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countries put forward and champion the common interests of the whole of the proletariat, irrespective of national interest . . . . in the various stages of development through which the proletarian struggle against the bourgeoisie is proceeding; they always champion the common interests of the movement as a whole. Thus, the Communists practically represent the most determined and the most progressive section of the Labor Parties of all countries, and with regard to theory they have this advantage over the rest of the masses of the proletariat, that they understand the conditions, the progress, and the general results of the Labor movement. They have no interests other than those which coincide with the interests of the whole of the proletariat."

This is expressed with exceptional clarity in the theses passed by the Second Congress of the Communist International on the Role of the Communist Party in the Proletarian Revolution. In these theses we read:

"The Communist Party is a section of the working class; its most progressive, most class conscious, and therefore, its most revolutionary section. A Communist Party is formed by the selection of the most class conscious, most courageous, and most far-sighted workers. The Communist Party has no interests differing from the interests of the working class. A Communist Party differs from the rest of the mass of the workers in that it sees the whole of the historical path of the working class