First Published: CL Organizer, Vol. 2, No. 6, July 1974.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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On Friday, June 28, 1974 the Black Workers Congress was expelled from the National Continuations Committee. The Communist League fully supports this action of the National Continuations Committee. The BWC had for the last month repeatedly ignored and violated the collective decisions of the NCC. These violations crystallized in the June 23 meeting of the Chicago local continuations committee. At this meeting, which was to discuss the plans and assignments of the upcoming Chicago CC forum, the BWC stated that they would not participate in the forum until the question of ’democratic centralism’ was solved. They entered the NCC with the agreement to follow the decisions of the NCC. They knew full well that they were joining a communist organization and the basis of organizations of communists is ’democratic centralism’. Further, while members of the Chicago local committee they agreed to take part in the Chicago forum. Now they refused to participate until the committee released them from centralism. The local committee rejected this bourgeois maneuver, and pointed out that the newsletters and the ML Unite all stated that the NCC and local committees were to be composed of those who agreed to collectively carry on the work of the conference. The Chicago Committee referred the questions to the NCC. There the BWC continued to insist that that they could act outside the NCC line. The NOC recognized this for exactly what it was – as an attempt on the part of the BWC to form an anti-conference center within the NCC. Further an attempt to advance their own political fortunes it the expense of the NCC. The NCC warned the BWC to halt this dangerous trend and when it was clear to all the BWC was forming another center and refusing to continue the line of the Conference. Therefore the BWC was expelled from the National Continuations Committee and from all the local Committees.
Democratic centralism is the organizational principle of all communist organization. Democratic centralism means that there is freedom of discussion within the collective but that once the decision is made, it is binding on all members. Publicly, everyone is absolutely bound by these decisions. It is in order to insure Marxism-Leninism that democratic centralism is upheld, Democratic centralism is a question of the line of Marxism-Leninism, It insures that one Line is upheld and carried out by the whole organization. To object to democratic centralism is to object to the organization carrying out Marxism-Leninism.
We have stated that what is necessary for the formation of a communist party is unity among Marxist-Leninists. It is clear though that if we can’t have unity of action on the basis of democratic centralism, then it is certain that the basis of unity – Marxism-Leninism – is not there. Unity of action is the pre-requisite for unity on the basis of Marxism-Leninism, Clearly, the NCC has now reached a higher level of unity. On the basis of this unity, the NCC can move on toward the Congress and toward unity on the basis of Marxism-Leninism.
Political Bureau