The Necessity of the Party for Revolution

Published: 2026-10-08

Author / editor: Aslam Amiri First Secretary of the Democratic People’s Party of Afghanistan – New Standard-Bearers
We have seen time and again in history that people took to the streets, shook governments, and even overthrew dictators. But a few years later, those same people once again came under the domination of another class. Why?

Because the anger of the people, no matter how immense it may be, is not by itself sufficient for the victory of a revolution. Revolution means taking political power and building a new order. This is impossible without a conscious and coherent organization.

Marx demonstrated that the working class can liberate itself only when it becomes an independent political force. But it was Lenin who drew together the experience of failed revolutions and reached the conclusion that, in order to achieve victory, the working class needs a vanguard party; a party that links revolutionary consciousness with the everyday struggles of the people.

The vanguard party of the working class has the task of leading the revolution. The revolutionary party is where experiences are summed up, the program is formulated, forces are organized, and the struggle is transformed from a scattered movement into a unified force.

The enemies of the revolution possess the state, the army, capital, the media, and a propaganda apparatus. If the working class and the toiling masses lack organization, how can they prevail against such an immense force?

History has also proven this. The Paris Commune was defeated because it lacked sufficient leadership and organization. But the October Revolution in Russia, with the Bolshevik Party, was able to seize power and establish the world’s first workers’ state.

Without a party, protests become scattered, opportunists take leadership of the movement, and the achievements of the people are destroyed. The vanguard party of the working class guarantees the continuity of the struggle and safeguards the goals of the revolution.

Of course, a genuine party is not a party that is separated from the people or appears only during elections. The revolutionary party is present among workers, peasants, women, youth, and all the toiling masses; it learns from them and prepares them for a conscious and organized struggle.

Therefore, if we regard revolution as a ship in a stormy sea, the people are its force of movement; but the party is its helm and compass. Without a helm, even the most powerful ship will wander aimlessly among the waves.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote the following about the party in the Manifesto of the Communist Party:

“The proletariat can act as a class only when it organizes itself in the form of an independent political party in its struggle against the propertied classes.”

Or, as the great Lenin said in the book What Is to Be Done?:

“Without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement.”

And:

“Without a strong organization that has been tested in struggle, the leadership of the revolutionary movement is impossible.”

Summary

A revolution may begin without a party, but without a party it will not achieve lasting victory. This is one of the most important lessons of the history of revolutionary struggles throughout the world.