Otto Kuusinen: Thus the centralism of a Communist Party is a democratic centralism, i.e., it is based on the will of the broadest membership of the Party. In practice democratic centralism means: all the leading Party bodies from top to bottom are elected; regular accounts are rendered by Party bodies to their Party organisations and higher organs; strict Party discipline and subordination of the minority to the majority; decisions of the higher bodies are absolutely binding on all the lower bodies. In every Communist Party, the principle of democratic centralism underlies the Rules that determine the structure and forms of its organisation, the norms of its internal life, the methods of the practical activities of the Party organisations, and the duties and rights of the Party members. The duties of a Party member constitute the corner-stone of all Party activity. Since the Communist Party is called upon to carry out the great tasks of radically reorganising society, it cannot consider a mere agreement of its members with the Party programme sufficient. A Communist is one who actively helps to carry out the programme of the Party and necessarily works in one of its organisations under its leadership and control. The opportunists do not make such demands of the members of their parties. wordsmith.social/protestation/…