Proletarian Power and the State: An Overview

 The Proletariat

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a proletarian. Put simply, what that means is that in order to live, to survive even, you must sell your own labor to someone else in return for a wage, typically paid by the hour. Proletarians own no means of production, that is, they own nothing that could be used to produce wealth other than their own labor. Everything else that is needed to produce things - the natural resources of the Earth, industrial equipment, etc - are owned by someone else, that is, the capitalists. Now, it is not accurate to say that most proletarians own no means of production whatsoever; many people have ovens and stoves in their house which can be used to make food, cameras which can take photographs and film videos, things of that nature - but these small machines usually are used to produce things that are for the immediate use and consumption of the proletarian who owns them, and not for exchange, because the reality is, the average proletarian simply does not have the time to make what they need and to make things that can be exchanged. The point is, proletarians, by definition, do not own means of production that they can hire people to use to produce value. They must sell their labor to others who do own those things. The proletariat are those who own nothing, but who must give everything

It is for this reason that the proletariat have no power, and cannot have power, as long as capitalism continues to exist. If a proletariat comes to own some means of production that he then hires other people to work with, he ceases to be a proletarian and becomes a bourgeois. Thus, the existence of capitalism necessitates the existence of two classes of people, those who work, who labor, and those who own. 

The Communist Party

The most politically advanced section of the proletariat, the worker-intellectuals who will organize and direct revolutionary activities. The party is headed by a central committee, whose members are elected directly by the workers councils, i.e. the soviets, which are the organs of the party. A central committee is necessary, for “only a centralized, militant organization… can safeguard the movement against making thoughtless attacks and prepare it for attacks that hold out the promise of success.” (Lenin, What Is To Be Done, 128).

The Role of the Party in the Dictatorship of the Proletariat

The dictatorship of the proletariat, led and organized by the communist party, is the conquest of political power by the proletariat, the transition stage between capitalism and socialism in which the proletariat violently seizes power from the bourgeoisie and organizes the economy and production in order to suit its own needs (i.e. human needs). 

The duties of the Party under the dictatorship of the proletariat are numerous, and include issuing labor vouchers, directing and organizing labor in order to further construct socialism, and, if it finds itself under assault, it must be able to quickly and cleanly muster an armed force for its own defence and the defence of the revolution. In times of great strife, such as war, it must take it upon itself to determine which jobs are most necessary, and create incentives to do said jobs, and must dedicate all of its time to the war effort. In such a time, war and work become one. All labor must somehow aid the effort to beat back the forces of counter-revolution; not an ounce of manpower may be spared in this regard.

In such times, it may be necessary to establish a special committee to oversee the unique problems that will be faced by the dictatorship of the proletariat, in order to ensure that the everyday functioning of the party and the state does not become bogged down. Such an institution cannot be constructed or planned beforehand, for any problems faced by the future of the communist movement will be entirely unique to the time period in question.