A
political partyA political party is a political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns...
described as a
communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of
communismCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
through a communist form of
governmentA government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
. The name originates from the 1848 tract
Manifesto of the Communist PartyManifesto of the Communist Party , often referred to as The Communist Manifesto, was first published on February 21, 1848, and is one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the Communist League and written by communist theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, it...
by
Karl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a Germanphilosopher, political economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist, communist and revolutionary, whose ideas are credited as the foundation of modern communism...
,
Friedrich EngelsFriedrich Engels was a German social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of communist theory, alongside Karl Marx. Together they produced The Communist Manifesto in 1848...
. The
LeninistLeninism is the theory and practice of the dictatorship of the proletariat, led by a revolutionary vanguard party. Theoretically, Leninism comprises the political and economic communist theories of Vladimir Lenin, developed from Marxism, that were the establishing ideology of Soviet communism — in...
concept of a communist party encompases a larger political system and includes not only an ideological orientation but also a wide set of organizational policies.
A communist party is, at least according to Leninist theory, the
vanguard partyA vanguard party is a political party at the forefront of a mass action, movement, or revolution. The idea of a vanguard party was developed by Vladimir Lenin, most prominently in What is to be Done?, a political pamphlet first published in 1902....
of the working class, whether ruling or non ruling,
but when such a party is in power in a specific countryIn political science, a Communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule of a Communist party and a professed allegiance to a communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state....
, the party is said to be the highest authority of the
dictatorship of the proletariatIn Marxism, the dictatorship of the proletariat denotes the transitional socialist State between the capitalist class society and the classless communist society...
.
A
political partyA political party is a political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns...
described as a
communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of
communismCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
through a communist form of
governmentA government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
. The name originates from the 1848 tract
Manifesto of the Communist PartyManifesto of the Communist Party , often referred to as The Communist Manifesto, was first published on February 21, 1848, and is one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the Communist League and written by communist theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, it...
by
Karl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a Germanphilosopher, political economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist, communist and revolutionary, whose ideas are credited as the foundation of modern communism...
,
Friedrich EngelsFriedrich Engels was a German social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of communist theory, alongside Karl Marx. Together they produced The Communist Manifesto in 1848...
. The
LeninistLeninism is the theory and practice of the dictatorship of the proletariat, led by a revolutionary vanguard party. Theoretically, Leninism comprises the political and economic communist theories of Vladimir Lenin, developed from Marxism, that were the establishing ideology of Soviet communism — in...
concept of a communist party encompases a larger political system and includes not only an ideological orientation but also a wide set of organizational policies.
A communist party is, at least according to Leninist theory, the
vanguard partyA vanguard party is a political party at the forefront of a mass action, movement, or revolution. The idea of a vanguard party was developed by Vladimir Lenin, most prominently in What is to be Done?, a political pamphlet first published in 1902....
of the working class, whether ruling or non ruling,
but when such a party is in power in a specific countryIn political science, a Communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule of a Communist party and a professed allegiance to a communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state....
, the party is said to be the highest authority of the
dictatorship of the proletariatIn Marxism, the dictatorship of the proletariat denotes the transitional socialist State between the capitalist class society and the classless communist society...
. Lenin's theories on the role of a communist party were developed as the early 20th-century
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n
Social DemocracySocial democracy is a political ideology of the political left and centre-left on the classic political spectrum. Social democracy emerged in the late 19th century from the socialist movement and continues to exert influence worldwide....
divided into
BolshevikThe Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903...
(meaning "majority") and
MenshevikThe Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
(meaning "minority") factions.
Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks, argued that a revolutionary party should be a well-knit vanguard party with a centralized political command and a strict
cadreCadre is the backbone of an organization, usually a political or military organization. The expression can be in the singular or the plural...
policy; the Menshevik faction, however, argued that the party should be a broad-based mass movement. The Bolshevik party, which eventually became the
Communist Party of the Soviet UnionThe Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the ruling and only legal political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the...
, took power in Russia after the
October RevolutionTheOctober Revolution , also known as the Soviet Revolution or Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution. It began with an armed insurrection in Petrograd traditionally dated to 25 October 1917 Julian calendar...
in 1917. With the creation of the Communist International, the Leninist concept of party building was copied by emerging communist parties worldwide.
There currently exist hundreds, if not thousands, of communist parties, large and small, throughout the world. Their success rates vary widely: some are growing; others are in decline. In five countries (the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
,
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
,
North KoreaNorth Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer area between North Korea and South Korea...
,
LaosLaos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, and
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
) communist parties retain dominance over the state. See the
List of communist parties for details on the communist parties of today.
Structure of communist parties
In theory, a communist
CongressA party congress is a general conference of a political party. The congress is attended by delegates who represent the party membership. In most parties the party congress is the highest decision making body of the organisation and elects the party's leadership bodies such as the National Executive...
would elect a
Central CommitteeA central Committee is commonly the central executive unit of a Leninist or Communist party, whether ruling or non-ruling. In a Communist party, the Central Committee is made up of delegates elected at a Party Congress...
to execute the will of the Congress between meetings. The Central Committee would elect a much smaller
PolitburoPolitburo, from German Politbüro, short for Political Bureau, , is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.- Marxist-Leninist states :...
to elect a
general secretaryThe term General Secretary denotes a leader of various unions, parties, churches or associations. The most notable usages are the following:...
and handle day-to-day operations. In practice in many countries where communist parties were in government, the flow of power often became the reverse: the Politburo became self-perpetuating, and controlled the composition of the Central Committee, which in turn controlled the party congresses.
Some contemporary communist parties still hold to the democratic centralist tradition. Others have abandoned democratic centralism, often accompanied by a renouncing of
Marxism-LeninismMarxism-Leninism is a communist ideological stream that emerged as the mainstream tendency among the Communist parties in the 1920s as it was adopted as the ideological foundation of the Communist International during Stalin's era....
overall.
Mass organizations
As the membership of a communist party was to be limited to active cadres, there was a need for networks of separate organizations to mobilize mass support for the party. Typically communist parties have built up various front organizations, whose membership is often open to non-communists. In many countries the single most important front organization of the communist parties has been its youth wing. During the time of the Communist International the youth leagues were explicit communist organizations, using the name 'Young Communist League'. Later the youth league concept was broadened in many countries, and names like 'Democratic Youth League' were adopted.
Other organizations often connected to communist parties includes
trade unionA trade union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas, such as working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts with employers...
s, student, women's, peasant's and cultural organizations. Traditionally these mass organizations were politically subordinated to the political leadership of the party. However, in many contemporary cases mass organizations founded by communists have acquired a certain degree of independence. In some cases mass organizations have outlived the communist parties in question.
At the international level, the Communist International organized various international front organizations (linking national mass organizations with each other), such as the
Young Communist InternationalThe Young Communist International was the parallel international youth organization affiliated with the Communist International .-International socialist youth organization before World War I:...
,
ProfinternThe Red International of Labour Unions , widely known as the Profintern , was an international body established with the aim of co-ordinating Communist activities within trade unions...
, Krestintern,
International Red AidInternational Red Aid was an international social service organization established by the Communist International...
, Sportintern, etc.. These organizations were dissolved in the process of deconstruction of the Communist International. After the Second World War new international coordination bodies were created, such as the
World Federation of Democratic YouthThe World Federation of Democratic Youth is a left-wing youth organization, recognized by the United Nations as an international youth non-governmental organization. WFDY, which describes itself as an "anti-imperialist, left-wing" organisation, was founded in London in 1945...
,
International Union of StudentsThe International Union of Students is a worldwide nonpartisan association of National Union of Students with a focus on university students....
,
World Federation of Trade UnionsThe World Federation of Trade Unions was established in the wake of the Second World War to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...
, Womens International Democratic Federation and
World Peace CouncilThe World Peace Council is an anti-imperialist, democratic, independent and non-aligned international movement of mass action...
.
Naming
A uniform naming scheme for communist parties was adopted by the Communist International. All parties were required to use the name 'Communist Party of (
name of country)'. Today, there are plenty of cases where the old sections of the Communist International have retained those names. In other cases names have been changed. Common causes for the shift in naming were either moves to avoid state repression or as measures to indicate a broader political acceptance.
A typical example of the latter was the renamings of various
East EuropeanEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
communist parties after the Second World War, as staged 'mergers' of the local Social Democratic parties occurred. New names in the post-war era included '
Socialist PartySocialist Party is the name of several different political parties around the world that are explicitly called Socialist. All of these parties claim to uphold socialism, though they might belong to different branches of the socialist movement and might therefore have different interpretations of...
', 'Socialist Unity Party', 'Popular Party', 'Workers Party' and '
Party of LabourParty of Labour is a name used by various political parties throughout the world.* Albanian Party of Labour* Party of Labour and of the People, in Argentina* Belarusian Party of Labour, in Belarus* Workers Party of Belgium* Guatemalan Party of Labour...
'.
The naming conventions of communist parties became more diverse as the international communist movement was fragmented due to the
Sino-Soviet splitThe Sino–Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
in the 1960s. Those who sided with
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
and/or
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
in their criticism of the Soviet leadership, often added words like 'Revolutionary' or 'Marxist-Leninist' to distinguish themselves from the pro-Soviet parties.