Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line

Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)

Political Report of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)


Chapter 5: The question of handling contradictions inside the Party – the question of democratic centralism

There are four basic contradictions inherent in the Party:

1. The main contradiction inside the Party is between the capitalist class and the proletariat and is extremely intense and acute in our Party as the representatives of the capitalist class have dictatorship of the bourgeoisie on their side while the representatives of the of the proletariat have absolutely nothing apart from correct political and ideological line and resolute organisational loyality. Those who are the representatives of the capitalist class are very conscious of the fact that their class is the ruling class so they are cocky, arrogant and they always give themselves the right to behave as bourgeois individualists and “centrists” while they give the representatives of the proletariat no right to oppose them. Representatives of the capitalist class follow the bourgeois reactionary line inside the Party. This line is not one of “liberal democracy” or “magnanimity” or “sensibleness” or “understanding” or of co-existence with the proletarian revolutionary line but instead, it is aristocratic and fascist, it lacks any scruples and sensibleness and is devoid of any understanding, and far from “co-existing” with the proletarian revolutionary line, it undermines the proletarian revolutionary line and disrupts it. Not to use absolute dictatorship over this line and oppose it uncompromisingly is to go over to its side and liquidate the Party altogether. This contradiction, in the main, shows up in an antagonistic form. This contradiction between the bourgeois reactionary line and the proletarian revolutionary line is the basis of class struggle inside the Party and moves the Party forward.

2. The second contradiction inside the Party is one of contradiction in the proletarian revolutionary camp, the contradiction that originates from lack of adequate communication or understanding or on account of differences of opinion on actual tactical line or on account of differing revolutionary experience from various parts of the country.This contradiction mainly expresses itself as a non-antagonistic contradiction and gives rise to unity and solidarity in the proletarian revolutionary camp. When this type of contradiction arises, various comrades make sure that they do not do harm to the interests of the Party, are humble, understanding and sensible, do not have any ideas of splitting and dividing and they contribute tremendously to developing the inner-life. The bourgeois reactionaries, in case the comrades are use these differences of opinion and contradictions to convert these into irreconcilable class contradictions in order to liquidate the Party.

3. The third contradiction is between the higher bodies of the party and the lower bodies of the Party. This is also a contradiction between those who are actually leading the struggle and those who are complacent and passive about leading the struggle. This contradiction is also non-antagonistic and the normal development of this contradiction increases the consciousness of class struggle in the Party and unifies and consolidates the entire Party around the Central Committee. Bourgeois reactionaries also attempt to use this contradiction for their ends to split and dismember the Party.

4. The forth contradiction is between majority and minority. This contradiction also shows up as a non-antagonistic contradiction, but bourgeois reactionaries can use these contradictions to split and dismember the Party.

All four contradictions are inherent in a genuinely revolutionary Party based on Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought and give rise to struggles inside the Party all the time. If these struggles are handled correctly on the basis of principle and advancing revolution then the Party moves forward, and if the struggle is mishandled or the bourgeois reactionaries are simply bent on wrecking and there is no appreciable opposition to them, then the Party will be liquidated.

Over the past ten years; especially since May, 1968, these contradictions have come up inside the Party over and over again. There has been struggle against outright anti-Marxist-Leninist counter-revolutionary elements; there has been struggle based on differences of opinion; there has been struggle on the question of the relationship between higher bodies and lower bodies; and there has been struggle on the basis of majority versus minority. All these struggles essentially boil down to:

1. The struggle between ideology, politics and organisational line of the proletarian revolutionaries and the ideology, politics and the organisational line of the bourgeois reactionaries. It is, essentially, a struggle between genuine Marxism-Leninism and modern revisionism and dogmatism. It is a contradiction between those who are actively engaged in practical work in the light of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought and those who are detached from the practical tasks, have bookish learning and use this to advance their personal interests. It is a contradiction between the approach of historical materialism and the method of dialectical materialism and the approach of historical idealism and the method of apriorism and metaphysics (with its various varieties).

These contradictions can be correctly handled inside the Party only on the basis of democratic centralism, that is on the basis of the Central Committee elected from the National Party Congress. When the National Congress is not in session, then the Party Central Committee exercises centralised leadership on various levels. At all levels the leading groups are established under the leadership of the Central Committee. All lower bodies must come under the discipline of higher bodies and the minority must come under the discipline of the majority. In this manner, the unity and solidarity of the Party will grow in struggle against its internal enemies and the external enemies.

Apart from what is mentioned above, there is no other centralism and no other democracy. The entire proceedings of various levels of the Party organisations, right from the National Congress to Local Congresses, and from the Central Committee to Local Committees must be held on the mass democratic basis, that is discussion and debates of all issues in order to implement the decisions of the higher levels. There can be no other discussion and no other debate. The mass democratic method necessarily is the method of strengthening the work of each level and to purge all alien elements who use these various levels to corrupt and degenerate the Party.

While the principle method of organising inner-Party organisation is democratic centralism, mass democracy is a tool to strengthen the Party at various levels.

Our Party is against the bourgeois theories of “all democracy and no centralism” or “all centralism and no democracy”. We consider democracy and centralism as dialectically linked with one another, to be part of one whole the basis of the life of the Party. Neither can we one sidedly take democracy away from centralism nor can we one sidedly take centralism away from democracy. Democratic centralism is one whole with two contradictory aspects, and the continuous development of contradiction between the two gives rise to life inside the Party and moves the Party forward.