This glossary contains terms frequently used by communists. Their meanings are derived largely from communist “classics,” or books written by Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin. (For a more complete definition of communist “classics,” see Bibliography).
BOLSHEVIK:
1. Refers to a type of communist organization, namely, Lenin’s Party, of a small, selective membership, comprised of highly trained professional revolutionaries insolubly linked to each other by the deepest revolutionary convictions and discipline. The term “Bolshevik” stems from the Russian word bolshinstvo, meaning majority. In the 1903 Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, a dispute occurred over whether membership should be tightly controlled (Lenin’s idea) or be open to sympathizers also. Lenin’s opinion was accepted. Hence, his supporters became known as Bolsheviks (majority); his opponents as Mensheviks (minority).
2. Refers to a certain type of Party member, namely, the model, heroic, ideal type of communist. It is a term of high praise and distinction for communists, signifying superiority and mastery of the qualities of revolutionary leadership, efficiency, courage. Hence the terms “Bolshevik courage,” “Bolshevik culture,” “Bolshevik discipline.” “Bolshevization of the Party” means to make the Party a model of communist perfection.
BOURGEOISIE:
Term applied to the “capitalist” class, which includes not only the wealthy but also middle-class people. Sometimes “petty bourgeoisie” is used to distinguish small businessmen, minor government officials, etc., from the more wealthy “capitalists” and high-ranking officials. To communists the bourgeoisie is a class enemy which must be destroyed. “Bourgeois” is the adjective form of bourgeoisie, hence, “bourgeois virtue.” So used, the word describes anything or anybody whom communists would ridicule or hold in contempt. The term “bourgeois survivals,” or “bourgeois remnants,” refers to so-called “capitalist” (that is, noncommunist) attitudes and institutions not yet obliterated by communism.
CADRE:
The trusted inner circle of trained members and leaders on whom the Party can depend to carry out its policies and programs without any questions or objections. From cadres will emerge functionaries, officials, organizers. “The Party cadres constitute the commanding staff of the Party. . . .” (Stalin)
CAPITALISM:
To communists, capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of property, the private control of the means of production, and the private accumulation and use of profits. As such, communists consider capitalism to be a form of exploitation of man by man. To them, capitalism is the last economic system of exploitation in the social evolution of man. Born as the result of overthrowing feudalism, capitalism, in turn, from its own inner contradictions, will be succeeded by socialism as a transitory stage that will end in a world communist society.
CENTRISM:
A term of contempt to communists, signifying those who try to pursue a “middle-of-the-road” position, thereby denying full and undeviating obedience to the Party line. “. . . and finally, there are the ‘Centrists,’ those who wobble between the ‘Lefts’ and the Rights . . . Centrism is a political concept. Its ideology is one of adaptation, of subordination of the interests of the proletariat to the interests of the petty-bourgeoisie in the same party. This ideology is alien and contrary to Leninism.” (Stalin)
CHAUVINISM:
A term of bad repute to communists signifying that one nation, race, group, or individual assumes an attitude of biased superiority. Within the Party structure chauvinism (which can occur in various forms) often results in disciplinary action and becomes a weapon whereby the ruling clique can bring charges against opponents for the purpose of weakening or destroying them.
CLASS:
By the word “class,” communists mean a section of a given population that occupies a specific relation to the means of production. For example, the capitalists own land, mines, factories, and the like. The workers or laborers do not own such possessions but work on the land and in the mines and factories. Therefore, there are two main classes in society: (1) the capitalist or bourgeoisie, and (2) the wage-earners or working class or proletariat. The communists admit that in highly developed capitalist nations (as the United States) there is another group, the “middle class” or “petty bourgeoisie,” composed of minor merchants, small farmers, professional people, small businessmen, etc. The communists believe the “middle class” can be influenced to support the proletariat.
CLASS STRUGGLE:
To the communists the two basic classes in capitalist society, the bourgeoisie and proletariat, are in constant and inevitable economic conflict. This struggle is a continuation of the age-old conflict, say the communists, between the exploiters and the exploited; the rulers and the ruled; those who own the means of production and the great masses of the people who possess nothing but their capacity for laboring. In the early days this class struggle was between the slave owner and the slave (slavery), later between the feudal lords and the serfs (feudalism). Eventually, the communists claim, the capitalists will be defeated through violent revolution; and by applying the dictatorship of the proletariat, communist society will be established. The communists are constantly encouraging class struggle, trying to increase social, economic, and political tensions. To them class struggle is an agency for promoting communism. “Can the capitalists be forced out and the roots of capitalism be annihilated without a bitter class struggle? No, it is impossible.” (Stalin)
COMMUNISM (MARXIST SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM):
A system of thought and action originated by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, developed by V. I. Lenin, continued by Joseph Stalin and his successors. This system advocates, among other things:
(1) a materialistic explanation of the origin of man and the universe; (2) a comprehensive economic interpretation of history centering about the class struggle; (3) abolition of the noncommunist state, which is conceived to be an instrument of exploitation; (4) a revolutionary theory, method, and a flexible course of action to overthrow the state and the capitalistic system; (5) a moral code based on utility; on non-supernatural class concepts; (6) abolition of all religions; (7) a world-wide communist revolution; and (8) a world-wide communist society.
COMMUNISM (primitive):
A type of communal living reported to have existed in early stages of man’s history. To Marxists there was no private ownership, hence, no class divisions, class exploitation, or state mechanism.
COMMUNISM (stages of development):
Marxism-Leninism says communism will develop through two basic stages: First or lower stage (called socialism), which is the type of society that will be formed immediately after the communist revolution. This is an “impure” communist society, freshly emerged from the violent conflict and bearing, in the words of Marx, “. . . in every respect, economic, moral and intellectual, the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it is issuing.” In this phase, organs of the state (such as police, army, etc.) are necessary and are exercised by the dictatorship of the proletariat, crushing the opposition of the bourgeoisie. During this transitory stage the main principle will be “from each according to his ability, to each according to his work.” (This is the stage of the dictatorship of the proletariat, symbolized by the terrorism that now prevails in all communist countries.) However, after an unspecified period of time (just when, no communist can say), as people become indoctrinated to the principles of Marxism-Leninism, all the capitalistic characteristics will disappear and the state will slowly “wither away” as the threshold of the higher or final stage (communism) will be reached. This stage will be stateless, classless, godless, where all property will be held in common and human activities will conform to the principle “from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” The lower phase implies controlled, planned, and ordered work; the higher, free association and voluntary work. (This false appeal to a communist Utopia is one of the Party’s most potent weapons for deception.)
COMPROMISE (MANEUVER, CONCESSIONS):
Tactics whereby, in order to promote the ultimate goal of communism, adjustments and temporary agreements can be made with the enemy, that is, the noncommunist world. “Concessions do not mean peace with capitalism, but war on a new plane.” (Lenin)
DEMOCRACY:
In discussing the communist concept of democracy, distinction must be 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 method 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 change 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 non-communists 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 weak-nesses 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 non-communists 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 non-communists 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.”