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Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party. The '' Democratic '' aspect of this organizational method describes the freedom of members of the political party to discuss and debate matters of policy and direction, but once the decision of the party is made by Majority Vote , all members are expected to follow that decision in public. This latter aspect represents the '' Centralism ''. As Lenin described it, democratic centralism consisted of "freedom of discussion and criticism, unity of action". Leninist organizations' constitutions have typically defined the following key principles of democratic centralism: # Election of all party organs from bottom to top and systematic renewal of their composition, if needed. # Responsibility of party structures to both lower and upper structures. # Strict and conscious discipline in the party -- the minority must obey the majority until such time as the policy is changed. # Decisions of upper structures are mandatory for the lower structures. # Cooperation of all party organs in a collective manner at all times, and correspondingly, personal responsibility of party members for the assignments given to them and for the assignments they themselves create. The text ''What Is To Be Done?'' from 1902 is popularly seen as the founding text of democratic centralism. At this time, democratic centralism was generally viewed as a set of principles for the organising of a revolutionary workers' party. Lenin's model for such a party, which he repeatedly discussed as being 'democratic centralist', was the German Social Democratic Party . The doctrine of democratic centralism served as one of the sources of the split between the . After the successful consolidation of power by the Communist Party following the Russian Revolution Of 1917 and the Russian Civil War , the Bolshevik leadership, including Lenin, instituted an ostensibly "temporary" ban on factions within the party in 1921 , by using the very mechanism of "democratic centralism". Thereafter there was less and less communication between the Bolsheviks and the Russian populace, and eventually there was very little freedom of discussion even within the party, except by members of the ruling Politburo . These developments have led some observers to question whether the democratic aspect of democratic centralism can be maintained over time. |
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