so but deserts when the going becomes rough. Philistinism
is a term of abuse. “What is a philistine? A hollow gut, full of fear
and hope, that God have mercy!” (_Lenin_) Communists would include some
socialists, reformists, and liberals in this definition.
PROFESSIONAL REVOLUTIONARIES:
Those Party members, thoroughly educated in Marxism-Leninism, who
dedicate their entire lives to the Party. This body (cadre) of members,
in communist eyes, represents the shock troops of revolution. “Give us
an organisation of revolutionaries, and we shall overturn the whole of
Russia!” (_Lenin_)
PROLETARIAN INTERNATIONALISM:
The belief that communism is international in nature, that the
proletariat of all nations, irrespective of race, nationality, creed, or
color, constitutes a single class and must cooperate for the ultimate
victory of communism. This gives a feeling of solidarity (communists
always feel a part of a larger body, they don’t stand alone); creates
fanaticism (the feeling that as long as there are noncommunist nations,
communism is in danger, hence they must be destroyed); promotes control
of the international communist movement by Soviet Russia (as the big
brother of all other Parties).
PROLETARIAT:
A key word in all communist literature, meaning workers (working class)
who sell their “labor” in exchange for wages. This “class” is extolled by
the communists, and virtually everything done by the Party is done in the
name of the “proletariat” (as “dictatorship of the proletariat”).
PURGES:
A characteristic inherent in communism whereby undesirable members are
expelled from the Party (or, when communism is in state power, exiled
or executed). To communists, purging is a necessary technique to keep
the Party “pure,” thereby creating “better” members. “The Party becomes
strong by purging itself of opportunist elements.” (_Stalin_)
REFORMISM (REFORMS, REFORMISTS):
To communists, reforms in the social structure can have only minor and
passing beneficial results. Further, they delay the revolution. Hence,
“reformism” is a term of abuse, implying a “bourgeois” or non-Marxist
approach. The communists, however, like to picture themselves as leaders
of reform movements, not for the purpose of improving economic or social
conditions in society but to exploit such movements to advance the cause
of communism. To communists reforms can often be a means to an end.
REVOLUTION:
The seizure of the government, if necessary by force and violence, by the
proletariat (working class) led by the Communist Party, leading to the
establishment of a Soviet state; called _proletarian revolution_.
SELF-CRITICISM:
A communist technique ostensibly to detect and correct weaknesses in
Party life; actually to enforce communist discipline. The Party member
is encouraged to pursue a cold, relentless, realistic, and constant
examination of shortcomings and failures, both in others and himself.
Not to do so is regarded as “bourgeois” weakness or sentimentalism.
Communists teach: “Self-criticism is the most important means for
developing Communist consciousness and thereby strengthening discipline
and democratic centralism.”
SOCIALISM (MARXIST):
1. The so-called “scientific” variety of socialism; that is,
Marxism-Leninism or Marxist scientific socialism. (See also =COMMUNISM
[MARXIST SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM]=.)
2. In a limited meaning, “socialism” refers to the first or lower stage
of communism, which is the transitory period between the seizure of power
and the higher or final phase of communism. See =COMMUNISM (stages of
development)= for further details.
SOCIALISM (NON-MARXIST):
The communists have nothing but contempt for any form of socialism except
the Marxist-Leninist version. Non-Marxist socialists are regarded as
“utopian,” impractical, and allies of the bourgeoisie.
STATE:
Communists regard all states to be organs of force and suppression in the
hands of the rulers. They bitterly denounce the noncommunist state as an
instrument of suppression, and blithely assert that when full communism
comes the state will “wither away.” However, inside present communist
states (where the dictatorship of the proletariat is in power) the state
has not withered away but has become ever stronger, increasing communist
power and terror.
TRANSMISSION BELTS:
Refers to disguised mass organizations, which are used by the Communist
Party to spread or transmit communism to the masses of people. “It
is impossible to effect the dictatorship without having a number of
‘transmission belts’ from the vanguard to the masses of the advanced
class, and from the latter to the masses of the toilers.” (_Lenin_)
UNITED FRONT:
A revolutionary tactic designed to secure the support of noncommunists
for Party objectives. This generally involves Party manipulation of
noncommunist groups, usually on some current issue such as “peace” or
“civil rights,” whereby the Party, while maintaining its independent
role, cooperates with others to work for certain goals. To noncommunists
the goal is advancement of the good of society; to communists, the
revolution.
VANGUARD OF THE PROLETARIAT:
Term applied to the role of the Communist Party as the leader or teacher
of the proletariat. Communists often talk of the Party as the “general
staff” of the revolution.
WAR:
1. Communists talk much about peace but feverishly prepare for war.
In Soviet Russia communist preparation takes the form of military
strength—the army, navy, air force; in the United States, the
organization of an active above-ground and underground apparatus designed
to wage “war” against noncommunist society.
2. Communists believe that “war is a continuation of politics by other
means.” Marxism-Leninism divides wars into two major categories, unjust
and just. “Unjust” wars, according to the communists, are wars started
by the capitalists for purposes of exploitation (“reactionary wars of
conquest”). These wars, they say, inevitably grow out of the “predatory”
character of the capitalist system. “Just” wars, on the other hand, are
wars of “national liberation”; that is, they promote the interests of
the proletariat and hinder the capitalists. In other words, a war is
just (moral) if the communists stand to gain; otherwise, it is unjust
(immoral). The communists classify, for example, Russia’s invasion of
Finland (1939) and entering World War II after Germany’s invasion of
Russia as just wars; World War II before Russia’s involvement and the
United Nations’ action in Korea (1950) as unjust.
3. In the final analysis, Marxism-Leninism teaches that war is absolutely
necessary to bring about world-wide communism wherever the advances
of communism are resisted. This makes Marxism-Leninism such a brutal
concept. Lenin, in a letter to American workers, wrote: “... history
demands that the greatest problems of humanity be solved by struggle and
war.”
_Bibliography of Major Communist “Classics”_
The theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism have been developed by
communist writers over a period of more than a century. The works of
Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin, in the Party’s eyes, are regarded as
communist “classics.” “These books are Communist classics. They contain
the fundamental principles and program of Communism. These are universal
in their scope and they are accepted by all Communist Parties, including
our own.” (_William Z. Foster_)
These writings, it must be remembered, are propaganda for the communist
movement. Written by highly partisan and prejudiced minds, they are not
based on scientific truth and accurate historical research; nor are
they attempts to determine truth as we in a free society understand
truth. These writers are trying to hammer out the principles of violent
revolution and, in the later writings of Lenin and those of Stalin,
to justify communism in state power and to teach communists in other
countries how to follow the Bolshevik example. These listed works,
although not intended to be all-inclusive, are prime examples of how
prejudice, thrown into the stream of world opinion, has warped the minds
and personalities of so many millions of human beings.
KARL MARX:
_Das Kapital_ (_Capital_) is undoubtedly Marx’s best-known and most
important writing. It forms, in a literal sense, the cornerstone
of modern-day communism. The work is in three volumes: _Capitalist
Production_ (1867), _Capitalist Circulation_ (1885), _Capitalist
Production as a Whole_ (1894). The final two volumes were completed by
Engels after Marx’s death. In this massive work Marx attempted, using
many statistics compiled from nineteenth-century England, to prove that
capitalism was doomed. To communists, _Das Kapital_ is “scientific” proof
of the inevitability of communist revolution. Time after time history has
proved the errors, fallacious logic, and unscientific premises of the
major thoughts contained in _Das Kapital_; yet to communists the book is
an infallible guide to Party thought and action.
Another important work of Marx is _The Civil War in France_. This work
(which actually consists of three statements drafted by Marx for the
First International) was written in connection with the Paris Commune, a
revolutionary government set up in Paris after the defeat of France by
Prussia in 1870-71. Although lasting only a few weeks, the Commune is
regarded by communists as the first working-class government in history.
This “classic” sets forth Marx’s view toward the existing state apparatus
of a “bourgeois” state: that is, the working class cannot confine itself
merely to taking over the state machinery; but the “bourgeois” state must
be utterly destroyed and replaced by the dictatorship of the proletariat.
_The Poverty of Philosophy_ (1847) represents one of Marx’s earliest
works on economics, while _The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte_
(1852) discusses, among other things, the character of the “bourgeois”
revolution. The latter work was written concerning the activities of
Louis Bonaparte, President of the Second French Republic, who was later
to become Emperor of France. It must be noted that Marx (and also Engels
and Lenin) were acute observers of contemporary political, social, and
economic affairs; and their writings abound with references to current
events and personalities. Other works of Marx include: _Critique of
Political Economy_ (1859), _Value, Price and Profit_ (1865), and
_Critique of the Gotha Programme_ (1875). In the latter, Marx develops
his idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the “withering away”
of the state.
Marx was a prolific letter-writer, corresponding with many
revolutionaries in England and abroad. The _Selected Correspondence
of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels_ (1846-1895) shows how the intimate
collaboration of these two perverted minds gave birth to the communist
conspiracy.
FRIEDRICH ENGELS:
Engels, like Marx, was a voluminous writer. Some of his better-known
works are _The Peasant War in Germany_ (1850), _Germany: Revolution
and Counter-Revolution_ (1851-52), _The Housing Question_ (1872), and
_Anti-Dühring_ (1877-78). The latter work was written in reply to Eugen
Dühring, a German professor who had published what, in Engels’ opinion,
were erroneous ideas concerning materialism and socialism. Engels not
only attacks Dühring’s views but goes on to sketch the communist world
outlook, discussing dialectical and historical materialism, philosophy,
and political economy.
In _The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State_ (1884),
Engels endeavors to show the relationship of the family, modes of
production, and society. One of Engels’ latest writings on materialism is
_Ludwig Feuerbach and the Outcome of Classical German Philosophy_ (1886).
His _Dialectics of Nature_, published posthumously in 1927, is an attempt
to discuss science from a Marxist viewpoint.
JOINT AUTHORSHIP OF MARX AND ENGELS:
As is well known, Marx and Engels often cooperated in writing, and
sometimes it is difficult to determine exactly who wrote what. The
best-known product of their collaboration, of course, is the _Communist
Manifesto_. Engels, for example, wrote articles under Marx’s name for
the latter to send to the New York _Tribune_. On the other hand, Engels,
speaking of _Anti-Dühring_, said he read the whole manuscript to Marx and
that Marx himself contributed a chapter.
VLADIMIR I. LENIN:
From roughly 1900 to his death, Lenin poured out pamphlet after pamphlet
justifying violent revolution and giving instructions to his followers.
In _What Is To Be Done?_ (1902), Lenin outlines the principles which
should determine the formation of a Leninist-type Party. This was during
the period of debate among Russian communists on the type of Party
organization, with Lenin favoring a restricted, disciplined membership.
In 1904, in _One Step Forward, Two Steps Back_, Lenin continues his
demand for a disciplined Party. In this pamphlet he attacks his
opponents, the Mensheviks. This attack was continued in _Two Tactics of
Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution_ (1905). _Materialism and
Empirio-Criticism_ (1909), a philosophical treatise, represents one of
Lenin’s major works.
In the years that followed, Lenin continued studying and writing. In
1917 _Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism_ appeared, in which
Lenin develops the thesis that imperialism is the final state of monopoly
capitalism. He characterized World War I as imperialistic on both sides.
This work was destined to leave a lasting imprint on communist thinking.
The term “imperialistic” is today one of the communists’ favorite terms
of attack against the free world.
_State and Revolution_ (1918), in which Lenin studies the relationship
of revolutionary theory to the state, is probably his clearest blueprint
for violent revolution. It has been extensively used by communists in the
United States.