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LENIN ON ORGANIZATION

direct popular legislation and fail to understand that this principle can be applied in modern society only conditionally.

Those who have had experience of practical work in our movement know how widespread the "primitive" conception of democracy is among the student youth and the workers. It is, therefore, not surprising that this conception should make its influence felt in statutes and literature. The economists of the Bernstein type have included the following clause in their statutes: "§10. All matters concerning the interests of the whole organization are to be decided by a majority vote of all its members!”" The theoretical economists say: "It is essential that all committee decisions should be approved by all the circles and only then become binding decisions" ("Svoboda," No. 1, p. 67). It should be observed that this demand for the wide application of the referendum is advocated in addition to the demand that the whole organization should be built upon the principle of election! We are of course far from condemning on this account active workers who had had only too little opportunity of acquainting themselves with the theory and practice of real democratic organizations. But when "Rabochie Delo" which has pretenses to leadership confines itself under such conditions to a resolution advocating the principle of broad democracy what else can we call it but simply a "search after effect"? . . . .

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