LENIN ON ORGANIZATION
What was Lenin’s attitude at that time,—finding
himself in one Party side by side with the Mensheviks,—towards
 the principles of democratic centralism,
 Party discipline and Party unity? Of course,
he insisted on the freedom of factional conflict; he
demanded freedom of discussion, and criticism of
the Central Committee. At that time he most
Snergetically championed the rights of the local
Organizations against the Menshevik Central Committee.
 At the same time, however, he recognized
as Immutable—except for some slight reservation—-the
 Principles of democratic centralism and strict
Party discipline. In an article entitled “The Fight
Against the Pro-Cadet Social Democrats and Party
Discipline,” he wrote:
“We have more than once, on principle, defined
our views on the significance of discipline and the
Conception of discipline in the ranks of the Labor
Party. we defined it as: unity of action, freedom
of discussion and criticism. Only such a form of
discipline ig worthy of a democratic Party of the
Progressive class. The strength of the working
class is organization. Without organization the
mass of the proletariat is nothing. Organized, it
is all, Organization ig unity of action, but of
course, all action ig useful only because and to the
extent that it advances and does not retreat, to the
extent that it intellectually combines the proletariat
and lifts it up and does not degrade and weaken it.
Organization without ideas is an absurdity which
In practice converts the workers into miserable

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