CLASS PARTY & THE SOCIALISM

"It is impossible even to think of socialism without a party that has won the faith of proletariat class."

Lenin once stated so. It means that the party which stand for socialism must win the trust and confidence of its own class, the proletariat, being the vast majority of a country. So as we believe, the Marx-Leninists those who expect making the 21st centenary the Socialist century, must attract their attention on that statement.

In the need of socialism in reality, it is important to identify the limits and differences between ‘party’ and ‘class’ as well as their interrelations. A proletarian party which uses capitalist institutions for its own class objectives within a capitalist democracy, has to have much attention on that. Since it has a big barrier of promising-politics and personal interests aroused by capitalist parties to attract the majority-proletariat, they must win them through awareness.

A party which has organized members of progressive and militant proletariat, becomes a proletariat party according to its class aim and proletarian work plan. Its obvious that any organization of proletarian members cannot be regarded as a proletarian party. Traditional capitalist parties have a majority of proletarian members, but that doesn’t make a proletarian party. The class relation of leadership, members being proletarian and the party manifesto, whether it contains a proletarian program will make it a proletarian party. Since the party does not contain the whole class and it has only a class representation, it is important to find out ways to get the faith of proletarian class.

In the creation of socialism the first necessity is getting the political power to the hands of proletarian party. Neither good objectives nor smart work plans have any use if the proletarian party is unable to come to power. That’s why the party needs the ‘vote’ of proletariat or the public preference. The party must be lifted to power by the public support. Marxism generally accepts that the party itself cannot come to political power. Proletarian party must be given the power to win the socialism. That must be done by the people, who is the proletarian-majority. When the party organizes the class, this complex truth must be taken to consideration. Since it is not wise in politics to displace party for the class, proletarian party must have solutions for the problems regarding the winning of proletariat.

As we pointed out Class and Party are not the same but two different institutions. Class is a collection of people, consisting several social layers, with different individual aspirations, victimized to exploitation in their economic life. The important feature is that they are exploited by capitalism and are seeking liberation. But, since the capitalist and petty bourgeois ideology dominates proletariat, they are difficult to organize with such awareness. But those who are in the party have awareness and the class objectives. Class is not organized and the party is organized.

In the normal political process this difference between party and class exists. The party with the intention of winning the people (class), must understand this difference. The party must understand the common consciousness of the people to win them. Therefore the proletarian ideology should be established among the people. A new political culture with awareness and examples, to be created. Elections and representative councils within the capitalist democracy are worth in this task. If the party succeeds in building new political examples through those capitalist institutions, the winning of the class will also be a success. As Lenin once said when creating actual class leadership, the example and confidence given by working in the representative councils has much importance. The class discovers the capacity of their party that it is capable of creating socialism and ruling the country, via that process.

People of the proletarian class contains several social layers with different aspirations.

When dealing with the day to day problems of common masses, the faith of proletariat is earned. That class won by the faith is necessary to be organized to become a force that could create socialism. "In its struggle for power no weapon has the proletariat than the organization" Lenin said. So the party has the responsibility to win the class as well as to organize it. How to do this is our current problem. It is to understand that this task is to be done while the class and party has differences and length in between.