The organs of state power at all levels shall practice democratic centralism. In doing this the main principles shall be: the People's Congresses shall be responsible and accountable to the people; the People's Government Councils shall be responsible and accountable to the People's Congresses.
Within the People's Congresses and within the People's Government Councils, the minority shall abide by the decisions of the majority; the appointment of the People's Governments
of each level shall be ratified by the People's Government of the higher level; the People's Governments of the lower levels shall obey the People's Governments of the higher levels and all local People's Governments throughout the country shall obey the Central People's Government.
Dong Biwu
explained during the CPPCC meeting of September 27, 1949, the principle of ‘democratic centralism’ (民主集中). The principle of democratic centralism is opposite to the parliamentary system. In the latter system, one part of the bourgeoisie has the power and the other part can only conduct opposition. The minority has no influence on the policy. Dong Biwu state:
“We gave up this kind of political institution. We prefer
a political system which combines discussion and execution in one hand. This is the system of Peoples' Congress in which all power is centralized.” ‘Democratic centralism’ is an authoritarian system in which it is possible to express opinions, in opposition to a totalitarian system in which rigid uniformity from top down exists. Within the authoritarian system, after expressing opinions, everybody is bounded to the end result.
“The Leninist principle of democratic centralism created a pseudo-military command structure with authority flowing from the Politburo down to
the secretary of each party cell. As agents of the state, the cadres were expected to carry out every policy
faithfully 2021 regardless of its popularity with the masses or its conformity to the perceived interests
of the masses.”
Democratic centralism and CCP...
In his speech Dong Biwu followed the thoughts of Mao Zedong. On the party congress of April 1945, Mao Zedong expressed his opinion about democratic centralism.
"The organizational principle of the new-democratic state should be democratic centralism, with the people's
congresses determining the major policies and electing the governments at the various levels. It is at once
democratic and centralized, that is, centralized on the basis of democracy and democratic under centralized
guidance. This is the only system that can give full expression to democracy with full powers vested in the
people's congresses at all levels and, at the same time, guarantee centralized administration with the
governments at each level exercising centralized management of all the affairs entrusted to them by the
people's congresses at the corresponding level and safeguarding whatever is essential to the democratic
life of the people.” 3 years earlier on February 1, 1942, he made a punitive address to the CCP party school cadres
“Some comrades see only the interests of the part and not the whole; they always put undue stress on that part
of the work for which they themselves are responsible and always wish to subordinate the interests of the
whole to the interests of their own part. They do not understand the Party's system of democratic centralism;
they do not realize that the Communist Party not only needs democracy but needs centralization even more.
They forget the system of democratic centralism in which the minority is subordinate to the majority, the
lower level to the higher level, the part to the whole and the entire membership to the Central Committee.” Already in October 1938, Mao Zedong warned
“…education in democracy must be carried on within the Party so that members can understand the meaning of
democratic life, the meaning of the relationship between democracy and centralism, and the way in which
democratic centralism should be put into practice. Only in this way can we really extend democracy within
the Party and at the same time avoid ultra-democracy and the laissez-faire which destroys discipline."
The term ‘democratic centralism’ is not an invention of Mao Zedong, but has already a long tradition in all communist parties over the world.
Article 7 of the 1928 constitution of the CCP puts it as follows:
"Like other Communist International Branch Parties, the essential of organization of the Chinese Communist
Party is Democratic Centralism…. The Party members may discuss and argue on certain points which are not yet
passed by the Party Organ. In other words, they must obey unconditionally the resolutions which have been
already determined by the Communist International or their superior Organs, whether they agree with these
resolutions or not." During the Zunyi
Zunyi 遵义 Guizhou
January 1935 Decisions of the Zunyi conference. At this Zunyi conference a power struggle emerged. Mao Zedong is the new military and political leader
conference in January 1935, Mao Zedong used the principle of ‘democratic centralism’ to enforce the re-election of the Secretariat and the military committee of the CCP. In this way, opening the path to absolute power within the party.
In 1945, during the 7th Party Congress, the practice of "democratic centralism" within the CCP underwent a significant shift. The previous approach of open debate and voting was replaced by rectification campaigns, which became the highest form of democratic centralism. This new interpretation emphasized achieving absolute unity of thought through rectification, thereby reducing the need for open, collective debate. The Seventh Party Constitution declared that the CCP was a "united combat organization" whose strength lay in its "unity of will and action." By recognizing rectification as the embodiment of democratic centralism, the Constitution affirmed the Party’s responsibility to purge its ranks of anyone who would "undermine the Party’s program, the Party Constitution, and Party discipline," and who could not be reformed. Once the CCP assumed national power, this new practice of democratic centralism as rectification was expanded to mass organizations.
The conventional interpretation of representation within the CCP is rooted in Lenin's concept of the Party as the forefront of the labouring class. The vanguard role adopted by the Leninist Party is built upon two underlying presumptions. Firstly, it assumes that a sole Party can adequately represent the comprehensive interests of the entire working class, without the presence of a critical opposition to assist in identifying and rectifying omissions, inaccuracies, and errors. Secondly, it posits that the vanguard possesses the capacity to speak cohesively on behalf of those it asserts to represent, even in the absence of competitive elements.
Democratic centralism in PRC...
This method is practiced not only within the CCP, but also across all government and administrative bodies, the PLA, and even within the Minzhu Dangpai. These groups either already operated or were restructured along Bolshevik lines, using democratic centralism as their guiding principle. Since all non-Party organizations also function on this principle, Party members in key positions hold crucial influence, allowing them to manipulate these organizations. This enables the Party leadership to turn non-Party groups into easily controllable executors of its will, while maintaining the appearance of constitutional processes and procedures. The concept of democratic centralism aligns with China's long-standing tradition of authoritarian rule under a singular, unquestionable leader.
