There is a common misconception on what a vanguard party is and how it relates to workers, a misconception that has led to the belief that a vanguard party is somehow separate from the people.

The workers struggle is not purely an economic struggle for concessions but a political struggle and who’s class end goal is the seizure of political power. The workers themselves organize as, trade unions, workers councils etc.; this represents the workers organized as a class. The trade unions further the goals of the workers by negotiating with the employers for concessions, this represents the day to day struggle but the struggle doesn’t end there but continues on, through the state, through a labor party or workers party, Socialist party etc. The party apparatus is simply the workers organized to gain political power. Trade unions are economic and workers parties are political.

As workers realize that the struggle for concessions is a hopeless endeavor this leads what is the quantitative change into qualitative. The highly organized Soviets represented this qualitative change, the Soviets themselves early on represented by the Russian Social Democratic Party in the parliament; the provisional government. Of course opportunism takes over by those who see the bourgeoisie giving more and more ground because of pressure thinking that going “too far” will make negotiating difficult, this was the Menshiviks who wanted to “peacefully” share power with the bourgeoisie. As we all know that is impossible and a government cannot have both the bourgeoisie and proletariat coexist because of the nature of class struggle, the nature of the contradictions.

The vanguard party has a responsibility of furthering the goals of the proletariat and what else way than to gain their support, to show them how bourgeoisie tries to bribe the workers and tries to keep the workers from achieving their goals. Socialism, which is the eventual goal, is not compatible with the bourgeoisie, the only way to achieve that goal is through political power. The vanguard is that party which seizes power.

Often it seems some ultra lefts and anarchists believe that it’s purely the workers who will rise up in some sort of v for vendetta uprising, but in fact thats the sign of an immature revolution. A revolution in its earlier stages, spontaneity gives way to organization. Organization alone won’t win political power, the CNT-FAI organized but didn’t have much in the way of political power, by extension mass support.

What the Paris Commune revealed to Marx and Engels that was not known when the Communist Manifesto was written is that the workers cannot only win political power in the state, but it must smash the state entirely and replace it. The struggle for political power is something that takes place in the day to day economic struggle, through strikes, demonstrations, then through the parliament through pushing forward a political party that represents the workers and a party that understands it’s eventual goal.

I think Venezuela is a perfect example of that struggle that was able to win political power but failed to smash the state machine. The class struggle in Venezuela is intensified, and its bourgeois party is attempting to seize power. It’s Socialist party cannot go further beyond the confines of a liberal constitution. Venezuela I think represents how Marx envisioned a revolution before the Commune, but as we can clearly see the dictatorship of the proletariat is such an important aspect that Venezuela is suffering without it.

To conclude without a party the workers cannot further their political goals, they may be able to gain economic concessions but without political power won’t maintain them and won’t be able to build Socialism. No party, no political power.