Dictatorship of the proletariat

Not to be confused with an autocracy.

Soviet poster celebrating the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat in 1918.

The dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a state in which the proletariat has a class monopoly over state power, which is always exercised democratically by the workers. Because The term dictatorship of the proletariat can also be used interchangeably with the term "proletarian democracy".

"The dictatorship of the proletariat is the continuation of the class struggle of the proletariat in new forms." The Dictatorship of the Proletariat is a Proletarian state, and as such exists to protect the interests of the working class and repress the bourgeoisie, to continue the class struggle, which does not end until communism. Marx articulated that, "Between capitalist and communist society there lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one into the other. Corresponding to this is also a political transition period in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat." As all states represent a definite class of which holds the "monopoly on state power", political power under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat necessarily must be monopolized in the hands of the Proletariat. As Engels aptly expressed it, "In reality, however, the state is nothing but a machine for the oppression of one class by another, and indeed in the democratic republic no less than in the monarchy", and the same can be said of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. — Vladimir Lenin

Theory

The dictatorship of the proletariat, as with all previous forms of the state, exists due to the irreconcilability of class antagonisms between the exploited and exploiting classes. However, the proletarian dictatorship differs in that it is the rule of the exploited majority of the population against the exploiting minority, the opposite of all previous state forms. Further, the proletarian dictatorship is only created after the ready-made state machinery of the bourgeois state has been destroyed in full, whereas all new forms of the state have merely built themselves using previous state.

The creation and consolidation of the dictatorship of the proletariat is among the main tasks of a socialist revolution, as it is only through the proletarian state that the revolution can be reinforced. The proletarian dictatorship is unrestricted by laws and other formalisms; it has as its main goal the expropriation of the capitalists and other exploiters by the proletariat.

Forms

Soviet democracy

See also: Soviet (governmental body)

The word soviet (Russian: 'совет', lit. "council") is used in English to refer to the elective councils of workers and soldiers which first arose in the Russian Empire during the events of 1905 and which later formed the backbone of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Lenin argued that these soviets could and should seize total power and form a radically democratic new form of government, known as soviet democracy, which was carried out in the October Revolution. The word has since been extended to refer to workers' councils inspired by the Russian example, including the Irish soviets and the Bavarian Soviet Republic.

The soviets would be able to elect delegates to represent them in the higher organs of the government. Furthermore, it was common for the communist party to seek consensus from soviets on the implementation of policies and actions.

People's democracy

People's democracy was the form of the proletarian dictatorship which was created in socialist countries in Eastern Europe. It is premised on an anti-fascist coalition of democratic and working class parties in the leading role in alliance with progressive sections of the peasantry, petite-bourgeoisie, and intelligentsia. The people's democratic revolution allows for the transition to more advanced forms of socialism.

People's democratic dictatorship

The people's democratic dictatorship was the form of proletarian rule which emerged in the People's Republic of China that was enshrined in the constitution of the People's Republic of China. The people's democratic dictatorship was distinct from both the bourgeois and proletarian dictatorships in that it was the joint-dictatorship of progressive and anti-feudal strata under the leadership and hegemony of the proletariat.

“‘You are dictatorial.’ My dear sirs, you are right, that is just what we are. All the experience the Chinese people have accumulated through several decades teaches us to enforce the people’s democratic dictatorship, that is, to deprive the reactionaries of the right to speak and let the people alone have that right.” – Mao Zedong, On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship

See also

• Socialism
• Democracy