Communist Party Structure

[blackemma]

As someone who is interested in government structure, I would be interested if anyone could explain to me how 'communist' governments are structured. While I imagine each government would be different, I would think certain things would be similar. For instance, the post 'General Secretary.' What does the General Secretary do in relation to the rest of the party? What of the post of Prime Minister? President? I've never been able to figure out the difference between these three posts, to say nothing of the rest of party structure, e.g., national assemblies, soviets, etc. Any input - preferably unbiased, i.e., 'how it worked on paper' and how it really worked - would be appreciated.

Gracias.

[Misodoctakleidist]

I assume you are refering to the bolshevik government. General Secretary is a party position not a governemnt position, in the bolshevik party Stalin was General Secretary which meant he was in charge of party membership which is how he eventualy became leader, by filling the party with his suporters and throwing out his opponents. A president is a head of state a priminister isn't.

[blackemma]

That doesn't really answer my question though. I mean, most people would consider Stalin to be head of the Soviet government during World War II, not just the Bolshevik party. Bush is head of the Republican Party in America, the Republican Party is in power, so most of us say Bush is the head of government. If I must rephrase this, what are the duties/responsibilities/powers of the General Secretary, Prime Minister, and President of so-called socialist countries. If I'm not mistaken, China also has the position of General Secretary and President, maybe Prime Minister - I can't quite recall. I know Vietnam does. That's why I assume I'm speaking of more than just one country. While I recognize differences may exist from country to country, I'd be interested in generalities as well as specifics. Further, why is it that some leaders of the Soviet Union have occupied different posts? Prime Ministers, GSs, etc.? Any help would be appreciated.

[blackemma]

Something like this in other words with explanation.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I think the form of the government would depend on the circumstances of the revolution. If the revolution comes after a series of general strikes and the workers were already highly organized, then the government would probably be more decentralized with lots of power to the already existing grassroots wokers organizations which carried out the strikes. If there is a civil war or something like that resulting from the revolution, then a more centralized government will probably be created.

But I don't think there is one formula for a revolutionary government because whatever government is formed will come out of the context of the situation... there might be a president, it might be more of a federation or a system of representatives or (with current technology) a total democracy where everyone votes all the time.

The key is making sure that power is really and irrevokably in the hands of the working class and so strikes would have to be a garenteed right and protection of worker's power and accountability to workers would also have to be garenteed so that no one or no minorety group or party could become a new minorety ruling class.

[ComradeRed]

blackemma, where the devil did you get that?!?!?

[DeadMan]

Originally posted by [email protected] 27 2003, 02:46 AM
blackemma, where the devil did you get that?!?!?
I especially love the 'Confidential" written all over it...

*closes eyes, blocks ears and sing the show tune for Knight Rider for safety reasons...*

DeadMan.

[Looter]

The first of the month you have to send 5$ to each of the names above you on the list.

[MiDnIgHtMaRaUdEr]

Its not like there is anything there that you didn't already know.

[Soviet power supreme]

This link maybe helpful.It tells a structure of the Soviet Union's military.
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/agency/index.html

[Osman Ghazi]

Firstly, Bush isn't the head of the Republican Party, merely its presidential candidate. A president is head of state and usually head of government though not neccesarily. A prime minister is head of government. The Third Republic of France is a good example. The president is elected every four years. He chooses which party will head the government after the election, but he must choose a candidate that will have majority support otherwise other parties can enter a vote of no confidance in the government in which case elections must be held. The person the president chooses as Prime minister heads the government. Although the third republic wasn't communist, that gives you a vague idea of what they do. Bottom line though, they are merely titles and they have different powers in different countries. China has a prime minster who is pretty much in charge. Not of course that i would be looking to China for any sort of inspiration on how to run a government. They're worse than the Americans.

[Morpheus]

The structure is different depending on which Leninist state your'e talking about and what time period your'e talking about. All of them are republics that held elections regularily, but they're one-party states so the party always wins. Generally, the party has regular party congresses where elected representatives from the local party branches (only party members can vote in these) get together, pass resolutions, elect the central committee and such. The party congress is officially the highest organ in the party, but between congresses the central committee runs things. The central committee elects several committees to help the party control the state (and do other things), including the political committee or politburo. The politburo basically runs the government. The general secretary is the leader of the party.

Although real power is in the party, most leninist states have some sort of parliament or pseudo-parliament and various government officials which are elected by the general public. Officially they play a role similar to what they do in the western "democracies" - passing laws and whatnot. However, the Communist party is the only party allowed to win and party members are subject to party discipline so real power lies with the party congress, central committee & politburo. Government officials like Presidents, etc. generally do the work necessary to run the government. Sometimes the head of state is also the head of the party, some times they are not.

Some Leninist states don't have Presidents or Prime Ministers. The early Bolshevik state in Russia was run by a "Council of People's Commissars" or SOVNARKOM. The commissars in this council were like the ministers in an ordinary parliamentary state, except this council of commissars had the power to pass laws. Executive and Legislative were combined. There was also a Soviet Congress, but it didn't meet very often (once every three months at the beginining, less later). The chairman of the Sovnarkom (Lenin) was the head of state, the closest equivalent of a Prime Minister but not really. This structure was later changed, especially after the new constitution in 1936.